Sitting of 12 April 1827

OATHS IN COURTS OF JUSTICE—FORGED PETITION—ROBERT TAYLOR.
Mr. Humesaid, he had a Petition to present from a gentleman of the name of Taylor, who called himself the President of the Christian Evidence Society, to which he wished to call the attention of the House. The House would recollect, that, on the 29th of November last, he had presented to it a petition, purporting to come from this individual, and praying that he might in future be sworn upon the works of nature. He had now to inform the House, that that petition was a forgery, which he had been deceived into presenting. A short time previous to the presentation of it he had received a note from Mr. Taylor, requesting him to present a petition on his behalf. He was, therefore,
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in expectation of receiving a petition from that gentleman; and on receiving the petition which he had formerly presented, he had never doubted that it was the petition which he had to present, and had presented it accordingly. Mr. Taylor now declared that petition to be a forgery, and on inspecting it had discovered that it was written in the same character with an hundred anonymous letters, with which he had been recently pestered. He also begged leave to say, that a letter which had appeared in "The Times," of the 26th of February last, purporting to be a letter from his brother, and reviling him in very grors terms was a forgery, which he believed to be perpetrated by the same person. The petition making this complaint would have been presented at an earlier period, had not the petitioner entertained some hopes that he should be able to discover the individual who had perpetrated this forgery. In case that individual should be discovered, the hon. member pledged himself to bring him before the bar of the House, to answer for his contempt of its privileges.
Ordered to lie on the table.

CHANGE OF THE MINISTRY.
Mr. Wynnmoved that a new writ be issued for the borough of Newport, in consequence of the right hon. George Canning having accepted the office of First Lord Commissioner of the Treasury [loud cheers]. He also moved, "That the House, at its rising, do adjourn to Tuesday, the 1st of May."
Mr. Tierneysaid, that before this motion was disposed of—before the House was called on to adjourn for so long a period—he wished to put a question, of considerable importance, to the right hon. gentleman. He was anxious to ascertain, if possible, what progress had been made towards the formation of a new ministry? This question could not be considered premature, as it had been admitted, that forbearance enough had been shewn with respect to this subject, when, a fortnight ago, he had made a similar inquiry. Now that the whole Administration, except one, as he was informed, had thrown up their situations, it was not a little extraordinary, that the members of the House of Commons should at once be required to give up their legislative functions, and to abandon their duties for three weeks, while they were left in ignorance as to the

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progress that had been made in forming an efficient ministry. He did not wish to take any step that would interfere with the measures which might have been adopted for the purpose of effecting that object; it was not his intention to embarrass any arrangement that might be under consideration; but he must say, that it was extremely reasonable for him to ask what progress had been made in the formation of a ministry, before he agreed to the proposed adjournment. He thought, that if, instead of adjourning to the 1st of May, the House adjourned until Wednesday next, the new ministry might be formed in the mean time, and the necessary information could then be communicated to the House. He trusted that the House would not part with its whole powers, until they had received some decisive information on this subject.
Mr. Wynnapprehended that it was usual at that period of the year to move an adjournment for a few days. It had always been proposed as a matter of course, and had been always so received. Undoubtedly some difficulties had occurred in the formation of a ministry; but an arrangement was now in progress, and would certainly be completed before the period of adjournment had expired. He hoped the House would afford sufficient time for the completion of so important an object.
Mr. Tierneyobserved, that the time for forming an Administration was just two months old. This, in his opinion, and in the opinion of others, was too long a time. He understood that it was only within these few days that a right hon. gentleman had been intrusted with the formation of an Administration. But, instead of its being formed, it was reported, that seven members of the Cabinet had run away; for what purpose, or to forward what scheme or cabal, they best knew; and he was equally at a loss to conjecture in what shape, or at what time, they were likely to come back. He, however, must say, as a member of that House, that he should be guilty of betraying his trust, if he abandoned his duty, by agreeing to so long an adjournment, in the present situation of the Administration.
The gallery was about to be cleared for a division; but that intention was abandoned, and the motion agreed to.

CORN DUTIES BILL.
On the order
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of the day for the third reading of this bill,
Mr. F. Palmersaid, it was a matter of great satisfaction to him, that on the first occasion of his voting in the present parliament, he was able to give his conscientious support to the measure proposed by ministers. He believed that the bill before the House had been framed upon principles of strict impartiality; and he was inclined to put faith in the correctness of that opinion, when he saw that the measure was alike condemned by the two great interests of the country; namely, the agriculturists and the manufacturers. The agriculturists said that the maximum price fixed by the bill was hardly sufficient to enable them to meet the charges of rent and taxes, and, above all, the constantly increasing burthen of the poor-rates; whilst the manufacturers, on the other hand, complained, that the measure afforded too great a protection to the agricultural interest. He was of opinion that the effect of the bill would be to produce low prices, and the natural consequence of that would be the reduction of taxation—a measure to which he looked forward with great satisfaction. He trusted that this would not be the only occasion in which he should be able to vote for the measures of ministers; but that he should feel it his duty, frequently to support their policy.
Mr. Warburtonsaid, that the bill would afford no substantial relief to the country. Our manufacturers would still be obliged to pay for their bread double the price which was paid on the continent.
Mr. Leycesterexpressed his apprehension, that large importations would be made from Canada.
Mr. C. Grantsaid, that past experience had proved that no extensive importations could be made from Canada to any profitable purpose, so far as the importers were concerned.
The bill was then read a third time, and passed.