The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-07-18 00:00:00

THE STA'

lon, he wished to ask the Right Hos. Gentleman whirl
her Is had any huffis'', of the period at which thej
letter nu written. If it bore so remote• a date, that
would be • sufficient reason for the house passing it over
without tooth e.
Mr. GOUI,BURN said, that all the answer he mold
give to the Hon. ond*Learned Oentleman was, that he
had seen nothing in the letter, either in the 'sunroof its
contents, or in the manner of its publication : affording
ground upon which he Mould have been justified in call-
ing upon the Gentleman whose name it bore for any ex-
planation. He was not now ronnected la any way with
the Government, and was therefore qot responsible is that
respect. The letter carried upon tfie face of it the proof
that it was not of recent date, and warranted the minds-
aion that it was addressed to a person, who, although
he had since become aif edge, was then in practice as a,
Barrister.
Sir 0. HILL wished to take this opportunity of asking
the Hon, and Learned Gentlemen, if he hail not received
a communication from a distinguished Roman Catholic
Gentleman, relating to the public notice of this letter.
Mr. BROUGHAM was at a loss to know by what
right the Hon. Baronet questioned him upon any com-
munication he might lvme held with any Gentleman.—
(Hoar, hear,)—whether distinguished or obscure, Re-
• • Catholic or Protestant. But if would gratify the
Hon.Barenet's curiosity—he would not stay his illaotli-
hie curiosity—he would tell him that be had held no
communication with any tine, direct or indirect, upon
the subject of this letter. He stated at the time when
hi first mentioned it, that he had no other knowledge of
the matter than his Wirier seen the letter,publishod
a public paper. He thee thought it indispensable that
it should cools under the notice of the house; but as
long as it had been confined to private circles be should
not have deemed such a coarse necessary.
Mr. R. MARTO" wished to say a few words upon
the Petition, which he considered to be one of very
great importance. He was most happy to hear bath
sides of the house join in reprobating these annual out-
rages, and he was particularly grateful to the Right
Hon. Gentleman for them i which belied spoken
of them. With regard to what bad been said Ilivbe
lion. Baronet (Sir G. Hill) as to the provocation arising
on both sides, be begged leave to give that a most eh-
qualified contradiction without meaning the slightest
disrespect.—(A laugh.)—He would in a very few words
convince the House that what be said upon this
subject must be the truth.—(A laugh.)—lt was chiefly
in the North of Ireland that these Orange Processions
were carried on, and there the mass of the inhabitants
were Protestants. The only object, therefore, was to
annoy and outrage the few Catholics who lived among
them. la the county which be had the honour to repre-
sent the proportion of the Catholic population to that of
the Protestants was as 50 or 60 to 1. Yet he bad never
beard a toast given that was offensive to the Protestants,
nor seen any thing done to hurt their feelings.—(hear,
bear.)
The Petition was ordered to be printed.
Mr. F. PALMER presented a Petition from the In-
habitants of Reading, in favour of tba Beer Bill. The
petitioners impressed a hope that his Honourable and
Learned Friend would persevere with his measure, even
though he should lose it is the present Session.
Mr. BROUtiIIAM.—" They need not be alaruMd."—
(A laugh.)
Mr. 510NCK presented Petitions from several bo-
hiss of Journeymen Mechanics to the same effect.
Upon the reading of the Petitions, the Clerk read as
follows:—" This is a Petition from the Journeymen
Shoemakers, from the Journeymen Bricklayers, from
the Weavers, from the Journeymen Tailors, and from a
Hugh Parsons." The last description of the petitioner
was generally understood in the house to be, " sad from
a few parsons." The mistake oussiooed shoats if
laughter.
Mr. SCARLETT presented a Petition from the Pub-
licans and Licensed Tictuallers of Peterborough against
the Beer Bill.

The Petition, with all the foregoing ones, presented
upon this subject, was ordered to be printed.
A Message from the Peers announced their Lord-
ships assent to the Small Notes Bill, and several
others.