HOUSE OF COMMONS. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 26. The Armorial Bearing Bill, and the Annual Indemnity Bill were read a third time and palled, The bill for reviving and continuing the 35th of his prefent Majefty for establishing a court of judicature in Newfoundland and the Iflands adjacent, was brought up by Mr. Ryder, read a first time, and ordered to be read a fecond time the next day. HABEAS CORPUS. The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the order of the day on the bill for continuing the fufpenfion of the Habeas Corpus Act, which being read, and it being for the bill going into a committee, He moved that the fpeaker do now leave the chair. Mr. Courtenay rofe and faid he was now about to adduce additional reasons to fhew there was no neceflity for fufpending the Habeas Corpus A&t any longer, and before he did fo, he begged leave to read the declaration made by his Majesty in April. Whereas it appears that the preparation for the embarkation of troops and warlike ftores are now carried on with cenfideraule and encreasing activity in the ports of France, Flanders and Holiand, with the avowed defign of attempting the invafion of his Majelty's dominions, and that in this the enemy is encouraged by the correfpondence and communications of traitorous and difaffected perfons and focieties of thefe kingdoins.. Here, he faid, was a plain and candid reafon affigned for the fufpenfion of the Habeas Corpus Act, but he would follow up this declaration of his Majefty upon that important occafion, and afk-whether the cafe was the fame now as it was then? Were his Majefty's enemies making any preparations for the invafion of thefe kingdoms? If they were, in what place, or in what manner were they making fuch preparations? And, by whom were they aided and abetted in this country? He would afk one plain general question, were we now in the fame fituation as we were last year when the Habens Corpus Sufpenfion Act was agreed to? Had not our enemies been baffled and discomfited in different parts of the world? Was it likely that the French would invade this country when it was fcarcely probable that they thould retain their prefent conquefts? Had not the glory of Great Britain refounded over the whole globe? Had we not fignalized ourfelves in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic?-Moft un doubtedly doubtedly all thefe queftions might be easily anfwered; and we owed much to the gallant and renowned Admirals, Nelfon and Jervis, whofe honours, although great, had scarcely kept pace with their merit; they had reftored, or rather they had extended the glory of Great Britain by the vigour of her navy, and elevated it to a degree before unknown in the annals of even her triumphs. Indeed they had ferved their country in a manner that had not yet been mentioned, although it might produce very effential advantages; they had introduced a fpecies of parliamentary reform in this country; being advanced into a Houfe of Parliament, they might purify a vitiated atmosphere, tainted and corrupted by fome blafts of azetic - 4 loud cry of order! order! Chair! chair!] The Speaker reminded Mr. Courtenay that he was not peaking to the queftion before the Honfe. Mr. Courtenay proceeded. He thought he might have been permitted to ufè a metaphorical expreffion, but he was corrected. He faid he thould not have touched, perhaps, certainly he thould not have dwelt upon this fubject, had he not imagined that it arofe naturally out of what had been said on a former debate upon this bill, and of which, in point of spirit, if not in ftri&nets of langaage, this might be called a continuance. He must now advert to what had been faid by an honourable and learned Gentleman on the last debate upon this meafure. That Gentleman had ftated fome points, as if he (Mr. Courtenay) had mifreprefented fome facts relative to the prifon in Clerkenwell, wherein the ftate prifoners are now confined. Gentlemen, in the difcuffion of this matter, had dwelt much on topics of general humanity, on which they thought good to declaim a great deal, and affert many things, one word of which he did not deny. But he should now re-ailert what he had formerly afferted upon the fubject. He had faid that men were confined in this prifon in cells without fire or candle; he had afked experienced lawyers whether they knew of any rigour like this to any state prifoners in the courfe of the adminiftration of juftice in this country? They had anfwered him, they did not. These points he stated the other night in debate in that House; no one answered him in that point. What did he affert upon the fubject of thefe prifoners? That he faw prifoners fhut up in narrow cells, expofed to the feverity of the weather, without fire or candle; and that if they clofed the wooden fhutter of the window, they could have no light, or fresh air. This he afferted: he now afferted it again; and he defied any genVOL. I. 1798. tleman Τι : tleman who had been there to refute that affertion. He called on any member of that House who had been there, to deny the facts alledged by him. The learned Gentleman had accufed him with cafting fome reflections on Lerd Kenyon, in the fentence of the Court of King's Bench upon a prifoner who was fent to this prifon. He never ariaigred one of the fentences of Lord Kenyon. He had only faid, he thought the manner in which the fentence was executed was very. fevere. He faid nothing against the juftnefs of the fentence itfelf; he never faid a word against any of the judgments of Lord Kenyon; had he fentenced this poor prifener to feven, fourteen, or twenty-one years imprifonment, he should not have prefumed to have faid a word again the juftice of fuch a meafure but he thought he was at liberty to ftate what appeared to him to be a rigorous mode of carrying that justice into effect. He had experienced the truth of the late Lord Chatham's obfervation: "Touch but a cobweb in Wetminfter hall, and the old fpider will crawl out." Another hon. Gentleman had faid he had visited the prifon himself, had examined the matter, and that he knew the reports that had gone abroad upon it were unfounded. If that hon. Gentleman was now in the Houfe, he would af him if he was in this prifon fince the time of pafling judgment on the perfon to whom he alluded? or whether he was there fince the commitment of thofe who are under the fufpenfion of the Habeas Corpus A&t? Did he vifit the prifon ? and was it, or was it not, in the fituation which he had defcribed? He asked that queftion. Now, as a corroboration of what he had formerly stated upon this inttter, he begged to read, as part of his fpeech, a letter from the wife of Colonel Defpard. "Some mention having been made in the Newfp per reports of the Houle of Commons relative to the treatment of Celoid Depard in the New Prifon, I think it neceffary to fiere, that the Colonel was confined near feven months in a damp cell, not fiven fect square, without either fire or candie, chair, table, knife, fork, a glazed window, or even a Look to read. I made feveral applications in perion to M., Wickham, Under Secretary of State, and by letter to the Duke of Fernand-all to no purpoie. About the 20th of laft month he was removed mo a 10 in with a fire, but not until his feet were ulcerated by a fref. For the truth of this flatement I appeal to the bencurable Mi. Law, or John Kever, Kiq. who vifited the Colonel in prifen, and at whofe interest on he was removed. I ftate thefe facts without the Colorei's knowledge, as eren his gaoler will bear witnefs that he never made any complaint of his treatment, how. ev- fovere it was. The Colonel ferved his Majefty thirty years, and all his family are now in the army. Berkeley fquare, December 23, 1798. CATHERINE DESPARD. 1 It was very true that when he faw the colonel, he made no complaint to him. He afked the colonel if he had been in the fame fituation as fome other perfons were in that prifon on the authority of the fufpenfion of the Habeas Corpus A&t? He faid he had been, but that he had been removed out of it by the humanity of Mr. Reeves. If thefe things were not thus-If he was not to believe the letter of Mrs. Defpard, nor to truft to the evidence of his own fenfes, but that both were deceptions upon him, ali he could fay upon the matter was, that it was very extraordinary. He knew Colonel Defpard 30 years ago; he was then in the fervice. But an hon. Gentleman had afked, if he had any fympathy with prifoners of this defeription? To which he anfwered, that he had no particular fympathy with perfons of this defeription; but he confelfed, he felt fome fympathy with every fellow-creature who appeared to him to be treated with inhumanity. If the perfons who were confined in this prifon, under the authority of this A2, were guilty, let them be tried, and condemned; but if they were not guilty, let them be acquitted: at all events let them have a trial. To general declamation upon probable guilt, or fufpicion of guilt, he paid no regard; nor did Chriftian rancour, or religious facetioufnefs affect him: if there was any thing to be urged against thefe men, let it be fpecified: any man who demanded this, demanded nothing but juftice; and any man who exerted himself to obtain that juflice, deferved efteem for fuch exertion. At the time when this matter was firft mentioned, he did no believe that his Majesty's minifters knew it; but it now appeared that application was made for Col. Defpard without effect, therefore minifters must have known it. He had faid, he was fure they did not know it. He begged pardon of the Houfe for having led it into that millake; but he believed that was the only inftance in which he impofed upon the Houfe. But fome Gentlemen had infifted that thefe things could not be as they were related; an hon. Gentleman (Mr. Wilberforce) had difplayed much religious facetioufnels, tempered with Chritian rancour, on the fubject. He had tri umphantly afked, Whether it could be b lieved that fuch atrocious inhumanity had been exercifed? The alledged facts were the best refutation. Yet, faid Mr. Courtenay, if we are to believe a certain Chriftian moraliit, (confidering the depraved ftate of human nature, all this is very probable. "That profperity," fays he, "hardens the heart; that unlimited power is always abufed, inftead of diffufing human hap T12 nels; [COMMONSY pinefs; that our nature is corrupt; that the imagination of our hearts is continually evil; that we have to contend not only with our natural depravity, but with the power of darkness, the evil fpirit whofe dominion is fo general as to entitle him to the denomination of the prince of darkness."—He oblerved. that a worthy magiftrate had stated, that the prifon which he alluded to was not originally defigned for perfons of this defcription, and that their being fent there was matter of ncceflity; but if it was neceffary to fend them to this place, there was no neceffity of treating them with inhumanity when they were in it. Why could not a proper house be hired for this, as for any other purpose? Did gentlemen believe that the people of this country, who afforded 30 and 40 millions a year for the public fervice, would begrudge 3 or 400 for the maintenance of prifoners? Was it to be fuppofed that the loyalty of a people, who are to the number of 300,000 in arms in defence of their country, would be affected by the expence of a few hundreds of pounds for fuch a purpose as this; and, indeed, for the purpose of common humanity? Did any one fuppofe that the people would obfcure their luftre, and tarnish their glory, by meanly with-holding a fmall fum of money to fupport a few prifoners? He faid, that in his opinion the complaints of abufe of the power given to government by this ac, might logically be urged against its renewal. He had ftated thefe facts because he believed them to be true; but if they fhould be proved to be falfe, he fhould be very happy to retract them. The Attorney General faid, that the hon. Gentleman had alluded to what he had faid in a former debate. He certainly did complain that fuch refpeft was not paid as ought to have been paid to the Court of King's Bench in taking notice of the cafe of an individual of the name of Smith for publithing a libel called "the Duties of Citizenship." He made fome obfervations. on that cafe, and he would repeat, that the Court of King's Bench did not order Smith to be fent to that prifon until after they had been well affured that it was a fit and proper place to receive him. They did it in the execution of an important duty which they owed the public, and which duty they difcharged confcientioufly; and the hon. Gentleman who talked fo much of cruelty, would give him leave to fay, that he knew of no cruelty fo harsh as that of a member of parliament endeavouring to call forth the public indignation on perfons who ftand in a fituation of great difa ficulty as well as importance, without examining the cafe on |