The National Register. — London, England, 1819-04-04 00:00:00

APRIL 4. REVISION OF THE ,(.7RIMINAL CODE. Th: Honorable Mr. Harbor(' has published an able and chignon appeal in faiour Of tiv above measure. It is hi the form of a letter to a friend, tnd we only regret that our limits will not allow us to more copious extracts. " EXCEPTIWO the ground upon which one si,.le of the House of Commons objt•cts to whatever is proposed by its Opposite, I have, I codes , , no conceptimi how or why the proposal fur resising toe Criminal Code can or should be combated. The religion we profess denotinci:s its severity, eeperietice proves at least its inn ility, auti the best feeinigs of our nature revolt at its must leuient es:coition. Mt, iiist oljecti- in to the infliction of capital punishment is, that the delegation of power over the lives of our fellow-creatures must, in the absence of direct evidence to the contrary, be deemed inconsistent with the bene volence of our Saviour ; and therefore that we have no right, eKcept io eases of the most extreme and absolute necessity, to deprive our brethren of life, S.icoudly, that capital punishment is at variance with the princi ples of our religious, whose brightest ornament is the mercy which it inculcates. Thirdly, the fallibility of all human judgments. Do we require to be reminded of cases innumerable in which judgments relative to pro perty, have been improperly given ? But is error in judgment confined to property alone ? have no instan. ces occurred within the short space of our own recollec tion where the innocent have suffered? Suffered what? lain of worldly goods ? Loss of liberty ? No, alas! the loss of that which no Court of Appeal, no human pow er can restore!! Hurried into the presence of an M. mighty Judge, where, • cent as the (opposed culprit may be of the crime alleged against him, he will have to account for those numerous misdeeds and omissions of which the best of us are guilty. But it will be said, perhaps, capital punishment is necessary to preserve the peace and good order of soci ety; and much as the necessity of such examples is to be lamented, they must be had recourse to for the pur pose of deterring others from crime.-1 am not quite prepared to admit this species of argument ; but admit ting it for the sake of argument only—Has capital punishment had the effect of deterring tubers front crime? Is it not notorious that crime has ince:aged bee )ond all bounds of proportion to the increase of our population ? And has not its frequency exceeded all calculations that could be made upon it as arising from temporary causes ? For the truth of this assertion I have only to refer you to the Returns made to the House of Commons between the years 1811 and 1818. If the object of punishment be the prevention of crime, and I imagine that is a point which no one will be found ignorant or barbarous enough to dispute ; and if, in a long course of years crime has flourished under the ex ecution of sanguinary laws, what conies of the argu ment fur their necessity? the only sad unauthorised ex cuse for assuming the exercise of a power which belongs to an unerring God alone. The next poiut to which I would advert is, the un reasonable equality of punishment observable in our Criminal Code, as attached to offences essentially vary ing in degrees of moral turOutle. In this cursory view of the subject it will suffice, perhaps, to adduce a single instance. A man who stops another in the highway and robs him of his money, without further violence, is liable and likely to suffer death for the c • e. The next robber takes the passenger's money ; but to secure him self from detection he adds murder to the clime of rob- bery. He is also liable and likely to suffer death for the offence. But is the degree of punishment, being equal, apportioned to the enormity of offence in these two most dissimilar cases ? On the contrary, is not the robber al most encouraged to become a murderer, in violation of those natural feelings of humanity, of which his neces sities may not have bereaved him? 1 have glow as concisely as the subject will admit of endeavoured to shew, that our present criminal code can. not be supported by, and is even at variance with, the the principles of our religion, suGnersive qf good morals, and erroneous in sound policy. Can any thing further be required ? Yes; it ss ill be said, perhaps, that another Code should be proposed not liable to similar objections In reply, I shall take the liberty of extracting from a pamphlet, lately published upon this subject, a few sentences precisely expressive of my own opinion, with the addition of some very desirable information which 1 should, witJatt such reference, have been in competent to alTdrd. Mr. Favell, in his speech before the Corporatie.i of London, in Dezember, 1818, ob server." Chastisement, followed by solitary confine. ment and hard labour, properly apportioned, together with a classification of criminals, and • ble rewards to the reformeJ and deserving, seem to ,be the best modes of corrective discipline which have yet been so;;- bested. In Holland, these have been long practised with extraordinary success ; and America has afforded striking instances of their beneficial effects. From authentic documents before me, I am able to state to the Court the experience of the United States both as to the decrease of forgeries by ceasing to exact she punishment of death, and as to the salutary effects of prison discipline, even upon those who have appeared lobe incort igible offenders. On the former of these subjects (Mr. Pavel) continues) in a tract published by one of the Judges in America, he says, in the case of forgery the balance is clear!, on the rile of the milder punishment. It is capital in New York, but it is not so in Pennsylvania. Bank Bills have been several times forged in the State of New York, but in Pennsylvania this crime has never been com ttt i t ted, ~Ithongh the Act which made it capital at first was r,-pealed about seven years ago. Counteifeiting the continental bills, and attering them . knowingly, were tHe biAtiONAL REGIATEIt. crimes, as far as I could learn, mach more freewill in this State, where they were capital, than in I:usineetieut, where they were not so." Lastly, it may be urged—We do not like Innovation ; it has a tendency to modern Refortn, which we &bond minate.—thi this ground I most confidently take tip the gauntlet. Has time made inroads on your constitusiou, and do you refuse change of air or climate for the restro ratio., of health? Are you sick, aid do you decline the use of medicine? Ido not feel myself particularly chargeable on the ground of a wild and culpable desire for lidinws. Yet be the imputations on me what they may, I feel pmud to declare, that so long ago as when I was at school I read, and have ever since cherished in sty remersdrrance, Lurd Bacon's words in his Essay on Innovation :—" Every medicine is au innovation : ond he that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for dine is the greatest innovator; and if time of course slier things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall hot alter them to the better, what shall be the end t" In a subsequent sentence he adds—" Uldess time stood a froward retention of, custom is as turbulent a thing as an innovation." "In the mean time 1 would not be supposed to foraet the con cluding part of the same Essay, in which it is observed— " It is good not to try experiments in States, except the necessity be urgent or the utility evident and well to beware that it be the reformation that draweth on the change, and not the desire of change that pretended' the reformation." To my understanding the necessity in this case is urgent and the utility evident. But in order that every possible light may be thrown icon the subject, and in order (to use Lord Bacon's own words in the Essay from which I have already quoted sonic passages illustrative of my principle and apt to my purpose), " that men" may " in their innovations follow tie example of time ilicti, which innovated& greatly bat quietly," we petition fur a Ravish*. of our Criminal Code." FROM TUESDAY NIGIITS GAZETTE. BANKRUPTCY ENLARGED. T. Reed and J. Middlemen, Newcastle•upon-Tyne, merchant. BANKRUPTS. W. Stubbs. Leek, Staffordshire, Innholder. S. T. Harding, C. Oakes, and T. Willingtoa, Tamworth, Bankers. F. Simpson, Huddersfield, woolstapler. J. and T. Gaunt, Annley. Yorkshire, woollen manufacturers. J. Barnes, Portsea, builder. J. Pearson, Portsmouth, mercer. J. and C. Bigg, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, common brewers. M. and C. G. Cotterill, Vine-street, Liquorpond-street, ba con merchants. W. Belph, Lewknor, Oxfordshire, farmer. M. and J. Pegrom, Artillery4treet, dealers. T. B. Moore, Denmark-court, Strand. paper-stainer. H. W. Andetson, Cushion-coutt, Broad-street, merchant. DIVIDENDS. April 20, T. Parsons, Duke -street, St. James's, breeches maker. 20. W. G. Harvey, Battle, Sussex, gunpowder-manufacturer.— 23, G. Ormerod, Lanehead. Lancashire, innholder.-2 1, T. Green, Upper Areley, Staffordshire, fanner.-21. P. D. and W. Tuckeit, Bristol, wholesale grocers—Amil 19, J. Underhill, Birmingham, merchant.-20, H. and W. Cuthoste, Maidstone, carpenters. 20, F. Rolland, St. James's-street. Piccadilly. perfumer.-2S. R. Leigh and D. Armstrong, Liverpool, mer. chants.-26, J. Jackson, Middleton, Norfolk, mert:.ant —23, R. Day, Norwich, grocer .- 3. N. B. and A. B. French, and J. Bar. too, Old South Sea-home, Broad Street, merchants.-12. T. and M. La P. Merac. Queen. street, Cheapside, warehousemen. —el, J. Briggs, Seulcoates, Yorkshire, groccr.-24. C. T. Coate, Sutton, Cambridgeshire, grocer.-26, S. P. Holland, and P. Ball, Worcester, hop-merchants.-24, W. Worrall, Liver pool, merchant.-27, B. Lane, Bircbin.lane, insurance-broker. CERTIFICATFS to be granted on or before the 24th of April next, unless cause can be shown to the contrary. M. Noble, Lancaster. chymist and druggist.—E. Thompson. Rotherhithe, ship-builder.—J. Ozenham. Oxford-street. man gle.maker.—W. een, Newcastle-under-Lyme. mama. SPANISH A astsstztrz,—The expedition preparing at Cadiz is carryitig on in all its details with an unusal degree of vigour. It is now asserted with the greatest confidence, that the sailing will not be delayed later than the first week in June. The naval force will consist of 4 sail of the line, 6 frigates, it brigs and schooners, and 26 gun boats. All these are at present in the harbour of Cadiz, and in a state of complete equipment. The trans ports which have been taken up in England, together with those already in the possession of Spain, anal her ships of war, will enable her to send out a force of 20,000 men. The greater part of the troops are aleady encamped in the neighbourhood of Cadiz, and are said, by eye-witnesses who have lately arrived in this conory, to be in a state of high order and discipline. Great surprise exists among those who know the dilapidated resources of Spain, concerning the quarter whence money has been furnished to meet the charges of the expedition : that money has been liberally supplied is certain, from the concurring testimony of all those who have been concerned in the contracts relating to it. Contributions, not strictly voluatary, have, it is said, been afforded by Spanish subjects ; but these cannot have been very extensive. Spain has also received assist ance from France to the amount of 1,500,000 livres, either in liquidation of some former claims or as a loan : and a bull 1138 . been obtained from the Pipe, for appro priating one tenth-part of 11w produce of ecclesiastical benefices. All accounts agree in stating that the cape didn't will be directed against Buenos-Ayres. The wife of a labouring man, of the name of Jo mph Richardson, •of Cooksey, near Bromsgrove, was delivered last Tuesday of four children at one birth, all girls. They are all likely to live, and the mother is going on well ; the poor man's wages are lOs. per week; ho has three children in addition to the above. 107 ti RS:Ult.:lo' OP A BI Li, Ai recommended 1,. the Comminee, for the Amend ment of the LAWS fill the I.4ms ellVAllUbi Ur GAM,.. Preamble.—Former Arts to be repealed, after a pet ic to be fixed. Hare:. Pheasants. other Game. and all wild and u..- reclaimed Animals, to Le the property of the Possessor of the la u d. LesMr of the land may reserve the property and 66:a of pursuing and killing Game. Certain persons may authorize any person or persoas to kill Game, under ?roper restriction. Persons doing so without consent, subject to a penall. Penalties how to be recovered. Clause (A.)—Justices to grant Licences to Dealers tit Game. Licences may be revoked. Clause (B.)—Persons not having &Certificate or Li cence, to account for Game found in their possession. Act not to extend to take away former penalties, upon destruction of Heath Fowl, &c. between cenain periods. When the season shall, (to the Grand Jury of the County at the Summer Assize) appear backward, they may extend the Restriction upon shooting to any day later than the first September. Notice of such delay to be published in Newspapers, and signed by the Foreman of the Grand Jury. Power of Lords of the Manors or Seignortes to ap point Gamekeepers preserved to them. After a certain period, no person to destrorGatne, feu by snare or net. Protecting the eggs of Pheasants and Partridges. Whet action shall be commenced. Exemptions from Penalties. Not to affect rights of free warren. Not to affect existing Duties on Game Certificates. Act to extend to England and Wales. IBSTRACT OF .1 BILL, To amend the LAWS respecting the SILTTLZISENT of the Bar. Preatnble.—No Settlement to be gained by residence, otherwise than as is by this Act provided. Settlement to be gained by a residence of three years. The three years not to commence under years of age, or before emancipation. Residence in Almshouses, kc. not to confer a Settle me:it. _ _ Persons claiming a Settlement by residence. matt make oath thereof before Justices, who are so examine and adjudge. Justices to record and certify their atljudieatioth Appeal against adjudication to Petty Session. Costs given to theltespondent when the Petty Session shall confirm the previous adjudication. Adjudication to be prima facie evidence ofSettlement. Dome:tic servants residing with their masters, &c. in different parishes, may gain Settlements where they re side the list days. Service of seamen in rated vessels; to be considered as residing in the rating parish. Justices may siispettil the actual removal ; and direct copies of the Order, &c. to be delivered to the parish in which the Settlement shall be adjudged; and the order may be appealed against, as if the pauper were removed. Parish giving notice of appeal, may require the actual removal. Justices may disallow the expense of maintenance by the parish requiring removal ; and may order the appel lant parish to pay tile charges of removal. Act not to affect Settlements derived from parents, or acquired by birth Or marriage. Act not to extend to repeal provisions of 35 Geo. M. c. 101, in cases of sickness. Overseer• shall keep Accounts, &c. of all relief distri buted to paupers, Stc.-3 W. and M. c. 11, §. 1 t, Access to such accounts. Publication of such accounts. Penalty on Overseers not keeping Inch account, &o. Provisions for parishes to apply to townships, Ste. To where the Act is to extend. An unfortunate accident occur'' , d on Tuesday in the New-road. As Mr. Bellasis, son of the late Dr. Bellasis, of &Widen, Berks, was crossing the road near the Small Pox Hospital, he was knocked down by the pole of a carriage which was passing, and before the coachman had time to draw up his horses, the fore wheel of the carriage had passed over his neck : he was immediately taken up and carried home, but the vital spark was extinct. Attempted Murder, Arson, and Swieide..--Tucs day night a gardener of the name of Lacey, who lodgedin a Louse in Mill Pond-street, Dock-head, attempted to murder his wife by battering her head. most dreadfully. he poor woman was sent to the hcspital ; after which the wretch cut his own throat .from ear to ear, and act fire to his room. The alarm was given in sufficient time to save the other parts of the house, but not before the monster was quite dead. _ _ Curaieto, the famous limpid, of Bri,tol notoriety, has been exhibiting her feats in various parts 'et America, where she was as fortunate in finding some fiats, as she had before been in England. We have net, however, aseertained whether the Studer:a of Eancrit and other Eastern lore, were ateng her dupes.