The Sun. — 1842-04-27 (London, England)

ATTORNEY-GENERAL said, . there o'l he no doubt that whatever the private opinion to the Honourable Member might be with regard rio time obligations of honour and confidence ill .PLio. vete, that all those considerations vanished for ow demand of justice, if - the individual was Called 0, to give evidence. This principle was placed Du bo firm a basis, that he need scarcely dwell on ii.;•1i1...,i would just mention the case of Lord Langton, 'who ''''f.p • called on, in the trial of the Duchess of Kingston' os state if he had ever learned whether or pot . she fist ever married to Mr. Harvey. He had __ at is refused to answer the question, on the ground -0- ef doing so lie should violate the honourable confidence of the private intercourse of society.. The House ~0 Lords adjourned and consulted, and decided ,1,•'..'44 he must answer the question. He therefore preP'''', oit the best answer he could from the conversation W"tve had taken place twenty years previously. He bail r doubt whatever but that the Committee ivai ro fectly right in putting the question if they o.°l-10' it mater'.al, and the witness was . bound to .111570, the question so put. Every person, whether a May:, of the House or not, appeared before the Committee before a Court of Justice, and if that Committee had l'', power to commit a witness, it had also the power'of ten, ing a refusal to answer a question to the House. He o.': Attorney-General) then cited several clauses of the .A.c. bearing on the point, and proceeded to say Committee had exercised a sound discretion, and II lie thought the acted with every respect to that . House in il_.,° having committed a Member of it to custody. But WIT, the Hon. Member was apprised of the opinion of '....1, House, and what must be the opinion of every lek",, authority, that because, under a legal obligation to IP; 0 swer he would take a different view of the circumstance',/ ,/ if a question were put to a witness, and he refuseu, At give an answer, it would remain to be seen to ".1.4,41" extent he would be justified in that refusal. WE,. not because a Learned Counsel had put lo gilefS7 that the Committee were bound to enforce it.--(rA'o. lie was sure that the manner in which the C00,172"„4a had acted would induce the House. to repow o%r dance in their decision, even if they had net the sr 0 thority of the law on their side. But the question los °I), ei solely of discretion ; the House could repose confiaeo 4. in a discretion which had been so • soundly exec' i, 0 if the Committee had reason to believe that the gueslp," if might leadto painful disclosures, the House would a1,,,-, .f them to decide accordingly, and he was sure that 1." would do justice to all the parties. f Mr. ROEBUCK said, he wished to know whether; l't not a witness before a Committee of the House of•COW,.I90 , 0 was to be placed in a different situation from U'''n J which he would‘ be placed before any other tVibutil, in the kingdom?;—(Hear, hear.) If he were boro,r?„ 0 Court of Queen's Bench, and a man were to ask big r he had committed a murder, what would be his ans`ga to If he were guilty, he would say, " I doret ilite'n We criminate myself," and the Court would say o' question was an improper one, becaos. 104' its . tendency to criminate. the witness.—(liar' oli4t hear.) Now he wanted to know . if, .1, AO ~ an Hon. Member or any man in this °AA !were to be brought before a Committee: of the '''' er he was to be asked a question which might tentonoi it minate himself, and be forced to -answer.itsur, Oa' 0 of imprisonment—as a lawyer he desired w P from lawyers an answer to .that questioo: 0118 did not want to make the question a p#4l 0 11' : ' he wanted to strip it of all that. He was glad it solose or t, ether side of the House. He wanted to know frent.t, 001 p were of that honourable profession on both sides of evs, '-' r whether any one would be bold enough to say, that '1...,5,,,1ed bo, law of England, acknowledged by her Judges, staraatrostit • those who had hitherto been above all imputation--nore4 to know, whether by the law, that amen coming-be psi lelo tribunal in this kingdom was bound to answer a questw' tended to criminate himself ?_( Cheers. ) • The