Star.
London, England, 1820-09-19 00:00:00

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!•I.

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dangerous than to invest it wizh an inquisitorial iuris-
' diction. He hoped tint his Hon. and .!,,eavnecl. Friend
would be ready_ when the Bill came from tl:e House
of Lordi, if that event ever happened, to do his -ut-
most to throw it our.

Mr. HOI3HOUSE saw. 1.11.1 t every Fresh step only
shewed the House that it was unfortunately involved
in fresh difficulties. -efore lie ro,a, he had looked
round, expecting that some Gentleman of greater
weight in the country than himself wend I have ti-en
to submit a motion, in which the House should ex-
press its indignation at being made merely an appe .-
dage of the Peers—at being required to adjourn
from day to day, to wait their pleasure, while they
were proceeding with a Bill already pronounced, by
those who considered themselves the Representatives
of the people, " derogatory from the dignity of ti e
Crown, and injurious to the best interests of the coun-
try"—(Cheers).--He knew perfectly well that
,the
present motion for a Committee would be followed •
by a proposal for an adjournment ; that was the
natural course; and although the King's Ministers
could, at any time they thought prudent, prorogue
Parliament altogether, it seemed quite new that they
should have the power of adjourning the House of
Commons, from day to day, in this manner, for the
attainment of no great national object, and to the
great inconvenience of the Members—('bear, hear).
—lf the‘y wet e to be thus treated, it might be a
question- whether it would not be better for the op-
ponents of the Bill now pending, to retire altogether
from the contest, and leave the odium of com-
pleting so detestable an enactment to ;hose with
whom the measure had originated—(!fear, hear).—
He objected to the motion for a Committee, because
it appeared to him 'that. by consenting to consult the
Journals of the other House, the Commons, was re-
cording its opinion that the Bill on which the Lords
were engaged was correct, just, and for the general
advantage. His confirmed and solemn opinion was,
that the inquiry, instead of being advantageous, was,
in every view, most pernicious, and that it would
end in the disgrace of the nation, and in the destritc-
don or injury of some of its dearest interests. The
best rea,on was afforded for rejecting this motion,
inasmuch ac noshing had been yet urged to warrant
an approval of the proceedings of the Lord,. He
was well aware that, according is the farms of tliis
House, Members must appear ignorant of all that
was passing round them, however notorious; but on
the last occasion it had been permitted, for the sake
of distinctness, to mention what had occurred in ano-
ther place: and he trusted that he sh•-ul,l not be
called to order if he pursued the same Ike of con-
duct now. In the first place, he must say that this
House owed the other no peculiar deference when it
acted in direct contradiction to the express and so-
lemn decision of the. Representatives of the People.__
The Lords had gone into the inquiry which the Com-
mons had rejected—they had examined the filthy
contents of the Green Bag, which the Commons with
disgust and scorn had left unopened upon its table.
Why, then, were their Journals to be looked into?
Why were the Commons of England to regulate their
conduct by following any steps which the Lords had
disgraced themselves by taking?—(Cheers)—For
one, he was astonished that any man of common
seive and common knowledge could qippose for a
moment that the Bill of Pains and Penalties would
be treated- with anything like impartiality in the
House of Lords. He did not mean that the Peers
were worse than common men, but he did thaintain
that they were not better than common men, and
that they must be influenced by those feelings in
which all human beings participated. When they
saw honour and advancement on the one side, and
neglect and disgrace on the other, there could be no
doubt which they must prefer. flow fallible they
were—how liable to the imperfections and frailties
of humanity—was sufficiently establiched by their
divisions. What had been the divisions in the House
of Lords ?

The SPEAKER interposed. He agreed that, to
make the subject:more intelligible, it had been agreed
to forego the usual strictness of allusion ; but he put
it to the Honourable Gentleman whether,-by going
into details, by referring to the divisions in the House
of Lords,' not merely the forms but the substance or
the rules of the House were not violated ?—(Hear).
Mr. HOBHOUSE co:ltintie,l, that he had no in-
tention to go further than had been allowed during
the last discussion: he meant to refer merely to what
was perfectly notorious.
Mr. CALCRAFT observed; that while the ion.
Gentleman conned himself to a reference to past ei-
visions, he would he quite regular, for they appeased
on the journals of the LortN- which it'was now pro.
posed that a Committee should be appointed to consul:.

---
Mr. HOBHOUSE had concluded that he might
refer to what was not only notorious, hut to uin
fact hard become matter of record in a Court ofJus-
tice—(llcar). —The House of Lords was now acting
rather in a judicial than in a legislative capacity ; but
he was willing to abstain, and- to omit the observa.
tion he was about to make. His own impression, and
he believed that in it he was by no means singular,
was, that there was not the slightest chance of im.
partiality in the decision of the Lords. If so, was
it not the duty of every honest man, of every 'Mem-
ber of Parliament, to do his .utmost to suppress this
Bill in limine and with this view, on the firmer ad-
journment, he had seconded the motion of a Noble
Lord. The same reasons still induced him to object
to all further proceeding in this mea-ule in the other
House of Parliament, and it seemed to him imp2s-
sib:e, that the Nation, the King, or the Illustrinus
Party accused, could be benefited by its further pro-,
secution. As to the Nation, it had most unequivo-
cally and decidedly pronounced its judgment 41.,
the Bill. It was said, however, that the popular leek-
ing wassnot deep—.that the motion Ikvas only on. o.e
surface, 4 .d that it had been exci=ed merely by chile
who were in the habit of rousing the se:lament of the
multitude; But might nottht:san.e answer