The Statesman. — London, England, 1815-11-18 00:00:00

ARGUMENTS 1 ,) cHOW THAT THlti CIOXIIR LAWS ARE CONTRA -10 'DM BIRCH-RIO= PRIVILSOLS OF ..NtiLISHMEN. et the Game Laws are contrary to the mnrality I ,; .he Faglish Constitution, as well as to the express s;,...latioas of the Common Law, which is the inhe -1k....re of every Englishman, appears clear from the fo g: sting :—First, As to the vitality of the Giusti or, it consists in its MORAL CART, as 31 ill be s tiaren hereafter from authority ; and indeed this ,consistent with sense and reason. This morality woos. conspicuous in the design and temperament e t the CUSHION LAW, which breathes a divine and philanthropic spirit; but the Game Laws, on the imerary, betray an unjust, oppressive, and &revi ew: s!;ii it. The two systems are hostile therefore in t t, i msition and character: feudal pride engendered e on p, the other spicing from celestial benignity.— .a.ry man knows that ALFRED Was the founder of k„ .rich Law,• and that he has obtained in cense. race the name of Janis Angliceni Condilar Mag ma; ;RV few people know the materials of which h e compounded this precious Code; few people are " are that it was from the Mosaic and Christian in matinees that lie gathered his ave. and benevolent precepts. Ile who lovos equal-handed justice must venerate the Les Salionis of Moses; and he who ;, b cpsirs any of the milk of human kindness must ' T ally venerate the philanthropic precepts of the glee Teacher of Christianity. These divine beieg both infused into our ancient Common hart, the who are is enemies must be equally the enemies of justice and human& . -Such are the men w h o hair .ervicted the Game Laws. By At FaRD'S means the Ten Commandments were once part of the Common law; and " why they should not be so now," says Mr. FORTESCUE ALAND, 44 would be very difficult to give a good reason for."—Akrexo hol no ambitious, no selfish passions to gratify ; his sole ohject was the good of men; but the Game Lass sacrifice the private property of the industrious rJltirator, to maintain destructive animals for the cruel p%.asures and luxury of a few individuals ; and as t. ^O. animals devour what would otherwise afford a abuielant supply to the necessities of man, v...y are contrary to humanity, as well as justice. /rive Ell'S laws commanded that all men should have visa! justice, and he adds, there shall not be one law for tie rich, and another for the poor. Judica sem per jadnin Judieium, 'segue Judas gliud jut diviti alhat Leon Alfred, upadifil kin:, p. 32.) W 0311 we find this equality of right in the Cite Lass, which command that one man shall kill and enjoy the game that another man feeds ?—ls not thi s es p r essly what ALFRED forbids, namely, that tle-re shall be one law for the rich, and another for 'the poor ? The Mosaic Law extended humanity even In brutes ; they were not to labour on the seventh dal, our was the ox to be muzzled whilst he trod oat the corn ; but the chief glory of the Hebrew le gislator consists in reducing the bitter lot of slavery I. a mild mate. very similar to that of servitude with a.. This ALFRED copied also; but the noble ‘II siva was frustrated by the barbarity of the f .4141 ages. Ile ordered also charity to be shown -to the poor, and hospitality to strangers. He t. pied likewise the Christian lawgiver in the . 3t or peace and good will to all men ; and A- 'ivy of ifoing to others as we would that they Sh:'‘l do to us. In short, if the Christian and b. • dispensations sprang from a divine source, ..1 m,,51 we admit, that the Common Law, which is the both-right of very Briton, is divine also; and he rnmpares the pure morality of that law, which we proudly call our untloulsted inheritance, with the 'esibarity and injustice of the Game Laws, must have the heart of a savage, if he can approve the en croachments which have been made by the latter teem the former. It is well known to all persons Varersant with our ancient laws, that in Saxon t.m s Pvery man had a right to kill the game on his rest, estate ; indeed, without such a right, it is a ri dam!eus thing to call those possessions real pra t:trig : an estate on which another person, or per inns. can feed animals for their own purposes, is nu (-gate at all. This right in our Sault' ancestors, is even admitted by Bt.ackaroNE, Com/nen/my, B. iv. c. 33. s. IL—WILLIAM the Norman changed tenure from allOdial to feudal, which, at the first, w , 1!; very mild. Thiv same IVILLiam the Norman rbd, as CANUTE the Dane had done before him, he swore to maintain the Common Law of England, Which was Saxon ; and the fact is, that Iv; mail can lw King of England without taking that oath.— NeTertheres‘ the owl - , hath not been kept ; for had it been kept, then would every landowner in Eagland mill be the solo proprietor of the game on his estate, •a% by the express laws of the Saxons he was di ..Aired to he. _ _ Wir.r.rivm florus was the first breaker of this oath. `He pretended that all the game in the kingdom was the sol-e propprty of the King, and none but the King, or those whom he pleased to give that privi. to, had any right to kill theta. Although tisk pre - • I , ace set up by ItcFCS, and first established by means of pijo.rv, injustice, and the violation of private property, was afterwards counteracted by the Char ter of the Forest, which revived Salon principles, and gave the people a real property its their land, yet.the same wicked design was afterwards revived by the. Game Laws, which do actually proceed upon the very principles of the tyrannic Runts, whose name is loaded with execration in every histery.— It is •very strange, but it is nevertheless true, that many persons join in this general execration against the Norman, and yet support the Game Laws, which produce the same effect ascribed to the tyranny of that Prince by the Poet : " lu vain ktoa seas , qo sweird the teeming grain. Soft showers diwili'd, and Mins grew warm in vain; The Wahl with tears his frustrate labour )ields. And Tarnibleil ,ties amidst his ripek'd fields." It should be soled., that the Charter of the Forest,' by which the right of property on Saxon principles . was secured against the predatory privileges assumed by Rufus, was intended to be as sacred and irrevo cattle as the great Charter itself. On this point I shall give • quotation from the Treatise of Mr. Falai:scut ALAMO, prefiaed to the excellent work . of his ancestor, tile great Chancellor FORTERCVE, its be rpiga of Ehiprigy VII. on Absolute and limited Mosarchy: he says, "The stream of the laws of . UPWARD the Coofesoor • flolking from n Saxon fowl- F illE STATESALk.g. I tain t and containing the substance of our present these Game Laws have been sanctioned by Repre !laws and liberties, sometimes running freely, some- sentatives, who had no power In distrottichise their times weakly, and sometimes stopped in its course ; Constituents !--Uy Lords, desirous of extending but at last breaking thrnugh all obetructions, bath their own innnoritil right, at the expenca of the mixed aria incorporated itself with the GREAT f veomattry of England, o ur b e ll 'rapport ited.elf CHARTER OF OUR ENGLISH LIBERTIES, * Kings, who would have done better, had they paid whose true source the Saran Laws are, and are still more regard to their Coronetion doh, that solemn in being, and still the FOUNTAIN of the Common compact, %Mot binds both Prince slid People! Low • ' therefore it was a aety jolt • observation of i Can any MO deny that the COtORIIIIi Law of Eriglanti Lord COKE, Who says, that Magna Charts was but I is an heir loom attached to the whole empire, end of a Confirmation or Restitutio n of the Common Law which neither King, Lords, nor Commons can toli of England ; and when he says that an Act of Par- I posterity ? if this is not to be denied, Oleo IS it liftmen/ made against Magna (ludo is vni (N. B. I clear that something more than the mere solic it was the same against the Cearter of the Forest), he tion of the Three Estates is tieresaary to obtain is not to he understood of every part of it, hot drily l our respert for an Art of Parlianieet. —An of the MORAL PART of it, nhirh is as immota- Act of Pediment, Whig Cie act of the whole We as stature itself, for no Act of Parliament ran isaiinn i if it is contrary to the rights nrld alter the nature of rhinge, and make " virtue vice, of the too , the patriot, instead of respecting such and vice virtue."-1 3 . xxix. a l aw , /eight tai expose it, that its repeal or amend. So far this writer, whose authority as well as that • ment may C.ereby be procured. It has been shown, , of Sir EDWARD COKE is clearly again , t the Game front great authority, that there are souse things j Laws, as being an innovation upon that Common which an ACt of Parliament cannot do :—it cannot Law which is an Englishman's hit th-right. Parlie- change the nature of things,—it cannot convert vice , meats were instituted to preserve the people's fran- . into virtue,—it cannot, because it ought uot, subvert chines : for this express purpose they receives dele- nod destroy the motraLITY or THE ENGLISH CONsTY.• gated trust from the people themselves—and not only • TuTiom. Such Acts we have seen, ought to ha held a trust but wages ; at least, this was the case at the null and void.—Why so ? Because the morality of time the major part of the Game Laws were made.— the Constitution is the. vital part thereof—it resem- How horrible then was the treachery of the men who bles the immortal soul in man—it is that which our made those same Game Laos? They received the ancestors intended should LIVE FOR EVER—it is money of their Constituents, and by may of grateful that they had in view, when they exclaimed ESP() return disfranchised them. By what authority did PERPETUA. they do this ? Surely the people never delegated to ,; • smyr: eary informs us that many Act. of Parliament them any peter for such a purpose ; and without have been set up, and have afterwards perished for the people they had tin power whatever ! ! Can this want of this vital principle—constitutionality. The flagrant perversion of a sacred trust reduce a validauthority on which LMrsoo and D UDLEY act e d, was act? Is not -such an act contrary to the moral part o f an unconstitutional Act of Parliament, and they the Constitution, %Welt, as we have just seen from were executed for carrying it into practice. An Act high authority, is paramount, and beyond the power of Parliament was passed in the reign. of HENRY of any Act of •Parliament to infringe or subvert?— VIII. to give that King's Proclamations the force of If the Common Law is our birth-right, then must that law, yet this Act did not convert such Tyranny lute law be immutable and irrevocable ; and to guard and legitimate Government. here are practical proofs nurintain it, is a duty we owe to ourselves, our coati- that,an Act of Parliament cannot convert vice into try, and our posterity. It was "P"" this foundation virtue.—Some people imagine, that an long ns we that the Common Law wets etophatically called by our have a King, a House of Lords, and a House of ancestors FOLK-RIGHT. Commons, we possess the essentials of the Constito. It is with the same view that the preamble to the tion. It is iso'slich tiling: that consists in the mo. Bill of Rights calls the law of England " the in- • ral part of our Government, and not in the forms heritance of the people thereof." Now we have seen thereof. So was it at Rome, once famed for her that by this law of inheritance, this YOLK emu; freedom ; she had her Senate, her Consuls, &c. every landowner had a right to kill the game on his &v %lieu her moral government was gone, and sbe own land, and no man was bound to feed any atiiml.l for another man's profit or recreation. Sir F. groaned under the most disgraceful slavery. --tr ur A u ° If- the Reader of this Paper should also have been Core says, not only that the l a w Is nor i " • the reader of the Reedit, g Mercury, he will disco. heritance," but also says, that it is " our best in- I ver that most of the argument. here adduce 4 have heritance;" because, without it, says he," no other been mentioned • in a letter printed in that Paper, inheritance would be safe." We now discover the • under the signature of Jorte JOHNSON. Seymour.. truth of this remark. The Game Laws have shown court, Bucks. Mr. J. was not desirous of obtruding us that his Lordship spoke oil good grounds ; for his real name unnecessarily on the public notice; those Game Laws, by subverting our inheritance in but the Rending Editor having suppressed several the Common Litw, have left not only our property parts of a letter sent him with flee initials only, give but our persons insecure. The first property is the ing as a reason for It that he did " not choose to be production of the soil, that is evidently insecure, respOnsible for the opinions and political doctrines of being subject to devastation by wild animals which others," and that the real name ought to have as;. the unqualified cultivator cannot kill, though be finds companied the article sent for insertion, that Gene them in the very act of destroying his property.—. tleman conceived it incumbent on him to show what And then as to the safety of our persons; it wet e the nature of his opinions. He does not expect is at an end if a game-keeper can lawfully shoot they will meet with every man's approbation; but it . any unqualified man he may suspect of an in. is su ffi cient for him to know that they are closely tention to d e s t ro y th e game, and thus w e see thi s united with the cause of t religioo, humility, and sage remark of Sir EDWARD COKE has been verified justice, and that whilst he adheres to them he will be . by the operation and effect of the Game Laws.-- sure to reap the sweet reward of self-congratulation. The great Chancellor FORTESCIIR comes in confirms. tint, of Sir Erman° Corm He tells us in his book I Seymour - court , Nev. 13, 1915 . Dc Lautlibus Legum Anglia', that the King is in vested with a power. flowing from the people, for the purpose of guarding their laws, their persons, and their properties; and then hit adds, that " a King of England cannot govern by any other power than this." So then it appears that Englishmen are only to be governed by a power derived from thein selves ; this is the only legitimate power in this island. This is the Constitutional power, that we ought to prize at home and allow to others—the Po. trains popalo ejilaya, as this great Chancellor, who wrote a book, De Landibus Legam Anglia!, that is, for the express purpose of giving due praise to Eng lish Law, bath defined it. And be further tells us, n hat is the end and intention of this delegated power, which, indeed, may be called the only true Divine right : he says, that it is to guard our laws, our persons, and our properties—ad Tutelar,' tegis subditorum ejus, et cornea, corporum, et bonorum. Here we see that the true legitimate power in this country is a tutelary power, whereas the power assumed by the Came Laws is a predatory power, if riot u homicidal one: it is a power that exposes our property to repine; a power that pretends to have o right over our very lives if we molest, or cause to he molested, those privileged criminals that ravage and lay waste our property. Let the unqua lified cultivator speak out : if he takes any measures whatever to destroy the game that are destroying iiim, nay, if he is only suspected of such a design, by some miscreant of agave-keeper, he may, it should seem, be shut with impunity. Is this the 7'atelary law by which we are to be governed, and which is declared to be the birth-right of an English matt ? No; it is not that just, that merciful, that Divine law, which ALFRED eatfaCtEti from the Bible, but one as opposite to it, as lleaveu and Hell are to lone another. Friday, an Inquest was held at the sign of the George, St. John-street, Clerkenwell, on the body of Matthew Winter Holder, a watchmaker, 25 years of age, who was found dead between one and two o'clock on Thursday morning, lying on the cellar flap of Mr. Talker's, a cheesemonger in the same street, by John Chesterman, superintendent of the watch ; he Is on his face, with his coat stripped a and thrown over him, with a severe bruise on his face, and his nose bloody. Mr. Chesterman had the body removed to the George public-house,and had his temples fomented with brandy, and sent for Mr. Bartlett, surgeon to the Finsbury Dispensary, who same insmodieteiy, bet the deceased was dead. On further enquiry, it was learned that about an hour previous to the body heing found by Mr. Chester man, the deceased was discovered by a man who was returning home from a benefit club, lying on his face, which was covered with blond, and he in a dyiug state. This man very humanely went to the two seat watchmen, and brought them to the place, and showed them the deplorable state of the unfor tunate man, and requested their aid in carrying him to the watch-house ; the watchmen positively refused to take him to the watch.house, saying it was con trary to their orders to take him there, and that they dare not do it. The humane passenger finding the watchmen would give him no assistance, took the dyiag men and 4 4 1 i tmpted to carry him on his hack to some public- ,in doing which the deceased's coat came off, and this man could net put it on again, end at the desire of the watchmen he laid down the deceased again, covered him over with his Gout, and left him.—The Jury were much divided in 'insect to the verdict they were to return. Some were of opinioii, from the blood and marks on his face, that he had been knocked down by some per son ; others were of opinion that it was caused by a fall, and that lie died through excessive drinking; and others that he died through the culpable negli gence of the watchmen. Mr. Chesterman cleared the watchmen, by stating that they had positive instruc tions from the Committee to take no such persous to the watch-house. The Jury, however, under the direction of the Coroner, returued a verdict—Died ty the Visitation of God. Here then we arrive at a certain 'conclusion, that these Game Laws are directly contrary to the funda mental principles of oor Government. And let us enquire what lost the STUARTS the Crown, what put it on the head of the GWELFS, but a desire to govern by a power of this kind, a power incompatible with the fundamental principles of our free Government. Let the patriot make his choice, which he loves best, the barbarous Games Laws, or those fundamental principles of our free Government which were pre served by the Revolution of 1688! Let the Royal Family choose which they love best, the savage Game Laws, or the principles that acquired them a glorious Crown ! Let the moral man choose which', he loves best, the crdel, oppressive, Anti-Christian Game Laws, or the morality of that divine Constitu tion, which the great ALFRED extracted from the morality of the Bible! Perhaps some silly, superficial person will think it enough that titps e Game Laws have received thn sanction of king, Lords, and Commons ; and what (hen ? Has nothing unjust, nothing unconsti tutional) been ever done under that suction? les, CATASTROPHE IN WELL-STREET. The roias of Mr. Constadt's concerns still issue. forth smoke and dame, and such is the immense heap of rubbish, that, not withstanding the exertions of Nearly 100 persons, it was not rollielently removed at a late hour on Friday for exploring that part of tbalmildlog where the bodies of the three persons missing aresupposed to be buried. Among others who assisted in clearing the ruins. 'was Mr. Constadt himself, dressed as a labourer, and furnished with a pick-axe and shovel. Ills ease has excited the most lively eommisseration for his as sfortone, and every assist ance has been affn ded him by the neighbourhood. His loss eaodot be computed under 40.000. as. iudependent of the two warehouses, with all the machinery, &c. there was also an im mense quantity of sugars. The individuals who bad been eon 'fled to the London Hospital, from the elfr.scts of the explosion, ate, we usidentanel, in a fair way of recovery. rfg'l! ROYAL GORRF-SPONDENCiI I 0116 TITS KAItItt.SOE OF TIM DUKE AND DUCHESS or-. am BEI:Loco; An ehttatet of the following loqlei was pUIIIIShert ;IC this Paper On the 7th oli. We are now desited to loft! It at length. 1.:11r R FROM MAJESTY Thlt QUEEN to HIS SEIZENE IrtIGHNEss Ttit DOKE OF ULM. I.t..NRERG STK ELI .'L. r. 10.0 bentier. 1814. Str., alp SWAPO* 8101111E11,-.-1 can sr*rcely had %souk .liititistitt } strong to espre•s- to you them I • felt on wt•-isitte your loiter, with which my sou't ! messenger was charged. The irruses you make rem sporting your silence, my aPar frit ntl, are sutserfluous4 knotaiit4, is I do, that the waters or Pyrtnont wilt ' not allow of any application whatevii; anti is• la agree with you that the Princess of Sohn, Could not on this occasion foresee that you would not write. Tons, t'ieu, this union is near its conclusion ; God grant that the brilliant perspective which both have formed may be realized, in the result of which l i the age of both authorises the most Pattering hopes, ! and in n hicii the character you trace of your daughter I gives me the greatest confidence.' You may be assured, my dear Brother, that I shall !endeavour to feistier the residence of the Minces, &alms amongst us is pleasant and agreeable as Cit.; cumstances will perm!t, considerinsi that my soden:. tar). life prevents me torn contributing meth to the amusement of the Princes?, and that the greeter pert of my time is passel in the coutitry, w here oikeettetr is very limited, and our life uniform. She will s hest. ever, be always a welcome guest when she . eofeees and we shall endeavour, my daughteri and myself, to do our best to entertain her. ' I have written to my son, the Duke of Cumberland, my ideas relative to she children of Solms. I thought this necessary, to correct a misunderstanding which hid taken place on both sides: I endeavoured to the utmost of my power to convince him, how stetesaary it was to observe the precautions which L soggested. The desire of preventing inconveniencies in future to both parties, induced me to take this step. As I have reason to believe that paternal mittmi will have a salutary influence on your daughter, I ; think I may confide to you what will be essential for the Princess on her arrival here. The usages of Ithis country being so different from what they are on the Continent in every respect, I fear that my son may not be sufficiently attentive to them. is this is fur you (done, I confide to you that it is not the fashion here to receive morning visits from Gentles men, to which she will be exposed by the citcem stance of the Duke being Colonel of a regiment, unless lie himself introduces them to her; she should also be very circumspect in the choice of Ladies with whom she shall associate, which will be so much the more necessary, as the Duke has sc. I quaintance amongst cur sex, who, although not I actually of bad condsct, tn:ght, however, be. come injurious to her ill point of policy. I been found that the advice of the dear King, of being !uniformly polite to every one, of doing nothing in 'the spirit of party, and of adhering closely to hie family, hes been my surest guidance during my long ; residence here, and, I thinkplisantiot do better than to transmit these sentiments by you, dear bro. Cher and friend, as father to fo r niece Ind futiri , daughter-in-law, which you will intik, use of in suck a manner as you shall judge prow. I have sent Isw the Messenger six pounds of tee and two cheeses tat the latter to my health, and, in drinking the let es I member a sister whose attachment for you will so cease but with death to be, Sir, my dearest Brother, Your very affectionate Sister and faithful Friend, CHARLOrtg. To Moonier,. gry Brother, the rt igning Duke of Mecklenberg. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. f- R Ut4GATE, Nov. 17.—Sailed yesterday most of the vessels that had put in here for shelter. A pact of the British Guards are at this moment embarking on board of two transports for France. PLyMOUTIT, Nov. 16. Pat back by contrary winds, the Woodburn, Marsh. DOVER, Nov. 16.—Put in the Juno schnonei, from Boston, for Amsterdam, having lost the greatest part of her sails duping the gale on the 13th inst. Ballwin!, Nov. 16.—Sailed the Trareller and the Torinar transports, with horses, for Ostend ; Prince of Orange packet, for Holland ; and the Castlereagh packet, for Cuzhaven. This morning, between four and five o'clock, RA .alarming and destructive fire broke out in one of the • unfinished houses on fAraboth Terrace, which rago4 with great fury for two hoots, and was not got,nu.. der until the whole of the house in which it began, together with one adjoining were consumed. We Lure happy to hear .that no lives were los', t h ough severely we fear, were hurt by the falling of the scaffold.. Con' EXCIIANCF, Nor..l7.—flu' few nrfivals of Wheat shie• 111.111111:. set hldattlis's priers were ohlained.—A goad supvly of li •• ley. at a redartitta of 11.-13tikn4, Peal; sod Oats folly 113.4141r00m Widoesdm's prices. Wheat (English) • .4.2 71 Beans Ditto.(Foreign) 4141 74 Old ditto .., lice 4B 32 Tick do. Risley • "16 54 New .-.., New ditto •.— I Oat' ..... ... .23 3 i Malt • ~.60 64 Fine ditto White Fens 34 Sfi 2 P01111)d do. T4 44 New ditto .... .... 1.. ' Feed ditto '• 1$ ':1 Ditto lioilen -384! I Fine Floes b3 ot) limy. Peas SMITHFIELD MARKET.—Nov. 17. To t i: It the 011"sl, per stoue of 81t.. Beef ... 4. 01 o , !A 41. Heed of Cattle this day t Hutton . 4. 0". t. 5. 4;. 11ensts ilea; ... ffs Od to 7s. 41. Shcei Pork ... 4s. 01. to 5. it'. , Catits . ~ Load, ... .0.. 0•1. t•• O. 0:. Pies HA li-111ARK FT. 1 Hay ' 41. Hs. .14d. to 51. 0.. 01. rl-Aser 5l. (16. r U. to 6t. 6.. 01. Straw ll. 19.. • Od. to 14. 164 tid. • • COAL MARKET, Nor, 17. Shins at 111arkef:•• - Ships 01 , 1. . Price. 554 Newcaftle fit .... 45. 6d. to 5.45. 941. 6# stoderlaed ... ... tit . . 47.. Y.I. AO 5415, dd. 1 • ? • ~/ A I t . , • ,•:1 4 , kt 4 Nil the let in 'I of 0- ly is- tot' rip, 1 a