The Statesman. — London, England, 1818-02-25 00:00:00

■ '' r F. , ,_ mg 71` , / 0 7 v•_ -• loopiest or otherwise, was impeded for public pur.. poses —a lid was the duly elute Houseto see that the vies for which these grant 14 wet, made, were perfectly fulfiller!, before they .permitted them to he appro. rioted to ettrarieous purposes. By the 53r1 of the the City obtained leave to raise 96.0001. ter the purpose of building a new Prison--end, when that Act was called for, the City did nut plead po verty-as the raison for having recourse to it, Un doubtedly, the trodden of prisons was a maitre of Wrest laillorsancelitd, if the City had proceeded to build them, with their owes fouds., instead of lavish. lug those feuds in arts of magnificence and roonifi. fence, no person cnula have quarrelled with them. — Bat they had nos only dime this, they lad impru dently made away with theism which had already been greeted. The Prison, often built, was found quite TilaYequate to its object...-and the;. the Corpo ration, a ithout any Parliamentary sanction what ever, on their Own mere authority, added 34,0001. of *.debt to the sum of 96,0001. previously expended.— If there were no other ground than this, the Noose, ,be thought, would consider it to be quits sufficient to induce them to refuse the grant which the City 'stow called for, word they had satiSfactorily account. ed fur the mosey they bad *heady expended. lle held an Accoont •in ki p heed; ' , bids was peblisbed for the usd . of the MeMberi of the Corporation them selves, and therefore might be presumedto be correct. From this it'appeered, the', in the last 37 years the Corporation had expended— In the Improvements o f Public Streets 5e51,0130 .Gold sexes, swords., dke. 7,699 Statue of the Kisig—hireormeatsto ford Chatham, Mr. Pitt. and UNA Nelson—Geld Aexe. so the • Makes of Kees mod Sums. Voleaft Arad -. • usher public etwaractenTia laugh] *Ceirears of Me Volaaseer Crops 1,60 d, Public Charities • . . w • Dowitious to peblic abfeess, coaisected with pro . Piers—(a . Mat Making a total of ,e 126,810 If they had bad srperdeous money to mend, many . 6 1 ethe objects seleited for their bounty he considered extremely proper—but, becenceired, when they had . tio - money of their own to command, their munifi cence was extremely reprehensible. They had ex • vended on the Jail the sum of 130,0001. which they wit obliged to burrow. But, if they, had abstained front laying out the sums be had mentioned— 'if they had adhered to the maxim, 66 Be just before .yon are generous"—they would havo'had a fund ca pable of carrying on the work without applying to . Pe ( liament. This was net the first time their funds liferedeficient. In a former period of their history 4 750,0001. had been forcibly taken from orphans, on der the specious plea of protecting their interests, in 'consequence of the supineness sod inattention of that !Douse. That sum '(which gave rise to what was 'called the Orphans' Fused) was dissipated—was made a source of private emolument to the Corporation.— Ile held in his hand a paper, which wee called a brief :statement of their accounts. They there made them liettes debti•rs in the sem of 33,0001. to a fund of LWl,ich they were the trustees—and which was granted tree a specific purpose—he.meant the Bridge-house ids' tate Fund, which was given for the purpose of - bending and repairing London bridge. From this - fund they had, without security, borrowed 33,0001. 'hi money, and 45;0001. three per emit. Consols, which amounted to 40,0001. So that if London. bridge were swept away to-morrow,' they had not the means of re-building it—Mit must again apply to • the Orphans' Fund. This was not the only misap plication of money, which s as intended solely for the, use of that bridge. By an ancient Charter,. the 'Corporation had a jurisdiction hr the Borough of Southwark, but it was not eligible for any person to assume it, unless lie had passed the Chair. This *right lay dormant for many years • but it was lately revived to create a place for a decayed Alder. man. It was a gross, a nefarious job! Did the '' Corporation mean to say, that there was a want of 'Justice in Southwark ? There were 34 Justices of she Peace resident within that district. Now, great • Inconvenience had been created by this new system! The Sessions, must, of course, he all held in the samd 'week, so that there were two Courts sitting in Sur rey, two Grand Juries were acting, and the suitor did not know to which he was to proceed. To de ' tray the expence of this establishment, 1,4001. per ''annum were taken from the Bridge-house &tale Fetid. This was•the maiverntiou of which he com plained. With respect to the Prison, nothing could be worse planned or worse constructed. In the Course of a year 20 persons were called on some. times to fill the office of Sheriff, 19 of whom, it was well known, would not undertake the duties of 'the office, and must, of necessity, fine. These fines, in one particular year, hail amounted to 9,4001. and, on an average of four years, had produced 20,0001. 'or 5,0001. per annum. Had they appropriated this sum to the payment of interest. they might have bor. rowed the money necessary for building the Prison. For all these reasons, it was proper that the House `should colf" Yee the City Acenems, that they might see whether the sums granted to the Corporation Mar) been faitirfolly applied or not, and he should, therefore, move— " That there be laid before this House a State- I meat of the Account of the Revenues of the City of Loodon, the same have been received in the Chaos. tier of the said City, for five sears, ending the 31st of December, 1817; distinguishing the sums coming in from vents and quit.rents, partial of f ices and be. quests, brokers, freedoms sold, freedoms taken up, fines for sales, insurance of officers' lives, interest of public securities, sale of securities," &c. Sir W. CUU.I'IS said, the Honourable Member bad made several observations on gross jobs—but, for his part, be never heard so gross a speech in the course of his life.—( laugh.)—The Corporation 'had been most unjustly accused. The City were obliged, in some degree, to maintain Jails for all the counties of England—and they were put to a most "enormous expence by the County of Middlesex. Last 'year it cost them 19,0001. for the maintenance of the several prisoners, who came to London from all quar ters. The City of London had no objection to give an newt of the expenditure of the 95,0001., but they did not wish to furnish a copy of the whole of their accounts. On the issue of the City Bonds, there had been a loss of 10,0001.—and, therefore, the Honourable Gentleman called the 'rosiness a job— bat he would state as broadly, that it was not the fact. The Corporation ReCOintS were quite 'FPI.. g ate and distinct from those relitive to the Prison— sod therefore ought not to be ca, Baronet thess.argued. that-nrucis from thie‘ritaistanOiliOully oT City seNjurin4laint rot d.festdvst-tk% ' coystittfui den of,. Bridite-hou.e Committee, whose conduct tiered -perfectly proper. Tine Ilostoetable neat adverted to the seixore of the Orphan's Fond, in the time n Charles the Second, when 1750,0001. was taken from the City Treasury. The Par liament of that time saw their could not repay the sum, and therefore gave them the duty on coals. Every shilling of that sum was now paid- , -there was now no Orphans' Fund—and he would endeavour, peat year, to have the title changed, since it occa. *Wired People to say that the Corporation possessed, mosrey bet ougine to Orphans; and that they were' unjust, ungrateful, sod embenkful.--[4l laugh.]— They had, in the execution of that which the House sanctioned, created a debt of 34,0001. That sum ought to he granted to them to liquidate the debt, ( and they would never trouble the House more., [neer, bear!]—The Hon. Baronet concluded by: moving, as an Amendment, " That there be laid be. fore this House an AcConsit of the several payments and , daties composing the Orphans' Fund, fur the last Fit years, together with the annual charges on the lame, with the debts which remain outstanding and chargeable on the same Fund." Mr. Serjeaut ONSLOW said, mdwithalanding the %epilogs speech which the lion. Baionet bad de livered, he had not heard one word in answer to the trtotiou of his lion. Friend. When the Corporation called for a coutinuatien of a duty on coals, they certainly had a right to state some strong grounds for coming to the House with such a proposition. The Hon. Baronet load designated the speech of the lion. Mover as very gross one. But really he could not see how the lion. Mover, in speaking of the misap plication and malversation of funds, •could use any other terms than those he had adopted. The Corpo ration, itappeared, had squandered away very large sums of looney. This they certainly had a tight to do, provided the money were their own ; but the case was very different when it belonged I. others.— The Corporation according to the Hon. Baronet, had been very generous. But that was anew sort of generosity which made away with funds that did not belong to those who made use of them. Those funds were applied to the purchase of trinkets—to the giving of grand entertainments—and to various other purposes foreign to the use for which they were in tended. This, he conceived, to be no inducement to the House to grant more money. The Hon. Baronet alluded to the time of Charles 11. Now it ought not to be forgotten that what took place then had im posed a most grievous as on the City of London, and en the neighbouring counties,. which ought to I.e removed as speedily as possible. The manner its which the Hots. Birenet had treated the question was an unanswerable ground for agreeing to the motion. The honour of the City of London ought to make the Corporation anxious that it should be carried, and he certainly should vote fer it. Mr. Alderman WOOD contended, that the City of London had not easbeetled any pert of the Bridge.louse Estate--is no one instance had they made gifts of any part of that property. With re. spect to the '24,0001. said. to be expended on an en. tertainment 'to the Liheratori of Europe—this was for two dinners—one of .them to the Duke of Wel lington, cost 5,0001.• and though he had opposed the war, he had mos ed for that very dinner. The Hon. Gentleman who brought forward, the motion, and the ilnuourahle and Learned Gentleman, did not seem to be aware, when they spoke of missp. plication of the proceeds of the Bridge-house Estate, that the county so which they belonged had borrowed money from that Estate (or the purpose of mskitig a sewer in St: George's-fields, an object of the greatest utility, for which, however, they yield not otherwise obtain funds. Another item of espence on that Estate was for the erection of a Justice-hall in Southwark, which was built at the earnest request of the People of the Borough, who complained that small offences were not prosecuted of account of the distance of the Sessions at Guildford. The espence of this was 1,2001. It was to be recollected that the Bridge at Blackfriars had been built out of the fund which had been said to have been applied solely to the benefit of the City of London. The building of that Bridge, and the other comsnunications, had in., creased the rental of Surrey 500.0001. The City of London too, it should be recollected, paid 11,5001. yearly towards the Orphans' Fond. The City now only asked for 17,0001. from this fend ; and, though they were not alarmed at a scrutiny, he did not think such a request as this warranted the House in calling for their Accounts. The Prison to which this was to he applied was principally for Middlesex Debtors. There were now 400 prisoners in it who did not belong to the City of London ; and 3,0001. a year additional expense was incurred by removiag them from Newgate. It had been said, that' In 're turn for their supporting the Jails of the County of Middlesex, the City had the fines paid' by those who declined the office of Sheriff; but it was to be re membered, that these fines were only paid by Chi sens—eo other pereons in the County of Middlesex were Habil! to serve that office, which was an eapence of 2,5001. to any one who undertook it. Mr. BARCLAY contended Southwark received no benefit from the monies. paid out of the City Funds. Blackfriars-bridge, if it was a benefit to Surrey, had also beets a benefit to London. As to the money which had been borrowed for the sewers in St. George's-fields, it was on good security, and would be repaid. dany other sums, issued from the came Fund, world, he feared, 'tenet be returned. If the City was to apply in forma pauperis for money to maintain its own Prisons, whets London. bridge was to be rebuilt they might expect a similar application. The City now said, they had received money already from the Orphans' Fund for the same purpose. It was the duty of the House to see that this was not unnecessarily increased. If, when they called for the accounts, it appeared that the City had fairly expended its mostey—thas It bad been jest to its creditors- as well as gesiereii--it would be proper to relieve them ; but if the money had beets squandered, be did not think be should do his duty if he supported them in such a course. He . . supported the motion. Sir. J. SHAW said, that wbeo the City of Loa- buratto of the be tivown on the City,, because within this shire They bad been posessed'of that branch of the Royal Pre. roptive ? The City had acted liberally in malting the Impsovement which was deemed necessary in their New Jail without obtaining any pledge from Persia• meet; but he hoped the Bosse would net now desert them. Ile should support the amendment. Mr. Alderman ATKINS supported the amendment. Mr: BENNETT said, that the New Prison In Whitecross-street, which had been spoken of, was one of the worst contrived and most•discreditable he had ever seen. The men in that Prison were sepa. rated—the London debtors and the Middlesex debtors ' • but the women were all mixed together.— As to th e pledge which was said to have bees given, that the espence of the elteration -in that Prison should be•made good by Parliament, it was neither .more nor less thin this—wheo the Commktee oa Jails visited that Prison, they saw that en one port there nag a wall which obstructed the circulation of stir, and the Committee said, that if the wall was veiled down, and it was made to appear that the money was expended properly, they should support an application to Parliament for that sum. But it did not follow from this, that he should not support the present motion for en enquiry into the meaner in which they had disposed of their funds.—[flear !) To the questions which had been asked as to the disposal of their money, answer had beeirgiven by an eulogium en their Prisons. But as the Honour- I able Baronet (Sir W. Curtis) confessed that he had been mistaken in a statement on the former occasion, which Will on nothing less than the whole point at issue, thiy might think it possible that he had been mistaken in some-of his statements on the present oc casion. As to the state of Newgate, a Gentleman who had recently visited it was of opinion, that his account of it had not been over coloured. His object was to impress on the House, that these Prisons should be made schools of reform, and not schools of crime; and that they should not be made places of torture, by want of food, and want of rest, and deprivation of health. lie supported the motion. Mr. GRENFELL wished to know shelter the sum. which the City demanded, would cause the con tiouance of the Tax on Coals to the Orphans' Fund, longer than it otherwise would Sir W. CUlt'l'lS said, the Tan was to Continue till 1837 ; but twit if the sum demanded were grant ed, it would not continue longer. Mr. H. SUMNER said, that this Tex was limited to 1837, but was to expire so much sooner, as the sums charged on it should be discharged. The grant now demanded would, therefore, prolong the dura. tion of the Tax. The manner in which t'..4 City had first acquired the controul of this fund was very sus picions, es they gevea bribe of 10001. to Mr. Speaker Trevor, who had been obliged to put the question on his own expulsion. The H )use divided— Farthe original Motive Agaimt is • . 11 Mninfity . . 1S EXECUTIONS FOR FORGERIES ON THE BANK OF' ENGLAND. Sir JAMES MACINTOSH said he rose now to submit to the Mouse the motion of which be had given notice respecting forgeries on the Batik of England. • There was a part of his intended motion, as to the "silences of Bank prosecutions, which he postponed till Tuesday neat, because the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not now in his place. His ob ject was to bring under the view of the House, the evil of the multiplication of crimes, by stopping Bank payments. For this purpose be was w mose for the numbers of trials, convictions, and executions, for forgeries on the Bank of England, for 14 years previously to 1797, and for all the time since that period. That the number of convictions and ezecu• lions were fewer, in earlier years, would be admit ted without argument. But he could prove to the House a rapidity of increase which must surprise them. When the question of continuing the Bank Restriction was discussed in 1812, it was argued that prosecutions were much more nonierous since the Restriction had been imposed. It was easily foreseen that the multiplication of small notes :could afford facility and suggest temptations to forgery.— Bat if any man had said that forgeries would in cot,- sequence be multiplied a hundredfold, be would have got no credit for his statement. Yet the fact would be found to prove, that for 14 years preceding 1797, there were only four convictions for forgery on the Bank of England.; from that period to 1811, there were 448 ; so that the number was more than centupled, by the suspension of cash•pey. ments, and the profuse issue of Bank-notes.— ft might be 'opposed that, according to the increase of forgeries on the Batik, there was an abatement of forgeries on the coin of the rea1m.....44 order, there. fore, to ascertain the real increase or ebatemenrof crime, he moved for the numbers prosecuted for coining or altering the current coin, gold or silver, during the fourteen years preceding the Restriction, and during the period since then to the 25th of February, 1818, distinguishing the convictions and punishments. Mr. BENNETT suggested that the motion shoold be for the numbers committed or procecated during the several periods. 'Sir JAM ES MACINTOSH . acceded. Mt. GRENFELL expressed his thanks to the Honourable Mower for his very humane and well timed exertions. It evidently was important to know whet proportion of .crimes and punishments arose from one or two poond notes. Almost all who were convicted of these forgeries were low persOns who could not have an opportunity of committing the same crime as to notes of a higher amount. He therefore hoped. he would move for some further Papers on Tuesday. Mr. LOCKHART hoped that the conduct of the Honourable Mover would not excite improper com miseration for criminals, such as those is question. The great profits of the Hank ought to have diTosed" them to encourage artists and chemists to try their ingenei(y in 'contriving paper and colonis t which could be neither mistaken nor imitated. lust terrors or law. p 4 General TIIOIINTOI rejoiced that I : sulsplie which he had brought forward before ungurcessfully, was now Mt , ly to berzettended with surciss. If. hiid understood that not less than 30,000 forged NH L antes were annually - retained. 'ibis was a very seri. outs - . • -, The **void motions were ease({{ • Adjourned at half.past Right { : 4 . . THREE PRIZES Or THIRTY THO.HSANA PotstaDs. tiII‘E . :HUIQR"F.h CAPITA-La.—TWELVE PIPE!: op Portr:—WIiONF.SDAY NEXT, 111% OF MARCH, LOTTERY.I3R4WP. . : • • . . . PRICE Of STOCKS THIS PAY Ay.orug (rcLocic. Hank Stock O. pew Can. riper iwki . 3 per Cent. Red. AM • India Bonds g, 96 p 9 per Cent. Consals 791 j Stock. Com* foe Ace. 79k1 bon lien. 914 15-16 4• per Cent. 119 ii - ItWieener Bids /5 OP • !!• THE ST47'4lS ' MAN. LONDON: i . . . f -- 1 . . 4 -- :)il 0 . r * l)s -P.) 5 - ) - • 1 . -, -.1 . Pl-. TTIE STArI'ESMAN , . . , . . _ called for. The lion. don purchafed fptiser%C . town the %neva . . e'r ~ .. jii,:fiT s S!t. A )1164113.104, Ilidikko i ll esn..tA ea ., sis (*theologises°. arusek_covel otlllfildie lf ig4boy were ,plc A ., to nit ; In ' -der to an, di , cossion at present on chemiral col nufg t prifietkil ifiad 10 tlfe"r etilitinsisttilitessitill;! !Ling stiotrailkoqiur coo n-";;but e could say th he was es unwillin , testi as P 1.90 theildlniind tieii,: tet fill shoaisicaib`tities, the Sbetiffs .of •wltioh tate Honourable ~ 41 , p r i annt and the," . 4 p rn op p Ai ei f -*lib * Ki ng , tikr' Majesty:did- not improper cammise t r ha i e t oT s o, t h n i u ti:i f e ititi t t i lr ; se. l a ir ge ose conduct be contd. maintain the Jails. Why therefore should the sole 1 forward nothing IFIDSESDAYe FEBRUARY U, ISIS: The French Papers to the TN Inst. which have arrived, inform us of the revolt of the trial, at Rosen, of. MATUURIN Bnurvexu,who has assumed the title of the Dauphin. Poor Beunextr, upon evidence that bears no relation to the fate of the personage whom he has persouated, has been found guilty of being an impostor, and sentenced to pay a fine of three thoasa►sd francs to the Government, with three fourths of the expences of the proceedings —to be imprisoned seven years, two of them espressly or; account of his disrespect. to the Judges, end on the ' expiration of his present sentence, he is ultimately to he placed et the disposal of the Government. He .is, besides the above•mentioned punishment, to bi deelt with by the proper authorities as a deserter,... hearing this sentence anutscsu merely said—. " I am not less what I am."—This is not the re mark of an idiot. BuAnkort, one of his fol. towers, was sentenced to two month.' impart'''. ment, and to pay a quarter of the expences; thus making .op the whole of the espences between them. --~►— We aeis tired remarking, that the Paris Journals seem drieratined to take no further notice of the ei. tack !es. the Duke of WsLctscrrost. The ,subjeci., however, is not allowed to sleep in the circles el • Serious and audacious as such 'en attempt must In itself unquestionably be, it is still amesine to see the manner in which French wit is exercised upon this matter. We have already mentioned, that various calcmbourgs have been circulated on the subject, some of which are certainly not without point. We shall subjoin one, because it also tends to prove the truth of a statement we have already given is regard to the diredioN of the shot. A luster mai at an defaut sonoque Maid voici coarse; f: imbecile afire trop haul : 11 le prenoit pour un grande Mouse. Which may he thus translated : Tu level badly is a shame— He knew Ent how to take his aim; The r•illy follow drew Pro A greater wau he thoright passed by. A Mail from Holland has also arrived. The ac/ counts from the head.quarters at Cambray state that the news of the attempt to assassinate the Duke of Witt.cisoTost had put all the Commanders of the Artny of Occupation on the alert, in concert with the Civil Authorities, to adopt the best measures to ensure ►he maintenance of good order and tranquillity. Many couriers have passed through Cambray from Pifig, destined for the Hague and other northern Courts. At Pails, however,the scene his been changed : there the Duke of Wri.t.isstos is remembered only as a personage who now and then gives a dinner, has an audience at Court, and hires GRAMS! to sing to him. •1 Tho &Oil of CDARItES 'CM. King of Sweden, is coofirn.ed. His Majesty died on the sth inst., after a painful illness, tend on the day after the demitn BERNADOTTE was proclaimed by the Herald of tlat Kingdom, King of Sweden by the name of Climate Joan. There is an account furnished by the Mail, of the ceremony of taking the oath of tile. giance to the new King, and a Proclamation of his Majesty, CHARLES JOHN, to his subjects. Tim Proclamation recites the manliness* election bJ ♦irtue of which the Cluny's Pants was chosen ott the 21st Aug. 1810, in conseqiesco of mats io which he had himself n• share, but which decided the free and independent Res•tations of the Estates of Sweden. It expatiates on the confidence and friend• ship which the - late KTNG had bestowed upon hip, on the proofs of unremitted fidelity and devotion which he had repaid the affection of his Solveig, announces the new KlNces assumption of the roy, thority over the united kingdoms of Swede, and way, which he b to govern according to their fi mental taws, approved by the Estates of earb;in and Aag. 181 b; and it finally concludes '" peal t 6 the enifonn mentions, - of CHAILEI defence of Swedish liberties, pritisegel, sad If Krgn. - lot "V I ►s +jib iRn. is ~aI la dNoa fund&' an aro irnt% d I