if he had not seen that there existed a sufficient spirit in the people of that country to enable them to profit by our assistance; and had he not also seen that there were the means of providing a sufficient supply of provisions. If these things had not appeared to be satisfactorily ascer tained, he should not have conceived the sending an army to Spain to be a line of conduct which his duty dictated to him. If his conduct in this respect should have been disapproved, one only course would have remained to him, namely, to have sacrificed his situation to what he esteemed his duty. But, said the noble secretary, would the country have borne this? Here the secret burst forth: here was to be seen the principle which uniformly governed a weak administration. What was this, but in other words asking, what would the newspapers say? Men who could act on such a principle, were not fit to be entrusted with the affairs of a great nation. He should now beg to say a few words as to the state of the catholics in Ireland. On this subject, the noble secretary, abandoning his usual course of proceeding, had said, that a concession ought to have been made by the catholics, without which their claims could not be safely listened to. He had stated, on a former night, the expectations and promises which had been made to the catholics, in consequence of which they had sacrificed their national legislature, and the grievous disappointments to which they had since been subjected. Was there a man who could doubt, that if their own parliament had now existed, they would not long since have got what they were asking? would they have confirmed the union, but for the fatal delusion which had been held out to them? Was it, then, to be wondered at, that in these circumstances they should be afraid of making any more concessions to a government who held their places under a pledge inimical to the catholic cause? A noble viscount (lord Sidmouth) had conceived that the catholic claims could not be insisted on as a right, but only as a matter of expediency, and in fact, that the right had been abandoned. This lord Grey denied. They never could renounce their right to that which lay between God and their own consciences. The noble lord proceeded to notice the arguments of his noble and learned friend (lord Erskine) as to the contempt. He was at a loss to understand the extent of his noble friend's argu He ment, but he saw it in his conduct, for he himself had committed for contempt. No person could be a greater friend to the liberty of the press and the trial by jury than he was. Look at the Address he had proposed, and say if it was deficient in this respect. He presumed to think it would be found quite the reverse. must therefore dissent from the Amendment. On the point of Reform, he contended that it was indispensably neces sary, both in a political and economical sense. The noble secretary pretended to be a friend in economical reform, but still he embraced every opportunity of oppos ing it. Of political reform too, we were in as great need. If any one, three years ago, had contended that at the distance of three years, the country would be governed by the present ministers, he would have been esteemed little better than a madman. Who could have thought at the time Augustus was emperor of Rome, that in the reign of Caligula, the people could have submitted to have a horse for their consul. Such was nearly the case with this country, and it belonged to parliament to inquire into the causes of such a change. An economical reform, however, was not the whole that he wished. He desired to see a reform a little more extensive. But still his opinions on this subject had undergone some change; and he confessed, that to go to the full extent of his original ideas, would be too much; a more limited reform would be preferable. If he had ever said that without a parliamentary reform no administration could act usefully for the country, that opinion he must now retract. If ministers had sufficient power, he thought, even as the House of Commons was now composed, that they might do every thing that was required for the good of the country, but to do so, they must possess the confidence of the people and the confidence of the crown: for without the latter, as well as the former, they could not act with full effect, but must be subject to every obstruction. The question was then put on the Amendment, which was negatived without a division. On the question being put on the original Address, the duke of Norfolk, marquis of Douglas, earl Stanhope, and lord Erskine, left the House. On a divi. sion the numbers were : For the Address, Present, 43, Proxies 29,-72; Against it, Present 71, Proxies 63,134; Majority against the Address 64. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Wednesday, June 13. all mutual confidence, the petitioners have beheld with regret and amazement the silence and seeming indifference both of the hereditary counsellors of the Crown and of the representatives of the people; and they earnestly entreat the attention of the House to the great and imminent dangers in which they conceive the coun try is involved, to the manifold injuries and abuses the petitioners consider it to be sustaining from those who preside over its councils, and to the means (they humbly presume to think are best adapted to produce a better and happier state of things; and that, during a warfare of un paralleled misery, expenditure, and des truction, the petitioners have submitted to unprecedented burthens and privations; and that these burthens have been greatly aggravated by unequal taxation, capricious assessments, vexatious charges, and arbitrary inquisitions into their private con [PETITION FROM LONDON RESPECTING REFORM OF PARLIAMENT, &c.] The House being informed, that the Sheriffs of London attended at the door, they were called in; and at the Bar presented a Petition of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons of the City of London, in Common Council assembled ;-And then they withdrew. And the said Petition was read, setting forth, "That in approaching the House to lay before them the numerous grievances under which the petitioners labour, they acknowledge the undoubted right of the House to exercise all fair, just, and constitutional privileges, originally intended, and wisely continued for maintaining the dignity, independence, and security of their deliberations and proceedings; and that while the petitioners feel it their duty to support and up-cerns; and that during the severe pressure hold the House at all times and under all circumstances in the possession of these privileges, they cannot but lament that the late exercise of the power of the House, in the arrest and imprisonment of two of their fellow subjects, should have produced consequences most afflicting and deplorable in their nature, and that without entering into the merits of a question, which is shortly to undergo legal decision, the petitioners cannot forbear expressing their concern and sorrow, that at a time when the whole nation was anxiously looking to an inquiry of the most important kind, the people should have been debarred from the said inquiry by the enforcement of one of the Standing Orders of the House, a measure calculated to distract the public attention from the gross misconduct of his Majesty's ministers, and tending to screen from condign punishment the criminal authors of unexampled disgraces and calamities; and that the petitioners have seen with astonishment and indignation, the person who enforced the Standing Order rewarded with a lucrative sinecure, and notwithstanding the decided and degrading rejection of the tender made by him once more to represent his constituents in Parliament, afterwards raised to one of the highest offices under the Crown; and that under these extraordinary and almost incredible circumstances of trust improvidentially bestowed, and of emolument and honour lavishly conferred, alike insulting to the nation at large and destructive of of an enormously increased and increasing weight of taxation, abuses, frauds, corruptions, and peculations no less enor. mous have been found to exist; and that these burthens have been further increased by a profusion of useless places and pensions; and that by such shameful frauds, waste, and profligacy, their burthens have been augmented, their sufferings aggravated, and their feelings outraged and that although there has appeared no deficiency of means to levy and enforce the payment of taxes, the petitioners have to complain that no adequate means have been yet devised to prevent the misapplication of them, not any law nor tribunal found sufficient to correct abuse or bring great public delinquents to justice; and that these enormous abuses are not only felt as intolerable grievances, materially impairing the property of the people, but, by means of the monstrous and pernicious influence they create, are subversive of the vital principles of the constitution; and that their natural operation is to render the legislature subservient to the executive power, a juncture, in which it has been predicted by the ablest politicians, that the constitution would inevitably perish; and that, duly impressed with the magni. tude of our external dangers, the petition ers are nevertheless of opinion, that these internal abuses, corruptions, and violations of law, as they are the more insidious are only the more fearful and alarming, and they concur in a declaration recorded upon the Journals of the House of Lords, in a pro test signed by the late duke of Portland and 31 more peers "That from the history of this, as well as other countries, times of necessity have been always times of reform," and that they cannot but express their concurrence with another part of the said Protest, "because however the waste of public money, and the profusion of useless salaries may have been hitherto overlooked in days of wealth and prosperity, the necessities of the present times can no longer endure the same system of corruption and prodigality ;" and that without recurring to those facts and circumstances universally known and admitted, by which it appears, that a majority of members are returned through the influence of government, of peers and other individuals, speculating in the rights and liberties of their fellow subjects, the evils already stated afford sufficient evidence of the pernicious influence existing, and the want of a real and efficient representation and that it is equally notorious that a very considerable number of the members of the House hold lucrative places, appointments, and sinecures, under the Crown, almost invariably supporting the existing administration, and resisting or evading enquiry for the correction and reform of abuses; and that the influence which such appointments create is not confined to those who possess them, but extends to others desirous of obtaining them, and who, the petitioners are well assured, seek seats in the House at considerable expence for that purpose only; and that, however notorious these facts have been, never before has corruption, in the return of members and the sale of seats, been publicly avowed and admitted in the House of Commons by members of the government and others; and that it has appeared that lord Castlereagh, a member of the House of Commons and a minister of the Crown, was guilty of a high breach of the constitution, by trafficking for a seat in parliament in exchange for a writership, and although he himself admitted the fact, no punishment nor even censure was inflicted upon him; but on the contrary, he was in defiance of all decency, and in contempt of public opinion, suffered to retain his official situation; and that while the said lord Castlereagh, and the right hon. Spencer Perceval, another member of the House, and also a minister of the crown, were charged with another high breach of the Constitution, the first in the disposal of a seat, and the second in conniving thereat, a motion for enquiry into the same was rejected, upon the declared ground of the frequency of such practices; and that, contrary to every principle of justice, the very ground of aggravation was thereby made an exculpation of the crime; and it is the decided conviction of the petitioners that nothing short of a reform in the representation of the people in parliament can correct these inveterate abuses, and repair the breaches in the constitution; and that had the people been fairly represented, there would have been no ruinous wars for the preservation of a German electorate, no subsidies levied upon the labour and industry of the nation, to be squandered in fruitless continental attachments: no army of foreign mercenaries in the very heart of the land, no wretchedly contrived campaigns for the relief and emancipation of the great and gallant people of Spain, rendered still more painful by the extraordinary valour of British soldiers, and the miserable policy of British statesmen; no prodigal waste of blood and treasure in the preposterous and ill-fated expedition to Walcheren and the Scheldt; no escape of public peculators and robbers from merited punishment; no men advanced to high places of honour and emolument who had been deemed unworthy of the confidence of their constituents; no tax upon income, in which the means of acquiring the nature and variation of property are levelled, confounded, and swallowed up; and therefore praying, that the House will take all these matters into their serious consideration, and to devise such means as, by the destruction of corrupt, depopulated, and nominal boroughs, the extension of the elective franchise, the exclusion of placemen and pensioners (the efficient officers of the Crown excepted), and the abridged duration of parliament, will secure to the people their full share of the rights, liberties, and blessings which the constitution undeniably meant they should enjoy.”— Ordered to lie upon the table. [ADDRESS FROM THE MAGISTRATES, &c. oF WORCESTER, AGAINST PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.] An humble Address of the magistrates, freemen, and other inhabitants paying taxes, of the city of Worcester and its vicinity, whose names are thereunto subscribed, was presented and read; setting forth, "That the magistrates, freemen, and other inhabitants paying taxes, of the city of Worcester and its vicinity, beg leave to express their disapprobation | the House, that according to the honest of a Petition lately presented to the House, judgment of the petitioners, corruption praying for a Reform in Parliament, and practised in the management of public afstated to be the sentiments of the electors fairs (which, if not countenanced by the and other inhabitants of the said city; House, has been suffered to prevail to an and that they view, with concern and in- unexampled extent), is the grand source dignation, the insidious and mischievous of all their evils; and they respectfully attempts made by factious individuals to intreat the House to reflect on the state of bring the House into contempt with the Europe 20 years past, and compare it people, and declare their abhorrence of with its present state; they would beg these designs, alike destructive of the pri- the House to consider the lamentable vileges of the House and the liberties of change that has taken place in this kingthe people; and they feel it a duty to ex- dom within the same period; and then press their perfect reliance on the House, calmly appeal to their consciences, and that, as the guardian of the rights of the enquire whether the measures pursued by people, they will continue to make such the different administrations during this retrenchments and reforms as may be con- eventful time, have been marked either sistent with the law of the land, resisting by a regard for the welfare of the human all innovation, being fully persuaded that race, or the principles of sound policy: the liberties of the people cannot be more unfortunately for the petitioners, the resafely deposited than in the hands of their sult presents a distressing conclusion; by representatives; and therefore praying, the measures that have been adopted, they that the House will be firm in the main- find their country deprived of nearly every tenance of those privileges which they foreign alliance, and the arms of almost have exercised from time immemorial, every foreign power turned against them; thereby preserving the dignity of the the national debt swelled to an enormous crown, the rights of Parliament, and the amount; the people groaning under an liberties of the people."-Ordered to lie inquisitorial system of taxation, and, alupon the table. though in the midst of plenty, unable to obtain a due quantity of the common necessaries of life for the maintenance of their families, however incessant their labours; these are calamities which the petitioners feel it their imperious duty to represent to the House, from a conviction they endanger their safety as well as that of the petitioners; and that they cannot look back to the proceedings recently exercised by the House in seizing and im prisoning John Gale Jones and sir Francis Burdett, under an undefined authority, without the deepest regret, assuring the House, that, divested of all prejudices, it is the firm belief of the petitioners the House have acted contrary to the fundamental principles of those laws they have sworn to defend; as Englishmen, the petitioners are willing to acknowledge, and ready to support with their lives, every privilege the House are justly entitled to; at the same time they declare, before God and their country, they had rather give up their existence than surrender to any power on earth those blessings and advantages which their forefathers purchased with their blood; in offering this Address and Petition, far be it from the petitioners to entertain the most distant wish to lessen the authority, the importance, or the character, of the House; but they cannot [PETITION FROM COVENTRY FOR REFORM OF PARLIAMENT, &c.] Mr. Peter Moore presented an Address and Petition from the inhabitants, householders, and electors of the city of Coventry, at a meeting held at the county hall of the said city, the 5th day of June, 1810, pursuant to public notice, setting forth, "That the inhabitants, householders, and electors of the city of Coventry, beg leave to approach the House, as a necessary branch of that system themselves individually have solemnly engaged to preserve inviolate; the petitioners feel particularly called upon, at this awful conjuncture of affairs, when the very existence of our native land appears to be at stake, to represent, in the plain language of truth, their feelings and opinions on the origin of those evils that have reduced our once justly envied country to its present alarming state of difficulty and danger; and that to shut their eyes to the gathering clouds, to be aware that a mighty storm threatens their safety, and not to express their apprehension of the consequences, would be treason against their Sovereign, against the venerable nobility of the land, against the House, against themselves, against posterity; they therefore speak without dissimulation, and at once tell -- petition the King, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal: It had never then occurred, even to the tyrant James, to refuse to receive the Petitions of the people; is it then to be permitted to them to tell the King with impunity (as the seven bishops did in that detested reign), that his proceedings are illegal, and not to tell those who profess to represent them, that they have violated the law and the constitution, or to protest against their acts when they deprive them of their rights or subvert their liberties; but to reason on so plain a point is unnecessary a right to petition and a right to refuse to receive petitions cannot exist together; and that the petitioners are well assured that the assertions contained in their rejected Petition are truths which they trust they shall make evident to the House: That in the cases of Mr. John Gale Jones and sir Francis Burdett, the House assumed and exercised a power unknown to the law and unwarranted by the constitution, is manifest from the statutes enumerated in the act of the 16th of Charles the 1st for abolishing the infamous court of Star Chamber, which recites, that by the Great Charter, many times confirmed in parliament, it is enacted That no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be outlawed or exiled, or other view the enormous patronage of the crown, the immense increase of sinecure places and pensions, they cannot witness the erection of barracks in every part of the kingdom, the introduction of foreign troops, the best interests of the people neglected, the liberty of the subject restricted, good men persecuted, the just complaints of the people prevented from reaching the royal ear, convicted defaulters and delinquents suffered to remain at large, the public revenue and lives of their fellow countrymen sacrificed in disgraceful expeditions, a traffic of seats in the House admitted and defended, the national credit injured, and Britain, the once justly boasted envy of the world, exposed to the most imminent danger, without jealousy and alarm; under these impressions the petitioners pray the House to bring back Parliament to its original duration, to allow a more full and free suffrage of the people, to apply those remedies in redress of the numerous grievances they have stated, which our excellent constitution furnishes, and to cultivate peace as the means of obtaining the divine blessing and protection; and that the House may attend to the warning voice ere it be too late, is the earnest supplication and prayer of the petitioners."-Ordered to lie upon the table. [PETITION FROM MIDDLESEX FOR RE-wise destroyed; and that the King will FORM OF PARLIAMENT. &c.] A Complaint, Petition, and Remonstrance of the Freeholders of Middlesex, in full county assembled, the 8th day of June 1810, was presented by Mr. Byng and read; setting forth, "That on the 25th day of April last, the petitioners in full county assembled agreed to a petition which was presented to the House on the 2d of May last, and which the petitioners have been in formed was rejected by the House, because certain allegations therein contained were believed not to be true, because it was not thought to be worded in a sufficiently respectful manner, was signed by a small number of freeholders, was a protest against the proceedings of the House, and because it was supposed to be an attempt to degrade the House; and that the petitioners complain of this rejection of their Petition, the free and uncontrouled exercise of the right of petitioning was claimed, demanded, insisted on, and confirmed by the Bill of Rights, as one of the true, ancient, and indubitable rights and liberties of the people of this kingdom: that statute declares, that it is the right of the subject to not pass upon him, or condemn him but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land; and by another statute, made in the 5th year of the reign of king Edward the 3d, it is enacted, That no man shall be attached by any accusation nor forejudged of life or limb, nor his lands, tenements, goods, nor chattels seized into the king's hands, against the form of the Great Charter nor the law of the land; and by another statute, made in the 25th years of the reign of the same king Edward the 3d, it is accorded, assented, and established, that none shall be taken by Petition, or suggestion made to the king or to his counsel, unless it be by indictment or presentment of good and lawful people of the same neighbourhood where such deeds be done, in due manner, or by process made by writ original at the common law; and that none be put out of his franchise or freehold unless he be duly brought in to answer, and forejudged of the same by the course of the law; and if any thing be done against the same it shall be redressed and holden for none: and by another statute, made in the |