said, that it would perhaps be more convenient for both parties to reserve any observations which they might wish to make on any subject connected with the suspension of the Habeas Corpus to a future day. On Monday next a communication would be made to the House of certain papers calculated to throw light on the state of the country. He trusted that whatever differences of opinion they might have with respect to the necessity for the suspension, or the manner in which the powers given to ministers were exercised, there could be but one opinion among them respecting the propriety of passing the present bill through the House with as little delay as possible. It was his intention therefore to propose that the House should depart from their usual practice, and pass the bill through all its stages that day. He concluded with moving that the bill be read a first time.

agreed in thinking that the suspension act ought to be repealed with as little delay as possible. He should abstain at present from entering into any of the topics alluded to by the chancellor of the exchequer, in the understanding that the subject would be gone fully into on a future day.

asked, in what manner the subject would be gone into on Monday?

said, it was first intended to lay before the House certain papers calculated to throw light on the state of the country: the appointment of a committee was afterwards to be proposed.

asked in what way these papers were to be dealt with? In what way were they to proceed on Monday?

said, on Monday a day would be named on which the papers then laid before the House should be taken into consideration; and a committee would be chosen for that purpose in the usual manner.

asked, if the committee was to be chosen by ballot.

said, they were still left very much in the dark as to the manner of choosing the committee, which was by far the most important part of the business. The right hon. gentleman had told them it would be chosen in the usual manner. Now, a committee was chosen in two ways last session—one time by ballot, and another time by motion.

said, he believed it would be chosen by ballot.

wished to know, whether the committee was to be proposed on Monday, or on a future day?

said, the papers would be laid before the House on Monday, and the committee would not be proposed till a future day.

said, he could have no objection to a bill so very desirable as the one now before the House. At the same time, he could not help expressing his surprise, that though he had come down to the House that night before the usual time for entering on public business, this business had been gone into some time before he came. He knew some other members who would have been happy to have given their assent to this bill, but who were thus precluded from an opportunity of doing so. It seemed as if ministers were afraid of opposition or dreaded discussion; at all events, their conduct on this occasion was very unfair towards the House. His reason for then rising was, that he considered this measure was not sufficient—it was not all that the case required. If they confined themselves to a bare repeal, those persons who had been arrested and detained under the suspension act, and discharged on their recognizances, might still be harassed and exposed to a great deal of suffering. Something was due to these persons, and the bill ought therefore to be more than a repeal. As far as he was able to learn, and he had taken every opportunity of examining into the subject, it appeared to him that all those persons taken up under the suspension act who had been discharged on their recognizances, were unfairly dealt with. There was no law authorizing magistrates to demand such recognizances from them. These men had, he apprehended, been very ill used, and might be exposed to further ill usage without any remedy, if provision was not made in the bill now before the House. There existed no proper legal authority for binding these persons on their recognizance to appear on a certain day. A recognizance could not be demanded from a man, without an accusation against him on the oath of some individual whom he might have an opportunity of confronting. He did conceive, that by merely repealing the Suspension act, they would not be going far enough, and that a clause ought to be introduced for the purpose of vacating the recognizances which had been so illegally demanded. He had drawn up a clause to meet the difficulty which he should propose in the proper stage.

considered the secretary of state bound to give the House the fullest information of the reason and grounds which induced his majesty's government to require the parties to enter into these recognizances.

said:—The question now before the House appears to me rather a question of law, adapted for the consideration of a court of justice, than an argument for or against passing the bill. The cases of these individuals were such, that although nothing sufficiently strong, so as to affect them with the crime of high treason, could be substantiated on oath against them, still enough came out to warrant the magistrates in binding them over to keep the peace, and appear at a certain day if called upon. It is by no means a practice unusual in accusations of felony or misdemeanor, and rests in the breast of the magistrate as he shall deem it fit. What is a discharge upon a man's own recognizance, but a security given by the accused himself, instead of one given by himself jointly with two good securities? The recognizance, so far, has the appearance of an indulgence granted, rather than an injury inflicted. If the recognizance under these circumstances be illegal, the party may apply to the court of King's-bench, and it will relieve them. If the noble lord asks for my legal opinion upon this head, I think I may safely admit, that the act which empowered the secretary of state or the magistrates, to commit, also empowers them to liberate upon taking a recognizance. That the secretary of

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state has a right, under these circumstances, to require, through the medium of the magistrates, a recognizance, the, history of all prior periods of similar alarm will be found to prove. But the fact is, that no objection would have been made to the release of these men, and the discharge of their recognizances long since, but for their determination to prefer in court objections to the right which had been thus exercised. In a conversation I myself had with some of them, they stated, that they had objections on points of law to urge when brought up; and I, as well as others of his majesty's servants, thought it best to let their recognizances stand over, that they might avail themselves of the opportunity to discuss the point. Whether I have acted rightly or not in this respect, I will leave to the result; but I have the satisfaction to reflect, that it cannot be said I have precluded these persons from making use of the advantages they imagined they possessed.

said, the attorney-general had confounded the practice of the courts of law with the legislation of the country. The men detained under the suspension act were enlarged, on the condition of entering into recognizances for their appearance in court on a future day, and therefore they were under the control of the court. But they were repealing the act under which these men were held in confinement, and therefore any detention of them after the repeal would be illegal. But if these men had been bound on their recognizance to appear in court on a future day, they might still be called on for that purpose, if some provision were not introduced into the bill. The measure recommended by his noble friend was one becoming the House to adopt, insomuch as no such detention ought to be continued after the passing of the repeal. The attorney-general had confounded two subjects, the remedy against the persons demanding the recognizance, and the security against future oppression.

said, that the moment this bill had passed, that moment, the suspension and its consequences were removed. The suspension and the compelling the parties to enter into the recognizances, were transactions, neither involved in, nor connected with each other. Neither could the fact of the existence of these recognizances affect the propriety of the repeal of this act, suspending that invaluable portion of the general liberty. The circumstance might fairly be a ground of a separate motion, and was cognizable in point of law; but could never be considered a ground for preventing the restoration to society at large of the full and free exercise of their constitutional liberties.

contended, that the noble lord had not understood the grounds on which the clause was proposed. It was true, that after the passing of the present bill, no persons could be arrested or detained in prison, without having the power of forcing on their trial; but in what way did the government now endeavour to escape from this? The persons detained under the suspension act were bound on their recognizance to appear in court on a certain day, that is to say the bill would still be in force against them. Various things might be demanded from men confined under such circumstances, as the condition on which they could obtain their liberation—they might be compelled to pay 100l—they might be asked to go down on their knees and beg the ministers pardon—or they might be asked to give recognizances to appear on a certain day in court, and from time to time afterwards ministers had chosen to demand a recognizance; and, with few exceptions, it was deemed advisable to accede to their demand. Could any man, however, say, that they had the power to demand such recognizances, and to detain those individuals who refused to grant them, without the Suspension act? Why then these recognizances necessarily flowed from the Suspension act, and ought to be vacated by the repeal. He had understood that in one or two cases the alternative offered to the detained had been rejected; and there was a case which would, he believed, shortly come under their notice, concerning the conduct of a certain justice in London towards three individuals. It had been argued that this was properly a question for the consideration of a court of law; but he contended that it was not properly a question for the consideration of a court of law. The way taken in this case was, to put an option to the parties, which option they could not have had put to them, had they not been visited with the extraordinary powers of the Suspension act?

said:—My hon. and learned friend seems altogether mistaken in the principle of law, upon which he has founded his whole speech. Does he for a moment mean to assert, that had a man been taken up on a charge of high treason, and that such circumstances had been brought to light during his confinement, that he had been discharged upon his own recognizance, there was no person competent by law to enlarge him upon such recognizance prior to the parsing of the suspension act? I apprehend this act confirms no such power. The power to commit and to discharge in this manner existed long before this act. The power created by this act was the power of preventing the accused being brought to trial in the usual course of proceeding If this act had never passed, it would have been as competent to the parties to dispute the legality of the recognizances, as if it were to continue until the time of trying the question. We are now discussing what does not concern the merits of the suspension act, nor flow out of its enactment.

said:—I certainly agree that the act gave no new power to commit; the power has been well observed to have existed before. However, the exercise of it must, in this case, be considered extremely objectionable. The secretary of state has evidently usurped this power to the prejudice of these parties, nor can the hon. and learned gentleman easily exculpate himself from the charge of neglect of duty, in not having discharged these parties without taking any recognizances. The attorney-general ought to have known, that no secretary of state has any power, much less right, on a charge of high treason, to liberate the accused on his own recognizance, or commit him to bail; much less can any inferior magistrate exercise such a prerogative; this power belongs only to the court of King's-bench. The attempt to justify this conduct has been equally futile with the attempt to impress on the public mind the necessity of the late rash and alarming measures of an administration which has not hesitated to plunge numerous victims into gaols without cause, and to keep them them there immured, without permitting their innocence to be established, in order that they might keep alive those fears and apprehensions to which they were indebted for the support of many, who were otherwise averse to their guilty measures.

remarked, that though it had been stated by the solicitor-general, that the power did not proceed from the bill, but from the common law, yet ministers had in substance acted under the bill, and from that the recognizances had proceeded.

thinking the suspension act had existed much too long, and that it would have been better if it had never existed at all, said he should not give any opposition to the repeal. They were passing the bill with great propriety, and dispensing with the usual forms. They did so because it was a matter of extreme injury that the suspension should not be repealed immediately after it ceased to be necessary. Now, how long had this extreme injury been allowed to continue? Was the suspension act necessary last night—last week—amonth—or two months ago? [Hear, hear!] When the question was before the House last session, it was proposed that the bill should expire on the 1st of December; that, if it should still be found necessary to vest ministers with these extraordinary powers, the judgment of parliament might have been taken on the subject. If the bill had only been in force to the 1st of December, parliament, in all probability, would not have been called to meet, and the act would have been allowed to expire. By not advising parliament to be called sooner than the 27th of January, the country had been existing in a state in which it ought not to have been suffered to exist. Because ministers had not thought proper to advise the assembling of parliament, the country had been exposed to the misfortune of existing under powers, for the continuance of which there was no necessity. These powers had been acted on till within a very few weeks of the time when ministers knew that they would have to account for their conduct. The fact was, that no necessity existed for the bill ever since the month of June last. He had not, since June, heard of any signs,—he would not say of an insurrection,—but of dissatisfaction existing in any part of the country. In that very month of June it was that the conduct of the missionaries employed by government was exposed. As soon as their conduct was brought under notice, these persons were discontinued in their employments, and since that time they had heard of no discontent, no dissatisfaction, no conspiracies.

said, it was the practice of the other side of the House to represent this measure as setting its supporters in array against the people; but this was both uncandid and unjust. It was not against the people that ministers were furnished with this discretion; but against the deluded part of the people, and for the benefit of the public at large. In the same spirit the officers of the Crown had been charged by the hon. and learned gentleman with bringing forward some late proceedings, and persisting in them, for the express purpose of rendering juries contemptible, and thus preparing the public mind for further encroachments on one of their most valuable privileges. But common candour and justice would ascribe their conduct to a more honourable motive—to an imperative sense of public duty. It had been asserted, and with great confidence, that all the mischiefs which had occurred had their origin in the artful machinations of a certain individual, whose name had formerly been mentioned in that House. He had no difficulty in asserting, in opposition to all this clamour, that that individual had done no mischief whatever; that on the contrary he had done great service, and that he had disclosed conspiracies, at which he had only incidentally and accidentally been present; for surely little weight could attach to the unfortunate declarations of the men dying at Derby; besides that, they were fully disproved by their own previous statements. It had been stated that government ceased to employ spies in the month of June, and that from that period the country remained tranquil. But the real cause of this tranquillity was to be found rather in the suspension of the Habeas Corpus, and the salutary apprehensions of the trial which was then hanging over the disaffected. He solemnly protested, that, to the best of his judgment, the state of the country was not such at any given period up to this date, that the bill could have been before repealed with safety. He well knew, however, that it was no new thing to charge government with being the cause of the evil which they were instrumental in averting.

said, he did not particularly allude to the employment of Oliver. The last report of the secret committee of the Lords had thrown sufficient light upon that subject, in which it had been stated, that the committee "had seen reason to apprehend that the language and conduct of some persons from whom information had been derived, might in some instances, have had the effect of encouraging these designs which it was intended they should only be the instruments of detecting."^* Nor had one of his majesty's ministers scrupled to assert broadly, that it was his duty to employ such persons in such an objectionable way.

said, that the persons alluded to in the report were not employed by government, but by inferior magistrates.

said, after what had fallen from the right hon. gentleman, they were to understand that a danger did exist up to the 20th of January, when the last person was discharged—a danger which rendered it unsafe to repeal the suspension of the Habeas Corpus. That point ministers were therefore pledged to make good; for if the suspension existed one single day beyond the necessity for it, the king's ministers were guilty of a crime against the liberty of the subject. According to the right hon. gentleman the reports of both Houses of parliament were wrong.—It seemed the spies had never, as stated in these reports, promoted any mischief. He was to prove that the spies employed by government were never in any one instance, the cause of mischief.

proposed a clause to the following effect:—That all persons bound by recognizances under the suspension act, be henceforth completely discharged from these recognizances, but that this clause should not apply to any other recognizances.

said, that the clause proposed by the noble lord would place the House in an extremely awkward situation. In such a case the House would actually be legislating on a subject, the legality of which remained to be discussed in a court of justice. He hoped, therefore, the difficulty would be avoided by the noble lord withdrawing the clause proposed.

observed, that some of these poor unfortunate men had been more than twelve months in confinement, during which time their families had been left unprotected and starving. It was therefore a question not so much of justice as of humanity. Even if they could obtain redress in a court of law, yet they

^* See Vol. 36, p. 1097.

would be exposed to heavy expenses. He hoped, therefore, the House would save them this necessity, and release them completely from the effect of these recognizances as a small atonement for the heavy evils they had suffered from the act of suspension.

said, he rested his proposal, not upon a doubtful statement of any facts, but upon such as were notorious, and that he proposed merely the complete repeal of the suspension act.

said, it was impossible the gentlemen opposite could have rightly understood what he had said on the subject of these recognizances. He begged again to state, that the reason why the persons who had been set at liberty on their own recognizances had not been discharged from those recognizances, was, because they had maintained the illegality of their being obliged to enter into them. He therefore wished to give them an opportunity of bringing the matter to issue, and of having it decided by the court of King's Bench. Several of those persons had complained to him on the subject. He had told all of them that they would not be called upon. God forbid, that he or any other law officer of the Crown should' attempt to direct any persons against whom charges had been made by government in what manner they should proceed in their defence. Many of those persons had, asked his advice as to the manner in which they should proceed. He refused to advise them; but repeated, that their attendance was not necessary; and that if they had any fault to find with having been obliged to enter into those recognizances they might make their complaint to the court of King's Bench, or in any other manner they pleased. He did not wish to discharge them from their recognizances, lest it should be said that he had thereby deprived them of an opportunity of seeking redress. They had all received notice, save one, before they left their different homes, that their presence in town was not necessary. The person who did not receive such notice had set off for London before the notice reached that part of the country where he lived. It could not, therefore, be said, that their not being discharged was in order to harass or distress them. Another observation which had been made was, that because the suspension act was repealed every thing which had been done under that act should also be repealed This he begged leave to deny. When the act itself was repealed it left every thing in the state it was before it was passed. The intention of the act was, to prevent persons who were arrested from being bailed, and to empower magistrates to detain them in custody until proceeded against, or set at large by the secretary of state, on such terms as the peace and well-being of the country made necessary. But it did not follow, when the act under which any persons were arrested was repealed, that those persons should be considered as free from all responsibility. Suppose any number of persons were arrested under the suspension of the Habeas Corpus act, against whom the officers of the Crown were not ready to proceed—if that act were to be repealed before those persons were brought to trial, ought they to be discharged on that account, though there were strong grounds of accusation against them? This, he supposed, no one would assert; and yet the argument of the gentlemen on the other side would go that length, if they maintained, that every thing which had been done under the suspension act was to be repealed with it.

imagined, that the attorney general did not yet understand the plea on which the clause was offered to the House. It was by virtue of the act of suspension that the secretary of state had been enabled to exact these recognizances from the prisoners. The persons bound by these recognizances might go to the King's-bench and demand to be released from them. But might not the King's-bench say that they had voluntarily, and with their eyes open, entered into them? Was it not likely they would say so? The attorney-general, then, well knew they were without their remedy. But what was it that had enabled the government to demand these recognizances in such a manner that the prisoners were compelled to comply? The suspension of the Habeas Corpus. It was then suspended; and at the time when their recognizances were entered into, no man knew how long it would remain suspended. Look then at the different situation of a prisoner while the suspension continued. In common cases, when the government had detained a man, they might offer him his discharge on his recognizance: if he refused that, the alternative was that he must be brought to trial. But, during the suspension of the Habeas Corpus act, if a prisoner refused to give his recognizance, the government was not obliged to bring him to trial. He would in that case be compelled to remain in prison, as the right of suing out his writ of Habeas Corpus was denied. Was there no difference between saying, "give your recognizance or you shall be brought to trial," and saying "give your recognizance or you shall remain in prison." Here was the git of the question. As the bill before the House was to place the subject in the same situation in which he stood before the passing of the act, it was therefore not consistent, that those from whom recognizances had been exacted under the act should be excepted from its beneficial operation.

observed, that the necessity of the clause was now placed on a new ground, on which, however, he was ready to meet it. It had been said that the court of King's-bench would use those recognizances, the parties having entered into them voluntarily, as a ground for refusing to discharge them, and also for proving their being legally entered into. But that he conceived was not the question before the House. The question to be decided was, whether the parties taking those recognizances had a right to take them? If the magistrates who took them had no right to do so, then it mattered not whether the parties had entered into them voluntarily or otherwise, they were illegal. The only power taken from a magistrate by the suspension of the Habeas Corpus act was, his being prevented from setting those persons who might be arrested under it at liberty on bail. But any act of the persons who had been arrested, however willingly entered into by them, could not be binding on them if entered into before an incompetent tribunal. He should therefore repeat, that the only question was, whether the magistrates had a right to take those recognizances from the parties liberated, as if they had, there could be no complaint of illegality; if not, the recognizances were not binding.

said, that his hon. and learned friend had stated that the question had been placed on a new ground, and that the only subject for consideration was, whether the parties taking the recognizances had a right to do so. The secretary of state had, by the suspension of the Habeas Corpus act, been vested with the power of taking persons into custody and detaining them, and, therefore, had the power of taking their recognizance if he chose to liberate them: at least, he had the power of detaining those who refused to enter into the recognizance which he demanded. But it appeared to him the question was, whether, when the act which empowered him to arrest and detain ceased, the power of demanding recognizance did not cease also? Previous to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus act, the secretary of state could not send for whom he pleased to tell him there was a charge against him, and that if he did not enter into recognizance to appear when called for he would commit him. He could not do this, because the law would not allow him so to do. Why then, he would ask, were those persons to be kept bound to appear when called on, against whom no charge of guilt had been brought, or, he believed, could be brought? If they repealed the suspension act, they had also a right to remove those hardships which had been brought upon those men who had been dragged from their homes without any cause, and who would otherwise be kept in continual alarm and suspense, lest they might on some future occasion be brought to trial on they know not what accusation. The attorney-general had said, that he intended to discharge the recognizances: if such were his intention perhaps his noble friend would not press the clause.

said, that were it not for the reasons which he had before given, the recognizances would all have been discharged. He should repeat, that he had declined doing so, lest it should be said that by having discharged them, he had prevented many individuals from seeking redress for what they considered a great grievance.

observed, that those persons who had been arrested under the suspension of the Habeas Corpus act, and afterwards set at liberty on their own recognizances, had sustained a much greater injury than was generally imagined. They had been accused of crimes of which no proof could be brought against them, and by being obliged to enter into recognizances for their appearance, an imputation of guilt had been cast upon them. A blot was thrown on their characters which it was not easy to remove from the public mind; and he would say, that if these persons had been arrested for the purpose of injuring their charac- ters, and blasting their reputation, and not with the intention of proceeding against them, a very serious degree of blame attached to the secretary of state. He hoped the noble lord would press his clause, as it was of the utmost consequence to those persons to be relieved from the trouble of attending at any future day, and the fear of having their recognizances continued.

said, that to save the time of the House he would withdraw the clause, if the attorney-general would state that it was his intention to discharge all those recognizances. But if he only said it was not his intention to call upon them, he should press it; as he thought it was most strongly called for.

said, the nature of the case had been misunderstood, if it was supposed that the persons in question had entered into recognizances for their good behaviour. Their recognizances were only for their appearance in court to answer any charge that might be instituted against them. At the time they were discharged, it had not been determined whether any proceeding against them should be instituted. Their recognizances could not afterwards be discharged till the first day of term. On that day they appeared in court, notwithstanding the notice given them that their appearance was not necessary. When they appeared in court, he told them that their recognizances should not be acted upon, but should be immediately discharged; but some of them replied, that they had a right to make objections to the recognizances. He then at once said he would not deprive them of that right; God forbid that he should interpose, by any deed of his, between them and their right to bring forward legal objections. He had now no hesitation in saying, that their recognizances would be forthwith discharged.

then withdrew the proposed clause. The bill was read a third time, and passed.

said, he had a Petition to present from Francis Ward, one of the persons whose case had that day been under discussion. It was perhaps not drawn up in the manner which might have been best fitted to procure it atten- tion, but it contained nothing offensive to the House. The Petition was then read, setting forth, "That the petitioner is a lace-maker, and has resided in the town of Nottingham, upwards of 28 years, having a wife, four children, and a mother 90 years of age, dependent upon him for support; that on the 10th of June 1817, a number of the Nottingham police officers entered the petitioner's dwelling house, and one of them (Mr. Lawson) said to the petitioner, 'Mr. Ward, we are come to 'search your house; the petitioner asked by what authority they came to do so; one of them observed, 'You may be sure we are not come without authority;' the petitioner replied, 'Show me it, or you shall not search my premises;' immediately Mr. Lawson held up in his hand a paper, and said, Here it is;' the petitioner requested him to read it, he replied, 'The law will not justify me in reading it, until we get before a magistrate; while this conversation was passing between the petitioner and Lawson, the other police officers were gone into different parts of the petitioner's dwelling house and premises; therefore seeing all remonstrance in vain, the petitioner reluctantly submitted to that which he thought diametrically opposed to both law and justice; the petitioner has no doubt but the sequel will prove to the House that he did not oppose the police from motives of fear; no, the man who is guided by this rule, 'Do unto others as you would they should do unto you,' has nothing to fear; and that rule which was laid down by no less a personage than Jesus Christ, has long been adopted and acted upon by the petitioner, so that he had no reason to dread the thoughts often or twelve constables searching his premises for seditious and treasonable documents; it was not from fear, but from a consciousness of the rectitude of the petitioner's conduct as a man and a subject, and from a persuasion of the illegality of those proceedings, that the petitioner opposed the searching of his house; when the police officers had took down a cannister, looked into a thimble, and searched the petitioner's house in vain, they frankly acknowledged there was nothing to be found which they were searching for; the petitioner asked them what they were looking for; one of them observed, 'You have that to find out.' Not being satisfied with such proceed- ings, the petitioner consulted an attorney, and was by him advised to make application for a copy of the warrant or authority by which the petitioner's house was searched, and for the names of the constables it was directed and delivered to; that the petitioner applied to Mr. Enfield, town clerk; he observed, 'You have no 'right to a copy,' and he repeated that assertion several times, and added with considerable emphasis, 'You may make application, but I know what advice I shall give.' The petitioner went directly to the police office, where he saw Mr. Alderman Saars, and acquainted him with the petitioner's business; the alderman said, 'Go backwards,' and immediately ordered a constable to take the petitioner into custody; that after remaining in that situation upwards of an hour, Mr. Alderman Barber (a near neighbour of the petitioner) came to him and said, 'I am very sorry for you Francis, as I believe you to be an honest industrious man, but I would advise you 'to withdraw your application.' He repeated that several times, and farther added, It is a dangerous case to press, however you will not consider me as advising you as a magistrate, but as a friend.' The petitioner informed him that the treatment he had received was altogether unmerited, and that, at all events, he was determined to press his application, conceiving he had an incontrovertible right to make the demand; that soon after this interview the petitioner was taken before the bench of magistrates at the police office, when the town clerk inquired of the petitioner what his application was; he informed the town clerk it was for a copy of the warrant issued ordering his dwelling house and premises to be searched, and for the names of the constables it was directed and delivered to; that the town clerk ordered the petitioner to be taken away until his case was disposed of. In a short, time the petitioner was again introduced to the magistrates, and the town clerk then informed him that they had agreed not to grant the request, and that the petitioner must be detained for being concerned in the Loughborough outrage, alluding as the petitioner supposed to frame-breaking, which took place in Loughborough in June 1816. That the petitioner was taken to the town gaol, where (except what food his wife brought him) he had nothing but bread and water, felons allowance, and slept in one of the dampest cells that ever man was put into; added to this his bed was not only damp but had a strong sulphureous smell, which rendered it almost intolerable. Thus the petitioner was taken from his abode of comfort, without reason or justice, and cut off from society, except in the day-time, being immured in a small room with a felon; and although confined in this prison but four days, the petitioner there caught a severe cold, which is so firmly fixed upon his lungs, he has too much reason to fear it can never be removed. That on the 14th of June, the fourth day after his arrest, Mr. Alderman Barber, the town clerk, a king's messenger, and a Bow-street officer, came to the gaol, and informed the petitioner that he must prepare for a journey, as there was a warrant from the secretary of state. Mr. Barber then observed, 'The Loughborough business must stand over,' and the petitioner has heard no more of it from that time to the present; that he denies any participation or knowledge, either directly or indirectly, in the breaking of frames at Loughborough or elsewhere, or with the parties concerned therein, and he here challenges inquiry, and insists that the imputation so made upon him is groundless, and founded only in malice. That in about an hour afterwards the king's messenger and Bowstreet officer came again to the gaol, and chained the petitioner hand and foot to a man of the name of Haynes; that before they got into the chaise the Bowstreet officer said to the petitioner, 'If you heave your hands to let the chains be seen, you shall be the first that shall fall;' at the same time holding a pistol in his hand. On the road to London the fetters round the petitioner's hand gave him much pain, which caused him to comment upon the severe and unmerited treatment he was suffering; the officer observed, 'You wish to make it appear that you are not a disaffected person; the town clerk informed me that you are much respected by the mechanics of Loughborough and Leicester, and the working people in general, so that you are a dangerous man to be at large.' That on the 15th the petitioner arrived in London, and was placed in Cold Bath Fields prison, and on the 21st was taken before lord Sidmouth and other gentlemen; after inquiring the petitioner's age, he was informed that he was apprehended under a warrant from the secretary of state on suspicion of high treason, and that he should commit the petitioner to close confinement until delivered by due course of law; and farther observed, 'If you have any thing to say, you are at liberty to speak;' To that the petitioner replied, 'I declare my innocence, and if every action of my life was painted in its proper colour, your lordship would say I merited reward rather than punishment.' In vain did the petitioner declare his innocence, and challenge inquiry and proof of his guilt; his lordship observed, 'You are not unjustly punished, 'for my information is from a respectable 'source, and you shall have a list of the 'evidence against you, and proper notice of your trial before its commencement.' That the petitioner was then conveyed back to Cold Bath Fields prison, and on the 24th was, with William Cliff (a young man from Derby), removed to Oxford Castle; that on the petitioner's arrival at that place he was confined by himself in one of the most dismal cells ever made for criminals under sentence of death, about eleven feet by seven; that when there was a fire in it the petitioner was nearly suffocated with smoke, and driven to the necessity of removing into the privy for air, in order to be enabled to respire. But what is here stated is not all the wretchedness connected with that excessively miserable cell that the petitioner was confined in, for such a stench descended the chimney during the night, that the dungeon was rendered almost intolerable, endangering the life of the petitioner; that he frequently applied to the governor to remove that intolerable evil, but in vain; that after remaining four days in such cell, William Cliff was brought down to it, and the petitioner taken up into a small room called the turnkey's lodge, and such alternate change was made every four days for between three and four months; and although the petitioner and Cliff passed each other once each fourth day, they were not permitted to hold any conversation, or even speak to each other; that near Michaelmas the petitioner and Cliff were allowed to be together a few hours each day; that circumstance was so far alleviating the rigorous treatment of the petitioner, although he had no previous acquaintance with, or knowledge of Cliff; that in the last few weeks of the petitioner's imprisonment, the prisoners in the Castle became so numerous, that it was found absolutely necessary for the petitioner and Cliff to be confined constantly in a turnkey's lodge, and in that situation the petitioner continued until the 13th of November, 1817, and was then liberated on his own recognizance of 100l. to appear in the court of King's-bench, Westminster, on the 23d of January, 1818, and there remain from day to day until discharged, and not depart the court without leave. That in the foregoing statement, the petitioner has attempted to give the House a plain detailed account of the sufferings, without exaggeration, he has undergone while detained under the suspension act; but, alas! this attempt comes far short of giving a full and clear description of the unheard-of cruelty he has been treated with, as no mention has been made of the excruciating torture of mind the petitioner has undergone;—here language fails, and to form any conception of his case, it will be necessary to figure to the imagination a man, who through life has taken a very active part in it, being accustomed to labour hard for his bread, by frequently having to work twelve, fourteen, sixteen hours a day, and sometimes more, the existence of a family depending on his exertions, which all at once ceases, and the intolerable state of inactivity succeeds; added to this, being possessed of all the finer feelings that adorn human nature, and those are for a long period stretched on the rack by his being dragged away from all that is near and dear to man in life; thus the glowing affection of a son, a husband, and a father, being simultaneously aroused, contributed not to sweeten the bitter cup of life, but to render it insupportable; for such an one, who has never been within the walls of a prison before, to be cut off from society, and immured within the walls of a dungeon not fit for a murderer to be confined in; what inconceivable sufferings must such an one experience! nothing but the thoughts of his innocence could enable him to bear up under the intolerable load! and this is precisely the case of the petitioner; and, if the patience of the House is not exhausted, the petitioner will mention some of the damages he has sustained while in prison; he has before stated, that his own health was so much injured, that he has too much reason to fear the complaint upon his lungs cannot be removed; his wife's constitution has been so much injured by uneasiness of mind, that she at present continues ill, and in all human probability is likely so to do. When the petitioner was arrested, he had ten machines employed in his shop, and a good seat of work for himself, but during his confinement the latter was lost, and he has not been able to obtain any more to the present time, and he found only two machines out of the ten employed at his return; since the 10th of June, 1817, to the present time, he has been unemployed, and is likely to continue so; that the petitioner's character and reputation, which is the main-spring of a poor mans existence, and in some cases as valuable as life, have received such a stab, by his being committed and detained on suspicion of high treason, that unless the petitioner is afforded an opportunity of clearing himself, it may contribute greatly to his total ruin; the petitioner therefore respectfully and earnestly requests the House to order that he may be brought to its bar, and undergo the strictest examination, and that he may be brought to trial according to law, and meet his accusers face to face, and thereby have the benefit and justice of the laws; and the petitioner also prays, that having thus detailed the sufferings he has unjustly endured, the House will afford him such redress as in their great wisdom seems fit, or that they will take such steps as shall lead to the punishment of the wrong-doers, and effectually prevent, in any other case,, the recurrence of such unjust and cruel proceedings."

said, that the circumstances detailed in the petition were of so serious a nature, that it was his intention to move, that a committee be appointed for the purpose of inquiring into the truth of what it stated. If there was no objection, he would do so then; if otherwise, he would give notice of bringing it before the House as early as possible.

said, he hoped his noble friend would give notice of his motion. He could assure the House, the system was not confined to that miserable man, but that others had suffered under barbarous, inhuman, and illegal treatment; such as mixing them with felons, and loading them with irons for months together. Numerous petitions would be presented on the subject, and it would be the bounden duty of the House, as the representatives of the people, to inquire into them.

then presented a petition from certain inhabitants of Nottingham, setting forth, "That the petitioners are neighbours of, and have been for some years acquainted with Mr. Francis Ward, lately in confinement under a warrant from the secretary of state, on suspicion of high treason; that they have lately seen a petition which the said Francis Ward is about to offer to the House; that they wish to state to the House, that the said Francis Ward has always merited the character of a hard-working, sober, honest, industrious man, and has conducted himself with propriety and respectability in his station in life, and that the petitioners are fully assured that he is incapable of committing any act of treason, or of doing any thing which would justify the proceedings had against him; that he has, in consequence of his imprisonment, sustained much injury in his business; and that the petitioners pray the House to take his case into their most serious consideration, in order that they may provide the said Francis Ward with such relief as to their wisdom may appear just, and take such steps as shall effectually prevent the recurrence of such proceedings." The petitions were ordered to be printed, and lord Folkestone gave notice of his intended motion for this day se'nnight.

rose to move for leave to bring in a bill, to suspend the operation of the Irish Grand Jury Presentment act, which had been passed in the last session. The reasons for his calling upon the House to take this step were, the impossibility at the present time to carry the provisions of that act into effect, from the great difficulty of finding proper persons to undertake the office of county surveyor. No time would be lost between now and the spring to endeavour to carry that desirable measure into effect; but it was highly necessary to look at the qualifications of the persons who offered themselves; and for that purpose, the government had been particularly careful in selecting such persons as judges, as could be most depended upon. He would now simply move, for leave to bring in a bill to suspend the operation of the act for regulating the Irish Grand Jury Presentments.

thought it an ill omen, that the right hon. gentleman had not stated any intention to propose a substitute for the measure which he meant to suspend. This was to be lamented the more, as the system of Irish Grand Jury Presentments was confessedly such as called loudly for some legislative remedy. But after the reports from two central committees, every man must be impressed with the necessity for such a measure. He could not doubt the sincerity of the right hon. mover, who was the original author of the act which he now proposed to suspend, nor the disposition of the Irish government to carry it into execution; but it seemed strange, that where there were places to dispose of in Ireland, there should not be found a sufficient number of candidates. Yet the difficulty of finding 32 surveyors, was one of the main causes alleged for this motion; for the other cause, namely, the limitation of the grant of presentments to the summer assizes, might be easily removed, without suspending the present act.

assured the learned gentleman, that he felt extremely anxious for the success of this measure, but finding so many difficulties in the way of its execution, and the government consequently embarrassed, he thought himself bound in candour to propose its suspension; which, however, it was to be observed, was only to continue during the present session, within which period he hoped that a more practicable measure would be devised. The learned gentleman might be assured, that he was not disposed to withdraw from the principle of the measure to which his motion referred, but, to render that principle effective, he must look for the support of other gentlemen, who felt an interest in the concerns of Ireland.

vindicated the conduct of the Irish government, who were decidedly anxious for the principle of this measure; but to render that measure effective, 32 fully competent surveyors were necessary. In order, then, to ascertain the competency of the candidates for this office, three respectable commissioners were appointed, and the result of their examination was most discouraging, therefore it was found necessary to suspend the measure, and he hoped that the disposition of government could hardly be questioned, when it was recollected, that in abandoning the measure, it abandoned the pa-

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tronage of appointing thirty-two officers, some with 300l. and many with 600l. a year each.

agreed in the propriety of the proposed suspension, not so much for the reasons stated by the right hon. mover, as from other considerations; but he hoped that another and more efficient measure would be brought forward by some one connected with the government; for if it came from any other quarter, its success would be problematical. He trusted that such a measure would be speedily proposed, for if delayed until a late period of the session, he foresaw that it would fail. As to the difficulty of providing competent surveyors, he believed that several could be easily found in this country. This he was led to conclude from the fact, that the surveyor who superintended the operative part of the great road to Holyhead, had for two years only 150l. a year. Surely, then, this person, and many such could be found in England, would not be unwilling to go to Ireland upon salaries of from 3 to 600l. a year. But the Grand Jury system in Ireland was notoriously so productive of corruption, fraud, and perjury, that the legislature could not, without a gross desertion of duty, allow such a system to go on. Under this system, no less than half a million was annually levied in Ireland; and the error of parliament heretofore had been, that it thought too much of those who imposed the tax, and too little of those who paid it. This system was, in fact, the perpetual cause of discontent in Ireland, for it led to the greatest exaction and injustice, especially towards the peasantry, and therefore he trusted the session would not close without some effectual measure to rescue Ireland from such a grievous calamity.

rose for the purpose of obtaining some information from the chancellor of the exchequer with regard to one or two very important questions, intimately connected with the financial and commercial interests of the country. They were questions upon which distinct information ought to be given without delay. He alluded, in the first place, to the resumption of cash payments on the part of the Bank of England, which, as at present fixed by law, would take place on the 5th of July next. After the promises and the declarations, so often renewed by the government and the Bank, it was natural to suppose, that no doubt or uncertainty would prevail in any quarter, as to the probability of cash payments being actually resumed when that period should arrive. Very considerable doubt did nevertheless exist in the public mind upon this subject, and more especially among that class of society which was frequently described as the monied interest. It was desirable that this uncertainty should not continue one moment after his majesty's ministers had it in their power to remove it. No honourable member, who had a practical knowledge of what was now daily passing in the city, could be ignorant of the very large transactions and speculations of a gambling nature that were entered into, and depended upon the result of this contingency. It was obvious that, in such a course of adventure, those who had the means of making themselves acquainted with the real intentions of his majesty's ministers, must possess a material advantage over those who were not in the secret. For these different reasons, he hoped he should not be considered as making an extraordinary request on behalf of the public, when he desired to know whether any event had occurred, or was expected to occur, which, in its consequences, would prevent the resumption of cash payments on the 5th of July next. There was another question, upon which he was likewise desirous that some information should be afforded, as it equally related to the subject of the connexion between the government and the Bank. The public at present stood in the situation of debtor to the Bank for two loans, in his opinion improperly so called, but for two loans, one of 3,000,000l. advanced without interest, the other of 6,000,000l. at an interest of 4 per cent, and which would soon become payable. Until these loans should be repaid, the Bank had secured to themselves the undisturbed possession of a balance upon the public money deposited in their hands, which, for the last twelve years, had never fallen short, upon an average, of 11,000,000l., or two millions more than the sum which they claimed to be due to them from the public. He was convinced that it would be highly advantageous to the public interests that the government of the country should be unfettered by these obligations; and what he wished on this occasion to inquire was, whether any arrangement was in progress, or had been concluded, either for discharging the loans in question, or placing them on a better footing; and if any, what arrangement?

expressed his wish to give a distinct answer to the important question which the hon. gentleman had thought proper to put; namely, whether it was the intention of his majesty's ministers to propose any farther continuance of the restriction upon cash payments by the Bank. He was enabled to say, that the Bank had made ample preparation for resuming its payments in cash at the time fixed by parliament, and that he knew of nothing in the internal state of the country, or in its political relations with foreign powers, which would render it expedient to continue the restriction; but that there was reason to believe that pecuniary arrangements of foreign powers were going on, of such a nature and extent, as might probably make it necessary for parliament to continue the restriction, so long as the immediate effects of those arrangements were in operation. In order to guard against any misunderstanding, the right hon. gentleman repeated this statement, and then proceeded to the other points referred to. As to the loan of six millions from the Bank, at 4 per cent interest, he should, ere long, have to submit a proposition to the House for the payment of that debt; but with respect to the three millions without interest, which, for obvious reasons, was rather to be regarded as a gift than as a loan, he rather thought that neither the House nor the hon. gentleman himself, would be reconciled to any proposition for depriving the public of such an important accommodation.

observed, that the right hon. gentleman had said, that the Bank was prepared, or in a condition to resume the payment of its notes in cash, which was rather surprising, as the issue of those notes had been materially enlarged, instead of being diminished, for some time back. Yet the Bank, according to the right hon. gentleman, was not only prepared to resume its cash payments, but there was nothing in the internal situation or foreign relations of the country to prevent that resumption. There was, however, something about loans to foreign powers, which might, it seemed, urge his majesty's ministers to propose a farther continuance of the restriction. What impression, he would ask, was such a declaration calculated to produce? It tended, in his view, rather to encourage than to remove doubt. But the truth was, as it appeared to him, that there were some persons in this country very much disposed to continue the restriction, if they could find any excuse for it; and as such excuse did not offer itself at home, they looked abroad for it. The right hon. gentleman had said something about foreign financial measures; but he had afforded no clue by which any one could come to a definite conclusion as to his purpose. It would perhaps have been better if the right hon. gentleman had declined to give any answer, than to have offered one so unsatisfactory and indefinite. For according to the right hon. gentleman, so far as he was intelligible, the object alluded to by his hon. friend, depended upon the measures of foreign powers. So, in order to decide upon the question, whether the Bank was likely to resume its cash payments in July, or whether the restriction was to continue, we must look to the foreign mails! thus the wind, or a change in the moon, might serve to throw the country into a state of doubt upon this important question. The right hon. gentleman was, it appeared, about to make some propositions for paying off the six millions due to the Bank; but he declined to suggest, and professed even an unwillingness to think of, any arrangement for discharging the loan of three millions, because, truly, its non-payment afforded an accommodation to the public. But this, he must say, was rather a singular reason for declining to pay a debt. Those loans, however, were of minor importance compared to the great and vital question, whether or not the Bank would resume its payments in cash on the 5th of July? The right hon gentleman had not intimated when any foreign financial measures were likely to urge a proposition for continuing the restriction act, but of course such a proposition must be brought forward before July. He remembered when any expression of the slightest doubt as to the resumption of cash payments by the Bank upon the expiration of the present act, was strongly deprecated on the other side of the House. When he last session expressed such doubt, he had been twitted with the assertion, "is not the Bank already paying its notes in cash?"

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What sort of payments were then made he need not describe. They certainly did not encourage any calculation upon the capacity or disposition of the Bank to return to the old system of paying its notes in cash. But when was that system to return? Upon this important question the House and the country were still in the dark; and the fact was that the right hon. gentleman holding the office of chancellor of the exchequer, had not himself any one distinct idea upon the subject.