The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-09-21 00:00:00

np 111 R mimic OP THE sr.irEsMAN. f
• To dead no eye. dad to fear no tongue, la the 'rent
t *tr.•evil? of Innoeonve."—JowNws.

Car,— imong‘t the varinns avocations of a proles.
s r.. 11 life, whirls have beets occasionally extended into
• eels. of rank and fashion, a nerpssity has devolved
on me ninre than onee, to examine on the behalf
.• livittuals of the highest distinction, in:u circtim-
t t..twes of atrocious calumnies, invented and props-
i..:ted by servants who laid been in their domestic cm-
1. toy. and as I have nniformlv found such calumnies
t.) originate in malignity, I am the less tlisp srJ to
r. tfer my mind to receive as truth. the asse%erations
• the witnesses against the Queen. On the contrary,
▪ lam fully ronvinced that fear is the root. 'taut of
irr i!t, I have no hesitation ial believing their testimony
: fur had her 3lajesty beets conseions of crimitsa-
11.v, she would sever have hail the intrepidity its con-
t.. ,at her *censers, anal this circumstance alone. to a '
a decti 114 mind, carries rinsir evidence of innocence,
tut which is susceptible of confirnirtiou by the Phut-
inr,reservol, and prevaricating evidence of witste.er,
ur,yed to misrepresent actions, by the strongest incen-
tive.. namely, avarice. •
•

The gttilt or innocence of her blaje.ty u ill. however,
soon be determined by the judgment of the Peer.: awl
it is, should he considered criminal, the Hill of Pains
and Penaltir. will proceed.

If I mistake, not the last Bills of Pain. and Pe-
allies ware paPsed almost inunediately on the acres-
si.in of the present Royal Family to the throne, ait,l
in the second session of the septennial parliament.
1 he observations of sonic of the Lords on those occa-
sions, are so necessary to be considered at the present
• .
s.
ell's, that I cannot forbear submitting than
to the
limier of your readers.

The lint Bill wai cirlinst tinny.. Krlly for eunepi.
y, against which thirty-Eight Peers :Haile the lA-
-1, ning protest :

• Peraiise we conceive that by the rules of natural
to-mice, laws ought to be first made as directions fur
men's actions and obedience, awl punishment
by priming those laws in execution against
otesrolers, and that therefore punishing by a law made
:,:ter the offence committed, is not agreeable to reason
wt jnstiee, except only in the case of real and apparent
necessity, to prevent the immediate ruin of a got ern-
now. which we do not think can be the present ease.
or can bear any resemblance to it.
Because the proceedings of the fegislathe rover in
making laws, can be governed by no rule but that of
their own discretion and power, and therefore the
mil:in! laws to inflict pains and penalties on parties.
lir persons, must, as we conceive, tend to expose the
liberties and properties of the subjects to an arbitrary
dineretion, and consequently render them precarious iu
the' enjoyment of those blessings, which by our excel-'
lent constitution and government they have always
had an uncontrolable right to hold and enjoy till fur-
felted for some crime, and the person offending legally
vonvicted there'd upon such full and positive proof as.
the laws of the kingdom do require.
On the 6th of May 1;13, the Bishop of Rochester
was brought to the bar of the Lords' House, to make
his defence against the Bill to inflict remain pains and
penalties against him for a conspiracy against the
state, grounded chiefly upon the constrwtion of some
letters written in cyphers, from which inferences of
trassonable nature were endeavoured to be deduced.
'Phis Prelate was sacrificed to the views of a party, and
amongst other disgraceful insults got robsked by the
Chancellor, for asking a witness against him
Lebo had been his (the Bisimp's) coachman, 44 what
reward he bad received, or been promised, to depose
&against his master."
In the debate on the hill, the Bishop of ffalishury
ir. *twos: of it, contended, that as extraordinary
diseases require extraordinary remedies, to in eases of
e:trente dearer and Pseerssiip, when the eery 64img uj
tie state lies at stake, if the common law cannot reach
g.ewt offesdera, the legislature ought to exert itself.
/le Bishop of Chester argued against the Bill, that
etrraordinary proceedings would only be recurred to
when they were evidently necessary fur the perm/en-
twine the state.

Lord Bathurst shrewdly animadverted on the majo-
i":: of the venerable bench of Bishops, towards
tr!:i.•11 turning himself, he said hr could hardly account
f r the inveterate hatred and malice some persons
ha-e the learned and ingenious prisoner. unless it was
tt at they were intoxicated with the infatnation of
...;:ne of the wild hold:mg, who fondly believed they
✓ !flirt. not only the spoils, but even the atilitira, of
4-) great enemy they kill.
'flie Duke of Wharton opposed the Bill, observing,
tt 3t if this Bill pa•s into a law, such evidence is
established, and such a method of proceeding intro-
sicced, as must effectually render all that is dear to as
precarious; awe, if ever hereafter, we should see a
wicked administration supported by a corrupt majo-
✓'iy in Parliament, this step taken, in these times of
liberty. will he a sufficient precedent to give a colour
vt 3ustice to the actions of those who should be wanton
Lord Cowper thought sitch a Bill ought never to
be allowed but when the offender flies from justice,
st, is in open rebellion, and, then perhaps the notoriety
v" the fart 'alight be some excuse fur the extraordi-
e 3•infai of the proceeding.
bly Lords (he said, and the words deserve to be
*rine!! it. letters of gold) the wisdom and goodness
of the law appear in nothing more remarkably than
iu the perspicuity, certainty, and clearness of the evi-
dence it requires, to 6x a crime upon any man, where-
bi his life, hts liberty, or his property may be eon-
cerned ; herein we glory and pride ourselves, and are
justiy the envy of all oar neighbour nations. Our
law,-in such cases, requires evidence so clear and con-
vincing, that every.by-staudm the instant he bears
it. roust be fully sniisfied of the truth of it ; it admits
of no surmises, innaadoes, forced consequence% et
Lush cluntructionv, nor any tiling else to, 4111loodi
as evidence, but *rims is real and substantial. rupee'.
ing to the rules of natural justice and NAO. '
But, my igfikier,the course of this,delsate, Laths
li:•eu irg tborc be nut legal
'video& against the Bishop, yet that Atari:9los
circtinistannel ILA lave been life
L are sitilicient 1 eunvince any man. tR lits pticald
judgment, that thillishop is guilty. say.
beet, said. that these circumstances rut tifgrther,* fire