themselves entitled to in the theory of the constitution. They might, said his lordship, be mistaken in this reasoning, but it was unjust to brand it as hostile to the government, when it had been over and over again maintained in parliament by the most illustrious statesmen, that a reform in the representation was the only possible security for our invaluable constitution. This alone had been the object of every one of the numerous meetings which had so much alarmed his majesty's ministers, and which they had taken such violent and dangerous measures to suppress. Speaking of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus, his lordship said, the House might depend upon it, and he spoke from an experience which scarcely ever belonged to any other man, that the administration of justice, instead of being strengthened by it, was sure to suffer in the extreme from the odium attaching even upon just prosecutions; and government might lay its account with being completely foiled in every attempt to produce order and obedience by judicial trials, as long as the Habeas Corpus Act remained suspended, and other measures of distrust and coercion were in force against the whole mass of the people. Lord Redesdale, in his speech in favour of ministers, observed that a great deal had been said about spies and informers, and the infamy of employing such characters. But he would ask, whether in the history of the whole world an instance of the detection of a conspiracy of this kind could be found but by such means. It was really ridiculous to decry the employment of such instruments under such circumstances. That practice was even more necessary now than on any former occasion, especially in 1793, for the secrecy and caution of the conspirators were so much greater. Earl Grey, touching upon the argument in his speech on the opposite side of the question, said that he had thought that this practice had been condemned by orators and statesmen, and by great men of every age and nation; that it was a practice sanctioned only by the most despotic governments; that it poisoned the sources of confidence between man and man ; and was destructive of domestic happiness and individual security. He regarded the employment of such engines as the great distinction between a free and a despotic government; but if these men, sent to penetrate into the designs of others, were to impel them to the commission of crimes, what must be the state of society to sanction such a proceeding? He was himself persuaded that these disturbances might have been put down without the use of any such means; and he lamented to see in that House, as well as in the other, and in the whole community, a sort of apathy and disregard of the conduct of ministers, and a disposition to fly to force as a cure for those evils for which the law had appropriated milder and more efficacious remedies. The Earl of Liverpool said, that the real question was, whether there did not exist, in the judg ment of that House, an organized conspiracy for overturning the government, In fact, it was not confined confined to one town, one county, or one district. It pervaded seven or eight counties; and the disaffected were acting by associations, by correspondence, and by sending delegates from one meeting to another. With respect to the employment of spies, he affirmed, that whatever might be the language of orators or writers, the fact was, that in practice this weapon had always been employed. He allowed that considerable difficulty existed in the application of this principle; but it was almost impossible, without such means, to secure the information necessary for the public tranquillity. He then resorted to the peculiar character of the present disturbances, and concluded with calling upon their lordships, in the name of eternal peace, of good order, and of security and liberty, to adopt the proposed measure. Some further observations were made by different lords, which it is unnecessary here to repeat. The question being at length called for, the result was, for the second reading of the bill, Contents, present Proxies. Total 109 81 190 27 23 50 140 Majority On June 19th, the third reading of this bill was called for in the House of Lords. Several peers took the occasion of giving their sentiments on the subject, but nothing occurred to render their observations particularly remarkable. The third reading was carried by Contents, present Non-contents, present Proxies Majority 73 68 141 20 17 37 104 On June 5th, Lord Castlereagh presented to the House of Commons a message relative to seditious meetings, expressed in the same terms as that sent to the House of Lords, with a bag of papers accompanying it. His lordship said, that he should now confine himself to a motion of thanks to the Prince Regent, assuring him, that the House would take the papers into their immediate and serious consideration. After this motion was disposed of, le should submit that the papers should be referred to a select committee, to be confined to the same persons as were members of the last, except the late attorney-general who had ceased to be a member of that House; and in his stead he would propose the present solicitor-general. which Lord Castlereagh moved "That such members as were of the committee of secrecy appointed on the 5th of February last, and who are now members of this House, be members of the said committee." Sir J. Newport objected to the proposal, and by way of amendment gave a nomination almost entirely new. A discussion of some length followed, after which the House divided; For the original Motion 126, For the Amendment 66 Majority 60. The main question was then agreed to, and the solicitor-general was added to the committee. Lord Folkestone then moved, "That it be an instruction to the said committee that they enquire particularly into the origin, character, and extent of the disaffection supposed to exist in the country, &c." which was negatived. Another motion was offered by the same noble lord, which was, to make it an instruction to the said committee that they enquire into the particular case of every person detained under the provisions of an act passed in the present session of parliament, &c.; which was also negatived. The Second Report from the Committee of Secrecy of the House of Commons was to the following effect. In forming an opinion on the present internal situation of the country, your committee could not fail to bear in mind the information laid before them, at an early part of the session, upon which their first report was founded. The papers now communicated to the committee, continue the narrative of the proceedings of the disaffected in the counties before referred to, viz. Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire (to which, part of Yorkshire and the towns of Birmingham and Stockport, must now be added), from the period of that report down to the present time. Your committee find in these papers, not only a complete corroboration of the justness of the apprehensions, which they then expressed, but proofs, equally decisive of the continuance of the same machinations, and designs, breaking out into fresh acts of violence and insurrection, up to the present moment. Your committee stated in their former report, that " even where petitioning was recommended, it was proposed to be conducted in such a manner, by an immense number of delegates, attending in London at the same time, in several parties, attached to each petition, as might induce an effort to obtain by force whatever they demanded; and that a general idea seemed prevalent, that some fixed day, at no very great distance, was to be appointed for a general rising." The first attention of your committee has been directed to the proceedings of the public meeting held early in March, in the town of Manchester. At that meeting, which consisted of persons assembled from various towns and populous villages in the vicinity of Manchester, as well as of the inhabitants of Manchester itself, it was proposed by the same leaders who had previously attracted the notice of your committee, that the petitioners should assemble, at at the same place, on Monday, the 10th of that month, prepared to set out on a march to London, to present their petition themselves to the Prince Regent in person; that they should form themselves into parties of ten each (which arrangement was proposed with the professed view of not transgressing the law); and that they should supply themselves with provisions for the march, and with blankets for the purpose of sleeping on the ground. At many other meetings previous to the 10th, which, though comparatively private, were yet numerously attended, it was represented to them, by their orators, that they would be surrounded by the police and the military, and that they would be an easy prey if they proceeded without arms for their protection. They were assured, however, that their numbers, which, in the course of their progress, would amount to not less than 100,000, would make it impossible ultimately to resist them. It was stated that all the large towns in Yorkshire were adopting the same plan, that the Scotch were actuall on their march, and that if the petitioners could once reach Nottingham, or Birmingham, the business would be done. They were advised to choose leaders over each subdivision of tens, fifties, and hundreds, and to appoint a treasurer to receive contributions, which were actually made in a great number of small sums, out of which fund they were taught to expect that each man would be supplied with a daily allowance. A petition was accordingly pre pared, with a copy of which every tenth man was furnished; and which concluded by stating to his Royal Highness, that, without the change which they demanded, "they could neither support him, nor themselves ;" and they were told, that if their petition was rejected, they must demand it; if still rejected, they must force it, and say they would be righted. It appears, that some of the persons apprehended, were fully prepared to act up to these instructions; though it is to be presumed, that many of them had no very definite idea of the way in which their services were to be employed; and that even among their leaders, some of the more moderate reckoned rather upon intimidation, than upon the actual employment of force. At one of those more private meetings, however, which preceded the general assembly, one of those persons, who appeared to have most influence, avowed himself a republican and leveller; and professed his determination never to give up till they had established a republican government: the examples of the insurrection in the reign of Richard 2nd, and of the rebellion in Ireland in 1798, were held out, as objects of imitation; and the most violent of such declarations was generally received with the strongest marks of applause. In consequence of these preparations, the public meeting proposed took place at the time appointed; and was attended by probably near 12,000 persons : many of these proceeded to the ground in regular order, with knapsacks on their backs; and notwithstanding the assembly was dispersed dispersed by the military, acting under the orders of the magistrates, and the principal leaders were apprehended, under warrants from the secretary of state, a considerable number actually marched off on their way to London; many were intercepted before they reached Stockport, but several found their way as far as Ashbourne. The act for enabling his majesty to detain suspected persons had now passed; most of those, who had rendered themselves most. conspicuous in exciting disaffection in this part of the country, had either been apprehended, or had secreted themselves; and all hopes were precluded of any immediate result from the assemblage which had been so long concerted; yet it appears to your committee, from a variety of concurrent testimony, on which they rely, that the previous organization had been extended so widely, and the expectation of ultimate success had been so confidently entertained, that these circumstances produced no other effect on the great body of the discontented, than to delay the explosion, which had so long been meditated; to occasion the discontinuance of the more open meetings of the association; and to call forth the exertions of new leaders, who were determined (in their own phrase) to " re-organize the party." Meetings were accordingly held in several of the townships in the neighbourhood of Manchester, between the 10th and 25th of March, with more privacy, but under the established system of delegation, . at which only the deputies from the disaf fected places were present; and at which it was resolved to promote a general rising at Manchester, on Sunday the 30th of March, or the following day. A meeting was appointed for the leaders at Ardwick bridge, close to Manchester, on the Friday before that day; where they expected to receive information from Birmingham, Sheffield, and other places, with which they were in communication; having previously learnt from an emissary, who had visited Huddersfield and Leeds, that the disaffected in that part of the country were all ready to begin at any time, and were preparing arms for the purpose. The design was, to assemble as many as could be collected, in the night, at Manchester; to attack the barracks, the police office, the prison, the houses of magistrates and constables, and the banks, in separate parties; and to set fire to the factories in the town. It was even declared by one of the conspirators, that this last atrocity was intended for the purpose of increasing the prevalent distress, in the hope of thereby adding to the numbers of the discontented, by throwing the workmen out of employment. employment. It was calculated that two or three thousand men would be enough to commence these operations, as they reckoned upon being joined by 50,000 at the dawn of day. A proclamation was said to be prepared, in order to be produced on this occasion, justifying the revolt, and absolving the insurgents from their their allegiance. Expectations were held out, that a general insurrection would take place, at the same time, in different parts of the |