Star.
London, England, 1817-02-25 00:00:00

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had 'now deseenieSl ti ate barest or le r' of soc'ky.
Which were mare liable to ieduc:ior. "L'hc ten,'e
of their revoliitionary dangers haJ been to p
and to separate the other classes. The poison no .•••

Operated only on the tower ones where it I;ad Asstutar.l
a cli.iracter, not only of treason, but n• crime, which
would lead more easily to its detection anti repres-
sion. Tic cliff:rent Tribes of disturbers, the Luddite%

and 'the Spenceans, had committed open violations
of the 'laws, besitl-s the assumption of doctrines so
absurd, as, aiming!' Odle: wise intended !By desiAtting
men, to offend 01e te:rie.ut all who were able to
judge. The character of the treason hid wok on.
the lowest classes, and disgraced itself with crimes,
calculated to counteract the purposes of the traitinis,
themselves. (Hear, hear.) This Was certeinly a,
consolation, but the Goveromeat would ahandert its.
duty if it slept on the existing dangers. Whilst he
concurred with the view rectiaanvila be taken by _e_ to
the Secret Committee, that the peril. of if.e pre,ent
times should he co-or .stel with Close of the eather
pit tsof the It 'volution, lie wished the H inse not to
imagine that there WAS troy absence of t.ilent or in-
geeuity among the conspirators of the day. Let the
House look at the document in which their -wild
doctrines were explained, and it would see that it
would be difficult to find more talent or ingenuity.
There certainly was no lack of atsuities among .the
individuals engaged in the desperate enterprise. •Let
the libels with which they attempted to degrole the
authorities of the State be examined—no trace of a
vulgar turn of mind would be marked in them. They
were men of educatioa, but of Fr vetted etucatiou,
and of great talents. He appealed to his Lean .41
and Hon. Friend (the Attorney-General) as to the
difficulty which he had found in dealing with ihcs":
disloyal and immoral libels. But this was not all—
there were many men distinguished in s: sti.,n and
abilities, who, if they were not coneected
meetings, conducted themselves in such o ni.tiiner as
to counteuaece their principles and their pr. ceectirigk
(Hear, hear, hear, from Me whole of Me Oppt4Lian.)—
They were recognized by the Conspirators as their
fillies—(Hear, hear, hear,)—as embarked in a Ci3IW
mon cause—(/tear, heJr, hear,)—and, though they_
did not rendc themselves liable to the operation of
the laws, yet, in the deliberations of the Conspirators,
they were referred to, and named familiarly amongst
themselves as thole who should compose their Com-.
mittees of Public S ifety—( Loud and repealed cries of
Hear, bear, hear, and Name, name, from the whole of Me
dieleosition.) He did not feel it his duty to name any
one (Hear, hear, hear,) but the Conspirators consi-
dered that such persons so effectually aided and
abetted their purposes, as to be persuade! that as
soon as an insurrection should have overturned the I
State, those individuals would be ready t' declare
themselves, and to put themselves at their head
(mar, hear, hear.) Though they could not be char-
ged at the bar nt their country, yet in the eyes Of
GoD and man (Hear, hear, hear, from the Oftposition,)
they stood responsible for the calamities which might
upon the land (Hear, hear, hear,) and for the
fives which deluded individuals might pay for the
treason which they had thus_ encouraged—(4%4e,
hear.) 'Hi should now give the House a fair, and
not exaggerated descrip:ion of the nature and extent
of the dangers which menaced the country, and di-
rect its attention to the remedy which his Majesty's
Ministers thoagbt..,fit to recommend to Parliament.
The Report ut 'the Secset,Committee bad not been
drawn b: and elass of men alone. It did nut go he-
yottd .the state' of the cell! 4' and. *ben st Committee
o composed*Xid 'that i conspiracy existed which ea.'
dangered the existence of. she Constimtion and the
dearest interests of the country, it might_ well be ere-
difed that it only weft as far as it' lAS supported by
evidence. If the basis of the information before the
House amounted to this, that a conspiracy of so ex-
tensive a nature and so dangerous a tendency existed,
he apprehended ttiot he was justified in assuming that
-it was a conspiracy not remotely looked to as likely
to be carried into execution under future circum-
stances; but one of a desperate character on the point
ot exploding, and which in fact had- exploded.—
(Lardzider.) For although the Conspirators had not
been Joined to the extent: which they expected, yet
they had conceived that the general means which they
h.td provided were sufficient to enable them to make
the attempt with a rational prospect of success. There
was now, therefore, a degree of proof which had never
before been possessed when Parliament hid been
called upon to adopt precautionary measures. In no
instance, except, perhaps, in Ireland, had conspiracy
proceeded so tar as to levy war, and by the force of
arms to attempt to seize on the executive power of
the State. From this, however, he thew the omen,
that the period was approaching when the evil might
be entirely extinguished. It bore a character of des-
peration which it had not assumed in former days.
The fact of a conspiracy was therefore established,
with the fact of an attempt and effort in arms. It
would be confining the extent of the peril within too
narrow limits to consider that it sprung from the
meeting of the 2d Deceotb..r alone. It the fact of a
Conspiracy rested only on the events of that day, and
he saw nothing in the other parts of the colliery in.
'tended to support that effort, he might have thothllit
with the Gentlemen opposite, that it
was contemp-
tible ht itself, and that the State was not Linda the
necessity of resorting to extraordinary measures ; but
it would be disguising the truth from the House to nar-
row the danger to that single effort, or to separate it
.from others going on et this very moment under the
'pretence of seeking for Parlianieutary Reform. He
would not deny that many individuals throughout
ate country had a Reform ill Parliament really in
view but most of them looked at it merely as a halt
measure, or as a veil to the carrying on of their de-
signs. All these various societies intended to co-ope-
rate together, in order to controul the Constituted
Authorities ofthe State, and impose upon the nation
that change,• whatever it Might be, which they con-
sidered necessary. It was not requisite to follow the
Spencean Clubs through all their tarnitications, or to
bring legal evidence before the House how they ac-
ted in all their secret proceedings ; but would any
man in she country, or any Member in that House,
deny that those societiel existed, and acted on a pr in-
ciplo of extension, and that the greater mass of them,
;bough under the name of Reform, and particularly
the Hampden Clubs, served only at vehicles to collie
municate revolutionary principles: Some were
•doubtediy sincere in their wish fur Reform; but it-
stray .in eVidence before the Committee, that even
these admitted individuals professing the Spenceao

doitrlnta to become their monhrr. had been
clearly made out that A wicked consp tacy existkal in
the country for thesubversion of the Constitution,arel
the State. It had been proved that strong effort
had been made in arm; to alum the object in vklff
anJ it appeared that the indivieloals v•ho were deeply
implcated in the crime of treason had been th.t mist
active 'to prozure.meetingsfo. the apparent purl:rue
,:f Parliamentary Refru to, partieola ly Au of the ‘2‘l
of Lecemb-r. The Patiti .n of no • individual was
booirethe Hoist.. He did Mg pre end to say with
what.sentiments he (Mr. Hunt) had gone to th4t
Meeting; but yeleniving the who'e of what he had
Atated, yet the:Meeting would appear to have been
made to feel the,petlse of the people. The House
had now to deal with treason. the existence of w!tich
Wis aeknowbaloed in the ccunti y. For while the
Conspirators had rt,,t even yet a's indoned the hope of
fi tding an occasion, by a desperateetfort, to take pot.
session of it.o ruing power, they d;d not neglect other
oreoas, hot atitieJ at the attain:iv nt of their objects
by the prosr‘nsive corruption of the minds of toe
people. 'll4i. arts were chiefly directed to pervert
the morals and loyalty of the manufacturing classes;
those very daises which had always suffered. and
would always wirer, most, from dime/ haute' and
civil broiis in the State—(l/ear, hear, hear.)---
But thee availed themselves otsthe facility with which
they ,could be found and assembled to impress their
doctrine* upon their minds and lead them to acts of
des;:elatiost. He had explained the nature of the
&roger, and should now calf the attention of the
td .use to the tueaseres svh:ch his Majesty's Minis.
.ers ahould foci it their da;y to recommend. First
of all; though he should not have. a motion to pm.
pose on the subject, he should open the whule sys-
tem of measures which were deemed necessary to
strengtheu the hands of Governmentot this invert.
taut juncture. 'He should 'there fore tit entitled to
refer to a Bid now under the consideration of !mother
House, for the temporary sospension of the Act of
Habeas Corpus. There was no measure which.could
inflict upon.hiM greater personal prin, or a heavier
Lad efreirntibility. Althongh it was one which
the Constitiwon had recognised whenever .a ;Ate of
sufficient n,:cessity had been sttewn, there wa* none
which he thoad,:it shouiJ be adopted with inure :Atte-
tancc ( Hear, hear, hear.) There was no law
which so nobly and so proudly diringuished the
tslt Constitution as the HabeAs Corps law—(gcar,
hear.) But while he assevhed the whole w,ight 4.1
responsitility upon himself for suspending such a UM.
he Insist say that the House would not duly protect -
the liberties if tie country if it did not arm Minis•
ters fur a time with that power, without which %lei-
ther the Constitution nor the State could be secured
from the blow aimed at their overthrow. The rte-.
r:Tbi:L7 of the present measure arose, perhaps, front
the great tend ri..ess with which the crime of treason
Was treated by the existing laws. It was required to
be established by so many le al circumstances, as
well as by the evidence of two a ii7.esses, that the si-
tuation of the cout.tiy might be such, that thought
the State were iii rssession of evidence which
any other ca..e would send an individual to his ttiat,
yet unless armed woli the power now called t'or, ;t
could not arrest a conspirator at the very eve of his •
deluging hie country with blood, withoutrutn'ing the
risk that for want of evil lice on that parto.ular
crime, he should apply for.ait +bees Carpos.• and
he at once restored to liberty. J3y the temporary
suspensMn now proposed, the itaAidual might be
11.claivered over to the regular lawn, ut the country.—
Gentleman on the deers side of the House could
feel more sen.ibly than lie did Id° the must Iset:ted
suseeosion of the Ch irtar oh our liberties.' Nothing
but a case of the most imperious necessity, I:ke,to,,
pres,•nt, could jastity such a measure. His Ma-
josty's Goverrinient intended to private it with every
possible guard, to shoo the reluctance with which
they, adopted it, and their divesition to remit it At
the earliest oppintunoy. 'He should not wish in the
preamble to the Bill to fix a longer period for its du-
ration than the present Session, of Parliament ; so
that it might naturally *spire with it, unless fresh
circumstances should arise to render its contianation
necessary. °He:livid also wish to render it a local
measure. Nothing ftad appeared before the Corn.
mitiee to require the-extension of the proposed ,sus.
pension to other parts of the United Kingdom—
(Hear, .hear:) The internal situation of Ireland was
so tranquillized as to chew a noble example to the
people of England, and to announce in that country
a quick approach to that state of peace and loyalty
which would do honour to the whole kingdom—
' ( Hear, hear, hear.) He should now proceed to ether
measures, which, in consideration of existing circum-
stances, he should think it indispensible for Parlia-
ment to adopt. A law had been passed, he believed,
in 1795, in consequence of an atrocious act then at-
tempted on the person of the Sovereign, as lie • was
going to petforni mine of the must important functions
of the Legislature. A similar attempt had • been
made oil the person of the Illustrious Individual• now
holding the highest authority in the State. A *inn'.
lar law woold therefore be proposed to extend to his
Royal Highness the Prince Regerit the protection
which the former Act provided, for the Letter seen-
rity of Isis Majesty's Person. Oo this branch of the
subject he was sure there would not be two opinions
in the house, but that it would be determined to be
wise to eetend to the Psiuce Regent the same legal
protection in the discharge of the duties of his high
office, which it had been thought prdper to provide
for the person of the Sovereign in a similar situation.
He should theretoie eropoo: to extend to the person
the Prince Regent those p iris of the Act of the
35th of the present r.ign, which related to the pro-
tection of the person of the King. Another part of
the plan which he would propose related to the at-
tempts which had been made to draw over the sol-
diery to a participation in the crimes which had
been committed. 'lt had evidently been part of-the
hopes of the disaffected to succeed by seducing the
military force—and it was proved that systematic
attempts had been mole to effect that purpose.—
The House, he • w•isruire, would feel the necessity of
protecting the inhaler against, such artifices as might
tend to mac him break his allegiance, and join in
die crimes of his seducers; and it would be erflOwed
that the most effectual way to succeed in afferding
this protection would be, to• enact that thostOwho
should attempt to seduce soldier airmail
should, for the future, be. considered
greatest crime, wet punishable accordi
On this part oh :Le .i..Lject he was sure

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Iheir4ileginaCe,
'ed• guikf et the
(Hear.) , •
sure there would