Star.
London, England, 1818-05-20 00:00:00

wire tor pmce
• I 'n I'ls three years would have
n
• • tin now to be the term fixed for the dum-
etfutlo.l:F:triiarnent; but the events in 1715 made the
ote-,,,rent refuse to trust the people with the exer-
. he e'ective franchise—( hear.)—ln his
• ~• it was an act of extreme injustice and im-
rink
tebr • fin Parliament, under the circumstances even
5: tr e 1711, to have
passed the Septennial Act.
Vast
t referring to Locke, or any other authority,
i.iet he evident, that no Parliament could have
the pricer of prolonging the period of that trust
inch the people had committed to them. One of
the reasons given at the time, for the passing of the
cep::onial Act was, that tiering the first year the
4,•,e. time of the house of Commons was occupied i
deciding on the cases of contested elections. That
mon now no longer misted. The Grenville Act
had completely put an end to it. But one of the
re:lige:it arguments in favour of returning to Triml-
y:al Parliaments was the immense increase in the in-
thence of the Crown. It had indeed been said, that
Stir increased influence of public opinion was a suffi-
cient counterpoise to the influence of the Crown ;
but although he beheld with the utmost satisfaction
the increased power of public opinion, still he thought
some more absolute check was necessary to the in-
fluence of the Crown. The corruptions existed
from the exercise of the influence of the Crown in
Elections, was perfectly notorious--(Hear, hear.)—
It was, indeed, impossible not to be struck with the
ertraordinary situation in which the House was
placed when it was obliged to chastise persons of an
inferior rank whrawere guilty of interference in Elec-
tions, while greater culprits in the same way were
allowed to go unpunished and unchecked. In such
cases it was not the offence itself which the House
punished. but the ignorance of the unfortunate indi-
viduals who did not conform the manner of their in-
terference to the statutable mode. Till Parliament
are reformed these abuses would never be rectified ;
and the first and most essential reform was to shorten
1;a duration of Parliaments. The people had been
mobbed of Triennial Parliaments by the usurpation of
ewe House. The occasion of the Septennial Act being
temporary ought to have been met by a temporary
remedy. The people had an absolute right to have
Trienaial Parliaments restored. That they would be
hereind by shortening the duration of Parliaments,
was proved by experience, for it was always found,
that in the last Session of a Parliament, the interests
tithe people were most attended to. It had been his
midietune, during the time he had sat in the present
Parliament, to have generally voted with the =no-
sty. lad to be therefore turned out into the lobby on
diri.ior...;—(Laughter.) On such occasions, during
eke .Ir,t Sessions of the Parliament, on looking round,
he rec:ibmized none but the well known faces of his
frand, hut lately, on several such occasions, on
looting round upon those who were his companions,
he was surprised to see many new faces--thear.)--
He had leen so astonished, that he sometimes feared
le had committed some fatal mistake, and taken the
rd: of the question he intended to oppose—(Hear,
itar, hrlr! and a laugh.) He was convinced that
rery Member in that House, on all occasions, voted
"IN couscien:intly ; but it did, somehow or other,
happen, that Gentlemen voted very differently
frr. their usual practice when they approached to
tie period of elections (hear, hear, hear!) He thence
inferred, that the most beneficial effects would result
from shortening the duration of Parliament. He
again repeated, that the House could h ,ve no right
to prolong itself. He did not deny that they had the
power, but they could not possibly have the right to
exercise such a power. He concluded by moving
for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal the 2el Act of
Geaey L chap. 98, commonly called the Septennial
Act—(hear, hear, tear.)
Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY rose, and said that he
the* this motion could not he opposed on the
ground that there would be any danger in agreeing
to it. The subject had been so often discussed, that
he was not surprised that Members were not disposed
to debate it again ; but there was one argument on
which he wished to say a very few words. Did any
one suppose, that in the first year of the next Session
the Ministry would be so well disposed to yield to
the wishes of the people, or the Members of the
house to resist the encroachments of the Ministry ?
Le more he reflected on tle subject, the more he
I satisfied that it would be a great advantage for
the ration, if it had more frequent opportunities of
electing its Representatives.
Mr. W SMITH agreed with both the Honourable
Gentlemen who had preceded him, and hoped there
would be, at least for once, a public expression of
sentim respecting tile grossest violation of trust
which had ever been committed. He meant the act
of a Parliament, which, having been elected for three
Years, had voted itself for seven. There might be
reasons at the time for prolonging their duration, but
there was none for the continuation of such an abuse.
Mr. BROUGHAM approved of the object of the
Motion, hut could not agree with what had
fallen from the HunourablGentleman. He would
not stop to inquire how the Septen
nial Bill had
brought in, but it was evidentthatluthis countryd been
been saved from Poperyand arbitrary Government
by the Whi
p,s, who ad brought in that Bill. Asto
the right or a Parliament elected for three years to
rote an extension of its duration
slight his Honourable Friend deny it seven,
thleen'excrtaisonwellof
'my other legislative powe stne would the Union
vith Ireland-and Scodandrbe. end, because the
Parliaments of those countries would not have had
Tle right of surrendering their separate existence.—
With respect to the Septennial Act itself, whether it
:ad been well to allow what had been adopted as a
remedy to survive so lung the necessity of the case,
a different question, and the vote which he was
give for the motion, would show that he
tursidered rich conduct to be wrong.
Huuse then divided—
For the Motto*
AgL44t it -
Majority

4$
11?
-75

ALIEN DILL.
Lord CASTLEREAGH moved that the House re.
rive itself into a Committee on the Alien Bill.
?cit. BENNET complained, that on the second
!e2ding of that Bill not one of the Crown Lawyers
'ought it his duty to say a word in answer to
`4.P. speeches on his side of the House. The question
'44 whether Ministers had abased their power in
the execution of this measure, but how many persons
prevented from caning to Mis country ? It