Star.
London, England, 1811-03-20 00:00:00

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sence of so many Trish Members rendered It inexpedi.
ent to appoint the Committee at present, he should
give his negative to the tnotn.ei.
Mr. SIIAW thought the CommMee ought to be
appointed nithout loss of time,' and that it would oc-
casion tco much delay to wait for -Irish Members
coming from their Assizes.
Mr. FOSTER said, that all parties were agreed to en-
tering into the enquiry without delay; but as he had
told many of the Irish Members that no important
Irish business would come on till after the recess, he
theaight it but fair to wait till their return from their
Assizes, which would probably be about the 9.,1 of
April; on which day he wished to move for the ap-
pointment of a Committee.
Sir JOHN NEWPORT stated the names of the
Members he had intended to propose for this Com-
mittee. Among which were the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Mr. Foster, Mr. Punsonby, Lord Castle-
reagh, Messis. Vansitrart, Bankes, and Vim. Smith.
The House then divided—For the previous ques-
tion, 71 Against it, 44.—Majority against' Sir J.
Newpot is Motion '27.

THE PRINTER'S mt.
Mr. HENRY MARTIN rose, pursuant to notice
which he had given a few days before, He remind-
ed them he had then stated it to be his intention to
'move for leave to bring in a Bill to explain and amend
an Act passed in the 99th of his present Majesty,
which at present was felt very heavily by Printers,
Publishers, and others, connected with the Press of j
this country. He hoped the motion he intended to
make would meet with no opposition, when his mo-
tives were known, and his intentions fully understood
by the House. The Act in question was passed at a
period when certain societies were in existence against
which it was thought necessary to guard, by pre- I
venting their privately disseminating seditious writ-
ings. The Act appeared to have been passed in a
moment of hurry, as it went not merely to punish the ,
guilty, but all connected with the art of printing. All
persons acting as Printers, Booksellers, &c. were ob-
liged by this /Set to give, not only their names and
residence, but the minutest particulars relative to the
place of their abode. A distinct penalty was incurred
by every single hand-bill or pamphlet in which the
most insignificant word relating thereto was omitted.
However uninteresting such omission might be proved
to be, no discretion was given to the Magistrates to'
decide, according to the peculiar merits of the case,
but they were directed to convict the printer and cast
him in the penalty of E2O, for every hand-bill or
pamphlet so published, and those parties who, in any
case, might think themselves aggrieved by such de-
cisions, were not enabled to make an appeal from
them at the Quarter Sessions. This, he thought, was
felt to be the cause of evils which had not been anti-
cipated by the House, at the time of passing the Act.
He did not mean to move that it should. be repealed

__ cot.
altogether, and he should ground the motion he intend- a Bill to eiplain and amend part of tht 39th .
edto submit to the House torexplaining and amending present Meje,ity.,
the said Act, on a statement of certain instances which Lord FOLICESTONE seconded the motian.
had come to his knowledge, in which unfortunate per- The CHANCELLOR of the EXCI-tI.QUER
sons hadsufferedgreat inconvenieneies,through the pro- would not oppose the motion, but he thoUgle it rather
visions of the Act being such as he had described. The hard that the Legislature should be compiained of,
first case he would mention was that of an individual re- atter making certain arrangements for the regidatiote
spacing whom information had been given, which of any trade, it the inedvertencies of individualsetere!
subjected him to penalties amounting to more than punished, when the Act, like that alluded ta, wafPer.
the enormous sum of £lOO,OOO. The Honourable tcctly easy to be understood.
Gentleman here read a passage from the evidence Mr. H. SMITH thought the Act car;led a great
which had been given, in order to shew the House deal of individual grievance. He would use the ar-
with what views such informations were preferred, gument ad homi.iern, and say, he thought reeny Mem-
and also to let them see bow some persons had been bers of that House would lose threaourihs of their
entrapped into a violation of the law. From this it fortunes it they were called upon to pay all the penal-
appeared that certain persons, knowing there were ties they had incurred. He considered himself as ad.
many numbers of an edition of the works of Cicero, dressing men, in all probability, who iseued many
commonly known by the name of the " Elzivir printed receipts for rent. If these receipts were exa.
Edition," without title-pages, went about to different I mined according to the provisions of the Act, he
printers to get title-pages printed, under the pretence doubted if t'xir fortunes would pay the demands
d wanting therm to make the work complete. It which might be made on them. Ile thought the sub.!
was quite impossible to t think that to these title- ject had been well taken up, wis in very good hands,
pages the address of the printer would be allowed and that the alterations proposed might afford great
to be affixed. One printer, however, more alive than relief to those who had been injured by the operation
the others to the provisions of the Act, had pat of the Act.
his name and place of abode on the title-pages he Mr. D. GIDDY was of opinion some distinction
had thus been employed to print. This would not ought to he made between papers and pamphlets of a
Jo, as it was obvious such title-pages were worse pernicious tendency, and those of a different descrip-
than useless, as they at once went to prove the work don.
was not what it purported to be, the " Elzivir Edi- Mr. W. SMITH contended, that the provisions of
tion." The others who were applied to in this man- the Act might not be so easily known by thnse whom
nee, did not act with the same precaution, and in con- they might affect, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer
sequence penalties amounting to more than £101),000 seemed to think ; as he had just had a paper put into
were incurred. The witness examined as to the tact, his hand, which bad been issued by the Right Ho-
hid, after stating the circumstances of the case, dis- t nourable Geralemau himself, which was liable to be
tinctly admitted that he got them printed for the very affected by the provisions of the Act, and it was pro-
purpose of giving information of the law having beets bable that he had incurred the penalties imposed by
violated. What was the consequence of all this ? the Act in a thrtisand different ways.
The Mag;serate, not being impowered by the Act to Mr. MARTIN made a further observation on the
exerose his own discretion in the case, and the party i responsibility of the pamphlet printer over that of a
not being able to appeal at the Quarter Sessions, the newspaper. The former, in addition to the penalties
former to protect the individual, had himself been ; liable to be incurred by failing to observe the regula-
obliged to violate the law. Now after this, lie would t tions of the Act, was liable to be prosecuted for a
ask, if some alteration ought not to be made, and if I libel, if the hand bills or pamphlets lie published con-
such was the situation in which a Magistrate ought to! tained one. Leave was given to bring in the Bill.
be placed ? Another person, who had been anxious Olt NiAl .16 EX-OFFICIO.
to conform to the provisions of the Act of Parliament, I LOrd FOLKESTONE called the attention of the
had incurred a penalty by the omission of a single word. j House, and said, he had found considerable difficelty
Proposals had been issued respecting the publication in selecting a day on which he could* bring forward
of some new military work. The person employed ; his motion, the subject of Informations ex Vida—
on this occasion had put his name, and place of abode,', This, lie remarked, was' attributable to the imprudent
Prternoeter.row," but he had inadvertently omitted regulation which had recently been made, from which
the word " London." Shortly atter, as the Act re- , the most considerable inconveniences would at all
ouired the name of the town as well as the street, the times be found to arise. The Solicitor-General having
printer haying issued Irons his press a thousand copies expressed a wish to be present at the discussion, and
of the article so question, was called up to Guilditall , as he was obliged to go the Welch Circuit on an early
to shew cause why he -should not pay the sum of day the next week, lie ( Lord Folkestone) was desirous
!CAW° far penaltienso incurred. Thesefactshe really ' of obliging him, and to that end would bring for-
thought, were almost enough to make it felt by every ward his motion on Friday, provided the Right Ho-
one, that some altgatiou oh the act was necessary. It nourable Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exche-
was true it might Wssed the evilshe complained of had goer) would have the precedence of the Orders of the
been subsequently counteracted, in some degree, by its Day, and suffer his Notice to come on first. If the
Act, passed to Indiminify persons suffering under the Right Honourable Gentleman would not agree to
operation of iv, ; but was this a system to be this proposition, his Lordship declared his intention
praised, whi&callleti for indemnity for those who had to bring the subject before the House on Thursday
violated the law ? Was it QM better to amend the act week.
than thus to come forward from time to time with a The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
Bill of Indemnity ? He would now state the case of an said, that tile consideration erf the Commercial Credit
individual who had been convicted of violating this Bill would come on on Thursday ; in duty to the
law,and castin penaltiesarnountingto £20,000, whose Public, therefore, he could not agree with the pro-
conduct had been as little objectionable as either of posal of the Noble Lord. He saw no objection, Iww.
those he • had already mentioned. Some address ever, to the question being brought forward then.
had been published at Southampton by the bakers of Lord FOLKESTONE observed, that the Right
that place to the people of the town.-The Magistrates Honourable Gentleman must admit the impropriety
there, as in London, regulate the price of bread, on of calling the attentioa, of the House to so important
ill/meeting the proper. returns, ke. They had a subject at so late an hour of the night; he was us- •
dam' so at one occasion ; when the Bakers finding der the necessity' therefore, of defusing the subject,