Star.
London, England, 1817-02-22 00:00:00

PETITION OP THINAS CLICARY.

Earl GROSVENOR said, that previous to their
Lordships proceeding to the order of the day, wha,
they were about to enter upon the discussion of a pi
position, which, without due .evidence 01 its necessity,
went to strike immediately at the liberties of the
people, by a suspeasiun of the Habeas COIPUS Act ; '
before the House should proceed to tliat disco Sion,
he begged leave to call their attention to a Petition
which had been put into his hands, of a nature which
lie thought well worthy of their Lordships' conside-
ration. He had before alluded to the novelty of
presenting a Report upon which momentous pro-
ceedings were to be founded, without that Report
being accompanied by any evidence to support its
statements. He was then answered by the Noble
' President of the Council, that it was the customary
moth of. making Reports of that description ? He
found, however, upon reference, that so far from this
being the case, in the year 1794, when a .Report
resessetlng a conspiracy against the Government was
made •by a Secret Committee, it was accompa-
nied by a statement of evidence, and upon that evi.
dence he (Earl Grosvenor) agreed at that period in
the necessity for strrng mear,res. It was of the tit.
most importance that a Report of so set haus a mottle
should' be accompanied by some evidence to chew the
foundation for the allegations. Since he came into
the House he had heard that the Habeas Corpus Act
was to be suspended. If so serious a measure was
really to be resorted to, surely it was incumbent upon
'their Lordships to take special care that it was no(
resorted to lightly, nor on insufficient ground ; still
more was it incumbent upon them to take care that
the statements made to them in the Report of their
Secret Committee were well founded. He knew not
whether the allegations, contained in the Paition were
correctly stated or not, but the Petitioner offered to
prove them by evidence at the Bar of the House,
ar.l he thought their Lordships we,re'called upon by
every principle of justice to allow him to resort to
that course of proceeding. His Lordship then read
the Petition as follows :
" To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in
Parliament assembled.
" The Petition of Tatiaaas CLEARY, Secretary to the Lon-
chin Union Society,
" Humbly Sbeweth—That It is with great reluctance, as well
as humility, that your Petitioner offers himself to the notice of, I
and prays for a hearing from your Right Honourable House;
but that your Petitioner, though a very Mumble individual, feel
himself impelled by a sense of imperious duty, to beseech your
Right Honourable House to pause, and to hear further evidence,
before your Right Honourable House proceed to adopt legisla-
tive measures upon the Report, now on, the Table of your Risk
Honourable House, from your late Secret Committee.
" Your Petitioner begs permission humbly to state to your
Right Honourable Nouse, •that he has read in the aiore-men-
, tioned Report of the Stcret Committee of your Lordships, the
following passage; to wit :
" 6 Others of these Societies are called Odom Clubs, professing
the same object of Parliamentary Reform,but under these words
voiterstancnre Universal Suffrage and Annual Parliamen.s—pro-
,Lacts which evidently Involve not any qualified or partial &mgt.,
at a total subversion of the British Constitution. It appears
that there is a Lsetion Meow Society, and iraßsh Unions corm.
toxin seiskit, and &plated to it. Others of arse Societies have
adopted the name 01 Spencean Philvithropists ; and it was by
Members of atiub of this dt ocription that the plans of the Con-
spirators In London were discussed and prepared for execution:
" Your Petitioner presumes not to oppose bit opinions against
those of a Committee of four Right Honourable House; but he
Hopes that ha may be humbly permitted to state, that when a
Bill was brought before your Right Hononrable House by the
late Dube Of Richmond, laying it down as a matter of principle,
that Annual Parliaments and Universal Suffrage werithe Whet
rent and unalienable rights of Englishmen, the Noble Doke was
not accuted.of a desire to produce a total subversion of the Bri-
tish Constitteion.
" It is not, however, on matters of opinion, but on matters of
most important fact, that your Petitioner humbly appeal, to the
candour, the wisdom, and the justice of your Right Honeurabb
House, and on matters of fact, too, with regard to which your
Petitioner is able to submit to your Right Honourable House the
`dearest and most indubitable testimony.
" Your Petitionet's entire ignorance of the views of the Secret
Committee of your Right Honourable House, as well as his pro-
found respect MO extreme dderenee fqr every thing done within
the ways of your 'Right Honourable House, are more than arm
cient to restrain your Petitioner from attempdne even to guess at
the reasons for your Committee's having so closely connected the
Londoo Union Society with the Societies of Spenceen Philass-
thropistse but year Petitioner humbly begs leave to assure your
Lordships, that be Is ready and able to prove at the Bar of your
Lordships'Hanee that there never has masted between these
Societies, the smallest conneedon of any sort, either in person or
&Ago, the object of the tenser being to obtain' a Parliamentary