The question, that the bill be committed to-morrow, was also carried on a division: Contents, 14; Non-Contents, 6; Majority 8. land, which would decide what the law | Non-Contents, 6;-8. HOUSE OF COMMONS. COPY OF THE TREATY WITH AMERICA.] Lord Castlereagh presented, by command of the Prince Regent, the Convention between Great Britain and America, of which the following is a Copy: The Earl of Lauderdale thought that if the noble lord meant to give the House full opportunity of judging of the principle of the bill, he would not press it farther until it was printed. The bill was, on the face of it, of a nature unlike any measure ever recommended to their lordships' adoption. That a case for which a remedy was open in a court of law ought not to be interfered with by the legislature, was a principle generally acknowledged. Here the House was informed that the question was before a court in Scotland; their lordships were therefore bound to wait for the decision of that court, before they ventured to legislate in any way whatever. He was taken quite by surprise. In order that time might be afforded for printing the bill, and an opportunity given to their lordships to consider it fairly, he would move, that instead the bill be read a second time on of now, Friday next. The Earl of Harrowby urged the necessity of proceeding with the bill. The court in Scotland would decide either for or against the claims of the persons who had purchased bank stock. If the latter, no injury would be done to them by this bill: if the former, it would become the duty of their lordships to alter the law, and prevent persons from obtaining by such means rights which were more extensive than those conferred by a bill of naturalization. Their lordships divided on the question for the second reading: Contents, 14; CONVENTION between his Britannic Majesty and the United States of America. Signed at London, October 20th, 1818. His majesty the king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the United States of America, desirous to cement the good understanding which happily subsists between them, have, for that purpose, is to say, his majesty, on his part, has apnamed their respective plenipotentiaries, that pointed the right hon. Frederick John Robinson, treasurer of his majesty's navy, and president of the committee of privy council for trade and plantations; and Henry Goulburn, esq. one of his majesty's nnder secretaries of state-And the president of the United States has appointed Albert Gallatin, their envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the court of France; and minister plenipotentiary to the court of his Richard Rush, their envoy extraordinary and Britannic majesty: who, after having exchanged their respective full powers, found to be in due and proper form, have agreed to and concluded the following articles: Art. 1. Whereas differences have arisen respecting the liberty claimed by the United States, for the inhabitants thereof, to take, harbours and creeks, of his Britannic majes dry, and cure fish, on certain coasts, bays ty's dominions in America, it is agreed between the high contracting parties, that the inhabitants of the said United States shall have for ever, in common with the subjects of his Britannic majesty, the liberty to take fish of every kind, on that part of the southern coast of Newfoundland, which extends from Cape Ray to the Rameau islands, on the western the said Cape Ray to the Quirpon islands on and northern coast of Newfoundland, from the shores of the Magdalen islands, and also on the coasts, bays, harbours, and creeks, from Mount Joly, on the southern coast of Labrador, to and through the Streights of Belleisle, and thence northwardly indefinitely along the coast, without prejudice, however, to any of the exclusive rights of the Hudson's fishermen shall also have liberty, for ever, to Bay Company. And that the American dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours and creeks, of the southern part of the coast of Newfoundland hereabove de with the exception of the clause which limited its duration to four years, and excepting also, so far as the same was affected by the declaration of his majesty respecting the island of St. Helena, are hereby extended and continued in force for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the present convention, in the same manner as if all the provisions of the said convention were herein specially recited. scribed, and of the coast of Labrador; but so soon as the same, or any portion thereof, shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for the said fishermen to dry or cure fish at such portion so settled, without previous agreement for such purpose, with the inhabitants, proprietors, or possessors of the ground. And the United States hereby renounce for ever, any liberty heretofore enjoyed or claimed by the inhabitadts thereof, to take, dry, or cure fish, on or within three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks or harbours of his Britannic majesty's dominions in America, not included within the above-mentioned limits provided, however, that the American fishermen shall be admitted to enter such bays or harbours, for the purpose of shelter and of repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood, and of obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever. But they shall be under such restrictions as may be necessary to prevent their taking, drying, or curing fish therein, or in any other manner whatever abusing the privileges hereby reserved to them. Art. 2. It is agreed that a line drawn from the most north-western point of the lake of the woods, along the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, or, if the said point shall not be in the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, then that a line drawn from the said point due north or south, as the case may be, until the said line shall intersect the said parallel of north latitude, and from the point of such intersection due west along and with the said parallel, shall be the line of demarcation between the territories of his Britannic majesty and those of the United States, and that the said line shall form the southern boundary of the said territories of his Britannic majesty; and the northern boundary of the territories of the United States, from the lake of the woods to the Stony Mountains. Art. 5. Whereas it was agreed by the first article of the treaty of Ghent, that "all territory, places and possessions whatsoever, taken by either party from the other during the war, or which may be taken after the signing of this treaty, excepting only the islands hereinafter mentioned, shall be restored without delay, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any of the artillery or other public property originally captured in the said forts or places, which shall remain therein upon the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or any slaves or other private property;"-and whereas, under the aforesaid article, the United States claim for their citizens, and as their private property, the restitution of, or full compensation for, all slaves who, at the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the said treaty, were, in any territory, places, or possessions whatsoever, directed by the said treaty to be restored to the United States, but then still occupied by the British forces, whether such slaves were, at the date aforesaid, on shore, or on board any British vessel, lying in waters within the territory or jurisdiction of the United States; and whereas differences have arisen, whether, by the true intent and meaning of the aforesaid article of the treaty of Ghent, the United States are entitled to the restitution of, or full compensation for all or any slaves, as above described, the high contracting parties hereby agree to Art. 3. It is agreed, that any country that refer the said differences to some friendly somay be claimed by either party on the north-vereign or state, to be named for that purwest coast of America, westward of the Stony Mountains, shall, together with its harbours, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the present convention, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two powers: it being well understood, that this agreement is not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high contracting parties may have to any part of the said country, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of any other power or state to any part of the said country, the only object of the high contracting parties, in that respect, being to prevent disputes and differences amongst themselves. Art. 4. All the provisions of the convention "to regulate the commerce between the territories of his Britannic majesty and of the United States," concluded at London, on the 3rd day of July, in the year of our Lord 1815, pose; and the high contracting parties further engage to consider the decision of such friendly sovereign or state to be final and conclusive on all the matters referred. Art. 6. This convention, when the same shall have been duly ratified by his Britannic majesty and the president of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of their senate, and the respective ratifications mutually exchanged, shall be binding and obligatory on his majesty and on the said United States; and the ratifications shall be exchanged in six months from this date, or sooner if possible. In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have thereunto affixed the seal of their arms.Donc at London, this 20th day of October, 1818. (L. S.) FREDERICK JOHN ROBINSON. (L. S.) HENRY GOULBURN. (L. S.) ALBERT GALLATIN. (L. S.) RICHARD RUSH. On moving, that the said treaty do lie on the table, lord Castlereagh observed, that it was not intended to take the opinion of the House on the treaty itself, as a right hon. friend of his would have to submit a bill arising out of that treaty, to the consideration of parliament. BARNSTAPLE ELECTION.] The Speaker submitted to the House, that it was necessary to take some step that evening with regard to the stayed writ for Barnstaple. Upon which it was ordered, on the motion of lord Clive," That Mr. Speaker do not issue his warrant to the clerk of the crown, to make out a new writ for the electing of a burgess to serve in the present parliament for the borough of Barnstaple, in the room of sir Manasseh Masseh Lopes, bart., whose election has been determined to be void, till Tuesday, 23rd March." PENRYN BRIBERY BILL.] Sir C. Burrell brought in a bill" for the preventing of bribery and corruption in the election of members to serve in parliament for the borough of Penryn, in the county of Cornwall." The bill was read a first time, ordered to be read a second time on the 2nd of April, and to be printed. The Speaker observed, that in former cases, it had been the practice to give previous notice of the second reading of a bill to all parties concerned. In later ones, however, the practice was, to submit the matter to a select committee of the House, who directed notices to be served on such parties. In the Hindon case, the order of the House was, to disfranchise certain individuals only; which order was accordingly served upon them, and not upon the borough itself. He only stated these circumstances, in order that the House might be aware of the nature of the present proceeding; and suggested, that possibly it might be advisable to direct the returning officer to serve similar notices, or affix them on public places in Penryn. Lord Castlereagh then moved, "That a printed copy of the said bill be served upon the Portreeve of the borough of Penryn, and that he do affix notice of the day appointed for the second reading of the said bill on the doors of the Townhall and of the parish church of the said borough." Mr. Wynn did not see the absolute necessity of the step proposed, but at the same time was willing to agree to any measure that argued a jealous regard for the rights of individuals. Sir A. Piggott thought it proper that all persons whose rights might be affected by the bill should be fully apprised of its provisions. Sir C. Burrell said, he entirely concurred in the proposed proceeding; more especially, considering the loss of time which would accrue upon the serving of notices on not less than 250 individuals, residents of Penryn. The motion was then agreed to. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN INDIA.] Mr. Hume rose to submit his promised motion, for a return of papers relative to, and declaratory of, the judi cial system at present pursued in India. On a subject of so much general importance, he thought it proper to offer one or two observations, as he was anxious that the House should clearly understand the nature of that system. He should begin by declaring, that the whole of our judicial system in India had been very much misrepresented. In this country, we had been completely in the dark, as to the deplorable state of jurisprudence in India, both civil and criminal, and as to the state of the police there. The documents he should now move for, as well as other documents in his own private possession, were connected with a subject which nearly concerned the welfare of no less than from seventy to eighty millions of souls. Yet, upon these important mat ters, the public now were, as they had been for the last twenty years past, in a state of profound ignorance. Civil justice was, in fact, virtually denied to suitors; those very suitors being obliged to pay the government, on the amounts claimed by them, from 50 down to 7 and 6 per cent. This he was able to declare, not from any official documents obtained by him from the East India Company, but from their own regulations of 1814; regulations, in which the House would find with astonishment, that a fine was levied on the value sued for, decreasing as the amount increased, from 50 down to 1 per cent. That astonishment would be much increased, when he stated, that every document requisite to the progress of a suit, the citations, examinations, and depositions of witnesses, &c. were all to be written, every sheet of them, upon it. It should be remembered, that it was a system sanctioned by his name, and by the approbation of that House; and as the emanation of so great and luminous a mind, it ought at least to be approached with hesitation and respect. Of the several motions which the hon. gentleman had purposed to make, and which he had done him the honour to transmit to him some time ago, he had selected four, which he thought would be found to answer his object best; and the papers required by these even, would be so voluminous, that he was sure the day proposed for the discussion of the subject would prove to be a very distant one. stamped paper; thereby increasing these heavy expenses to an enormous total;expenses which, under the native princes, never exceeded 25 per cent on the amount claimed. This, then, was almost a virtual denial of justice altogether. The consequence of these unreasonable disbursements was, that, for years together, suitors were unable to obtain justice; and it was stated in the documents already on the table, that in the course of a long life a man could scarcely expect to see any determination of suits commenced in Asia. The consequence of all this had been, an increase of crime, enormous and such as that House was little prepared to learn. The depravity of the inhabitants of Bengal, in particular, had exceeded all bounds. He blamed no individual: it was the system under which such abuses existed, of which he complained. When the House understood that the extensive system of lord Cornwallis, enacted in 1792, prevailed in one part of India, while in another it was altered and disfigured, so that throughout those extensive dominions there was neither uniformity of law, nor uniformity in its operation, he hoped they would feel how necessary it was to consider of a remedy for such alarming evils. He should therefore move, "That there be laid before this House, copies or extracts of the reports and proceedings of the several presidencies in India, concerning the administration of justice, civil and criminal, and of the police, from 1810 to the present time." Mr. Canning said, that as the hon. gentleman's motion seemed to have been made merely for the purpose of obtaining information, he would trouble the House with a very few words. It was undoubtedly true, that much difference and controversy had existed; not as to the judicial system attempted to be introduced into India, because that was modelled upon our own, and such emendations had been engrafted upon it as local circumstances were thought to require; but as to the adaptation of that system to that particular country. Were his own opinion to be asked upon this subject, he should not, undoubtedly, draw so highly coloured a picture as the hon. gentleman had done; but he should rather say, that the benevolent intentions of lord Cornwallis had been in many instances frustrated. If some evils had flowed from that systein, he was by no means prepared to say, that no good had been effected by Lord Morpeth considered the motion as one calculated to confer the best benefit on an extended population, namely, a just administration of the law: with this benefit they were at present entirely unacquainted, and India presented a melancholy scene in consequence. It was impossible that the House should not enter into the views of the hon. mover. For himself, it was his decided opinion, that however extensive our territorial dominions in Hindostan might be-however we might have subdued faction and revolt-however we might have crushed a formidable confederacy of Mahratta princes, and now ranged those predatory and feudatory chiefs under our own banners yet our best security and our firmest empire was to be established in the affections and attachment of the native population; and those could only be acquired by making them, feel that equity and protection were the principles of our jurisprudence. Sir W. Burroughs declared, that to his own knowledge, there was no justice in India until the establishment of the regulations introduced by lord Cornwallis, whose system had his complete approbation. The diffusion of it was of course attended with difficulty, and many years must elapse before it could be exclusively in operation. Its progress, however, had been greater than could have been expected, although much impeded by a false economy in limiting the number of individuals employed in the administration of justice. He had had an opportunity, during a residence of 21 years of witnessing the improvement which the system had made in the character of the natives, and the inducements which it held out to the inhabitants of the neighbouring states to emigrate to the British dominions. As to the system of police, it was dreadful. The population of Calcutta was estimated hon. member, that it was not the first time at from 750,000 to 800,000 souls; con- the subject had been under consideration; sisting of Hindoos, Mahommedans, Ma- it might be called the daily food of those Jays, Chinese, Jews, Europeans, Arabs, whose duty it was to superintend the po &c. whose occupations were as va lice, and to improve the internal condition rious as their description. To keep so of our East India provinces. But a conmotley a groupe in order, certainly re- troversy did still subsist between very quired much vigilance; but great oppres- able men, whether the system of British sion was frequently exercised. Persons, jurisprudence, which had been transplantafter apprehension, were sometimes kept ed there with the best intentions, was in custody for months together, without adapted to the wants, the habits, and the examination. Some even died in prison interests of the natives. With his limited before the time for their examination experience, he could scarcely say what arrived. He knew an instance of a young was the inclination of his own mind reMalay female, not twenty years of age, specting it; much less could he, although who was sent by a magistrate to the town it had been the subject of his anxious guard, where she remained many weeks: study, express a confident opinion, where and when eventually liberated, it appeared there was the authority of lord Cornwallis that no information had been given on one side, and that of a distinguished against her. In fact, the abuses in the successor on the other. But if equally police both at Calcutta, and in the neigh-balanced in other respects, still it was bouring districts were numerous, flagrant, and abominable. Mr. Hume expressed his concurrence in the selection from his motions made by the right hon. the president of the board of control. Adverting to what had just fallen from the learned gentleman, he observed, that if there was one evil in India which required correction more than another, it was the state of the police. Many months often elapsed before persons who were apprehended were brought to an examination; during which time they were kept in crowded prisons, where death frequently overtook them. The whole system of the Bengal police was carried on by hired spies, the heads of bands of robbers, who were admitted king's evidence. So far from there being any economy in the judicial department, the administration of justice on the whole of Europe did not cost so much as the administration of justice in the British dominions in India. He congratulated the House and the public, on the recent publication of Mr. Mill, which contained so many accurate statements and so much clear reasoning, that it could not fail to be eminently beneficial. Mr. Hutchinson dwelt emphatically on the importance of India, and on the wretched state of the police and administration of justice in that country; and impressed on the other members of his majesty's government, the expediency of taking measures forthwith, to bring the natives of that country out of the state of wretchedness in which they were plunged. Mr. Canning said, he could assure the evident that the latter had the advantage of experience to set against the prospective benevolence with which the system was introduced. Under the chief-justiceship of sir E. East, however, many difficulties in practice had been removed, and some points of difference set at rest. He did not apprehend that the subject would be ripe for being referred to a committee during the present session, but he looked forward with hope that it would be in a fit state for consideration in the course of the next. The motion was agreed to, as were also the following for, 1. "Copies or Extracts of the Dispatches from the court of Directors of the East India Company to the several Presidencies in India, concerning the administration of justice, civil and criminal, and of the police, from 1810 to the present_time. 2. Account of the Expense of the Police and judicial establishments in Bengal, Behar, Orissa, and Benares, in the year 1792, and in the year 1818, or the latest year, to which it can be made up. 3. Amount of the judicial Charges in India at the three Presidencies of Bengal, Fort St. George, and Bombay, in the year 1818, or for the latest year for which the same can be made up, distinguishing the principal heads of charge, and the expenses of his majesty's courts." |