sure.

The question that the lords be summoned for Friday was carried, but the motion was not brought forward.

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House of commons, July 19 Lord Ebrington said, he had received a letter from lord Cochrane, which he should read. Having read the letter, (which merely stated lord Cochrane's wish that no motion for a remission of a part of his sentence should be made, as, if he were guilty, he well merited the whole of it,) lord Ebrington observed that he should still persevere in his motion, as he deemed the punishment of the pillory a disgrace to the enlightened age in which we lived, for it made an ignorant mob both judges and executioners. He then alluded to lord Cochrane's great naval services and talents to his very gallant exploit in capturing a Spanish 38-gun ship in a sloop of 14 guns-and to his brilliant achievements in Basque roads, for which he had been thanked by that house, and had received the order of the bath. It

was said that there should be no respect for persons; but when a noble marquis (Sligo) had been found guilty of seducing seamen from the navy, what was his sentence? Why, a fine, slight for him, and a very short imprisonment indeed. After a variety of other arguments, the noble lord moved, that an address be presented to the prince regent, praying that his royal highness would be graciously pleased to remit the ig

nominious punishment of the pil lory, included in the sentence upon lord Cochrane, in consequence of the distinguished services of that noble lord.

Lord Nugent seconded and supported the motion.

The solicitor-general (Shepherd) could not help expressing his surprise, that it could for a moment be imagined that any political prejudice could have operated against lord Cochrane! He lamented also that his lordship should have so fallen from his high station; but the case had been marked by deliberate avarice, cold iniquity, and spontaneous meanness. What claim to lenity did it afford? Having attentively read the report of the trial, he felt himself bound to declare, that had he been one of the jury, he should have found lord Cochrane guilty, had he been his own brother. He was astonished that there could be any doubt on the subject; for it could not be supposed that De Berenger would have gone to lord Cochrane's house, dressed as he was, if his lordship had not been aware of his purpose; neither would he have put himself under his lordship's protection, nor solicited a refuge on board his ship, had not lord Cochrane been guilty. He could state it as a fact, that all the instructions for lord Cochrane's brief had been received from hist lordship, and that the brief and other statements were read over by him and corrected: yet the noble lord had asserted that he had never read the brief nor given any instructions! and had attempted to crimi nate the whole administration of public justice.-The motion had his solemn dissent.

Mr. Wynne could not agree to the doctrine, that the house had no right to interfere, though he thought

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thought the verdict of the jury warranted by the evidence. Still he did not approve the more severe part of the sentence.

Mr. Hurst should give his cordial support to the motion.

Lord Castlereagh disapproved entirely of the interference of the house with the administration of justice in the courts of law. We had every motive, in the present day, not to bring into doubt the pure, unbiassed administration of the law, or to throw an unmerited and dangerous aspersion on the most revered character in the country. It was impossible to doubt either the propriety of the conviction or the punishment. He had no doubt that the revered judge who tried the cause was deeply im. pressed with the importance of making known to the country the malignity of the crime, and the punishment that belonged to it. The law had done its duty, the judges had done their duty, and it was for the crown to determine what line it would pursue in the exercise of its prerogative. No satisfactory ground had been laid for the interference of parliament, and he should therefore feel it his duty to resist the motion: he would add, however, that the crown had taken steps to interpose its mercy with respect to the infamous part of the punish ment, not only as far as it related to lord Cochrane, but to all the other parties. The ground upon which the crown had been advised to adopt this course did not arise from the slightest doubt of the propriety of the conviction, nor the slightest doubt as to the integrity of the judges, but because it was satisfied the crime was so little known to Englishmen, was of a nature so repugnant to national character, and above all to persons

moving in the sphere in which the noble lord did, that it might safely remit the ignominious part of the punishment. He thought it right to state this view of the question itself, and of the motives from which the crown acted, in order that no perverted interpretation might be put upon the exercise of its mercy.

Sir F. Burdett could not but be of opinion that the solicitor-general, from the official situation which he held, was under some undue bias towards ministers and their measures. It was said that the trial was now to be seen by every body; but he believed the short-hand writer had submitted it to the judge who tried it for his revisal, before it was published. He believed that the charge of the judge had been revised and corrected by himself, and that he had, in one instance, introduced the word "if," which was known to be a great peace-maker. He did not see what evidence there was of lord Cochrane seeing Berenger in a red coat, except the evidence of Crane, the hackney-coachman, who swore that he entered the house in red. This man, however, was a man of the worst of characters, and might well be supposed to be influenced by the hope of receiving 2501. from the Stock exchange. He was surprised to hear the grounds upon which the noble lord had stated the crown to have acted on this occasion. It appeared that frauds at the Stock exchange were so unfrequent, so rare, and things so little known among Englishmen, that it was hoped no other instance would ever occur, and that no example was necessary! Now, if he were to state those grounds in the lobby, he believed that every one would laugh in his face. They would not suppose frauds in the

the

Stock exchange to be quite so rare as the noble lord supposed. He felt, however, obliged to the noble lord for the advice he had given to the crown, not for the sake of lord Cochrane, who despised that part of the sentence, but for the sake of the public, and of that gallant profession of which he had been an

ornament.

The attorney-general said, that there were times in which the honourable baronet thought proper to praise the trial by jury; but when it was necessary to uphold the character of his colleague, and to inflame the minds of the public against the sacred institutions of our country, he had not hesitated to talk of picking and packing a jury. He would state most positively, that it was as impossible to pack a jury in the city of London, as it was in the county of York, or any other of the counties that the assizes were now going to be held in. It was possible, and not unlikely, that the short-hand writer who took down the trial did send it to the learned judge to be revised by him. It was the common practice so to do. If the honourable baronet, however, meant to imply that the noble and learned judge who tried the cause would wickedly alter his charge, so as to give it a different colour, he who knew the noble and learned persons residing in the courts would say that there was not a judge on the bench who was capable of such conduct. It appeared now, that notwithstanding the denial of the noble lord, he had given instructions for his brief with his own mouth, and had heard it read to him. But the honourable baronet thought the noble lord innocent! Perhaps there had been no fraud committed; but all was merely a government plot to hunt

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down an innocent rival, who, by the way, was neither very important nor very formidable. After a consideration of all the circumstances, it was impossible to believe that lord Cochrane was innocent; and he trusted that the country, as soon as its prejudices had subsided, would acknowledge that the jury had done its duty; and that the judges had done their duty in inflicting that sentence which lord Cochrane himself allowed not to be too severe, on the supposition that he was guilty.

Lord Ebrington rose to withdraw his motion, after the communication made by the noble lord. He regretted, and was surprised, that it had not been made earlier, especially as the noble lord had on a former occasion so earnestly deprecated discussion.

House of lords, July 25.-The earl of Hardwicke, in presenting the report from the committee on the corn laws, said that he regretted that the time which the committee had been enabled to employ in the investigation, had not been such as to justify them in coming to a final report. He should therefore move that the present report' be laid on the table, and printed, in the intention of moving for another committee early next session. Agreed to.

House of commons.-A message from the lords stated their lordships' assent to the corruption of blood bill, and also to the treason punishment bill, with an amendment.

Sir S. Romilly observed, that although the lords thought proper to retain that part of the sentence upon treason which referred to the cutting of the body in quarters, yet as the still more odious part, "the tearing out of the bowels, K 3

and

and flinging them in the face of the convict," was omitted, he regarded it as a gain to humanity, and therefore he should not oppose their lordships' amendment.

The amendment was accordingly agreed to, and the bill was ordered back to the lords.

July 30.--Mr. Tierney, seeing a noble lord in his place, wished to ask him some questions on an important subject. It had been reported that her royal highness the princess of Wales had made an application through his majesty's ministers for permission to return to the continent. Whether this was intended as a temporary visit to her brother, or as a permanent residence abroad, he could not contemplate it without regret. There might be a reason (which however he could not imagine without pain) that might warrant the temporary absence of her royal highness from this country. He and an honourable friend of his (not then present) had been the only two members, on that side of the house, who had taken an active part in the proceedings respecting the increased income of her royal highness; but if at the bottom of that proposition there existed any arrangement savouring of an understanding, that the public should be deemed to have paid the price of her royal highness quitting this country, he solemnly protested that he had no

hand in it.

Lord Castlereagh said, with respect to the honourable gentleman's questions, an honourable friend not then present (Mr. Whitbread) must be better acquainted with the intentions of her royal highness the princess of Wales, than himself. All that he knew was, that her royal highness had signified to his majes

ty's ministers her intention of visiting the continent. He was persuaded that the house, in voting the addition to the income of her royal highness, had no design of imprisoning her royal highness to this country, or of preventing her from residing wherever her pleasure or convenience might induce her to take up her abode.

Mr. Tierney said, the house must be surprised at the word imprisonment. He was sure that the house, in the recent grant, had never contemplated the departure of her royal highness from this country. The right honourable gentleman (said Mr. Tierney) seems highly entertained at this declaration. Perhaps that gentleman could tell what were her royal highness's intentions. Mr. T. concluded with protesting against his majesty's ministers allowing her royal highness to quit the country without completely ascertaining what were her motives, and without taking measures to secure her early return.

Lord Castlereagh explained; and Mr. Rose said, that his mirth had been excited by the honourable gentleman so extravagantly identifying the house of commons with himself.

Mr. Tierney said, that notwithstanding the imputations of the right honourable gentleman and his friends, there was not a thinking man in the island who would not feel alarm at the step her royal highness had been advised to take. With respect to his honourable friend (Mr. Whitbread) who had been described by the noble lord as being in possession-of her royal highness's confidence, he had his honourable friend's authority for stating not only that he had not advised her royal highness to quit the

country,

country, but that he had most earnestly advised her not to do so. Here the conversation dropped. Sir F. Burdett wished to ask his majesty's ministers a question. It had been recently rumoured that a proposition had been made by the government of France to the government of England to admit all articles the respective produce of the two countries, reciprocally, on the payment of a low duty, he be lieved 10 per cent. ad valorem. From this proposition such great advantages seemed likely to arise to Great Britain, that he wished to know whether it had actually been

made. If it had, he hoped it had been met in a similar spirit of liberality on our part.

Lord Castlereagh replied, that any proposition founded upon the principle of free commercial intercourse would be received with the utmost attention; but he was not at liberty to state any precise proposition that had been made by any foreign power.

After some further desultory con.. versation, the usher of the black. rod summoned the house to attend the prince regent in the house of lords, when parliament was prorogued.

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T has often been remarked, that on many political events, which are regarded by those who live at the time during which they occur with indifference, or at least by no means with the interest, and calculation or suspicion of their extensive or lasting importance, which they deserve, posterity will look with a very different judgement and feeling. But the converse of this observation, however true and equally well founded, has not often been made: and yet scarcely a single year passes over our heads, in which some events do not happen, which we regard either with indifference at the time, or respecting

the real nature and consequences of which we are either not disposed from our prejudices, or not able from our ignorance and incapacity, to see them in all their bearings and relations, to form an accurate and just opinion. The political occurrences to which not only Europe but America, now become next to Europe the most interesting and important portion of the globe, have been witnesses, and from which nearly all nations have suffered, either directly or indirectly, either in a momentous or trifling degree, either in such a manner as that the consequences will soon pass away or be permanently influential,

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supply