Star. — London, England, 1818-06-04 00:00:00

i $ ' - ~, i .. . ... I). , i 1 I i i 0 . I 'l 1 , , i ' 1 1., 1 1 , v I ~ ir r ir , ' t It ' i ! 1 art ; . 1 I II ' ) 1 . ll { „r I i I 1 ( 1 ...-- ii ), i l 1 .. i c f I i I . *ll i I i ) . i , i ! ) ' i ! : i, 14 . . It . . . N se.eisee . -a Se le ---r ..........- . e s% • 4llAdie. It a ommemen wes .=s 4 ia justice tn. . ""'"•-• I aettlay-prohibidag them Bleat =eying the original ~,.. -a te em iabitietninaeon of that House into effect. lie then grossest injustic P e r Tic I;tti regarded the Bill, under its transmutation, as a mere and e ;viat bad t ttin * in NOWA , attention of the House to . 6 • his hand. would mocker!, and to have acquiesced in its agreement, have made that House parties to the pro- There the facts contained m e sapers he held in . was a plan called Hutchinson Estate, in titration of its own intentions —{ bear , hear.) He was the island of Sc . of which a Mr. N o . happy however, to be enabled to say, that nothing riarty was proprietor, and one Rawline i a had of those Amendments, using the express i on in a in the final Gentleman, was the Manager A slave r unßevetend Parliamentary sense, had been omitted • away from this estate, but being retakete b he_was !he state of the Bill. The measure had so far regained a portion of its prltilhe e ffi cacy and vigour —and, west day flogged, and chainisd to the bac of an oth er b slave. In this situation, chained to the other, e was th . our it was yet remote from that wholesome state -afterwards brought out to work, when .in w ich it went from that House, it still contained he fell down from exhaustion. • On this, Rawlins ordered two sufficient of what,was good in it as to induce him to accept it. It wia; however, essential to explain the drivers to flog him severely; and in three or four days afterwards he died, and was buried privately .the nature of the than which were made. The first to which he should advert was the limitation of the same evening. The circumstance , however , com in g Commissioners to one description of Charities, namely to the ears of the Magistrates, they had the body dug up, and ordered at oroner s Inquest to sit on it; those connected with education On what ground this limitation was enactedo he felt himself entirely witnesses and a Doctor were examined; it was proved at a loss to determine. It bad been generally granted, that the body was full of contusions from the flogging, indeed nothing was more manifest to the Committee two of the teeth were knocked out, the jaw broken, of that House, that abuses prevailed, not alone in &c.; and yet, with all this evidence before them, the, f the Charities connected with education, but in all Jury found a verdict of " Died by the vititation o GOD." Rawlins, however, was tried and found guilty other public Charities, of what description soever. of manslaughter, when he was fined 2qol. and sen- If then Commissioners were to be sent round the tenced to ugg h ter , three months imprisonment. Governor country for the purpose of enquiring into the appli cation of the funds of the Charities of education—W Probin had written home on this subject, in conse quence of an order from Lord Bathurst; but though they were enabled ti call for the attendance of wh ile admitted that the circumstance had caused him currents — and they could demand the production of do d prosecute inquiries into abuses as to great uneasiness, he had not thought it necessary to education—it to him very natural that they send home copies of the depositions taken before the ah tini o r ui n d g also avail themselves of the opportunity of proceeded to comment on the cruelty of this case an inquest. The Honourable and Learned Gentlemand i into other abuses admitted by all to prevail , the verdict of the Jury, and contended , that Rawlins although existing in Charitiei not connected with should either have been found guilty ofmurder o Copies education—(Hear, hear, fronrboth sides of the House.) i acquitted. He concluded with moving for of Those superior persons, however, who sat in the of legislat i on,and wh o , from their ele upper legion the Depositions taken before rho Coroner's Inquest. voted height, were better qualified to take a more Mr. MARRYATT abhorred cruelty as much as comprehensive view of human affairs, thought other any man ; but he thou ght the Honourable and wise, and struck out that part of the Bill—(hear.) — Learned Gentleman was too much in the habit of What! though the very steps these Commissioners layin immense importance on points of very narrow were to a d opt i n t h e i r i nvest i gat i on of.abuses as to foundation. He had not mentioned that part of the Education, might lead to a just suspicion of similar Governor's letter which stated, that such was the abuses in other Charities, though the scene for such abhorrence in which Rawlins's conduct was held, respective inquiries was the same, though the same that no person had since taken any notice of him. witnesses might be examined as to the application of Some of the facts had been exaggerated, for the slave the funds of the respective Charities—were they to who died had only been flogged once instead of twice, be precluded by a positive provision of law from ex by the order of Rawlins. There was no evidence of tending their research? Yes, the House must not e his having been tied down, and no cries of pain or expect those abuses to be examined. The mouth of suffering were heard ; and it was distinctly shewn by any witness about to afford evidence of such abuses, another slave, that neither the manager nor the owner must be stopped, in virtue of the Bill as it was now were present at the punishment, which was inflicted returned to that House. What! though the Commis by one of the drivers. It was well known that ne- sioners had before them the very witnesses who were gross were apt to complain of being sick when about called to afford information as to the Charities of Edu to be punished. cation, and who were capable of explaining the na- Mr.GOULBURN signified his assent to the motion. tune and extent of gross abuses in other Charities— . Mr. GRANT reprobated the conduct of Rawlins, thous', they could demand documents, which proved and observed, that there was no doubt, if the charge that Trustees of Education Funds had broken their could have been brought home to him, he would trust and were also Trustees of other Charities, and have been hanged. The Hon. Gentleman, however, therefore just objects of suspicion? Nevertheless, denied that the instrument of punishment was a cart those superior intelligences who had, elsewhere, sat whip, though commonly so called in the West Indies. Mr. W. SMITH insisted that the instrument was in judgment on the Bill, thought otherwise ; and as, from their high authority, in that period of the See. not only so called in al he eieettebes, hut that it sion, there was no appeal, he must be satisfied to take actually was a cart whip. He could pro ' -ce the the measure as it was left. In like manner a prec very instrument, and he was quite sure it would ex cite the feelings of the House. .If it had not been for tical change had taken place in the powers of the , Commissioners, as they were iwi.;4liy dirzcteu 'try the information received from private individuals the Bill to an investigation of the state of the Educe these things would never have been brought to li 1 don of Poor generally. However solicitous to obtain at all. There had been the grossest barbarities co every information on that point, the Co.nmittee of mined, about which, till instigated by individuals, t hat House were, to an extent, precluded by many Government had acted with almost criminal neglect. circumstances, over which they could no: have con :-:r. WILBERFORCE made an interesting epeeal trout. A Commission throughout the country was to the sympathy of the ttouse, imploring them to enabled to avail itself of all local means of informa consider that the unfortunate Blacks on the Islands tion—it would have supplied the deficiency which being now recognized as free men, were equally en- the Committee felt—it would have obtained the ne eded to justice and protection as ourselves. The cessary knowledge with no addition of expense. Was great misfortune of the Colonies was, that their dis- it.not a duty then to direct their exertions to such a Lance rendered it difficult to obtain the attention of desirable object? Oh no, superior minds forbad it. those interested in their welfare. After some com• You must, said they, do no such thing. You must con rnents on the cruelty e'' the case now brought for- fine your inquiry to one class of abuses—you must ward, he suggested that the Governors of the Islands, not ask one 9uestion beyond the confines of Education. as well as the Judges, should be made independent, To that decision the House must bow—some, no in order to place them above all influence or colonial doubt, from a respect to the character of those Dis connection. He said it appeared, from communica- tinguished Persons—somefrom a suf fi cient knowledge Cons he had received, that favour was shewn to this of their motives in the restriction—he himself must Rawlins even before and after his conviction, and do it from necessity—(Hear, hear.) The consequence, that he lived in jail quite at his ease, receiving friends however, of this determination must be, that the and giving them entertainments. ' House should appoint, in place of one adequate Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY, in answer to an obser- Commission, a second, and a third—(Hear, hear.`,— vation of the Honourable Member (Mr. Marryat) That reminded him of the.old fable of a man, who said. he had studiously abstained from mentioning being, to speak in legal terms, seized in fee of two the most horrible circumstances of barbarity in this cats, one of a larger size than the other, and being case, unwilling to disgust the feelings of the House ; solicitous to obtain a mode of communication through he was almost, however, provoked to enter on them, the house, made an aperture for each in proportion by the assertion of the Honourable Gentleman. It to their size. He made therefore a large hole for the was sufficient to say, that the unfortunate man, es. large cat, and a small hole for the small cat. That hausted and famished as he was, died under the blows was certainly ohtainin,,r , his object, but at an unite-, of-two drivers flogging him with cart whips, he cessary loss of time .md. labour. There was also ano being at the same time chained to another negro—. diet change in the measure which he exceedingly re (hear, hear).—Would it be said that he made out an gretted. The powers conferred originally on the aggravated case, when he now assured the House, Commissioners were not only altered and abridged, that because this ex siring victim of inhumanity, from but what the Howe would hear with astonishment, his teeth being bro en by blows, bad a little water altogether abrogated. They were directed to tra given him for whii.h he asked, it was represented verse the country, and call witnesses to attend them, that he died in consequence of having taken cold but they were to possess no power of enforcing their water ; though the surgeon who inspected the body attendance, or of demanding the production of any never even ex amined the stomach to ascertain the cause one document—(Hear, hear, from all parts of the of his dissolution.—(Hear, hear.) House.)—This to him was inexplicable. Whatever The motion was then put and carried. inference appearances might suggest, he was still EDUCATION OF THE POOR PILL. bound to believe, that it was not done for the pur- Mr. BROUGHAM brought up the Report of the pose of getting rid of the inquiry altogether. It was Committee on the Education of the Poor, which was the more inexplicable to him, when he recollected ordered to lie on the table and be printed. that the Commission of Naval Inquiry, which origi- Mr. BROUGHAM said, in rising to submit the nated with Earl St. Vincent, passed through the motion of which he had given !sake, he should House of Lords with the fullest possible powers to commence with stating to the House, that in the in- the Commissioners, and without any of the remedies terval since he last addressed them on the subject of inserted in the original Bill. In the Commission also the Bill respecting the Education of the Poor, ter- under the Irish Education Bill, which passed that tain material changes had taken place elsewhere, re- House, the fullest powers were conferred on the Coat storing in a limited degree its original vigour and missioners. One should have imagined, that similar efficiency—but so far reviving its powers as to in. power would have at least been granted under the dace him to forego that oppositionevith which it was present Bill. But as it stood then, neither the power his determination to meet it, had not the recent al- of imprisoning, nor of inflicting a fine, was allowed teration taken place—.(Hear, hear.) When he last them. The extent of their power was to go to dif-I alluded to the Bill in that House, the measure had ferent parts of the country, and call for volunteer, been rendered a mere nullity ; its essence had been evidence—(llear,hear.)—He thought teem whathad I wholly changed, and if it bad come down again been experienced, and even by the Committee of that without its recent alterations, it would have been de- House, that it could throw a little light on the na prived of every portion of its energy and usefulness. It tune of this volunteer evidence ; and on the manner would have been exhibited as a powerless instrument, in which the invitation of these Commissioners would not only without one of Chose original provisions by in most cases be met. That experience would prove which theComtnissionetswere to beenabled to execute how little likely an inquiry so restricted was to be the duties it ibmosed on them; but With provisions effectual. The Committee always found, that where- ptthlic, they were allotted to exam;,* pli e r e duals. Wry refus e to grant similar pct• present instance? One objection which had made to the present Bill was, that it Sue no krt lan, other measure by whleh it was to be follo.y, 'He had heard various objections made to tnacy One objection that he himself had to th e te ,,,„,„, — * Bill, as it came frtom the other Hcuse, was, had no penalty clause— another, dust it had toe q , 7 exempting clauses but who had eve r befo g h t ., ,—• jt objected to a Bill, th at it contained no I,i ;t .. clause—no clause stating what wa s to come aft (hear, hear!) Who had ever before heard it o b: t ... ted to a All, that it was one measure %Aunt rich The objectizna was, that the Bill •%41 a thi e ar . ,s rounded measure—a description that, b e would not apply Co some of the Bills th at ee i tt : 7.2t:i in the place in which that objection was in v i e _c la it was confined to actual enactment, and. a mtc ,,, t. template any prospective proceeding-1i1, q _ 444 it had no view to any thing . that was to core, ! ,.. the end i that it did not contain an appe n di x loth . reader, telling him what work was to come nett. A neither of the objections which had been nude as the Bill, were grounded on the confiden ce u Llea 'those who made them reposed in Courts of Law, a affording the means of correcting abuses. Ile CV. tessed that he himself had not much reliance s Courts of Law in that respect, especially wither. rence to expedition and cheapness. He allowed th,p ie Courts the possession of learning without stint. T. 4 faculty of caring nothing for the time and peiote of suitors, they enjoyed in a perfection wei:; wildest sallies of imagination could not go (hear.) —But as to expedition and cheapness, tention to the comfort of those who were see; the business of those Courts, they were qe:i.‘: which those Courts were certainly rot C.ttinz If he had previously doubted this tact, 'l* t before the Committee would have cectiete Wished it in his mind. Several COllChitq Ca , lusuation of it came under the notice of tat C tee. There was one in particular, in whi c i ; peared, from the testim my of three met churchwardens, who had devoted their fru investigation of an enormous abuse lathe pari of an income of two thousand pounds, *no a charitable purpose, not above dirty or pounds were rendered available to it—(Hear," Questions and answers to the following effect between the Committee and these indiridnal , Why did you not go into a Court of Law—the would have found a remedy ? A. We did.—Q. you go to the Court of Chancery ? A. We ted proceedings there eight rears ago.—Q. He did they continue? A. We are not cut of ti yet. The first witness examined: ih. 1,3001. costs, and have rece!ved orl) 500!. from the town." Q. Have you obtained no A. Oh, it has ruined us..—Q. Have you loth 'other erpenses heavy ? A. Oh, good God, ' thousand times wished myself out of the w has entirely ruined me.—The second witnes ned : Q. What have ys u experienced with rein ever their attention was directed, was it a College, a School, or an Hospital, theparties called before them uniformly commenced with expressing the greatest deference for tlpe character of that House—of their anxious desire,to aid the endeavours of the Commit tee; and, indeed, of their sincere thankfulness to Par liament for having directed its attention to such in+ quiries. These were uniformly the • sentimetas with which these persons set ou no doubt with an Nual claim to sincerity, as was felt by the West-India Pro prietors in the progress of another great question, but certainly not more important than the present one, the Abolition of the Slave Trade, when they expressed their heartfelt desire for investigation. Yet no sooner had these strong feelings of solicitude, escaped their lips, when as other objects of anxious desire, were either after lacing possessed, or about td be attained, but satiety begun, and the appetite for further enjoyment wholly palled. The third question pot to those persons ha I generally the effect of making tfieir anxiety to afford informaton altogether disap • .It was loin the case of the Wincliest - e - School. " Produce (said the Committee) your balance sheet of last year, and a copy of your Statutes." "No ; (was the answer) we beg leave to put in a paper."— So that just as the parties were almost in possession of-the very object which they professed to hold so deal, when they declared themselves precluded by atioath from divulging their secrets--(Heos, hear, hear.)—The Committee expressed a desire to be ac quainted with the terms in which the oath was worded. It appeared that it was not binding OS I questions of great utility, of which utility the maks. I nty of the Fellows were to be judges. It appeared, also that those statutes were produceable in a Court of Law, and the result was that the Committee obtained a view of theta. • Similar will be the obstructions with which these restricted Commissioners will have to contend in their endeavorks to elicit information from their volunteer evidence. He put it to his Right Hon. and Learned Friend, the Attorney-General, to say, and from his legal acquirements and practical acquaintance with the administration of law, no au thority can be higher, whether any thing could be more clumsy, unsatisfaLtory, and inefficient, than to leave to these Commissioners no other power to se cure their object than that of indictment against the demurrers for oppositinn to an Act of Parliament? To what then had the House to look as a security for having their object carried into Tseration ? They had it in themselves, even where the difficulty hitched ; and, seeing as they did that the original measure was so mangled—that all the powers of the Commissio ners had been altered—that, as the Bill now stood, every thing was left to the good will of those who had an interest at variance with the spirit of the in quiry—that in fact the measure, though said techni cally to be amended, was so greatly defaced, he had the fullest confidence that the powers they possessed would be exercised Hear, hear.) To that security he looked as his only hope. The Commissioners had only to proceed, and call upon witnesses. They should make reports occasionally to that House, and make returns of the names of all persons refusing to give the information required, or to produce the do cuments demaniied, without alleging any just cause. And as that House would, on its neat meeting, ap point its Committee, it would he enabled to supply tne ciericienei Which the alteration in the present Bill produced—(hear, hear, hear.) But it was not alone to fundamental alterations that the charges were li mited—they affected even the division the House of Commons had made of the, Commissioners. The Bill had originally appointed eight Commissioners, making four Boards, each as a check, a rival to the other. This principle was retained at present, but the mode of its operation was altered. The superior na ture of the minds, who, laughing to scorn the rash , ness of the original projectors, had perfected by their grave deliberations the present model of legislation, thought that the figure of S was abetter divisor than 2 into 8, and afforded a larger quotient of Boards— , (Hear, hear, hear.) Now as the crude scheme of the House of Commons was framed, you had 4 Boards of 2 each, calculated to proceed in their labours with expedition and emulation. As the Bill stood origi nally amended, as was the phrase, you had 2 Boards of S each, and 2 useless Members—(Hear, hear So much for the arithmetic of those eleva ted legisla tors, who scouted the original Bill in its rash state. It was now in its final state provided that there should be three Boards of three each, therefore a ninth Commissioner was appointed. So that on the whole the alteration gave a diviion of Commissioners with less work by one-third, and at an increased expense of one-eighth. In the original Bill, the two Univer sities and the four great Public Schools were excep ted. A proposition had been made to except Har row ; that was followed by another proposition from another quarter, to except Rugby. If that was adop ted, propositions were given notice of to except other Schools, amounting in number to almost as many Members as were present. The decision of the House put an end to that discussion, and the Bill continued with its original exceptions. In order, however, to give a statutory reprimand to that House for such a decision, it has pleased the superior minds to include not only Harrow and Rugby, but all charitable en dowments having special visitors. Now he would pledge himself to prove, that of all the Charities in which abuses exist, none were greater or grosser than in those where special visitors were appointed-7 (Hear, hear, hear!) A variety of causes concurred to produce this evil. In some instances those visitors re sided at a distance, and newer exercised their powers; in others the visitor was the patron of the School, and did not correct abuses to which his system led; in others the visitor was the heir at law of the en dower, and had rather pocket the funds than apply them to the proper purposes. Indeed he could say positively, that the grossest case of abuse that came before the Committee was of a Charity where special visitors had been appointed, and who never attended to the duties for twenty years. And though the evil was so ripe-rank as to have caught the notice of all persons in the vicinity, it never reached the ears of these special visitors till Christmas last. Here then again he had to rely on the consistency, wisdom, and vigour of that House. Let the Commissioners, report on all these demurrers, and the Committee' would follow the Report up with an intrepid search ing and unsparing Investigation—( Hear, hear.)— The powers of the Commissioners of Naval Inquiry extended to all persons in the kingdom. They were authorized to investigate, and to commit in default of satisfactory answers. Although their object was 'this case? A. It has cot me 50( I.—The ness examined : Q. Have vou suffered any t this suit? A. My heart is almost broken my nerves are s 3 shaken by the losses whicl sustained in the prosecution of the affix scarcely know what I do ; it has been the tri lons thing I ever knew—(Hear, hear).—So that instance of the advaatage of resorting to of Law—(hear, hear, hear).—S:r G. l the most estimable character, who had devoted and useful life to the advancement of allthar culated to benefit the poor, had, on the disco an abuse of a similar nature, Letai en hirrmii same cheap and expeditious teme;iy. The had already heard the general result if s he would now shew the mechanism that cause , After the necessary preliminary steps, the • put on the paper in the - Court of Chancery, ordered to stand over. Again it was put on and again it was ordered to stand over. It called on, but the Court made up its mind would not make up its mind. On a subseqr for which it was fixed, the Court with promptitude determined that it would not demise. Afterwards it came on, and the Court pronounce' on one point, but reserved its judgment on c; points. To elucidate those points the Court home the papers, ant( no more was heard of for many months. The Counsel bath for t tiff and for the Defendant then applied for j; but it was postponed to a day on which i judged. two days afterwads the same rook place. It was then decided that it be decided until another day, on which other was again decided that it should not be decide another day, on which other day it was agai Ced. It was appointed positively for rtiary, there being hut 28 days in that n. (Laughter). It was of course again deferred. then again. On a subsequent day it was This word " mentioned" was a light and a.. in that House, but in the Court of Chanters attended with fees to the Counsel, fees to fees to the short-hand writer—in shod, a was not the most unexpensive and agreeabl reeding that could befal a suitor. Some the Court acknowledged that it had k ( Hear, and laughter)—which so many n.o• it had taken home to peruse, and desired (attended with considerable expense) rnigi with the Court. On a following day It called on, and at length it was--not deo decided it was not up to the present 'nor it was referred to the Master —(Hear, heat One objection to the Bill under the consider. the House was, that it w o•ild be very espetsi had been said, that to institute an inquiry • Charities, would, in most cases, be to indi pease greater than those Charities were The rapid intellects by which this opiitioi nounced, did not perceive that the very tit was an inquiry into these small Charities; rity might appe.tr to possess but a final i Logs a year, it might in reality be of a very considerable amount. i gehist suit. which this digression had interrupts however, that the ootwse preferred by ths to the expense of the i.tquiry by Conuniuts , somewhat more expensive. It was sent out G o ; expersive Court iato another ext= Cout, the Cturt of Chancery into the ••'s Mice. • to the 2reSent Inalltela had a (LIT born am* ' ir.!:, - , take ir. 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