Star. — London, England, 1822-06-05 00:00:00

bear the constrnctit* of beiatialiamtliatory it by the Noble Marquis, and pc such intention. •He that he should. continue Inc as, even at the risk laugh).-;lle ßeinrmers. The yeonii Airy be himself was a convert tu the doctrrae (A laugh).—That House • interest in it before justice try. He would agree Reform brought forward by a (Russell), ever that motion again came before the Hone; he ivotr!d vote for it. He hoped, however, the Noble :!tlarcpris would not accuse him of being inflamma try, Although he did wear a white hat! The. Marquis of LONDONDERRY had only to charce the Hon. Baronet with having unduly eze cuze.i his own intentions. With reference to the re peated assertions, that iewas only at thb instance of j:e other side that taxes had been taken Off, he begged to remind the House, that they commenced at Easter to state their plans for the remission of taxation, thus taking the earliest moment that the pressure of public business afforded.—The Petition was then read, and ordered to be printed. POSTMASTER-GEN/MAL, SCOTLAND. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER wished to know if the Hon. and gallant Member opposite (Sir R. Fergusson), whose motion relative to the Post ina,!er-General of Scotland stood for that night, wo :i:J consent to postpone his motion until the result of the examination of the Commissioners of Inquiry into that, as well as other subjects, was known ? Sir R. FERGUSSON yielded a ready acquiescence to any suggestion from the Right Hon. Gentleman, the 'more so on the present occasion, as be was satis fied that any investigation on the subject must lead to a discovery that the situation was a perfect sine cure.—The notice of motion was then withdrawn. prisoninent. In looking at the small numberof crimes, It should also be considered that Franc* had been twice invaded ; and that' her army, with all their im puted habits of rapine and plunder, bad been dis banded, and spread over her territory. Was that stare of things to be ascribed to the excellence of her Criminal Code ? There was a strong presumption, that there was something in the one system that had a tendency to check, and in the other to promote crimes. The French law was also meant to be exe cuted, which the other was not. He should now proceed to the second branch of his Resolution.- -If they wished to make an informer less odious let him not conduct to the gallows—(F/ear, hear). The natural honesty and virtue of the - cemnsunity would lead to the fair detection of crime. He was one of those who thought that limited transportation was necessary in the case of an absolutely irreclaim able offender, or where a man has lost his character, and can only recover it in a new colony and a new world. At the same time he must say, that our mode 'of colonizing New South Wales (because we had not established, in the first place, a proper and well-re gulated population) was very defective. There never could be any just classification of prisoners, until they gave the punishment of death only for the most enor mous offences. He defended the Prison Committee from the charge of wishing to inspect prisons, and to make them places of indulgence, instead of places of punishment. He eulogized the conduct and chat ity of those females, of the purest morals, whq visited the impure of their own sex, and brought them back to virtue with more delight than the worldly villain first had in drawing them from the paths of virtue. But our Criminal Laws met, and defeated all labours of virtue, for the forging of a Bank -note, the cutting down of a tree, or the stealing to the amount of 40s. were all punishable with death. He had trespassed too long on the attention of the House, but he trusted not without having succeeded in establishing the po sition—that undue an 4 undistinguishing severity was the worst rneans_of repressing crime. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman concluded, amidst cheers from both sides, by submitting his Resolution, which was to the following effect: " That this House will, at an early period in the next Session of Parliament, take into their most serious consideration the means of giving greater efficiency to the Criminal Law, by abating the present undue rigour of punishment; by improving the state of the Police, and by establishing a system of transportation and impritonment, which shall be more effective for the purposes of example and the amendment of offenders." The ATTORNEY-GENERAL would not follow the Hon. and Learned Gentleman through so many topics, which he had treated N‘ith somuch eloquence. He was no more an advocate for capital punishment than his Hon. and Learned Friend ; but he would not agree to do away with them, when he was convinced that the state and property of society requfred them. He could not agree either to this motion, which tended to no practical measure during the present Session, but which would bring the whole Criminal Law of the country into contempt. He thought the House would not agree to a motion of this kind, which went to a revision of the Criminal Law, when they could not be followed by any practical measure in the present Session. His Hon. and Learned Friend admitted, that in some cases capital punishments ought to be allowed to remain as they were; but it must -also be well known to all, that in many cases capital punishments were annexed to an offence, though in few instances the utmost punishment of the law follows, except in very aggravated cases. He chewed that very few of those convicted were exe cuted. Was the House prepared to receive the Law and Police of France under the Code Napo leon? Unless they were, they must introduce a new Criminal Law, which would be far more diffi cult to be understood than our present Criminal Law. He attributed the excellence given to the Code Na poleon to the Police which accompanied it; but that system of Police would not do for this country.— When a Committee was now sitting on the Police, he thought the House would not adopt a motion of this. nature. The Committee up stairs was considering the best mode of causing a strengthening of the Police. His great objection to the motion was, that it would increase, and, in fact, render more severe, the num ber of our punishments. By the adoption of this mo tion they would bring the criminal law and its ad ministrators into contempt. He believed that capital punishments were not more frequently put in execu tion than was absolutely necessary. He concluded by moving the previous question on the motion of his Hon. and Learned Friend. Mr. F. BUXTON would not have said a word after the powerful speech of his Hon. and Learned Friend, if it had not been that he touched upon other matters than the question of capital offences. However, he would say that there were wonderful chances in fa vour of the men who were tried for capital offences over those that were tried for minor offences. Ten years ago the transporting to Botany Bay was stated by Lords Liverpool, Sidmouth, and Ellenborough, to be of no efficacy at all, because persons wished to be carried to that delightful climate; yet for ten years they had been offering a boon for the commission of crime. He read a letter from a convict at Botany Bay, which was private and confidential, to his wife —(af laugh).—lt stated, that there were two crops in the year, that grapes lay in loads on the rocks, and the peaches ran wild in the fields—(Another laugli)— and he concluded by saying that he had always a pound iu his pocket, and that his committing a capi tal felony was the best day's work he ever did. The Emperor Charles V. had his code Carolina, by which he punished almost all crimes with the utmost seve rity; and, the death of the criminal was rendered as lingering and as cruel as possible. The consequence was, that they soon wanted informers, witnesses, pro• secutors, and Judges. Such was the case with the severity of our Criminal Code. For this reason be would vote fur the Resolution of his Honourable and 'Learned Friend. Mr. W. COURTENAY should concur with the Honors W.. namely,' tiseadostioo inishnienti. Secretary PEEL' iris fritpOto se Ai* tb • tide with the Moth Maier Of Oh Resolution on mini points, eaps c ho r in polio . * &tribute of approbation - to those who bad la boured bringing -i!bout what• wax denominated prison discipline. An idea had goub abroad, that the object of then individuals was to make, a prison a_ place of luxury; but the fact was just the reverse. Their °Sete svas-tO introduce imprbrement in prison discipline, without which no improvement I could be made in the. system. He was anxious to have this subject considered at the e ar li est opportue nity, and sho u ld on Friday bring in a Bill on the subject! He could not, therefore, agree to a Resolution which went to postpone inquiry to next Session. On the subject of transportatioo v he was•persuaded delay till next Session mighttake place; but on that of a more vigorous Police, be entirely agreed with the Hon; Gentleman,. tliat much good might be derived from it. He thought a'vigilant and effective Police might be . established in the metropolis, without at all in. fringit* the liberty oPthe-subject. As to transpor tenon, it had been suggested that convicts might be sent to the Colonies. He should submit that the ex. periment might be tried, by sending a number of convicts to Bermuda, to be there placed - under restrainti as on board the hulks in this country, and employed for a certain time •on the public works. He could not agree to a Resolution which went to run down the system generally, yet suffer nine or ten months to pass over without proposing any remedy. Rather than do this he would propoie an immediate consi deration of the subject, and an inquiry as to how far the system was capable of amendment. Mr. T. WILSON thought as the subject Was to be taken into consideration on Friday, the present mo tion was unnecessary. Mr. C. WYNN rose, amidst loud cries of Quesiion, and declared his conviction that a revision of the system was necessary, but submitted . to his - ions and Learned Friend, that after the notice which had been given for Friday, it wouldbe desirable he should withdraw his present motion. Sir J. MACKINTOSH expressed his readiness to withdraw the latter part of his Resolution, which re lated to prison discipline, but thought the first pa?t should stand, and on the Resolution so 'altered he would take the sense of the House. The gallery was then cleared for a division—. For the Resolution - - - 147 For the previous queition - 101 Majority for the Resolution - —l6 NAVIGATION 311. r.. When strangers were ►gain admitted, Mr. Roulivr sox was objecting to the going into a consideration of the Navigation Bill at so late an hour.—(There was a general cry of " Go on.") The Order of the Day for the third reading of the Bill was then read. .. Mr. DAVENPORT rose to oppose the third reading of the Bill. The piamoters of this measure had acted on erroneous principles. If their object was to increase the Revenue, it would entirely fail, as the only effect would be to increase smuggling. There was one clause in the Bill also which would go utterly to ruin an industrious class of persons, the silk throwsters, and would instantly threw thousands out of employ. The Bill would at once overturn those laws which the wisdom of our ancestors had established, and under which this country had risen to eminence and riches. Under these circumstances, he should move, that instead of now, the Bill should be read a third time this day six months. Mr. ROBERTSON opposed the Bill; the provi sions in which, he said, would operate to the ruin of our Levant trade, as all foreigners would, in conse quence of the low price at which they could build their ships, undersell us. Another evil which wotild result from passing this Bill would be, the ruin of our coasting trade, and we should be reduced to feed on sour-crout and soup-meagre. If the Bill passed, in a few years the whole trade of Europe would be con fined to the shores of Holland and France; and all these sacrifices we should make to set an example to foreign States, which no foreign State would follow. Would Russia follow our example, who, in return for our boon of the Timber Duties, had laid a duty on our Sugar, and endeavoured to confine all trade to one of her own ports ? France, and other States would follow her example, and not ours. They would pro ' sect their own shipping, though we should desert ours; for this reason he should second the Amendment. Sir W. D. CRESPIGNY was decidedly opposed to the Bill. Mr. LENNA RD said, there was a clause in the Bill allowing the South American States to trade with us; but he begged to remark, that there was no regular recognition of those States, a circumstance which must be productive of great inconvenience. He thought we should follow the example of the United States, and recognize the South American States without further delay. Unless some step was taken by Government on this subject, he would call the attention of Parliament to it at an early day. Mr. LITTLETON thought the Bill should be read a third time, and then to take up the question of Thrown Silk, on the motion that the Bill do pass. Sir M. RIDLEY opposed the Bill, on the grounds that its provisions would be ruinous to the shipping interests of this country, by destroying our carrying trade. We must recollect that we were now about to pass a Bill, giving a boon to foreign States, which, however it might afterwards be found to injure our; trade, they would not willingly give up again. Mr. WALLACE shortly replied to the different objections made to the Bill. In those countries where the ships were so cheap, still the English sbipping was preferred. With respect to the silk trade, much exag geration had been practised ; and no trade required more protection than the trade in silk. Sir J. BOUGHEY stated that he should ♦ote against the amendment. Mr. CANNING thought that much credit was due to his Right Hou. Friend for eudeavouring .to recon . filakidg Abe/ 0 ,41,01 t, hiTti .its. iiii ..ity whitesietWill4,oll4okinsitimp. dad ,de .ewe benefit;glid Nehilleillilitiel46l646l -- 1114:: land. fie•shouldo thkreforfit,,ttiaiitifkift'Weig Mr. AGE6iTOkiheitiglit theemanemailtraitsitiet giosenti • *4 of employiwnt. , _ .: , :, ~ . .: . Kr:DICK g/iIgCM thoaglit dii rotted= ot the titti Ai Nevraceeeeirageivraliestitc. ~ • MO. RlCAUDOthsieftet the NO lion: iisdernoo fertile d introgiseed, at bids- diettid • hada he snitpoet. T.' Linn BRIDG bad Mord hero atookihmom es: lidooed at the *IV No cr tine Wield be exile *Woody dint Illot we had arrived at our ',resod . mate in Oppooltion td iiii oPlogonvof opt satestors.aessiThe House thee diehledai. • . ;is - For the Motion 6 6 ;* .47 Against it : ... . . MI ir _..- ' " • - tisie• U. rilt : .9; The iiin was then read a third dine, end poised. • • • The other Orders of the lit Wile then gone tbrougii; iiiii the Heels adjourned at HaiNiast Two e'Cloeld i i pat • - • sl,•• . \ . • 1 • '*. i. .` " ' -'• - • 0 - i v s 1 10 4 - . - , 0 . , - • . . . ' - . . • f bein t ialialnlna tC 4 7 Put ti pob been ffehle,jlChitatimilmht piiiiiciplei, gip {: ' ' 4. ...' ~ . Alieidiii ' k.• ' • '' • s, and he was sure that he hid , , maul* 'if °lle sr - whiell-ho-as present declined naming; . . . , • „A . - - g * . t. i 1 1 2 . 4- '. Itit ' :ltil'r- ' l e i ~l e t• - --,*- le begged, • tier, to *ate, of sit o le o. ariillo,,,,vhi r , Near). I I medt :— .7.**--, :p 7 b i L l s od ... ," , ..„,....174_06 4 •11.___,. ..-, .. . -,_ ...,-...„ - . 3e diurnally to *row his send - TM P l4Bbe ' lutes ef:Frailie,' who fell be- : mead lr. _ lg . '.' lik • dirk t '- ' - Mr- m:WaSiti. - thikiiik #t.wHosta , - , teibei fof 1 11 n • . . * - ' fe ti l , el* Wow? if thi nill shOtild Mt phi tit pitting; '". * r •• ' 's • . of offending the Noble Mar- catbklie ad fintlseflleiendi undisrstad the genius Of lieted , : 1, .' - 'll* . . : ' a whole conotry had become • stripiest his assent to the reformat* dale Penal entering H r,clittt i ice& - *I ofpjecnif oblttgh kkeild ncitiliei l e iv. , • ~ ~ , . ,', , nanry were Reformers ; and Cede. In the!Cede of England the number of ca. this moth*: Heat tititillielhithiWthr+Abinl*siettaie NA MillgUit dtdi gOt tet thevatejtr foe fisalihig . '• ' trt to. thidectriise of Reform-1. pitid Motes was 220, while in that of France it was with the preeessimeglepresniid Iliad**. ale MO* igearebnib lit taut listillt bid blion,sti, _eope- se wanted more of the landed only six. From 1811 to 1821 these bad been no in- whiell his Bleyorosebte• irk =lbo e d Pereia hak iti 81111114 altiragllllobll3h• sb dotal ibliellk, ice could be done to the cow l - grew afcapital punishments in France, while in this view, nam*,Aisp . Af-the Reitisbar of .-gApPeiliniekii-4 li• hoPetak gisedasente ein such a Reform as that country the number had been trebled. In the king- i tal punishmenta: . -liiits buts hi did.* endetitied tint Noble Lord (Russell), and if does of France four-fifths of the. punishments were irn- 1 Mr- Secretary PEEt.; ids totpoivio its Ali* tb epics; hicerstatv which ettwaskellemaiskm..sissak , • i came before the Hoosp_ hp nrier.......... T.. 1--i_f_ - _- -1. •• - CRIMINAL CODE. Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH rose to call the at tention of the House to the subject of the Criminal Law. Although the subject was of the utmost I ,s -ranee to the community at lase, yet, as it touched concerns of no particular class of men, it could not be so interesting as many of the debates in that House were. At the same time, he was animated by the number of Petitions that had been presented, and the general feeling that had been manifested in favour ci the Bill. But be did not expect that any measure I could be adopted this Session. He should therefore ropose a Resolution, which, in the next Session, would pledge the House to an inquiry into the Cri rrinal Law, for the purpose of lessening the number caisital punishments, and of making imprisonment and transportation more effectual punishment. He precedents of high authority in his favour, parti cularly in the case of the African Slave Trade; when a similar Resolution had been proposed by Mr. Fox. It was his wish to obtain the assent of the House to a Resolution that mitigation of punishment would give additional efficacy to the Laws ; that had ap peared in the case of the Revenue Laws, and of frau dulent baakrup:cies. The principle had been recog eized, where the ilouse, in the case of shoplifting, had raised the sum that constituted a capital felony from Sc. to .Cl 5. A Committee had • been appointed to esamine evidence as to the principle ; and the sense of the House had appeared clearly against that of the King's Ministers. The deliberate sense of the House I• id been, that capital punishments should be lessened. To that. the first part of his Resolution referred. The second part would refer to secondary punishments, as a leading step to lmening the number of capital was to make secondary punishments more effectual. Bat. 1.1 this case the burden of proof lay with those who contended tor the necessity of capital punish menv, which necessity alone could justify. For the Let century and a half the law of England had been at vat LiaCe with the feelings of mankind. But, of ten iondemned to death, scarcely one suffered contrary to the practice all nations, whether barbarous or civilized. But ingenious men would always be found to defend paradoxical opinions with a zeal frequently greater than was produced by a reverence for truth. The late Mr. Wyndham, and Dr. Paley, had been the most zealous and able defendants of the established Law. To the common place eulogiums of lawyers, he attached but little weight, as the same panegyrics had been lavished en the law when it was wholly un worthy of them. When nothing was more common than the burning of witches at every Assize, Serjeant Hawkins, in his Pleas of the Crown, had pronounced the most animated eulogium on the Law of England. I:othing had been more ridiculed than a scale of punishments cornniensurate to crimes; but that prin ciple had been clearly recognized in Magna Charts, a document which, though superannuated, he trusted would not shock the ears of the House. It was there stated that " Li6 er homo"—(The House were aware that most of the punishments then inflicted consisted of fines)—" Liber homo amercet pro pa)vo della° se eundum modum delicti, et pro magno della° secsrndum magnitudinem delicti, salvo contentment° suo villanus ctiam esdem 'nod° ame? cet salvo waynagio suo." Here, tnen, it was seen that the protection designed to he af forded by Magna Charta extended to the very slaves. The Barons of the 13th century could not have fore o_:en that a Judge of the 19th could have put a man to death for cutting down a tree. In the time of Sir :.1. Hales the English law was remarkable for leaving I. , :i.hing to the discretion of the Judge, while, in the I:te:ent day, after a lapse of 150 years, in no country. V; As so much left to his discretion. Between the years 1.:09 and 1817 the capital convictions had been Trebled, and that fact alone was a strong presumption against a system that had generated so rapid an in crease of crimes. Much had been truly said in the Petitions to the House on the tendency of severe puni.:hinents to produce impunity. Punishments' esteemed infamous, had, in many cases, from the de pendence of penal law on moral feeling, been occa tions of horror. An excessive severity of law had a tendency to bring the law itself into contempt : a band of thieves leagued against the institutions of society, expected a certain number of deaths in the course of their campaign, and were no more deterred by it than an army would be by the loss of lives in a regular conflict. In 1796 Mr. Serjeant Adair,who !lad been twenty years Recorder of London, declared in his place in that House, that the punishment of death was too common, and that it should be cork fined to murder and treason. In every country,whe ther more or less 'enlightened, reformation of the Venal Code, and au equality of religious sects, had , . TWA AVVIOR OP WAERLEY AND ALLAN CUNNIIVOIIAAL , in the 'introduction to the Fortunes e foOnd the following very curious passage concerning a living Poet.. The Author of Wavetky is conversing with his friend . Captaii Clutterbuck on popular Li terattirii - - _ C.apiairs *mad you change.rmr style, I kill advise a Volume of Dramas,- like Lord Byron'i. • Jfuther of Wereriey.—N No, his Lordship is a cut 'bah ils- I won't run my horse against his if I can help myself. But there is my friend Allan has just written stick a play as I might vnits myself in a very sunny day,. and with one of - &makes eaten patent pens, I cannot make neat stork without such appurtoi Captaits'aniterfolict—€ l Do Ton mean Allan Ramsay? • A u thor of Witerfey- 4 • ikfo,•nbr Barbara Allan either; !Meth Allan Osnniothans, who-has just published his Tragedy of AV liferwsoduke Marina, full of merry-making and murdering— kissing and cuttinrof throats, and passages which lead to no. thing—and which are very-pretty passages for all that. Not it glimpse of probability is there about the plot, but so much ani mation in particular passages, and such a vein of poetty through the whole, as I dearly-wish I could infuse into my culinary re. mains, should I ever be tempted to publish them. With a po.. pular impress, people would read and admire the beauties of Allan, as his, they may perhaps only note his defects, or what is worse, not note him at all. But never mind them, honest Allan, you are a 'credit to Caledonia for all that: T here aro lipoid lyrical effusions of his, too, you would do well tveado Captain. It's Hame and it's Ha m e' is equal to Burns.' THE' KING'S PRINTER. We copy from the Museum, N 0.6, the following r just and elegant eulogium on a Gentleman who i• an ornament not only to his profession but to society at_Aarge ‘‘ Mr. Aunaxw Sisauww, the King's Printer—and well dote he merit that honour. I protest that I have no words for the expression of my admiration of the bravery of heart and purse of this all-powerful Printer—fhe Christopher Barker of Mau. beth's time revived—and in praise of whom I really think the gallant author of the Biktiographical,Decanteron has been somewhat stint and squeamish. Don't talk to me, Sir, of his 'town and eosin. try establishments—of presses, foremen, compositors, and sp. prentices:' anybody who has his velvet breeches pocket well wadded with sovereigns can have all this pomp and circuits. stance' of the Printer's craft : my admiration of Mr. S. arises from the dispersion of these sovereigns, and not from theirreten• tion. You will readily anticipate to what I allude—his noble munificence in a donation of 1,0001. to the Literary Fund; of which the last Numbir of the Museum made brief mention in the concluding paragraph of its account of the Anniversary Pet• rival of that Institution. Now Ido say, that let the means of Mr. S. be as mighty as they may—such a donation does honour to the age, as well as to the individual ; for I have more than one wealthy brother printer in my eye, who, although their presses have been put in motion by literary men, and their pecuniary treasures have overflowed in consequence, have never given a dolt to the Institution in question. I look therefore on the con duet of Mr. S. as not only great in itself, but as likely to be great in its results; and I do trust that ere the recurrence of the next anniversary festival, there will be a general and an efficient imitation of the Royal Printer's example. " The records of literature have nothing in them worthier of being' recorded—from the time of grille-bearded Gutemberg, to that of Sitten-haired Baskerville ; and it'does one's heart good to find that, in thii instance at least, the love of money does not nerease with the acquisition of-it. Mr. S. will want no hop• pillow as a provocative of slumber, trom the operation of any uncomfortssblifeeling, as long as he acts thus; and his name and his worth will be recorded by pees snore able to do them justice than that of—P. Pvicsrairn. • . • • " P.S. The .ink, with which the above was written, had scarcely dried, when the friend to • whom rest it—in order that he might detect blunders. if any-feeclaimed, but this is the amid act of similar munificence done by that . Royal Printer. He had bequeathed £looo . to poor Joianernen Printers; but, knowing the - pressure of the times; and willing to pia the fax proceeds of a tax of ten per cent.on "stkh a legacy into the pockets of the 'tarries workmemhe run his pen through tbe be quest, and gave them the money in hard cash t in other words, gave £lOOO to a fund for the support of these poor sons of Cax ton. Bravo, thou generous spirit! —and long may thy villa be washed by the waves of Father Thanies, and long may thy goblets sparkle with ruby-tinted Burgundy, and opal-hued Cham pagne ! Such conduct is grace before, at, and after, meals.* The Loin; MAYOR held a • Conn of Aldermen yesterday at Guildhall, when the following Gentlemen were pot in nomina tion for Sheriff. • _ A. Spottiswoode, Esq. statique, J. G. Booth, Feq. cooper • T. Gardener, En. stationer. T. Fans field, Esq. ianholdee Wm. Gosling, Esq. stationer. H.*FelloW, Esq. patten-makeql H. ledbrook, Esq. grocer t It. H. Sparks, F.sq. merchant.. IF. Hodgson, Esq. brewer taylor The Volume called the flundred Wonders f the World, which, with its 100 gngravings, is sold at half-a-guinea, may be regarded as one of the most successful books ever published. Thirty thousand of Burke's Reflections Is the largest sale on re. cord of. a . book at 6s.—but of. the Wonders of the World, above 40,000 have been sold in five years, and yet the annual circulation increases. Its counter. part, the Wonders of the Heavens, has been scarcely less successful, several thousands having been sold within the first year. Of course, the useful knowledge circulated by means of these two volumes, must have the best effects on the community. A ~~~