GENERAL HISTORY. 



[129 



feiture. It appeared, then, that 

 tlie amendments of the other 

 House might in this way be con- 

 sidered as interfering with what 

 was the peculiar privilege of that 

 House. But there was one point 

 which excited a doubt in his 

 mind ; and that was, that having 

 stated that aliens, on becoming 

 subjects, were entitled to relief 

 ftom certain duties, as well as to 

 relief from the imposition of a 

 penalty on the acquisition of pro- 

 perty. The natural course of na- 

 turalization bills was, their origi- 

 nating in the House of Lords ; 

 and so far they might be consi- 

 dered as giving relief from penalty 

 and remission of duties. At the 

 same time he did not state this 

 as sufficient to counterbalance the 

 arguments urged on the other side. 

 Lord Castlcreagh, who had at 

 first strongly supported the lord 

 chancellor, now said that he felt 

 Aere was but one course for him 

 to pursue, namely, not to press 

 the amendments introduced into 

 the bill by the lords. 



The lords amendments were 

 then disagreed to 7iem. con. and a 

 committee was appointed to draw 



1 np reasons. 



On June 6th the report of the 

 House of Commons being read in 

 the House of Lords, the earl of 

 Liverpool moved that " This 

 House do not insist upon its 



I amendment." 



j . Earl Grei/, desirous that the 



'House should take the subject 

 deliberately into their considera- 

 tion, moved as an amendment, 

 Tiiat the farther consideration 

 oi' tills report be deferred to 

 Monday next, and that the Lords 

 ibe summoned." 



The House divided upon the 

 earl's amendment : Contents, 21 ; 

 Not-contents, 32. The oi-iginal 

 motion was then carried. 



Lord Castlereagh, on June 8th, 

 said, that after the message from 

 the House of Lords, that they 

 did not insist on the amendments 

 made by them in the Alien bill, 

 he found himself under the neces- 

 sity of calling the attention of the 

 House to the existing law, not 

 doubting that they would agree 

 with him, that it ought not to be 

 left in its present state. The 

 session was now near a close; and 

 considering the whole matter, he 

 was of opinion that the most sa- 

 tisfactory course would be, to 

 suspend the law for a short and 

 limited period, and then every 

 thing that the parties interested 

 might have to submit to parlia- 

 ment might be discussed more 

 fairly than if we were now to 

 begin to legislate. The noble 

 lord concluded by moving for 

 leave to bring in a bill " to pre- 

 vent aliens, for a time to be 

 limited, from becoming naturaliz- 

 ed, or for being made or becom- 

 ing denizens, except in certain 

 cases." 



The measure was received with 

 general concurrence ; and the bill 

 having been read a first and se- 

 cond time, committed, and read 

 a third time, all in the same day, 

 it was passed. 



On June 9th Lord Sidmoiith 

 moved the first reading of the 

 same bill ; and though it was not 

 received with tlie same unanimity 

 which attended it in the House of 

 Commons, it passed without op- 

 position on the ^me day. 



Vol. LX. 



[K] 



CHAPTER 



