House Of Commons, Tuesday...
The Times, 1824-05-26T00:00:00

ler. lANbF IELDprsented a petition from certain pawnbrokers of Leicester, praying that the equitable loan bill might not be pass. ed into a law; at least, not before the petitioners had been heard by their counsel against it. M1r. S. WV-i ITBREAD presented a similar petition from 97 pawnbrokers of London and Southwark. The hon. member moved that the petitioners be heard by counsel against the bill. Sir J. GRAHA.Mi opposed'the motion. He said that the com- mittee on the bill had already closed their labours, and were about to makc their .eport, and the hearing of counsel would only protract their sitting unnecessarilv. Mr. S.WHITBREAD) said that he should feel it his duty to per- sist in the motion. He did not wish to speak of the manner in which the committee had been composed, but he could not help ex- pressing a hope that the hon. member for Aberdeen would persist in his motion for preventing any member having zn interest in a private bill from sitting on a committee upon it. Sir F. BUR DE'TT said, that it appeased to him that great injus- tice would be done if the petitioners should not be allowed to be heard by counsel against the bill. He looked with extreme suspi- cion at the equitable loan company, because there was a pretence of benevolence mixed up with it-there was a kind of benevolent tradiing about it which he did not like. (Hear, hear.) Some of the original subscribers, he found, had already turned their pretended benevolence to good account, by selling tlheir shares at a consider- able preimoium. He was the more induced to look at the bill with jealousy, because it was directed against a dass of persons who were in some degree obnoxious to the public. Pawnbrokers were, he knew net why5 considered as unfair traders, and it was said that they miade exorbitant profits. They were placed under greater re_ strictions than any other class of traders, and it was absurd to talk of their making exorbitant profits when their business was open to the competition of all, as all trades should be. Under all these cir- cumstances, he thought that the measure should be better considered before it was passed into a law. The petitions were then referred to the committee, and counsel were ordered to be heard in the usual way. A tiscussion took place on the Islington Select Vrestry bill, on which Sir F. BURDETT proposed a clause, to the effect that all occu. piers of houses rated at the annual sum of 161. should have one vote in the vestry. Sir J. GRAHAM opposed she clause. After wlichi a short conversation ensued, in wl:ich 61r. N. CALVERT, Mlr. T. \rILSON, Mr. W. LAX:IS, Sir R. WVILSON, Alr. ff. SUmNEU, and Mr. BYNG, took part. The house then divided on the clause, when the numbers were- In favour of it, 37 1 Against it, 47 1 Mlajority against it, 10. During our absence from the gallery, a division took place upon another clause, relating, as we understood, to the election of gover. noes, when the numbers were- Ayes, 61 I Noes, 39 1 Mlajority in favour of the clause, 22. The bill was then read a third time, and pa3sed. NEW WRIT. On the motion of Mir. V. FITZGERALD the Speaker's writwas ordered, for the election of a member for Okehampton, in the room, of Lord Dunally, who has accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. The Manchester gas bill was read a third time, and passed. The Alliance Insurance Comipany bill was read a third time, and passed, atter a few words from Mr. P. GRENFELL. On the motion of Mr. S. RICE, the Irish Patriotic Insurance Company bill was read a third time. MUr. GRENFELL objected to the clause emupoweriDg mem. bers to sue and be sued in the name of their treasurer only. fie understood that the members were all to have been made liable to the provisons of the bankrupt laws, that they were to be responsible for all that should be done during the time they held the shares, and that they should not be enabled by a transfer of their sbares to evade that responsibility. He wished to under- stand whether, as the bill now stood, it would have that opera- tion, or whether it would be possible for the mnembers of the company, by transferring their shares to men of straw, whenever any danger might threaten their undertaking, toget rid of their own responsibility, to the manifeat injury of the public. Mr. HERRIES said he could hardly be expected to give an' answer to the legal pPint which the hon. gentleman had just piut. Mr. BRIGHT said that it might happen that a shareholder might die and leave a wife or children behind-was it intended that in every possible instance she survivors should be bound in aU the responsibilities of the bankrupt laws, in the same manner as the party himselfhad been during hislife trine? Surely there were cases, and thiu Was one, whiclh required more consideration from the house than seemed yet to have been paid to them. Mr. HIIIE: propvosed that the bill should be stayed until the question pus by his hon. friend should be set at reat. There ought tO he at least a declaratory clause, to determine the dcubts one way or the other, added to the biUl Mr. S. RICE said that the bill only gave the right of suing and eing sued in the name of the common officer. The terms of en- couragement were the lowest which could be given to a joint stock company by an act of Parliament. The bill was read a thitd time and passed. M51r. HUIRE presented a petition, signed by 500 occupiers ofland and houses in the neighbourhood, against the new St. Catherine's dock bill-Petitiotiers to be heard by their counsel before the com- mittee on said bill. A message fronm the Lords announced theirassent to several biUs: for which, see the Lords' Report. iMr. T. WILSON gave notice for Thursday next, that he would ask leave to bring in a bill for the better regulation of the butter trade of Ireland. Mr. BLACKBURNE pesented a petition from the clergy and magistrates of Oldham, against the beer bill. M11r. DOGHERTY presented a petition from New Ross, praying for Catholic emancintion. Sir J-.WROn1'r1SLEY presented a petition from the corpora- tion of StafFlord, and another from WValsall, praying the house to investigate the proceedings in the trial and conviction of the late Ir. SnMii, in Demarara, an to take measures for ensuring snilicient protection to missionaries engaged in al the islands and se.ttlements of the British empire. iMir. PAULETT presented a similar petition from Stockton. IUr. S. VORTLEY presented a siiilar petition from Bradford, in Yorkshire. MHr. J. BENETT presented several petitions from religious con- gregations in 'Wiltslhire, upon the same subiect. Mr. L. FORSTER presented a petition trom Dundalk, relative to the malt duties. Al r.LEYCESTER presented a petition from Shaftesbury, against negr slavery. Alr. BRIGHT presented a petition froni the attormies of Bristol, praying the revision and amendment of the act 41 Geo. III. lr. S. RICE presented a petition from the tanners and curriers of Coleraine, relative to the new mode of levying the leather dutde. He took the opportunity of asking, on behalf of the petitioners, in what state they would be left with respect to the stock on b jd - and also if Government intended to distinguish, as in England, be- tween the tanner and the currier. in the application of the new scale if dluties. MIr. BERRIES said tlhat the new regulations would not go into tfect until the Ist of January next, by which time there would be iuitable and satisfactory arrangements made and promulgated to the rade, whereby they would be enabled to regulte their stock on sand, and all sieonvenience would be spared them. EAT WIl'TH TEIE K?ING OF 'THE NETHERLANDS. Mr. HUMH, seeing the rigist lion, secretary in his place, wished o ask a questm as so a treaty, the: rumour bf which had gone eLbroad, anid was now known nearly all over the world, rescpecting the East indiaisiles. At the secret,if ever ithad beenonen, wasdis- persed thusB far, he apprehenided that there could be no reasonable DbJection to letting the House of commions into it. He wished to) know, therefore, if he were to move for copies of theuap.ers,whether lthe rigbt lhon. gent. would have atny objection to producing them ? AlIr. CANNING saidlthat the invariable practice in te Bitish constitution, where the Powtfof treating was retained in the Execu- tive was to withhold allthe papers ancd informatiorn until after the ralialnof a treaty. The practice in the United States of Ame- rica wa-s difierent. There the Senate must be consulted before the ratification of a treaty by, tlte Executive, and something like this was 'the practice in the Governmpent of the Netherlands.' If the niews had been sent about Europe prematuirely, it must be ascribed to the means afforded for it by this difference in the practice of the several. governments. To the same reason hie mnust refer his refusal to pro-. duce the papiers, hoping that it would niot be attributed to any want of courtesy on his part towards the house. It woiuld be far more convenient for mrinisters, if the practice of the constitution were otherwis~e but it -was their duty to withhold the papers until after the ratification of the treaty. Mr. H UMlE then presentfed apetition from boatmnen4seafaringme.n, lighterrnenl~boatand ship-builders, and mnast-mnakers of Greenock, aainsttheimpressmentof mnAs that practicehad been hitherto dmis ted to be severe and crueL,and was only defendedupon grounds of policy, so the petitioners, if 'allowed to do so at the bar, under.. took to prove that it had now become impolitic and useless, and was rendered, by the altered relations of things, as mischievous as it hadl been odioug. He haa a notice of motion pendfing upon this subect ad he udetoo toshw tatin the event of a new war wit an oter osrr,i wold e iposibl toexercise the power of unprsamet wthou inolvig u in.waralso with the United Stats o Amric. Te lst ar iththose States was occasioned by tat owe alne,andtheAmeicas would never again allow a Mr.BROUGHAAi took this opportunity ofappeling tohis hon. friend who had justisat down upon the sujetofr,n motion which he haajust mentioned. It stooa forthe very-night to which he had been induced to postpone -a question of the deepest importance con- nected with Westindiman affirs. Of course this discussion, and that of his honotirable friend respecting impressment of seamen, could nlot be both effected on one night (Mlr. Hlunie intimnated that they might both be entertained). Both on the same night! Wecll, hie togt that one of' themn would have been quite enough. The dif- feec of'opinion betwveen himself atnd his hoioutrable frienid would induce him, then, to request that neither of thiem mTight come on ; and in that case, he must be puf to the necessity of bringin4 on his motiont on Weanesday, tbe2d, instead of Tuesday, the Ist ot June; and he believed that would isotbe founldvery convenient to the wishes of the house at large. Faling, however, to obtain that indulgence which lie had fondly hoped fromi his honourable friend (the member for Aberdeen), he must turn about and throw himselfu ponthe cour- tesy'.of the right hon. gentleman opposite, requesting that he might have precedence on Thursday, -the i0th of June; and upon the choice of one or otherof these days he must take his stand - because, to pm-it off to a later day, considering the state of buisiness before the huse, would be so incur the risk-nay, almost the absolute cer- tainty',ofseeing the sessions close upont him: withoat bringing the question forwa,td. M5r. HUME did not consider the question of inmpresment of sea- men at allrsecondary inimiportance to the affairoat Demeraret. He hadalradypospoed is otin uonit twice. He had no objec- tionto ela a ecod mtio ofhis whch stood for the snam night andgiv wa t hi hot, ndleanedfrend after the question oi i~'l. BOUGHM hd nt th lest itenionoftdisparaging the imotneof his honourable frienid's ubetOn the contrary, hetogt so much of it, that ontofrer occasions be. hdgvnnotices of motions respecting it himself, and was only prevente fobrning the subject forward by unavoidable reasonis of delay. He wudnot press upon his lion, tfriend to delay his mno- tion, but he dcie bringing on his question after -that of the im- pressment of seameni. AMr. HuNrst and Sir J. NaWPORT, who had also a motion tixed for the same niight, would not thiwart what seemied to be the general wish of the houte. Thie motion of AIlr. Brougham was fixed for Tuesday, the Ist; that of Mlr. Juiue was postponed to Thursday, the 10th ; that of Sir J. Newprt to Friday, the Ilth. MIr.7J. ENETT presented a petition from Wiarminster, against the beer bill. MVr. J. SM ITH, referring to the petition of one Cast, of Fer- mangh,wh ha copline ofimerfctredress awarded him by thelawforgros utrgescomittd pon his house and person, and avig rmindd te huse hathe ad deferred any further nio- tic ofit nti th RghtHon Seretryfor Ireland had made him- selfa~uantedwit thefact, no moed that the said petition be Mir. GOULBUR N had ma-de use of tlhe interval to institute in- qrisand now proceeded in a detaileci statement to show the fal- laUciyran8d error of the things alleged in the petition. Mr'. JOHN SMITH said, that in this ca-se it appeared a man's cottage had been attacked and burned, his arma broken, and he was left without redress, He meant to cast no reflection upon the (io- vernmnent; but surely no Government could be thought to dolts duty in a couintry where sich actis were suffered to be perpetrated with impunity. (Hear, bear.) In this case, three of the acquitted par- tiesi applied after the trial to the Seneschal, who gave themi warrant-s oferedress against the cottager to recover their costs of trial-'a course so anomalous, that in England it could not be atteinpted without de- feat end exposure. Mlr. SPRING RICE spoke hin the warmest terms of the services rendered by his honour.sble friend (tMr. Smith) to the cause of Ire-. land, and regretted that they had not the benefit of his assistatice in the commnittee sitting up stairs. After a few words from Mlr. PLUNYET T, the petition was laid on the table. Sir JOHN NEWPORT movea that, the namne of Mr. JohnSm-ithl be added to the committee on the state of Ireland. Mr. JOIHN SAIl ITH begged to decline this honour, as his infor- mation on Irish affiaira was solely acquired by the correspondence whichi he had carried on from that country during the late time of distress. MrT. GOULBURN said, that a select committee txust be neces- 'drily limiited, and.- as he had refused applications from honourable miemiber-s to have their natmes added, he was afraid he could noteon- esatentlty agree to this motion. Sir J-.NEWPORT said, that as his honi. friend wished to decline the nomination he wouldi not press it. Mlr. PHILIN' Presented a petitibn fromn certan Protestant Dis- senters, praving for the protection of their missionaries. AMr. DENA AAN presented a petition from the pawnibrokers of Nottinghamn, against the equitable loan bill. THE CALCUTTA JOURNAL. Air. LAMBTON roe, in pursuance of the notice which he hatl gie,to present the petition oflr.Buekingharn, late proprietor and zeditr. of the Calcutta Jour-nal, which complained of some injuries which he had enduired on the part of the Indian Governiment-inju- ries which he thoughit called tor the serious consideration of Parli:i- ment, not only from the injustice suffered by the indiviidual, but also in consequence of their wonnexlon With the great que stion of thie liberty of the piress, whicih was in every country a subject of the most vital importance, and deeply interwvoven wvith the best interests of society, but nowhere so irmportant as in India, where countless mIllions of inative subjectsi must without it reinain in ignorance, arnd consequently in slavery, inistead of having diffused amongst themi those principles of knowled e which were calculatedi to ensure themn happiness and comfort, a% continue over thema the dominion of British rule. He did not mean however, to argueen the prsnt occa- sion the large questionof the iberty of the press-that hewould re- serve for an ulterior motion, and would now confine himselftuassum- maryof Mlr.Buckingham'sparticularcase,asdeveloped in his petition. Air. Buikilngham stated, tat he left England in the year 1813, for the Mediterranean, and that after remiaIning a short period at seve- ral of the ports in that seak, he went from tgypt to India, in the proseution of comimercial views between those countries. That, findin emploympent of a beneficial nature in Bombay, he continued thnerlefor some time, peaceably following his pursuits, when he was forcibly sent away from that island by order of the then existing Governor, the late Sir Evan Nepean, Bart., on the plea of his not having the licence of the East India CoDmpany to visit their territo- ries. That no other cause was ever assigned for this banishmnent; and that he was so f'ree from ny Imp. utation, or event suspicion, of crime or fauilt, that the Gove-rnrhmefakoldd in writing, under his own hand, in a letter subeunl owre to the East I-ndia Company, tlse honeurable anduelnareothocptis in which he Was engaged; and exRressed his decidedoiinta they wefe especialy favourable to tile- initerests jqf thasetmn. That being thius driven, without even aleed blame, fromn his ac- knowledged laudable pursuits in Indisa.-he ;tias comjselle to retutn to Egypt, from whience he came, at fb*ig ifc( ofhs well-founded prospects, and at a considerable expense,as-well as.great lossof time. That being desirous, however, ofaganierettirnllig to5tndia,he took the necessary steps for procuringf the licence of the East India Cam. $-ony,awhic'h was obtained for him in England, and sent out to lmay, where he went againiin)i,810; and, under the countenance and rotetio of the Governmnent there, contisut(er to be engaged in commnerce and navigation from that port until the year 1818. That in the course of these his commercial voyages, he went from Bombay to Behgal, where hea-1ntls resigney the situation he then held, as commnander of a shipin the Indian Seas; the vessel then unde hischare beng oderecoprcd on aslave expedition to the coat o Afica inwhih h wold ot engage, as he held it to he eualy rpugant o lw ad hmanty. T hat finding himself in alcttawitou imedite mpoyment, and being deemed by mssyEu shmercant reidig tereto becomnpetent to the task, lieundrlo~ te ethhishnen ofa nwspaper, to be printed in the English language, and published in thtcty; which paper, uander the title ofpthe Cakiaita Journal, he continued to conduct from, the Ist of October, 1818, to the 15th of February 18-93 so much to- the satisfaction of the civil and military ollicrsolf the Indian Govemrnent, except the few who dlenouanced all piub- lic discussion of affairs in wvhich thiey themiselves were actors, and so mach to the approbation of the Britishi commuunity of India at large that it was patronizedl and supported bv all classes, of Eng- lish reaAers. That in addition to the reputati6n thus honourably enjoyed by him, time value of his property was greatly augmented; his ournal, fromi the extensive anid steayy circulation it command. ed chronbut the first circles in that coantry, yielding num a clear profit of 8,0001. and upwards per annum, having had since its first purchase, an expenditure on tie augmentation of its stock and ma- terials of more than 20,0001 sterling, and being worth, in January, 1823, at a fair and just estimate, the sum of 40,0001. sterling, at which rate, shares equal to one fourth of the whole were actuaUy told to persons residing in Calcutta, and well acquainted with the character and value of the publication. That throughout the inter- si included between the periods named, 1818 and 11123 he also re. ceived the countenance of the Supreme Gtovernment of iengal, who repeatedly acknowledged thelavfulnessof hisresidence in that coun- try, though holding only the licence of a free mariner, under which many of the first merchants continue to reside in India, as well as the lawfulness of his pursuits, in conducting a public journal under the powers of such licence; and even entered into a oontract with him, in his capacity of editor and publisher, for the payment on his part of about 4,0001. sterling per annum, to defray the postage of his journal, especially, throughout all the territories subje4t to Bri- tish rule; no other newspaper in India being able to offer such terms, or to yield one fourth of the same amount of revenue to the Post-office in that country. That, during the whole of this period, no censorship on the prcss existed in Bengal, this re- straint having been abolished by the Alarquis of Hastings as xdious and iltegal, before Mfr. Buckingham's arrival in the coan- kry, when other restrictions were substituted by him in its stead. rhat soon after this, his lordsliip mnade a public declaration of his aaving removed aU restrictions from the press in India, on tiie-occa- tion of his accepting an address from the British inhabitants of 1a- Irns, which contained the highest praise of his lordship's policy on tbat accoun; sad that in his reply thereto, ha not only admitted the luta, but gave in detail his reasons for granting this treedom of dis. m,tssion; adding his firm conviction that the liberty of the. press nut always be a blessing under a good governnment, and allow- g .its applicability to thte existing stAte of India, as having nothing to fear from its exercise. The following were uii fact, the terms of LoDrd Hastings's reply to the address from- Ma. drai, ignd b th Chef ustce,the Judges of the S~rm Ceut, nd helawoffces, evealof the CoDmpan' tf offiers th reidets f Eydrbadand iNagpore, anl50 f themos cnighene getleen f te residency:a-" Youi have obsevedmy xerion todifuseinsrucionthrouigh the extensive regon wit whch e hve ecoe tussuddenly intimate. -Ican- not taecredlit or monl tha theh n followedt the impulse com- miunicated by every' Britishi voic-e arou nd e. Yes; we nil shilarlk' confessed the sacred obligation towards a bounteous Providence, of striving to impart to the immense population under our protection thatt iraprovement, of intellect which we felt to be our own most va- luable and dignified possession. One topic remains. My removal of restrictions from the press hasbeen mentionedl in laudittory language: I might easily have adopted that procedure, without any length of cautious conWieration, from my habit of regarding the freedo M of publication as a natural right of my fellow-subjects, to be narrowed only, by a special and urgent cause assigned. The seeing no direct neciessity fos: those invidious, shackles, might hase sufficed to mnake me break them. I know myself, however, to have been guided in the step by a positive and well-weighied policy. If our motives, of action are worthy, it must be wise to render them intelligible throughiout an emipire our hold on which is opin!ion. Further, it is ,aslutary for supreme authority, even when its intentions are most pure, to look to thie c-ontrol of public scrutiny: while, conscious of rectitude, that authiorityv can lose nothing of its strength- by its ex- posure to general comment ; on the contrary, it acquires inecalcu- Ilabiaeaddlitionof force. Thiatgoyvcrnment which has nothingto?dis~ gtiise, wields the most powerfuil instrument that can appertain to soveeignrul, itcarres ith t te united reliance anid effort of [thewhoe mss f 'te gvered;andlet the triumph ot' our be- love contryin ts wfulconestwith tyrant-ridden France spek te vlueofa siri tobefound only in men accus- tomd t inulg ani epres teirh6nest sentiments." After thisdeclraton o theGovrnorGeneal,the, presi -of India was naturally considered as only liabl to th control of the-law of the country, as del-ivered bya ve'rdict of ajtury; .and it was no slight argumnent in favour of Mr. Buckingham, that during thie whole period of his residencee in Calcutta, he had never been ebuivicted of publishinig either a privatte or a public -libel. The petitionerathen described, at considerable -length, thiat' upon the resignation of the office of' Governor-Generzal by the Mlarquis of Hastingi in 1823, and "the appointment of. Itlr. John Adam, the senior of the Supretite Counil, s loionteienas, the first act of his administration wst depart from the principle recognized by thte Marquis of Hastings, and to revive a criminal information against Mlr. Buckinghain, whichi had formerly been suspended for a year, and which was declared by Sir Francis Macnaglstcn to be so cruel, oppressive and illegal, that he refused to try it. That at this time Mlr. Buac:ri`g- hanm was a suitor in the Calcutta Coutrt, against certain indiriduals fog'publishiing a libel on his character,- who wvere aflerwards con- ~vi ed and punished for that offience;, and yet, at that very moment, when his stay in ItdiuLa was an object of so much personal con- cern to himself, Mr. Adam, by an arbitrary. abuse of Ails tem- porary authority, did wvhat the Mlarquis, of' Hastings in the plenitude of his power never attemrpted,-ordlered him to quit India within two moaths, on pain of confiscation land imprisonment ; and this because he hail commiented'tulon the appointmnent 'of Dr. Bryce, who was at the liend of the Presbyte rian church its India, so super- initend the suipply of stationery, peasli. Ink, &c., to the government offices-an apipointment which 1r. Buckinghuprerydmd iniconsistent with the holy occupation of the clergyman, whichi was nftrwads anclle by the Court of Directors, and censured by the Fesbceryof Einburgh its degrading to the church of Scotland. (ller,har4 Mr.Buckingham 'being thus expelled from -hnid witouttril, nddriven fromn the' possession of 11,0001. a year, in ai sogit rdrssfrom the East India Conspany, -and fromn theCouts f Jstce in India. One would think that Ithe vea- geance of the East India Government would have been s- ted -by the expulqJiou of Mlr. Buckingham 'from thieir territorief and conseqtuent reduction of hii property ; but not i.o was the fat6;fr they resumed with fresh Maonr the unholychase of' persecution. On leaving India, he aLppointed an editor to succeed him in the paper, who was a native-born suibject, andi who consequently eoulil not be summarily ex elled feom India in the manner Mfr. Buck- ingh am had been. MtTr. Adami, however, determining to put down frediscussion, isuedl an order for re-establishing the licence-system over the whole i-ndian press, an order which Sir FrAncis Alacnagheen registered, as he said, according to the law of the land-a law which he (Mr. Lambton) tvas at a loss to find in the English statute-book. Mr. Buckingham's persecution did not stop there-he was refused perrnission to be at tle head of an extensive commercial speculAtion in India, to whichl a capital of 60,0001. had becen contributed, and the tota suppression of'. the Calcutta Jourals' was stilt perevered in. The petitioner further stated-that during hi-s residencei in Iss- dia, he had, with mnuch labour anid at a considerable expense, formied a valuable library, containiniig hioks of a htigher character and greater cost than those usuallv e_isting in other collections in India; and that ais lie induilged a hope of being periiitted to return again; to his property ana pursuits, he had' left this library beid himi untouched; but hiati consented, in the event of its appearing practicable to his successor, that still further sumsaof money from hisown fundusshould be expended on it, and that it sihould be opened as a circulating library on such easy terims as should make it a great accommodation to the Indian public, and at the sam-e frime aiTobed somne hope of ultimate compensation for the recent lossessustained ey its iprolirietor. That the mete announice- mient of this intention in the pages of the Cakutta Jou7nal was so offensive to the Iindian Goveranifent, whio seemied determined to sup- press every hope which he or his friends might indulge, that an offi- cial letter-from the Chief Secretary (dated oni tie 18th of July, 18-23) enumerated this announcemieist among one of the articles which had excited thienew Governor-General's (Lord Amiherst's) displeasuire, and that accoraingly the advertisement respecting this library was taken out of the paper, and never afterwards permitted to be inserted ; so that the additional sums expended on it were all lose, and great preudice created generally aganst hils affairs, from this indication of continued hostility to every thing that miight contribute to teirprogessve iproemen. Tat in the letter which led to the mmeiat supresionof he dvetisemnent above refeired to, a demad ws mae b theChif Seretry,of the namnes of all the Briishbor sbjets mplye attheoffceofthe Calcutti Journal; andtht sonaftr hes wre urishd,onie of them, Mlr. Arnot, the most valuable individual, left in charge of his property, was for. cibly seized, and iimprisoned in a military fortress, withi the desiga of keeping him in close confinement untLil some ship should be ready to sail for England, wlien it was intended to put him on board, and banish hisn from the country, to tliegreat suRfring and uniinerited de- gradation sif this gentleman himself, as well as to the great injurv of tilr. Buckingham's affairs, as this individlual s'as known to be'the most useful assistantattached to the establishmsent, and one ain whom the god management of its busineassdepartmenkt almnost entirely de- pended. That by, a writ of Habeas Corpus, Mlr. Arnot wass brought up before the Judges of thje Supreme Couirt, of whom two erqthenpreent, and after solemnn argzument at the bar and on the enc hewasdecare tohav ben illegally imprisonied, and wasaccrrngl se a liert b orerof the presiding Judge; but chataftr tis,howver whn IIr.ArDr had, to his great injury, retredfre al cnneionwih te Clctta Journal, bad quixted the British territories, anid was residig peaceably in the French set. element of Chandernagore,he was again forcibly seized by a military officer, under a second warrant signed by L-ord Amherst, dragged from the presenceof the French Governor, in violationofthe national faith and protection, anid placed as a prisoner oin board a ship in the river Hooghly, not bound direct to the united Kingdom, as the law in isuch cases had ordained, but goitg first to the niotoriously umi- healhy ortof encolen whre erwuld have to remain on board a cos pisoerduinghe say hee;and should he ha pilyur visethiscrul tratmnt ad cose mprsonment in a pecu'iiarlysun-: heathycliate an uner he ostaggavaedcircumstances, he woul bemanymonhs prfomingthi cruitous voyage to his na- tivecoutry beig oligd alo, rombeing forcedt against liis will to o i tis arictla shp,o py hatvesumn the commander mxight ask or nyacomodacon hathisheath might require , as the Go- vernentwoud no alow f hi reovig into aoervessel. Mr. Buckingham further stated-that the pesnrmiigin charge of his property after 1MVr. Arnot's removl prcee,wtheuta- moateaution, in the management of theppr n o some time gave no furthier known cause of dissatifcintoteGvrment, until the month of November last, on the sixth day ofwih the editor,MVr. Sandys,received an order from te Chief Secretary, comn- mnantling the immediate and total suppression of the Calcutta Jour- nal, and forbiddinig its furtber publication ; thats completing the ruin of Mir. Buckinghiam, a6d finally crushinlg at tone'blow those pos,pects whicls it had app;arently so long been elhe object of the In- dianGovcrnmenLtprogressively to destroy. That the sotrind allged in the Chiel'Secretary's letter for this suppression of the paper, was the republication En its pages of a pamphlet written by the Bon. Lecicester Stanhope, which had been publishied iin Englandl somne mnonths before, andl had been alreadv sold anid dismtributed widely throughout every part of India. fie (Air. Lambuin) had tl'e honour of knowing Alr. Stanhope, who was now engaged in the great and glorious cause o1f -the deliverasice of Greece, and whio was a man of the higthest honour and integrity. (Hear.) That this pamphlet consisted almost entirely of the reports of c6rtain speeches delivered by King's Judges, servants of the East India Cormpany, and military officers at i's'adra-s in 1819, on drawing up a comnplimentary, address to the Alarquis o? trastings, as Governor- General of India; of that address its;elf, and his lordship's reply to it, with hsis opinionis on the benetits of a free press to India.delivered in the Government House at Calcutta ; to which was adaed, a re- port of certain proceedings in the Court of Proprietors at the East India-house, in London, on the same subjett, in 1821 ; sio that it contained little more than a record of what had been -aid and done by, some of the principal servants of hisi Majesty and the HiWiourable East lndiaConipany; and thus what the-se distinguished personages had received the highest honour sand applause for origin- ally uttering, it was made criminal in a journal published several years afterwairds, and in thle same couantry, to repeat. That after this suppression, had taken place, his agents in India had resolved to make a sale of the materiaLls of his concern, in order to realize what little might be produced by the wreck of this onice prodtittive, but now utnemployed and fiuially ruinied property; but that the terror infused into all ranksI of society by the 'above-mentioned proceediis of the Indian Government wvas sufficient to deter persns ilfrom comingz forward to appropriate these materials to the af1profitable use that might have been made of them. An offer of renewing the lieence had beets made to Air. Bucking- ham's agents, but upjion a conditiotn which the house coutld never conjecture, and which was no less tian this-that the Government should appoint as editor for the paper; a condition which Mr. Bnckingbam's friends agreed to, in the hope of saving some wreck of his property. or. Abel, Lord Aml:herst's physician, was first ap- pointed. and afterwards Dr. Muston, son-in-law of one of the mem- bers of 'the Council, at a'salary of I,OOL a year, with the use of Ir. Buckinghsam's house, which waS worth l001. a year. From this appointment it was clear that the Government in Inidia had resorted to extremeingen'sity to make Mr. l3ucking ham drink the cup of persecution to the very dregs; and when the last accounts arrved from India, the publication of the journa even with Dr. Aluston was again suspended, aithough the establishment was still kept on full pay for the Government agents. He had now gone through time tmain details of the petitioner's case-he had strictly co fined himself to the recital of his personal injuries, and abstained from entering upon the general question o1 the policy orimpolicy of afree Indian press,which he would,early next session, move to have referred to a conmmittee- fle had now put the house in possession of the extreme hardship, injustice, and illegality of Mr. Butckingham's treatment, which was aggravated by every spe- cies of vindictiveness and wantonness. If such conduct were to be tolerated, then there was an end virtualy of the responsibility of the Indian Government, and the admission of a career of impolicy and injustice which must ultimately endanger the safety of their Indian empire. He concluded by moving to have the petition brought up. (hear, hear.) Mr. WYNN said, that in discussing this question, he meant to follow the judiciouS example of the hon. member, and to abtstain from entering upon the larger topic of a free press in India. When- ever that question was brought forward, he should be prepared to show that the very principle, and very reasons, which induced him to support a free press in Great Britain, called upon himn to object to its introauction intO India, where, in his judgment, it would be tubversivs of British authority. Withi respect to the facts of the petitioner's case, be callea upon thehbute to recol.. lect that it was one oDf their leading maxims, never to I'nte0noIe. their authority in a i:ase in -which tlid.party bad arnother, mode of' redress by law, and more particularly whe%, asin the prestnt case he was actually under recognizance to prosecute a Suit against MY1. Adamn,for'thealleged oppr,ession be had endured from himn. This proceeding waasauthorized by the nctof the 21st GC0o.1II., wKh~ provided, "I that in case any person found - fuult with, or felt bim- self aggrieved by, any aLctor measure of theG4overnor-General,or of any member of Council, he should enter into a bond ed'ectuxnkj to roscut th sid comnplaint,In somne competent Court in Great Britan ;" ndhaing dne s, he as etitled to call forcoypies of all ordrsoregiatonsconectd wth siacase, and also to examine wit_ misss. TesetepsMr.Bckighambedtaken. Tielastcomirturica- tio onths sbjet ookplae n te 2thof January last, when hi, soliito wrte o te Curtf Drecorsstating that MNr. Buckieghamn had been instrcte tocommence leera roeding's agailnst the bon. J. Adam, trun to a bond whbbebad entered into for that purpose,.a: nurn hte that.bd would defend him. The, Court of Drcrsimdaeyintimae their readiness to receive process. When ths course had been taken, 'what, he asked, could stay Mlr. Buekingham from procuring legal redress, if he were entitled to it? This being the state of the case, was it fair to call on Mir. Adam to enter. into his- defence, whben that -defence might be made use of hereafter as a farther grouul -tosuportthe endng ctin? Hear, hear.) lie (Mr Wyn) oul oly tat, tatupo 'this case Mr. Adam wasperecty rad todefnd ny cton that' might be brought The hon. gentleman hadsatd htptthtieote prue -of the illarquis of asisfrmii,teewsnoappearance of *bah n betaeaans r cinham...-- al. LA31sidthtBoTovitin a been obtanedl aganst him for any public or private libel. * Mr. W;V WYNN.-.The honesuamAlegentlemtpf -stated, that M'r. Buckingham Lead riot, at that period, forfeited his clabm to the pro- tection of thie Iindiai Gt'vernasent; and that their displeasure then camne %!pon himn by sulrprise Now, woald it be believed, that he h'ad been warned, nio less than five timnes, in consequence of diffrentm pblications, of his danger ? In the Last letter which *aA sent to- hm by the-Secretary of the Government, and which was *Vitfen b~ order of Ldord Hastings, it was distinictl- atated, "1if- you-persist in pursuing the same line of conduc youirlicence will be imimediately; cancelled, and von will be ordered to depart from India." Yet thigl ivasa measuTew'hich was now represented asbaving beenfirstthougha of by Air. Adam, and 'whicti it was said no Governor-Ge?iaral hail ever beore contemplated. iijy the act o? 1813, this power of depor-. tation - was allowed, It was there provided, "1that if' sy -per- son residing in India sdhall so conduct bhhnelf as, in the judgs ment of the-Goi'ernor.General, to forfeit his claima of protectiOf,, his licedice shall be revoked, and b& fobrthwithi ordered to qiuit the country." It wag not AMr. Adam eloue.who caused the removal of Mn7"Buckinghamn ; the whiole Council cedacrred in -the propriety of' thar'proceeding. As to the regulation which Mr. Adam issued, h~ would not now eiter into any discus,sion on that.point;"not bcuse he as ot repre toconide th sbject, but because it 'was a mater eningbeoreth'- riy Cunil.- It bad not : yet beauheiid, s Mr Bukiagam ad delayed sending 'fi Ns papes, fterhe ad mde reglarappeal 'to thattrbn. lIe as ure he'hous wold fel,that while the qeto was pending a question involving such important- itrss n4ot only as respected the freedtiim of the press in ini,but what was of fdir more conscquence~ the power of the Gjovernment to make reFulations whichi ware not conformable with the. law- of Eng-land-it was desirable that the subject sthould not- be discussed. Hereafter, when it, had undergor.e a judicial -investigation, it might be madermatter of discussion. The at part of thismcse referred to theproeadngaofLor Amers toars Mr. Arnot. Witli re- spec totha cicumsanc, h ha noinformiation, axcept what be dervedthrughMr l3fcknghm'spulictio, ad'the ~basring be-. for te upemeCortonMr.Arots pplcaio. The hon. maen that Arnot was residing in India ~weotany licenceouhrt whatever; and therefore, under thoe-eitiglaw, it becm h uy of the Governor-G'eneral to put an en ohis- contiunetee The ct gve te Gvernr-Geeralthepower to cause to be arreste andputon hipboad, ny ersn tusresiding without authority and he uesion efoe-te (,urtwaswhether it alriogave tbepower to eeptheindvidal n cstoy, or nytime, between th,e periotx- of rretig hm, ndpueiogimon hi-board? Thejudge,in Mr. Arno's asedecded hatit id ot.As to th'e ship, on 'board of which Mr. Arnor, was placed, going round by Bencoolen, it was -aat allegation wvhich he could neither affirm nor Zeny, as he had -nio in- formation oin the 'subject. But from the character of' liord Amherst, who was remarkable for his nsildness, he cduld conceive nothing mnore improbable, or which required stronger proof, than an accus,ation charging that nobleman withL having heedi guilty of hart;h- ness or severity towards any individual, be4ond- what. lie conceived to be necessar inthe just performance of is dtuty. (Hear.). Sir WDECESPIGN Y, as we understood, bore testimony to, the humane character of Air. Adam. From Ihis knowledge,of that gentleman, he believed him to be incapable of behaving harshly towards any-one. Mr. HUME was sorry the right hon. gent. opposite and the bon. bart. below him had taken thecourse they had done on this occasion.. There vias no necessity to adduce tertimony to private characfer,since no private character was assailed. No one had attac'ked the charac- racter of the individual in his. ttvil station ; but complaint was made of public acts immediately proceeding from him. After a lapse -of two years, during whiclf this transaction bed been known; no answer was given to the charge. All the right hsonourable gen- tleman said was, that when the trial at law was settled, when a Court of Justice had decided, then he wouldbe ready to discuss the quiestion. - In his opinion, the' interests of the whole population of India called t'pon that house to pronounce an opinion on the gret quzestion now brouight kefore'thema, without waitig- till those legal procedigs erefinished.- The petitioner denied-that hehad, that sen ovr eidece ro- Idia wa ded.He knew, frora up with effect'the action which he had givenL security to proscecute. It was impossible for aniy parson to Zimagine the effect which the ex- ercise of arbitrary l5owert as -now complainea of, prodluced in a set- tlement. In thisinistance, ruin had followed evey prson. who hadl attached himself to Mr. Bucidogham, or es poused his cause. He hoped most sinceirely that the extraordinary -power which was now' vested in thie Company's servyants ivould never -be renewed. Whby should not the same principles by which Englishmen were governted when they proceeded to other colonies, be extenided to India? (Hear.). WVas it an answer .to the injustice of the existingsysteml, tosay, that the Governor-General had 'he power to sand any persn he l1aitedl out of thecountry ? *He deniied that he had the power 'to the-extent- now contended for. haerpoer , he had, was grned t hinr.a under the responaibility of 'not exercising it harshlyvf, (or without-' showing atmple grounds for uising it. But it was sad that Mri Adam's case had not been heard. fHe maintained muat it hae been heard. It had been drawnk up by himself, and sept home to every member of the Court of Dirdctors.~ He (Mfr. Humie) had read it, and he must say, after -an M1r. Aduim's coldltr- ing, he had made out no case whatever. Mtr. Adam's conduct, he ivouId assert proceeded from premeditated malice zagainst this xindi- vidual. Mr. Buckingham had beeni ruined in his mrospects, and a proper-ty of 30,0001. had been destroyed. It ciuld be proled before a committee of that house that Mr. Adam had declarld, if ever ha had the power,-he woulti sand Mr. Btckdiagbam out of- India. He would ask, were the Governmaent to act in one-wvayto wards one paper, and to adopt adifferent course towards anothet?- Were they to allo1wa particular;paer to mslign and abtise-every pL'r- ion theueitors thought proper, and when, on the otherhand, altinali. vidual stood forward and stated the truth, was he to he sent oat 'of' the country ? He hlad resided long euough in India to know wlhat good might be producetd by the liberty of the -press, and he h~d- no hesitation in saying, that from the time Mlr. Buckinghaml &t up this paper, his proceedings operated beneficially for India. It taught the English people in that country to state their opinion on pasn vns, when theV -saw that those evients wqre - contaryso t~heintiserests of- the - public. Wghen Governinqnt misconducte itself; -gentle hints" were given,which produced vtry. salutary results. TYhe house ought to know that there was in In~i a paper called the John'Bull which was, absolutely set up by; rIe servants atthe Government' W'e Secretary of the Government atid other persons in office were connected with it. The Joh/en Bulli in England, bad as it wvas, did not equal its namiesake in scurrility- T%~e Government always disclaimed any connexion with the JOPM Bull in England; hut the connexion, between the Indiatn Govespi- ment and the John Bultl there, was wvell knowrn. It was set up Py the Secretary of the Bengal Governmcnt~ assisted he believed hiy Mlr. Adam himselif, for the puirpose of writing Nlr. Buckinglidm down; but the moinent he attempted to resceaehis character frOmt 'ile gross abuse that was heaped on it, he was treated as a crimuiltd Mr. Buckiagham claimed no exemption. AU he said ia, " if I have erred, bring me to trial. Let -the criterion of myconduct!be. the verdc omycountrymen." (Hfear.) Mr. ulckiag-hami 66s proeued, and he! was acquitted. WhVat did he then do? EHe brogtan action againfst the editors of the John Buill, and !the moment he had taken that step mneans were devised to send him iour of the country. (Hfear.) The right honourable Secretary for IE'o- reign Afihirs must feel-greatly surprised at thlis statement' lie ?,eas convinced that the righit honourable gentleman, when at the )*ad of the Board of Control, would nor have authorizedsuh ro ceedings. l'lis condluct in that offiechad been most liberaucl. Zte 23 our of 24 of the Directors came to the resolution ef Yescl d- ing th~e regulations of the Marquis of Hastings with r-espect to ithe press in Indiai for the purpose of'restoring the censor-ship, and !Jnt- that resolution to the Board of Control, the right hon. gent. locked it up, sudthere it remainied still. (Hear.) Thatbouseoughiummedi5ael"'t\ to tak-einto itsconsiderationi the evil of sufferinlgsach arbitrary poiveit'i~ to exist. They ought not to allowv this system of uncontrolled 4nd lawless power to be, continuied. (Heat.) 'He entreated entlenieni, befoqe this subject was again discussed, to read all the Aocuandnts conmiected with it; and, with 'that view, he hoped his honourable- friend would take care to shup.ply theim. Hle ventured to say, thtose- documents would pro~ve tha -Pe gatest -disregard was ai by;the Indian Government to the feelings, opnions,and remn,onstrance or Englishmen. That Governmentwished to enforce silcncewith respect to aU their proceedings, and therefore the press was shackled. Wlzbat would England be iF she had hot' a free press ? In that case the Government mg.ht go on as they pleased, without -nimadversion or. observation. The rights of English subjects and also of nLt.ve subjects, were compromised by this system. 'he natives of: vIdia were hourly becoming more intelligent. Aa a proof of this fa4,he wished gentemen would read she address of Ram Mohun Rb t, a learned native, in favour of a free press. But that was an objatof which the Govenmecnt seemed to be afraid; and, in propostion as thev cramped the energies of the press, they retayded all inmprovement. So long as tIr. Adam lived, the cir- cumstances which had been this night disclosed- -would: not be considered as reflecting any credit -on him. The laljquis of Hastings would not have acted thus: his mind was too ent. larged. lie was sorry to - say that the commencement of 40rd Amherst's career did not augur well for the future povernmest of India. The hon. toember then iidiculed the inconsistency of the Indian Government with respect to the regulation of the pres. are being one set of regulations for Calcutta, and another for MaFras, and a third- for Bombay; aind concluded by condeming a piwer which not-only enabledthe Governor-General to send a man oge of the country-because he Printed sonmething which did not pleaseluim, but which also authorized bim to prevent the i'mportatiioi ot the Edinbttr,qk Retewx, or an)y other workof which he.did notaptove. llr. ASTELL said, the object of the hbonourable gentltnan (Mir. Launbin) wase, to point out Mr. Buckinghanm as a muc-in- juted individual, apd to li; on Mr. Adam the charge of hiving acted from malice. Now, he would shiow, that illt. BtickingAhiin' deportationddnotoriginate-in malice -onsthepattof Mr. Adam; The honourable gentleman had traced the history of - Mr. Bucking-' ham down from. 1818. He was-thenat Bombay; nd, notiibemg' licev'11 the Goverimient t7oull Dot eliow him to renmala.He how"eve7r, wa anxious to etoP ia India;- and, nosone He,ehi r,Ishea m-dc. knawn1 than the Direcors granted him a. lIcenac a a free m2ariner. A ?ree mariner, he woula observe, was a, preao '1715 Wan allowdc to navigate from port ta port in India, to Pi0ened upon his lawful business, as mnastr er traate of a eabp, but- thle licence did not give him the right to remain on'llz shor . Bikn-an etot szmrhn -di 11 beagain returned to India. In November, 1818, he becamneeditz of th Calcutta Journal, and in Mlay, 1819, (yrod OrabOut six mnonths), he was warned by the Governmenlt of Bengal that III- Was liable to be removed on ac~ount of certain articles ,vhieh had appearedin his paper. On thatoccansion he expressed sorrow for havingk forfeited th3ecountenance of the Government, nnd the mat- ter was Passed over. In January, 1820, he again transgressed, and he E second timne maide an apolo~ to the Government. an Novem- berI,h80,ipubliiheda par rhofeaoffbersive na ture,as caasedaa isarnwaaiagtobeivran he founiditnecessary once marcto throw hiruxteifat the mercy of the Govemament. In July 1821 he was again informed, that be bad incurred the displeasure oi the 'Government by the Publication1 of on imnpropereartijle. During all this period, threAlaiquizot Hastings wan Governor.Gencral in India; ana Yet the were told of the malignant feeling of frlr Adam asif he alone baadizapproved of Alr. Buckiegham's proceedings. wh-en, in July 821ihe attackedi the Governiment of Fort St. George ana the Bishop of Cactt,heocmore receiveed warniing. But., persisting in the sam lie f cndut,it was proposed to withraraw his licence, and sendhim ome Tha prposiionwas supported by three miembers of te. ounil,whih cnsitedof the Governor-General end thre ciil ffiers Th Marquis of Hlastings, however,, dis. agred wih th Coucil; and exercising the power with 'eihlcb he was n~ted b te act of Parliament, he frotm a feeling of le. tily,refre t eactontheir decision, and Air. Buckingham war Zllaedt remin.The Counicil, bow,~ever, pTrod a severe cenurt on his conduct; an it Wmn determined, if he agi ibehlaved, diet be houl e sent away. Hieagain't'ransg si,edi uish. sgthat trngeson, what bad Mir. Adam doeuftoe phi decaraionof he oucil, by exercising the eprr oe h Wsa~acedan ba hads? Ane twStemr ee r thath thtpwer, bcueItustmoay etheiers confied i him shoul ufrudrhs-goen n. I was aid hat sisallusion to tbe cas i r re wsthi only easo forsendiag him away, Ta a o h fact Air Eukinhrmwas scat ro:-n& because he had been re peatdlyWared.The last Arespass, calling for the interferenci -of the Governor-O~neral. Iust of course occur, and that trespas haPpenedtonk~ the an~&,dverseions on Dr. Bryce. The Governor. (Itnema then founr', f necessary to support the authority which vat vested -iri him, -id he did that which he was4 bound to do: there. for hi. ~rckrignm was-not an injured individual, and th, ne~Ue oghtto be done to Mr. Adam as_$entlemen oppo -hadendevoued to do with respect to 111r. Buckingham dierr, ear. itwas not reasonable, it wias-not equitable -toentr o tis ubjctat the present imoment, whea All Adam was n hs traL Hear, hear.) The case ofMr. AT1a Wasdiibeis fomthat of Air. Burkingham. lHe was resiiding Ii Xndi wihoutanylicence whatever, and. therefore he might he re moved t anyrin~.Thonlig the judge said in his case thaLt -it wa rGot leaI oke i in custody before he was put on ship.board, I alhou.derc~e that another Chief justice, Sir WV.- Jones, hai held aicontraryr opinion. The hoia. member had said, that of al othe',~`t'eea the feedom of the press was most necessary In Indii Ont% -(~point he begged leave to say thiat he dissen.tedl entirely free the L'~n. member. Sir U. FORBES wished to tead to the house an extract of. letter relative to Ali Buckin hamln which he bed received fron a much.respected frindu in India. [.The honourable barns here read the extract, in which the writer (we believe a DI' Palmer) spoke in very handsome terms of Mfr. Biickinghamn and proceeded to say; "1that he-thought a, free press would b vVery eeficia in India. He observed, that the Calcutta Journ hadhe believed, done Emuch good, and was doing more. Not'with standing die calemnies that were invented against Mr. Bucking bunm, he had no doubt but that his intentions were good. He ge0 very inradequate damages for the libel in the John Bull althougI the j'udgea, e ressed teirrabhorrence of the m-alice of tle libel." He (AIXi. C.7 orbes) did not mean to speak ion the subject of th libertry of the press in India. He did not think it would be prope to leave the press entirely uuirestricted; but he looketd upon the pre s,ent extent of re:striction as perfectly unnecessary, and impolith (Hear.) He wan surpriseil to hear any mani who bad been in In din, assert that the Government allowed their acts to be canvassed die slightest degree. Any allusion to them was considered the heigl of insolence and presumption. (Hlear.) He kniew instancesc n'ativea being threatened with deportation, as well as Erglishmnen.H1 'was acquainted with a nativeofllonbay, who was threatened unde peculiar ei'rcumnstances, to be sent away from the island. hie ha 'made a good bargain with the Government, which they were de sirous he should abandon, and which) he was determined to keci (A laugh.) He was threatened with deportation; anel his answse was to be found on the Company's records. Writh a spini becoming an Engiishman...with that spirit which the native alwas maifested, if not crushed to the ground, as the to ftnwre (hear, hear),-he answered, to this eff'ect- "Honourable Sir, I have been infarmrned that you threaten to teni me off the island. I believe it is untrue. I am satisfied, honoura ble Sir, you are too well acquainted with the laws of your countr, and the rights of British subjets to take that course." (Hear.) JI woald say but one word withrecspect to the tremendous p.wer whicd the Goverirnment of India pos3essed..t.he power of sending Britdsl aubjects out of India. It was granited by the act of the 53d of th late King, but not without considerable opposition and. discussion He would ask of gentlemen who were present at those discutaiont whether it was not stated, that this great power was mor poitedly and positively to be applied to those cases whet the safety of Indis might be end-angered by Europeins gel ting into the interior of the country and tampering with the nativ po.wers? (Hear.) Thetereatm eatof fr. Buckinghsain was, heconi evd, exceed'nglv harsh. Hle was removed at the very miomer Lwe e ex'pected the arrival of his family. He earnestly entreate the hon. member who brought forward this subjec tco ably and Bi erpcuously, not to los sight of it, hut to bring it before th oue-. at a future time. Before he sat down, he begged to Stt that he knew nothing of Mir. Buckinghatm but throuh his preduc s-ions, and from the correspondence of a friend whom he highly rt spected. Sir F. BURDETT commenced his speech by deprecating, ia tb strongest termas, the wanton act of tyranny which had. been comnmit tad against Mr. Buclkigaghm; (that gentleman's case,-he was boirn to say, did strike him as one of the moat cruel that had. ever com before the house); aud dedlared, thiat his peculiar motive for rising was to entreat theb6on. tneember near- him (Mtr. Lambton) not to res contented with pledging himself, in the next siession, to discuss th gcneral clueati?nofai free press for India, but to give the petitioner duri_g the present seso,th _datge of his talents in a maotio fieiicall directed to the hardshp of his case. The question al ready before the hduie reslved itself into two considerations--th conmmon liberty ofthe iressiri India, and theact ofperaonaloppressio exercised upon MUr. Buckingharm. The last of those consideration was mos imprtant to come under the distinct inquiry and cogni zceofthe haouse; and he did really spurn at the argument on t other side, by which the investigauion was attemptead to be got ri' of,-viz. thAt the petitioner had commenced proceedlings in court of law, on account ot'the injuries which he now sought redres for. In the fzeat place, it wasi declared, and plainly, that iMi Buckingham had northte power of foUlowin p,rocess at law; but whether he could do so or could not, it was lt- the arbitrary condoe of the Governor of India should be inqui-red into. The hon. Diretct had said mucht (who had spoken last), buthe had informed the hour abolaitely ofuothing. Hiehad s'poken of "1warnings" given..4ofwhic inore hereafter) ; end the hou'se was told of letters, epi.tolze rrultm.- it did not -well appear if the- we~re longir;-but there was no accaut ofth ITa~ made against Alr. Buckingiham (hear)-o.f the cbarg uipon whi se'had been sent io England. Of'tecaace fM Adam he knew nothing, except from what apperduo h r sent transaction ; but upon that evidence it seee htti i lent act bad been committeud towards Mtr. Buckiga eas bad commented~ perhaps most propetly, upon the odc fteG vernment oflInia, and had foundfalt Iwithan apPitetmre MrIrAdairo,wliih the1loardrofD rectorsbed afterw.dt to rescind. Then the question for the hous-e was, ouh Mir. Adame bad exceeded the letter of his power,bu whethe heh exercised that power with due temperance and discretion-~.whether h be-dusedtheauhrt aryothkr stwihit wasintended-t beapplied? And further, whether thepoweritself however exercised wzas not one wrhich demanded cenLsure anid recall ? Let htsnourabl uiembers look at the situation in which AIr. Buckinguham bad beet placed. WVhatever offence he had committed agdinst the exlttinlj Govemiment of India, he bad been actually entrapped into the situa tian which he flled by the aearace of more liberal poic in former governor (Layd A1oira, whohail, in fact, looked upon afre ress as a probable benefit rather than a mischievous engine in India Ifsely the danger, let it be observed, of arbitrary governments.. men were safe in no on e line of condtuct., let men pursue what lini they would. The right or wrong was a question of indi-idua feeling ; and what was one to-day, might be the other to-morrow A change of the Governor was a change of' the law; n ay, a changi of thie Governor's opinion had an operation equally slweeping. Amt this view, whi1e he (Sir Franci3Bturdett) trus,ted that his hon.frieuc to whom he had be for appealed, would bring forward, inidepandeis of the general question, a speeific motion upon the grtevancea ol Air. Buckingham-t.his view led him to sayoewr,wehrh would or no, upon the common condition of British subjects in ote territories.in India. If it wras really an object with Engsand to en. courage a free trade with India, her first act ought to be to give ever) English resident there the full benefit of English law'. (Hear, hear.: If ever, let the house be sure, we were to derive any real benefit from our Indian Rossessrons, it must be by the abandonment of that system of desPOtism which pressed upon the native* of the country not snore hardly than upon the English them. selves:,ho were tempte there in Pursuit of fortune. Ht woi't occup the time of the house by dwelling at length upon topica, for t e discusson of which more fit and mnore amnple opportunities wvould arise. The object. before the house at present wav, the relief of a pdartclar individual, whomn he Considered to haeben treated with a cruelty unmerit ed, and almost unparalleled. Situated as Air. Buckingham had been, the most inceesar nxit to conform himself to the , r ~..hv eenza uoeetilonh ipoe upon him, w bould h e be ent to ensure his security. No chargc of any description, but that lie had neglected certain warn- ings (wlhatever they were), was made out against him; and for this neglect, his property, and perhaps his prospects, were to be de. stroy . TheargumentthatthemattervwaalreaAyinacotarseoflegal discussion, seened to him (Sir F. Burdett) to have no force what- ever; and he should sit down with again pressing it upon his hon. friend the mnember for Durhama, to bringmonthe consideration of the PetitiOner'a, case ini a distinct maotion withiout delay. Mr.-CANNING didntotprepare detaning the house upon any of hose general topics which common consent, as well as the course taken by the hon menber for Durham, seemed to pnint out the con. . venenc ofresrvigforsomefutureopportunity. Thesubject 'perly before the se at pr esen t w a s sim ply the petition of dIr . Buciagam foritcould ardivy he advantageous to discuss such a atteo aso thbe f om of thedpres in India inthe wayof an inciden. ~quetithon);wh and without knowing how farthe hon. inemnberrifr. OJutr mebler, slon Weatmi3epser,s tontnud compfi laientie 1?tn mi taa be dghinclined to fvollow c p the n ucgedtien of eth fthepeirion r(.r. Buckingham) in the &hape of a sipecific mo-. ne d to th e ouseioulddecline interfeing in a cause shich waaled trying at law betwetoinvdub,ndn kt- to be condemnedeen twovdu0 iediverdpartie id in ireh it c nt interfere without trenching updfs' the proper lbta Of courts ofjustice. It nmight he a fit question for discurssrdn j"ether the systeni of government in India should be thrown open "recommended by the hon. bar't.oppszor- wvlethece hote gutards drecautions in it wl.16 had hipthersttoebeen thought. necesary, ho ud go on to be maintained in their accustomedl forice and U rjutifiae) so long as those pwers continued, werearyette jotis-s.hy hd atigt to have their conduct jde fwt efrne to telw which. they bad to execute, aind to be cndemnedas individuals, wherever parties dis. 3 dth ystem unde.- whicit they were-hourid to --act; lfe (M r. Canning) w-hed.paricularly to Impress honctumible m'em- uere with this point; WI ere the system 'which an officer afdminia. tered was wrong, in the eves of those who thought it wrong his con. duct must of necessity be" faulty; but a Governor of Indiia wouldl hardly be fourd in fault for having duly admninistered those powers whichadeliberate aud recent act of the British Legislitture had de- cided to be necesary fior the governiment of that country. The in- vidious statemant, therefore, tat M1r. Buckingham ha been trans.. ported-tom away from one counitry, and sent to another, &c.-that statement might hiave been spored, because the course of proceeding regularly comnplained of was the course coruseqaernt upon the o' eniceof which Mr. Buckringbam was sutpposed to be guilty, and the very same act which gave that ower of remnoval to the local &overnments, 19Ye a specific redress to any iwdividual who miight find hhmself aggrieved by its exercise. Hlere was a case then, in which a Governor-General, in the unquestioned exercise o an authority imposed upon him by act of Parliament, had applied to an individual the precise punishmient allotted to the otfence with which, j'ustly or unjustly he was charged. If' that individual was innocnt ofsuh ttence, he was a most highly injuared person ; and, in that event, he had the means of bringing his case at once, not strefa-e the authorities of 1ndia, but before a British court of justice. To such a tribunal, ini fact-, Air. tuckingliarn had appealed, and was appea]hng at the present rmoment; and the house could with no more propriety interfere with his proceeding, than it could interfere in any commion King's -Bench suit between individual and individual, mserely becauLse one of the parties happened, prima facie, to hiave miade oat a strong case againsit the other. lHe agreed with the hion. inember for Westmiinster that it wouldl be1 a most fit matter for cons-ideration-aind he should be ready to dis- cuss that -point thte moment it could be done without prejudice to parties--whether (however it had heen properly or Improperly used on the present occa-sion) the power of removal ought to he contiinued. Whenever thaat question might he brought fprward, he repeate-d that he should be readyto enter into it; but he was not prepared, under gretence of discussing a great constitutional question, to diiscuss a pending suit between individuals, to the prejuzdice of the accused, and the bernefitofthe accusmr The bonoarable usember for Aber- deen had cboirged him with expressing, by his gestures, Etur- prs at somec of the statemients wrhich that hanourable member h,ad-brought forward in his speech. WVhy certainly those state. ments which referred to Ltord Aimherst hiad excited his surprise ; andI they might reasonably du so; for, to himn, certainly, they were totallY new. That Lord Amherst had become a tyrant! "Wlhy I could as soon belleve," exclaimed Mlr. Canning, " that he had be- ceeme a tiger by going to India!l" (Hear, and much laughter.) He truted he was opeln to conviction, whoever might he the party con. erned; but he certainly hadlistened to that partofteheon. member for Aberdeeni's statement with very great incredulity. Po wer certainly chaned en ometmes Itwas ossblethat the mnost mildI and forbarig ntur tht h ha evr kownin his life might have be- com saageandfercios b trnsprtaionto another climate. But if i di sotur ou,-an inthemea tie he protested against it- bad ever come 'witi hsknowledge. (ta,her) n, allte. 80snal feeling Paprthe were parts of the caeo h enoable member for Aberen besides that which referred to the conduct of iLord Amhrt hc excited his (Mr. Canning's) surprise. The coonduct othMaqis of Hastings, anidhit intentions with respect I to India,see to boa good dealrmistaken; and it was uecessary I that th iro hould be set riglit, 't seemed to be ima- gined, indeed, that ithe-M1arquis of Hfastings had at once, in a fit of zeal, thrown dowvn all the guards by which the press of India, up to the time of his administration, had been fettered ; andI almost, Lif not entirelv, that he had absolutely instituted piizes for the dis- I cassion of tfie most delicate fsubjects, in the freest way, all over the tcountry. (Hear and laughter.) Now the fact wasi thattsheAMarquis of nasiu3eaddlone no suchithing.- Hehad abolishedthe oldnmode of retain; hut he had introduced a new one scaircely les efrec- tiye. Andl therefore the question subinitted to him (M1r. Catnning) I as Presidentef the Board of Control, had been, niot whether there should be restraint, or should not, upon thie press in India, but whether the old form, which, without telling say) tales, he miight Inow say the Directors had been desirous of restoring-whether the iold formn should be re-introduced, or whether the scheme substituted Iby the Marquis of' HasEings should have a fair trial. From rttie draugbtwhich theDlirectorshad sent up upon tbatoccasion, bebhad rcertainly, for a time. withheld the approbation of the Crown. He had given no directions for taking off the censorship-the course which th e Mlarquis of Hastings had pursued ; but he did not hesitate to say that after it was off' he had thought the new scheme inight as well have afair chance given itof succss. The accounts of what thMaqiofatighadoewt respect to the press, bad ar- frvd,h livdinteya119 Inteya12, about the C srin, te rauht f he )irctrs,setin ou th o d mre which theywised o rstor, hd ben ent p; nd e hd wthheld the I sactin o th Crwn romit nti th en ofthat year, when he ceased to be interested in the arrangemetFr himself, therefore, he certainly had been desirous that the nwytinshould be tried; but before such unqualified praise was gven to hmfrapoigo tthat system, or to the MaIrquis of Hatnsfrivtngt,twod Ibe as well that the house shoul.d kno httesstm(fipoe rment)was.Theregulations wbichwereestablishedyrd elre, .and which the Mlarquis of Hastings had found in frewe ewn iover, ran theas:-" 1. Every printer of a newspaper shall print his namie at the bottoin of the paper. 2. Every editor or proprietor of a newspaper shall deliver in his name and place of abode. 3. No paper shaal he published on a Sunday. 4. No paper shall Ibe published at all until it has previously been inspected by the Se- tcretary of the Government or some person authorizedl by him. 5. The penalty consequent upon the disregard of any of the above regulations, shall be the immediate embarkation of the offen- der or nglnd~"Now inlieuof hiscensorship, the following reuaioshdbenetalse b lh arquis of Hasting.s, which did ot,thehoue wuld ee,as ad eenimagined, set the press at libety ltoethr. Te eitos o nespapers are prohibitedt from publihingany mtterunderthe ollo inheads.r-l. Animnadver. aloe o th mesues if he our o Diectrs ndother public ho. tdies connected with the Government in Inda (Hear, hiear. )2. I Also all disqtiisitions on the political transacton f the local admi- nristrationa. (Hear, and laughter.) All ofesv remarks oni the a Members of the Council or the Supreme Court and the Lord Bishop of Calcutta (hear, and gret laughter); and alidiscussionshbaving a tendency to create alarm or suspicion amrong the native population of any intended interference with their religion. 3. Also the republi- cation, from English or other newspapers, of any miatter coming under the above headls, calculated to aff'ect the security of the British power or reputation in India. (Hear, bear.) 4. Also all scandal or Ipersonal remarks9 on individuals, tending to excite discord and anhimosity in socicty." (Aluch laughter.) Now, certainly the panegyric was a little too wide which said, subject to thest tordinations, that the Mlaquis of Hastings hai intended to do away entirely with the existing restnictions upon the press, and- substitute uncontrolled and unlimited discussion as a sys. Itrem throughouit India. (Hear, hear.) " And I hope," continued Air. Canning,"1 that I shall not be g,oing too far whe, say--' Gie Ime what power yoni will, and let me have no fear but from the press; i then give 'me the press, as regulated by the AIaiasqis of Hastings9, 9and I will venture to consider myself safe.' " (Hear, and great laughter.) The arrang ements of the AMarquis of Hastings ,as he had Ibefore observed, had been adopted in substitution for the censorship. lie had entertained a confidence that they would be reasonably con. kstrued and understood, and had wished (as the question wa,- i not whether to enact, hut whether again to displac them) that the absence of 'the censorship should have hadc a rca. sionaible trial. As It turned out, he had not continued iri toffice long enough to see how the experiment succeeded. But, rupon the general question of restraining the press or India, rio matter after what particular formi, he thought thai Iwhen two such minds as the M1arquis WVelleFley and tht Mlarquis of Hastings concurred in the necessity of con. trol-..coneurred eistiiely as en the necessity of seguilation, ane differed, if as to the manner, not very materially as to the de. gree~-he did not say that those two noblemnen must inevit:tbly be right as to the fitness of the restraint, but he said that after such an opinion, the wisest might pause before they passed unqualified con. demnnation upon it. Praise given upon false grounds could not bt lasting;- and he had thought it due so the Mla rquis of Hfastings tc state what had been his real views and conduct. The hon. mnembet rfor Durhami, who had brought forward the present questioni with requal rempor and ability, would probably admit, that whenever the general subject of the freedom of thie press was discussed, the opinion of that noble lord would deserve serious consideration. To the dis. cussion of that subject, come when it would, the greatest latitude, he thought, oughbt to be given, but at the same timne it was a subject which'would require to beconsidered with allthe modifLcationis'whic~ ibelongedtoa satet of sciety,not onlydifferent from that of England, but different from almost every other society in the world. At present it was fit to recollect that whataver Ar. Buckingham had done-and iupon his conducte, one way or the other, he(MAr. Canning) would give no opiniion-.whiatever Mx,. Buckingham had done, he had done under the colitrol of the law of India; and his conduct ought to be viewed wi th reference to the 'society ~arid to the laws uindes lwhich he lived, and not at all as in connexion with those hap. pier arrangements of which the persons who were judges of his case enjoyed the benefit. It was by those laws and regulations (those of India) that Mlr. Adam had been governed; and his conduct, too, could on'ly properly be judged, taking into view the peculiar powers 'which it was his dut'y s(i administer. With Mlr. Adam personally, he had n1o acquaintance or conniexion;, but it would be injustice not to say that he was a gentleman who had raised his own fortune by undoubted merit-not mnerit acknow- ledged by a single patron or superior, but 'by a succession of persons who had witnessed his conduct and a reated it, In cases of great difficulty, he (M1r. CaAmnng)aEpractknown him exert singular mnanliniess and knowledge; and, fromn what he k-new of him, would he inclined to say that the leading characteris-. tic of his disposition was a determination to act honestly, boldly, and uprightly, let the consequence be what it would. It was possi- ble that Air. Adam-it was possible of any individual-..thar he might have done wrong. In the pursuit of what he took to be the safty of the emnpire committed to him, he might have comamitte,j an act of violence anti oppression: but if he had really done this, he was in the course of tnal for it before that tribunal esliecialhv ap. poined o juge hosecass. H wa ontrial for what he had done, andif uily, eaen orbd tathe houd ecae fomgunih. ment butstil it oul be ost nfai in he osaoCmon ing been the executive hand of a power, which, according to some views, ought to have been restrained. Upon the im mediate question of what had been done by Mr. Adatmn, that matter was already in the hands of a court of justice where it would be tried, as it could not be tried in the House of &ommdns upon the legality of the act, without reference to the character of the law. This was the fair way and the only fair way, of trying the cause; and wlhere it was, he was disposed to leave it. For the main question-the restraint of the press generally, in India,-he should be both ready anid desirous to discuss that subject whenever it might be brought forward; as he should also be most ready to discuss any modifieation of the existing govern- nment of the Indian Empire, and the possibility of improvements which might go to assimilate its pelicy in some degree to those systems which Englishmen were used to support and to be proud of Mlr. DENMAN did not know how far his hon. friend near him (Mr. Lambton) might be disposed to follow the course suggested by the hon. baronet, the member for Westminster, but he wished at eiJ events to getlone seeminia difficulty out of the way of the hon. member'stollowing tha t advice h and that was the assertion of the hon; gentl'men oin the other Ride, that the cae was already in a eaurse'of judicial inquiry. If he (Air. Denman) had net felt that AIr. Bockinglham's proc~e'ding in law was at ins end, the house should not have seen him rise to support Mlr. Buckingham's petition. The * fact was, that Air. Ruckiagham had in the most public manner avowed his abandonmeont of all legal pro- ceeding ; but .there.- was alwaYs-somne god reason to be found on teohr side for getting rid-.i dd not Much Matter how -of an injuxred indiv-idual. Mr. B3nclingham came forward, as a stranger, complaininig of wrong; and he was, met-by a pane, ~yric upon the party of whom he comnplained It -was sWId that to-ad ontaieddsoine lanw of she. state, or the sentence undaer which lie had suffered would not have been carried into execution. He bad done no such thing. The regulations even of the Mfarqutis of Hastings (sthey had been read) nowrhere 7POint- ed out the process of embarkation as a consequence of their infringemenit; and, besides,could any beteld that tho,e reguations liad been kept in forceeduring the time that M1r. Brekiogham was publshig ht jurnl? nd he leathat he was proceeding by law,how as his o begotrid f? he Petitioner publicly state tha hehadgivn u al lgalproeedng-asthe house to slumber overhiswrogs romthe pprheniontha hewas uttering a false' hood Howlongwasthe ffene ofhishaving entered into recog- nizacesat alcuta o atachto im?Was it to bar his redress for one, or two, or three years-or for ever ? And, for the act of Par- liamentwhichi was saidtojprovide arernedly-hte(Mr.Denman)had been prof'essionally consulted by Mlr. Buckirghamn, and it was upon looking into that act, that he advised himn to abandon his prosecution altoge- titer.; because the act imiposed such ternus for redress, as no com- Elainant by pos3sibility could comply with. The G*ovesaor-General ~ad the power to send away' any maun, because be disliked his news- paper, or because he disliked his face; and the man transported could have no redress unles he yroved malice and corruption, which, unless his oppressr were an idiot: as well as a tyrant, he could nevr hve hoe t do Itwasnotrios,in the common case of a magstrte,tha itesust o iposibl tomakout acorruptmnotive. Impotantas e (M. Dnman hel th librtyof the press to be any her, h thugh tht i fomedbuta mnorpoint in the eon- sileraioof he reentquetin; ndyet upo that pointsa more mistken otiohadneve exited tha ht hc had led to this outrage upon tile p arson of Mir. Buckinghamn. Wihen an hon. gentleman opposite (Ir. Forbes) spoke of "five warnings," and of the"diplesue o th Cortol iretor,"he would answer, that unlss thepowr wre lloed reey,at home andl abroad, of can- vassng he cndut o peronsm athority, discontent would soontak a mre larmng ormthan that of speech, and swel ino dnge upo evry ccaion Why, he would ask, shoud nt te cisre w estaindiepress he the same in In- dia as it *as in Bigland? Why sol this perpetual Alien Bill-the power of.tranisportation-.-be alwdto exist in India, and not againstforeigners, butetatually against our own subjects? The right hon. gent. oppositeAMr. Canning) said, that power might alter the nature of man. Ae agreed with that rigRt. hon. gent. thiat it might do go, and he believed that in Point of fact it very oftcn did so. The right hon. gent coDuld as soon conceive a noble friend of his becoming a tiger byr going to India as a tyrant; had the Tight hon. gent, forgotten that passage in the most brautifis history in the world wrhere the future tyrant-answeredI the voice that told what he shonla do-"lajthy servantadog,"hesaid, "thatheshauiddo these things ?" and yet he did them a--sucl wasthtevery nature of powerI For hiniself itso happened tha,t the very in'dividual of whowecon-I duct lhe was complaining (M1r. Adam) hadl be-en his sahoolfellow He had knowin that gentletuan, perhaps, as to dispoi3ition, one Nof he moatamiblepersns n te wold nd.Yet be protested that he thoghthisconucttoard i~r. ucknglammore &rUel, oppres- sive an unustfiale,tharan tiinghehd eer,met with int the hisoryof ur oloie-ba asihe wee-mr. Adamn was not pre- sen sopled hs cuse bu th hose,it wouild be recollected, was in pssesion f hi defnce.Theion ourable gentleman op- Iposie(r Wynn) had declined entering inito statements, but Mr. Aamhad'sent his owvn statemen "of the transaction; and he would venture to say, that no mnan could read Illr. Adam's oWn de- fence without, on the instant, finding him guilty.. Surely, when the M5arquis of Hlastings had forborne his "1warnings-" which reaUy were spoken of a.9 thoghb they were visitatib-zs liethe roarngnf of the teitupestin the distance, at whichi m-an was to Ikneel and bls the charity that did not strike hiim dead,-when the Mlarquis of Hastings had forborne from severity, surely M1r. Adam, as a matter of taste and discretion, might have forborne too. But the very act showed sufficiently the nature of the prevailing system7 and the ne- cessity which existed for revising it in every p ar-of fmi,rgdistmcitly the limiit (independent of toleration) to whichthefreedom of thepress could be allowed to go ; and of taking awvay entirely that power of deportation, which no government in any country ought ever to have possessed. AlIr. LAM BTON apologized for keing compelled a secoDnd time Ito trespass upon the patienice of the hodse ;buit there were one or two observations had fallen from the hon.,gentlemen oppo- site which his duty to Al1r. Buckingham compelled him to ncotice. It had been his intention, in the first instance, to avoid as fair as Possible the making anv chiarge of malicious motive againist Mlr. Adam; and ha presumed that he could not have expresed kimself clearly, for he certainly lhaj told the President of the Board of Con- trol, more than three weeks back, that all view to legal proceedingi wasgivn ~ b te petitioner. The right hon. sectetary, however, (Mr Canin) dfeded the conduct of Mlr. Adami upon the plca tha tht gntlmanhadt done no more than adminisler the DWer whichwere ut upn himby te exisiting system. He (Mir b ton)dened hat uchwasthe case; the complaint azruist Mr. Ara was, that be hdntacted acc-ording to the existing system. The. sstemi which he had found in operation on coming into power wa tesystemn established by the Mlarquis of Hastings; and its was nothing to be told now of a private letter or circular which that no- bleman hbad caused to be sent round to the editors of the va- rious papers the question Wms, as to the poHicy upon which, in point of fact, he had always acted. As for Mr. Bucking- ham, lie liad nothing to guide his conduct by, unlem he to-ok the public declarations of the Mfarquis of Hastings. Now he (Mr. Laimbton) knew nothing of the public conduct of that noble marquis ; no 'a$ he standing there to vindicate his conduct. He knew him only from his public acts;- and those he was not called upon to defend. As little had halio do with thaLt noble lord's candid souil, of whichi an honourable geutlemau had spokcen in terms of such etilogium, or with the bright examiple which his administra.: tion haA afforded io all futuire Governorg.Gener-al of India. All that lie (Mr. Lambton) contended for was this-that while the Mar- quis of Hastinps held one doctrine in public, and propagated an- other in the pnvate dieculars which'he wrote, he (Mir. Lamb- ton) if he were an inhabitant of India could have nothing to direct him in the course which it miight be proer for himn to pursue but the registered laws of his coun- try. (Hear, hear.) As for the laws and regutlations which the r.dian Government miight hzkve thought proper to tl,raw tip and sanctioni-and to which it'had been said a lr. Buckifigam should have deferred-..why they were, until broughbt forwardI anid promutlgated by Mr. Adan,, mere waste-paper. TIhey might be stuch as it was the 'will of the Governor and the Legis)ative Coun- cil to establish; but until that period nothing wasknw of them by the people of India general] v. WVhat was the tribunal, then. that was to decide whether this individual was to have hitsremdy ? It must be a superit4r one to that whiich had done the wrong. Surely, then, it was not to the Court of Directors that he was to appeal4 but only to this Parliament and to the people. (Hlear, hear.) And thoFugh he (Mir. Latnbton) feared that he should gain little by looling to Parliament for redress, for he ax pected no othier redress but that which the people of England mnight be disposed to af- ford,I he had yet felt it incumbent upon him to submit these ~ few observations on Air. Buckingham's case. Ana having offered these remarks witht respect to what had fallen fromn the right hon. siecretary (Mr.'Canning), he had a few more to make uPon the speeeh of the hon. chairman of the Court of Directors. That hon. gentlemank had talked a great deal about the inconve- nience which had resulted fromi the mode of Proceeding, and the pre,udice that it might operate to the welfare of India': hut he (A?r. Larnbton) knew of no inconvenience or prejudice that could result from the discussion of the case of an English subject to whom a'I signal an injustice had been dope in so distant aL clinaste. (HIear.) fle could notperceive the inconvenience of tbathouse's inquirinLg Into the causes of anEnglish subject's banishment from India under ouch extraordinarcy circumstance as those which marked this case. The lion. chairmani of the Court of Directors had also alluded to the warnings whichi ware said to have bean given to. lr. Buck-ing- ham, and had expresed an opinion that atfter they had been szo given, it was nriatter of surprise that Mlr. Buckingliam should go on en the samie coursNe. But it was a little extraordinary that the honourable chairman had never stated to the house what these warnings were. (,Hcat.) If, however, the house would give him leave, he (Mr. sbambton) wouild satisfy, them on that head, having been furnished with some particulars relative to the mnatter. One of these warn- ings relative to the fact of MVr. Buckinghai's, having asserted (as we understood) that a Mlr. Elliot's being taken inLto the Government of Mladras was a public calamity, for tbatt. Oe censorahip of the press had been urged by him unjusitlyzgwnist Mr. Buck. inghain, on accounit of some observations 'tua4e by that gen. telmani that were occasioned by tie eaLse sP liar late Alajesty, Quepn Caroline, and of her lamiented a nd uRfortunate daughter, the Princess Charlotte. No; it was a fact that happened to be knLown to hfim (Mr. Lamabeon) that applicationi was made (and very pro. perly made as far as that went) to the Advrocate-G3eneral for his opi- nion as to whether any prosecution should be instituted against Air. Buckingham for these reflections ; and the Advocate-General re- plietl that that there would be no chance whatever-of success, if they were., (Hear.) This circeimstance he took from a pamphlet which wha tat night been already 4uoteddnamely, Mlr. Adam'n, defetnce. Another warninig regarded a charge that was sujpposed to regpect thLe Bishop of Calcutta ; that, however, was by no means4 a personal charge against hUs lbrdship, but was brought in the C'a!. catna Jouirsioi against one of the Chaplains of the Bishop or neglect of dutyt on various occ-asions, and on various matters. The Bishop a~pplied to the Council, complaining that the passage in ques- tion was an insult upon himself. Bat what was the result? Au iqiyinto the facts was set on foot: the statement of 'Ar. Buckingham was discovered to he true atid the evil was re- inedied. W1as this an injury? WVas it tor 'liis that Air. Bucking.. ham was to he requited to abstan from further observation or dis. cussion? It might rather have been supposed that the finding good to have been eft'ected by such means, would prove the strongest in- centive and inducgsnwt to a gtlleri~it bui na 1161 Id Y&ila in its efforts for the irem-oval of evils. Another w-arning was occasioned by some military statement.', that %vere puiblished by Bt.. Buckinigham, and irhicb, it was apprehended; wouild e,ecite i s0flrit.6f insubordination in our Indian armv. But it appeared that the ~vriisk if the state. inients had left his iiddress with the editor of the Calcutta .Yoar,ial. They regarded a system of reat oppression and inijustice which then' existed in that ayrmy; Tie troops being paid very dtsadvyan- tageously, in a particular currency. Here, agditn, an Inquiry was instituted into- the subject, anid a remedy was applied to the grievance. The lionourable chairmnan might with great propriety be ref&red to the excellent work lately published by Sir John .MaIcolm, who had expressly declared in it, that it was for the benefit and urosueritv of TnAia, that free- discssion shou,ld be allo- ea; and that oppressions were frequently practised in the army, which nothing but a free press could remedy. Had the hon. chair- man forgotten that the mutinies at VeUore and Madras had taken place underan established censorship of the press in India; and that it was the universal opinion of the best infonned and mo%t ex- perienced men, that if India had had a free press, those disturbances would most probably not have taken place ? He (Mr. Lambton) knew that to be the case; and if the house would onlv be induced to grant himn a committee for the purposes of inquiry, he would pledge himself to prove at their bar, by officers of the first respectabilitv,and such as were in the highest estimation with the Court of Direc. ors -hat as far as the general peace, interests, and prosperity of lndia wereconcerned, noremedycould befound forexistingevils that offered any impediment to them so effectual os a free press. (Hear, hear.) As to his future intentions, he would be Very willing to give the houseanother oppnrtunity of discussing the question be- fore them ; but he did candidly confess that he had never enter- tained the slightest hope of gaining any redress for this individual himself. (Hear.). His principal object had been to give that publi- city to the case which he thought it was likely -now to receive; but he did not see the remotest prospect of obtaining anyremedy for it; and, tberefore, unless he received such a pledge as he hardly ever, knew to have been given in that house,-namely, that the statement of lUr. Buckingham should be inquired into; and if that were found true, then that the wrong he complained of should be redressed- he flt that heshodld only be trifling with the tiute of tlie house, and exciting hopesin thesadividustlthatwerenotlikely toberealized; if he brouglit the case forward once mo'e. (Hear.) He hadalreadv stated that his motives tbr bringing the matter before them at all were purely ofapublic -nature. Ele knew not iMr. Buckingham- he knerr not-the Mlarquis of Hastingshe knew not AMr. Adam-he- knew. npt Lord Anherats , (Elear.t: hear.) The only public act thit hie kijeW of Lsirtl Amherst was, that lIe had hhas the spirit to refuse to perform the pred,und saluite of the.Ko-Tou. before the-Emperar of ChinA (a laugh , and it were to be wished, that wvhilo, lie thus re- fused to make d_egrading obeisauces in the laud:of Ohina arid of Marndarins (a laugh) be had shown that he could respect in others those feelings of indelpendesice which he-avowed in-his own person. (Hear.) lore than this he knew nothiing ofthe nobleloid, and was not qualified tg say whether he had' roved himself 'a' tyrat o tiger. lHe had now laidethis case be3 * the house, in the fearles discharge of his duty, regardless of all considerations whether such a coDurse was agreeable to the sysitem purtsued by this governor or the syntemi of that governor-with the views of the Cou'rt of Direc-ors, or those of any othe- cour. It' was his, duty,' he felt, so place the matter before those who called themnselves the Commons of England. If they chiose not to redress the injuries vwhich the petitionier com- plaine of, upon their heads mnust be the injustice of such refutsal. His own duty he conceeived that he had discharged. The petition was orderedi to lie upon the table, a-nd to be printed. FIRST FRUITS (IRELANDO4 (The noise occasioneti by member, leaving the house and strangers qut ingte gallery at this perio,rnedth greae part of ir .1. xws'oitr's spech almotinubl. Sir JO N NEWORT sad theobjectohimtonwic respected the consideratilon of h is Fruits FnofIeadwas to prevent a part of the legitimate revenue ofth rhCuchfo SUStaining fuirther encroachments, after having been expose I to them through a long series of years. From the earliest periods of our his- tory, the revenue Called the"1 first fruits"` had been paid by the clergy of the Country, and this revenue wras by Quee-n Anna ap- propriated to the endowment and imnprovement of poor Irish benefices. These laudable and generu pUrposes would have been much inore eff'eceually accomplishoeud, had she system been rendered effective, or had the reguilations that were then established been properly respccted. (The right honourable baronet then entere into alhistory of this revenue, and a variety of details illus. trative of its produce at differenit periods.) It was to be remem- bered, that the deficiency ocuasioned by the non-payment or impro- per collection of thiese first fruits, imposed upon the public a bur- den of taxation to renlace that deficient amount which they ought to have raised. Tih6 right ban., gentleman Proceeded to show bhe extreme inequality of the assessments a-nd valuations on benefices, and to point out thesse as the Drincipal reasonis to be assigned for the defiienc hespok of.At reset, hile thie clergy in Irelaid. wer pvin a fistfrutsabot ,901.a year, she body of the peo- ple n t~n earswoud b foud t hae paidI forc purposes to wvhich thi fistfruts evnuewoud e aplcable~ , osoo1., or upon an averae 630001per nnum.l3efreorceeding to readlin detail the whol ofthe esoutios tat h shuld e dspoed to ofFer:to the hos, he would read a few items that ih uns a Comparative vie of the relative inequality betweethevleee of dinceses and theirfirst fruits' payments in Tiglandand inalreland. 'I'lie Primate of Ireland (the Archbishop of Avrmagh) naid for first fruits 4001., while the! Primate of all Bngland (the Archbishop of Canterbury), with an income very little greater, paid 2,080. ( Hear.) The See of Clogher paid, first fruits, 3501., while the see of London paid 0lfI0l the See of Cloglier-beiing worthi 8,0001. a year. The See of Derry, aboout which thev had lately heard so mwuch, under suchi singular cir- cumnstances proTduped an inicome of betwveen 12,0001. and 14,0001. per annum, ana paid 2501. ithie See of WVinchester paid 2,8001. (Hear.) In the same way the b~isheorick of Cork and Ross paid for first fruits 501, and that of his venerable and highly respected friendl the Bishop of Norwich (hear, bear) 8341. After urging the necessity of adopting suich ineasures as miyht render the first fruits' fund efficient for the objects to which it had been destinel by royal munificence, of malking new valuations, and of re-arranging the mode of payment, &C., the rsght hon. baronet concluded by movinig, as his first resolu- lution.--." That first fruits or annates, being the first year's pro- duice of every ecclesiastical.dignity and benefice in Ireiand, becmie aregistere par of the revenue ofithe Crown in Ireland, aind were so recognize to be by the Irish statute, 28 Hen. VIII., and continued to be annexed to the Royal revenue until the year 1710." (Thie subsequent resoluttionis recited,that by an act of grace in-that year, her Majesty Queea Anne had, under letters patent, appropri- ated such first fruits to form a futnd for the improvement of benefices in Ireland, &c.) On the first resolution being put from the chiair, Alr. PLUNKETT expressad his concurrence with the right honouirable batonet in considering the subject as one of extremee imprane and lisa pleasure at the opportuniity which it af- todrde hhnce of vindicating the character of the clergy of Ire- lian. It was trtue that these first fruits wer-e originally in this country paid to the Pope before thie Reformnation; and that upon the authorsty of the Pope being displaced in England, Henry Vill. claimed for his own use and benefit the first fruits whitch hid been formnerly so paid. The statu-tes by which this revenue was vested in the Crown were two; for besides the irish statute, 28 Henry VIII. which had been quioted, there was the 26thi of the same reign,which Was also an Irislh statute. In England these two acts were afterwards incorporated into one. By them it was provided, that in the fitst place the valuie of thiese livings shiould be asertained; and being so assertained, shiould bie registered in the Exchequer. TIhis done, the value of their first fruitswwas to be also ascertained from timne to time, ndjaidaccording to such recorded value- Nowbhe(Mr. Plea kett) urnoYdaask his right hon. friend, whetheir it weas the objeet of the statutes of Henry Vill. to take from the clergy this revenue, and vest it in' the Crown as first fruits of their benefices, -the value of which was to be ascertaLined and to be the fixed invariable -standard-, or that auy subsequent va- luation was to take place ? for if so, the valuation of thie benefice be- In once ascertined, that of the first fruits wvould he got of course; but that would necessarily change from time to time, Under' many states of circuimstances ,ifor examnple,5by the numiber of deathls. fle (Air, Plunkctt) took the fact to be, thatt the valuation of first fruits was one thing, qnd that was directed to be myade fromn time to time; the valuation of benefices was aniother thing, and thete was no suich direction regarding it in the net: thierefore he inferred that first fruits were to remain upon their; original valuation. The hon. and learned gentleman then argued that this circumstance might account for the apparent inequality of first fruits to the present value of benefices observing,that he was now seeking to redeem the character of the U'nfortunate and unprotected Clhurch of Ireland (hear; hear%-. ay, nd f tat f Enlan to. I hewas right in his proposi. tios, e ws rscung he harcte oftheIrish Church fromi a vlery unjst mpuatin: orhercleirywer bamed at presenit for nor givng urter hartabe dnatonswhee,in point of fact, the law did ot allon hemto o s. I hewaswrong, on the other hand, then, inasmuch as the parties -were altewhile accused of embez- zling the public mnoney, no timne should he lest or could be thrown away in ascertaininig thie,real state of the ease; and under this feel- ing heimplored the patience of the house for somnelittle time longer. The honourable end learned gentleman then ientered into arec-aptu- lation of the several statutes of Henry VIII., Philip and Mary, Elizabeth CharleslI. Queen Anne,and GeorgelI., relative to first f'ruits,and'conltended t'hat theyporov,ed liisinfereucetobeacorrect one. As the first fruits were paid in England, so they had been Paid In Ire- land according to the valuation, though he (M1r. Plunikett) admitted that the valuation in Irelandmrightibavecbeen lower than in England; buit he defied the right honiourable iaronet to state any instance of one clergyman in Ireland payig less thain the estimated value of the year's first fiuits. Trhe realquestion between hiis right honiourable friend and himself was this--Did thie clergy of Ireland hold any thing which by law they' were bound to pay? According to his construc- tion of the law, they did not, as thiey hadi been paying according to the last valuation in the time of Charles I. The contrary was not to be. assusned merely because tlhey had not thought proper so comiply at once with the valuation puit on by the Remain- brancer of First Fruits-an officer, of whomn he dlid niot wish to say any thiing derogatory., as he had no doubt he acted on what he conceived to be hIs duty. He (Mlr. Plunh-ett) thought, that if he had tnot conistincedi the houise thiat they ouchE to take the same view of the subject as he didl, yet he had at least proved, that if there was any thing against the clergy of Ire- land, the gamie chiarge applied to the clergy of the church of' Enig- lan. He begged to say a few words with reference to ,yhiathad fallen from thehonourab)le member for Aberdeen afew nights ago. Thlat honourable memb eribid stated the number of non-residents at 531; and he (Mr. Plun,kett) had then stated that the odd numbers, 31, would be an exaggeration, in his sense of the wordIs, non-resident. In stating that, he had not the slightest intenition of wounding the feelings of the hornourable members or imputing any intention of misleading the house. He would now say that the stattment he (dIr. PIutnkett) then made was substantially correct, as the house would perceive when the papers were prinited. He had then dii- tincaly stated that the sources of errorin the lion. gentleman's state- ment were twofold, for he hgd countedl all uniions as pluralists, and all plitralist as non-residents ; and i-n addition to that, there WCer persons who from old age wiere incapable of discharging their duty, but was that, he would ask, non-residence? When all the different classes of cases were considered, it wouild be found therewere scarce. ly ay no-resdent, an wihoutmeanng t saynaything invi- dios,ifth cery f reandwee omard it Eglnd the pro. in the latter country.heforer tia Mr. PRIN RIC sad thre nverwas9 a speech delivered in that housie which abeunded mote withstatements adcapta1diuMlthian that just delivered by the hon. and leamned gent.. thouigh he had thoug,ht proper to characterize the address of his right hon. friead (Sir J. N1ewport) as of that description). The argument of his hon. friend did not imptute malversation to tshe clergy ; hut he said the law supposed a re-valuation of the livings and the charge was against the Govremment foDrnotbhaving put those laws in force. He (Mr. S. Rice) protested against being uanderstood, in supporting the motion ofhshon. friend, as coniveysng any imputation on the clergy of thte country. If the construction of she law, according to thne hon. and leared enteman(Mr Plnket), erecorrect, be should be glad to kow n wat tincplethoe bnefces wvere to be charged which at resnt idnotconriuteat ll That, lie thought, was quie asuficen grundfo du huse to inquire. It was In proo alo, hatup o aver lae priod the clergy of Irelaud did ot cntriute o th maitenace of the parochiial schiools, wlhich they were bound to mainitain Bt pposing he were tocneethe whole of the legal roeto h n n learne!d gent. (Mir. Pltsnkett) as to the cntuioofthe acts; what then ? %Vas It not open to Parliament fo reviewv the whole of the subject, and to devite a new and better system to Carry the original ifltquirdi into eiTect ? The teem "spoliation" coal-d net,he thought, apply, to ally he-..gaei of thle Property of the church for the service of the church itgelti, This was d2.ernt rom the state laying hold of that property for purposes coreign to the interests of religion. He wished for the salr of that heuse, tnd for the saleofthe people of Ireland that the sobj5cshould be reconsiderecl of the statements of the hon. End learned geintleman were substan- tiated by evidence, he had only furnished addidonal reasons for the inquiry. Air. GOULBURN said, that whatever might be the explana- tion of the hon. gentlemani (Mir. S. Rice), it eas impossible to say that the motion of the hon. baronet did not convey an imputas tation on the church of Ireland. The statements of the riglut bon. baronet, also, were calcu-lated to produce the impression, t at in one country the church was liber.a, and in the other that it was bigotted-in the one, the clergy did their duty with zeal and effect, and in the other negligently. Whatever miglht have been the case at former periods, it was well known to mdl acquainted with the church of Ireland, that there was at thepresent moment the utmost anxiety to discharge zealously all the various tuties which attached to the clerical body. The rigbt honourable gentle- man concluded-with moving the previous questloii. Ar. HUME, in referenee to what had been said by the hon. and learned gentleman respecting the non-residents, as if he (Mr. Hume) had made an erroneous teportl to the house, he would only repeat now what he had said en a tormer evening, when the hot. atid learned gentleman was not in his place-tbat he had only read the official eturnS madesto chat. heuse by the Bishops themnselves. It was perfect detusion to compare tlhe Church of England and Ire- land together: noswishstanding all plausible statements, every man of common sense must see the difference. By their works be they known. Sir J. N WPOR:T replied.-The house then divided.:- Ayes .- 71 INoes . 5. The atinounc.jment-of tie nunbers was received with cheering. - ! - BXCHEQUER BILLS' BILL.- .Thebotks,e-resoljvgdaitsclfinto t cenmnittee on the Exchequer bills (15,000,0001.) bill. :Ar.:IERRIES propsea:the appropriatiou clute, Wblich wf- agreed to.-The iouse then resumed, and the xejort was orderd ' to be receieed to-morrow. - Th I VWOOI TRADE. The wool importation and exportation bill was read a third time; and passed.-The other orders of tbe day were then disposed of, anda the house adjourned at a QU;JtTER PAST ONE O'CLOCX. HIOUSE OF CODIONS. TUESDAY, AIAY 25.