Star.
London, England, 1820-08-04 00:00:00

COMMON COUNCIL.

A Court of Common Council was yesterday hel&'
at Guildhall, for'the dispatch of general business, and
also for the special purpose of considering the pro-
priety of passing some Resolution, hi consequence of
the rejection of the late Petition respecting her .Ma-
jesty, by the House of Loris, and of presenting ano-
ther Petition on that subject.
The Minutes of the former Court were read, And
some routine business was disposed of.
THE QUE:N.
Mr. PAvsu. hoped that the ltemembrancer would
be called on by the Lord. Mayor to state whether the
Petition, which it had' been resolved. at the former
Court to present to the House of Lords, on the 'sub-
ject of the Bill of Pains and Penalties now pending'
against her Majesty. the Queen, had been received
by the House, or what bad been done respecting it?
A long altercation then ensued, on the order in
which -the business was to be taken, some Members
contending that the adjourned debate respecting the
Sheriff ought to have precedence.
The Loan MAYPR suggested, that the Report on
Ithe Petition should, in the first place, be communi-
cated by the Rernembrancer, and then the Court should
decide with what business they were first to proceed.
The REVIDIRRANCER accordingly stated, that the
'-Sheriffs and himself, pursuant to the order of the
Court, had gone to-the Houses of Parliament with the
two Petitions; that the one presented to the House of
Commons had been presented, and received ; that
Lord Erskine had been requested to present the Peti-
tion to the House of Lords, and that his Lordship,'
on being asked by the Sheriffs if the Petition was a
fit one? said, that he would keep it till next day, in
order to consult Lord Holland ; that on the fellow-
Ong day he presented it to the House, and the result
west that it had been rejected, on the ground that it
contained matter relative to the proceedings of a Se-
cret Committee, which even the House itself was not

acquainted with..
Mr. FAVELL then moved—" That the Requisiti.
to convene a Court, for the purpose of considering
the rejection of the late Petition, and the propriety .
presenting another, be then read."
• Mr. T. N. WILLIAMS moved, as an Amendment—
" That the adjourned debate on the Report of the
Committee, relative to the Sheriff, be resumed."
After a short discussion, the Motion was carried
by a spew of hands, and the Requisition was accord-
ingly read by the Clerk.
• IVIr. FAVELL trusted that, on the present occasion,
he would not find it necessary to enter into any de-
tailed statement of arguments in support of the taw
tion which he was about .to submit, because the
grounds of the 'former Petition, which had been ar-
gued at great length, andadmitted by a great major
kity of the Court, must still operate as strongly as
ever on their minds. He did not wish to interrupt
the ordinary business before them ; hut it was
'portant that Members should not endeavour to put
off a matter which interested every subject in the
kingdom till a period when no Court would be hold
'fOr considerable .time.• Sorry was he, indeed,
'think that such x motive existed. He would us
they could sit down with those feelings which bit:
came them as a Conn, and as the Representatives of
the City of London, unless they took some furth
step to follow up the sense of dtity which had I s
them to petition both the branches of the Legisla.l
tare? Of that Petition, which had been rejected, he
could say with truth, that never had a Petition been
drawn up with less intention to offend. It had been
prepared by Gentlemen who had.spent their lives in
the study and the practice of the law, and who had
sever, on any occasion, been more desirous to avoid
ail matter that could give offence, or appear disre,
Speedo). He was anxious to'state this as explicitly
impossible, because it had been insinuated, that they
were desirous to introduce matter offensive to the
rHouse of Peers. It must be the earnest wish pf
every Member of that Court to uphold those privi-
leges which were guaranteed' by the Bill of Rights
and amongst the most valuable and the most WV:
'doubted of those rights was that of petitioning Par-
!lament. He would not, indeed, ge so far as Mr.
k Fox had gone when he declared, that a Petition, e‘
if it contained matter of treason, should be receive.
:by Parliament; but though he was not prepared to.
*vow so bold a sentiment, still he would not consent
to compromise a right even•to the House of Lords,
high as•they were. He trusted, therefore, that the.
Cotirt would not be thought too officious because it
was anxious that a Petition should be received ex-1
pressive •of its nentilments •respecting-the• proceeding

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