§ On the motion for the committal of this Bill,
§ Earl Stanhopesaid, there never Was a bill with so many absurd clauses. He adverted to an Act of the 2nd of Richard 2, by which aliens from nations in amity with this country were permitted to come into the country freely for purposes of commerce, and to transact their business without molestation. Bills of this description trenched on that law; but if it was proper to pass them at all, it was at least incumbent on those who ought to attend to them particularly, to take care they were in a state fit to be passed. It was absolutely necessary that more attention should be paid to the bills that were brought into that House. The Commons had sent them up a bill relative to the borough of Hellestone, which it was found impossible to deal with; and now they sent this Bill, which was little better. It ought to have been submitted to the Attorney and Solicitor general, before it was brought in. One objectionable part of the Bill was, that all aliens having no 185 licence, &c., were to be imprisoned till sent out of the country; and having no licence, meant having no licence under this. Act; so that those who had licences under the last Act, might be imprisoned without knowing that they had committed any offence. He had suggested this to the noble Secretary, who now, he understood, was prepared, with an amendment which would remove nineteen-twentieths of his objections to the Bill. Another objection was, that even cases of shipwreck and distress were not excepted. In one of the clauses an indictment was to be preferred where there was no indictable offence. However, he should not object to the Bill going into a committee.
The motion being agreed to, the Bill was accordingly committed.
§ Viscount Sidmouthstated, that the reason why this Bill had not been submitted to the Attorney and Solicitor-general, was, that the Alien Bill of 1803, of which this was nearly a transcript, had been so submitted. There was a great convenience in compelling aliens to take out new licences, as changes must have taken place by death and departure, and it was desirable that the number and abode of all aliens now holding licences under the late Act should be known. Upon the whole, the inconvenience to the parties which would result from their being compelled to come to London and renew their licences, appeared to outweigh the advantages on the other side, and therefore he proposed a clause by which licences held under the former Act were considered to be sufficient.—This clause was accordingly inserted.
§ Earl Stanhopesaid, that the clause removed much of what he had considered as objectionable in the Bill, and had been first suggested by himself. His lordship then proposed several other amendments, and particularly insisted that certain words which he mentioned, should be stated in a parenthesis, that, as he alleged, being absolutely necessary to make the sense clear.
§ Lord Redesdalesaid, that there were no parentheses in acts of parliament, and that the question ought not to be put.
§ Earl Stanhopeinsisted, that there were parentheses in acts of parliament, and he was astonished that any lawyer should deny it.
The proposed amendments were severally negatived, and the Bill passed the committee.