The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-05-12 00:00:00

/ s_

MINDON :
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 1810.
At a late hour, we received Lisbon and 'Cadiz
Papers. They state the following curious fact,
in an article dated Almeida, April 15 :
`4 Certain. intelligence has been received here, that a
Uecree has arrived in Salamanca, by which all the French
General' who command in Spain are infornwd, that Iney
must nut expect any more money from France; but that they,
must raise in Spain all the money they stand in tired of, for
the subsistence of the troops, by contributions imposed on the
Spaniards."
It is also stated, that a large park of French
artillery is arri►ed at Salamanca, supposed to be
destined for operations against Portugal. •

ALDERMAN Sir CUARLES PRICE Aar consented

to call a Meeting of his Ward, the object of
which is to induce the Common Council of Lon_
due to present a Petition to thelouse of Como
mans, respecting the late proceedings.

+111011.....-

Tut Report of the Select Committee, a ppointed
to search for Precedents in the singular cave of
the proceedings of the House of Commons against
Sir FRANCIS BURDETT, was last night brought
up by Mr. 1). GIDDY. The first motion that was
made by this organ of the Committee, Mr. D.
Ginny, was,—That the Report do lie on the
'fable. We agree with Mr. GEORGE PONSONDY,
who wittily said—the Report lying on the table
was as indifferent to him as his hat lying there.
This. Commit tee of precedent.seekers Say—" They
66 had found, on the Journals of the House, in
•' numerous instances, that it was from the ear.
liest times of Parliament the uniform usage and
46 practice of that House to commit to. enstqffy
44 persorli offending against the mithorky of that
44 House: That these preec.ulents contained the law
of Parliament, ,and would prove that it had
" been the constant course of practice, both in
46 this and the other House of Parliament, to ex.
" erase this authority: but these precedents the
64 Committee begged leave to re,
" Report." -

Who denies that the nonce has
mit pers9,ns offending soainst
Who denies that the lio,use has

).

-

":"

alleges ? And
„who will not maintain these •
against any usurpation, at the hazard of his life ;
There was a question, when the friends of user.
pinion were at a loss how to get rid of inquiry
into the Puke of YORK'S conduct—there was
then a question, whether the military would not
have put an end to the Inquiry with fixed bayo:
I nets. What were then the feelings of the People
of England—of that People so calumniated, so
basely belied at this moment ? They were reedy—
' to hazard their all, their lives, for the authority
and privileges of the louse of Common
and, we believe, it was the manifestation of
this feeling of the Pcopt,e which put an end
to, and put to silence, the then question of the
euntrouling the authority, powers, and privileges
of the House, or any of them, by the bayonet,
It is not enough, therefore, for this select Coin.
mittce, or any body else, to toll us that the Muse
has been accustomed to commit persons offending
against its authority. If the Committee had any
thing to du at all, if its Report could he put out
of the description of its being nu more than a
hat lying on the table," it was quite necessary for
them to skew, by precedents from the Journals,
that. the House had the right to commit any
person speaking of them, or writing of them,
anywhere. There is no question of the House
having the right, as well as practibing the
custom, of' committing persons offending against
the authority of the House. The question
is, What its authority is ? and growing nut of
that,, 'What is an offence against its authority?
This is the question ; and the House might as welt
have sent to the Temple for a Special Pleader to
search their Journalsatlrewpobrotsetostuthffe:loronmseat,isser
sent a Committee up stairs,
of which they were composed) could bring oat
nothing more' to the purpose than that Report.
What we'argue, what we have argued is this...A
vague claim of authority, and a right of com.
mittal for offence against that authority, the
House difining, and being the sole judge of
what 'it or if not offence,, is a claim to bare
the right to be despotic, and necessarily leads
to a despotism.--.. Ministers, or somebody
for them, are more cunning than we were
apprellensive of—since, if they succeed is
this extraordinary seielle, and the people
yield, they have made the Crown despotic, through
the medium of the Commons House of Parlia.
went. But to return to the Committee: they
reserve the precedents on which they found
their' wise conclusion...or to speak more cor.
redly, their inconclusive conclusion. But why
reserves It might have been as well to let the
House somewhat into the secret of how the Cum.
mittee came at their conclusion. Oh! but there
was not time for that proceeding, however regular
and desirable. The House are in a hurry, for two
reasons—one of which is, that they have managed
their special pleading, in such a manner, that
they had not another day to deliberate in, without
losing one of the pleas (no matter which) they
might avail themselves of !—and the other, that
they arc in haste to win in this question between
them and the reopte ?.Well; we, at knit, have
nothing to do with either part of this conduct,
either the wisdom of the pleading, or the pru.
deuce of the wish ! But thesCommittee (for we
must harp upon that, like hamlet on Polortius's
daughter, only- we are afraid Hamlet had a
better taste than us) have found 0ut...0 That
there were instances in some reigns, and portico,
larly in those of the
_first and second Charles,
where prosecutions had commenced by the
Law Officeri of the crown, arid against Members
of that House, for speeches spoken by them in
Parliament ; but Ant the House of Commdus had
always resisted such Prosecetions, as contrary to
their.constitutional rights ; and this resistance el.
timately led to the Bill of Rights itself." Why
this finding out is the very blunder of MO
Yeast himself. Hz found out a new consfrec.
lion of the Bill of Rights ; for he dreamt, that
what was intended as a security of the Bow
against the Crown, against Members
.being ques-
tioned in Courts of Law (or pretended Courts
of Law) for words spoken in Parliament, he
dreamt that this was intended us security to
Members against the opinion of the people, and
the expressing of that opinion', any where, /14
in any manner. These men of the Committee, its
Alp the work hastily pot together, an't
ly turned over to them have,broken away
part of its clumsy contrivances fnr concealment,
lhaesictihing
and laid open the whole of the question to
and to every eye !
This debate, this business, or whatever yon
call
it, berries *on the mind to a thousand objeetiong
to almost the whole, and every part of
We can now touch only upon one topic
more. Some' Members of that House predicted
what the JUDGES would do! Nay, did um
language that to common understandings would
convey flue idea of intimidation
towards the
Judges! What then, are we come to? And who
is to talk of treasons? We will not answer that
question, which (to borrow the pretty Phrase of

question, which
reserve for another (to borrow Inc prviv
some Member of tho House upon this memorable ti
conenca(stizr)moviielry schoolboy is his own playgroundz'
is been used to corn.
'its authorits
LQN : Ptitard and Pothicsietl by. D. La to, as.b, at the ----4\l
authority and prin ST•TIMIA7I OFltiCt 117. Flea-street,
No,
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