HL Deb 11 February 1839 vol 45 cc205-6
Lord Brougham

assured their Lordships that it was particularly painful to him to allude to anything in which he was personally concerned. He should not now do so, but, that he had seen the disposition manifested to persist in stating, with respect to himself, that which was untrue, and which was, that this House had been guilty of a breach of privilege in suffering him to take notice in this House of that which had happened in the other House of Parliament. He was, in the recollection of their Lordships, when he said, that he did not take notice; on the contrary, he purposely abstained from taking notice, of what any man had said in the other House, or of any one thing that had been said in the other House. A speech in Ireland was not something that had passed in the other House. A letter written to Birmingham, was not something that had Passed in the other House. But, notwithstanding that he had distinctly stated, that on Friday last he had done so, he found it stated yesterday, in a Sunday paper, that the Speaker had pronounced a sentence on his conduct, as having infringed the pri- vileges of that House, by alluding in their Lordships' House to what had passed there. He would again say, that he could not believe, that that distinguished individual said any such thing; but, if he did say any such thing, he was bound to add—not, that that distinguished individual told an untruth, which he was utterly incapable of, but—that somebody had told him what that somebody must have known to be untrue, and had made that distinguished individual the medium of conveying it to the House. He should not have noticed this, if he did not find, that it had been again urged, that that right hon. Personage had done that of which he was quite incapable.

Viscount Melbourne

said, that on the occasion referred to by the noble and learned Lord, he certainly had not animadverted upon proceedings in the other House of Parliament, nor of anything that had passed there. At the same time, he believed, that there was no foundation for the statement, that the highest authority in the other House had used expressions calculated to produce the impression which the noble and learned Lord stated had been produced. He was quite certain, that the right hon. Gentleman referred to would be the last person to have said, that which would be hurtful to the feelings of the noble and learned Lord.

Lord Brougham

quite agreed with the noble Viscount; but the government print of yesterday stated, that the right hon. Gentleman though he had said so, did not believe it.