The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-02-20 00:00:00

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for which the Noble Lord moved, that would net •
contain more matter than the whole Retsort of
the Committee of Ingeiry on the Scheldt kapall-
tion ; so that while these immense pan
of in-
formation remained unread, from the obsturestbsolt'
of the Noble Lord, the characters of publlC
whom he had so violently aspersed, would labour
I wider, the galling effects of his unprecedented at-
tack., If he understood the-Noble Lartiright, he
did not mean to pledge .himself that the 'Pa.
'pers for which lie had 'moved, Mould convict
.the 'IWO of the A.dmiralty.Court, or any other
person of the fool charge of corruption. But if
the Papers were refused, in all prubability their
non-production would be quoted as a reason. for
his Lordship being precluded from making good
his assertions. It was not ten much to expect- that a
person, standing forward as an accuser in that
House, should at least be able to state the grounds
of his complaint in a satisfactory manner to' the
House. Su far from this being the case with
, the Noble Lord, however, he had nut stated the
roam of a single person, and had even confessed
I ho had not time to examine into the papers which
would be necessary to bear him out in the attack.
The House ought at all times to respect the li..
berty of speech ;. but the speech of the Noble
Lord was completely an abuse of that liberty.
He had got or, and in the most unqualified
manner attacked thecharacters of individuals, dc.
daring at the same time that he had not e*.
milled the sources wbich were to validate his
accusations. The Noble Lord was an officer of
infinite merit, and possessed of all those qualifica-
tions which were calculated to render him an or-
nament to the Navy of England ; hilt it would be
much more to his credit and honour, that ho
should be distinguished for his success as a novel
character, than have the Editors of Newspapers
reporting speech of the twin%) he had just deli-
vered. The Hun, Gentleman Concluded' by de.
daring his sincere belief that the pamphlet from
which the Noble Lord had gleaned so much infor-
mation, is, in all respects, a combination of un.
'founded assertions. He did hope the Noble Lord
would limit his Motion to such papers as clink! be
easily produced to the order of the House • and
on their production, he had not the most distant
doubt they would defend the- characters of those
persona, whose honour and integrity had hitherto
stood unimpeached.
Sir CHARLES POLE said, that amongst the
charges promulgated in the book alluded to by the
Hon. Gentleman on. the opposite side of the
House, it was positively asserted that 30 per cent.
was charged for the condemnation of a prize ; and
also, that an officer commanding a frigate, who
had taken a prize, and who had objected to pay
this exorbitant demand, was told by the Proctor,
if he "did not pay the Sum demanded,
.the ship
would be considered as a Druit of Admiralty to
the King. When such charges as these went forth,
it was highly important, to the interests 'of the
public,' that they sheuld be inquired into. The
King's Proctor, in.tbo case of Copenhagen, was
first employed by the Captors, .who. had sent in
, 200 Sail of merchant vessels to the ports of Eng.
land, previous to the commencement of hostilities,
and in order to enable him to prove that the ships
bdo&ged to the euttuy, all the necessary papers
were transmitted. In the course or a few daps.
however, hostilities commenced, and the property
was declared to belong to the Daties,-aed in the
course of three days, was given by the Admiralty
Court to the King as a Droit. Under such con).
'skated circumstances, the argument that. only
one Proctor ahonld be employed, was ridiculous,
as one man would be advocating the cause of two
individuals, of opposite interests, at the' same
:.time. He hoped the Noble Lord would persevere
In moving for the papers, but confine himself as
much as possible to those documents which were
most easily furnished, and moat likely to attain
the object he had iu view.
Mr. ROSE said, the Noble Lord.' had moved
for an account of all the ships sf • the convoy,
whereas if he would confine himself to one, it
would answer the same purpose, and bo brought
forvard with gicater facility. .
. Sir JOHN NICHOLL, observed, that-in the
pamphlet which had been publishedland to
.which
some allusion had been made in the course of ,the
debate, there were one or two circumstances which
he could not pass over in siknce. It Was stated that
the emolument of the.Kiog's Advocate amorist.
ed to from twenty-five to,thirty thousand peuedi
per annum. Such insinuations as those might be
attended with the most serious effect, and tend to
create dissatisfaction in the 'Navy itself, the last
quarter in the world where w,feeling discos.
tent should arise, A similar statement found its
way into a public newspaper, whielViikvafter..
wards corrected-by a paragrapht.stating that front
uoquestionable authority, they were informed the
,:locume of the King's Advocate did not amount to
7-More than 75001. and even this did_ -not arisi from
the Navy solely, but from other sourats—tif
ployment. The book therefore in this respect
was a gross Misrepresentation, and it might be
collected from this fact, that the same misreprd.
sentartfuns might be attributed to every other stabs."
ment. With respect to the fee; of the Proctor;
'they were lowe'r now than during the American
war, notwithstandin; the value of, money was ie
.much diminished. The conduct of the Lasses
lPructor was, at all times, most honourable, and
marked by the strictest adherence .to justice and
equity. -The Noble Lord should recollect that lu
throwing out lose accusations, he was in 'fact ie.
luring his own reputation i he should have ex.
'mined with the utmost circumspection the grounds
01his complaint before be made such insinuations.
The Hon. Gentlemen concluded by expressing an
anxious hope, the' however strong the invectives
used by the Noble Lord might bee they would ,
not make any prejudicial impression on the minds
of „Members .0( that Howe, or create any inni-
dioirsvpinion aotemst him phase esindiset4ma
therte Weld them up, as perscois tletervinetnieec. '
sal admiration and respect. . •
Loyd' .00C111R AN E in reply soil, that his
Motion did not tidgitsate in the j(th 014 which
had liven btiSated IN as it would be ia !bp
.re-
collection of Gentlemen, filet he pre menace
41144 halt alien of fitrtis*OSS .0( kis 111199.•

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