ment of the election, some friends of the supersede the operation of the Grenville candidates had come forward, and con- act, and he believed that the object of the tributed towards the expenses incurred in petition was to supersede that act, in the canvassing, &c., and he had no doubt present instance. He believed that the that they had an unquestionable right so parties, who had presented this petition, to apply their private funds; but of any had taken a legal opinion, to ascertain other subscription he knew nothing. He whether or not they could prove a case, agreed with the hon. member for Hull, under the Grenville act, against the sitting that the contest was an expensive one, members; and that, having received an and he should at any time willingly travel answer in the negative, they had suffered from Leicester to Hull, if the hon. member the time limited by the Grenville act to would state in what way a contested elec- pass by, in the hope that that House would tion could be conducted without expense. grant a select committee, and thereby rid With respect to the honorary freemen who them from those liabilities, which they had voted at the election, he would say, must have incurred, if they had brought that he was perfectly disinterested; be- their complaints before the regular and cause, if the number of honorary freemen ordinary tribunal, in cases of this descripwho had voted for him were deducted, he tion. If the petitioners had proceeded should still have a decided majority. He under the Grenville act, they must have could not help stating to the House one entered into recognizances: they must circumstance, which would shew the have defrayed the expenses of the opposcandour of the petitioners in complaining ing party, if the allegations in the petition against the non-resident voters. Of the should be deemed frivolous or vexatious: petitioners, not less than eighteen were and, in any case, they must have borne honorary freemen of Nottingham; and at the expenses of their own witnesses. It the last election for that borough, every was, therefore, infinitely more convenient one of those individuals exercised that to the petitioners, after having obtained a right of voting, which they made the sub-legal opinion, that they could not make ject of complaint, when exercised by the honorary freemen of Leicester. The hon. baronet concluded, by expressing a hope, that the House would agree with him, that there were not in the petition sufficient grounds to warrant the appointment of a select committee. Mr. Otway Cave admitted that there was an agreement between the committees of the several candidates to pay the expenses of the out-voters. Of the learned gentleman who had acted as assessor at that election, and who was suspected of having acted in a partial manner, he must say, that so anxious was that gentleman to avoid all appearance of partiality, that, in one or two instances, his decisions were against the party whom he was supposed to favour. He denied that the corporation had gone to hedges and highways to select honorary freemen. Those gentlemen were as respectable as any other voters of the borough. Mr. Secretary Peel said, he could not suffer the House to come to a vote upon this motion, without expressing his earnest wish that the House would, by their vote, mark this course of proceeding with the signal reprobation that it deserved. If that House were to listen to motions of the kind, they would be preparing the way to out a case for the ordinary tribunals, to come down to that House and ask them to step out of their way, and appoint a select committee, before which an inquiry might be taken at the public expense. Nothing, in his opinion, could be more unjust, more undignified, or more unconstitutional, than that that House should enter into an inquiry into the local politics which prevailed in borough and county elections. The hon. member had read letters, directed to the freemen of the borough, in order to secure a majority for a favourite candidate. Taking all the charges to be true, he put it to the House whether they could not make better use of their time, than by employing it in investigating, upon an election petition, the different shades of blue which distinguished the different interests in that borough. He thought that House could not occupy their time more uselessly, or in any manner which could tend more to lower their dignity, than by going into an inquiry to ascertain whether or not certain individuals in the borough of Leicester were Blues, or Indigo Blues, or Sky Blues. If any charge was to be preferred against the Corporation of Leicester, for the mode in which they had conferred the freedom of the Corporation upon non-residents, why was not that charge preferred before an election committee? The hon. inover had said, that his hon, and learned friend, the Attorneygeneral would say that this case was a case for a court of equity, and that his hon. and learned friend, the Solicitorgeneral, would say that it was a case for a court of law. But neither of his hon. and learned friends had said any thing of the kind. And why? Because the case was not a case for any court at all: much less could it be expected that the time of the House could be wasted by entering into an inquiry upon such a trumpery case. The hon. member came down so unprepared with his motion, that the clerk of the House had to write it out at the table; but he must do the hon. member the justice to admit, that he had not come down to the House more unprepared with his motion than with his case. He said to the petitioners "If you complain of any offence, cognizable in a court of law, go to a court of law-if you complain of a matter which is cognizable in a court of equity only, go to a court of equity-if you complain of any violation of the election laws, go before an election committee ---but do not ask the House of Commons to institute an inquiry into the different shades of Blue, which distinguish the parties in your Corporation." Some of the allegations in the petition were of the most frivolous description. One of them was, that "Sir C. A. Hastings was carried in procession to the Guildhall." Was it fitting that the House of Commons should institute an inquiry, for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not such was the fact? An inquiry into such an allegation was beneath the dignity of the House. When the petitioners complained of the conduct of the Corporation, in making outvoters, the House would bear in mind, that eighteen out of the sixty abhorrents of corporation corruption, who had signed this petition, had, after voting at Leicester, left the election unfinished, and actually scampered off to Nottingham, to exercise their right of voting as honorary freemen of that borough. If the petitioners, who had called into question the acts of the Corporation of Leicester, should obtain a select committee, that would establish a precedent for those who complained of the acts of the corporation of Nottingham; and to such an extent would applications of this kind spread, that, in a very short time, the time of the House would be occupied solely in investigating election squabbles. If the House thought that corporations had made an improper use of their power, in conferring the freedom of the respective boroughs upon non-residents, for election purposes, let such power be limited by law; but let not one corporation be selected, because some of its members were Blues, or Indigo Blues, or that description of Blues, of which the petitioners did not approve. The hon. member had said, that there was no precedent upon their Journals for appointing a select committee in a case of this kind. That there was no such precedent, did not in the least surprise him; but the hon. gentleman, having failed in finding any authority in the Journals, had recourse to the works of Dr. Smollett, and had at last found in Peregrine Pickle, or Roderick Random, [a laugh], a case in point. He took the whole charge of the hon. member to amount to this, and nothing more that the hon. member did not approve of the politics of those gentlemen who had been returned for Leicester. Considering that some of those petitioners had acted at Nottingham in the manner which they complained of others for having acted at Leicester-considering that if motions of this kind were acceded to, it would prevent parties complaining from appealing to the tribunals constituted by that House in cases of this kind, and constituted because that House thought that such tribunals would be exempt from the influence of large majorities-and, considering, that it was beneath the dignity of that House to interfere with disputes arising out of local politics, he could not avoid expressing his sincere hope that the House would make a stand against such applications, and would, by a large majority, reject the motion for a select committee. Sir F. Burdett said, he thought that his hon. friend, the member for Hull, had not been fairly dealt by. When he saw right hon. gentlemen having recourse to gross exaggerations-to palpable misrepresentations-attributing what had never been said, and what never could have been believed to have been said, it was quite evident that it was the last resource of those who felt that there was more in the case than they were able, in any other way, to answer. Every body who heard the right hon. gentleman-nay, the right hon. gentleman himself-well knew that the hon. member for Hull had never quoted the petitioners proceed against them under the Grenville act?" What, however, was the real state of the case? The petitioners complained of the abuse of a legal power; and that could not be the subject of a prosecution under the Grenville act. Here was alleged the positive abuse of a legal Peregrine Pickle, nor Roderick Random. Such trifling might amuse, but it could not satisfy; and he was surprised that the right hon. gentleman, for the sake of so poor a joke, could lay aside the candour for which he had recently obtained credit. A volume of Smollett's History was less cumbersome than a volume of the Jour-power; and if that abuse had taken place, nals; and Smollett was an historian in some credit. Therefore, unless the right hon. gentleman could establish, that Smollett had misquoted the Journals, the attempt at ridicule, because the same individual had written certain novels, recoiled upon itself. The right hon. gentleman might excite a laugh among his friends and adherents; but such a specimen of wit could only produce a smile rather of pity than satisfaction among those who were not connected with him in office or expectancy. Both the hon. members for Leicester had boasted of the respectability of their constituents; but surely it was unnecessary that they should vouch the fact; seeing that it would be taken for granted, that those who sent particular members to parliament would be declared by those members to be men of great judgment, and high virtue, both private and political. A right hon. gentleman had said, that the corporation of Leicester had done no more than the electors of Westminster, in paying the legal expenses of the election; but the charge of the hon. mover was, that the corporation had abused and misapplied the corporate funds, by employing them for the purposes of the election. If it had been merely stated, that individual gentlemen had subscribed their own money to forward a particular election, such a charge, so grossly absurd, could not be entertained for a moment. If this were decidedly stated, then there would be an end to the case. But he did not understand the fact to be so. And even if it appeared, on the first view, that the subscriptions were of this nature, still, in his opinion, it ought to be clearly proved before they refused inquiry; because the business might be done in so covert a manner corruption having arrived at such a pitch in this country, especially in corporations,as to prevent discovery, unless it were narrowly investigated. The petitioners complained of the excessive number of voters that had been created. "But," said the right hon. gentleman, "the corporation had a right to make them; and if they had not, why did not he contended, that the House was imperiously called on to institute an investigation of all the circumstances connected with the offence. What did the hon. member for Hull demand? He asked for a committee, in whose power it should be to call for whatever evidence they might deem necessary. Could any thing be more fair-could any thing be more necessary-where such a statement was made as that contained in the petition? He denied that this proceeding would cast any reflection on the sitting members. The petition contained no allegation against them. They might be perfectly unconscious of the practices complained of. The hon. baronet had said, that if any improper practices were going on, he must have heard of them. This, however, he must deny. On the contrary, the hon. baronet would be the last man in the world whom the parties complained of would make acquainted with any practices of this description. The corporation were too much au fait at this business to let him know any thing about it. The right hon. gen tleman had spoken of the honorary or temporary electors for Nottingham, who went in such a hurry from one place to the other to vote. But what answer was that to the statement of his hon. friend? He complained that the same kind of thing had been done at Leicester as appeared to have been done at Nottingham; and he laid before the House a particular case, which had fallen into his hands, and which he wished to have investigated. It was no answer to say to him, that similar pro ceedings had occurred elsewhere. He, therefore, contended, that his hon. friend had a right to call on the House to interfere in a case, with respect to which redress could not be obtained in a court of law. It was only in that House that the justice of the case could be satisfied; and, therefore, he called upon them not to dismiss it with that levity, which the right hon. gentleman appeared, by his manner, to sanction. If this motion was rejected, the public would consider it as the declaration of a denial of justice in every case of this kind that might be brought before parliament. It would show, that the House was destitute of that constitutional jealousy which it ought to feel for the purity of its members; and that instead of opening wide its doors to representations of the kind, it was anxious to throw every difficulty in the way of investigation. Mr. V. Fitzgerald contended, that his right hon. friend was justified in his allusion to Peregrine Pickle and Roderick Random, by the fact, that in that portion of Smollett's History which had been referred to upon this occasion, the author had shown more of the novel writer and the political pamphleteer, than of the liberal and impartial narrator of events. Lord Milton said, the question was, whether the act of the Corporation in creating such a number of additional voters, was or was not illegal. No one had said that, under ordinary circumstances, the Corporation of Leicester had not a right to make freemen. But the case became very different, when the proposition for creating additional voters was hawked all over the country. It appeared that 2,000 letters had been issued to various individuals, and that eight hundred persons were in consequence placed in the situation of electors. This being the case, the hon. member for Hull surely had a right to bring the business forward, for the purpose of investigation. But the right hon. gentleman had, with a great deal of solemnity, called on the House to make a stand, and to support the Corporation. He hoped that the House would do no such thing; especially as a complaint which had been recently made against another corporation, for improper practices in the course of an election, had not been thus dismissed, but had been referred to a committee for consideration. With the labours of that committee they had not yet been made acquainted; but he expected that they would be soon laid on their table. The present was, in his opinion, a gross abuse of legal rights, by the members of this Corporation. It was clear that vast numbers of persons having no connection with the town of Leicester had been created freemen; and it was the duty of that House to inquire, whether they were so created for the purpose of influencing the election in a particular way. He contended, that the House had a right to interfere, to prevent, in future, the recurrence of such a transaction. It was no answer to the petitioners to say, that a similar transaction had taken place at Nottingham. That, on the contrary, ought to operate as an additional reason for rooting out such a system altogether. Mr. Legh-Keck said, he was himself a freeman of Leicester, and he could safely aver, that a more respectable body of electors could not be found in the kingdom. The funds of that Corporation were strictly applied to the purposes for which they were originally intended. There was not a corporate body in England, who watched over the charitable and other funds placed under their care, with more unremitting attention. As to the formation of additional freemen, it could not have been done for the purpose of influencing the election. That would have been a needless precaution; because the resident freemen would, over and over again, have secured the return of the favourite candidate, without any adventitious aid. Mr. Spring Rice supported the motion. Mr. Goulburn contended, that the present case bore no analogy to that of Northampton, inasmuch as no misapplication of corporate funds was charged against the Corporation of Leicester. As to the remission of fees to the eight hundred freemen, it could not have been made with a view to influence the election, as the freedom was conferred on them in 1822, and the election took place four years after. The absence of any illegality in the mode of taking the poll was proved by the fact, that counsel, who had been consulted on the policy of petitioning against the return, under the Grenville act, declared that there were not sufficient grounds to support such a charge. Lord Rancliffe said, that as the corporation of Nottingham had been alluded to in the course of the discussion, he was bound to admit that the practice complained of had prevailed there to some extent. He, however, disapproved of it, and would as willingly support a motion for inquiry into the conduct of that corporation, as into that of Leicester. Mr. Hudson Gurney supported the motion. He said, that the matter loudly called for the intervention of the House. This infamous system of overpowering the bonâ fide voters, by creation of honorary freemen, had been begun by the corporation of Nottingham; who, he was informed, had made twelve hundred utterly un Sir F. Burdett was about to read a passage from the petition, in order to prove the incorrectness of the statement made on the other side of the House; namely, that the petition did not allege that the Corporation money had been misapplied, when The Speaker informed him, that it was not competent to him to do so, he having already addressed the House. ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS.] Marquis of Londonderry rose to present two petitions from the counties of Londonderry and Monaghan, in favour of the Roman Catholic claims. He said, he should not detain their lordships at present, as he had before endeavoured humbly, but honestly, to state the conviction on his mind, that the great and important question of the Roman Catholic claims was intimately connected with the hap Lord Howick, therefore, read the passage, which declared, that the Corporation had borrowed money to carry on the election, and that the lenders were to be in-piness, welfare, and he might add, the demnified out of the Corporation funds. Mr. C. N. Pallmer was of opinion that the freemen in question had been made in contemplation of the election, and that their votes were improperly used in it. On that ground he should support the motion. social order of Ireland. He thought it would be bad taste to press the question forward, not only from what he had already said upon the subject, but more especially because an enlightened statesman had thought it most wise to withdraw the motion of which he had given notice. He was not in his place when that incomparable speech was delivered; in every part of which he most cordially and sincerely concurred. He thought he had acted most wisely in not pressing forward a discussion, which could only excite irritation. The question would, of necessity be resumed; and he must hope that the Roman Catholics would bear their present disappointment with patience and resignation; and if he could conceive that they would have recourse to force or rebellion in order to obtain from parliament their claims, and not to persuasion or argument, he hoped, as an honest Irish soldier, he should be in the van-guard of those who opposed such proceedings. He had hoped that those noble lords who did not join with him and his friends in their opinions upon the question, would come forward with some measure calculated to reconcile the country to the disappointment, and to allay the feelings of irritation which now prevailed. That was his wish; and when he found that no measure was coming forward, he felt deeply grieved. Nevertheless, he would advise the Roman Catholics to hope that by patience and resignation they would arrive at the great object of their wishes; and that the justice and magnanimity of a British king and a British senate would 2 R |