The Statesman. — London, England, 1818-02-19 00:00:00

"•c: • :, _~ Th e nom of this morning takes great merit to Itself for " having always opposed the folly and wickedness of Universal Suffrage and Annum Pit. Vaments."—in the opinion of that Journal, soda work which itsquotes, the Rights of Property are Paramount to all other rights of civil society ;..for y In the estimation of the wiseacre writers of theter publications, property limits the . tillbt, and nothing can be for the public good bet wieetoprings from this qualificatiou!" When any is claimed, the common gond must constitute the touchstone of its validity, and the criterion of its truth."—Grantml ; but how is it proved that Universal Suffrage, exer cised in the functions of a voter for a Member in Parliament, would not hare this effect ?—it directly aims at producing public good, and this alone, in ex cluding individual advantage and monopoly. Row is it proved that such a doctrine would be found wofully mischievous in practice, when no attempt to practice it is made, and every thing,that we see .lamentably testifies that the Government is distinct from the common good ? To the vindicators 'of these rights of property and enemies of Reform, we would earnestly recommend the perusal of the following letter from a Tory Dean (no less a man that; the ce lebrated Dr. Swirr) to Mr. Pore, after the full mea. sure of experience, observation, and retirement had given more then usually oracular truth to his senti ments. They are strikingly applicable to the politi.' cal features of the present times:— " I had likewise, in those days (when he was moving in the political world), s mortal antipathy against Standing Armies in times of peace; because I always took Standing Armies to he only servants tired by the master of the family for keeping hit own children in slavery; and because I conceived, that a Prince who could not think himself secure without mercenary troops, must needs have a separate in terest from that of his subject!. Although I am.not ignorant of those artificial necessities which a cor rupted Ministry can create, for keeping up forces to support a faction against the public interest. " As to. Parliament, I adored the wisdom of that Gothic institution, which made them annual: and I was confident our liberty could never be placed upon a firm foundation, until that ancient law were re stored among us : for, who sees not, that, while such Assemblies we permitted to hare a longer duration, there grows up a commerce of Corruption between the Ministry and the Deputies, wherein they both Sind their accounts, to the manifest danger of liberty ? which tragic would neither answer the design nor expence, if Parliament met once a-year. " I ever abominated the scheme of polities (now about 30 vests old) of setting op a monied interest in opposition to the landed : fur I conceived there could not bee truer maxim. in our Government than this, that the possessors of the soil are the best judges of what is for the. advantage of the kingdom. If others thought the same way, rueds of credit and South Sea projects would neither have been felt nor beard of. " I could never discover the necessity of suspend ing any law upon which the liberty of the must in nocent person depended; iseither do I think this practice bath made the taste of arbitrary power so agreeable, as that we should desire to see it repeated. Every rebellion subdued and plot discovered, con tributes to the firmer establishment of the Prince.— In the latter case, the knot of conspirators is entirely broke, and they are to begin the work anew under thousand disadvantages ; so that those diligent en quiries into remote ai d problematical guilt, with a new power of enforcing them by chains and dungeons to every person whose Nee a Minister thinks tit to dislike, are net only opposite to that maxim, which declared' it better that oh guilty men should escape, than one innocent sutler, but likewise leave a gate wide open to the whole tribe of informers, the most accursed, and prostitute, 'and abandoned race, that God ever permitted to plague mankind. " it is true the Romans had a custom of chusing a Dictator, during whose administration the power of other Magistrates were suspended, but this was done upon the greatest emergeucies ; a war near their doors, or some civil dissension : fur armies must be governed by arbitrary power. But when the virtue of that Commonnealth gave : lves . to luxury and ambition, this very office of Dictator becpme perpetual in the persons of the Caesars and their successors, the most infamous tyrants that have soy where appeared in story. 4` These are some of the sentiments I had relating to public affairs, while I was in the world ; what they are at prevent, is of little importance either to that or myself ; neither can I truly say I have any at all, or, if I had, I dare not venture to publish them; for, however orthodox they may be, while I am now writing, they may becomecri. initial enoegn to bring me into trouble before mid summer. And, indeed, I have often wished,. for some time past, that a political catechism might be published, by authority, four times a year, in ordef to instruct us how we are to speak, write, and act, during the current quarter. 1 hate by experience felt the want of such an instructor: for, iiiteuiding to make my court to some people on the prevailing side, by advancing certain old Whiggish principles, which, it seems, had been exploded about a month before, I have passed for a disaffected person. lam not ignorant how idle a thing it is for a mats in ob scurity to attempt defending his reputation as a writer, while the spirit of faction bath so universally pos sessed the minds of men, that they are not at leisure to attend to any thing else. They will just give them selves time to libel and accuse me, but cannot spare a minute to hear my defence. So, its a plot-disco ruing- age, 1 have often knows an innocent man seized and imprisoned, and forced to lw several months in chains, while the Ministers arc not at lei sure to hear his Petition, until they had prosecuted and hanged the number they proposed." Earl GREY is arrived at ifowick, in Northam• berland ) from imobton•ltall, arrham. i 41 crown and Anchar Tavern, Feb. 16, 1816. SlR,—The Committee, in submitting to your no. tire, and calling your ittentiou psitsideration of the annexed Resolutions, are permitted that al though the claims ow your humanity and patriotism at this time are numerous, none of,them partake . of the character and importance of that which is the subject of this appeatto your feelings awl understand ing. When we find all the barriers of oer liberties either undermined or destroyed, and a system of Goverumentuntmnittingly puritueth which must end in establishing a DESPOTISM, not of one, but of a BAND of Tijrants, it becomes as. to shake off all calpable apathy, and arouse ourselves to a considera. tion of the evils that, surrottad us. If a BoroughsnoegeriarOuttAecsair, taking ad vantage of the deep.alistreasitvey have brought upon the country, endeavour tkrosigb the medium of 111 RED Spies and Incendiaries, to delude and excile men to illegal actacihaa they miy the more effectually rivet the chains, they had forged. If they assume the power to impose Laws .which at ono bloc susegno the Conalilts4ion,. site. AHHIHILATE for a time the boasted freedom of EThrland; militia is to prevent them from sloing.so for EvEs? If they can do the one with impunity, what security have we that they will not attempt the other ? The direful experience of the last twelve months demonstrates with what a cruel and utsreleittingle rocity such a power may be used over innocent melt, when granted only for a feu. months. How, may we ask wolves, would it be eaercised if permanently ESTABLISHED? To entertain such a thought, evens ifo prospect, is two appalling. The danger vlsould le met with a united firmness and energy cor responding to its magnitude. It strikes at the vidual safety and happiness of every man ; and every man in the State hound and ought to be ready to avert so great a calamit v. flow is this to he "dune, but by a steady per. severance its constitutionally seeking a 'recovery of our Rictus, awl etiolating all the protection we can to those MEN who, in sn doing, may become the Vicrists of Tiiruanical they ate to be abandoned, who will be bold enough to mount the breach single-banded, and ittick the Citadel of Cor ruption? the conduct to be p - uraued is therefore plain and obvious: our &Oyu GOP ROollity and 'enlargers point out the neeessity of succouring those 'men, in whose persons our desrtst rights hive been slolated. . At far, then,las an oppressive and ruinous has. Lion will permit, let or, in the name of sod, make some sacrifice upon the altar of our casualty. Let us its doing so, proclaim throughout the kingdom that men seeking in a legal and proper manner, for the recovery of their natural and inalienable RIGHTS, may rely with confidence oil the protection and sup port of every friend of freedom, of Justice, and of humanity in the station. By Order of the Committee, THOMAS CILARY, Secretary • RECORDS OF PERSECUTION. ----- or ate. RIL,E.Y. Stu,—l am a little surprised, Mr. K.litor, that a case of individual suffering which took ptice in Yorkshire, under the late Suspension Act, should have never been communicated to the Public, either through the Press, or at the !Meeting held at the Crown and Anchor ; and I am the more astonished at this case being annoticed, because the man's suf ferings only terminated with his existence, under the most horrifying circumstances, I shall now proceed to state the facts as briefly as possible. The unfortunate man's name was Riley ; he lived a short distance from Huddersfield, on the Manchester road, at a place called Crossland Moor Bottom—he was by trade a tailor, but I believe only worked as journeyman; he had a wife and eight or nine chil dren, whose only dependence for a little bread and clothing was upon his industry, o which they had never looked in vain, until the poor man became the object of Ministerial persecution. The latter part of June, or early in July last (I was on the swot at the time), he, with many others, was diriggPd from his home and family to a prison, put in irons, and there detained ; this treatment, together with the destitute situation his wife and large family was lett in. was more than the man's mind could sustain. Be had been but a very short time confined before he became so deranged, that it was with ditliculty lie was prevented from committing an act of violence upon himself;—he remained in this style a c ous ide r ny e time, before he could be examined by the local Ma. gistrate ; he at length, however, recovered his in tellects sufficiently to appear before him, and was (after being brought up and remanded several limes, as it is termed) committed to York Castle, to take his trial, with others, far High Treason. The Public is already acquainted with the melt of those trials; how ever4it woos the pious Lord Sid month was of. opinion this man had not satficiently atoned for sins which no one but his Lordship could discover ; Gor immediately on his ac7iiittul, instead of the poor man being allowed to return to the.sup port of his family, which hail subsisted all his absence •a parochial relief, a Secretary of State's warrant lays hold of him, drags him heck to a dungeon again, it'd horrid to relate, a short time afterwards he was ineinft . deidin bed, from an act of self-violence, corn. milted no doubt in a fit of desperation occasioned by bib unmerited suffering.' 'fhe terminating catastrophe I was informed of by The public Papers, particularly the C;oarier, being in town at the time it happened. I shall be glad to communicate any thing more in my power on the above subject, if required; and re main, Sir, your constant Reader. Clearing-cross, Feb. 9. 'T. B. We are sorry to state, that Mrs. TRACKERAY, vrhn was a patient of the late Sir R. CROFT at the lime of his shocking death, died, yesterday, at the house of her sister. Miss COTTori, in Wimpole-street. Had this (Ay died sooner, her death would have bt•en im puted to Sir Et.—Dr. TIIACKERAy is Provost of King's College, Cambridge. A roan galloway, belonging to Mr. Adams, of Broad-street, St. James's, aged 11 years, trotted 14 miles within an hour yesterday, on the Ashford road, for 100 pions. The match was won by six seconds only. The gelding was rode by feather weight-6 to 4on lime. g STATSWA*I 0 1 4, 1 r —.VOT. Tive dimmery of a ,most: nefarious otter's *pro. core the conviction for robbery of two re'p'utable boys, at the Quarter Sessions. at Manchester % has already been stated in this :Paper. The. alrociamis transaction which , has thus helot developed, liesAtah. cited a sensation O . :dread and disgust at 'Masichetter which nothing but o public investigation east remmite. A prjrate 'lamination has been goinceto s Aut it.id feared that it is chiefly for the purpose ne—Mleeettinft the useful officer **hose character is nvossinvolved its this dark affair. This officer is said to have appre hended and ,broogbt to conviction TOM people. far capital oll'encea. and is certainly more wealthyohatt any in his line nut of London. Ile is also stedevsleltd - Itt have been a principal caterer for Spies, aid the chief inventor of the Aloscoo-making Plot. Thesetir curnstances will, in some degree, account fur the ap parent desire to prevent further exposures ,of the! police part of the practices that have come to light in Manchester. The Muntitester 06sercer cootairts the affidavits or,tke destioed victims, Lea and Hill, who were severLisom the trap of the police rootlet-, llindley, by the gratuitous exertions of the Solicitor and Counsel, oho acted epos • the occasion ; and in adverting to the uecessity.of a farther public enquiry into the causes of this and similar cases that have unhappily occurred (three persons having been coo. victed and seutenced, one to seven years transports lion, on this felloo'i evidence, that excelletit Paper I justly remarks :—"A private investigation would tend only to give new vigour to rumours every where afloat; but so long as the characters of the officers of the Police are rendered dubious, w blotter by their own conduct, or the reports of others, it is the imperious duty of those N flu are at the head of the office, to enquire miootely, into every particolar, and to punish wherever pertialinseet ‘ is -merited. So much of the happiness avid winery oCtioe lower cderv, awl. some times, their ,t . (ilvertier ti4jd,Pres (s t itoess the crimes of the stretched 17augliaa awl his accomplices), depend upon this classpf mess, that eyes their c good name' is a mutter of cousitieselde importance to the com. triunity. For too many fatal instances have occurred of the detestable Will:toter of what is emphatically! termed blood-money, to leave it necessary to say, that it would he an act of the greatest humanity relieve the numerous poor of this neighbourhood, from the d t reas) of becoming its helpless, hopeless sic. ' lima, powerfully operating on them, through certain reports, which are connected with the prosecutitssis of the boys and two convicts, and with the detection of the nutorioul 711 k SPY SYSTEM IN FRANCE. --=~- The report of Marshal 51armont,' Duke of Raw sa, respecting his mission to Lyons, hag jest appear. ed under the title of " /.punt ix 1817," by Colonel Faultier. This Officer was the chief of the Morsisal's Staff' during the mission, and the facts be 411#1,sses form serious chews against the Ultreritoyetis,C, lißbo were the principal authorities its . . the ' department of the Rhone and its environs. It i s an account of spie encouraged—al seditious 'which 'those spies lied its., atigated—of ignorance which they had basely se., ducetl—and of indiscretion, Which, through their means, had been barbarously punished. The Ma. gistrates of Lyons and its envirutts appear to have co. pied pretty faithfully the example of some high per. sonagos amongst ourselves, and given them " a Rua land for their Oliver." We subjoin a few passages: " A hand of agents traversed the city and the country introduced themselves into taverns and private houses—acted the part of malcontents_ hteathed nothing but violent complaints against the Government—announced changes and revolt; ions— and if they could draw a sign of approbation from the unfortunate, pressed by want and by a thou., sand vexatious, they hastened to denounce them, and to reap the reward of their stratagems."-- o' By the aid of these numerous informers, the pri., sons were filled with victims, heaped upon each other with such disorder, that the mere reading the prison registers proved to what extent the (constitu. tional) laws and humanity w ere out ragetl."— , ‘ There were seen in the cells of the town prison, bundled, of watches, the aktims of vain !tutus and WA coonsels, who waited for whole months, deprivid of every comfort, the favour of being interrogated," AR BITRARYLICiVsIiG SYSTEM. TO THE EDITOR OF THE STATESMAN. Sm.—l sent yesterday to the Crown and Anchor Tavern to sign the Petition against this nefarious in vasion • f the rights and interests of the Public. sail also to contribute my mite toward carrying the ob• jest through Parliament. I there found that bet were, 6 and 6,000 persons had signed the Petition—but sot half a'dozen, with the exception of the Atati•llosso. poly Committee, had contributed to the subsctiption. I can account for this in no other manner that, by supposing, that as the Advertisement of the Commit tee states that only a smell subscription will be necessary, each individual thinks that in so small a subscription it will nut be worth while fur him in thrust himself forward. If this mistake is not corrected it may be fatal. " The Emancipstiots of the. Public," as it is very properly called, is uow iu the best bawls, and in the high road of being effected its the best way; but it canuot be expected that one Gentleman, or a few Gentlemen,alone will fight the battle of the Pub. lic at large against the loisg_purces of the Monopolizing Brewers. To carry the object through indepen. dently, the expences must be rather large ; but if only one half of the Publicans in London, who are the peoplimost interested in the question, will come forward with ashilling a piece, a sUllicietst sum will be raised to makeall safe. -.-- 1 a In, • PK AN ANTI-MONOPOLIST. By the melancholy death of Sir R. Citorr, the B4rotteicy descends to his son, Capt. Caorr, who distinguished himself as an Officer, at the bottle of Waterloo, and who is said to be the best quadrille dancer in the kingdom. This melancholy death leaves a great opening to practitioners in the obstetric bracch. Dr. SIM, Mr. CLARE, Dr. BATTY, and Dr. GRAN VILLE now divide the fashionable world among them. • VOtfirnrCti , . , 11 001 ' .11 • Ye,teidey thetitd'hlayot held *:Court of Cont. mon Council- for'i he dfittleteh or grisktil huainega. The tOttti MAYOR laid bi.foie the Cou'it a !town! respectloglite.Deitiegh CoMpter, Which had. been submitted to the CmHt of Aldeitisen, and by then' dirtsi‘ted In be laid before this Court. The Report stated IthikatiNetithly defective vote of chat Olson, the danger OrAting to public ifinfkli froth Ihe .prOrnia eunui intertourte df &Dins, dehtort , &e, and It ex. prersed I hope, that erelong, the Court wedlii 'adopt some elllktitifineasutes for redressieg so great - an ettl. The itetiiiht •was referred to the Bridge •linuta Estates Comitiittee. • ' •LATe. EXlxt/TlO3. • . • Mr. CROOK. tos te*gitte notice Of hia Hi 'submit a toteibn to the Court at their nett mettintt; respecting some ustpleakeet; earl very iiiirefultirtunt stetiree which had attended the eXecolioti of theinoi unhappy delinquents on Tuesday moron*. ,Ite'fittr himself hroutirllcs de to in' justite to the public - NI. ing. which Whimsies very Mitch sharked. rh. Coutt exPressiiig C Aignnal wish tit' kik ilitt motioo made, •he proceeded'. • ' • „costas,o The ex4itutiow had been, en Ttiettlay, protracted; the unhappy indifidbala net being brought out of prison till half.past eight o'clock. - While that of itself was a jest groom! Of complaint, he 1444 ;seined to say the'sentence of the w had been ear ried into execution In a most disgtaceful He should refrain at pres'ent irons sit) ing guy thing more uspeciing the conduct of the executioner', ex cept that on the fatal occasion he' had heed tetifity the grossest negligence alid inetteldion. rail:Wee evident from the state in whir* t 44 twilit!. of I'll. minals appeared after they were teti•dolert. 110 had' last night teen three of the brodk# , N and was sorry to state that from the marks then•eitliarent; the execu tioner had by no means douse his duty,• but, ow the contrary, been guilty of relpable neglect. The (alb I repo, Juneau( marklag the neck as ticoal, had left a deep iespressionon the chin of one of the women, and had also bees plaCed at the hack of her pearl in stead of the ear, al thodld he always done in suet cases.—(ifkor!)--The filiation of the other Wo man was equally depinrible, Doll skewed the want of proper attention out the putt of the Individual who fulfilled the sentence el the law. The body of Hatch man, the unto' Situate man for (1,1'40 1 1, was another melancholy proof of this, and whit the Coutt were told, that torture of such a 'mute haul heed inflicted on three individuals who hid forfeited their lives to the law, he had no doubt they would feel it their imperious duty to enquire into what line of conduct hid that day been followed. It was will, that view that he moved that the Coutt do enquire into tko cause of the delay which took place on Tuesday at the execution of Mary Ann Jarees, Charlotte New. man, %Mans Ilatchman, and John Attel ; and that the Court do also particularly enquire kilo the con. duct of the executinner on that occasion.—[l/tar ! Mr. Aldertnan Wuon considered the heifer way would be to send for the Sheriffs. and demand front them nu explanation of the circumstances that at. *foaled that awful ceremony. 'l's e !Olefins were ap: pointed to see the sentetice of the law duly executed, and they were responsible to the Court for their own conduct and that of the Under Sheriffs. Ile should have insisted on On Ir being sent fur from attending the Old Bailey Sessions, but as lie understood, that another meeting of the Court would take place to- Merton, be moved that they he positively enjoined to attend—(/lear; hear !)—That a delay had taken place with regard to the time of executing the sets. fella., was unqueationable, end it was for hem to say how that had happened, and where the cause la). The public feelnig had been grnsaly outraged by th, manlier in whirl; the executiuner had discharged his duty, for so highly improper had that conduct been, as to have been evert alluded to in the Public Papers of the day.—(llcor, hear!)—The Court • els. hound to enquire into siren conduct in justice to the Public, and to themselves, and he hail lin doubt they weuld see the propriety of so doing immediately, for it ought to be recollected, that though these and other permits were doomed to an ignominious fate, on se count of criminality of conduct, they were lot Ott that account to he treated harshly, but as humait beings and rational creatures. —(flear, hear !) —lfe , ther.fore, insisted nu the Sheriffs attending in.mor.• r(.11, in their plset, to account to the Court fur thus delay. After a few words from Mr. WAITIIMAN, on the same side. the Court, seemingly much imorest with th s paiscul occurrence, unanimously referred It to thit Committee on City Lands, to eiv.ire into the delay, and itito the conduct of the executioner: CITY 1'R10,19. Mr. D totes, as Chairman of the Committee of improvement, rose to make a statement with respect to the Bill lately brought into Parlisment, for the purpose sof raising a sum of noney towards eomplet the improvements of the Prison in ‘Vlsitecross street. lle had, toJelber with others of the Corhmittet ) and the four City Representativesi been admitted to a conf.rence with the boils Liverpool and Sidmouth, the Chancellor of the Eschequer, and others of his Niajestv's Ministers, a few days ago, upon the Sub ject. The result of that conference was, that his Majesty's Ministers had expressed their determine tint, to oppose the Bill alluded to, unless the Cor poration consented to the production of its :venoms. The motion, the Court would recollect, made by tow Member for Surrey, for the production of the Cite/ Accounts, in the House of Commons, was filed (or Tuesday next. The second reading of the Bill he had adverted to was fixed for the following d a y.— The Court would, therefore, see that the Committest bad but little time to deliberate, hut that time we s employed by then. to the best possible advanteue, ac cording to their judgment; and the result of their labour was this-- they saw that there was this alter tatise only left fur the Corporation, namely, either ill surrender their rights and privileges in the pur chase of the aid they sought, or to shandoo their just claim upon the i.egislature, and withdraw the. Bill without pressing it to another siege. They had, therefore, in their judgment, of the two evils chosoo the least, and that was the recommendation that the Bill should he withdrawn. lie therefore moved, " That the Court do agree with the Committee i:. their Report, and that the Bill in progress tbsowg'i the lines* of Commons be withdrawn." The motion was seconded. a . .R. , 3*- A 1 • r-~: , - 17,. , ff ;~.