Star.
London, England, 1811-01-24 00:00:00

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•111.10•IMMO••••••
HOUSE OF LORDS, JANUARY 93. I
The Archbishop of CANTERBURY moved, that
the Lord Bishop of Roomette be requested to preach
before the House on Wednesday, the SOth instant, at
the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter, Westminster ;
',hick was ordered accordingly.
COMMON HALL PETITION.
Lord EIVICINE presented a Petition from the Lord Mayor,
oerrnen, and Livery of the City of London, in Cemmoa-hall
nthled, in favour of an Unrestricted Regency.
°write Petition being read by the Clerk, his Lordship moved
that it should lie on the table.
This proposition gave rise to a conversation in
some respects of ah irregular nature, some of the
Noble Speakers having been a number of. times on
their legs. It was principally between the Loma
Cam:mon, Lord Easniez, and the Earls of LAU-
DERDALE and LIVERPOOL.
It was contended by the Noble and Learned Lerch
and by his Noble Friend the Secretary of State, that
agreeably to the orders and usages of their Lordships
1-louse, the Petition purporting to be what it did, viz.
from the Corporation of the City of London, and
aired as it actually was by certain individuals, with-
out the Corporate Seal of the City thereunto annexed,
could not be regularly received. All petitions pur-
porting to be from Corporate Bodies should have the
seals of those bodies attached. It may be received as
the petition of the individuals signing, but no more.
On the other side it was contended, by Lord ER.S-
juNt, particularly, that the Petition was so signed.
at the desire of the very numerous body who voted it.
So the Sheriffs stated, who requested he would pre-
sent the Petition to their Lordships, viz. by the Lprd.
Mayor, four Aldermen and a number of the Livery
belonging to the different Wards. It was for them-
selves and the rest of the Livery. He believed their
Lordships would have hardly patience to hear the
fist read, did the whole of that great assembly indi-
vidually subscribe their names. For his part, he was
not anxious that the motion should pass ; for, if it did
-sot, another meeting would take place, and-the ob-
stacle which now presented itself would be done away:
therefore, when this was considered, he did not think
there would be any cavil about the wording of that
Petition.
The LORD CHANCELLOR with some warmth
observed, that no Noble Lord should style the objec-
tion he had made to the .receiving any instrument,
when not warranted by the rules and usages of their
Lordships' House, " a cavilp without his contra.
dicting him. Did he not make the objection which
he had done, as Speaker, he shOuld deem it a derelic-
r;en from his duty, and so far criminal in himself.—
.Ile then repeated what the Orders of the House pre.
scribed in such cases.
The Earl of LAUDERDALE did not think the
objection of the Noble Lord on the Woolsack so en-
tirely well founded as he seemed to imagine. Was it
not frequently the practice of their Lordships to re-
ceive petitions from persons confined for (hist, on be-
half of themselves and the other debtors confined in
the same prison ? He remembered a striking instance,
namely, of a petition from all the Debtors in Scotland,
when it appeared that the petition was signed only by
such as were then confined la Holyrord House,
The Earl of LIVERPOOL was clearly of opinion
that the Petition, purporting. to be what it did, could
not be received. The petitioners, as designated in
the petition, had no corporate capacity. The Cor-
poration of the City of London consisted of the Lord
Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons, in Common poun-
cil assembled. .- -

The LORD CHANCELLOR said, he should
feel so strongly as to the propriety of adhering to the
Orders of the House in such a case, that he should
call upon the Noble Lord on the Woolsack to inter-
fere and enforce their Lordships' Orders. (A laugh.)
Petitions from individuals, he observed, could be re-
ceived only as from those who actually signed.

Earl STANHOPE noticed the mistake made by
the Lord Chancellor, in his allusion to his Noble and
learned Friend, and trusted his words would soon
be verified. He thought the difficulty might be got
over by moving, which he accordingly did, that-
-41 this Petition do lie on the table."
Lord ERSKINE observed, that the Motion now
proposed was the same totidem vrrbis, that he origi-
nally made.
The LORD CHANCELLOR had no objection
to the Motion, but wished it to be distinctly understood
that he assented to it on the ground of taking the Pe-
tition only as the Petition of those who signed it.
The Earl of LAUDERDALE admitted the elif-
ficulty in point of form, but observed, that nothing
could preventlti be-big-known that the Petition spoke
the sentiments of far the greater part of the Corpora-
tion, she Livery and the Inhabitants of London.
The Eail of LIVERPOOL did not think it neces-
sary to enter into the discussion as to whose sentiments
the Petition spoke, but suggested the propriety, in
conformity with the usage of the House, of making
an entry on the Journals, stating that the Petition was
received as the Petition of those who signed it.
Lord GRENVILLE thought that the difficulty
might be obviated, by making a slight alteration in
the Petition.

The Earl of RADNOR desired to know how the
Entry would stand, were the Petition as it then stood
received and ordered to lie on the table ?
The Noble Earl was informed, it would be entered
" the Petition presented."
His Lordship then said he must object to receiving
the Petition, unless framed conformably to the Orders
of the House.
A similar sentiment, after some further discussion,
seeming to be generally entertained among their
Lordships, Lord ERSKINE agreed to withdraw his
motion, that the Petition do lie on the table; and it
was ordered to be withdrawn accordingly.
QUESTION OF PROXIES.
The Order of the Day, upon which their I-OrdshiPs
were summoned, for the discussion of this subject,
'ing read—
The LORD CHANCELLOR. moved -that the
Report of the Committee appointed to search for
Precedents respecting Proxies, and a Cnpy of the
Circular Letter of the Chancellor, written to desire
the attendance of the Lord, by command of the
I-J-ouse, be read—which beial
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