The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-10-18 00:00:00

THE sTATEsMANI,

further es oath depose, tball-a Me thee previous tellM this I pition dr eireuliting an AddreSs at Olafigbw, be was
of Rir Francis Harden at Lelsostiv* the sane ettreato permitted to 'seeps% he could not help saying, by the
brought me a mannseript letter, Whittled. 'Frlyste, tuba-
really Intended to be sent to loran, mid desired me to iia,,, 1 connivance of tlidee who ought to have prevented him.
ill. which I did, end gave them to him. In the course of IHe thought be bad already stated enough to lay a
conversation I understood from him that they were to be
sent to the Jery who were to try Sir Francis Riirdett ; and t Law
. ground for Parliamentary interference. No Court of
could entertain the subject as it ought to be en-
afterwards saw by the newspaper reports that they were amid
for that purpose. I further depose, that on the Stith of Jule, termite. lie would submit, in the first instance, that
Intik the MUM person brought use the manuscript of anothivt they ght to have Sir R. Baker called before them.
innammatore bill, drawing the attention of the public to the It was not the first time that a Magistrate had been
Stnitheeld Meeting, which was to be held nett My, and
headed, 'To the acas-rept created; and I printed under his called to their Bar; for though no such case had oc-
direction, near 800 of this last bill, and gave then to him. And caned since he had the honour of a seat in that House
I further depose. that I have printed forthesame person many he knew that there wen iblstauces of the kind, and he
other iniammatory and seditious bills, and among others
four separate editions of hand-bills respecting the Quesles could see no possible oviiiirbaeonvenience that could
plate. and headed, 'Keil be to him who Eril thinks.' arise front it. Though fie irate aware that there were
And I further depose, that on many occasions when I ex- t some persons who would ridicule the idea of treason
pressed my reluctance to print such dangerous papers,
and my fear of prosecution, he told me 1 hart aothiny to committed against the people, be would tall upon that
House to defend the people against treason so corn-
apprehearl,for I should be perfectly safe if any dib-
covery took place, and he gave me to understand that he milted. It was their duty to do so, and they would
was officially employed by the Executive. Rut having be guilty of a breach of that duty if they refused is
some doubt of his assertion, I determined to watch him, and
also employ others to do the same, And on one occasion call the individual before them whose conduct he had
described. He had endeavoured, as shortly as poesi-
when he left my °Mee I saw him get into a hackney-I-track
whic:i I followed to Charing-eruss, where he got out, and We, to state the grounds on which he should move for
be afterwards entered two other coaches, and went bye yin the attendance of this Magistrate. If any Hon. Mem-
circuitous route to Downing-street, and I watched him into her
a large house next to the sentry-but, I waited until he could suggest a better mode of proceeding, he MIS
came out again, which was nearly two hours, and I then not so pertinaciously attached to his own motion as to
traced him to the house of Mr. Denis O'llryen, in craven- I refuse to alter it ; but he should now conclnde with
street, Strand. And I further depose that I have discovered
tbe said person who so employed me to be Mr. WW. Fletcher. movie —" That Sir Robert Baker, the Chief Magis-
trate of Bow-street Office, should be ordered to attend
otherwise Franklin.
at the Bar of the House, in order to be examined with
respect to his conduct in liberating Franklin, alias
Forbes, alias Fletcher, without bail."
Lord CASTLEllltaila declared, that lie was quite asto-
nished at the magi°n with shit+ the Honourable Mem-
ber concluded, as it was so incommensurate with the
opening of his speech. But that motion itself was of a
surprising character. For he believed it was the first
time that an application was made to that House in the
tint instance to take cognisance of the irregularity of
any Magistrate, the usual way being to make an appli-
carton to the Court of King's Bench. Bat es to the
opening of the Honourable Member's speech, he dis-
tinctly charged the existeoce of a conspiracy for the pur-
pose of fabricating and circulating seditious and tree-
gonable publications, of which he alleged that lit-
Majesty's Ministers formed a party. What! that the
Ministers should become a party to a ronfeler icy too
exciting discontent, fur promoting sedition, for con-
triving the means of endangering the security of the
tioverptuent, and of the Constitution of the country,
in:rely with a view to defeat an endeavour to pro-
cure a service of plate for the Queen? There was
not sorely such a lack of hubris in the country
at td render the assistance of nov..roonient tiecilmiry to
the mtinnfacture of such articles. Bet if Ministers wet.
parliesk to the conspiracy which the Honourable Member
alleged to esist, bow dismally must they hare proceeded
accordinF to his description. They, indeed, if the Hon.
Member a information were correct, lied selected an
agent for the advancement of their end, who must neces-
sarily have been brought into public view ; for, as that
Honourable Gentleman hail stated, Franklin, to ho had
absconded, was the confidential friend of Ministers, with
whom he dined on the one day, while on the other lie was
found in a carriagawith a usultitilde of seditious placards,
arcomPanied by afterson almost without clothes, and who
was employed to distribute these placarda iu such an its-
tentati“ master, that detection could sot be escaped.
Ile assured the Honourable Member, that he fully concur-
red Militia in thinking, that if any one connected with
Goveronffint mould take any part in such a conspiracy, as I
he charged to raise, either as a principal or as an agent,
such pencil should be consigned to uuiversal execration
and contempt. The publications bore upon the face of them
inch flagrant guilt, that be thought then; not unlikely to
proceed from some Radical Committee, so peculiarly cal-
culated were they to favour the views of such a Commit-
tee, and so congenial were they with that abominable
system which bad brought this conntry to the verge of
a national convulsion.—(Hear, hear.)—Miniaters then. if
they had promoted such publications, must in their wis-
dom have determined to second the views of the Radi-
cals; for such publications were those which the Nadi-
eats most naturally desire to circulate. But could any
one of common sense or common justice suppose Minis-
ters guilty of lending their aid to such an infernal pur-
pose? ill a conspiracy existed as the Honourable Mem-
ber charged, for the charge of conspiracy was the
fashionable cant of the present day--(t ',ln of hear, hear,
from both Ades of the House),--would any man, whose
mind was regulated by the principles of justice and the
laws of the land, determine that instead of carrying the
charge before tee ordinary and regular tribiinal, an
inquiry should be instituted to that House, upon so grave
a question, in the way proposed by the Honourable
Member? Upon what ground was the Honourable
Memlier's application made to that House ? Why, upon
the affidavits of persons who depose that they were ac-
quainted with the existence and progress of the aneged
conspiracy time the month of April.
Mr. liens said, No, from September last.
Lord Cairmaaason maintained, that affidavits were
produced by the Honourable Member from persons u ho
stated that they bad a knowledge of the proceedings of
this alleged conspiracy since ISIS, when the placard
referring to Sir Francis Burdett was promulgated during
the Westibinster Election. Did the llooourable Gentle-
man then really mean, that persons who were so long in
possession of the character and condnrt of this plot,
without making, until very lately, any disclosure upon
the subject, were entitled to the credit which he appeared
to assume t If upon such grounds any proceesing was
founded, it was scarcely possible to imagine into what
awkward situations the Man might be occasionally
led. It meat, indeed, suggest itself to any one ac-
quainted with the laws of the ronntry, that that House
was not the re*per place for such an inquiry as the
Honourable Member desired to institute. Having said
so much as to the folly and absurdity of the cisirse
which the Honourable Member proposeti, with regard to
a case already in a ronrite of legal proceediug— .
Mr. Helix asked o Where?"
Lord Cssmenrants replied, that a warrant had lino
granted for the apprehension of Franklin, and, if po-
lice shonlil not appear to he duly silininistered, it would
then be thus esough to can upon that House to inter-
fere. Hot, with restmet to the case of Franklin, he
would now state to the House an outline of what he iiii-
derstood to be the particulars of that case, and what re-
mained. other Hentlemen were here, f oh.ito he ob-
tained his information, would he ready to supple. It
was only this day that he was aware of 'the intention to
bring the case before the House, and feeling it his dory
to make every intoiry which the time afforded, he ohs
Wised all the information in his power upon the subj
But first he would assure the Hon. Member that antic
thisviree hernight.ohrepokrhoic knew nothing
thgwrohugatehreir of Franklin, me
that he meld make the same assurance twnoen:t,llPatigePthrtrs'ar it part
all his tMlleagues, After saving skis, he thought
neclisary to deny the convivial part of the lloomorahlll
Meinher's charge (a laugh, and hear! on the Initiated
Benches.) With respect to the other parts of the dews
he conl4 sad*. 4littan the authority of the Name print,
meat, what hall ettelormd npon the snhject: A warilflif
was grante.i, for the apprehousloa of Prat/lAm by
Miesholl, the ham iraitistrate. spin as allidarit •
Mr. Pearson. Irldclaallidatit certainly atatalnel: IA

"ARTHUR SF,II,E.
" Sworn before me, at the Justice Room. Sundial',
London, the lith day of Oct. Isit:o, Nl. Wood."
That a line was sufficient to shew the importance of di--
cowering the Individual, of whom he was afruld tlint the
Some Office knew more than they ought. The newt 11.)ett-
mem to as Writhe would call their attention was the following.
addressed to the Non-reprrsented, dated, the Silt of Jul),
11119:

I

~.

I

I I

loose charge* against the accused. Franklin was;
Teti aititirt
even arrested, and upon his arrest was carried he .
Mr. Birnie, to whom application was nisi, for his
lease. But the ground of the application being ti
unsatisfactory by Mr. Birnie, with whotu he (Lord •
b)thheadaplipadlicnaotesiopnpowrtasunriteyfuose.fen
jest,
taken to the house of Sir Robt. Raker, in Berner's-ow:
The Hon. Meagher, in the sanruine manner in which
he
coloured the case, and in his zeal to connect leis
ty's Ministers n ith the transaction, he had asked h"
it could Isere been known so soon in the liome-offirel_
He (Lord Castlereagh) was not now going to speak
Sir Robert Baker, or to judge of his conduct. lle ka.ir
hint not but by sight; but from his Noble Friend at tla
Lead of the Home Department he learnt that a more
nonrable cuss, or more distinguished individual for Pt
lit)] in his office, could not be named. Sir Robert Baker,
in his exercise of that sort of feeling which could be it,.
dnlged when there was reason to rely on the testimoti
of a respectable individual, had lilierated him, This
was not till five o'clock is the evening of Suuday. k.
formation was not received at the Home office from Sir
Robert Raker, who had bailed him, but from Mr. Ilin.
shull, who came to inquire whether any steps coti!d be
taken for arresting the individual in questi.in at th., oat.
ports. Therefore, it was Mr. not Pearson who tire rtzge.i.
ed that the Howe-once should take some steps, b4t Mr.
Minshull, who arrived to consider whether steps ruthtl
be taken to remedy any evil that might arise from Sir
Robert Baker's conduct. Therefore, he hoped he jiij
satisfied the House that the liotne-office hall no• h,„.4
of the transaction antecedently to Sir Ruben itahees
liberation of Franklin. The character of Sir heart
Baker was too high, as he understood, to Le seslied,;
of being a party to any fraud. Therefore, all no.i in 0.
the Houle-office having connived at the liberation ot.
this person was removed, for it had become knot',
only at the Home-office next day, anti front Mr.
Afterwards it was submitted to Lord Sithoouth that it
would be better to issue an order fur closing the on:-
ports. The application, as he utile:stood it, was not a
regular retrest of a proclamation for the apprehension
of the individual accused, but for au order t, stop hint
at the out-ports. Now the House would be aware, that
*itch orders were never issuerd but upon very impottant
occasions, in eases of treason or felony ; and it was
most essential *the iiherty of the subject that such on-
tiers should most cautiously he issued; fur, as sure as the
Secretary of State issued his Sarraut for stopping Mr.
A, Mr. fi, or Mr. Franklin, so sure it haPpened that '2U
Mr. Franklin*, no matter of what cies*, er from shat
distant part of the country, were apprehended and
brought to town. lie would put a ease to the candour
of the Hon. Bent. (Mr. Hume). If the thing had been
the other way ; if the offender, instead of being a sup-
posed friend to government, had been an apostle of li-
berty ; and if Lord Sidmouth, then, determined to
panne* upon his prey, had issued such an order, what
would have been said ? Why the Host. Members oppo.
site had attacked Lord SiJmouth's circular letter, merely
authorizing the taking bail under such circumstances;
the mere demand of bail was a heavy offence ia the eves
of those gentlemen. If Lord Sidusuuth had Istned the
order applied for, and if, is consequence of that order,
twenty individuals had been arrested, the House windt
have had motion after motion, 'complaining of the act;
and motions, he believed,of a far more formidable nature
than that which the Honourable Member had submitted
to their attention. After all, what was the natnre of
the offence, Is it appeared in the warrant?? He had in his
hand the adidarit of Mr. Pearson, upon w hid, the war-
rant had been issued; and be would sae, that Mr. Min-
shall bad pushed the exercise of his authority, as a magis-
trate, quite as far as the law would bear Lim out, is is-
suing a warrant at all upon such an information. There
was no such word as treason or felony in any part of
the affidavit. There was indeed the weird" treasonably"
mixed up with the word "sedition ;" but that the of.
fence, as it stood, was 'bailable offence, was clear, because
the whole charge against Sir Robert Baker was, that Le
had not regularly retptired bail. It was hardly necessary to
trouble the house with reading the papers, because all
Mr. Pearson had sworn was, that lie had reason to be-
lieve (upon grounds which he did not deign to describe)
that the person who had delivered the placards to the
boy was a person named Franklin, but whose Christian
name he did nut know. tie (Lord Castlereagh) bad no
designito lessen the weight, the magnitude, of the charge;
the act imputed was an act equally profligate and tad;
but he did think that, under the circumstances, Lord