The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1822-03-28 00:00:00

1 ~+;%~ :~ a E ■ 1 I I ~.. - E• IS . oasolaiaise that witilst 'Oni Eaglish martin `awn * Fa r vat to Irish whiskey, the Scotch distiller was e NM they pealed that as rest:lenses eight be vonaht im. I. WOETLET mai, that eateaideratile relief would Vlliallenfibi Si the poltateaflariey is Serritaad, if malt sod boa* wag he d ata the English market ea the rare Was as hen AS ea esigasltoo of Ms. LUREINGTON, the Peiltioa :anettieletais beetepeeete the Agricultural CaseaUsest. MEM ACCOUNTS. llvAllifiltaLT sled that oho artier of that Noss shit AWN* lea, AWE* Ara OM aosoales, might . f Vill= l itikliii 1.14 that ha should aspen the Han tlee i thijeas (Sff. , ) waialedlrect the papers re. ;•'$ 'held I* to that sid Lli t il =il be forthwith laid before As • iini;:ir ;for is owe that onto was sot altetyated with. he • :4,14 rat' it so ba hie Italy to move ilea she Allereet diem. a tow. Imate. it woo et leaks out thew acentato timid be vs;e( In the bar. 114.11E514 EY presented a Milieu featiKaareaborotieli, preyin g that the INN which waa before the Nome for lb. remover, emelt debts. should pose lido a law....Ordarod to he ea she table. CAltu Ms 1180PNAN. Di. Lifll6llllerron caret be held in his hand • Pe. tiniest* which be wished to call the attention of the Home. It was the Petitino efao individual in very humble eireatestances iu life, who was suffering Ilitifitr Oh aglieati of, the Jew. His complaint was, 4liat,hti tit* •eg seised , ander that venturer, %rouse the by oboes he was tried wi4 Dot is free rid • • /*diced Jury. fee they had but two derv' beGooq iril.• verdict in the very same a t m care. . Re . , " ,the House would feel that no thing timid Umber, essential than that the trial by jury shesidlie reserved in its pristine purity, end that tbrielialshriarors should be free front any sp.. cies of prejadiee. Mutt was the Inure necessary when ail Individual was accused of a crime of a deep chi. racier. for there was always a tendency in the ho. num Naiad to be prejudiced ugliest a person who stood charged with a serious crime. The Petition Was from a person of the Name of John Barclay, a led of 17 years of age. He wss one of those who hid fallen victims to that Society most falsely called' Confoitutional." He woe one of those who, according to tip coarse pursued by that. Suciety, , . hid beemarrikiltioll l's the first instance, end cow. pelted to twirleine. before trial. • preliminary iii). prisoriment... .4 Pro° the 4th of March his trial was to have ease on before the Common Ser. • .leent. end the Gianni for the Defendmit took an election to the :Atty. He was anions to state the ahrettee,. - foe eiders that House could afford a re. ...thedY. he did .mot knew where to apply. The ob. section waatbie, tint the Jury was not competent to try the offence or the offender, because two days *if i!-Fhtl . ,ifad PrOholanced @verdict Aspen the very 4iiiel ;denim:id libel. The Common Serjesnt was al opinion that thiebb e tecbiti was not well founded; bat bi (Dr." Lida. - srewnteuded that it wee, for lfrilytlit 3 tiiirdiblibflie:teied by a jury who had. 'illreirfy . ireeripdged . the caw.. wee a violation of the. twat principles of the trial by joey. It was the opia! ~wirsu, of .Loxd Coke that not only should apt" be . eletti •ezieptiooe ',odor, bat that they should have owl prejudice Whatever upon the particular ogle they were whoa Id try. In .the present instance. the Riff/ . .11,ed Yrefedged the ease, std it was impossible ol after,.• warren investigation and a deliberate . adricnion epos oath upon the very same cow, they' .coold come to the re-/Consideration of that question with unbiateed minds. And Lord Coke bad hid preset, laid, s ll delta that no persons were fit to hers*: jrtt . 5 sty who had pronounced • verdict upon dr , COW sod such a circumstance would hilt ;paid , Our came of challenge. The tiesuelosimet remember the Bill which Mr. Fox had with greet' difficulty pissed through that House, by which 41tetywarere restored to the privileges winch wet* 'l•Wirpett from them by preceding, Judges, of decide! ittlk only as to the fact of publication, but w i heel i Om publication were libellous or nut. No • greater security could have been afforded to the :liberty of the preen than Mr. Fox had procured fee i tit by test Bilk • But io the care before the House; 'Ur. Ifis's gill was set at nought, becalm the jute 'led motto * decide linen the libel. bet merely on the .6w( of publicatioa.—(clear, hear.)—lt was a great vmtiefaction to him that he was now slating &OA which could not be eiiiiiiiireitad: they did not reel' on the statement of the petitioner; they *era., confirmed by the Yorentau of. the Jury, who cots.' , planted of the situatien in which he was placed br.J the Leaned Judge who presto:led, ai well as by the testimony of several reirectable bystanders. And .liere he coeld not help calling the atteut ((((( of the ; House to the charge of the' Judge who tried that case. That Learned Personage 'referred the Jury to the speech he had delivered two days ago, on the 'very same subject, and said, the reasons he bud then laid down must be 'Arleta to convince them of - the libellous character of the publication. How, :then, was the Counsel for the Defeodant to be able to answer arguments in the former statement which be did tint hear; and of which he must have re. imained iii perfect ignorance ? He had, therefore, to complain of, the conduct of the Judge—it' was riot upright, just, and impartial—end he brew of no tribunal before which he could so properly make that assertion as befure dis k ',House of .Grammons of England.—(Hear, hair.* —l'lte ledge mated. that be did not know Itepo the Jury could form a different coricluSion friths', their former verdict ; and instead of endeavouring, at was his duty, to remove any prejudice wht-a *night exist in their minds since the former trial, he urged them to be consistent, and adliese to their former verdict. He (Dr. Lushington) was happy to see his Ho.i. sod Learned Friends opposite in their places end he appealed to their candour to come furore:46nd state their disapprobation of that conduct. He would put this question to them : Suppose they were conrerned in the prosecution of two or three individeols for libel, and that one of theme persons had neen found guilty, would they, with any common regard to their own clieracters• soy to she very same jury, " Come, my good hirsute, yoe have found A. B. guilty, and we there to-re c.il( upon you to pronounce a simpler : verdict against C. D.?" He hoped he lied NW said prise enough to conviuce the House that' a Aahltleo of justice had been committed.' . After Illeilory had heard the speech of the Cie*. awl for the . defence, they deliberated for Si mi. . notes, uotivitlietauding their former decision, nod if they had aot,been called upon to preserve their , s , eonsioieuey k .it was highly probable the b woad Have ' -- . ' for after -' Cate. iheeitneo imprlimied for the mall Awe. Ose of them was seoteoced to two years-. impnsomnent, sod at the expiration of that period. to find security for life, soperadded to which was the sentence of herd labours-(Hear, hear.)—He 'Aid set Wean to say that the Court had not ii,. ' power to indict that sentence, but for 28 years he .sneer - of .no Saes isatenee Uiwhitle the poworint been exercised. But be thought the House feel that it was too severe a sentence for a 4 setter of opinion ape° a subject concersiog so wasy of the greatest meet had differed, and upon iihich, if we could dive into the semis of the limm, perhaps few in that Hone would be .ffmend to agree. However, the tweeties of bard Is might not have been pet,* die MM. giber, for that was the necessary Wiessosence libeing sent to the House of Correcties. 'rust ty calling itself " Constitutional" (the Hegel ensield feel) had crested infinite mischief. They mist hove seen how by the absurdity of their pro ceedings they had disseminated ell the doctrines they wished to suppress, and converted the very perilous who were convicted of these crimes lute martyrs and victims. The duty of • public pro genitor should be inhibited with great caution, even to the most qualified; and they had lately emu how that power was abused in the hands ides in dividual whose talests most excite teepee*. and whose olOtlifit7 ""1s doubted, he meant Sir S.. Shepherd, Ohs by a prosecution he had coudueted, excited as esteems! flume throughout the country. sod raised Hans from a state of obscprity to be a man of consequence, and circulated his Parodies all through the country, from the farthest part of Wales to the most remote corner in Scotland. The Petitioner was an individual in low and' übfortu nate circumstances ; but the case which the House had to consider was one of infinite iutportancee.eit involved the last safeguard ? of Englishmen, the preservation of the ancient sad invaluable institu tion of trial by jury ;•and when they witnessed the attemptcsbet were daily made to infringe upon ' that privilege, when they saw it stated in • publi cation. ender the sanction and openly *vowed by Ministers, that juries cupid no longer be intrusted, when they heard it said that the nosiotensoce of military force was essential to the preservation of our civil liberties, when that doctrine was openly maintained, mid when besides all that they looked 'at the Six Acts which had bee.° pawed. he mild .uot help thialting that if the House did not adhere to the determination of reserving the trial by jury free and independent, there 'mold soon be an end to that proud institution which had so long been considered the ornament and defence of the coontry.—(Hear, hear.) The SOPICITOR•GSUBRAL said he felt himself called upon to say a few words. in consequence of the appeal vihich had been mide to him and his Learned Friend. lie should not imitate the warmth of' his Honourable and Learned Friend who had just sat down, but would rather have re. course to that candour which had been appealed to. He must then presume that his Learned Friend had not read the libel in question, for a more sedi. tious or blasphemous libel Dever issued from the press of this country, of the pernicious tendency of which no man could be ignorant. It might not be improPer to recal to the !Mention of the House that Carlits was the author of that libel. and fee 19 mouths had that individeal, sod those with whom he *as concerned, set the .wat defiance. When Carlile was imprisoned, he declared that he never would be prevented from circulating these writings; that be would employ the members of his own family,. who would be »aline to become martyrs to the cause for which he suffered; and if it should turn out that they would be imprisoned, then he would 'employ persons in low situations in life with low wages, and make them the Mattel:Dents for circu lating his puhlicatious. Accordingly, they had seen that he kept his word. for while he was in prison he continued to circulate them by means •of his wife. and afierwarde his sister, and lat. terly by those individual, whom he hired for the purpose. Every body was acquainted with the arts resorted to in order to evade the law, and it was the bounden duty of every man who had evidence to produce to bring these iudividuals to jostice. Un der these circumstances the prosecutii n was insti stated. With the Society from whence it originated he had nothing to do, but this he would say, that having nbtanied substantial evidence, public justice required them to act as they had dyne. And when reproaches were cast upon the Learned Judge for the pest he had acted, he would ask his Hon. and Learned Feiend, as a lawyer, would it have been competent for him to have interfered ? The Learned Counsel employed for the defence might have made a challenge to the array, and he had sufficient time and opportunity to inquire what legal steps were necessary to be taken in the intermediate time be. tween the two trials. He would just read one short passage from the libel, which would give the House an idea of its tendency. It ststed that " all reli gion it the vice .of society, and merely founded upon the sucient mythology, and can only be sup. ported by priesterA." Those were the opinions which Gentlemen who complained of thew pro. secutions would suffer to go unpunished.— With respect-to the sentence of hard labour. he understood it was competent for the Governor of the flouseof Correction not to impose hard la- ' boor, hut when a prisoner demanded prison allow- • slice, Own he might subject hun to such light la hour as would r be necessary, in order to prevent him being an expense to the county ; and he would venture to say, that.. upon inquiry, it would be found that was the course pursued it, this case. Some of the greatest and must merciful Judges had • passed similar sentences. His Hon and.' Learned Friend would not consider Sir Matthew' Hale open to the charge of inbuinsnity, and yet lie had sentenced an individual convicted of biase phemy to hard labour. and to give security for life. In later tones Lord Kenyon, in the case of the Kiug o Williams, precisely the same sentence lied bees pronounced. to the days of Lord Mansfield the same course had been pursued ; in fact it would be: bard to find an instance of a person convicted of a blasphemous libel th.it was not sentenced to the sante punishment. He was bound, in justice to the character of the Learned Judge, to give that expla qatiou, and he was sure the House would see that ip Ihta particular instance no degree of severity had b.- sauctioned' - Learned Gentleman heri adatqled ohs substance of the Petition to be correct, inalmitich as he admitted that the question of 6 4 libel or wo hid already been tried and decided by • the same Jury, and an swered it by saying, that no two persons could be supposed to entertain a difference of opiniotron that question. But it was not, as he (Dr. Lushington) etiottld contend, the opinion of the nohow:lite 'arid Learned Gentleman, nor that of •tly person it' thet House, that could justify the exposing of aoy man •to Ise tried by a Jury *hick had'already - 06ded . upon the material part of his cue I. nor *could he ,free with the Honourable and Learned Gewilesoso in the opinion that the Learned Judge whu tried the case bad it not in his power to send -it to a new Jury. The Petition was then read sod ordered' to be rioted. ADDITIONAL GAOL DELIVERY. Sir ELIA. HAIIIIIT ran to present a Petition which demanded the most serious attention of the House. It wet from the gentlemen qualified to serve as Grand Jurors for the County of Essex and its prayer was that some means might b: adopted for holding * C.aottnissiou of gesteral Gaol Delivery, in the intervtl of eight months that elapsed between the Seininter and the Lent Amino. TheHonoterable Memberless understood to state in support of the Petition, that of the prisoners in the Calendar at the late Arises for that comity, there were twenty-two committed between August, the month in which the preceding Assizet were held, sod the 30th September, whose trials could not come on until March. Of dun number, six were acquitted, and two. discharged by proclamation ; so that eight prisoners out of twenty-two had been unjustly confined for the period of nearly six months. The length of time that elapsed before the prisoners could be brought to trial often pre vented prosecutors from appearing against them, so that justice was defeated by delay. Mr. WillTaall rose to support the Petition. This subject he hod before brought under the considera tion of the House, sod the Noble Lord (London derry) had on that occasion declared that it had en gaged the serious attention of Government, and that it was in contemplation to apply some remedy to the evil. Au Act had beep passed in the last Session authorising the building of a new IFsol for the county, sod that naturally led to an inquiry into the nature of the provision that it would be necessary to make, and the number of prisoners for which it would be expedient to provide; and it was found that on the average of the lest four or five .years, one half of the whole number of persons fur trial at the Assizes, were committed between the termination of the Summer Anises and the mouth of January—whereby it happened that they ware under the necessity of providing for at least double the number of prisoners, for whom provision would be required if there were a gaol delivery in or before the month of January. That was a most important consideration, not only es a point of eco nomy, but of security and convenience ; for pri soners of that class that were committed for capital felonies, were the most difficult to be properly pro. vided fur. It so happened that at the present mu. meet a circumstance had occurred which proved the necessity of at least one more gaol delivery. He alluded to whet had occurred at the present Attlee. at Maidstone. The ember of prisoners for trial was so great, that Mr. Irmo Graham was obliged to put off the trial of many causes at Nisi Pries, at • great expense to the suitors, in order to assist Mr. Baron Wood in the trial of. prisoners; besides which, Mr. Serjeant Lewes and Mr. Sorjeant Pell, were sitting in other rooms, one of them in an Anabaptist Chapel, fur the same purpose of accelerating the gaol delivery by pro ceeding with the trials of prisoners. Another forei •ble consideration was the cruel state of suffering in which an innocent man was placed by being con fined for so long a period, and compelled to associ ate with felons of every description ; whereby the mind as well us the body was tortured, the spirit often broken down, and the man reduced to a con dition in which lie became highly susceptible of the contaminating influence of the society in which he was forced to mix. At the Lent Assists in 1819, there were four hundred prisoners for trial who had been committed befure Octo ber, many of whom were acquitted. At the MSC As , ive there were eight hundred persons einvicted of felony, who were ventenced to periods of imprisonment shorter than that which those four 'hundred persons had actually undergone before trial, and many of theta for no crime at all. He thought that a more frequent gaol delivery might be had without soy great additional inconvenience she difficulty. One mode which he would suggest was, that at the period of the Quarter Sessions a Judge should sit in the Criumnd Court, for the trial of the prisoners charged with capital felonies, while the Magistrates proceeded in the Aiai Prins Coort with the ordinary business of the Sessions. He thought it most objecionable that persona should be confined longer then three months with out trial. The Lent and Summer Assizes were well placed in point. of time for the delivery of the gaol* ; January and October also were equally con venient periods for ant+ an object, and lie would therefore suggest the prop r i e ty o f the gaol delivery, in point of time, to the Quarter See shins, at which times there were assrpibled the Sheriff,, the Grand and Petty Juries, the Magistracy of the county, and all those persons whore presence was necessary fur the purpose. ,Some objection, perhaps, might be made, on the ground of the interference of such an arrangement with the other business of the Judges ; but six Judges only would be necessary to go the Circuit of Gaol Delivery for the whole kingdom. if in Term time, three only could he spared front the regular business of the Courts ut Westminster, surely it would nut be too much to ask for so lin fortant an object as that of perfecting the ad- Itsioietration of the criminal law of the country, fait three additional Judges should be appointed fir that purpose. He concluded by seconding the motion of his Hon. Colleague, that the Petition be brought up. • Mr. Pm, paid, no one who had heard the speech of the Hon. Member who had just .at down could fail to be impressed with a deep sense of the im- C:e of the subject to which he had addressed 017. He Motion the least return that could be mode for the manner in which the duties that 4lesolved Wren to-- . "S Imesiiieliitsed. (wilier all they receinmeod. had been introduced thatwasooteaoued by tha —j liMelted Olean them were discharged by the Ma. ad boas W swot* sad he. was 'ol,oeaced to six greMest authorities.—(Hear, hear.) , lispates of the couotcy, was to pay the utmost eaostbe isteriakOmell ! POI Irilfd lira slim of Dr. Lussineron stud, that the fienotirside and *NA= to the representations which they Bride . .di yr , . •• • -- on subjects imareimenediately connected their drake. He could enure the Hon. Gentteam that this subject had not• escaped the stientioo of his Majesty's Government. and he hoped the commit= nicatiun which be was alma to snake would *he* • that they were by Ito meows disposed to uudervidue its importance.. At the saute base he was stmt the Hon. Gentlensed, would with candour admit that the question was one that required much considers. Lion. and that they could not approuchstiyclunige in the ,long-ektblielted mode of adminosiering the Criminal jatiCeAthe costar/ without due creation, and regard to tbiyealo d ig wlncheess most correctly felt of any'etitersbanl9 ate salministration of justice, and particular Care not to di.turh the settled lied well.grounded opinion - of its impartiality. Thee-- pretence of ages had operated to reader our present system the most perfect system of criminal junspru. deuce that existed in any country I and that mini deration imposed on them the ditty of proceeding with the greatest caution in the adoption of soy measure involving a change of any part of that aye tern. With respect t• the remedies proposed by the Honourable Member for the evil 'which it was desirable to remove, he was not prepared at once to state a decided objection to the adoption of his plan; but there did occur to him in the out set considerable objections to that plan. He un derstood the Honourable Member to propose, that at one, at least, if not both of the Quarter Self. ions, a Judge should attend to try crintioal insars.. making the grand apd petty juries that were then in attendance co-operate with him in that service.— That appeared to him to be impossible, without having recourse to a measure, of the policy of which great doubts were entertained among those men who were most competent to give an opinion from having the most particularly turned their at tention to the subject—he mesot that of adding to the number of the Judges. That would be a difficulty. which it would be necessary is the first instance to surmount. He confessed there were other objections that occurred, which appeared to be of still greater magnitude. Any one who had observed, the administration of the law by the Magistrates at Quarter Sessions, must have felt that the Greed and Petty Juries in at tendrince on those occasions were of a very di& ferent description from those which attended at the Assizes; and it was most desirable to avoid any impression that at the new gaol delivery cases would be disposed of with less care and atten tion than formerly ; for any feeling of that kind, which was most likely to be produced by any sp. Fearasceof diminished solemnity its the outward orms of the sdatinistretion of the law in criminal cases. could nut fail to weaken the impressios of its justice in the minds of the people. Other diffi culties also would be found. As the law at present stood, the Quarter Sessions for the different coun ties were required to be held in the seine week, it .'would be necessary therefore to make some other alteration in the law in that respect. By what ar rangement could they secure the attendance of the Judge in all the different counties of • circuit within the period of the same week f Take, for instance, the October Quarter Session,. The 'Session was required to be held within a week of the 11th October; if that fell ou a Sunday, the Sessions would begin on the 19th. Term begins Swabs Gap November. How they could .any ar ttogentent be adopted by which a Judge would be enabled to attend at all the different town. within Ins circuit to deliver the gaols. sous to be in lime to attend the opening of the Term in Westminster? " These were a fey: of the difficulties in the way of any immediate alteration, which it required time to consider of the best means of removing. After the fullest consideration that his Majesty's Government had been able to give to the sub ject, they hod determined, in the course of the next winter, to make an experiment. to which he hoped it would not be objected that it wee on too limited a scale, of a third gaol delivery. in all the counties of the Home Circuit, viz. Erisex, Hertfordshire. Sussex, Surrey, and Kent. The reasons which had induced the Government to select the Home Circuit for this experiment were, in the first place, the greater facility which it present.dl fur the regular attendance of both Judge and Counsel. who would not be carried to such • di,- tance front the Courts in Westminster as would prevent them returning in time for any business on which their presence might be necessary ; and in the next place, there were circumstances which ap plied to the home district, arising out of the vi cinity of those counties to the raetropolir,which might make the couvenience of such an arrangement more immediately felt. In Middlesex there were at pre. sent eight gaol deliveries within the year, a distmc tioo which had been made solely with reference to the locality of the metropolis ; and ou that prin ciple they proposed to extelid the system by way of experiment in the first matance to the home coun ties.—(Dear, heir.) Mr. LeYcusTua said, the effect of Ilse protraction of the term between the two Assizes woe to keep per sons charged with felony a long time in coufinemeet previous to trial, often without having committed any crime at all, often for offences punishable ouly by periods of imprisonment shorter in duration thou that which they thud were compelled !deviously to undergo. This was a system which called loudly fur amendment, fur if imprisonment before iris) was made longer than was necessary, it degene rated into oppression. A more frequent gaol delivery was also desirable as a means of facilitat ing the improvement of prison discipline, by reduc. i fig the number of persons in confinement, and pro muting time object so desirable to be attained, of a regular classification of prisoners according to their particular circumstances. He did not conceive that such an arrangement would necessarily require an increase in the number of the Judges. There were now four in each Court, of whom one might be spared for the purpose; end three Judges would perform the additional circuits for the whole of England in the same space of time which the whole of the Judges occupied in the circuits at present. Mr. •Poel. said he had omitted to observe that nothing could be more unjust than that any addi tional expense should be entailed on the Judges by soy measure of this nature ; and he was sure the House would on no account consent to any arrange ment which would increase their burdens.—(Hear.) Mr. Drcitmeort taw no reason why some of the counties in' the Home Circuit, Hertfordshire lOr instance, should havea preference over others. The county of Somerset bad the great toes et Bath, \ * oilich was as fertile in Mate as the marripaiie Wild he, compsretively speaking. He knew one instance of a boy being commuted in Angola on a charge o f felony, and kept iri cootioement till the Anises io March. when lie was discharged by proclornenioN to bill being found. He hoped too addittood isilsorr. *sold be Unposed ou the Magistros iai by ._. env new arrangement. Sir E. KAATCIIIIJLL Vine confident from whit . - losii:lfidlen from the Hight Hue. Secretary for . the Nome Department, that if the expetimesu be i msentioned, which was very properly emended to the home counties in the first instaoce. turned NI t to be beneficial, it would not stop there. He then .alloded to the inconveuience which hod recently bleu sustained in the county (Kenn) with which he wee connected. There were only 28 Nisi.Prias uses set down for trial, but the greater. purr* E r had been unavoidably delay e d, t o t h e .great iceineuce sod expense of th e su it ors and others, •• :. . account of the urgent necessity of applyneg adigitiuisal exertions to the object of delivering the gaol. This must undoubtedly sgsin'occur, for X ' was impossible to expect that the same circurn. .Dances which had given rise to It should cot ogle. lake place. If an additional gaol delivery, th cri . lore, were not ordered, some Other irfingempat would be necessary to secure to sailors in the Aid ' Prior Court sit early and efficient trial. Mr. CHETWTIOD said there could be so &ob. that a more frequent gaol delivery was not only de. eirable bat nectsosry, sod he was glad to find that the subject was in the hands of the Hight llore, Secretary. He hoped the experiment which he ire shout to try would not be confined to the Hume • Circuit, but extended to all the others. He hoped it would cot be otterided with any addition to* loboors of the Magistrates, who were already a overburdened with businew., that indepeudest country gentlemen. who were the most proper and desirable Immo, for the office, were glad to kelp out of the eommiserioo. With respect to the sot .. , ambition of the number of the Judge', he did nit see that it would be altogether necessary. Hewn glad to hear that it was not intended to subject them to any increased espouse ; for there was no class el individuals in the public service so ill paid as tits Judges. Mr. W. SMITH thought the evil of the present system so great that not one but ten experiment of this kind should he made rather then it should go on without a remedy. A case had recently bee' tried in which a man was convicted of manslaughter, for having caused the death of an apprentice by besting and ill-treatment, for winch be was stn. tenced to twelve months imprisonment. He (Mr. W. Smith) knew an instance of • men in the city of Norwich having been eleven mouths in prison en a charge of Irlony, and discharged without trial after all. Who that for a moment compared tits two cases could hesitate in the opinion that a mote frequent gaol delivery throughout the kingdom was necessary The ATTORNEY-GENERAL commenced in an extremely low tone of voice some observations on the importance of the question, on the dif f iculties that opposed themselves to the immediate adoptieu of any remedy, and the necessity of full a•d mature consideration before any plan that might be propos ed should be adopted. The difficulties of the case were most strongly proved by the variety of suggestions that had been throws out es this occasion. The Right Honourable Secretary for the Home Department had said, that it w determined to make the experiment of a thirll gaul delivery in the Home Circuit, being of opinion. and he (the Attorney-General) was likewise of that opinion, that the weight of busi ness that at present pressed ou the Judges was such, that without changing altogether the consti. ' lotion of the Courts of Law, a more extes►ive es. perimeut could not as yet be made. The Mean's wience which had been sustained by the guitars et Wig Pries at Maidstone, as stated by the H► Pourable Baronet who represented the county of lent (Sir Edward Kostchbull), had no doubt !risen in a great mea►ure from want of informs. tion as to the nature and extent of the busies", to come on, before the order of the circuits was arranged, so as to allow farther time for Ma Cams mission at that place. That was an inconvenience to which suitors must at ell times be ',obtain a greater or less degree, and all that could be dyne was So take care as far as it was possible thatjuettees oold be administered to the satisfaction of the people. The inconvenience to persona of imprisonment be fore trial was also one which must in some degree rood, whatever regulation might be adopted. He was ready to admit that that was not a reason why some regulation should nut be made in order to render the inconvenience as light as possible; but it was a sufficient reason why they should not rush at once in search of a remedy into any arrangement which would involve the necessity of changing the whole judicial systeiu of the country. With respect to the Judges, they must be cautious of imposing too great a load of business upon those important public functionaries; for, if they did so, no man of talent would be found to accept ofelie situation. The leisure they were at peplum able to enjoy was almost too little for the necessary relief from their arduous duties. Ile trusted that the experiment which had hero proposed by his Right Honourable Friend would wtt•fy the House and the cottutty ; after the' expertmi tit had been made end the ad vantages to be derived from it asccrtained, they would be in alt. ocr situation to ssy how far it might he ex tch:!ed with advantage to the country. Dr. I..VsIIIIIOToN sod, that after much mid de liberate conasderidion of the subject, he wit. con. vh.ced that it would he impossible to effect the object of ■a additional goal delivery by soy plan that meld abs adopted, without isereasing the 'lumber of the Judges; he felt that Do alteration of hat kind ott ; tit to be made except on clear and unquextiwiiihle grooolls of necessity. But if the result of the experiment in the home counties should be, to show that a similar plan could not he extended to the remaining circuits with the present number of Judges, lie would remind the Right Hon. Secretary and his Hon. sail Limped Friend, that en augmentation of that cumber was trot a new measure, (Oros they were well aware.there were periods of our history its which there were five• 611 9 and even seven Judges sitting in nne Court at the same time. At present, he must say, that he was wholly at a loss to imagine how any of the Jodie' should be enabled to find time fir riecomory re' la:atm ; and if the business owe jocleased .1 teration in the law in that respect. By whet ar- precocity ? I mgement could they secure the attendance of the The ATTORNEY-GENERAL commenced in sa I edge in all the different counties of a circuit extremely low tone of voice some observations en ithin the period of the same week f Take, the importance of the question, on the dif f iculties e instance, the October Quarter Session,. The that opposed themselves to the immediate adoptisu i ration was required to be held within a week of any remedy, and the necessity of full aid mature t 7 the II th October; if that fell ou a Sunday, the consideration before any plan that might be propos- 1 maims would begin on the i9th. Term begins ed shoed be adopted. The difficulties of the CM e ealbe 6th November. How they could .any ar- were most strongly proved by the variety 0( *A • egosseot be adopted by which a Judge would be suggestions that had been throws out ea Ws 1 tabled to attend at all the different town. within ocen:ton. The Right Honourable Secretary fee li s circuit to deliver the gaols, so as to be in lime to ' the Home Department had said, that it sea e tend the opening of the Term in Westminster? 4 determined to make the experiment of a thill e 'hese were a fee of the difficulties in the way of gaul delivery iu the Home Circuit, being of i a by immediate alteration, which it required time opinion. and he (the Attorney-General) was I i consider of the best means of removing, likewise of that opinion, that the weight of bssi. t 5 Tier the fullest consideration that his Majesty's nets that at present pressed ou the Judges was ' lovernmeut had been able to give to the sub- such, that without changing altogether the comb. it ct, they hod determined, in the course of , tutiou of the Court. of Law, a more extensive es. t I to next winter, to make an experiment. to which perimeut could not as yet be made. The incenvs- 1: c r hoped it would not be objected that it wee on uience which had been sustained by the miters et h io limited a scale, of a third gaol delivery, in all Nisi Prins at Maidstone, as stated by the Hie ii le couoties of the Home Circuit, viz. Elms, pourable Baronet who represented the county of tl lertfordshire. Sussex, Surrey, and Kent. The Kent (Sir Edward Kneclibull), had no doobt !mono which had induced the Government to select arisen in a great measure front want of informs. t. to Home Circuit for this experiment were, in the tion as to the nature and extent of the hoist", e rst place, the greater facility which it presented to come on, before the order of the circuits Wag r it the regular attendance of both Judge sod arranged, so as to allow farther time for this Com. . a 'outlet!. who would not be carried to such a die- minion at that place. That was an ioconvenience il ince from the Courts in Westminster as would to which suitors must at ell times be liable in a e recent them returning in time for any business on greater or less degree, and all that could betionevii c hich their presence might be necessary ; and in to takecare as far as it was poseible thatjumiees odd t le next place, there were circumstances which ap- be administered to the satisfaction of the people t lied to the home diettict, arising out of the ve- i The incinivenience to persons of imprisonment be- I nity of those counties to the rnetropolie,which might fore trial was also one which mute in souse degree t lake the commuience of such an arrangement more exist, whatever regulation might be adopted. lie ' amediately felt. In Middlesex there were at pre. was ready to admit that that was not a reason why t ut eight gaol deliveries within die year, a distmc- some regulation should nut be mode in order to I on which had been made solely with reference to render the inconvenience as light as passible; but a le locality of the metropolis ; and ou that prin. it was a sufficient reason why they should not rush e ple they proposed to extelid the system by way of at once in search of a remedy into any arrangement b iperiment in the first instance to the home coon- which would involve the necessity of changing the 1 es.—(Hear, heir.) whole judicial system of the country. With respect Mr. LuYcxsTxu said, the effect of ifse protraction to the Judges, they must be cautious of imposing It 'the term between the two Assizes was to keep per- too great a load of business upon those important 6 nit charged with felony a long time in coufinemeet public functionaries; for. if they did oce no man revioos to trial, often with ou t h av i ng comm itt e d of t a l ent wou ld b e f oun d t o a c ce pt ofithe situation., P ty crime at all, often for offences punishable only The leisure they were at present able to enjoy was r periods of imprisonmeut shorter in duration thou almost too little foot the necessary relief from their . - let which they thu g s were compelled previously to arduous duties. Ile trusted' that the experiment 11 Avg°. This was a system which called loudly which had been propmed by his Right Honourable - ill r amendment, far if imprisonment before trial Friend would setay the (,louse mud the cottutey ; as made longer than was necessary, it degeoe- after that expertmi tit had been made and the ed. ted into oppression. A more frequent gaol ventogeo to be derived from it ascertained, they 7 111 livery was also desirable as a means of f ili ..tat... i would be tit d to Lier sitnetion to say how far it g the improvement of prison discipline, by reduc. 1 might be ex fro:led with advantage to the country. g the number of persons in confinement, and pro. Dr. I..usiii Minot. sod. that after mock and de- ei nting the object so desirable to be attained, of a liberate comaderetion of the subject. he wit. cos- ii viler classification of prisoners according to their vh.eed that it would be impossible to effect the . t irticuler circumstances. He did trot conceive object of an additional goal deltves7 by soy plan '- h a cou ld t such en arrangement wou ld necessari ly requ i re that sbe adopted, *than summating the , • i increase in the number of the Judges. There , number of the Judges; he felt that Do alteration , i , e err now four in taco Court, of whom one might t of shat kind eti i .oit to be made except on cheer sod '_ a spared for the purpose ; en d three Judges would uliquelitioioitile groooils of necessity. But if the .: li !dorm the additional circuits for the whole of ie.ult of the experiment iu Ilse home counties • c ogland in the sense space of time which the whole should be, to show that a similar plan could not '; f the Judges occupied in the circuits at present. he extended to the remaining circuits with the ...., it Mr.•PRIL said he had omitted to observe that present number of Judges, he would remind the ,- ' t thing could be more unjust than that any addi- I Right Hots. Secretary and has Hon. and Learoed , e oital expense should be entailed on the Judges by Friend, that en augmentation of that member was pot e iy measure of this nature ; and he was sure the a new measure, furors they were well asare.there were e onse would on no account consent to any arrange. period, of our history iii which there were Ole* 111 9 it rut which would increase their burdens.—(Hear.) and even seven Judges sitting in owe Court at the vi Mr. DicutnioN r aw no meson why *owe of the same time. At pretest, he must say, that he was e , unties in' the Home Circuit, Hertfurdshire for wholly at a loss to imagine how any of she Jodie' li stance, should have • preference over others. The should be enabled to find time far necomery re' • may of Somerset had the great lowa of Bab a . laximeau ; and if the business Ware iliatard ° tl _ . •. _....