GENERAL HISTORY. 



[83 



hands. Was there ever any de- 

 spotic government which did not 

 claim the same right of exercising 

 power on this ground ? I cannot 

 (said he) reconcile myself to so 

 light a way of speaking of the 

 Constitution, as to make the sus- 

 pension of its most valuable pri- 

 vileges a matter of indifference, 

 because certain persons, of whom 

 a favourable opinion is entertain- 

 ed, are to be iurested with the 

 arbitrary authority which must 

 be the consequence of that sus- 

 pension. 



On a division of the House, the 

 numbers for the first reading were. 

 Ayes 276, Noes lU j Majority 

 16.5. 



June 24th, the numbers were 

 so much reduced by defections on 

 both sides, that the motion for the 

 second reading of the bill was car- 

 lied by 80 against 30. 



The order of the day for the 

 committal of the bill being read 

 on June 26th, Sir J. Newport rose 

 to propose a clause, " that it be an 

 injunction to the committee to 

 limit the duration of the bill till 

 the 1st of December next." Lord 

 Castlereagh said that the motion 

 was altogether unnecessaiy, be- 

 cause it was competent to the 

 committee to fix the duration of 

 the bill at any period it thought 

 proper. But, waving the point of 

 form, he should object to the mo- 

 tion upon principle ; for if the 

 state of the country should be 

 ! such as to require the fuither con- 

 timiance 'of the act at the period 

 stated in the motion, he did not 

 I know hut that the calling together 

 ' gentlemen to attend Parliament 

 from the districts in which their 



influence would be so usefully ex- 

 erted, might be a greater evil 

 than the cessation of the act 

 itself. 



The amendment was negatived, 

 and the House went into the 

 committee. Sir J. Newport then 

 moved, that the duration of the 

 bill should be limited to the 1st of 

 the ensuing December. The com- 

 mittee then divided, when there 

 appeared. For the amendment 45 j 

 Against it 78. 



Mr. Douglas objected to the ex- 

 tension of the bill to Scotland, 

 and moved the omission of the 

 clause by which that country was 

 included in its operation. The 

 House dividing on the question, 

 it was determined that it should 

 be continued, by 129 to 48. 



June 27th was the day appoint- 

 ed for the third reading of the 

 bill. SeveraL speakers on both 

 parties took a share in the debate, 

 but scarcely any thing remained 

 except recapitulation of the seve- 

 ral events which had taken place 

 in the former part of the year. 

 On the division, the reading was 

 carried by 195 to 66. An amend- 

 ment was afterwards proposed by 

 Mr. S. Wortley, with the approba- 

 tion of Lord Castlereagh, to leave 

 out tire words " six weeks after 

 the meeting of parliament," and 

 insert as the term of the bill the 

 1st of March 1318. On this a 

 further amendment was proposed 

 by Mr. Wynne to substitute the 

 25th of December, 1817. The 

 House divided on the question, 

 " that the 1st of March do stand 

 part of the bill," which was de- 

 cided by Ayes 152, Noes 50. The 

 bill was then passed. 



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