Star. — London, England, 1812-01-18 00:00:00

which had been committed that the nightly *itch could not prevent, but he had not explained how any improvement in the nightly Watch Would operate as a remedy. He had not shewn that the police had not been defective. The great complaint in the mouth of every one was in the inefficiency of the police ; a nd it was the duty of the House to call on the police to shew why, after the large sums allowed to make that body an effective one, crimes had of late so greatly increased ? It was the prevailing opinion of great numbers ,that the many persons lately liberated from the hulks had been one great source of this evil. He had been willing to look with an eye of consider able distrust on such opinions ; but he had lately re ceived a great many representations from these re. ceptacles for criminals, stating, that many persons had lately been liberated, whose crimes were greater than those left behind ; and from the great.number o f those representations, he could not but suppose that there was some truth in them. There was ano ther crime, however—that of picking pockets—which had anived at an alarming degree, and could not be remedied by a nightly watch, became it was in ge neral committed in the day time. It might, how ever, be greatly lessened, if not entirely done away, by an active and vigilant police. He should therefore move as an amendment, that the Committee "should enquire into the State of the I'oiice, as well as of the Ni g htly Watch." Lord COCHI ANE said, the RensienList was the source of 0' evil, by increasing the distresses of the lower ord.:c.S'of the people, and thereby driving them to the commission if Climes. Mr. Secretary RYDER replied to the o'eservations of the last Speaker ; and added, that he had enquired into the c::ses of these lately liberated from the hulks, and received assurances that none of them had re tamed to their old habits ; but that a number of per sons who had returned from transportation had re- I sumed their former occupations ; and to this th e i n _ crease of crimes was greatly to be attributed. His Honourable and Learned Friend (Sir S. Romilly) had said, that police-officers wete not inclined to de.' tect criminals. He had made enquiry into this, and ! was n Id by a Magistrate, that he believed no such case existed ; and that if any thing of the kind could be pointed out, the cffieer IN (And be dismisses!. Sr SAMUEL. ROMILLY said, that after the' rewatels ameumed to upwards of :4.700 he believed ! the ezertiens cf the i olice.efficers had been very great , incited; so moth so, that lie was shocked to think they had even taken iip the nearest relative of the un- ! fortunate Mr. Mare; and that he had beta confined forty-eight hours on the dreadful charge of having merdered his own brother. While rewards continued in the o mmon way, he had b-en given to understand the police-reieers were rerniss in tl'eir duty ; and their exertions valid not be very n.•-e'toriou; ..rhea the temptitti - ses it were sn very large. lie was glad, however. to find th it the :intendment made by his 'Fioneurable Frien.l was likely to he agreed- te. 6ir Fll A Y.O I R le iT l obset ved, that from the jealousy whiel, he could a , t forbear to el,t,olain respect ing the meatilees of .Govet nment, he had been afraid, : that advantage would be taken of the present universal alarm, to extend the police, and stiviy then the hands of Government. Ile then proceeded to state, that the • present was an eff...etual practical question ; and that he had no doubt , :hat it was poss+le to make the system of nightly watching so comolOte as eltoge,ll. r to preclude the necessity of aey police. It was mach to be wisht.d that the good old law should be revived ; • by which it was ordered that every parish should be responslsle for its own particular safety, and should select and appoint able and accountable efficers for' its protection. He even thought that volunteers! might be used with considerable effect to the sup pression of outrages and riots. He hoped that some measures of this sort were in the contemplation el his Majesty's G3vernment, and would be alltptd towards s.ectirine: the tranquillity of the mettopelis. On the subject of the amendment of the police, he had intended himself to offer a motion ; and should probably still present one, relating to the character cat the Police Magistrates, many of whom he un derstood to he totally unfit for their situations.— The 3.2 d of the King had directed, that the Police Magistrates should be acting Magistrates in their respective counties, and should possess a qualifi cation of £lOO per year in freehold property. In order to ascertain whether the salutary regulations of this law had been observed, he should move at some future period, for a list of the names and qua lifications of the several Police Magistrates. In the mean titre, he should content himself with observ ing, that the subject in question embraced a wide and comprehensive range—and lie hoped that his Hon. and Learned Friend, .Sir Samuel Romilly, than whom tone was mere able, would move for an :nquiry into the causes of these increased and enormous atrocities, and for a revision of our criminal code—a code which, while its importance was such as to involve the lives cf millions —nay, of the whole people, was most se verely ar'. justly reprobated by our most learned *ricers, and among othen, by Sir William Black stone himself, the great commentator on English Law. The Honourable Baronet then adverted to a passage in Mr. Secretary Ryder's speech, in which that gentleman had observed, in relation to some re. ?navies of. Lord Cochrane, that he could see no con nection between the pension list and the crimes lately committed in the metropolis. The Hon. Baronet, bn the contrary, thoughtthere was a clone connection between these sebjects, for dishonesty in public men Was of a sure and powerful prevalence to undermine and de stro y t h e mora l s o f t h e nat i on at l arge ; andhe :';'oulti not hesitate to say, that the man who fed on the public moness, without merit or service, was wally dishonest seith those inferior wretches egairot whom the censures of the law were exercise . Ile toncleded by saying, that he should give his consent to tile models as amended. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ofd, that in accedinfs to the 'amendment, he begged to disclaim all idea of imputing misconduct in the case of the Police Magistracy, either as to their ap tointment in -the first instance, or with respect to !heir condect on the piesent critical occasion. He had not at first thought it necessary that the words of the motion should be enlarged, because he conceived at° be a matter of ceurse, that all necessary means of establilin,g security would be enquired into by the Commettee. An Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Aber crombie) had himself practised upon him the taceti tosness which he had imputed to him, when he sup- Posed, that he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) leolced npOn any regulation of the police as a theo retical scheme. He entettained no such idea,;— ' but he had thought, that the present qUestion might he encumbered with speculative clogs, if enquiries . were ingrafted on it relative to the state of punish ments, and the Criminal Code ; or, what was not im possible, since the Members for Westminster were on the Committee, if an investigation was instituted as to'the expedience of a reform in Parliament. On the whole, be thought that-a consideration of the means of prevention of crime, in the power of the Police, would form a very proper accession to the present enquiry. Mr. M SHERIDAN observed, that after the unpre. 1 cedent;d alarm - and terror which had overspread the metropolis for two months, the Secretary of State, ' who was the first Police Magistrate, had come down to the House with a pretended remedy ; but which, I he must say, appeared to him one of the silliest pro positions that he ever recollected to have heard.— I What ! when the most audacious burglaries—the , most atrocious massacres had been committed—the' Right Honourable Secretary proposed as a remedy, I an enquiry into the state of the nightly watch : he might as well have instituted an enquiry into the state : of the parish nurseries. The Right Honourable Se- cretary had acknowledged that each perish was in vested with a controuiing power over its own officers, the appointment and removal of whom rested solely with itself ; so that if any misconduct existed in any district, it was alone referable to the want of proper vigilance in the superintendence of that district ; and yet by the mode of proceeding now recommemled, the culprits themselves—the persons to whose remiss ness the enormities were owing—would he callei upon to advise measures proper for our future secu- I rity. He really thought such a proposition unbe- I coming the g ravity of the Right Hon. Secretary ; a gravity whic, he must confess, was maintained with great decorum on all occasions. He then proceeded , to remark, that the Secretary of State, notwithstand ing the imperious duty of his situation, had not con sulted ss ith any Magistrate, nor had had one half. hour's conversation with any Magis:ra'e of the City, I or Westminster ; nor had, for the space of a year and an hail, had any intercourse with the Gentle.; man who was at the head of the Alien-office ; and yet this Right Honourable Gentleman, so remiss,' takes cre,l:t to himself for'his present measure, and' for his teady accession to the proposed amendment. lirith respect to that amenJmeat, he must obsei ye, that it was such an enlargement of the original mo. tion, as if a whole loaf were appended to a crust; ...._o r as if, on a motion to inquire into the state of pitch and tar, in a particular dock-yerd, an amendment slteuld be added to institute an inquiry I into the coudeion, power, and discipline of Iles 1 Majesty's Navy. The Right Honourable Gentle. n em the e olisei veJ, that in the year of the 6'1,1780, ne had himself moved an inquiry into the state ofthe police of the metropolis ; and that the Duke of Nor. t:iternherland, for whom helm olessed a high respect, had answered his motion by a sort of repartee, by threatening to put lint ( r, fr. S ) and some of his friends into the v enntis-i;ei of the peace. He then stated, that the office of magistrate was frequently given away as a mere job; and defied Ministers to deny, that per sees had been placed and continued in office on such grouatis alone. He professed an esteem for such me. i gistretes as he had a personal acquaintance with, particularly Mr. Graham ; and confessed, that the Bow-street Officers were an honest and meritorious class of men. Yet he thought, that on the part of the Magistrates of Shadwell, there had been an un necessary, a wanton, and prodigal exercise of power: sn that every nun who had a tern coat or a dirty s!lit - t had been apprehended throughout the king ' dom.—( A Laugh).—They bad conceived an idea that a so: t of a Popish plot was formed, %%hid] was intended to destroy all Protestant publicans. In pur. suanceofthis, Williams wascalled an Irishman, though he (Mr. S.) saw no reason to believe it: and he was farther in!Ormed, that on this ground Anne, 7 liish t met hid been seized and confined without fiiod for 22 hours in one room ; though, indeed, the Magistrates had, on better information, ordere; them s ime re freshment, and the next morning ribught proper to apologise for their detention, and to discharge them. I He then alluded to the exposure of the dead body of I Williams. lie said he was aware that this was tender ground, yet he was bound to ray, that no popular panic, however great, could justify a departure from Cie- sti ict rule of law. At any rate, such an exhibition waereaching the mob to prey upon carcases, and to take the execution of justice into their own hands ; while, at the same time, it was calculated to cover the scandalous neglect on the part of the Magistrates. They had no sufficient conviction on which they might found the mummery of that procession,—they , had no fresh evidence,—and yet, though possessed at first of ail that testimony which had in their minds justified the in'amous exposure of his person after the suicide, they had not thought it necessary either to place a guard over his person, or to search liis poc ket:, or even to examine the room where he resided : and yet these are the men to whom a Right Hon. Gentlemen disclaims imputing the least misconduct. Mr. Sheridan then concluded by saying, be should 'vote for the amended motion. - Mr. STEPHEN thought it necessary to defend the Magistrates of Shadwell, placed as they had been in a situation peculiarly arduous, and such as, in his Imind, required candour and compassion, instead of animadversion. The alarm throughout the metro polis had been such, that not a man retired securely ito repose without barricading his own house. The exelemetions against the conduct of Magistrates were loud and general throughout the kingdom. In such ' a state of the public mind, what could the Magistrates 1 do ? Would they have been justified in disregarding I any thing short of conviction ? If they bad done so, 1 would they have secured and contributed to drive out of existeace that monster Williams ? for such, from ' the evidence, he had no hesitation in calling him.— ' Surely, it was harsh and cruel to object to this part loi e There was, indeed, one statement of tti.etilrl conduconduct.ct, which:, if true,he thought utterly indefen sible. If, as had been represented, they had pandered ito any iLiberal and Abominable prejudices which mi g ht exist against that bra v e and generous people, the Irish, they merited th e fullest reprobation; but h . eho-_ ' ped and trasted that t he stor y alluded to-atnated at there was some remissness in not merely in the hurry and press of bsiness. Xr. Ste . phen allowed, tie . placing a guard over Williams; but he was •con . ' Aimed that the most argent circumstances of suspi e;on did not appear tin after Ms death, on examina.l tion of Mrs. Vermilloe. As to the exposure of the body, he conceived it necessary to tranquillize the minds of the people in that quarter. Nor could he see any hardship in the case, that a man who had been reasonably concluded to have perpetrated the most diabolical acts, should be subject to the infit mons exhibition which the law requires in case's of suicide. He thought, therefore, that great ' ance was due to the Magistrates under these cir cumstances. He then stated, that if the sense of the House were not the other way, he should not , accede to the Amendment; as he conceived th.! mea sure of the nightly watch to be a sufficient remedy for the particular evil which the Right Honourable Secretary bad in ; and in corroboration, men tioned the circumstance of his next-door neighbonc having been robbed of plate to the amount of ,'SOO. Inquiry had been made, then it. appeared, that on the night of the burglaly, the street had been de serted of watchmen, from some silly regulation they bad ameing themselves, cf being absent two nights in the week (which they called dead nights) w4:,out being reported ; and all the watchmen had, in the foregoing instance, chosen the same night fcr aLs.fn ting elemselves. The Hon. Gentleman then con. chided his speech by a panegyric - on Sit Samuel Re- milly, with whom, though he agreed iii most points on the subject of Criminal Law, and especially as to the increa:e of crimes. Mr. M. MONTAGUE then, at s'lme length, d•,- fended the conduct of Mr. Secretary Ryd,r, and ani ma•dvcrted on Mr. Sheridan, saying, among other thing;, that he could not form an idea of the motive of that Right Hon. Gentleman's speech. Mr. SHERI DAN.— ,4 The Honourable Gentle man, who has just sat down, has repeated no lees than six times, that he cannot form an idea of the motive of my speech ; I will tell him—My motive is to do my duty to the State : and that, it seems, is a motive of which the Hon. Gentleman can form no idea.". The question n•.ts Olen put and carried, and the Members wen: named a Committee— _ Mr. Ityd , -r it C. I•rirr sir James Shaw Sir William Curtis hir.Altlermait Cuinhe Mr. Uyng Mr. Mellish Sir ! ranch Burdett I.oril Cochrane Sir Thomas urton Mr. Fl. Thornton Mr.'l i...rney I.nrd Lowther Air. Leyce.ter Mr. Sheri.l.an 21r. Abercromby Colond Wood Mr. Sttirrci Bourne Mt. Peek Mr. Robinson Mr. Frank I.lt!journed.] THE EVENI It:t; STA R. Po''' LONDON. SATURDAY, JANUAR Y 18. fiXR MAJLSII% BIRTH PAY (liept).—liu'iday at the Exclic- llcr, 1.1414644,t-India an d S ' t:Ll:ll.St 4 iftlllleS. Fur an account of the"! ii.il, I , :c. of Mr. W.% I.s li p M. P. a: the Old Bailey, this morniau, fur defrauding Sir I. tee th p:•ge. The perusal of the proceedings of last night in the Ilouse of Commons, on the subject of the State of the Police, will give much satisfaction to our Readers. It will be seen that. the sentiments of all the speakers were such as to do them the highest 11 , - now-. A true constitutional spirit seems to have dic tated the speeches which were delivered on the occa sion, and it must he gratifying to our Readers to learn, that their Representatives are alive to the uni. venal feeliegs of the nation on the subject of a reform in our Police Establishment. The Report of the Resolutions on the KING'S Household was received, and agreed to. The passengers by the Anholt Mails, the arrival of which we noticed yesterday, confirm tle intelli gence of Peace having been concluded betwe n tl.e Russians and Turks. The particulars of the action, vilich led to this termination, arc detailed in the Rus sian Court Gazette of the 9th, (old stile), uhich an swers to the 20th December, 1811. The following is the article alluded to : " ST. PETERSBURGH, DCC. 9-20, 1811. 44 The Commander-in• Chief of the Moldavian army Count G. Kovusiw, reports, that on the 26th of November the army of the Grand Vizier was sur rounded by our troops, on the left side of the Danube, and thereupon they delivered up their arms to the Russian troops, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Their Chief, the three-tailed Bashaw, CHE BAN 0c:too, and all his Offiers, are included in the number. All their artillery, consisting of 56 pieces of clnoon, together with the rest of their arms, were also given up to the conquerors. This army has lost in different attacks, in killed and wounded, upwards of 10,000 men. On first crossing the Danube, it consisted of 35,000 select troops, among which number were incorporated the whole of the Janissaries belonging to the Turkish army." The above is all that the Russian Court Gazette contains relative to the battle of the 26th of Novem ber, and not a word is said respecting the signing of preliminaries of peace ; but this circumstance, in the opinion of the Russian merchants, does not at all ail:ct the validity of the preceding intelligence to that pur port. There are many reasons why the public promul gation of peace might be deferred for a short time, but none for the sudden rise of exchange to 20,, except a certain knowledge that peace had taken plaice. DEFICIENCY OP THE CIVIL LIST.-It appears by Mr. PLACIINTAL'S statement on Thursday evening, that the Civil List has, for several y.-ars, been deh. cient in a sum, varying a nnually from £lOO,OOO to £130,000. Much blame is thrown upon the Admi• nistration for permitting this, but if the amount of the Civil List be considered, it will be found that the thing could not have been otherwise. The sum of the Civil List is 81,100,000. The Income Tax on this is just £110,000; so that it is only to the amount of the tax that the amount is deficient, How could it be otherwise ? The only wonder is, that the deft• ciency has not been greater. , . THE ARVIL • By a late decision of Government, regiments Coned at Ceuta and Tarifa are in fut.fre to be placed upon the same footing in regard to rations, as troops in garrison at Gibraltar. The following is a statement of the rites of allow. ance made to the General and Staff Officers in the several Districts in Great Britain, iu lieu of feragcl•tr their horses, for the half year. ending the 24th De. cember last, as fixed by a Circular recently issued from the Office of Military Accounts.: North Eritain - 2sed Isle cf Wight Northern 2 2 Wester., • York . 2 2 Severn P.a.tern 2 7 Nor h West Kent z. 2 4IHi me us•ex - - Y S Int.t.sa Souls West 2 6 Wednesday, a _number of fire men, belonging to the Artillery, GSth, and 5811: Regiments, were landel at Tilbury Fort and Woulwieli, from on board the London and Efinbargli Ccmp.tny's smack Pilot, Captain SANDUZSDN, from Lei. ii. Nilf 7 .l!. I.N'T.EI.I.ICT.A-C.Z. PORTnIOUIII, JANUARY 17. 2174 2 9 9 9 2 3 . 2 6 2 4 Arrived It's Majes . y's ship MAn:Nen frrin the Downs. &Red the 11F.::xls.. whit ci'nvoy for Gl rtittna ; the MARTIN for the Down: ; And C.e ItAwKv. on a cluiz..—N. 13. 'rho 1 - 11..ttmcg and c. n voy !Live brought up in Cowes Ito:tab.—Wind N. DF.AI , JANUARY 17. Sailed 11;s Majesty's sli:p SAN Domixon for Sheer ness ; and till Adventure, Cu r: f-r St. Michael's; Will and Mary, —, for Malta ; Flora, WALKKA, for Lisbon ; and the Dove, for Portsmouth.— Remain his Majesty's :,hips Monmouth, Egmont, Bellerophon, Elephant, Defiance, Bedford, Warrior, Erebus, Cordcii.t, Mosquito, F , r.vard, Strenuous, Ri naldo, Diligence,.Cmsar, and Furious. Wind N. W. SHEERNESS, JANUARY• Ariired his Majesty's ships DZSIItEr, CRESCENI*, Hu.Dl:n, and Cosswiz, Itigates ; the CALuoi•it, BAS:- Tr.acit, BERMUDA, and Cuo, sloops of war ; AOGRES. son, GUIEEIN, FLAstrit, and WHANCiLER, gun-brigs. Went out of harbour, BELLONA, 73. Sailed in search of the Si'. GEORG!: and DEFENCE, the Pitisca.s CAtio uNte, 7+, and Pv)viot slocy of war. GRAVESEND, JANUARY 17. Arrived the Thcmas and Eleaer, WntonT, from Anhoh ; l'rince Regent, COOPER, from Cork. Sailed Betsy, MeitcEß, for Malta. GREENOLK, JANUARY LI. The Neil Malcolm, MeNztEs, from Honduras for London, has not brut heard of since the 16th Sep. tember, on which day she parted from his Majesty's ship Avon, for the first American port she co u ld make, has in six feet water in her hold, and her tot e mast and bowspt it gt.ne.—The Harmony, M‘Butor, ci Hull, from Picot', pissed A betcLen on fltli inst. from wl7ence she sallA on 3d Docembtr, with the Pi otOnn an, Yu t.r., and Pomona, Mn en via., uf Abet . deen, and Cyres, Ca ).sr., of Miattrote: came thtoug% the Gut Canso in ci mpany, and patted with them on the Bth Dei ember off the coast of Newfmndland —on the 10th December, in lat. 4.6.17. N. long. 53. 40. W. spoke the 0.4 k, STEWA T, from Quebec bound to GrCellOt.k, with the loss of her bowscrit. The election for a Member to sere ! in Parliament fcr Queenhorcugh, vacant by the appointment cf . Ric:Hann Wyt.t.cst.Ev, Esq. to the 'Treasury, took place on ‘Vedutsd iy last, when Rear-Admiral R. Moutisom, Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, was duly :emitted without opp .sition. Wednesday tl:e election of a Men;ber to serve in Parliament fa- AL:hotongh;in Suffolk, took place in the Gu•ldhall of that town, w! en Jolt,/ 111.MAHoN„ Esq. n( rninate.l by Citnituts Fox CHAMPION CAM. PIGNY, Esq. wits unanimously re-elected. By the death of the Duk.. of BUMLECOII, another Blur Bitten has fallen to the disposal of the Pasxot REGENT. A Glasgow Paper of the 13th inst. alluding to this renewal t.it the East India Company's Chattel, says, " We are happy to perceive, that Govertim lit seems disposed to take up, this Session, the stale of cur foreign commerce. We trust lasting. and import ant-advantages may be the consequence; and We ate authorized to state, that Lord MaLvaut, it. a letter ' to Mr. CRAWFORD, the Chief Magistrate, alike credi table to his Lordship's candour and ability, has un dertaken the charge of presenting the Greenock. Peti tion to the House of Lords." FATAL ACCIDENT.—A servant of Mr. W. Cave's ' dish (son of Lord G. and Member for Derby) ar• rived in town yesterday with the melancholy account of the death of his master, occasioned by a fall from his buggy, when returning from a shooting party, in compa.iy with Mr. C. Cavendish, a younger brother, and Mr. Smith, bis late tutor. The horse having taken fright, Mr. Cavendish was pitched on his beau, and is supposed to have received a kick ce the same pat t, as he never spoke after the accident. A destructive fire broke out on Friday se'nnight, about ten o'clock, in one of the buildings belonging to Ribble, Forster, and Co. at their print-field, at Bonhill, near Dumbarton ; which was in a short time entirely consumed, together with the whole of the machinery, printing presses, tables, and utensils. Tuesday morning, Malcolm Wright, a Skiff's Officer, was burnt to death in his own house, West end of the Exchagge, Glasgow. It is supposed be had fallen asleep by the tire side, where he was found dead. John Keegan, Owen Adams, and Thrmas Quay. termass, have, we understand, leen committed to the gaol cf Kilmainham, charged with having traito rously and feloniously conspired against the Kiog and Government. Keegan and Adams were brought up on the 9th inst. and underwent an examination before the Magistrates of Poiice at Dublin. The Commit ee of Supply will find much more Minsky to ral.e the Ways.and Mean. FOR Tat Yawl, than the Fortunate Holders of Ticket+ and Shares in the present State Lottery will rot :yea, if they are btrig'it before Next Mobday Night, as the Drawing begins at Nine o'clock on Tuesday Morning, sod the whole L 140,000 in varied Capitals and other Prises, will be file• termiped in Twelve hours. • War MIDDLISZI WATtItWOULII,I4IdIgAItir 11 , 111111,.e. Notice is hereby given that a Special General Await, of the Cats piny of Proprietors will be ht Mat he Companl * .Onitte, Berner& street, OXiOili•ltTiet, on batatday the like) , of February nett, at 11 &Cluck in the forenoon, for the purpose of taking lotocee sideration certain matters regarding the extension of the Cow pany's Works, and the mesas which it nay be necessary to adept for that porposee.-1. Recta, Chid Clerk.