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1
435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
202
T.
Baring,
Sir
W.
Heathcote,
and
Mr.
H.
Drummond.
"To
this
committee,"
said
Sir
James,
"I
gladly
submit
my
personal
honour
and
my
official
conduct,
and
I
make
my
submission
without
fear."
The
committee
was
appointed
after
Mr.
Wilson
Patten's
name
had
been
substituted
for
Mr.
Drummond's,
on
account
of
the
latter
being
a
lawyer;
and
after
an
unsuccessful
attempt
to
add
Mr.
Duncombe's
name,
which
was
rejected
by
128
to
52.
Its
object
was
"to
inquire
into
the
state
of
the
law
with
respect
to
the
detaining
of
letters
in
the
General
Post-Office,
and
to
the
mode
in
which
that
power
had
been
exercised,
and
that
the
Committee
should
have
power
to
send
for
persons,
papers,
and
records,
and
to
report
the
result
of
their
inquiry
to
the
House."
A
Committee
of
the
House
of
Lords
was
appointed
at
the
same
time.
Sir
James
Graham's
examination
lasted
four
days,
when
he
fulfilled
his
pledge
to
make
a
full
and
unreserved
disclosure
of
all
he
knew.
Almost
all
the
members
of
that
and
former
Governments
were
examined.
Lord
John
Russell
confessed
to
having
done
the
same
as
Sir
James
Graham
when
he
held
the
seals
of
the
Home-Office,
though
he
had
not
used
the
power
so
frequently.
He
also
stated
that
he
supported
Mr.
Duncombe
in
his
previous
motions
for
inquiry,
because
he
thought
it
necessary
that
the
public
should
have
the
information
asked
for.
Lord
Normanby
had
used
the
power
in
Ireland
for
detecting
"low
ribbonism,
which
could
not
be
ferretted
out
by
other
means."
Lord
Tankerville
testified
to
the
existence
of
a
warrant
signed
by
Mr.
Fox
in
1782,
ordering
the
detention
and
opening
of
all
letters
addressed
to
foreign
ministers;
another,
ordering
that
all
the
letters
addressed
to
Lord
George
Gordon
should
be
opened.
Witnesses
were
also
brought
from
the
Post-Office.
Mr.
Duncombe,
on
being
asked
for
a
list
of
witnesses
to
prove
his
allegations,
refused
to
hand
in
their
names
unless
he
were
allowed
to
be
present
during
the
examination.
This
the
Committee
had
no
power
to
grant,
and
consequently
he
declined
to
proceed.
Mr.
Duncombe
appealed
to
the
House,
but
the
decision
of
the
Committee
was
confirmed.
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