The Statesman. — London, England, 1818-12-11 00:00:00

••'' 77w" Mr. Dmow stood ttri to Otter. There was no ad cosily for quoting Scripture so largely. Mr. JACK!' proCretiKi.--Tht law of Moses received th e asection of the Dirinitf; were they then to be told, because Sir S. Romilly bad said an. th a t th e law of England exceeded all in cruelty ? The Learn. rd Member then quoted Montesquieu and Paley, the latter of whom laid it down, that climes were not in any country punished in proportion to their guilt, nor ought not, hut in proportion to their difficulty of detection and prevention. The abolition of the punishment ref death did not repress the c o mmissi on of crimes, as was apparent from the example of Rua. aim, for murders were stilt very frequent about St. Petetshurgb. The great difficulty was, to know what sort of punbhment was the best. He beppened to associate with many professional men, and b.. knew that they were tied down by party feeling, and at tached to things as they ()fluted. In all the prisons • w►ere employment had been introduced, licenti ousness had been repressed. To introduce a system of reform in prisons would be attaining a greet ob jeer. _ Mr. R. TAYLOR.--I rise, my Lord Mayer, with great diffidence, this being the first time of my taking 1 . 3 - part in the deliberations of the Court, to express my sentiments on a subject in which I feel no common interest, and shall therefore rely on its indulgence for any imperfection in the observations which I have to make. The Worthy Gentleman who has just spoken has endeavoured to justify the severity of oor Criminal Code, by horrible details of the cruel laws of barbarous ages and heathen nations ; but, my Lord, is it not our book that we live in an enlighten. ed age and in a Christian country ? I cannot bat feel much serprise, that when the Worthy - Gentle man so frequently appealed to the maxim, 46 . An eye • for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," es being the principle of so many ancient codes, and of that of . Noses among the rest, this should never have called to his wind those words of our Saviour, " It bath been said by them of old, ► An eye for an eye, and • a tooth fore tooth ;' but I say onto you, Love your enemies," kc. Indeed, this seems to me to bee most , powerful argument for a mitigation of the severity of 00f lOW/, whether that severity be justifiable or nut, ' that'in proportion as the influence of Christian principles increases, it is found more difficult to • carry these laws into execution. I object, there. fore, to our Criminal Code, because. it grows more and more inefficacious; for as the feelings and prin. • ciples of those who have to adminiiter the laws, re volt against their severity, they cannot be enforced. When death is the punishment apprehended, prose. tutors end witnesses are unwilling to appear, Juries will not convict, and Judges prevent the execution • tof the sentence. In many cases, Judges themselves ditett Juries to evade the capital part of the offence, by tilting a false value on the thing stoles,: thus 11 , niercy isai►own by a legal quibble, ins►ead of being inherent in our laws. Impunity then is the general • consequence of the measly, severity of our laws ; and where but one in a hundred who commit capital offences actually suffer death, it cannot be wondered .at,llietitbose who are entering upon a criminal .course ibitold reckon upon escaping, where the lemma ate so much in their favour. There is 'no i Alter contleration, sly Lord, upon whith lan sure I need not dwell in this place, which is, that it should be the tendency of punishments to reform the ' guilty, a)strell pat deter from crime.. But it is evi dent, thi . when we cut off our erring brother in the midst of Ibis guilt, reformation is cut of the clues. Sion. A4tin, - 1 object t• so many offences being made capital, as producing a monstrous inequality of put'isbmeut. Three men, for stealing one , sheep, have suffered the same punishment which she law irtaicts en _ murder or parricide. A very serious objection to the punishment of death, which has not, I believe, been touched upon by the Gentlemen who have preceded me, seems to me to arise from its not being remissible. Escel. lent as is the administration of our laws, it cannot be.* holly free from mistakes. Men have been con. .vioted of crimes, of which they have afterwards been proved to have been innocent ; fur all other punish. menu some atonement may be made; but bow dread fully aggravated is the calamity of an undeserved t punishment, when that punishment has been death, which precludes all reparation ! When the sad sen. 'team of the law is carried into execution, it seems ~to toe, my Lord, that the effect is most deplorable upon all classes of society. Those who are prone to HI, so far from being checked in their evil courses, are hardened and brutalized by. these horrid exhibi. thins. Can nny one have observed the conduct and conversation of the throngs returning from them, when the behaviour and sufferings of the criminal are the subject of many a coarse joke, without be- ing struck by this ? 'Though I never witnessed an execution, I have had sufficient opportunities of learning, that those who are going on most rapidly in a career of depravity, are most frequent in their attendance on these occasions. And with those of better feelings, what is the effect, my Lord, but to *idle sympathy for criminals, and disapprobation of the laws ? I 0411 not, I trust, be understood to desire impunity for criminals. I conceive my argu ments to have exactly the opposite tendency. But ; iaarely it would be desirable that our punishments tdbould be such as even the best of mankind would ;Concur in inflicting; such Is, while they deterred roam crime, even is kind regard for the guilty, and fli Vernest desire to reform than, would justify to be most benevolent mind. Surely such moderate, ,equal, and certain punishments, would be more 'likely to repress crime than the present system:, where one is punished with horrible severity, and 99 escape with impunity's Bat the worthy Gentle-I man who has preceded me has said, " bow then will i you punish, or what would you substitute?" He has himself furnished an answer, in what he has said in favour of improving the discipline of our prisons, agreeing with what was urged by my friends near me, as to convening them into places of reformation. The substitutes which have long been found efficacious in other countries, might surely be Vied in this. With all due respect for the authority of Dr. Paley, which has been adrhced, who approves of that system, which, es tie expresses it, sweeps into a net all those who have committed crimes, and SP. lects only a few victims to «gene terror, 1 con:ess I do ssot see its justice; and be appears to have over looked its practical eirt.cts—thst the feelings a man kind prevent its mention, and that instead of deter- II& ST, , • wing from crime, it Onc ourages 'the ItOlfe!tieletitenity. The Wnrthy Gentleman has vitsultad tree/Arse to an usual topic, on qualstlinis of this kind, end deprecated any innovation upon systems whick'have the loneliest of great antiquity. But, my Lord, why is that inno• Teflon only In he decried which is on the side of mercy ? IN not every enactment by which a crime is first made capital an innovation ? And the Worthy Gentleman is, I believe. mistaken as to the antiquity of our present Criminal Code;' in supposing that it has lifted a fhnoitatid years : 'whereas for a long pe riod after that date, I think not more than four or five crimes were capital by the laws of England.— The laws annexing death to ao - great a multitude of offences are, l believe, comparatively of late date.— If, then, innovation be a groond for objection, sore ly we may be allowed to petition that our Criminal Law may be purged from the injurinus consequences of these sanguinary innovations. With these views, my Lord, I shall give my hearty support to the motion. Mr. S. Dixott could not go the length which the Gentlemen on the other side seemed to wish in this , motion, lie wished to see all unnecessary severity abolished, and all capital punishments repealed as far es that could - be consistent with the safety of so ciety ; but he did not think that all the laws were as severe as they were described on the other side, our all our capital punishments so unnecessary as they seemed to think. There was one penal law, however, which he wished to see abolished. It was that which enacted such a revolting punishment, if punishment it could be called, on the dead bodies of those who committed suicide. He was led to this in consequence of the remnant of ancient barba rism which was exhibited a few days hack, in the in terment of the body of a Spanish officer, who had lately allot himself. Here Mr. Dixon dwett with much force on the extreme inhumanity of such treat ment nf persons depriving themselves of life ; and con tended that the continuance of thit practice, for it was not a Statute law, was a disgrace to the country. Mr. PATTEN supported the motion ; and after a few words from another Member, w hose name we did not learn, the question was put, and carried unanimously. A Petition, founded upon the Resolution; was also agreed fe.—Adjourned. PRICE OF STOCKS TH Bonk Stock (274 3 per Cent. Hed. 74} per Cent. Cllllsois si per Cent. 84 871 tioninh for Arc. :94e 4 per Cent. 954 961 TR'E STATESMJA. LONDON: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1818. The necessity of humanising our Penal Code is now anise/silly admitted. Numberless and melan choly have been the instances of (hi. necessity; and strange it Is that in a country which, in other re spects, justly bouts so much Christian feeling and benevolence—in this country alone—such scenes should be exhibited in dreadful and perpetual sue. cession, by the decrees of the law, as chill every sense into horror sod cast a gloom over innocent life, from which the social circle ought to be exempt. A Meeting of the Common Council was held yester day, for the truly commendable purpose of consider ing the most effectual means for obtaining a legirla. live revision of our Penal Code. We give an ample report of the proceedings, for they ere most in teresting.. The subject was debated at great length, and in some of the speeches delivered on the occasion very considerable research and ability were displayed. The necessity of a revision seemed to be universally admitted, and it was finally and unanimously agreed, that Petitions to that effect should be presented to both Houses of Parliament, founded on and embody ing the Resolutions, which are published in the first page of our Paper. The facts which these Resolu tions disclose, and those stated in the course of the discussion, a reof momentous importance to society, a nd furnish a most appalling, but too faithful picture of the state of the Criminal Law, and the aggregate of punishment in this country. We have no room to-day to notice with appro priate remarks, the sudden wheel to the right about which the Courier has madeon thesubject of the Bank, and the unmerciful attack which that champion of the paper system has, in the plenitude of its consistency, thought proper to make on the body which it was so lately endeavouring to defend. This is the mark of a defeated, trading, and unprincipled advocate's policy —finding his cause a bad one, and likely to inflict disgrace tpon himself, he throws up his brief, and tans rbund to abuse and vilify his employers. So sets the Courier. We have given our opinion with plainness and consistency on the disengenuous, cruel, and - unjust conduct of the Bank in ,the mat ter of the prosecutions for Forgery, now happily arrested ; we will now treat our Readers with a little variety, by showing them the altered view which the Courier of last night his taken of the subject. Not that we attach the least importance to the dicta of the Courier, but to exhibit the force of those unde niable truths, even on minds that labour to shut out the light. The Courier tells the Bank " they must be sensible that they have exhibited an indifference to the alarming increase of forgeries which has roused an indignant feeling throughout the country ;" and that " it was their duty to create and multiply every check in their power against the fraudulent imitation of their notes." This language, from such a quarter, is certainly not a little amusing as well as astonishing. But if we wets astonished, at this, we were still more so, when IS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK 5 per Cent. Navy Indus Howls 81 h 9 Lung Ann. ?.0 3-16 Exchequer Bill. 20 18 p Uranium 1' . , Aitacme PaPer asks, 4 g epos whit litineitle of jostle" 1'• % ' srafrarnald ask. has the Bank abstained front ,burst lierell,the svidenee is their power s in eases of fort leery t What coneeivabtematire eae they have had t l fee est bringing forward, en every (mention, del ageing Clerk ?" The same "Journal reprobates III& evidence of the Inspector afire Baakk, given upins Ml ("ger trials, as insufficient; and asserta, , that he neghts have disclosed the private iftarks by *SA , he knew a note to be forged ; for that, otheillh, `' the Jury most have conticted upon suppo.ition* not trim . evidence;" though the same I , urnai ftia previously said, that such . disclosure could only serve to warn, and render the forgers more discreet. l That the Juries wh o con d emne d w ith ou t th e covivie. lion of their own senses, decided upon supposition 1 ,or belief, and not upon right evidence, was what we ventured to assert yesterday ; hut to whet a horrible inference does this lead, with respect to all the nem. tions of late years for forcing Bank of England notes! for certainly, upon that" supposition," if it is no more than a supposition, hare many lives been foifeited.— The Ccurier, however, is still blundering among errors and misstatements when it speaks of the late littietitafs, arid the motives which weighed with the Juries, and would be derisive with all honest men. The Jury acquitted AVilliams on Saturday, because they disbelieved the evidence of Underwood, a wit. news every way infamous. It was in Connor's case tharthe evidence of the forgery was deemed unsatis factory. On Monday (inward was tried, and the Signing Clet-h, as well as the Inspector, was prodUced to prove the forgery. There was therefore no doubt that the note was forged, but the Jury did not be lieve that the prisoner knew it to be forged, sod the Judge was evidently of the same opinion. With re spect to Dye, brought up on the same day, Mr. ger jeaut BOSA PIQUET allowed of his acquittal, on the oc knowletigroent that he had no other evidence to pro duce but that of Underwood. The French Papers to the Bth, and Mails from Flanders and Ilamburgh, hare arrived. The Paris Journals announce a partial change in the French Ministry. Count COI! YETTO, the Minister of Fi nance, has resigned, and M. ROY, Member for Pa ris in the Chamber of Deputies, has succeeded trim. The state of the Funds seems to have rendered this change in the Ad.ninistration a matter.of expediency. The 5 per Cents. on Tuesday last were 08f. 50c. The Moniteur announces, that some exaggerated state. ments have been conveyed in private letters from Lyons to the capital, respecting certain seditious cries and movements which had been observed in the (sipper city, whilst the Conscription Law wee carrying into execution throughoet the de partment of the Rhone. The accounts thus re probated by public authority were, indeed, of % sufficiently alarming nature. It was said that busts of BOA CARTE •nd his son bad been borne triumphantly through the streets, amidst the spplauses of the Federes : that the Marseilloit llyma -Ca•ira —Les Aristocrats a la lawlerne, &c. were sung io all directions; that the Carniagnok was publicly danced, and a Clergyman threatened with death : finally, that the Magistrates bad overlooked and permitted these offences, which they chose to regard as trifles unworthy of restraint or reprehension. The above story is declared, in the Paris Paper, to be no better than a series of gross misrepresentations ; no excess or impropriety having in truth been committed be yond a few seditious cries by detached individuals, for the most part drunk. The wonder is, according to the Journalist, that such a law as that of the Conscription should have been carried into effect, for the first time, with so great success; and with so little difficulty, or danger, or hostile demonstration. The Duke of WELLINGTON and Lord CASTLE • RE %MI, dined on the sth inst. at the hotel of the Spanish Ambassador, the Duke of Fcarramo-Nu- NEZ. The Duke of AncouLemt arrived at Lisle on the 3d inst. The Emperor ALEXANDER was expected to arrive at Vienna on the 12th inst. The Germanic Diet, at Frankfort, will not reassemble until the 7th of next month ; but the Committee appointed at Ai:As-Chapelle, for the affairs of Germany, will meet in a few days. The parties recently arrested at Brussels are said to have been engaged in a plot tending to ezcite a civil war in the Netherlands; bet the particolsrs were not expected to transpire, until the completion of the preliminary proceedings, which, it was sup posed, would still occupy two or three weeks. It is stated in the Ifsmburgh Letters; that in con. sequence of a formal requisition, made by the Spa nil!) Minister at liambnrgh, a great number of young men who had rendevonsed there, in order take ship. ping for South America, to join the Patriots, had been arrested when just on the eve of embarking. Two ships that were waiting for them, and on board of which a considerable number of ♦olunteers had contrived to get before the order of arrest was issued, put immediately to sea, and got clear away. - Yesterday, about half-past one o'clock, the Penns Baum' . left Carlton-house, for Brighton. WiNDSON, Dt.c. 9.—The Princesses AUGUSTA and the Duchess of Gr.ouccsrmt are living in great se clusion in the Palace. The Princess SOPHIA is so much better as to be able to take an airing in her carriage in the Park, w hen the weather is 4ufficienrly fine. This morning Lord GIIKATEI. accompanied by several Gentlemen of the Corporation, commenced his canvass, to succeed the late Mr. Diseaowa in representing this borough in Parliament. his Lordship was received by the Electors with every pro spect of success, and no opposition has yet been of. feted to bim. i ' ft • • . 1 ....r 1•7=•••••••...........i..........i.1yie5ayaai1i50i1tA1p. NAVAL INTELLI&FIWt;IS. 3 • --••••-_ 1 .• ,DEAL, Dec. 10.— Arrived ' h e John, Jacisene, . ~ • , from Newcastle, and sailed for Jimmies. —Cagle - • • I , down•froes the River, and sailed, the P ro bity, 4 Cooper, for Lisb re4'l..ord Cranston, for J amaica; t Crisis, Braithvsaite, for the West Indies ; Tiger, Powell, for Falmouth, dm.; Enterpriav, Male, for Jamaica; and Britannia, Sharp, fee St. Kitt's. Raersb,:na ~r aTx,Dstrwrd. c. a 10.-e•Sailed the remainder of the trade. shipswar ward S ; Porrsmoutn, Mc 10.—ArtiVed his Majesty"' , a p ti l d ria Li La nset p:i f n r g o , m a a nd er te ist ven ; from the east. having captered, on the 9th inst. a smuggling boat with 350 tubs ors 1` board t also arrived the Mayfloiter, Ellison, from Mantic ; Retrench, ..---.., trod the Downs ; Mi. r 1 i nerve, Wilton. from Antwerp; William, Rice, frogs Sunderland, with loss of bowsprit; sad some °thee vessels from the eastward.— A nemheeeit oalwarda ••.e , • bound vessels were patairrg dewn't hatidetlbeittele of (beds,. .5 eto it..... , :...; • - I. FALMOUTH, Dix. S.—Active ' d the Pdlini t iNpiat , . „ . packet, with a Mail, fries Ibisbee, in nise de { seeidi • . . . the Lee, from a cruise. i . PLYMOUTH, Dec. 10.--Sailed the tartsei . •111111110P, • from New Orleans ; Urania, Hirchinson i . for gtt . Vincent.—The (A) Susie sailed yesterday seoe nisi, • ; .I: . fur London, the wind being then S W. Cowls, DEC. id... Arrived Idle ilenriette, Ries. mote, from Lisbon to London, with oranges, 25 ' 1 day's passage. ~ Poot.r., DEC. 10.—The Peraeverance. Purrlall, .tp 1 i from hence to Hallfus, was spoke 4th lilt in let. i v 46 90. 100. 40. 00. Inst a man overboard ) otbersdite' I ' all well. ' , ! Itozzulara, Dec. R.—About 80 Soli of oetward- bound and other vessels have arrived in this harbeet, and remain wind hound. . I Lord Hatter+WaY'• appointment to sieceed Sir ( * WAIMEA STUART, as Artihas.ador ;o th.• Court of Fr,ince, is understos.,t t ,, by in consequence of the i particular request of his Nfo.st C' I" 1 , 141 it M %lefty I . himself. The Noble Lord has been for mans years ' i one of the must lutimate and respected friends of that .:, . Monarch. . I . Intelligence from Amsterdam states, that the jour. ney of his Eacellency the Minister of Finance to that 1 city has had a henelteial influence upon the Public t t Funds, and that their fissatioial 4itoati it has tonal-. . 4 derably ameliorated, the rate of the Dutch rentes . having risen two per cent. • The issue of one and 100 pound notes by the' Bank of England averages 30,0001. a day. . li Dituttv•L ANI E IstlEATßE.—liaat sight, RAH the Tragedy of Brutus, a new farce was performed, en. titled, is lie Alive; or, All Puzzled. It was pre. duced originally at the clove nf the last season, oil . the occasion of My. K . NIGHT'S benefit; end the reception which it then met, encouraged Ike Ma. I &mu • nagers to bring it d on their own accaent.— I'he esperiment has succeeded ; the F , Farce was well il . 4 . received, and announced for repetition with a w in g. .. • 1 Our limits prevent us from entering into any ri..scrip.. ',. d don of the plot, which, though simple in itself, is not ) , , very clearly developed. The humour is not of that broad r cast which generally distinguishes Farce from Co. . : wetly; but it is without affectation, and consequently entitlod so far to praise. The House was mach r crowded. t COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.— Milf O'NEILL ap.. peered last night, for the first time, in the character iof Angela, in the Castle Spectre. It is needless to ii i.: say, that Miss O'Nett.t, gave to the charset•r all the effect of which it was susceptible: her scene with the ghost was particularly striking. The new Comedy which is now to be brought for- , ward at Covent.garden Theatre is the production of Mr. KENNY. t ' A Norwegian writer, named Jean Madsden, hat i Ibeen degraded, and courlemeed to hard labour for life, ./ far having printed a libellous pamphlet. Several more numbers in the present Lottery t •ii have, of course, been taken from the Busk, in con- •J sequence of the postponement of the Drawing; this i• I'. may prove most fortunate for purchasers before the •., first day (the 15th inst.), as those identical Numbers I may obtain the great Capitals. 131Sli, the Con- ?rector's Offices, 4, Cornhill, and 9, Charing•Crnse, o; are the daily resort of Fortune's su it ors ; the First. dawn Prize gets a Stock Prize of L - 30,000 more ore f , . the first day, and may actually obtain, in Consols, • -1 , 860,000. SMITHFIELD CLUB CATTLE SHOW —Early rester. • t day morning the Stewards of the Club began their arrangement of the cattle in Mr. SADLER', Yard ; and soon after nine o'clock the three Judges chnsett for deciding the premiums entered the Yard. Their names are, Mr. JOHN BANISTER, botcher, of Wind- sor, Berko ; . Mr. DANIEL LAHR ATT, grazier, of 4 Thurlby, Lincolnshire; and Mr. FRANCIS WHIT- FIELD, of East Stour, Kent. They were employed until the afternoon in examining the animals, and. • then made their award of the premiums, but lon late for allowing the Yard to be opened to visitors before dark. Earl BEIDOEWATER, Sir WM. CURTIS, and • many others, had sent in stock since our last sc. count ; and the Show, although not so filled with, animals as on some former occasions, is considered to yield to no former one in the mane ezcellencies which it presents. To-morrow we shall give a list of the cattle, distinguishing those which have gained prizes. Coale FICUS. ace, Dic. IL—Wheat trade dull at a ream.. tint, of 9..—Oat. 1, I..vrrr.—lo Barley, Peas, Beata, rod . other articles on alteration. SMITHFIELD MARKET. Disc. 11. To tint the OEM. per slaw of Bin.. • Beef ... 40. 04 in 6 Od. I Heidi of Conte this der r Mama .U. Ow. to 6, IM. Beam .. ..... $9O V., Veni .. 6, 6.1 to 7.. Od. She% arid Lambs ...... 4,tho Pork . 44. 61 to 1,. Crave, 6kl IS OO i Limb .....os. 0.1. to 0 4 Ur - - 1 " iet .... 1, liAlf-MAPKET. Nair ..... bl. Oil. Od. t I RI. Oa. 04. ('lever .... 64 04. 41/1. t.O 9 1 . (H. 04. Straw .... IL let. 14. to a. Ifo. Oth