mittee be secret. 3. That it consist of 21 members. 4. That it be chosen by ballot. All which motions were agreed to. Mr. CASE OF THOMAS DUGOOD.] Addington said, he had taken the earliest opportunity of bringing the case of Thomas Dugood under the consideration of the noble lord at the head of the department to which he belonged, and it had been ascertained that the youth had not been committed by a police magistrate, as stated by the noble lord. The committal had been signed by a magistrate for the county of Middlesex. Lord Folkestone admitted a fact to have been stated of which he was not aware, and which went to do away some of the arguments he had used on the preceding day, but his view of the general merits of the case was not affected by this statement. House were not yet in possession of what mi- | nisters considered to be necessary to give them a proper knowledge of the present state of the country. It would cause great embarrassment to him, and to the House itself, were this subject now to be entered upon. All he should at present request of them was, that they would keep their minds free and unbiassed, that they might then act as should be necessary on the report of the committee. There was only one other point on which he would offer a single word. He thought it necessary to oppose the idea that had got abroad, that this communication arose out of the late atrocious attack on the person ofthe Prince Regent. He begged distinctly to state, that the present proceedings did not arise in any shape out of that outrage. The communication which had been made was founded on information which he thought it would be felt that the government, without abandoning their duty to the country and to the constitution could not but advise his royal highness to submit to the House. Having said thus much, he hoped it would be most consonant with the feelings of the House not to enter upon the views which any gentleman might take of the present situation of the country, from the information which they already possessed. He concluded by moving," That an humble address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, to return his Royal Highness the thanks of this House for his most gracious message, and to assure his Royal Highness that this House will proceed to take the information which by his Royal Highness's commands, has been laid before them, into their immediate and serious consideration." Mr. Ponsonby declared, that he did not rise to offer any observation in opposition to the motion of the noble lord. But he was solicitous to ascertain from him whether it was, or was not, in his contemplation to proceed immediately on the subject, as in his judgment it was one of all others, in reference to which any delay must be pregnant with public danger [Hear, hear!]. Lord Castlereagh, in answer, stated, that it was the intention to adhere strictly to the precedent established in the year 1795. The motion was then carried nem. con. Lord Castlereagh then moved successively, 1. That the papers containing the communication from the Crown be referred to a committee. 2. That this com(VOL. XXXV.) Lord PETITION OF MR. HUNT.] Cochrane rose to present a petition from a gentleman who complained of being the object of much oppression and misrepresentation. If the petition contained allegations that were untrue, let them be controverted; if, on the contrary, they were true, let the individual have an opportunity of maintaining them. The noble lord then stated, that the petition which he held, was from Mr. Henry Hunt, who complained of a libel having being sent forth upon his character. He stated, that he could prove it to have been printed at the office of the police printer; to have been issued from a police office; to have been, when affixed to different walls of the metropolis, watched by officers of the police stationed for the purpose; and, lastly, that copies of the paper so placarded, were deposited at a police office, for the purpose of enabling the parties who detected others tearing down the bills to identify the torn part from the whole copy so deposited. He hoped, that if such facts were proved at the bar of that House, they would feel the necessity of addressing the Prince Regent, entreating that he would dismiss from the commis sion of the peace, a magistrate who would be found to have so violated his duty. He concluded by moving, that the petition be brought up. Mr. Serjeant Best felt it right to object to the extraordinary course which was about to be taken on this occasion. Let the House reflect for a moment on the (P) constitutional manner of conserving the national tranquillity; but, on the other hand, it was no less the indubitable obligation of that House to see that the people's grievances were redressed, before they were driven to those acts of violence which the disregard of protection might alone originate. If that, as he took it, was the first duty of the representative, it was particularly imperative in its applica tion when the nation was suffering in the most afflicting extent, when at least no obstruction should be given to the bare consolation of expressing in a legal, peace. able, and constitutional manner, their complaints. The House would best guard against public outrage, as it would best situation in which it would be placed, by receiving this petition. It would stand in a situation to pronounce upon an inquiry, without having the power of ascertaining upon oath the truth or falsehood of the allegations at issue. The petitioner had quite mistaken his course. Some papers had been, it appeared, stuck up, reflecting upon his character, counterparts of which were found at a police office. They might have been there without the knowledge or privity of the magistrate; but if they were with his consent, then the remedy lay in a judicial proceeding against the magistrate in due course of law, where the whole evidence might be taken upon oath. The House would not surely convert itself into a court for taking cog-fulfil its natural duty, by listening to ponizance in the outset of charges brought against inferior officers. He would, therefore, oppose this petition, as it prayed no. thing which could not be put in a regular course of redress in the ordinary way of proceeding. Sir F. Burdett begged to observe, that the noble lord had stated the contents of the petition, and, in so doing, had satisfied all the forms contended for in the presentation of petitions. On The petition was brought up and read. It was couched in the same words as the one presented to the House of Lords, and which will be found at p. 170. the motion, that it do lie on the table, Lord Castlereagh said, he should not oppose its being laid on the table, but he should certainly oppose any further proceedings on the allegations which it contained. Ordered to lie on the table. PETITION FROM WARRINGTON COMPLAINING OF OBSTRUCTIONS IN PETITIONING.] Mr. Brougham said, he held in his hand a petition from a number of the inhabitants of Warrington, in the county palatine of Lancaster, complaining of a gross violation of the subject's best privilege the right of petition. If the facts alleged in the petition were borne out, and in their support he had two affidavits, he sincerely hoped, that whilst documents, probably of an opposite tendency, were about to be referred to a committee soon to be appointed, the subject's complaint of grievances would also be entertained and examined. It was the indubitable duty of the king's government to preserve the public peace, and of that Llouse to support the executive in the pular grievances; by throwing open its doors widely to the claims of general misery; but, above all, by marking with its determined indignation any effort to stifle or impede it. The case to which the petition referred appeared to be one where a most serious obstruction was given to the right of petitioning. A petition had been signed by some hundreds of the inhabitants praying for retrenchment and reform. Its language was guarded and cautious; it broached no violent doctrines. Yet the petition was forcibly seized in the streets, as it was handing from house to house for signatures, by a man named Richard Burrows; was given by him to Edward Coates, and afterwards was forwarded to Mr. Thomas Lyon, the nephew of the acting magistrate, in whose house Mr. Lyon resided. Application was made for it by letter, stating the outrage, but the petitioners were unable to recover it. A second petition was then drawn out, but from an informality in the signatures it was unfit to be presented. The subjects right was thus obstructed by the unjustifiable outrage. The petition he held in his hand complained of that outrage, and he had therefore to move to have it brought up. 66 The petition was then read, setting forth, That the petitioners, together with a considerable number of the inhabitants of Warrington and the neighbourhood, signed a petition to the House; and that, on the evening of Wednesday the 22nd day of January 1817, the said petition was forcibly seized in the street by Richard Burrows, carried by him to the house of Mr. Edward Coates, and conveyed from thence to Thomas Lyon, junior, esquire, from whom the petitioners have not been able to recover it; that, in addi- | and that he ventured to think it would not tion to the petition seized by the said be found a subject worthy of the serious Richard Burrows, which contained about attention of the House. three hundred and fifty signatures, there are other parchments, with copies of the said petition affixed, having five hundred and six signatures to them; that, after the seizure of the aforesaid petition was known, no more signatures to the said petition were received, otherwise the number of persons subscribing it would have been considerably increased; that the petitioners humbly conceive the outrage of which they complain to be not only a gross attack on the right of the people to petition; but also a high breach of the privileges of the House, as it is prejudging the question, and not leaving its decision to the wisdom of the House, who alone have the right to determine whether the said petition should be received, and whether its prayer should be granted; and the petitioners humbly pray that the House will take into their most serious consideration this attempt by lawless violence to prevent the petitioners from submitting their wishes to the House, and that they will take such measures as may appear to the House the best calculated to prevent a recurrence of such outrageous, illegal, and unconstitutional proceedings, and that they will thereby secure to the petitioners that right of petitioning which is the birthright of every Briton." Mr. Brougham said, at present he should merely move that the petition do lie on the table, in order to give every opportunity to the parties complained against of vindicating themselves, and to put the House in possession of every fact. If this opportunity was not embraced, he should in eight or ten days, feel it his duty to take some further measures. Mr. Bootle Wilbraham approved the course that the hon. and learned gentle man had taken in letting it lie on the table, and he thought it probable that no further steps would be taken, as though he knew nothing of the transaction, he was convinced, on explanation, it would prove to be no serious intention of obstructing the right of petition, but a mere coarse joke, such as he knew to be common among the lower classes of the manufacturing districts. That it appeared to him a new petition might easily have been prepared and signed in the course of a few hours; the persons who signed the former one and the parchment being at hand; Mr. Ponsonby could not suffer this matter to pass without making one or two remarks. And, first, he must express the extreme satisfaction which he felt at the temperate and moderate language in which his hon. and learned friend had stated this most extraordinary occurrence to the House. The hon. member opposite had been pleased to call it only a coarse joke; but to him it appeared one of the most gross and flagrant violations of the privileges of the people, and of that House, that had ever occurred. In the present situation of the country nothing could be more dangerous than to give the people an opportunity of stating, that their petitions were not suffered to reach that House. The distresses of all classes of the community were unparalleled in the history of the country; and they should be permitted, at least, to state their grievances, in order that the House might adopt the most effectual means of administering relief. His hon. and learned friend had very properly suggested, that other information might be afforded on the facts of this petition; but if that information was not presented to the House, he hoped nothing would prevent his hon. and learned friend from showing to the people, that their sacred and indubitable right of petitioning would be preserved, at least by the faithful representatives of the country. Mr. Wynn concurred in the praise due to the temperate and proper mode in which the petition was introduced, and he regretted that such a subject had for a moment been treated with levity It was a duty paramount to all others for the House to show the people that it would protect the humblest individual in the land from any obstruction to his right of petition-a right solemnly recognized by the Bill of Rights, and the fair exercise of which could not for a moment be trenched upon. The House, when such an allegation as this petition contained was made, should trace the matter to its source, and show that they would not allow such an outrage to be for a moment endured. Mr. B. Wilbraham denied that he had treated the subject with levity. He really believed that, on inquiry, it would prove as he had said. Ordered to lie on the table. HOUSE OF LORDS. Wednesday, February 5. SECRET COMMITTEE.] The House proceeded to ballot for the choice of a Committee to examine the Papers referred to in the Prince Regent's Message. The list having been put into the glasses, a committee of scrutiny was appointed, consisting of the earls of Aberdeen, Mulgrave, and Morton, lord Granville, and the bishop of Oxford, who withdrew with the balloting glasses. On their return the earl of Aberdeen reported, that the choice of the House had fallen upon the lord chancellor, the lord president (earl of Harrowby,) the duke of Bedford, the duke of Montrose, earl Fitzwilliam, the earl of Liverpool, the earl of Powis, the earl of St. Germans, viscount Sidmouth, lord Grenville, and lord Redesdale. THE THANKS OF THE HOUSE GIVEN TO ADMIRAL LORD EXMOUTH.] Lord Exmouth, in his full uniform and insignia of knight grand cross of the order of the Bath, having taken his seat on one of the cross benches opposite the Lord Chancellor, and the latter having put on his hat, The Lord Chancellor addressing himself to lord Exmouth, who rose and remained standing, said, that the House in the discharge of its high duty, had taken into its serious consideration the honourable claim which the noble admiral had acquired to the applause and gratitude of the nation, for his gallant and meritorious conduct, in carrying into execution the determination of this government, to deliver from bondage the christian slaves already confined at Algiers, and to abolish, by treaty, the system of christian slavery for ever! the measure adopted by this country had been most favourable to the interests of humanity, and reflected lustre throughout Europe, on the British name and character. The House had learned, with the most lively satisfaction, that the plan of the great achievement, which the noble admiral had so gallantly executed, was formed by his skill, judgment, and ability; and the world had heard, and had done justice to the valour and intrepidity, with which that achievement had been effected. The display of those great qualities, of skill, valour, judgment, and intrepidity, could not fail to transmit to posterity, the name of the noble admiral, together with those of the illustrious men who had raised and established the naval character and glory of this country. He should not presume to detain the House, whilst he endeavoured to express the personal satisfaction he himself felt, in communicating to the noble admiral this testimony of the approbation which their lordships had bestowed on his gallant and honourable conduct. He should proceed, therefore, to read, in the manner he was commanded, the unanimous Resolution of the House: "Resolved, nem. dis. by the Lords spiritual and temporal, in parliament assembled, that the Thanks of this House be given to Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, for his gallant, able, and judicious conduct, in the decisive attack on the forces of the Dey of Algiers, on the 27th of August, 1816." Lord Exmouth said, that, after the high eulogium which had been pronounced by the noble and learned lord, it was impossible for him to withdraw, without endeavouring to express the high degree of satisfaction which he felt on this occasion. However judicious his arrangements might be considered-however important the results to which they led might provehe felt that his exertions were overpaid by the honour now conferred on him. When engaged in the expedition, he relied, for his best reward, on the approbation of the noble lords who surrounded him; and that reward he received with sentiments of gratitude and respect. He might, indeed, be charged with insensibility, if he did not feel almost overwhelmed by the obligation. Honoured, as he was, by the favour of his royal highness the Prince Regent, and distinguished by the approbation of their lordships, it was impossible for him to find language adequate to the expression of his feelings. His life had been devoted, for the last forty years, to the naval service of his country, and, therefore, he felt himself competent to speak of the efficient aid he had received from his able associates in the expedi tion, rear-admiral sir David Milne, and vice-admiral Van Capellan-as well as of the manly perseverance, and unconquerable spirit, of the brave officers and men of both services. He would venture to state, without fear of contradiction, that the flag of Great Britain never obtained more glory, never derived more honour, was never crowned with greater success, than in the operations against Algiers. He felt the highest reward in the confidence of against those who invaded them unlawfully. His royal highness concluded by moving, "That the speech which the noble and learned lord had delivered, be printed, as likewise the manly, and excellent, and capital answer, which was returned by the noble viscount."-Agreed to nem. diss. HOUSE OF COMMONS. his sovereign, in the approbation of their | herself to protect the rights of the seas lordships, and in the general praise of those who had the honour of the naval service most at heart. Towards the noble and learned lord on the woolsack, who, in such dignified and impressive terms, had communicated to him the thanks of the House, he felt the strongest sentiments of personal respect. The recollection of the honour conferred on him would ever be fresh in his mind, and would animate himself, and he had no doubt all those gallant officers whose merits their lordships had so justly appreciated, to future exertions in defence of their country. He should be proud to communicate to rearadmiral Milne and to vice admiral Van Capellan the thanks of that House, and to state to them the high testimony which had been borne to their great merits. He was sure it would be felt by them, and by every officer in the fleet, as a stimulus to future exertions, as the best reward for the duty they had performed, and for the zeal and devotion they had displayed in the service. Lord Melville moved, that the speech of the Lord Chancellor and that of lord Exmouth should be entered upon the Journals; which was ordered. The Duke of Clarence said, he rose to submit a motion, which, he was convinced, would not be received with disapprobation. He was the first nobleman who had moved, that the speech of the noble and learned lord, in communicating the thanks of the House, and the answer to it, should be printed. This he had done, when viscount Duncan received their lordships thanks for his victory over the Dutch. From the manner in which the noble and learned lord had communicated their lordships' thanks on this occasionan occasion of the utmost importancean occasion on which the character of Great Britain stood as high and as proud as on any other whatever--he thought that the same course should be adopted. The expedition against Algiers was a subject of which this country might well be proud, because it had often been asserted, by foreign states, that, in our maritime pur suits, we always fought and acted for ourselves alone. But all the nations of Europe could now judge, whether Great Britain, in sending out viscount Exmouth on this service, was not actuated by a pure feeling of humanity towards the rest of the world? By this act Great Britain had proved, that she could and would exert ANSWER OF ADMIRAL LORD EXMOUTH ΤΟ THE VOTE OF THANKS.] The Speaker acquainted the House, that he had received from admiral lord viscount Exmouth the following Letter, in return to the thanks of this House: "Sir, "London, 5th February, 1817. "I have had the honour to receive your letter of the 3d instant conveying to me the unanimous thanks of the House of Commons for my humble services before Algiers on the 27th of August last, together with their thanks to rear admiral sir David Milne, and the several captains and officers of the fleet employed upon that occasion, and their acknowledgment and approbation of the services of the seamen and royal marines then serving in the fleet under my command: also communicating to me the thanks of the honourable House to vice admiral baron Van de Capellan and the naval forces of his majesty the king of the Netherlands under his command, for their cordial assistance and co-operation on the same occasion. "It will be a most gratifying part of my duty, in compliance with the request of the honourable House, to make known these resolutions to the several officers under my command, and also to those of our ally acting in co-operation with his majesty's navy on that service; and I can assure you, Sir, as well in their names as in my own, that this honourable testimony of the approbation of the House of Commons will be received by them as it is by me, as the greatest reward that can be conferred upon an officer for any act of his public duty, and the recollection of it will, I am confident, stimulate our future exertions whenever our country may call for our services. "I have now to request, Sir, that you will permit me to return you my sincere thanks for the very gracious manner in which you have been pleased to communicate to me the resolutions of the House, and the flattering expressions with which |