Sitting of 2 May 1814

CAMBRIDGE CANAL.
On the question, that the Report of the Committee be received,
Mr. Brandrose and observed, that, according to the standing order of their House, new notices ought to have been given to those individuals who had signified their consent to the cutting of this canal. The present was a Bill to amend a former Bill passed in the last session; but the amendments were of a description that wholly altered the original Act. It totally changed and varied the line of the canal; and it became a question for consideration, whether those who had assented to the first plan, were bound to consent to the second; he should therefore move, that the Report be received this day six months.
After a few words from Mr. Western and Mr. Harvey,
The Speakerobserved, that the question which had been raised by the hon. member was one important to the safety of their own proceedings, and the interests of private property and he therefore wished the attention of the House to be particularly given to it Here was a Bill, founded upon one that had passed last session, but essentially changing its object

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and character, and which assumed as a principle, that the parties interested in the first were formally bound to consent to the present, though avowedly producing an opposite result from that to which they had originally assented, He could not better illustrate his own conception of the case, than by supposing a canal to be cut, one end of which should terminate at a coal-pit, and the other at a chalk-pit: the persons interested in this undertaking consent to it; but if, afterwards, it were resolved to stop short, and to carry the canal neither to the coal-pit nor the chalk-pit, but only through an intermediate space, it could hardly be assumed, that the parties who had in the first instance agreed to the plan were also consenting to the alteration, when it accomplished neither of the purposes they might be supposed to have in view. Something analogous to this he conceived the present question to be; and it was for the House to consider how they would dispose of it.
Mr. Yorkesaid, the House was not correctly in possession of the object of the amended Bill. Its object was, to proceed immediately with part of the work; but it by no means implied that the whole line of canal would not be subsequently cut.
After a few words from Mr. Brand, Mr. S. Lefevre and general Manners,
The Speakersuggested, that the better way would be to let the Bill proceed through its present stage, and postpone the third reading for eight or ten days; to give the parties time to petition upon the question of the standing order. This proposition was acceded to by Mr. Brand.

RAMSGATE HARBOUR BILL.
Sir W. Curtis moved the second reading of this Bill.
Sir C. Monckwished the hon. baronet had explained the nature and extent of the duties to be paid by vessels, according to this Bill; and how far they were different from those already levied by former Acts.
Sir W. Curtisobserved, in reply, that there was no port from Portsmouth to London where ships could enter, except Ramsgate; it was but fair, therefore, that they should pay towards, defraying the expences incident to keeping the harbour in a safe and good state.
The House divided upon the second reading; and it was thrown out by majority of 14; there being 16 for, and 30 again.

TREATIES WITH THE ALLIES.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerpresented at the bar copies of the Treaties signed on the 1st of March last, between this country and Austria, Russia, and Prussia; and also a copy of the Convention for the Cessation of Hostilities between England and France, signed at Paris on the 23d of April. Having moved that they should be upon the table; he observed, that nothing more would be necessary at present, than to observe, that the consideration of the Convention, and of the Subsidiary Treaties, would take place in a Committee of Supply.
Mr. Whitbreadenquired whether the right hon. gentleman and his colleagues had come to a determination not to submit to the House those papers relative to the negociation at Chatillon, which were prepared for it, but which, in consequence of the subsequent extraordinary events in Europe, they had deemed it proper to withhold. He did not see how it would be possible to consider the Treaties now laid before them, without the communication of those antecedent documents.
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, he was not aware, that it was the intention of government to submit those papers to the House; but, at a future period, when the subsidies themselves were under their consideration, it would be competent for any member to move for their production.
Mr. Whitbread.—Then it is determined upon, that they shall be refused?
The Chancellor of the Exchequerreplied, that he was not prepared to signify that they would be refused.
Mr. Whitbreadwished to ask another question, whether any advances of money had been made to any or all of the Allied Powers, subsequent to, and in consequence of, the Treaties that were signed? He did not mean to imply, that any advances so made would have been improper; but he wished to know the fact.
The Chancellor of the Exchequeranswered, that to some of the Allied Powers advances had been given out of the provision which had been made at the conclusion of the last session, for the general purpose of assisting the Allies.
Mr. Whitbread. Have any advances been made subsequent to the signing to the signing of treaties at Chaumont?
The Chancellor of the Exchequer.—Some advances have been made subsequent to the signing of the treaties at Chaumont.
The following is a Copy of the Treaty between GREAT BRITAIN and AUSTRIA:
A Treaty of Union, Concert, and Subsidy, between his BRITANNIC MAJESTY and his Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty the EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA. Signed at Chaumont, the 1st of March 1814.
In the Name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity.—His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, his Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, and his Majesty the King of Prussia, having transmitted to the French government proposals for concluding a general peace, and being desirous, should France refuse the conditions therein contained, to draw closer the ties which unite them for the vigorous prosecution of a war undertaken for the salutary purpose of putting an end to the miseries of Europe, of securing its future repose, by re-establishing a just balance of power, and being at the same time desirous, should the Almighty bless their pacific intentions, to fix the means of maintaining, against every attempt, the order of things which shall have been the happy consequence of their efforts, have agreed to sanction, by a solemn treaty, signed separately by each of the four powers with the three others, this twofold engagement.
In consequence, his Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has named to discuss, settle, and sign the conditions of the present Treaty, with his Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, the right honourable Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, one of his said Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council, Member of Parliament, Colonel of the Londonderry Regiment of Militia, and his Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, &c. &c. &c. and his Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty having named, on his part, the Sieur Clement Wenceslaus Lothaire Prince Metternich Winneburgh Ochsenhausen, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen, Knight of the Russian Orders of St. Andrew, of St. Alexander Newsky, and of St. Anne of the First Class, Knight of the Prussian Orders of the Black and Red Eagles, Grand Cross of the Order of St. Joseph of Wurtzburgh, Knight of
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the Order of St. Hubert of Bavaria, of the Golden Eagle of Wurtemburgh, and of several others, his Chamberlain, Privy Councillor, Minister of State, of Conferences, and of Foreign Affairs.—The said Plenipotentiaries, after having exchanged their full powers, found to be in due and proper form, have agreed upon the following Articles:
Art. I. The High Contracting Powers above-named solemnly engage by the present Treaty, and in the event of France refusing to accede to the conditions of peace now proposed, to apply all the means of their respective states to the vigorous prosecution of the war against that power, and to employ them in perfect concert, in order to obtain for themselves and for Europe a general peace, under the protection of which the rights and liberties of all nations may be established and secured.
This engagement shall in no respect affect the stipulations which the several powers have already contracted relative to the number of troops to be kept against the enemy; and it is understood, that the courts of England, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, engage by the present Treaty to keep in the field, each of them, one hundred and fifty thousand effective men, exclusive of garrisons, to be employed in active service against the common enemy.
Art. II. The High Contracting Parties reciprocally engage not to negociate separately with the common enemy, nor to sign peace, trace, nor convention, but with common consent. They moreover engage not to lay down their arms until the object of the war, mutually understood and agreed upon, shall have been attained.
Art. III. In order to contribute in the most prompt and decisive manner to fulfil this great object, his Britannic Majesty engages to furnish a subsidy of five millions sterling for the service of the year 1814, to be divided in equal proportions amongst the three powers: and his said Majesty promises moreover to arrange, before the 1st of January in each year, with their Imperial and Royal Majesties, the further succours to be furnished during the subsequent year, if (which God forbid!) the war should so long continue. The subsidy above stipulated, of five millions sterling, shall be paid in London, by monthly instalments, and in equal proportions, to the ministers of the respective powers duly authorised to receive the

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same. In case peace should be signed between the Allied Powers and France before the expiration of the year, the subsidy, calculated upon the scale of five millions sterling, shall be paid up to the end of the month in which the definitive treaty shall have been signed; and his Britannic Majesty promises, in addition, to pay to Austria and to Prussia two months, and to Russia four months, over and above the stipulated subsidy, to cover the expences of the return of their troops within their own frontiers.
Art. IV. The High Contracting Parties will be entitled respectively to accredit to the generals commanding their armies, officers, who will be allowed to correspond with their governments, for the purpose of informing them of the military events, and of every thing which relates to the operations of the armies.
Art. V. The High Contracting Powers reserving to themselves to concert together, on the conclusion of a peace with France, as to the means best adapted to guarantee to Europe and to themselves reciprocally the continuance of the peace, have also determined to enter, without delay, into defensive engagements for the protection of their respective states in Europe against every attempt which France might make to infringe the order of things resulting from such pacification.
Art, VI To effect this they agree, that in the event of one of the High Contracting Parties being threatened with an attack on the part of France, the others shall employ their most strenuous efforts to prevent it, by friendly interposition.
Art. VII. In the case of these endeavours proving ineffectual, the High Contracting Parties promise to come to the immediate assistance of the power attacked, each with a body of sixty thousand men.
Art. VIII. Such auxiliary corps shall respectively consist of fifty thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry, with a train of artillery, and ammunition in proportion to the number of troops: the auxiliary corps shall be ready to take the field in the most effective manner, for the safety of the power attacked or threatened, within two months at latest after the requisition shall have been made.
Art. IX. As the situation of the seat of war, or other circumstances, might render it difficult for Great Britain to furnish the stipulated succours in English troops within the term prescribed, and to main-
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tain the same on a war establishment, his Britannic Majesty reserves the right of furnishing his contingent to the requiring power in foreign troops in his pay, or to pay annually to that power a sum of money, at the rate of twenty pounds sterling per each man for infantry, and of thirty pounds sterling for cavalry, until the stipulated succour shall be complete.
The mode of furnishing this succour by Great Britain shall be settled amicably, in each particular case, between his Britannic Majesty and the power threatened, or attacked, as soon as the requisition, shall be made; the same principle shall be adopted with regard to the forces which his Britannic Majesty engages to furnish by the first article of the present Treaty.
Art. X. The auxiliary army shall be under the orders of the commander in chief of the army of the requiring power; it shall be commanded by its own general, and employed in all military operations according to the rules of war. The pay of the auxiliary army shall be defrayed by the requiring power; the rations and portions of provisions and forage, &c. as well as quarters, shall be furnished by the requiring power as soon as the auxiliary army shall have passed its own frontier; and that upon the same footing as the said power maintains, or shall maintain, its own troops in the field or in quarters.
Art, XI. The discipline and administration of the troops shall solely depend upon their own commander; they shall not be separated. The trophies and booty taken from the enemy shall belong to the troops who take them.
Art. XII. Whenever the amount of the stipulated succours shall be found inadequate to the exigency of the case, the High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves to make, without loss of time, an ulterior arrangement as to the additional succours which it may be deemed necessary to furnish.
Art. XIII. The High Contracting Parties mutually promise, that in case they shall be reciprocally engaged in hostilities, in consequence of furnishing the stipulated succours, the party requiring and the parties called upon, and acting as auxiliaries in the war, shall not make peace but by common consent.
Art. XIV. The engagements contracted by the present Treaty, shall not prejudice those which the High Contracting Parties may have entered into with other powers,

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not prevent them from forming new engagements, with other states, with a view of obtaining the same salutary result.
Art. XV. In order to render more effectual the defensive engagements above stipulated, by uniting for their common defence the powers the most exposed to a French invasion, the High Contracting parties engage to invite those powers to accede to the present Treaty of defensive alliance.
Art. XVI. The present Treaty of defensive alliance having for its object to maintain the equilibrium of Europe, to secure the repose and independence of its states, and to prevent the invasions which during so many years have desolated the world, the High Contracting Parties have agreed to extend the duration of it to twenty years, to take date from the day of its signature; and they reserve to themselves, to concert upon its ulterior prolongation, three years before its expiration, should circumstances require it.
Art. XVII. The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the ratification exchanged within two months or sooner if possible.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and affixed thereto the seal of their arms.
Done at Chaumont this first day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fourteen.
CASTLEREAGH.
CLEMENT WENCESLAUS LOTHAIRE, Prince of Metternich.
[The Treaties between Great Britain and Russia and Prussia are couched in exactly the same terms as the above. They are therefore not inserted.]
CONVENTION for a Suspension of Hostilities with FRANCE.—Signed at Paris the 23d of April 1814.
In the Name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity.—The Allied Powers, anxious to terminate the misfortunes of Europe, and to lay the foundation of its repose on a just division of power between the states of which it is composed; desirous of affording to France, (now that she is reinstated under a government whose principles offer the necessary guarantees for the maintenance of peace), proofs of their disposition to place themselves in the relations of friendship with her; and wishing at the same time that France should enjoy the blessings of peace as much as possible, even before the whole of their
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arrangements can be completed, have resolved to proceed, conjointly with his Royal Highness Monsieur, Son of France, Brother of the King, Lieutenant General of the Kingdom of France, to a suspension of hostilities between their respective forces, and to the re-establishment of the relations of friendship which formerly subsisted between them.
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for himself and his Allies on the one part, and his Royal Highness Monsieur, brother of the Most Christian King, Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom of France, on the other part, have, in consequence, named plenipotentiaries to agree to an act, which, without prejudging the terms of Peace, contains stipulations for a suspension of hostilities, and which shall be succeeded, as soon as may be, by a Treaty of Peace; to wit:—His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the right hon. Robert Stewart Viscount Castlereagh, one of his Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, a Member of Parliament, Colonel of the Londonderry regiment of Militia, and his principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and his Royal Highness Monsieur, Brother of the King, Lieutenant General of the kingdom of France, Le Sieur Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Perigord, Prince of Benevento, Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour, Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen, of the Orders of St. Andrew, St. Alexander Newsky, and of St. Anne of Russia, of the Orders of the Black Eagle and the Red Eagle of Prussia, Senator and President of the Provisional Government; who, after the exchange of their full powers, have agreed to the following Articles:
Article I. All hostilities by land and sea are, and shall remain, suspended between the Allied Powers and France, that is to say:—for the land forces, as soon as the commanding officers of the French armies and fortified places shall have signified to the allied troops opposed to them, that they have recognized the authority of the Lieutenant General of the kingdom of France; and in like manner upon the sea, as far as regards maritime places and stations, as soon as the shipping and ports of the kingdom of France, or those occupied by French forces shall have manifested the same submission.
Article II. For the purpose of effecting the re-establishment of the relations of

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friendship between the Allied Powers and France, and to afford to the latter beforehand, as much as possible, the enjoyment of the blessings of peace, the Allied Powers will cause their armies to evacuate the French territory, as it existed on the 1st of January 1792, upon condition that the places still in the possession of the French armies beyond those limits, shall be evacuated and delivered up to the Allies.
Art. III. The Lieutenant-General of the kingdom of France will accordingly instruct the commandants of those places to deliver them up in the following manner, viz. The places situated upon the Rhine, not comprehended within the limits of France on the 1st of January, 1792, and those between the Rhine and the said limits, in the space of ten days, to be calculated from the day of the signature of the present act; the places in Piedmont and in other parts of Italy which belonged to France, in fifteen days; those in Spain in twenty days; and all other places occupied by French troops, without exception, in such manner, as that they shall be entirely delivered up by the 1st of June next. The garrisons of such places shall depart with their arms and baggage, and with the private property of the military, and of the civil agents of every description. They shall be allowed to take with them field artillery in the proportion of three pieces to each one thousand men, the sick and wounded therein comprised.
The property of the fortresses, and every thing which is not private property shall remain untouched, and shall be given over in full to the Allies without any thing being removed. In the property are comprised not only the depôts of artillery and ammunition, but also all other supplies of every description, as well as the archives, inventories, plans, maps, models, &c.
Immediately after the signature of the present Convention, commissaries on the part of the Allied Powers and of France shall be named and dispatched to the fortresses, in order to ascertain the state in which they are, and to regulate together the execution of this article.
The garrisons shall be regulated in their return to France according to the magazines upon the different lines which shall be agreed upon. The blockades of fortified places in France shall be raised immediately by the allied armies.
The French troops making a part of the
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army of Italy, or occupying the fortified places in that country or in the Mediterranean, shall be recalled immediately by his royal highness the Lieutenant-General of the kingdom.
Article IV. The stipulations of the preceding article shall be equally applied to maritime fortresses, the Contracting Powers reserving, however, to themselves to regulate in the Definitive Treaty of Peace, the fate of the arsenals, vessels of war, armed and unarmed, which are in those places.
Article V. The fleets and ships of France shall remain in their respective situations, vessels only charged with particular missions shall be allowed to sail, but the immediate effect of the present act in respect to the French ports, shall be the raising of all blockade by land or sea, the liberty of fishing, that of the coasting trade, particularly of that which is necessary for supplying Paris with provisions; and the re-establishment of the relations of commerce conformably to the internal regulations of each country; and the immediate effect in respect to the interior shall be the free provisioning of the cities, and the free passage of all means of military or commercial transport.
Article VI. In order to anticipate every subject of complaint and dispute which may arise respecting the captures which might be made at sea after the signature of the present Convention, it is reciprocally agreed that vessels and effects which may be taken in the Channel, and in the North Seas, after the space of twelve days, to reckon from the exchange of the ratifications of the present act, shall be restored on both sides, that the term shall be one month within the Channel and North Seas to the Canary Islands and to the Equator, and five months in every other part of the world, without any exception or other particular distinction of time, or of place.
Article VII. On both sides, the prisoners, officers and soldiers, of land or sea, or of any other description whatever, and particularly hostages, shall be immediately sent back to their respective countries, without ransom and without exchange. Commissaries shall be named reciprocally in order to carry this general liberation into effect.
Article VIII. The administration of the departments or cities actually occupied by the forces of the co-belligerents shall be given over to the magistrates named by His Royal Highness the Lieutenant-General

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of the kingdom of France. The Royal Authorities shall provide for the subsistence and wants of the troops to the moment when they shall evacuate the French territory, the Allied Powers wishing as an act of friendship towards France, to discontinue the military requisitions, as soon as the restoration of the legitimate authority shall have been effected. Every thing which relates to the execution of this article shall be regulated by a particular Convention.
Article IX. A mutual understanding shall take place respecting the terms of the second article, as to the routes which the troops of the Allied Powers shall follow in their march, in order to prepare the means of subsistance, and commissaries shall be named to regulate all matters of detail, and to accompany the troops till the moment of their quitting the French territory.
In testimony of which the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention, and affixed thereto the seals of their arms.
Done at Paris, the 23d day of April in the year of our Lord, 1814.
CASTLEREAGH,
LE PRINCE DE BENEVENTO.
ADDITIONAL ARTICLE.
The term of ten days, agreed on in virtue of the stipulations of the Third Article of the Convention of this day for the evacuation of the fortified places upon the Rhine, and between that river and the ancient frontiers of France, is extended to the fortified places and military establishments of whatsoever description in the United Provinces of the United States.
The present additional article shall have the same force and validity, as if it were word for word inserted in the Convention of this day.
In testimony of which the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed it, and affixed thereto the seals of their arms.
Done in Paris, the 23rd day of April in the year of our Lord, 1814.
CASTLEREAGH.
LE PRINCE DE BENEVENTO.

NORWAY.
Mr. C. W. Wynnrose to move for some papers respecting the situation of Norway, to the production of which he understood there would be no objection. The hon. gentleman then moved, that there should be laid before the House,
"An account of all sums of money paid
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to the government of Sweden, in consequence of the Treaty entered into between that country and this, signed March 3, 1813.—An account of the number of troops employed by the government of Sweden in the late campaign, in conformity with its engagements with this country, so far as the same can be ascertained from official documents;—The date of the surrender of the island of Guadaloupe by this country, and of the occupation thereof by the king of Sweden; and, Copies of all orders issued from the Admiralty, for the blockade of the coast of Norway."
In submitting this motion to the House, he wished to ask, whether any negociation respecting Norway was now going on; or whether, from the hostile measure of starving them into a compliance with the demands of Sweden, which had been adopted, there was no room left for negociation?—In the union which was proposed between Norway and Sweden, it was stated that it should take place with every regard to the happiness of the people of Norway; and the first fruits of this was the system of starvation to which he had alluded. He had further to ask, why the treaty of peace with Denmark had not been produced?
On the question being put from the chair,
Mr. Hornerobserved, addressing himself to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that he had a few evenings since asked, whether his Majesty's government had, in the general order for the release of prisoners of war in this country, made any distinction with regard to the Danish prisoners? The right hon. gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) then said, he did not know of any such distinction; and, indeed, as he (Mr. Horner) understood we were in relations of peace with the crown of Denmark, he was not disposed to believe that such a distinction had existed. He had since, however, received an assurance, that an order had been issued by the Transport Board to detain the Danish prisoners of war. This was a subject on which he thought the House of Commons ought not to be left in doubt; he trusted, therefore, that the right hon. gentleman would now answer, whether such really was the case or not?
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, that with respect to the motion of the hon. gentleman (Mr. C. W. Wynn), he was not aware of any objection to the production of the information he required, as far as it

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could be given from official documents. As to the question, whether any negociations were now going on with respect to Norway, he had no difficulty in saying that such negociations were pending.—With respect to the non-production of the Treaty of Peace with Denmark, he begged to observe, that before it could with propriety be laid before the House, it should be regularly exchanged with that court. This had not yet been done; but as soon as it had, that Treaty would be added to the other documents on the table of the House. He had only to add, what he had before stated, that he knew of no distinction between the Danish and other prisoners of war; except that he understood a gentleman had arrived upon that subject from the Danish government; in consequence of whose interference some little delay had taken place: but he knew of no other cause of detention.
Mr. Whitbreadsaid, he was happy to hear from the right hon. gentleman that negociations were still carrying on respecting Norway. He was happy, not for Norway as a power, but for Norway as a people. The case of Norway, he believed, was not much understood in this country; it was one, however, worthy of the most serious and solemn consideration. They had been told, that the ratifications of the Treaty between England and Denmark had not yet been exchanged; but they had not been told why. For himself, he found it difficult to imagine a reason, when he reflected on the distance between the two countries. Not only, however, were the ratifications unexchanged, but the treaty had not even found its way into the usual channels of intelligence in this country—he meant the daily journals. He had himself been utterly ignorant of its stipulations, till very lately, that a copy of it passed into his hands; and upon examining them, he found the second article provided that "all prisoners of war should be given up, en masse, immediately after the ratification." Here then was the proper explanation, which the right hon. gentleman might have given in reply to the question that had been put respecting the Danish prisoners; but, instead of this, they were told that a person had arrived from Denmark, with powers to concert the return of those prisoners. Were they to understand, that a sort of Veto had been put upon the exchange of them by the court of Denmark; or, was there to be a distinction made between Danish and
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Norwegian prisoners, and was the commissary come over to separate the one from the other? By another article of the Treaty it was stipulated, that recourse was not to be had to force, for effecting the annexation of Norway to Sweden, unless the court of Denmark should not join the northern alliance. Really, therefore, looking at the present situation of things, at a moment when we are applauding the magnanimity of the allied powers, in every other transaction, and when we are rejoicing in the effects of that wise, moderate and liberal policy, which they have adopted, it is melancholy to think that so bright a scene should be clouded, that the lustre of such achievements should be tarnished by a spot like this: that we should be engaged to starve a nation into submission to Sweden, whom, as a people, they detest, and whom they are resolved to resist to the last extremity. If, according to the Treaty between this country and Sweden, we are bound to accomplish the cession of Norway, and if the Norwegians must be transferred like sheep from one master to another; surely, by the official and solemn surrender made by the Danish government, that end had been accomplished, and they had now, in fact, become the subjects of Sweden. The question then resolved itself into this: whether the House would sanction the government of this country in aiding Sweden to starve a people into submission to her power and rule; they having, in fact, been transferred, as far as it was in the power of Denmark to make the transfer. When all the papers that would be moved for should be laid before them, it would be seen, whether the stipulations entered into by Sweden had been so performed by her as to call upon England for what she was now doing, in co-operating to produce a measure so detestable. He should be most happy to learn, that the negociations now pending had rendered it unnecessary. When the Swedish commissioners entered Norway, their first demand was, that the arms, ammunition, and fortresses of the Norwegians should be surrendered. This demand was instantly resisted. He knew it had been said, that this resistance was the act of a single individual, who was intriguing to secure the possession of Norway to himself; but that the people of Norway were universally desirous of being incorporated with Sweden, and taken under her protection. From all the inquiry, however, that he had made, and from all

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the information produced by that inquiry, the inhabitants of Norway, a patient, brave, and enterprising people, were resolved, as one man, to sacrifice their lives in the struggle, rather than submit. This sentiment pervaded every part of the country, from north to south, and the peasantry had already armed, and were suffering the most dreadful privations. In fact, the voluntary sacrifices of the peasants at this time were astonishing, and scarcely credible—they subsisted upon dirt, and such things as every other human creature would revolt at; and were determined that Norway should become a desart, ere they would submit to the Swedish yoke. And under whose auspices was all this carried on? Under those of a great captain, who had been elected to the high situation which he occupied; and who, having thus owed his elevation to the choice of a people, entered into a compact with other nations to deliver to him another people who had no choice with respect to their government. He hoped, for the sake of humanity, for the sake of that great person who had achieved so much for the deliverance of Europe, for the honour of this country, for the honour of government, whose steps with respect to foreign relations he had from a certain period been most happy to applaud, that ministers would be able to extricate themselves from the difficulties in which they seemed involved on the subject; and if not, he hoped he should be able to persuade the House of Commons, on an examination and comparison of the stipulations of the different treaties, that the government and the country were in no way bound to be the abettors of this most disgraceful attempt. At present, he would not further trouble the House. He should be very glad to hear from the right hon. gentleman, why the Danish Treaty had not been ratified, and whether any commissioner had been sent from Denmark to make a selection between the Danish and Norwegian prisoners, in order that the one might be retained and the other set at liberty. Before he sat down he begged to recall the attention of the House to the debate on the Swedish Treaty last year; in the course of which a right hon. gentleman, whom he did not then see in his place, asked, whether the terms of it were to be interpreted into a guarantee of the possession of Norway to Sweden? The answer was, No; and more than that, a noble lord, in remarkable mode of expression,
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observed, that the right hon. gentleman who put the question ought to be better disciplined in diplomatic terms, than to suppose that the Treaty could be interpreted into such a guarantee. The fact was, that no tie existed by which the country was bound, or which called upon the House to sanction, the publication in the Gazette of Saturday last.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerobserved, that it could not be expected he should be prepared to answer all the questions that had been put to him. With respect to the Treaty with Sweden, it was one which last year had received the approbation of parliament. The House would recollect, that the Treaty between Russia and Sweden was the key-stone of that glorious confederacy by which such signal benefits to Europe had been achieved. For our part, we had done nothing in the course of the whole of the proceedings, but in the strictest concert with our allies, and which we had not been unanimously called on by them to do. It was perfectly true, that we had not engaged to guarantee Norway to Sweden, after the cession of if by Denmark; but that cession had not taken place. It would be improper for him to go more particularly into this subject at present; but he desired that the House would suspend their judgment upon it, until the whole case came before them. The hon. gentleman opposite had been greatly misinformed. It was by no means true, that from one end of Norway to the other there existed a spirit of resistance to the Swedish government. It was equally unfounded, that no liberal offer had been made to Norway on her annexation to Sweden. On the contrary, a more generous offer had been made than in any other case of cession that had occurred in the history of the world. With respect to the causes that had led to the rejection of this offer, the present was not the proper time to communicate them to parliament. As to the Danish commissioners, he was not aware that any officer from Denmark, with such an object as that ascribed to him, was in the country.
Mr. Whitbreadasked, whether the offer of a constitution, or of a participation in the Swedish constitution (which the right hon. gentleman had chosen to characterise as the most liberal offer that had ever been made to a nation in the history of the world) was not preceded by a demand to the Norwegians to deliver up their fortresses and arms? He would also ask, if in

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a country possessed of not more than 7 or 800,000, or at most under a million of inhabitants, 30 or 40,000 persons were not actually embodied to resist the annexation of Norway to Sweden?
No answer was returned.

SLAVE TRADE.
Mr. Wilberforcesaid, that in rising to make the motion which he now intended to propose, he felt gratified in reflecting that it would not be necessary to take up the time of the House, by detailing, at any length, those considerations which rendered such a step advisable. The House had already recognized and acted upon them in 1806 and 1810, when they consented to an address to the throne, similar, in effect, to what he now wished them to adopt. It was impossible for any one to open his eyes, and look abroad upon the world, without feeling that there never was a period when the general circumstances of all nations were more favourable to such a motion than the present, and when there existed such powerful motives for them to accede to its object. It was something to have an occasion like this presented, when all the great powers of Europe were assembled in congress to consider and discuss the very elements, as it were, of their own political rights; it was something to have such a moment presented for urging the consideration of the wrongs of Africa. When, indeed, he reflected upon these circumstances, and when he recalled to memory that extraordinary succession of providential events which had placed the world in its present state of hope and security, he could not but contemplate in them the hand of the Almighty stretched out for the deliverance of mankind. And what more acceptable token of gratitude could be displayed towards heaven—what more acceptable proof of our delight and thankfulness for such mercies, than a measure like the one he now meant to propose? It might truly be said, that the great continental powers had been acting in its very spirit and effect; and when, too, were considered the provocations that all of them had received, and some in particular, and the glorious revenge they had taken, saving from ruin instead of inflicting it; the recognition of the principles he was about to recommend was so plain, that it afforded a sure ground and confident hope that they would be acknowledged, in all which he now wished to obtain, as a sequel merely of what they had so nobly begun.
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There was but one objection that he had ever heard made against the proceeding he meant to recommend; and that was, when he had been talking of the continental powers acceding immediately to a general abolition of the slave trade, the reply had been, why we ourselves did not abolish it till after eighteen or nineteen years of enquiry, and how can we expect that they should do it precipitately? But this was not the fact. When the features of that trade were truly developed, when its character was fully known, when its effects were thoroughly understood, we got rid of it directly. It was on its trial during that time, and its sentence followed immediately upon conviction. When the whole system was unfolded, every one acknowledged that we were bound to abolish it, as a traffic inconsistent with every feeling of justice, religion, and humanity. When the question was first entered upon, no one properly understood its details; by degrees, however, the light broke in upon that den of serpents; and when it did so, and it was seen in all its hideous deformity, there existed but one opinion among men of any sense of duty, or any feelings of humanity. It should be remembered too, that great and powerful interests were opposed to it. It was said, our commerce would be destroyed, our marine would be destroyed, and that our settlements in the West Indies could not subsist at all without a regular importation of slaves; while in Africa they would continue to be brought down to the coast, and when no market was open for them they would be murdered. Thus it was foretold, that nothing but disaster would take place in Europe, in the western hemisphere, and in Africa itself, by the abolition; yet, all these predictions proved fallacious; and therefore, in soliciting other countries to adopt the same course, we call upon them to run no risk, nor to attempt any untried scheme. But, in fact, the greater nations of Europe, and particularly France, had no direct interest in the continuance of this trade. With regard to France, the war had practically abolished it for many years past; and, therefore, if carried on by her, it would be creating it anew. In that country therefore, there was no commerce to be destroyed, no marine to suffer, no manufactures to decay, as a consequence of not participating in this traffic. The hon. member then drew a parallel between what had been the conduct of Buonaparté

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with respect to the slave trade, and the difficulty which Mr. Fox had found in persuading him that our abolition of it arose from any principle of justice; and what might be expected from the virtues, humanity, and religious feelings of Louis 18. With regard to Spain also, happier results might be anticipated. She was not now in a situation where she feared to displease any particular city; she was no longer placed in those delicate circumstances; her power was more secured, and she was now placed in a condition that enabled her to think of safety and honour in the way that nations and individuals always secured it, by a rigid adherence to just and honourable principles. Looking to Portugal, he entertained similar hopes; and he would not now go into a paper which he held in his hand, and which had been issued by that government. It was a sort of vindication of what is called the Middle Passage; and the principle of it was, that the slave trade should be carried on by the ports of Brazil, till the population of that extensive country was in proportion to its magnitude. He had really never read a paper which contained so much feeling and humanity, (a laugh.) Any person perusing it, might think that its whole object was, to diffuse the greatest possible happiness among the most favoured individuals. It was, in truth, a melancholy document; and yet he was pleased with it. It at least shewed, that the Portuguese government were attentive to the calls of humanity, though in this instance it had been perverted, because they were deceived as to the occasions for exerting it. When they were reminded, that this trade was wholly incompatible with humanity, and when the Prince Regent of Portugal was convinced of the impolicy of supplying the Brazils with a factitious population, there could be no doubt that he would resolve to co-operate cordially with this country. This co-operation would be more prompt and effective also, when the removal of the court of Portugal to Europe should have taken place. With regard to the other powers of Europe,—Russia, Austria, and Prussia, who were unstained by a traffic which we, to our shame be it spoken, had once participated in, let it not be supposed that they would be indifferent to its annihilation, or that they would be tardy in assisting to complete that object.
In sparing Paris, and in the sudden and
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complete abandonment of every hostile feeling, the allied powers had afforded a pledge of further magnanimity and humanity of conduct. He trusted, that all would concur in this grand object. Government had already obtained the acquiescence of Sweden. Denmark had abolished the slave trade at an early period. America the same. And here he begged to guard himself against the imputation of being supposed to wish, by this motion, to remind his Majesty's ministers of that sacred duty which he was persuaded they were ready cheerfully and spontaneously to perform. His object was merely to strengthen their hands, and, by the renewal of a solemn declaration from parliament, to show that their former proceedings had originated not in a transient or mistaken fit of humanity, but in a just and sound view of all the bearings and relations of the subject. He must repeat, that he really thought there was something in the present state, and circumstances of things which justified the most favourable expectations. It would be refreshing to the mind, after so long a period of calamity, to witness a general acknowledgment of the grand and immutable principles of justice and humanity. It would raise Great Britain still higher in the scale of nations, if, after all she had done and suffered for Europe, she should ask, as a compensation, not any political or commercial advantage, not territory or wealth, but only an acquiescence in the establishment of a principle so intimately connected with, the happiness of mankind. The most dreadful consequences would result to Africa, should foreign powers not consent to unite in the desired object. That wide continent would again be made the scene of horror; and our praises and thanksgivings to the Divine Being for his recent blessings to us, would be accompanied by the shrieks and screams of those whom we were persecuting. But he trusted this would not be the case. Whatever might be his opinion of the Roman Catholic religion, to the professors of that religion Europe owed much of its existing liberty; and he hoped that they would feel that their religion, no less than Protestantism, called on them to abolish that inhuman traffic which Mr. Pitt had truly called "the greatest practical evil that had ever been suffered to exist in the would." He concluded by moving,
"That an humble Address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, to

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assure his Royal Highness, that this House, relying, with perfect confidence, on the solemn assurances received by parliament in 1806 and 1810, that his Majesty's government would employ every proper means to obtain a convention of the powers of Europe for the immediate and universal abolition of the African Slave Trade, beg leave humbly and earnestly to represent to his Royal Highness, that the happy and glorious events which promise the general pacification of Christendom, the present union and assembly of its greatest sovereigns, and the great and generous principles which they proclaim as the rule of their conduct, afford a most auspicious opportunity for interposing the good offices of Great Britain to accomplish the above noble purpose, with the weight which belongs to her rank among nations, to the services which she has rendered to European independence, and to the unanimous and zealous concurrence of her parliament and people:
"That we feel ourselves authorized, by our own abolition of this trade, of the guilty profits of which we enjoyed the largest share, by the fellowship of civilization, of religion, and even of common humanity, to implore the other members of the commonwealth of Europe to signalize the restoration of its order and security by the prohibition of this detestable commerce, the common stain of the Christian name, a system of crimes by which the civilized professors of a beneficent religion spread desolation and perpetuate barbarism among helpless savages, whom they are bound, by the most sacred obligations of duty, to protect to instruct, and to reclaim:
"Humbly to represent to his Royal Highness, that the high rank which this kingdom holds among maritime and colonial stales imposes a very serious duty upon the British government at this important juncture; and that, unless we interpose, with effect, to procure a general abolition, the practical result of the restoration of peace will be to revive a traffic which we have prohibited as a crime, to open the sea to swarms of piratical adventurers, who will renew and extend, on the shores of Africa, the scenes of carnage and rapine in a great measure suspended by maritime hostilities, and the peace of Christendom will kindle a thousand ferocious wars among wretched tribes, ignorant of our quarrels and of our very name:
"That the nations who have owed the
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security of their navigation to our friendship, and whom we have been happy enough to aid in expelling their oppressors, and maintaining their independence, cannot listen without respect to our voice raised in the cause of justice and humanity; and that, among the great states, till of late our enemies, maritime hostility has in fact abolished the trade for twenty years, no interest is engaged in it, and the legal permission to carry it on would practically be a new establishment of it, after the full developement of its horrors:
"That we humbly trust, that in the moral order by which Divine Providence administers the government of the world, this great act of atonement to Africa may contribute to consolidate the safety, and prolong the tranquillity of Europe, that nations may be taught a higher respect for justice and humanity by the example of their sovereigns, and that a treaty, sanctioned by such a disinterested and sacred stipulation, may be more profoundly reverenced, and more religiously observed, than even the most equitable compacts for the regulation of power or the distribution of territory."
The motion having been read from the Chair,
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, he was happy to give his most cordial concurrence to the motion of the hon. gentleman; and he could not refrain from hoping, that when the subject should be submitted to the consideration of that most illustrious assembly of sovereigns, its important views would be effected, and they would be anxious to wipe away the iniquitous stain. He could not but hope, that the unanimous declaration of the British parliament would have a due effect; and that the hon. gentleman would witness the conclusion of that happy work, which he had so ably and so perseveringly carried forward.
Mr. Ponsonbysaid, he was happy to give his unqualified approbation to the Address; and agreed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in opinion, that it could not fail to have great weight with the Allied Powers on the continent. Experience had proved, that too great extension of empire had only led to the degradation and unhappiness of that portion of mankind who possessed it. Luckily for the world, the late events had decidedly shewn this, and brought the different powers to a sense of the real state of things, which contributed to make an empire or

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a kingdom truly powerful, or only comparatively so; and it would be making a mockery of what had passed, and losing sight of all the advantages which had really taken place, if we were to suffer those advantages to be confined to Europe, and not extend them to Africa; a quarter of the globe which had been so long and so grievously afflicted by the cruel and unjust treatment it had received from the European powers. Whatever advantages had been derived to this country from the Slave Trade, taken in a commercial point of view, they were certainly much greater than those of any other power; and having so cheerfully sacrificed them for the sake of promoting the ends of justice and humanity, we were certainly entitled to the right of endeavouring to bring our Allies into the same praise-worthy principles; and it would be an act of hypocrisy worse than that of the Inquisition, (which, when it condemned a criminal to death, delivered him over to the secular power with a recommendation of mercy) if we did not exert ourselves at the present auspicious moment to obtain the concurrence of all the powers of Europe in a measure, of the philanthropy, the advantage, and necessity of which we had so long been convinced.
Mr. Canningrose, not to express his sentiments on the abolition of the Slave Trade; that was unnecessary, as they were already well known to the House; he rose to declare it to be his opinion, that the vote which they were about to come to that night, would not be a barren vote; but one that would materially aid the great cause they were anxious to promote. Their unanimity on this occasion would not merely support what they had already done, but would do much towards persuading the great powers of Europe to unite with England to put down the Slave Trade. Let it not be said, when this language was held, that the English were always vaunting of their importance in, and influence over Europe. On such an occasion, they had a right to expect that their authority and example would produce the happiest results. With those powers who had not acknowledged the injustice of this traffic in human blood, the authority of Great. Britain must have some weight; and with that larger portion, who, approving the principle acted upon by England, feared the application of it in their own case, our example must prevail. The apprehensions they at present
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entertained, must be in a great measure removed, when they saw that we, after cutting off that trade, which was to us a source of wealth and power (if it ever had been a source of wealth and power to any nation on earth), had lost nothing by obedience to the dictates of humanity, but had still been able, not only to defend ourselves, but to contribute largely to the restoration of the independence of Europe. With those powers who had not recognized the propriety of abolishing the Slave Trade, he would now take a higher tone than he thought would have been wise in the day of their distress, when, struggling with difficulties, they looked to this country; and he would take a higher tone with them for this reason: were they in some sort dependant on us, a strong remonstrance on this subject would have gone with too much of authority; but now that the danger was past, and they had recovered their independence, we might assume a loftier tone without appearing to insult them, by holding out a threat if they refused to comply with our wishes. Spain and Portugal could now defend themselves without our assistance; and they could decline attending to our representations, without fear of being abandoned to ruin. This then was the time when we could speak with most freedom; for as we could urge it with more of delicacy than formerly, so we could press it with more of firmness. The happy adjustment of the affairs of the world, which seemed now about to take place, would be incomplete, if an attempt to put an end to the Slave Trade did not form one grand feature of it. The technical consent to its abolition of those powers who were not actively engaged in it, ought to be obtained; for if this were not done, their flags would be abused by individuals belonging to other countries, who would be ready to avail themselves of this subterfuge to avoid punishment The sanction of all the great nations of Europe to its being done away, was necessary, and of vast importance; not so much for the mighty power they possessed, as for the use they had made of that power. If their consent were not given to the abolition of the Slave Trade, things would not merely remain as they are in this respect; but the traffic in slaves would be greater than it had been for many years. The question then was, whether the æra of a general peace in Europe should secure the repose of Africa, or

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furnish a new starting post for the plunder and devastation of that quarter of the globe. He hoped, the voice of the people, heard through the unanimous vote of that House, in favour of that which justice, humanity, and sound policy, combined to recommend to every nation, would not appeal to the assembled majesty of Europe in vain.
Mr. Protheroesaid, he would not attempt to detain the House but for a very few moments, lest what he might say should weaken the effect produced by the speakers who had preceded him. He could not, however, withhold himself from expressing his approbation of the conduct of ministers, in having so warmly seconded the Address; and hoped they would use their strenuous endeavours with the Allied Powers to induce them to concur cordially in the measure, which he feared would otherwise be nugatory.
Mr. Marryattcould take upon himself to state, that those connected with the West India colonies were as anxious as any other class of persons could be, for the universal abolition of the Slave Trade. Unless, however, the House and the country went farther than they had yet gone in this business, though they had washed their own hands of the guilt, they had done little towards lessening the evil which they proposed to remedy; as, while the subjects of other countries engaged in it at all, they did more in proportion as this country did less. From the Report of the African Society it appeared, that up to the year 1810, the average number of slaves obtained from Africa annually amounted to 80,000; one half of which were carried away by the Spaniards, and the other half by the Portuguese. The traffic which was formerly carried on in English ships was thus kept up in Spanish and Portuguese vessels. The abolition of the Slave Trade had produced one good effect, that of greatly ameliorating the condition of the slaves in the colonies. The negroes were much better treated, and the old system of having night and day gangs had been abandoned. The total abolition of the Slave Trade would be a glorious consummation of the happy events lately witnessed in Europe; and he thought the Prince Regent could not be called upon to perform a more grateful task, than that which the resolution before the House, went to assign, to him.
Mr. J. Smithcould not refrain from ex
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expressing a hope, that the peace of Europe would give repose to all parts of the world; and that those events which restored the inhabitants of one quarter of the globe to freedom, would not consign the natives of another to bondage and oppression.
Mr. Whitbreadsaid, those were deceived, who imagined that every man in England wished for the abolition of the Slave Trade. Before he knew any thing of the present motion, it had come to his ears, that there were persons in this country base enough to wish for the return of peace, on account of the facilities it would afford for carrying on this detestable traffic under another flag. He was glad that this motion had been so ably supported by his right hon. friend near him (Mr. Ponsonby), and the right hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. Canning); as the demonstration, thus made, would convince those persons to whom he had alluded, that the legislature was intent upon procuring the perfect abolition of the Slave Trade throughout the world. At a former period, when we recommended the abolition of the Slave Trade to the other powers of Europe, it was thought we ought to set the example, by abolishing it ourselves. It was under such circumstances that the last peace was concluded; and reflections were then cast on the advocates for the abolition of the Slave Trade in that House, because such a step had not been taken. That blot remained on our character no longer. We had now set the example. He was glad to concur in the Address, and he hoped it would produce a general and beneficial effect—beneficial even according to the most sordid calculation—as the trading interest of every country would profit by it. He had been present at many of the debates that preceded the abolition of the Slave Trade in this country, which perhaps boasted the greatest display of eloquence (from the members then on both, sides of the House) ever witnessed in the world. Mr. Pitt commenced the march, of one of his speeches, by appealing to those who would only consider their interest, who had no feeling but in their purse; and demonstrated, by arguments which could not be answered, that it was their interest to put an end to a traffic so disgraceful. He had then, with that eloquence which he so well knew how to use, applied himself to persuade them to do it. This argument ought now to be held out to the deluded governments of Spain and Portugal, and to that most deluded go

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vernment which attempted to justify the Slave Trade. They ought to be made to understand, that their interest required that this traffic should be no more. He could not anticipate opposition to the motion; and, but for the desire he felt to express his own feeling on this subject, he should have thought it quite unnecessary to add one word to the able speeches of those who had preceded him.
Mr. W. Smithobserved, it must be remembered, that the chief opposition to the abolition of the Slave Trade came from Liverpool, from Bristol, and from those connected with the West Indies. They had lived to see that which was too extraordinary ever to have been prophesied or expected. They had seen (on the present occasion) a motion, which had for its object the total annihilation of the Slave Trade, supported and eulogized by the eloquent member for Liverpool, by the member for Bristol, and by a gentleman intimately connected with the West Indies, who, he believed, might be considered to act almost officially for the colonial interest. This circumstance was so remarkable that he could not help noticing it. Nothing could be more consoling than this reflection; and nothing could hold out a more well-founded hope that the whole world would eventually join in the same object.
The motion was then agreed to, nem. con.

CIVIL LIBERTY.
Earl Stanhoperose, pursuant to notice, to call the attention of the House to this subject; and he expressed his persuasion, that what he had to state with regard to the violation of civil liberty and common humanity, under the law as it at present existed, particularly in consequence of the arrest upon mesne process, was such as must excite the astonishment, and interest the feelings of every one who heard him. Before he proceeded to this statement, he thought it proper to advert to the Act of last sessions for the relief of paupers confined in the King's-bench, the Fleet, and the Marshalsea. According to this Act, a magistrate was authorised to order an imprisoned pauper an allowance of 6d. per diem; which allowance their lordships would readily feel to be miserably scanty, especially where a prisoner should have a wife and family to support. But before even such an allowance was granted, a prisoner must swear that he is not worth ten pounds in the world. Still, after that oath, the prisoner was condemned to remain in a situation of wretchedness, and starving, unless, as it appeared from a
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Petition which he held in his hand respecting the Fleet prison, the prisoner consented to pay illegal fees to the gaoler or his agent. Thus was this petitioner treated, left without the means of even keeping body and soul together, with a view to extort illegal fees. Was it then, he would ask their lordships, to be endured, in this boasted country of liberty, justice, and humanity, that while felons—that while the most atrocious criminals were by law allowed bedding, clothing, fuel, and food, unfortunate debtors should be refused common sustenance? Was it possible that the House and the country could acquiesce in the longer continuance of such gross injustice and cruelty?—For himself, he had no difficulty in stating his full belief, that cases of greater oppression, than had occurred under the system of imprisonment for debt in England, had never been witnessed in any nation on earth. The humanity of that House and the country had revolted, and at length succeeded in abolishing the African Slave Trade, and that abolition was a glorious act. But this system of imprisonment for debt was aptly called, and justly to be considered, the English Slave Trade, for the abolition of which humanity and wisdom loudly called. Yes, the wisest and the most humane had long and unanswerably enforced the propriety of the abolition of that system, which had no precedent or parallel in any civilized country upon earth. The opinion and argument of Dr. Johnson upon this subject must be familiar to the recollection of their lordships; and in addition to various other high authorities, a distinguished writer had justly characterized this system as "a miserable mistaken invention of artificial science; operating to change a civil into a criminal judgment; and to scourge misfortune, or indiscretion, with a punishment which the law does not visit on the greatest crime."
The noble lord then briefly described the Petition to which he had referred at the outset, and which he moved to have read. It was accordingly read as follows:
"To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, The Petition of William Wright;
"Sheweth; That your lordships' petitioner was arrested, on the 16th of June last, on mesne process, for the sum of only 14 l. 12 s., and he subsequently surrendered

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to the Fleet prison, to save his bail from being charged with the debt.
"That near half of the said debt, for which your petitioner was arrested, had been owing under a statute of bankruptcy near two years before, and was consequently in no way recoverable by law, as petitioner had obtained his certificate; but, from a principle of integrity, he was induced to include it in the said sum of 14 l. 12 s.
"That your petitioner, soon after being committed to prison, was obliged, for subsistence, to sell his shop fixtures for 5l., which shortly before cost upwards of 50 l.; his household furniture having been previously seized for rent.
"That soon afterwards petitioner, together with his wife and child, two years old, was actually starving; being at times for whole days without a morsel of food; and having disposed of all their wearing apparel, without a change left, or even a bed to lie on, was obliged to apply for the allowance of 3s. 6d. a week, under an Act passed in the 53rd of the King, c. 113, intituled, 'An Act for providing relief for poor prisoners confined in the King's bench, Fleet, and Marshalsea prisons,' which passed on the 10th of July, 1813; and on the 4th of August last, your petitioner made affidavit before a commissioner for obtaining said allowance, as directed by the Act.
"That your petitioner, immediately on making said affidavit, lodged it with Mr. Woodroffe, clerk of the said Fleet prison; but yet petitioner could not obtain the relief the law allowed; as illegal fees, not authorised by the act of parliament, were demanded of him; at first 6s. 8d. were demanded, and afterwards 4s. 6d.; but it was not in your petitioner's power to comply with either.
"That in consequence of your petitioner's not being able to pay either of said demands, his affidavit was not laid before the magistrate for nearly six weeks—namely, until the 15th of September following; during which time petitioner and his family were in the most deplorable state of misery, and would, in all probability, have fallen victims to absolute starvation, had it not been for your petitioner's having got a little credit from some of his fellow-prisoners, on the ground of his expectancy of said allowance.
"That one of your petitioner's fellow-prisoners had made a complaint to a member of your lordships' House on the sub-
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ject of the fees, which had been illegally extorted from a great number of the prisoners; and the said peer transmitted the said complaint to the principal Secretary of State for the home department, who properly transmitted the same to the said Fleet prison; upon which the said illegal fees were refunded.
"That your petitioner applied to Mr. Woodroffe for his affidavit in order to send the same to a magistrate; but it was refused him; so that the officers of the prison neither sent said affidavit to the magistrate till as above stated, nor did they enable petitioner, by putting the affidavit into his hands, to send it to a magistrate himself.
"That, after your petitioner had regularly received the said allowance, the same was suddenly stopped for six weeks, previous to his discharge under the general Insolvent Act; though he still continued in the extreme of poverty and distress, and was not supersedable, nor entitled by law to be discharged under any Insolvent Act.
"That in consequence of your petitioner having been so reduced from absolute want and confinement, he was on the point of death, and would, as he verily believes, and has been informed by a medical gentleman who attended him, have perished daring his confinement, had not the keeper of the prison, Mr. Nixon, permitted him to walk out into the rules; and that neither he nor his wife have ever since recovered their former health.
"That during his said miserable confinement, petitioner has witnessed several instances of persons who were nearly perishing from want; and that he was acquainted with a brother prisoner of the name of Teal, who lived for three whole days on six potatoes; and also that he knew several deaths in consequence of the effects of imprisonment, some in the prison, and some soon after the individuals departed from it.
"Wherefore your petitioner most earnestly beseeches your lordships to take such measures, as your wisdom shall deem advisable, to prevent such illegal oppressions as your petitioner has experienced; as well as to abolish by law the abominable practice of imprisonment for debt on mesne process; the dreadful consequences of which may not be fully known to your lordships' House, but are too woefully experienced, not only by the ruined debtor, but generally by the creditor himself.—And petitioner will pray,
"WILLIAM WRIGHT."
This Petition being ordered to lie on the table, the noble lord thought proper to advert to the Petitions which he had presented to their lordships on a former day. One of these petitioners, Mr. Baldwyn, had, it appeared, been eleven months in prison; although, at the close of that period, the court decided that he owed nothing. Yet, after that decision, Mr. Baldwyn was detained a fortnight before he could obtain his liberation. In another case, Mr. Manie was in custody for two months; although, upon reference to Mr. Justice Le Blanc, that judge declared that the affidavit upon which the prisoner had been arrested was defective. But many similar cases of injustice and oppression could be adduced, notwithstanding the prescriptions of Magna Charta and the Bill of Rights. The exactions practised in the prisons were, he understood, most severely oppressive upon unfortunate debtors; and in order to put the House in possession of the necessary information upon this subject, he should move for a return of the fees demanded or paid in the several prisons, since the 10th of July, 1811; stating the grounds upon which such fees were claimed; and also for copies of tables of fees, if any, posted up in the different prisons. By the Act of the 32nd of Geo. 2, c. 28, s. 5, it was directed, that the chief judges of the courts of King's-bench, the Common-pleas, and the Exchequer, together with three magistrates of Surrey and Middlesex, should arrange a table of the fees to be paid at the several prisons of the King's-bench, the Fleet, and the Marshalsea; and that similar tables should be settled at the several quarter sessions, for the different county prisons. It was also prescribed by the same Act, that such table of fees should be hung or posted up in the several prisons, so as to become fully known to the prisoners; and that no gaoler should, directly or indirectly, demand or accept any fees but such as were specifically allowed by such tables. Through his motion he proposed to ascertain, whether the direction of this statute was complied with at the Fleet, and also at the several other prisons. Here the noble lord referred to the legal and general information which he had obtained upon this important subject; especially to that contained in a letter with which he had been favoured by one of the most able lawyers in the country, respecting arrests upon mesne process; and also to the report of the committee of which
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that excellent man the present chief governor of India was president. Every one, indeed, who admired the genuine principles of our constitution, must view with regret and surprise the various infractions of it which characterized this system of arrest—a system which in fact gave birth to numerous glaring abuses, which, were not only not authorised by law, but in most cases in direct violation of its spirit and character. Was it, for instance, consistent with the constitution of this country, that upon the mere asseveration of an individual, any British subject should be condemned to imprisonment without a trial—without the verdict of a jury? It was obviously the interest, as well as the duty, of every man in the country to consider this question; for it established a precedent incompatible with the character and dangerous to the existence of civil liberty. It was notorious, that any man arrested upon mesne process must, if he could not find bail, submit to imprisonment, and, thus creditor was enabled to gratify his revenge.—thus a man was, contrary to the first principles of justice, made a judge in his own case. He was aware, that in actions of trover the amount of bail is at the discretion of a judge; and the rule upon this case arose out of an extraordinary event which occurred about five years ago. A swindler, who came to this country, personated the heir of an opulent family in the West Indies, and thus obtained credit. But having committed forgery he was arrested; and in order to embarrass his prosecutor, he (the swindler) had him arrested in trover for 20,000 l. which he swore to be the value of a deed withheld from him by the prosecutor. The whole, however, turned out to be a trick, and the swindler was executed for the forgery. But from this case their lordships might form an opinion of the latitude which the law of arrest upon mesne process in this country afforded to vindictive and unprincipled individuals to oppress the innocent. In actions, in particular, for assault and battery, or slander, the operation of resentment and rancour was naturally to be calculated upon, and this law allowed but too large a scope for the gratification of these feelings. From the report already referred to, it appeared, that a plaintiff was not bound to deliver his declaration until the end of the next term after the writ is returnable; so that seven months might elapse before the plaintiff

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need apprise the defendant of the ground of action, and he might delay the trial of that action for five months afterwards. Thus an individual might be imprisoned for twelve months upon the mere oath of a plaintiff, without any trial or verdict, and if upon trial the verdict should be in favour of the defendant, he could have no recompence from the plaintiff but his taxed costs. In fact, the defendant in such a case had no remedy whatever, unless he could prove that the plaintiff, in arresting him, was actuated by malice, which in most cases would be impossible. But if a plaintiff should leave the country, if he should emigrate to America or elsewhere, and before his departure determine to wreak his vengeance upon any man or number of men, he might by his oath deprive such man or men of liberty,—and, if friendless, and unable to obtain bail, condemn him or them to several months' imprisonment, without any refuge or means of remedy whatever. Such were the cases which might occur—such the injustice and oppression to which people were exposed in this country, which boasted the honour of Magna Charta; and in this country, too, people were liable to be so imprisoned without clothing or bedding, or even medical assistance, except in some few prisons; while felons committed for crimes marked by the most cool and deliberate rancour, while the most atrocious offenders are supplied with all these accommodations; thus confounding the distinction which ought ever to prevail between misfortune and crime, between the casualty of distress and the turpitude of guilt.
The report before alluded to, the noble lord observed, had recommended, and very properly recommended, that where the defendant confessed a debt, further expence should be prevented; and what could be at once more absurd and unjust, than that proceedings should go on after such confession; that the expence of trial should be incurred where there was nothing to try; yet any rascally attorney, by the law as it now stood, was at liberty, after a defendant was committed to prison for 15 l., to load him with the expence of trial, &c. with costs, in fact, exceeding far the original amount of the debt. Were such proceedings, he would ask, reconcilable in any degree with humanity and consistency? Such proceedings were, indeed, incompatible with the interests of both plaintiffs and defendants; and this
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was evident from the deposition of Mr. Nixon before the committee he had referred to. For Mr. Nixon deposed, that "the plaintiff and the defendant were often to be found in the same prison, the one for the debt, and the other for the costs"—some rascally attorney being the main cause of the oppression of both, after possessing himself of whatever property they possessed. Thus too often did these base lawyers exemplify the fable of La Fontaine respecting the oyster, where the lawyer is described as opening the oyster, swallowing the fish, and giving the shells to the plaintiff and defendant. In the same Report, the Treasurer of the Society for the Relief of Persons confined for Small Debts, deposed, that, to his knowledge, out of 520 prisoners confined for debt, 458 never paid either debt or costs; so that this abominable system, instead of serving, really injured those for whose advantage it was professedly maintained; the creditor ultimately becoming a debtor through the deficiency of the law and the knavery of the lawyers. But he had not yet finished the detail of a debtor's misfortune. In fact, exaction and oppression were his fate from the moment of his arrest. At the lock-up-house, to which he was first led, he could not subsist for less than eight or ten shillings a-day; and to this expenditure a poor debtor was compelled to submit, independent of all legal costs. Was it then too much to call such a system the English Slave Trade? Was not such a description fully justifiable? He hoped the noble and learned Chief Justice of the King's-bench would state what he could in justification of the attornies; for he was sure the noble and learned lord on the woolsack would not say one word in their favour. He also quoted that part of the Report which states two cases of poor persons, who, for bread and cheese and butter, to the amount of a few shillings, had been proceeded against; and by running up the costs above 10 l. had been arrested, and had suffered long and severe imprisonment. The mode of drawing declarations, he considered as an invention to make money for lawyers. "My lords," said earl Stanhope, "I recollect a declaration about a tailor's bill; the charge was 100 l. and how is the declaration framed? Why, my lords, there were eight counts, each of them stating a separate 100 l. though the man owed only 100 l. The first count is for work and labour, as a tailor; the second count is for the worth

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of certain other work and labour; the third count is for goods sold and delivered; the fourth count is for what certain goods sold and delivered were worth; the fifth count is for money lent and advanced (why there was no money advanced); the sixth count is for money had and received; the seventh count is for money paid, laid out, and expended, by plaintiff, for defendant's interest, (why my lords, in this case, there was no such thing, it is all false); and the eighth count is for the balance upon an account stated. Now, my lords, there was no balance due; nor was there any account between the parties. The whole of this declaration is idle and unnecessary, excepting the first count. The same mode is pursued in indictments upon penal actions. I recollect a limb of the law going from London into the country, and he shewed wonderful ability for getting money into his pocket. I did not know much then of indictments, declarations, or counts, but I know enough of them now—and I could sometimes give information to lawyers on the subject. My lords, down in Kent there is a little country village, called Chevening, and in that village there is a little collage which belongs to myself; and a circumstance happened there about 30 years ago, which led me first to know something about counts. There was one of those strolling characters that go about the country, who came to this cottage; and putting his head within the door, staring round the place, and not perceiving any body, he thought proper to lay hold of a pair of leather breeches which were hanging up, and walked away with them.—(A laugh.)—This circumstance was soon known; and it made a great noise, as it was likely to do in a country village, and at length it attracted the notice of this man of ability in the law, who was there at the time, and who seemed determined to convince these villagers of his great sagacity: perhaps, he had a further object, that of getting some money from me upon the occasion. Presently, my lords, he set about drawing a declaration, with which he waited upon me to shew how well he could do it. Having stated the circumstances, he gave me this declaration to read; and I accordingly began to read with this same lawyer standing at my elbow: and then, for the first time, I acquired a knowledge, of this wonderful science of declaration making. There were no less than twelve counts in this
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declaration about taking away the leather breeches. There was no force—no vi et arms in the business; for there was nobody belonging to the cottage at home when the breeches were taken away; I was therefore somewhat surprized to find it charged that the defendant had with guns, pikes, halberts, pistols, and a variety of other deadly weapons, broken open this cottage and taken away the leather breeches. This was the first count. On looking at the second, I found, that the defendant, not content with small arms, had attacked this cottage with cannons, cannon-balls, bombs, howitzers, and other similar arms, and taken away the leather breeches. In the third count, 100 horses, and 100 horsemen upon these 100 horses, had been brought into this village to storm the unfortunate cottage, and carry away the leather breeches: in short, out of the 12 counts, 11 were pure fictions, there being only one that bore the least resemblance to the truth. I naturally asked the lawyer, what was the meaning of these guns, pikes, pistols, &c. The lawyer, smiling at my ignorance, answered, "Oh, I see your lordship don't understand these matters; that is what we lawyers call a nullity." What do you mean by these cannons, bombs, &c.? That is likewise what we lawyers call a nullity. What do you mean by this troop of horse coming to carry away the leather breeches? That is what we lawyers call a nullity. In short, my lords, all were nullities except one; the stroller having quietly stolen away the breeches. But the system of fiction was most comprehensive in the practice of the lawyers. Their lordships must be surprised to learn, that the arrest upon mesne process arose entirely out of fiction; for the court from which the writ issued charged the defendant with being guilty of contempt in not appearing; and then upon the defendant denying the contempt, he is imprisoned for the denial; that is, he is punished for denying a falsehood. But the system of fiction was extended still farther. Originally, all civil actions were tried in the court of Common Pleas; but the court of King's Bench, in order to have a share of the good things belonging to such actions, contrived to bring them under its cognizance, by the fiction of charging the defendant with a breach of the peace, although the peace had not at all been violated; and the court of Exchequer, in order also to participate of the spoil, contrived

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to extend its jurisdiction to civil actions, by the fiction of charging the defendant with being a debtor to the king; assuming that by the debt the creditor was rendered unable to pay a debt to the king, although no such debt existed. But thus the fiction was extended, to extend the scandalous profit of lawyers, and with it the oppression of the people. Fiction, however, did not stop here; by an ancient statute, it was prescribed, that two housekeepers should become pledged to prosecute a civil action, with a view to give some security to the defendants. But how did the lawyers contrive to evade this provision?—Why, by introducing the two fictitious names of John Doe and Richard Roe. The whole system, however, relative to civil actions was defective—was fraudulent, affording a scope for the plundering practice of lawyers. The practice and conduct of many, indeed, were such as to render them objects of just and general apprehension; as strikingly appeared in the instance of the late alderman sir Brook Watson, who lost his leg while swimming in one of the American ports many years ago. The alderman was violently exclaiming one day against lawyers; a person, who heard him, asked the late alderman Wilkes the reason; when the latter said, "Don't you know that he has lost one of his legs already by a shark?" He trusted their lordships would bear feelingly in mind, what he regarded with pleasure and admiration, the excellent observation of Alexander, the present emperor of Russia, when he was told that strong institutions were necessary, he said, "strong but liberal institutions, conformable to the knowledge and improvement of the times." Such was what he (lord S.) wanted, and which he thought should be the ruling principle in actual legislation; and as to the grand consideration of reform, he trusted they would all remember what was admirably said by a noble member of that House (the earl of Moira), then absent; the saying was replete with wisdom and sagacity—"Better, my lords, that reform should begin at the head, than that it should begin at the tail!" He trusted their lordships would commence the work of reform in this the most improved nation of Europe. Their lordships had seen the consequence of a reform beginning with the tail. They had seen that it at first led to anarchy, and then to military despotism; and he hoped that
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they would learn a useful lesson from that impressive example. In that hope, he should move for leave to bring in a Bill to abolish for ever the present unjust and oppressive system of arrest upon mesne process. Here the noble lord read the Bill he proposed to bring forward; the main object of which was to prevent the actual committal of any defendant until judgment he had—until by the verdict of a jury the existence of a debt is pronounced—the noble lord disclaiming any intention to shield fraudulent debtors, or to interfere with the rights of bonâ fide creditors.
The Bill was then presented, read a first time, and ordered to be printed.
His lordship then presented another Bill relative to the same subject. By an Act of the 51st of his present Majesty, provision was made against arrestments for debts which did not amount to 15 l. independent of costs. He had consulted three lawyers on this Act. One said, it was so obscure that he could give no opinion as to what it meant. Another said, that the Act extended generally to all debts; and a third thought it was confined to arrestments for debts on mesne process, and such was his (lord Stanhope's) opinion. But as there was no reason why this should not be extended to other debts, his Bill had for its object to remedy this defect. Many of the persons exposed to these evils were among the most respectable in society, reduced to distress by mere misfortune. Many of them were clergymen; and he called on the bench of bishops to assist their brethren. Many of them were officers of the army and navy; and he called upon such of their lordships as were officers of the army and navy to assist their brethren. And lastly, he called upon their lordships, generally, to attend to the public interest in this essential particular. He proposed to enact, that no person should be imprisoned for any sum under 15 l.; and that costs accruing in any legal proceedings should not be included in such sum.
This Bill was also read a first time; and before moving that it should be printed, his lordship made some further observations upon the subject, and suggested that it would be expedient for the House to have three assessors; one conversant with the practice in Chancery; one a good common lawyer, and acquainted with all the technicalities of the common law; and the other well acquainted with

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the law merchant. These gentlemen might be employed during the recess in reducing into a system the various enactments on the statute-book, on any given subject. The bankrupt laws, for instance, might be thus compressed into a practicable system; and the confusion in the statute-book might be in time wholly remedied. It ought also to be done with respect to many others. He would rather pay 500 l. a year himself than that it should not be done; and others, who were richer, would be ashamed at not coming forward. But it was not the business of individuals; it was that of the public. He had on a former occasion stated, that a certain sort of credit was mischievous. To persons in fixed situations it might be beneficial to give credit sometimes; but with respect to birds of passage, this was not the case; and in truth, they only got credit from the circumstance, that a trader knew that if they did not pay, he could lay them by the heels. These Bills would, therefore, check the practice of swindling. There was a fellow now going about, stating that he was his (lord Stanhope's) nephew, whereas he had no nephew. "I," said the noble earl, "never had a brother but one, and he died without issue; and I never had a sister; and therefore, could have no nephew. I suppose some fine females may next go about and say they are my nieces; but I hope the milliners and mantua-makers will not trust them." In concluding, his observations, the noble earl said, "If these Bills pass, I have no doubt that all the swindlers and rogues will meet in one of the larger squares, and hang up the effigy of your humble servant."
Ordered, that the Bills be printed.

CONTINENTAL TREATIES.
The Earl of Liverpool, by command of his royal highness the Prince Regent, presented copies of the Treaty between his Britannic Majesty and the emperor of Austria, concluded at Chaumont, on the 3d of March last. Also, copies of the Treaties entered into with Russia and Prussia at the same place. And likewise, a copy of the Convention agreed upon between his Majesty and the French government, at Paris; which were ordered to lie on the table.
After a few words interchanged between his lordship and earl Grey, across the table, in an under tone of voice,
The latter moved for the production of an account of all sums advanced by his
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Majesty's government to his Swedish majesty, in compliance with the articles of the Treaty of Concert and Subsidy, concluded at Stockholm on the 3d March 1813. Also, for an account of the number of troops employed by his Swedish majesty, as his contingent under the said treaty. And thirdly, for the statement of the date, when the island of Guadaloupe was surrendered by his Majesty to Sweden, and the date when it was taken possession of by his Swedish majesty. The noble earl also moved for a copy of all orders issued from the board of Admiralty, respecting the blockade of the ports of Norway.
These documents were respectively ordered to be laid before the House.
Earl Greysaid, it would be proper that a day should be fixed for the general discussion of the subject to which these elements referred. With the leave of the House, he would propose Tuesday the 10th inst., and for which day he moved that the Lords be summoned; which was ordered accordingly.