The National Register. — London, England, 1816-09-16 00:00:00

Il k • j* -4 No. 449.—V0L. I X. roLITWAL DisQUisiTioN. REPORT of the POLICE: of Me METROPOLIS. THE pages of the newspapers for the last week, and the minds of their readers, have been occupied with the printed Report of the Police of the Metropolis. In truth a more interesting volume was never pub lished ; it puts us la possession of facts, substantiated by the best evidence, which come home to the bosoms of persons of every rank and station ; it conies home to our very doors; and we seem to be individually interested in the important disclosures made. That these disclosures raust lead to legislative discussion and interference, there can be no doubt ;—the evils they pourtray, and the de fbets they exhibit, arc of too great magnitude to be passed over in silence; it will become the imperative duty of Parliament, at its meeting, to investigate the subject in all its bearings, and to find out a remedy for the mischiefs complained of, either by a radical reform and new modelling of' the police establishment, or by such a judicious amendment in. the faulty parts of its structure, as shall redeem it in the eyes of the country from the stigma and opprobrium under which it now justly labours. We allude particularly to the two lead ing grievances which have been lately so fully developed in the evidence before the Committee, that of the effect produced by Parliamentary Rewards, and the present • mode of Licensing Public-houses. If any further testi muny were wanting to establish the faulty system of the former, it has been amply supplied by what has tran spired on the examination of the late conspirators. It cannot, indeed, be denied that legislative rewards have the effect of exciting vigilltn2e on the part of officers when the reward is considerable ; but since human nature is frail and fallible, the temptation to strain every nerve to obtain conviction is sometimes (as has recently been found to be the case) the parent of the blackest crimes, even amounting to a conspiracy to swear -away the life of a fellow creature. This system of blood money, as it is called, renders the evidence of officers, who have a direct interest in the evidence they give, al ways suspicious to the jury, and has been even justly objected to as militating against one of the first prin ciples in our system of jurisprudence—lt has, indeed, lately disclosed (as in the ease of Vaughan and others) such monstrous iniquity as must in future bring the tes timony of witnesses so circumstanced into discredit. The most sensible and judicious magistri. tes have lamented that no fund has hitherto been raised, or power given to grant rewards to officers performing meritorious services, If Magistrates had a power, to a certain extent, to reward officers who were vigilant and successful in detecting and apprehending offenders, and to murk those who were not attentive to their duty, by depriving them of such pecu niary benefits; it would prevent altogether the necesity of the evil complained of ; and the odious name of Mood- Aonell, and the still met , : odious stigma attached to it, might be removed altogether. As long as the nature of man is what it is, officers will be naturally more anxious to obtain conviction when they are to gain a great ad vantage by it, than whun the advantage is less, or there is: none at all. This. therefore. i:: an unanswerable ar gument against the pc sent system of p irliamentary re wards. But we have only room to glance at this part of the Report. The next most important point in it, is that relating to the Licensing of Public-houses ; and we sincerely hope, that the present system will be totally ehan:*ed. It is in evidence before the Committee, that the greatest abuses exist in the licensing public houses: instead of the character of the applicants being person ally enquired into by the licensing Magistrates, the Avhole affair is in too many instances made a compleat parish job, and a race is often rt:n between the owner of the house to he licensed, and the fiirnishing Brewer. Nothing can be more diTraceful than the evidence given on this subject • the signatures of the churchwardens and overseers, as required by the act, are made meet alio nail Mt t itittr. Our Zing, Ooncitittitton anb UAW-. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1816. matters of form. Mr. Hanbury, or some other greet brewer, has influence enough in the parish to obtain or withhold licensestium how ,which by the terms of their leases are bound to deal with him in the article of his trade. In one point it is in evidence that,for years past, few houses have been licensed excepting those in Mr. Han bury's interest. But this is not the whole extent of the evil ;—undcr the name and appearance of beer-houses, many are nothing more than gin shops, and some of these are stated to be kept even by relations of Magistrates. Will not such a system ns this call for enquiry ? Can any thing be more prejudicial to the morals of the peo ple, that the sufferance of gin-shops, which undermine the health of the poor in the xtrise ratio in which they sap their moral energies ? Are these decoys of vice and misery to remain sanctioned by the influence of their relationship to Magistrates ? And is any thing more calculated to bring the Magistrates into disrepute, than the very statement of such a connection ! But we lament to say, this is not the only evil brought to light in the volume before us. . _ We do hope and trust, that none of the Magistrates, whose corrtpt conduct has been brought to light by this Report, will be longer suffered to disgrace the commis sion of the peace. IVhat can be said to such transactions developed as the alteration of the Poor-rates in Bethnall-green ? The purity of the Magistracy is vitally necessary to the well being of the people ; for if those who front their educa tion, rank, and station in life, ought to set an example of good conduct, betray the lowest and Lasest passions, what can be reasonably expected of the lower orders, who have to contend with in'norance, poverty, and every species of temptation ? %Ve have not time, at present, to pursue the contents of this volume further; but we recommend it to the attentive perusal and consideration of all those who have at heart the dearest interests of their country. 3.13. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. ME unexpected events, recorded in the Paris papers of last week, possess an exhilarating influence. The mi nor triumph, obtained in the cause of Abbe Vinson, ex cited hopes in the friends of that liberty which the con stitutional charter was intended to secure to Frenchmen. It was a Ear earnest, that ulterior and essential good might be expected in favor of the just rights of that abused people, whose case we lately ventured to depict as most melancholy and portentous. We did not expect, however, that so bright a beam political joy would so speedily break through the dark horizon as to give us a promise of approaching day. The king's ordonnance for the dissolution of that tamultuary Chamber, which threatened the restoration of despotic rule in all its worst fonns, and which, if favoured by circumstances, might have dug a grave for the best part of the French popu lation, has revived the hopes of all who are friendly to constitutional liberty in every nation of the globe. It has given animation to all who are equally solicitous for monarch's privileges, and the people's rights, and conceive the best palladium of both to consist in the spi rit and established fia-ms of a free Constitution—in such a compact between the gc..e:wours and the gocerned, as may secure the wise ends of rule on the cue hand, and of political obedience on the other. Such a compact, im perfect we conceive in some of its; bearings, was offered to the exiled Louis, previous to his return to France.— It was entisidered by the frieuls of omstibitional . freedom, and we believed by the greatest portion of the French po pulation, as the guarantee of immediate internal and ex ternal peace, and of future happiness to a distracted peo ple. The resumption of it, therefore, by Louis, under present circumstances, is of momentous import to him self and the French nation ; and we hope he will possess energy and patriotism sufficient to rally round it the wise and the good, and calmly mutant his future fate to God and his people. SEPT. R. ormoNN tNCL or 'FILE KING. "To all w l these resents concerns licalth•" " Since our return to our States, each day hits demonstrated to fts this truth, prclehtilnl'il by us upon a solemn iiii . that equal to the advatitaxe of 41111.110lation is the tamer of iunuva. lion. We are convinced cilia the ivatilb and of our sub- PRICE 9A. beta combine to prr•rrve untouched the Constitutional Ch ir ter, the basis of the public good of France and gitaranter it the general tranquillity. We has eiu consequence judged necessary to reduce the Chamber of Deputies to the numh-v determined by the Charter. and nut to elect any but such A 4 have attained the age of .10 pears: but to legailiic this reiki , •- tion it it indispensitile again to convoke the Electoral College:. in order to proceed to the election oft twee Chamber or ties. For Nis purpose ste have ordained and do ordatu AS fUIIOWS _ . . " Ist, None of the article, of the Constitutiou.tlt. hailer sh.sil be revised. " 'flu! Chamber of Doputies is dissolved. "id, The number of the Deputies or tlu• Depot tment fixed conformably to the 36th article of the l'h.tu ter accorrlin to the table here antte•ed. _ "4th, The Electoral Colleges of the Ara on.liN.ements awl Departments remain such :ts they have b..en recogni/e.l, awl such as they were completed by our Ordontiance of the 2lst July, 1513. St's, The Electoral Colleges of Arrondissement will assemli:e September the galt of the present year. Ea.:4-41 them w ill elect a number of candidates, equal to the unisib.,r‘t>f the De puties of the Departments. " tith, 'Fite Electoral Colleges of Departments a ill meet Oc tober I. Each of them will choose at least India the Deputies among the candidates presented by the Colleges of Arrondisse ment. It the number of Deputies of the Department be une qual, the choice shall be M favour of that portion which ought to be chosen among the candidates. The Colleges of Depart ments who have only one Deputy to name, will have the libel le of electing him either in or out of the list of candidates. " 7th, Every Election, where inure than one half of the mem bers of the College shonid not assist, will be mill. Au absolute majority among the members present is necessary for the vali dity ofthe election of the Deputies. " If the College of .Arrondissement should not have cau l - Octed the election of the somber of candidates, the College of Department nevertheless will not be retarded in its operation. " sth, The prices etrbals of Election will be exat JJ JJJ .11 at the Chamber of Deputies, who will decide upon the regularity of the Elections. The Deputies chosen most produce to the Chamber the register of their birth, stating that they are to years of age, and an e•tritet from the rolls, duly legalised by the Prefects, stating that they pay at least 1000 francs in direct contributions. " oth, They will reckon :—For the husband, the contribo lion, paid by his wife, although from property pos.:esseil iu her Own right ;to the fat her, tho-e of Isis infant children; those of a widow not re-married to that sun whom she shall choose ; to the son-in-law, those of his mother-itt-law, a widow. whose lolly daughter he hail married ; to the son 81111 those of the father and father-in-law, if they transfer to them their right. " 10th, The Colleges will he held and the Elections take place according to the form 41111 rides prescribed for the 1.1• I Colleges. " Ilth, The Session of !MG will open November 4th of tlio present year. " 12th, The Resolution , : of the Ordonwance of the 13th of July, 12415_, contrary to the present, ale revoked. " Our Minister the Secretary of State for the Interior is charged with the exeention atilt. presets (Irdoon.snee. " Given at the Chateau of the Thuillerios September 3th, tsii;, and 241 year of our reign. (Signed) "LOUIS. "The Ministir Secretary of State of the luta rior, tsigned) _ " LAINE." I'Altls, SEPT. 5.--Although the cause of .%libe Vinson, ter a libel on the charter, was tried with closed lioUlA, as the judg ment was rendered in public a greit. number of perbolls attended yesterday to hear it. " 'I he Tribunal suppresses the wink, condemns Abbe VA,- son to three months' imprisonment, lens log the king's proem a tor to convene on the subject, if lie thinks proper, with the es". clesiasfic superiors of Abbe Vinson ; condrinsis him beside r•i sU francs °Cline, and to be tuo clears tinder the smrreifinwr of the Police ; fixes the amount of his hail at Cranes, and os tlers him to pay all the expenses of the prosecution. " The King's Procu.ator is also authorized to plOveente all printers and booksellers who shall in future e:reolate the sald work." rAnts, SEPT. I.—There was, on the Ist instant, et a dreadful hurricane, w hick threatened destruction to many vs s sets within sight of that port.--A Danish v essel 11111 aground near liravelines, and the crew who hail gut into small boat, bail, w ith the exception ut one man. perished. It is feared tile tempest has caused many other slope reeks. PARIS Stet.. s.—The animosity of the French against tl:e English becomes every ;day mole violent, and has within the last few tl tys produced 111 , • quarrels; even the soldiers, alio were hitherto 11'Witiiit ., 1 by tie fear of punishmt n . , now ins • t en Engli-diman as pubfiely as if they set re still the favoured class, and in terms too gross to be repeated. It is not only the lower order of the Parisians who insult the Elighsh, hot even the young men, most of whom have been Officers, who lounge about the cettre-houses and public gardens. An Engiish man can scare. ly appear in ithnut being totalled as lie passes by with the grossest tibaldry. Many persons have belt iu conse.iticnce of the freipten-y of outrages st this descrietino. An Fnglishinan is scarcely styli in a French crowd alien it be g,ins LI grow dark. 'lite folloaing fact I can state from my onto knowledge. 'flue promised ascent ut u balloon, to be directed against the wind, by means of machinery, attracted a vast cio%s .1 to the Ultaitip de Mars ; it was about haltpast eight alien the people began to go away, and the toad to Paris was imittensel crowded; at a moment when the pressure was rather greater tl i mi b e fore, and attended with some degree ut confusion, an wa lki ng w i t h t w o othet 5. rece ivy(' a vielt lit lott:t-1 on tin, back Croon the end ut i 4 , and in•tatitly turning t mind, asked also the person v is that h.id attached him. No person noticed the qtiestion, mum w bich lie observed, th a t sh e rim „ had used his cane in such it outliner, would, no doubt, use dagger in the sante,was it be hail been provided with one. this a Freuchusais, who, uu IjOUL/1, kJIVW agsrs:rxr,l4v..,l