Commons Sitting of 5 July 1819

GRAMPOUND BRIBERY INDICTMENTS.
The Grampound BriberyIndictments were considered in a committee. After which, the House being resumed, the minutes of evidence were ordered to be laid on the table.
Lord John Russellsaid, that with respect to the case before the House, as the greater part of the evidence had long been
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printed, and the remainder had just been heard by the House, he had no difficulty in now submitting to the House the two following resolutions: 1st, "That it appears to this House, that such a notorious system of corruption has prevailed in the borough of Grampound, as to call for the serious consideration of this House." 2nd, "That this House will take the same into consideration at an early period in the next session of parliament." That a notorious system of corruption had prevailed in the borough of Grampound, must be evident to every one; indeed, so strong a case was hardly ever brought before parliament. On this subject it was therefore unnecessary for him to occupy the attention of the House. But with regard to the second resolution, pledging the House to take this case into their consideration early next session, he had a few words to say. Since the period of the Revolution, time had made in our constitution two great innovations. In consequence of parliament having become so great a power, seats in that House had become more valuable, and a much greater degree of competition for those seats had naturally taken place; and hence some of the smaller boroughs had become the seats of corruption. This fact had been acknowledged by the House in three cases at different periods of time, in which the House had thought proper to establish as a principle, that the notorious existence of such corruption was a sufficient ground for their interference, and had endeavoured to remedy the evil by extending the right of voting to the adjoining hundreds. The other innovation was, that great cities and towns had since grown up, in consequence of the extension of our commerce and manufactures, which were not represented, but which ought to be represented as well as the other cities and towns that were represented before the Revolution. But the principle of admitting the unrepresented large towns into a share of the representation had not yet been adopted by the House. What he, should propose next session, would be founded on the two principles to which he had alluded; namely, that of destroying corruption in the boroughs in which it existed, and giving the right of voting taken from them to other bodies of men, who possessed such a stake in the country as to entitle them to a voice in the naming of those who had to watch over their interests, and whose numbers and interest in

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the general welfare of the country, would secure them from corrupt influence. In admitting this principle, he conceived the House would not be admitting any dangerous plan of reform. When, in former cases, the House had given the votes of the disfranchised boroughs to the adjoining hundreds, it had always been said, that the freeholders had no more right to this vote than any other persons who were not represented in the House; and this argument was unanswerable; for the only ground on which the franchise could be given to the adjoining hundreds was that of general expediency, under the hope (which had turned out to be well founded), that the measure would prove a remedy for the evil. With the same hope he should propose, that the elective franchise should be transferred to counties or towns in which there were large bodies of men possessed of great wealth who had hardly any representatives in that House. The noble lord concluded with moving the two resolutions already given, which were agreed to nom. con.

GRAMPOUND ELECTION—MR. ALEXANDER LAMBE.
Mr. Wynncalled the attention of the House to the conduct of Alexander Lambe, a witness examined in the case of Grampound, with which the House had recently been occupied. This witness had not only contumaciously refused to answer several; questions put to him, but had also taken upon him to destroy a material document respecting the late election, after his first examination. It would be necessary for the House to adopt some measure to prevent the recurrence of acts of this nature; otherwise, at every step of an examination, a witness would feel himself at full liberty to destroy any document, however material to the investigation. The hon. gentleman concluded with moving, "That Alexander Lambe, esq., since his first examination before a Committee of the whole House, to whom it was referred to consider of the extracts of indictments against sir M. M. Lopez and others, for bribery at the late election for Grampound, having destroyed a material document relative thereto, has been guilty of wilful suppression of evidence, and a high contempt of the authority of this House."
After a short conversation, the motion was agreed to, and Mr. Lambe was ordered to be taken into the custody of the Serjeant at arms.