The National Register. — London, England, 1818-03-22 00:00:00

P IrA RCM . 2.1. The Church, in mar opinion, resembles an old ley who falls asleep while reading by candlelight, and when she wakes, discovering her cap to be on fire, to prevent the recurrence of a similer calamity, verA. wisely determines to put the light out. and sit in the dark. It is not our purpose to enter into vindication of the Bible Society, for we apprehend that the utility of distributing the sacred Writings., mithoz:t n , :te or com ment, is too obvious to require illustration. But to the plan of annexing interpretations (or, we might say, misinterpretations) ro the text, we have a decided ob jection. This is the ostensible ground of difference be tween the Churchmen and Dissenters, though we are p er f ec tly convinced that both have a roost ardent desire to do the same tiakng. Indeed now .the mask seems to be thrown ofton both sides. The object of the Church is avowedly the defence of its ordinances, its institu tions, and its emoluments ; the Dissenters openly attack its principles :md privileges—interweaving their own doctrines with the general question, and aiming at the acquisition of power. We are amply borne out in these assertions by the pamphlet before us, which (at p. 5) give a long exposition of the religions opinions of those Who are content to be styled " Seritais Christians and Evinirelicel Ministers." Of the opinions themselves, we shall only say, they arc not our's—ami the avowal of them we consider as an uncquivoc:tl evidenee of the real views of the Dissenters, viz. to overturn the exist ing Establishment, the neglect and. blunders of whose advocates have afforded them every opportunity fin- so doing. Our Author, indeed, speaks very plainly of the evils arising from the connexion between Church and State, (p. It.) but we shall lettre this question to the consideration of the Episcopal Bench, who have no doubt made up their minds upon it. We have already expressed our opinion of the conduct of the Church.— It has brought the mischief upon its own head, and its enemies have so managed, that its only way of defend ing itself against their encroachments, is by standing in opposition to the clearest light anti best interests of Christianity ! Rome could not do more than this.— We will not speculate upon consequences. Veak in deed is the position.which the defenders of the Church have been obliged to take up ; they reward the friends of intolerance—they preach it from their pulpils—and may, perhaps, before long, be reduced to excommuni cate their opponents. The Dissenters have every way the hest of the argument—they have, at least, an ap pearance of being actuated by a love of religion—their zeal and exertions in its behalf have rendered them po pular, and*the benefits they have conferred upon man kind :Ire obvious to every Mc not totally blinded by pre judice. The danger, however, does not proceed alto gether from the assaults of open hostility. No—these " SariOua Christians" have finind means to introduce themselves within the pale of the Church, and we ap prehend that the complaint in thi:. pamphlet, that " Already are the pulpits of the Lstahlislinient too‘gene rally closed, as by common consent, against those who arc termed evans lical Ministers. Already has Episcopal Ordi nation been expressly refused to many of this class, some of %how, however, have been distinguished for the streti4th of their talents, tile extent of their acquirements, dud the holi ness of their lives will soon be utterly unfounded. There is a Bishop on the Bench who has no scruples on the subject, and who, "e foresee, is in a lair way of being deemed little less than an Apostle. :lie Author sty:es himself " a Member of the Church el . England," hnt dais designation is very equivocal iu these. tunes, wizen it is fiu difficult to asecrtain what !Pent end feefinti of its Protestant population ? Do they consider thiet by their present opposition,. they are inakinit " flown csuse with the ad ocates - tst the Pannisli F a ith, % ,h„ eontend twith li the Pope at their cud) that the Bibl e •• d oes more harm than good,- and therefore is either to•be only dis -1 pl. WI . in the original languages, or only to be Itself by per. ions who have the Priests' Licence for its - pisrusal,awil that the Bible Society itself Is a noxious and pestilential thing, which ought to be plucked up by the roots? I will. yentine thaw publicly to state, that it is a had symptom for any Pro testant Church., when many of her leading members (who might learitztore wisdom front the Church of Russia) are thus found hand in-hand with that power which has invariably re sisted the free use of the Scriptures, that best and highest triumph of the Reformation.. But if the Established Clergy do not promise themselves popularity, is Truth their object, and do they console themselves for the lois of the genets! es went, in the belief that they are discharging a positive duty, which will more than indemnify them for the t: owns of the ration? Where then, I- ask, upcn this ground, is their war. rant for denouncing the Bible Society is it meant to be said kit cannot be proved) that the Bible Society teaches dis loyalty or i ehellion—that it makes men factions subjects, or bad members of society ? Is it ineant to he said, that liitide. lity of any kind (front Atheism down to Unitarianism) is in culcated by the Bible Society) Why—say the objectors— we do not charge it upon the Society, that it designs any of these evils—religious oe political—but only that the neces• airy tendency of a mixtare of Churchmen and Dissenters, is to make Infidels and Traitors. How is it then, that after the experience of fourteen years we witness no snob resiiks Why do Churchmen and Dissenters meet in evey other Cha ritable institution in the Nation as well as this, without tiny such consequences? The simple constitution and object of the Bible Society is, to disperse the Holy Scriptures alone, without note or comment; and until it can be sliewn that the 'necessary tendency of the general dispersion of the Scrip. Aires themselves, is to propagate false doctrine, it will not be very easy to shew that false doctrine is, or will be propagated by the Bible Society, consisting, as it does,. of seine excel lent Prelatett r enany of the Kstisislistied Clergy, and a multi. fade of persons of the first rank and consideration in. the State." NATIOVAL RE6TMT,It those principhi actually are, and who is " tho real Shnon Pre.' Much is said these Letters of the conduct of the 1 . Society fur prumosinc Christian Knowledge, which, if the assertions.resrecting it are correct, ought rather tu be called the Society fur promoting Christian Quarrels; but, a► we have already said, the contest is every day becoming more violent : as the real objects of the par ties arc developed, the spirit of tolerance and charity will gradually disappear, and we are fearful that our Church Establishment will verify the maxim in Scrip. ture,. " that a House divided. against itself will tall:* An Inquiry whether Crime and Misery are prevented or produced by our present system of Prison Discipline, illustrated by descriptions of the Borough Cumpter, Tuthill Fields, &c. etc. u. TllO.llAs FOWET.I. BUXTON. This is is a very interesting book upon a subiett of the highest importance---the condition of the unfortu nate persons confined in our prisons. The state of these wretched abodes has lately undergone much serious discussion, and it has been found that a great number of them have been and are, a disgrace to the British Nation, and the facts that have been elicited are truly afflicting to the ears of humanity.. We trust, however, that the exertions of the benevolent men who. have in terested themselves on the occasion. will shortly re move or ditninish the evil. The work before us com municates many important facts, which we are anxious to present to the notice of our readers, though we can do little more this week, than extract souse of the Au thor's sentiments prefixed to the descriptions, which re fleet the highest credit on, his humanity and justice. Its the course of his observations on the various causes of imprisonnient—as debt, suspicion of crime, minor offences, &c. he deduces the following considerations on the kind and measure of ptutishtnent the prisoner its to suffer " It is ihereforc'evitledfs f conceive., that where the law condemns a ratan to jail. and is silent rise his treatutentthere, it intends merely that he should be emerced of his freedom, not Mat he shmild be rub /A.44 to dny tucks. severities. This is the whole of his sentence, Ind ought then:titre to be the whole of his lattli4ing." •• Taking slung with us the priuciple which has here been stated, we must next consider particularly the treatment which a prisoner should receive , and the equitable principle stains m be, that he should suffer no damage either in mind or body, which is not fouhd in his sentence: that his situation should nut be worse than it was befor e his commitment, with the single exception of the 111.4 i 4.11 . liberty. This can only be done lay general rules. You cutsnot exactly adapt his ttcatnwnt in prison to his preceding circumstances ; but by the estab lishment of equitable and liberal regulations, you may guard against any violent infraction of justice; and if you err at 411 it will be on the side on which we should all wish to err—the side tat humanity. •• Let us then follow a prisoner from his first commitment, alivays remembering that as yet his guilt is unproved. You have no right to march him along the streets in chains, or to make him a spectacle of ighotitiny.lporliapso n the very spot, and amongst the very pe o pl e with who m h e h as hitherto held a fair character...4lolm q may be the . penalty for cri me , b u t i t s h ou ld never tw the conaspience of sus picion : you should, therefore, conduct him to his jail with every possible attention to his feelings ; with decency and sixrecy. When he 1, eraered within its walls, you have no right to load him with iro::s : you have no right to subject him to bodily pain from their %eight, or to that agony of mind, which must result twat styli syina buls of degradation to a man of yet unhlunttd feelings ; and pet have tin right to conclude that lie is not such." •• You have no right to abridge hint of pure sir, wholesome and sufficient food, aid opportunities of exenise. You have no right to debar himitiom the craft on which his family depends, it' it can be exercised in prism,. Yon have nu right to subject hint to sulliaioas from cold, by want of bad-cloathin g by night, or firing by day ; and the reason plain,—you have torn hint fr An his home. and have deprived him of the means of providing himself with the accessories or conithrts of life, and therefore you are bound to furaish hint with moderate, indeed, but raitable accommodation. " You have for the same reason no right to ruin his habits, by compelling him to be idle; his mists, t;"y compelling him to mix with a promiscuous assembl a g e of hardened and convicted criminals; nor his health, by forcing hint at night into a damp unventilated cell, with such crowds of companions, as very speedily to render the air hail and putrid; or to make hint sleep in close contact with the victims of contagious and loathsome disease, er amidst the noxious (alluvia of dirt and corruption. In short, attention to his feelings mental and bodily, a supply of every norassarv, abstraction front evil society, tile conservation tat his health and indintruats habits, are the clear evident, undeniable rights of an unconvicted prisoner. •• lie should he brought to his trial as speedily as possible, for every hour of unnecessary delay in futitishin g him with the opportu tiny of provin g his innocence, is, at least may be, an hour of unjust imprisonment. •• At his trial, either he is acquitted.—in which case the, least you can do, is to replace hint in the situatioa you fumed him, to pin his expetwes home, and to furnish hint with sufficient to al m ost hunt till he has an °pito/twiny of looking out for work ; or he is consicurl, and then it is fire the law to appoint the punishment which is to tal low his otlince. That punishment must ha. ilitlicted, but you must carefully guard that it be not aggravated, anti that circumstances of soverity are not !hued in this ueattnent, which are not found in Isis sentence. Now no Judge ever conitanned man to be half starved cold by day, o r half sufliwated with heat by eight ; who ever Ise:stil of a criminal being sentenced to catch the Itheuniatisni or the Typhus Fever Corruption of morals and contamination of mind, are not the remedies which the law in itswisilson has thought proper to adopt. We should teinember, to use the words of a former writer on the sulito, • that disease, cold, fientiqe, nakedness, a contagious anal polluted air, are not lawful punishmehts in the lianas of civil magistrates; nor has lie a right to Jenson or starve his fellow-crea ture, though the greatest riiminal.' We must defer the reverse of the picture until ,next week, when we shall gladly resume the consideration of a work which we think, likely to produce very bene ficial results, us it contains statements and feelings to which no heart can be callous, By ri decision at the Police Office, 'Tattoo Garden, fimmled upon the ,47th of Geo. ru. eh. 59, it ap pears that every person letting out to hire what are called glass coaches, must have his name, and the name of the place where kept, painted upon . the out sidepannel .each oisch under the penalty. Cl 101.. for .• . . every ontiAnin. • From the LONDON GAZETTE, Tdesday,Alarch B.ANKRUPTCY ENLARGED. Twoar J. Plymouth, mastemnariner, frum March 11 to May 4. BANKRUPTCY SUPERSEDED. WALTON B. Birmingham. merchant. BANKRUPTS. Wit.aor4J..and S. Shrewsbury, ilrapoi. April 7.8, 28, at Shrews bury.. Atts. Clark and Co. Chancery-lane. Cour:m.li Manchester, hut manufacturer, April 17, 18, 28, at Man chester. Mts. Cunlitfe and Co. Manchester. BOYCOTT 11...jun-Newport, Shropshire, butcher, April 23, 21, 28, at Newrt.. Mts. Baxter and Co. Furnivars Inn. BEADY' Southampton, dealer, April 8,9, 28, at Southampton. Atts. Hicks and Co. Bartletta-building. SMITH W. antlii..ft: PAPILLON, Merton bridge,. Surrey, tit er 4 April 7. 11, es,.at Guildhall. Att. Mr. Barnes, Cocithall-court. WARE W.. 11. Bow-street, Covent Garden, music -seller. March 31, April 28, at Guildhall. Mt. Mr. Smith, Iledford.row. EctEs T. Cullier's.rentr,.Suothwark. tellmonger. March, 28, April 4, 28, at Guildhall. Atts. Messrs. Bull, /Idles strecti,,clarsudish.. square. DIVIDENDS. G. Flitch. Chelmsford, dtaper, April 7. J. Battesby, Lower Shadwell.ship-owner, April 7. E.llRodd, London -street, merchant, April t.s. J. w e i c h man . Bradford, Wiltshire, linendraper, April T. Tucker, Newton Abbott, Devon, i nn -h o ld er, April "..1. W. Gauny. Lower Shadwell, rope.maker, April N. Ilernezey, Hartley,Wintney. Southampton. iiimkeeper. April 16. C. West, Bucklersbury, warehoti-enrum April 7. A. Samuel, Midellesex-st,cet, Aldgate, confectioner, April IT. S. Barker, N6rwich, liquor-ruerchant, April 13. T. Phillips, Norwich, brandy-merchant, April 13. J. E. and T. Walton, Bread -street. warehousemen, March 211. W. Adams and J. Edwards, Cumberland -street, Fitzroy. square, chair-makers, March 21. E.Hiseock, Abingdon, Berkshire, woolleadraper, April 11. M. Dialman, l'hornharri, Norfolk, shopkeeper. April 8. J. Chambers, Sheffield. cutler, April 10. !P. and W. Pidgeon, Stock Exchange Coffee-house, tavern keepers, March S'4. J. J. F. and.R. Seaton, and T. Foster. Pontefract, bankers, April 9. R. W. Lloyd, Chester, wine -merchant, April 14. • M. Hopkinson. Nottingham, currier. April 11. W. Brewer, Cirence6ter, inn -holder, April 16. J. Taylor,. Wallsall, Stafford, ironmonger, April 16. R. B. F. Williams, and M. Wilson, Liverpool. meactivrtsa April 11. J. Wells, Poland-street, Oxfind-street, checsemonger, April 11. T. Jones, Liverpool, merchant. April 14. J. Coodelaikl, scii.J. Goodchrld, tun. andT. Jones, sen.BishopWcar. mouth, Durham, bankers. April 13. G. Morrille, Lancuter, merchant, April 14. C. Johmon. South Shields. l)nrham, linendiaper, April 7. T. West, GLarechureli-6treet, perfumer, April It. T. 40.141 J. Layetwk, Bradford. York, oil-dealer, May 9. H. Chesney, High Holborn, fringe—manufacturer, April IL J. and .1. Grafton, .Alierton-street, ii(Nitell New Town% silk-wearers, April 11. J. Collett, Dishops,pite.street. within. merchant April 18. G. Cowe, Great Pres , mtr-rtre v r, Goodman merchant, Mar.!: J. acrd J. liervori, Ni.r l .:olas-la-re, brokers, April 7. I AT ES—A : 7. J. Ilailarn and J. Manche: ter, liquor-merchanb.—. W. Jacinion and W. Kelly. Shepton-Hallett, Sonterget,hire, grocers. —A. Sarnael, Ntirliltsex.:•treet, Altlgan: ;(.nfectioner..—J. Winchester, bwalher.--P. Johnston, North Sunderland. cpmfactor.. T. .... Sliernerd, t;lncestorlhire, maltster.—J. yitkingtun s Preston, I rocer—C. Grceth..m, Liverpool, merchant—W. Oakley. Rath. roach.master..—W. l'iskton, Liverpool, timber mer shant—ll. V. mart, Birmingham, natrchaat.—T. Jones, Birming ham, pi:tare-frame rnaker--J. Snugg". Ilenriette-street. Coveat• garden, mercer—T. Jades, liri6tnl, dealer. BRITISH MERCHANT SEAMEN. A numerals anti respectable meeting was on Wednesday held at the City of I ontion Tavern, for the purpose of raising an establishment for the extension of religions instruction, and affording the means of sacred worship, to seamen in the port of London. Mr. B. Sit w, lt.P. who was called to the chair, stated the objects of the meeting. Britain, he raid, was renowned for Ler great institutions and her charities ; tint nothing seemed more indispensable than to distribute among her best pro tectors, se.unen, the bread of eternal life. Mr. U. H. MARTIN said, it was proposed to fit not a large vessel(to be called " The English Ark, - ) capable of contain ing 7 or tsoo persons, who might assemble to bear pleaching and prayer. This vessel was to be kept afloat upon the ver : so that she might be removed for congregational purpo ses ; and there was no distinction of religious opinion to be inaiutained—all were to act according to conscience, and tree blue was to be the cosign of the ship. (applause.) Towards the close of the proceedings, Mr. Martin announ ced, that a gentleman of the Jewish persuasion, parsing through the house to a (limier in aid of au institution for per sons of his own profession at which a. Prince of th e Bl oo d Royal was to preside. had liberally subscribed to the impo ses of the prescnt meeting. With such a fact before them, what was the duty of Christians? This circumstance elicited great applause. . • Atter passing some appropriate rrsolutions, the meeting adjourned. MYSTERIOUS CASE OF NIUROER ! On Wednrstlov se'onight the body of a young woman, apparently about ':8 years of age, was discos - seed fleeting 1111 the tivtrlledway, at East Banning. It was te111 . 1.11 out of the water a shocking spectacle, and deposited it, 411 1/1111110115e on the premises of M r', Goldiseg. On the followilig iloy an inquest was held at the Bull inn, betiire dames ()now ay, E.q. Coroner, when the body was inspected by the jury, and exainnied by Mr. Cote. man, !urgent'', who ol.1: all clearly nf opinion that the th censi, snore),Pli t el i e l . 1 , iI . ,1 1 ,, .1 :.,: b „ : I. : . I C , t 1 1:, rr u e sl i ) l ie f i. ri i tI I y nitirderi4. It Uali supposed flint she had been in the w.c.ersleitrly a tertniehr ; she on , compl e t e ly dl essed. except that, from the t•tfect of the water, part of her clothes had twcoint rrAtin and wasted away. 'lite deceit•! d had no pockets on, nor 1 , 11.. thing about her to denote who she was, Or Ilion sslicore ..he came. Under these circum stances the Cormier Atlve,4 , tl 411 adjoutinment ante propeced ings hold r4ot nylon and in" the mean time to give public at • Saturday, at -t o'clock. the Connie tic o s i ;Pro la ig t i i i ‘ t .i c i l eA e " t i. o rr r t s l s l a t r h il t ss t i ll tl e i f i r it ie r ri th l : verdict of -." Wilful murder against r's inquest again met, but I ,. j o r t i t i s 4 unk flown." tin firther material nomination transpired. The roiry with- Upon the right temple was a woad severe wound, apparently inflicted by a hammer, or suait• hlutit instrument ; nod upon the head being opened, a great dual of extr•avasated blood surrounded the wound: Ott e were also Other bruises on various parts of the hody.--- Maidstone Gazette.