STATE PAPERS. 



143 



i 



practices which have been for some 

 time car.ied on by certain socielies 

 in London, in correspondence with 

 societcs in difterent parts of the 

 country, have lately been pursued 

 with increased activity and boldness, 

 and have been avowedly directed to 

 the oljcctof assemblin^,^ a pretended 

 general convention or the people, 

 in contempt and defiance of the au- 

 thority of parliatTiCnt, and on prin- 

 ciples subversive u{\hc existing laws 

 and constitution, and directly tend- 

 ing tv the introduction of that sys- 

 tem of anarchy and confusion which 

 has fatally p evaik-d n France, has 

 given directions for seizing the 

 books andpapers of the saidsocieties 

 in London, which have beer; seized 

 accordingly ; and these b-ooks and 

 papers appearing to contain matter 

 of the greatest importance to the 

 publiciMterest,his majesty has given 

 orders for laying them before the 

 house of commons; and bis majesty 

 recommends it to the house to con- 

 eider the same, and to take such 

 measures thereupon as may appear 

 to be I ece.ssaryfor effectually guard- 

 ing against the farther prosecution of 

 those dangerous designs, and for 

 pr serving to his mr.jesy's subjects 

 the enjoyment of the blessings de- 

 rived 10 them by the constitution 

 happily cetablished in these kine- 

 dorai. G. R." 



Protest against the first reading of the 

 LilLfiir suspending the huteas cor- 

 pus act, May 22. 



Dissentient. 



BEC^VUSE I r.bhor the idea 

 of e!-tablishiiig a dangerous 

 and unconstitutional system ot/cZ/e;-^ 

 of cachet in ths country. 



Stanhopb. 



Protest against the passing ^fthe act 

 for suspending the Habeas Corpus 

 act, May 22. 



Dissentient. 

 i. T3ECAUSE no evidence has 



XJ' been laid before us, tliat 

 tb.is kingdom is at present in those 

 circumstances of imminent danger 

 and iinperious necessity which alone, 

 in our opinion, would justify eveu 

 the temporary surrender of that 

 sacred fundamental law which is the 

 sole guardian of the personal liberty 

 and security of our fellow-subjects. 

 •Is^one of thesecircumstances, either 

 of foreign invasion or of domestic 

 insurrection, or of formidable con- 

 spiracy, now exist which induced 

 our ancestors to commit their liber- 

 ties to the peril, us guardianship of 

 a despotical authority. Instead of 

 such an unequivocal public danger, 

 which silences all deliberations and 

 over-rules all laws, we are now re- 

 quired to vest an arbitrary power 

 in his niajesty's ministers upon the 

 authority of a detail of the offences 

 of individuals or socielies, whose 

 strength and numbers are not proved 

 to our apprehension to be such as 

 would justify such a measure as the 

 present, especiaily as the ordinary 

 operation of the law is sufficient lo 

 check the spirit which is supposed 

 to prevail. One of the woi st effects 

 of the conduct of these societies is 

 their having operated as the instru- 

 ment for former artificial panics, 

 and as a pretext for former measures, 

 in our opinion the most hazardous 

 and peinicious. They continued 

 the saineconductwithoutinjury ex- 

 perienced by the pubhc, without 

 accession cf strength, without the 

 proof of any change in their systems 

 or designs. We cannot therefore 

 without betraying the trust reposed 

 in us^ consent to resign the liberties 



of 



