The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-12-25 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS. Dtc.24.

The House went to the House of Peers, in conseqneoce
of the Commission, at half past two o'clock.
A new Writ was ordered for Dartmouth, in the room
of A. H. Holdsworth, Esq. who has accepted the Chil-
tern Hundreds.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQI*ER moored
the Order of the Pay for the Committee of Supply ; and
said, that as It was not his intention to propose any
asocial measures for some time, he should move nixed.*
House resolve into this Committee, on the 16:b Febru-
ary.—Agreed to.
The Committee of Ways and Means was postponed to
the same dar.
Lord A. HAMILTON presented a Petition from the
Burgh of Loebmaber, for Burgh Reform.

LIBEL BILL.

Lord C.ISTLEREAGH moved the third reading of
the Libel Bill.
Sir R. WILSON said, he could not suffer the Bill to
pass without entering his protest against it as a measure
calculated, under the pretence of pouing down radical
reform, to enslave the country.. Ile was convinced, with
whatever motive this Bill originated, that it would be
necessary, to carry this mischievous system into effect, to
make the Dill still more severe than it was even before
it received the modifications. which had been adopted in
consequence of the opposition it Mad met with. In the
name of the people of England he protested against this
measure—not the people whom a Right Hon. tieutleman
described as stripped of every thing which ornamented
mankind, but that English people of whom • British
King declared emphatically to Sir W. Temple, he wished
only to be the first man ; a people, to belong to whom,
while they retained tbrirfrerdom, was the greatest glory.
It would be seen in the recess, whether the people were
willing to support an Administration which would not
govern according to the old laws, or one which would
strengthen those laws, by roformiag that House, which,
at the time it had passed a 1a0..t0 banish every man who
published any thing. leading to bring it into contempt,
had not adopted a single measure calculated to concili-
ate its esteem.
Sir H. PARNELL adverted to the state in which Ire-
land would be after this Bill. Some rears ago a Bill
passed, allowing the Colomissioners o(Stamps to with-
hold stamps from any newspaper in which two seditious
libels had been published. This was a peat hardship,
as it might happea to soy newspaper without any cri-
minality on the part of the proprietor. In Ireland, too,
every small printed paper even a play-bill, was subjected
to a stamp duty of id: He hoped the Noble Lord avoid
take dm matter into Ids consideration, sad see the pro-
priety of assimilating the laws of Ireland in this respect
to those of this country.
The Bill was read • third time and passed.
ADJOURNMENT.—GRAMPOUND.
Lord CASTLEREAOH said it might be convenient
for him now to state what he intended to propose on the
subject of tin adjournment. He had, in answer to a pies.
don pet to him tie other day, said that he shook, propose
to adjourn from the nth inst. to the eth sr 10thorfre
b.
He now found it would be more eoevoniost to adjourn
till the 15th of Feb. He wished at this ateaseat. is avoid
miseadentaadiac to call the atteatloa of the Bowe to
the Bill, which bare had beta eves to a Noble Lord
not la the Hewn (Lord. J. Blwooli) to bring in, respect-
!le g the Bareagh of tiremposad. Leave was given in
forme cases to bring in • Bill torrent Bribery to the

Mr. IRVING said, a Petition had been put late his
Lords, signed by a oupsher of 'respectable persons, Her.
ONO and Traders in the City of London, whose object
,asums BSI to NH the attention of the House to the commercial
lithe country. These persons approached the
IliMilfiellivo factious views. They did not desire to
kllidlittieltia, or interrupt the course which Parliament
Mlglitenire to take on ether questions, sad they were
the WSW oonvinced that Ministers would sot be haat- ,
leads* to titsir requests, because they bad made efforts I
lately to meet the wishes expressed in the Petition of
I another respectable trading body (the Booksellers).—
They
thought they bad a right to expect that Perlis-
ant sell the Ministers would examine into the causes
Aces *Melt the distress had arisen. He bad no untrue-1
hes to state by what measures the Petitioners imagined
that relief world be found. On his own part be sag-
that in the cowry, of an inquiry, the attendee a
House would be probably called to that system Om
elhiodon and restraint, which, though it might have
bees advisable in time of war, was hardly desirable to
he coudimed in a time of pence.—(Hear, hear !)—He
ton, they might look for some benefit to the
of the country by an extension of the trade in
tie n World, and that even under the article of
the Rost India Company's Charter, some arrangements
might be made in favour of oar shipping interest. lie
&Boded to the trade between China and the Continent of
Europe, in which the India Company took no interest,
and which was now entirely carried em mime the Ame-
rican lag. He believed it would be Ilissdb Iwo OM the
cheers In the earrency el' the emmisp Atithowis agile
chief causes of the evils that were felt mom all sinters
of the community. Bat he entirely eipteed on thisenb-
ject with the Horse, that it was not now wise to retinue
the steps that had been take.. A fit object of lucky,
however. was whether the several stages of the Meth
to CAA payments could be modified ? He Minded poi&
cularly to the bullion payments, and to the greeds*
which had been started, whether the price fixed for bed-1
lion in the first payment shonlil not continue during the
whole time of the preparatory transaction? It should
be lequired also, whether payments in silver might not
answer all purposes as well as gold ? He had no fear,
however, that gold or silver would be applied for. There
was nothing in our foreign relations that induced him to
.chend it. Bat fears on these subjects ont.ran facts.
The prudent, the cautions, or the timid, were afraid that
the system might burst on them, and their efforts to
.asmpe apprehended evils, was one great canoe of the real
distress of the country. He did not think aII ommitter
of Inquiry would finsrmuch ground for expecting relief
from the proposals of his lion. Friend, the Member for
Portarlington. An inquiry into the Corn Laws, on the
principle recommended by his lime. itriend, wo Oil only,
in his opinion, bring the agricultural into the state if
the commercial interest.. Neither did he expect mar*
from inquiries into the Poors' Laws or Taxation • still
less from the proposal for paying off the National Debt.
These. however, were speedy suggestions on his part,
without communication with the Petitioners. lie hoped,
in the course of the adjournment, the Ministers, and
particularly a Right Hun. Gentleman in Isis eve (Mr.
Robinson we believe), would inquire lute the naive% of
the Petition.

- .....
The Petition was brought op and read. It contained
oily a short reference to the elates, and want of con-
fidence in the commercial world, sod prayed the House
to give the subject its serious attention, (or which they
had no doubt they would Sod remedies.
Mr. °RESPELL said, be could not see any practical
end that was openly proposed by the Petitioners, but
he bad reason to complain that they, havinz, as they
seemed to think, a remedy I. view for the distress of
the country, allowed the House to sit for a mouth, and
afterwards to determine on an adjournment, without
coming forward.--(flear!)--When he heard last night
that a Petition, purporting to come from the Merchants
and Traders of Loadon, had bees put into the handl, of
an Honourable Member, be was very much surprised, as
he bad passed the greatest part of Wednesday and
Thursday in the City in company of merchants and
bankers, 'without once hearing of it. However. he made
it his business to go lab the city specially to inquire
respecting the Petition this dal, and be inquired of a
great many snerelsaats and bankers, but except two or
three who had signed. and see who had been applied to
to sign, no one had beard a Word of it. lie should
begin with the parses who bad Mee applied to. This
was a Russia merchant of the bet selionsey, and he had
been applied to by larked, who begged ben to go to a
certain Tavern, where this Perkin was lying, to sign
it. He asked what was Ohs object ? " Oh." said the
"it cease trete lise Ober end of the town—from
Lied Owderesgls." Tito Ilse. Member for Shrewsbury
(Mr. limit) had sole (he said) a notion, partly OW-
cal Nei pee* se tbe distress of country. and Lord Cas-
tlereagh bad ablosted to it, bat said, that if an inquiry
had bees pespnoadeneoly hits the distress of the country,
it ebeskilavio his seippert. Theobject was to present
a Petition solely diseilisd to the latter purpose. His
Mead sell. dint if the Pillage cause fret. Lord Castle-
reagh. or ail Miskier. be should have nothing to do
with it--and be was right. He thee applied to a lino

4 roe
Bate*
oldee
'le sive,' •
, fieranse.
thoegb
coasts do
apiil.esl.
saying.
Iletaan, wit v
and
lie t. -
.ilO thosg'.!
oftwhat might
kaillgeed it,
, particularly it
net-aiming me-
an was only tie he
signed it ;
the Petition of the
Honourable
eon-
trade, ha
the end or
w umirdet
the Marry
I this reti-
-.. ems Deco cramped
in
their erendations in the Funds, or in their orer-trailing.
which was a hpecies of gambling, by the measure, for
restoriag the currency to a sound state. They hail ale.
bees aware that they had lost in public confidence by
the opinions of other men having been adopted by the
general opinion of the country, and they were nee en-
deavouring to excite an alarm, and to induce PaCiA.
meat to return to a system that had half ruined 1,1-
country.
Mr. IRVING said, he knew much less of the I t ••
endings is the city daring the last two or thr. r
than the Hon. Gentleman. lie had had Ile intercour:e
with the Petitioners, bat had been only reqnesteil bs
them to present the Petition to the House. But he saw
IMMO Axed to it as respectable as that of the lioa
Megibor himself. The majority was composed of t! •
SIM respectable names in the commercial world—and if
amtall in number (though coasidering the short tinie it
W been in agitation, he was surprised to see so stein;
',erectable flannel, it contained a body. of lifeitil
semsideration which demanded attention f tl.,t
Mease. They called fur tin specific enactment., and hi ,
in mentioning some consideratioas that occurred to List,
self, bad expressly stated that he was not instractial
I state thou, but that they were entirely suggesting.
his own. As to a subject referred to liv the Hue. Gee •
tleman (the resumption of cash payments), Le etude:az—
' that however mush he had differed from others. oat ~.
to the result, bet as to the means to hr taken to inoi,••
it, be should now lie most unwilling to disturb tiir a •
Wing enactments; because (chiedv) the country hail d-
read/ suffered a great part of the ineonreniences which
mold result from that measure. By the advocates of the
law that end was to be reached by privation. which lie
itsd oemeeivest might Le attained lip a eostrested rive-
r:why. Ile would say, it was his must deliberate and
&dried conviction, that a great part of the evils whi.di
h;.d &Milled all classes in the country. hail been 014 big
to the are: pores talon respecting the currency ; and
though the subject had not been the study of his life, lie
would, if the question CATO again to be discussed, not be
afraid to meet either the Hon. Gentleman sir any of lap
disciples in argument; and lie felt, that in oppoiing the
Hon. Gentleman, he should he supported by for opinion
of the country. With respect to the private letter amt
personal connounicatioas with some who bad signed.
mid with others who had declined to sign this Petitam.
to which the lion. Meutber hail thought proper to reel.
with a view to cast reflections upon die character of tile
Petition. lie must say, that .411111 P reproof was due to
those from whom letters and roniumnications came.
Ile had, hr felt, said quite enough to pa evrut any u:M
impression from being made upon the Ileuse by the re-
presentations of the than. Member, or by that r:diea! •
or levity which he had thotie•lit prim r to introilere von
this sidtject. Bat he con!al not help adding, that !Le
lion. Member's levity was retrentely misplaced on te•
occasion. A question indeed, iniolcieg. the consider
Lion of the mercantile and manufacturing intereiss of
the country, was of too grave and important a ns• :re to
be mixed with any thing like levity. Bet there • ere
many observations addressed to the Goose lay the Heim
Member, upon this occasion, which, however meth lie
differed from humans,' escceially u• on a certain quest:on
(the Bullion, we uniler.toe.l), lie by no means expect.t.l
from him. With respect to the cilaject of she Petition
which he had hail the honour to present, lie motet' that
Ministers would feel the propriety of taking that aohirct
into their consideratiun, and founding some measure
upon it; but if not, lie bitpeti that Ilouse itstrif would,
immediately after the recess, institute a thorisech in-
vestigation npon the points to which the Petitiuuer
sought to draw its attention.
Mr. f. SallTll,ailveWng to the animadversione of the
line. Member for Marlow, upon the character an I eb-
ject of this rtition' deciareit his conviction that no our
in that lton.• would be more min Wing than his lion.
Friend, to sue any thing disrespectful or unkind of any
man. Bnt Lis lion. Friend hail, in this instance, pr.;
seeded upon quite an erroneous notion ; for Coe petittun
before the Holier had. to his (Mr. S.'s) pereciatu keow-
ledge, originated with ogle of the most respectable mer-
chants in the City of lanition, who was not at all con-
cerned about the bullion tries:ion, or connected with any
over-speculation. The individual alluded to indeed, if
he were disposed to sneeulate. had funds of his own. am-
ply sufficient to carry into effect any extetit of s:. tale•
don to which he might he disposed. lint his lion.
Friend was Iwo; only mistakin in the motives and views
which he assigned fair this 'NB:ion. hut in the person to
whom he thought proper to ascribe its origiu ; for the
fact was, that the Noble Lord (Castlereagh.) had no
more to do with this petition titan his Hun. Fiiruil him-
self. The Gentleman with whom the petition originated.
and to whom he had before referred, called ut on hint on
Wednesday last to speak upon the subject, and byfure
that day lie had reason to bedeve the it:ea of such a /sit;
lion was not in the mind of any "seinen
Gentleman, indeed, seldom meddled with Nib
he bad any political bias, it certainly was tee
of Ministers. Hr could declare, that in ;he
We conversation with this 1 dent Tetuan, net one
Wawa about the bullion or the
a cash payment by the Batik. although the,
spas a variety of topics counected with the
cesutry. The fact was, that this tient:eisian is
carreace with himself, that the Co:anion of
ODOM and manufactures of the country night.
'Roiled into by that House. He sew with fen'
limo attempts made to produ.• such an inquiry

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