The National Register. — London, England, 1818-03-29 00:00:00

/111.1 THE NATIONAL REGISTER' IfA2tClllO. "The incorporation of one independent kingdom with another Iva. an event of great Magnitude, and of 'nth vital importance to each, as to calif forth the attention, affect the interests, and possibly the future happiness of every indivi dual in both countries. I had can • e4l the arguments, and the pretensions of both parties, and had exercised an opi nion on the points in controversy. Moderation was not the distinguishing character of either patty, in the discussion of this gnat aationa: i:nestitt. " While there ls as every appearance that the people of Ireland were &kola to exchmigo that which Gaslight in the *vale icr many suhstantial advantages ; yet the sacrifice of national national inittence, and tiation:il pride, required to be cuusiderably receis rid and liberally compen sated. The exterior form of the Irish government was corres pondent to nor own; but it was only nominally the same. , a tie popular part of it depended not oil the people, nor was 'the aristocratieal exclusively inflecnced by the real property of Ireland. Its ft/1111104MS were ats enornions AS they were • notorious ; and the devotion of the gdternment to one or other of the presentee; factious. paralysed its efforts, and stripped It of the respect anti retifidence of the people. very so perficaal knowleilte of the state of Ireland is sufficient to - -show that it warted ell those counterpoises anal balances - which are a equirvill to gas e a steady direetimi to mixed r u m s of government, and by winch alone they arc enabled to res. • train the violence of popular spirit on the one hand, and to • controul the ingtesnce of an overweeniair, overbearing aria • tucracy, on the other. The stipieirie authority and allininls tration of Irr.lauil had the outward form, but hail nut the • 'aneroid spirit—the essence of the British constitution. Tic • C outs wero the mere puppets of the two great aristocra t tieal factions—the people a ferrilit.r in either sek, until Aims -were put into their hands, and they became the means of • extorting, front the ;weakness of our comic:is, what ought to I l o use been yielded to Irelaud trout a principle of justice. bad become so general, so familiar, and so fa. • el o i ... table, as to extinguish sill sense of propriety, atu: even • that of shame. 'Remuneration was considered to he expected, if not actually demanded, nut for public services performed, ;but tr alistainiug to clog the wheels of government. In power HIM(' was no shade of •difference between one party anal another; and while profosion 'Mit tolerated, may encou raged, in theihnpe of profiting by it, there could be no reason able ground to hope for the co-operutiou of a state to remedy abuses in aliich it so largely participated. The ties which • hotpot the executive and legislative branches were so slight, and the influence of Groat 'Britain so weak, that the Irish • constitution tottered, and was in hourly jeopardy of falling. • On the part of Ike people, there eineted no alkgiance to the • constitution -• no affection for the government--no respect for the laws :—at et while a suffocated antipathy prevailed against filtir aristmeratical learleib, the latter became identi. fit ait h the goverment at the country-against them, purely ani fear, and the consciousness of the absolute necessity of the strong arm of power to keep the people iu subjection. " All ranks were dissatisfied, and felt themselves treated by Great Britain, not as a co-equal empire, but as a conquer. ed province. " The estinetiou of such a government can afford no just reason for regret: The friends to rational liberty, in both countries, were called on to- support an alteration so likely to benefit each, by the supgressisu of local prejudices, and the swasolidation of mutual interests:" ( To Ls Costirsattdds oar arta) An Inquiry whether Crime and - Misery are prevented or prodocad by our present. system of l'rison illustrated by descriptions of the lloroug,k Compter, UMW l'ields, 4c. 4.c. By THOMAS FOW BuvroN. (Coricluded.frota oNrlast.) • Mr. Burt= then proceeds to describe the injurious rlfects , of the system of prison discipline, as it actually fists in too many manners. " Such then, as I have described, being the rights of all prisoners, and such our policy,• I maintain that these rights are violated, and this policy it abandoned in England. The prisoner, after his commitment is made out, is handcuffed to a file of perhaps a dozen wretched persons in a similar sitna. Lion, and marched through the streets, sometimes a consider able distance, followed by a crowd of intpndent and insulting boys, exposed to the gaze and to the stare of every passen ger ; the moment he enters the prison, irons are hammered on to him then he is cast into the midst of a eoutasrand of all that is disgasting and depraved. (At nicht he ir locked np in a narrow cell; with, pea haps, lntif a dozen of the worst thieves in London, or as many vag:anis. whose tags are alive, and in actual motiwywith ye:min ;, nizy rind hints:lf in het!, and In bodily contact, between a re Ober and a murderer ; or between a man with a fool disease (Al one side, and one With tin infextionsd;sioller on the other. lie may spend his days deprived of free air and wholesome exercise. He may he prohibited from following the handicraft on which the sub sistence of his family depends. lie may be half starved for • w a n t of food and clothing, and fuel. Ile may be compelled to mingle with the vilest of mankind, and in self defence, to adopt their habits, their language, and their sentimi iits ; he may hecume a villain by actual compulsion. His health must be impaired, and may he ruined by filth and contagion: and as for his morals. purity itself could not c. manic pure, if ex posed. we any leugah• of time to the toddy with slick be minas associate. "His trialmay be lent proti retell ; lie may be imprisoned on suspiciou • and pine in gaol while. his family is starving out of it, with:nit any opportunity of removing that sospicion; and this fora whole year :—if acquitted, lie may be dismiss ed from gaol without a shilling in his pocket, and without the meaos •of retsuming home:— if convicted, beyond the sentence awarded by the law, lie may be exposed to the most k intolerable hardships; and these may unionot to no less than the delarticti..aralliisfilissavv, and his sod for ever. sAtiu iu tiiiv • v iolation richtii; you •equally abandon your uwu .i a t e r e at; .1-; G instructed its mo-OISCPI branch of employ- Trout . by winch r,..,trvay earl. ar: honest livelelioetl•by honest . 7oe have fop bkidec liim to repent all 4 to reflect, 4 by vkithholdial, , tient him every opportunity GI rcfleesion and 1.1 t o•!itsilee. hoelosion from the world liar bet n only a:closer •r- •s.••••• 0.46 int itt very wars.t Illkereasits; Irita Wel has ha'id s. air 11.4 IcArrve for every weed to take root; he is habiluat an 4 rerourileii to filth, and familiarised with Haul r•or thi• :itployluent of that 4. 10 .4241 t: 4)4 . I.l4,llplity Yoe &w . .?,41 qi • •,1. have When no pions pains to turn him from the error of his ways, and to sase his soul alive. You have not cherished the latent seeds of virtue, von have not profited by the oppor tunity of awakening remorse for his paitne:scondiect. 1-I.s Saviour's awful name becomes, indeed, familiar to his lips, because he learns to foie it, to give rest to his conversation, and vigour to his execrations ; but all that Saviour's office, his tenderness and compassion. 'and mercy to the returning sinner, are topic, of which he seat us no mote tlkta the beasts which perish. In short, by the greatest possible degree of misery, you produce the greatest possible degree af• wicked ness; you convert, perhaps, an act of indiscretion into a set. tied taste, and propensity to vier. Receiving bim I t cense he is too bad for society, you return him to the world Impair ed in halal', .debased hi intellect, and corrupted in Fin " The object of this book is to prove the existence of these facts, and that their continuation is as unnecessary as it is detrimental to the 'best interests of society ; in fact, that cru elty to your prisoner is impulicy to yourself." This object is indeed clearly attained by the mass of evi dence which a minute inspection ofscveral of the metro politan and otheriails affords. The prisons thus instanced are—the' Borough Compter, Tothill Fields Midi:well, the 'Jail at St. Alban's, and at Guildford. We can not, of course, follow Mr. B. in these details—suffice it • to say, that they are truly distressittg. and confirmatory, to the full extent, of his proposition that the system pro. ducts nothing but crime .and misery. These horrible and disgusting statements excite our astonishment that such evils should so long have been permitted to con tinue, that uo steps should have been taken to remedy them, leaving it to the zeal and humanity ofindividuals, unconnected with magisterial authority to appeal. to the. Public, and actually compel those whose duty it was to have prevented the mischief, by the general outcry, to turn their attention to reform. The evils complained of, are want of room, by which the health of the pri soners is materially injured and other improvements checked—and want of classification, which is productive of the most frightful consequences, as must inevitably be the case, when males and females, tried and untried, debtors and felons, persons guilty of trivial and of heinous offences, arc all mingled ogether in itUeness, without the means either of instruction or industry. To judge of the extent and deadly influence of this mo ral pestilence, the Book itself must be read, .and then, we are persuaded, no one can fail to draw the same conclusions with the Author himself, that these prisons are the very hotbeds of vice and misery—they are nur series for crime, and their continuance in this state is a reflection on the character of the nation, that can suffer the punishment of any individual , to be the means of stripping hint of every remaining virtue, and plunging him irretrievably in the depths of iniquity. In . the course of his remarks upon the progress of youthful delinquency, Mr. Buxton observes:— " Let uo one imagine, that the representation I have here given of the progress of crime is a fanciful picture, which is seldom, if ever, realised. There is a society in this city for the prevention of juvenilo delinquency. By the most assidu ous labours, by continual visiss to !toys in .prison, and by offering a ready car to their distresses when out of it ;.by giv ing advice to some, small sums of money to others, proeuriur situations for those of whom they entertained strong hopes of reformation; by restoring some to their friends, sending some to the country ; by taking some as servantsanto their own fa milies: in short, b'j every method which active and discreet benevolence could devise, they have procured a fund of in formation and of evidence, which pots the above statement beyond all dispute. Amongst other .records, they have a bulky lexicon .of all the slang terms in use ; I mention it as a curiosity. But they have also a document of great import ance—a catalogue of the names, residence, and age of several hundred juvenile depredators; the company they keep, the places to which they resort, and in manyanstances a history of thoir.progress iu vice, front their tiist deviatiem from vir toe. They have seen many cases of boys,. who, upon their first coming to prison, have kept et a distance from the other prisoners, and appeared grieved and shocked at their situ*. tionand companions ; by the next visit this bashfulness had fled, they were mingled amongst the men or the boys ; at the next, all difference between them anJ the oldest offenders had vanished, they had learnt the language, were fluent in the oaths, and doubtless hail caught the spirit of their associ ates. Soon atter their exit from gaol, these gentlemen gene t a;ly receive tidings, that such a boy had been very clever ; meaning that he bad been very successful. Before long, they recognize hint in some other prison, and bear front the turnkey that he is a most desperate and wicked character. lie msy hereafter escape the rigour of the law, by his dexte. rity ; he may rise to time ememand and captaincy of an. eiated number of youthful robbers ; avoiding personal dan ger, he may direct their operations, and divide their plunder. On the other band, he may not obtain promotion ; his genius may be too humble to elevate him above the ranks, be may be, as some have been, in prison 28 times; he may be sent to the bulks, or transported to Botany Bay. Whatever be his outward state, withlwhe is irretrievably ruined." But.we turn fro= these horrid scenes, to the more gratifying portion of his Book, which relates to the conduct and internal convenience of those prisons, whose regulations he has just reason to applaud, and hold up as examples for general adoption. These arc—the Jail at Bury, the Maison de Force,. at Ghent; the Phila delphia Prison, the ?dillbunk Penitentiary, and the Female Wanl of . Newgate, uutLr the inspection of the . Ladies. Counaittoe. -We,have nut room to dwell upon •thekeveral anerits of these institutions, though much ,wishing todo so, especially on the extraordinary exer- Aims of Mrs. Fry, and her inestimable companions, at Islewgate; whys.: success in substituting order tilr noise, industry for idleness, instruction for ignorance, and re lig;aus feelings for the most debasing criinewscul inclitia tions,has bee.n.tru?y astonishing,..und speaks volumes to thvYksalpersonages.wko leave the timusiginneut anti inspection of our public jails. The excellent recom. mehdatinus of the Laiies'Committee, cemprize in a few words all that is wishes:, and all that is wantin 4 to render our prisons what they ought to be—schools of reform and virtLe, not of vice aol increasing degen©. racy. These recommendations are as . follow : " Ist, ' Religions lustrnetion,'—prrusal of the Scriptnree morning and evening. The} base found the prisoners re markably ignorant of the first principles of Christianity, anti they have reason to think taut a prison, In excluding many objects of worldly interest, occupation, and pleasure, and in the parse which it producer in the carver of life, and in the apprehensions it sometimes excites, is well calculated for the inculcation of religious impressions. " idly, Constaut employment is a grand and an indispen• sable replisite in the reformation of a prison. They vs ontd feel themselves totally incompetent to restrain the passions of this unruly race, it their winds were not engaged in useful and active objects. "'silly,ltules Ample and lenient, hat euforred, am! if possiblr, the concurrence of the prisoners in their forma— tion. " 4lldy, Classification and separation to the greatest pos sible extent. " Sthly , They recommend that ',flume' s slionl,l be treated as human beings, with human feelings; wills that disinterest ed kindness which will engage the!r affections; yet as hu man beings degraded by crime, with that degree of restraint and will those bym bole of degradation, which may recall a sense of their guilt, and humble their pride." With this extract we must conclude, adding, -that Mr. Buxton deserves the eonunerAation of every hu. inane and terlingperson in the kingdom, for his exer. flow iu this cause, and we have no doubt his statements will produce a sensation that will ultimately lead to .thu abolition of this disgraceful system and its ems. quenees. &m ac LONDON O.IZETTE, Ttesday,3larch 244 RANKRUPTCY ENLARGED. Paasors J. Bartou r Laincuster, cotton manufacturer, .9 April G. BANK R 1 Pl'S. ' PRATT J. Kennington. ;Utit;cl;;,lla;cll9.B, April 14. May s, g Guildhall. Ails. Edwards and Son, Castle , street, H olbom. JOHR SON A. Manchester, silk-mercer, April 17, tS, May 5, at Manchester. Atts. Willis and Co. Warnt'ord-cours. Fia.mrsu T. Liverpool, linendraper. April ei,_22, May 5, at Maus cheater. Mts. Adlington and Co. Bedford-new. Wtt.i.s(is GAtonmon g er-lane, merchant, April 6,7, May 5, at Manche-ter. Att. Mr. Islild.son, Temple. HA.RVRT W. I leundsditch. ocppersmith, March :18, April 11, May 5, at Guildhall. Atts.iValten and Co. Girdlers'-hall, street. Pracocx J. H. Burwell. Cambridge. merchant, April 8,9, May 5, at Cambridge. Aits. Pickerhig and Co. Staphs.ittn. DIVI1)FXI)S. J. Fuller, Neat Houses, St. George's, Ilanmferarmare, gardelier, April 14. J. M'Goughan. army.agcrt, April 14. I'. Brame, Lowisdoli, Suftidk, herring-therrhanr, April 7. G. 'Howden and W. I litre, Oxford-street, vide: ass April 18. B. Williams, Clerkenwell, printer, April 18. J.'Beare. Chearside, merchant, April 7. J. Attlield, Guildford, buteher,Apnl 21. A. Perneltry, Manchester, grocer. April 2.1. D. Philip, Fenchurch street, stationer, April 25. H. Rowlands, Worcester, coal-dealer, April to. J. Knot. W. Smith, and J. Clarke, Southwark, hat-manufacturers. April 18. A. Phillips, and D. Loser, Salters' 44 - 4'.1-coitrt, merchants, April 21. J. Liverpool, broker, April 16. J. LiveNey..Blatliburn, J. Hargreare, Manthester, P. Anstic and J. Smith, London, and W. Hall. Musney, merchants, April 25. J. Smith. London-roed. grocer, April 18. C. Gedrych, Brinol, dealer, April 16. J. Bolan', High Trewhiq. dealer. Apnl 21. cur; IFICATES—Arstri. 14. W. and J.Walker, Pall-mall-ccurt, army-agent/.—T. 11. II:quell, South Shields. ship-owncr.—A. Fernery. Mancheider, grocer.—S. Roberts, Sheffield, spirit-merchar.t.—J. t'ullard, Bridgewater, penult,. manufaeturer. A litter from Inspruck, of the-2d instant, says :—" Oar glaciers now neer a remarkable phenomenon. 'That which is- known under the name of Ostlerspitze angatents enor mously; it has already- extended above a league towards the valley; it continues to :ncrease with extraordinary rapi dity, and Ms already reached the meadows of Canspeoliolm ; and this is in a winter which is not severe. A circumstance -worthy of notice is, that a rivulet ealled the Suldenbach, which was formed by the gia:ier, Las entirely disappeared since the- end of September, and yet uo trace can be tumid of any ether outlet. The noise of this glacier is so lend, that it is heard at a very great distance. It is no wonder, that the inhabitants are so alarmed : the .ndden melting of the Ulan of ice, and the re-appearance of the Suldenbach, would place several parishes in the.. greatest danger. The glaciers of Landtkaufers and Naudersbera present the saine.pheuti.. 4E-11011. FiRE—A bout half-past two o'clock onWednesday intuiting, the old established tat ern dolled the Bariey-)I ow, iu Salisbury court, Fleet-street, was discovered to be on fire. The house is owned by Mr. Knott, who was front home on business. Knott, four female servants, nod alemale 'Asher, were roused front their sleep by the ere reaching their apartments. They tied as they rose from their beds to the top of .the house, as the chance of descending was impossible, the whole of the lower part of the premises being in flames. Most fortunately for them there was a way out of a garret whitlow to the top of the house, and after passing ot er the adjoining they succeeded in getting into the window of the next dwel ling, and so escaped. The fire continued to ruge with great fury, notwithstanding the prompt arrival of the engines from theHope,Norwieleljoion,and thellaud-iti-llantimui I the whale tavern was entirely destroyed, and the. root of the house cc cuirt.:el by the Pra)er•Bouk. and !Wittily Society was burnt uti'; and the house on the other aide stor receit cd eouside t able injury. Great anxiety was for a cunsidorable time cr. It:stained foe the valuable and extensive premises of Mr Joseph. Boum% AS the tire bad completely leached to the bottom of one of his waiehota,es, and but for the efforts of Mr.lleemor himself, ably assisted by a 141i/fill AM) pet sereriog servant, they would in obabillity have Linea destroyer. Mroliunsor, who was among 'tie foremost to assist leis neigh bour, asserts that nothiureetisild exceed the excetio.t of the firemen; and he attributes to their fromptitude and energy, as well as to all 1/11111edilitiOglapply of water, the , fav i pg o f great part of the rJeighbeerhuud. cause of tits fire-laa tint .been aseettaincii,