Lords Sitting of 16 June 1819

BARNSTAPLE ELECTION—WITNESSES INDEMNITY.
The Marquis of Lansdownerose to present a Bill for Indemnifying the witnesses examined, or to be examined before the House, respecting the Barn-staple Bribery bill. Though he felt the House had inherently the privilege of protecting the witnesses whom it thought proper to examine, from any consequences arising from the disclosures made in their evidence, still the evidence, thus given might afford a clue to the discovery of circumstances, from whence injurious consequences might result to the witnesses. It might also happen, that in a borough to which a bill of this nature might be applied, the whole class of persons to be affected by such a measure might be so involved in corruption, that no means might remain of getting at the truth, for the purpose of punishing such abominable and unconstitutional corruption, but by a bill of this nature. He did not, indeed, hesitate to state it as his opinion, that, in every case of this kind, a bill similar to that he now presented, ought to be passed, in order to enable the House to
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arrive at the truth, without injury to the individuals disclosing it.
The bill was read a first time