REVENUE LAWS.

Lord Grenville stated, that it had been found more convenient that the Bill respecting the penalty of death in the Revenue Laws should be presented to the House in the first instance, and if their Lordships pleased to give it a second reading, it might then be committed to the Select Committee originally proposed for revision, instead of the subject being referred to that Committee previous to the Bill being brought in. His Lordship accordingly presented a Bill for reducing into one Act the clauses in Acts relating to the Revenue, and by which the penalty of death is imposed for offences in breach of, or in resistance to, the Revenue Laws, and which he stated to be a transcript of the Bill brought in last Session, which had been already printed.-The Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Monday.

REVERSIONS.

Earl Grosvenor gave notice of his intention to make a motion soon, for abolishing the practice of granting Offices in Reversion, with the view of making, the abolition a per- . manent measure.

COLVILLE, A PRISONER IN COLDBATH-FIELDS PRISON.

Earl Grosvenor, being on his legs, thought it right to advert to a report which was abroad, relative to a person of the name of Colville, stated to be detained in Coldbathfields prison, under a warrant, signed by the noble earl opposite (Earl of Liverpool.) He did not mean to say much upon this subject, as it had, he understood, already been taken up in another place; he could not help, however, observing, that the circumstances, as stated, were very extraordinary, and that it was singular this person had been detained for so long a period, without either being brought to trial, or sent out of the country."

The Earl of Liverpool thought it only necessary to say, that it would be seen by the votes of the House of Commotis that a secret committee had been appointed to investigate the circumstances of this transaction; and he was satisfied it would appear, from the result of that investigation, that the conduct of Government, in this instance, had been perfectly right and justifiable.

INFORMATIONS EX OFFICIO.

Lord Holland gave notice of his motion for the number and nature of informations ex officio, filed in the Court of

King's Bench for libel for Monday se'nnight. He therefore moved that the Lords be summoned for that day; not, however, with the expectation that his motion wou'd produce debate or excite opposition.

ISLES OF FRANCE AND BOURBON.

The Earl of Lauderdale, with reference to the late conquest in the East Indies, which he considered of great importance, observed that it appeared by the letter of General Abercrombie, that Mr. Farquhar, a servant of the Company, had been appointed Governor of the Isle of France, and it evidently appeared from what was stated by that General in his dispatch, that he unwillingly conceded to this appointment. He wished, therefore, to know whether the Isle of France was to be considered as the King's or Company's colony, the difference in the conduct and management of the King's and Company's colonies was so strongly against the latter, that if he did not receive a satisfactory answer on this point, he must bring the subject before the House.

The Earl of Liverpool said that he had no difficulty in stating that a decision had been taken upon this point, and that it was determined that the Islands of Mauritius and Bourbon should both become the King's colonics, the Governor to act under commissions from the Prince Regent, and that those islands would be as much under the control and discretion of the Crown as any other of his Majesty's colonies in the West Indies or elsewhere.

IRISH CIRCULAR LETTER.

The Marquis of Lansdowne rose, and called the attention of their Lordships to the contents of the two letters of Mr. Secretary W. W. Pole, and Mr. Edward Hay, Secretary to the Committee of the Irish Catholics. It was not his intention to carry his observations beyond what was immediately connected with those letters. The circular letter of Mr. Pole, they had been already informed by Ministers, did not emanate from the Ministers, nor from the illustrious Person in whose hands the supreme authority had been recently lodged, but from the Irish Government alone; and emanating from them under circumstances, as he understood, which satisfied the noble Lords opposite of their discretion in resorting to such means, and that there was not time sufficient to make communications to the Government here, he certainly expected, that when he read the letter of Mr. Hay, he should see a reason for the measure; but here he was disap

pointed. But what could Ministers say for the lapse of no less than forty-three days from the period of the publication of Mr. Hay's circular to that of Mr. W. Pole? and yet up to the receipt of Mr. W. Pole's dispatches, they remained ignorant of the necessity of having recourse to any such measure. Was that letter of Hay's, then, to be considered as the real cause or not? If it were so, it should seem to have required more immediate action. Was he to believe that all the time, from the 1st of January to the 12th of February, passed without any attempt by the Government, to ascertain what was the temper of the Catholics on the subject, and whether they might not be dissuaded from assembling as proposed? He could not see how, under all the circumstances of so large and respectable (and he yet trusted, a peaceable) body like the Catholics of Ireland, the Governe ment could be justified in calling out against them a law which had been perpetually violated during thirteen years, as it was in the instances of the present Committee at Dublin, and of the Orange Lodge there; and directing powers against them, that had not for so long a time been acted upon. Would it not have been a fairer course towards a body of men, especially so situated, professing as they did a wish not to violate the law, to have given them some earlier information of the necessity of their acting strictly according to the law of the land; and not all at once, and by surprise, to arm the law against them? He was sure, that if any such communication was made, it ought to be produced. If, contrary to the opinion he entertained of the Catholics, there did exist what had been stated to be a plan for.a systematic violation of the law, and the establishment of a permanent assembly of so large a number of delegates, he should be the last to be their advocate, or to cast censures on the King's Government: but did that appear from the letter before them? He only saw a proposal for a delegation to frame a petition to Parliament on certain subjects. If there were other views, they must have been ascertained; but from what he trusted would be seen of the Catholics, if proper information were laid before them, that would not appear to be the case. Persuaded as he was that no proper previous opportunity had been taken, and convinced that it must have been most grateful to his royal highness the Prince Regent to have adopted a different course, he must ask for the production of further information. It was his decided opinion, that the Prince Regent, especially in the present circumstances of affairs, ought to hold the reins of government with

a firm and energetic hand; but it formed no part of that requisite firmness, to reject the means of kindness and of conciliation. It was not by a rash, violent, and intemperate exercise of power, that a government could be best main tained. No reasons were afforded him, that induced him to think that such conciliatory attempts had been made. If the noble Earl consented to produce farther information, but desired, for reasons of public convenience, to send it be fore a Secret Committee, he should make no objection. The noble Marquis then moved for the production of copies of all such dispatches as related to this subject, from and to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,

The Earl of Liverpool rose, and stated that he felt it to be his duty to oppose the present motion, because no sufficient grounds had been shewn for agreeing to it; and because the information already on the table was quite sufficient to answer the object of the motion made by the noble Lord the other night (Earl of Moira). That noble Lord's motion was confined to the production of a single document, and the letter of Mr. Hay was produced in consequence of a motion of his own (Earl of L.'s). He felt much difficulty at the present moment in giving farther information: but he had given them a positive record, which proved the deliberate attempt at the violation of law, and was inconsistent with a due regard to the public tranquillity. He had been mistaken when it was said, that the body of the Catholics meditated a systematic violation. He meant no such thing against that numerous and respectable body; and he was sure that the measures intended were as much against the sense of the most respectable part of the body of the Catholics, as they were against that of the Protestants, and they deprecated the adoption of them equally. He believed, in his conscience, that the majority of the Catholic body were loyal and well affected to the connection with England, and that they did not desire to be represented in the way proposed, by a few of their number. When he spoke of “ tematic attempts," he never meant-but he would repelthe application of it to the body of the Catholics. (Hear!) As to the case of the present Committee sitting in Dublin, being also a violation of the law, he would not enter into the question, whether it had been wise or not, to allow that sitting: but whether wise or unwise, he could not perceive that it was wise to overlook the attempt to carry such a meeting to so great and undefined an extent, and assuming, as it would, a new character. Were his opinions favourable to

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the total removal of the remaining disabilities to which the Catholics were subject, he should still entertain his present sentiments on this particular subject. Indeed, there was no greater grievance for the Catholics, than the existence of such a body, professing to be the representatives of all the Catholics. There had been no attempt made to prevent the right of petitioning, according to the forms of the Constitu tion but the very usage of their Lordships' House forbade the receiving of petitions except from individuals subscribing for themselves, or from bodies which had a legal corporate existence. An instance of this sort had, even recently, occurred, in the case of a petition professing to come from the Lord Mayor and the Livery of the City of London. The petitions intended to be presented by the Catholics had been already prepared and agreed to, and therefore there was no ground for meeting on that subject. Considerable inconve niences might accrue from the production of farther papers. He was not aware that any farther information was at all necessary. The letter on the table shewed clearly the intention to violate the laws, and expose to danger the public tranquillity.

Earl Grosvenor thought it right to keep clear of the merits of the question on which these proceedings had occurred; and thought the only question before them was, whether the strong steps now taken by the Irish Government could be justified. It was certainly possible that they might; but there was nothing on their table to prove it, and they could not come to such a conclusion without the advantage of farther particulars of information. Notwithstanding the recent assertions of the friends of Ministers, and the statements so often made in some of the public prints, supposed to speak the sentiments of Government, (whether truly or not, he could not tell) that Ireland was in a state of perfect tranquillity, the publication of this strong and irritating letter shewed that Ireland was very far from being in such a situation. (Hear!) After a lapse of eighteen years, he should have considered the Convention Act, passed at a disturbed period, as obsolete. At that time, Acts of considerable strictness were passed in this country, and which he believed were justified by circumstances: yet they were done away here, and he should think that the same should have taken place in Ireland. As ours were repealed, he supposed that theirs would also have been repealed by the Irish Parliament, had it continued. It was curious that Ministers should have no