The Sun. — London, England, 1828-02-29 00:00:00

duals have to travel seven or eight miles in order-to pro. cure the interference of it Magistrate.; so that many individuals, balancing the loss' of time, the expence, and the inconvenience ':of , .prosectitioos, snake up their' minds to put . up with • the injuries they have received, and abandon all hope of redress. •If a banker' loses a sum of 3,0001. or 4,000/. by a coach or Other robbery, he can afford to prosecute, and has, there fore, some chance of a remedy. • I was applied to, a short time since, by a party from whom an enormous sum of money had been stolen, and I eras requested to offer his Majesty's pardon to any of the accomplices who would give evidence of the robbery. But lat once declared, that I should never impose the prerogative of his Majesty on any such occasion, unless I received a full assurance that the parties would ultimately prosecute. = (Hear, hear.)—l have also uniformly opposed myself to any thing like com pounding of felonies, of -which we have not a few examples w itha l a rec e n t period.—(Hear, hear.)—l wish to throw out, for the - consideration of the House, the propriety of considering the example.of Scotland, which, I think, we may well follow in criminal proetedingi. If individual loes property in this country—if, •for instance, a man loses 101., be is gravely told he may have a chance of convicting the of fender by expending some 20/. more. This may he loOked upon by many as a remedy, but the suffering , party gene-, rally thought his wisest course was -to abandon the prose cation altogether. I merely throw out these hints as mat ters which I think worthy the consideration of the House as well as of the Committee; although I do not believe that any effectual remedy can be devised by which the evil can be cured. The introduction of such a system would cause too great a change in our whole internal system-But when the Committee have fully sifted the whole question; they will find that the time is come when all these things ought to be gravely and seriously looked to. "ily imine .diate object in proposing this Committee, is an inquiry into the causes of the increase of crime in the Metropolis Lind its vicinity, and into the state of the Police of. the Meth'. polls. Th e re are so many points of ipcpiiry into the-gene ral miestions. that I think I am benefitting the country by limiting it in this way, on the present occasion. But I must inereet Honourable Members, and particularly those who live in agricultural districts,. to look. seri ously to the points upon which I have fo - iind it neces sary to touch. Sir,,l think, and it, is useless to disguise the fact, that the time is come,, when, from the increase in our manufactures, and the various alterations which have taken place in our other institutions, we may fiiirlY pro nonnce that the country has outgrown her Police Institu tions—(Hear, hear)—and that the cheapest and safest ,course will be found to be the introductiop of a new mode of eirOtection.—(lleer, hear.)—Why, I ask, should We entrust a grocer, or any other tradesman, ablever respect able, with the 'direction and management of 5,000 or 6,000 police? Why should such a 'person, unpaid- and unrewarded, be taken from his usual avocations, and called upon to perform the laborious duties of a night constable ? I say, Sir, that he has no reward ; or, if lie has a reward, be has it from improper sources ; and this, I contend, is an argument in favour of the inquiry I propose.—(Hear, hear )—I am aware, Sir, that abuses exist in the,watch and police systems ; I know that after having employed a man for tweney or thirty years, they know not what to do with him, o: ,how to provide for him, and therefore they continue him in employment, no matter how unfit for it he may have become; I shall, now, Sir; allude sh or tly an certain documents moved for by the Noble Lord last yore and which I shall feel it my duty to lay before the Committee—these documents chew the increase of crime in England and Wales in 1827, compared with 1826. Sir, it is of no use to deceive ourselves ; it is of no use to shut our 'eyes against what is passing around us, end praise ourselves upon our superior morality and Christian virtues.. It is our duty to look around . us, and provide, so far as in us lies, remedies for the evils with which we are surrounded. By doing this, we shall lee cinsult the interests of the country at large. In order to show the House the state of crime in the Metropolis, I shall take leave to read the amount of commitments within the last few years.' In 1823, the total number of com mitments, in - London and Middle. S ex, wits 12,203 ;in 1821, it was 13,698 making an-increase of more than 1,400 criminals. In the . next year, 1825, - the number *as 14,437 ; making' a still further increase, in the last year, of 739. In *1826, the atimbers were 16,147 ; in 1827, they were 17,921; mak ing an increase of 1,774 in the last year. From, these state mente, Sir, it is evident that there has been an increase of .in.the last five years, to the amount of 5,000 persons. 'This, Igay, is evident, from the documents I have just read. The Lest oontains the number of c.ommitments in 1826, as compared' 'with those in 1827, showing the decrease which has takes olive in several counties. Perhaps the House May have curios 4 eetough to wish to know what are the counties in which a d eea ease of crime has taken place. In those counties (although the has been a general increase of 1774 in the sum tout of the commitments in England and Wales for the last year) , yet' a'eere has been, notwith as compared with *finding, a decrease within the last fen.' an ent.; in some the former year, in the amount of comniii particular eounties. These bounties ' are Dfvuushite, Gloueestershire, the city of Bristol , the countle, Hun, those of Middlesex and London, in which this tja ctease is as great as 76 ; and lastly, the counties of , Hot lend and Surrey. The total decrease is only 157, and 'out of number the counties of Middlesex (including Lon don) and Surrey, furnish the proportion of 112, so that in she other Counties the decrease has been but very slight.— tlie other hand, there has been an increase in several countiee as° large a nature, ae far to exceed the decrease to which I have just referred. That increase, in 1827, as compared with the number of committals in the same counties, in the preceding year, may he thus seated: — In Cheshire the increase has been 82 ; in Liecole- • shire; 109.; in Lancashive, 55 (a number not very large, considering the population of that county, and the eseett liar circumstances in which her population are placed) ; in Somersetshire, 156 (an increase latter in its amount than that which has token place• in any cithernounty:of the *erne size); in. -Staffordshire, 121 ; in Yorkshke, 227; and in Worcestershire, 81, tty which, together with other .counties ; the, increase amounts iii the gross to 1,774; nese, Sir, are. therefore only eeene of the counties in which the increase has taken place; 'bat in all of them the increase has been coneiderable. In Itent and Cardi ganshire, by "a - curious and insist fortuitous circianseance, the relative. nurnbers have c'outhineil precisely the same, feeen this enumeration I do not eatent to draw any of those inferences, for which. it seems to oil-,r so wide a field, and which theorists of ell kinds are smeralree introduce. It seems to me, that none .r.in he safely drawn feOrn them, either upon the general• subject of distreee, or that e-f i game, or on that of the facility of commitment, without, atahe same time, taking into consideration a vast many elements of inquiry, too nurrizzeus for me to touch upon at present. These are the facts which I present to the House as to the general result of the cases ,that have oecerred ,during the last year, and out of these re t eens may some, satisfactory conclusion be drawn as to the inersese . in the yeer*lB27, 'as compared with other years. I ought perhaps to apolo gize to the Housefor having addressed them at keel length. —(Hear, hear.) —I shall suet trouble. them with weatere which ought more properly to be taken into consideration, , when the object I have in view hai been more distinctly and fully htoerl to the Committee, with regard to the state 4f the country and the Police generally; but 7 felt that in b r i n ging forward this inetion, I could not abstain ;Altogether from teaching on those scatters of deep, essential, w'J permanent interest , which are eossoected in so intimate a manaer .with the sec urity, of our emirate, l e d / may add, in •which the interests of our, ptitille morality and of our e opcereede and when . eleie House religion are so deeply comes to take the subject fully into consideration, I am quite certain I shall 'Arid. in their opinion a sufficient ex etese for what I bay* dene.—(llear , beg' leave * t o t oove— , That a Select Conniti:ttee be appointed to in quire ,into the causes of an increase in the number of Comnaitneents and Convikioni in London and Middlesex, and the St ate s of the Police of the Metropolis, and the Pis- - tricts adjac ent e . hereto, and, to.statb their opinion therioo," • Mr. HUME aek aended that the amount of crime de pended more up on t h e seen/4y of distress * in th e country t h a n on any oth e r c ause . The Eight Hon. Gentlemen; therefor e, had hhnhed at the ti.-s& great cause of the increase of crime, when he hail passed ores' the enormous taxation Which -depressed all classe s o f th e eemste nnity. That taxa tion could only be reduceii by lessening the expenditure of the' country ; and- when Ministers had done tbet, and, by pacifying Irela nd, had given se cur i ty to p r operty, god en 'enraged the em ployment of there, cap.ta, they would 'Wee' done so mething towards diminishing the number of offences. Mr. SPRING RICE felt inclinedee Say a few words upon 'this subject, in consequence of his recent connection with the Office of which the Ri g ht Hon. Gentleman was at the 'head. ' With almost' ever y word which the Right Hon. 'Gentleman had littered he fully agreed; but lie must t ak e - the liberty of urging, with•reference to ..one part of the sub- ' jeer, that if any practical-improVorien t should he su ggested as capable of being made , the House woul d not approach 'that branch of the subject, in which the imcouprovemee statnttrul was ld r eco mmended, with any timidity. - He y, = that one of the greatest difficulties to be overcome, in pro • posing the alteratio n s' th a t mi g ht be deemed necessary, 'W o uld be found in the opposition raised in deface of thos e '• peculiar jurisd ictions and small independent authorities, -which existe d in such numbers in the country.— One of those peculiar jurisdictio ns ,to which he ,p ar e ticulatly referr ed, was the nightly 'Watch 'Of - 'London, and the Magistracy connected with its police. He was aware ilet when the subject of the police was first brought before the House, some few years since, by Sir is Macdo nald, then Solicitor-General, and when another Blember of the House, who was then Secretary for the Home De partment, the suestion of the nightly watch was found - a sufficient obstacle to neutralise all that was then:attempted to be done. But alterations had taken place since "that time, and there were now fewer, perhaps, of those ground less jealousies Which could be opposed to public advantage than there had been at a former period.—(Hear, bear.)— • 'On : the inliect of the parish' watch lie'innit say it would bein vain to attempt to do any thing, so long as the pre- . sent system of appointing and regulating the watch conti nued. In confining his motion to an inquiry. concerning the Police of the Metropolis, he thought the Right Hon. Gentleman was limiting the subject too much, at least if he wished to prevent a recurrence of the evil in the neigh bouring counties. If the Police of London and West milaater were amended, what would be the effect on these couoties?.Wity this—that in proportion as our Police was improVed, the parishes in the- neighbouring counties would suffer from an increase of crime, in consequence of the. London thieves ,being driven into them from the .Metropolis. ~Innumerable complaints had already been made on .. the state of crime in the neighbouring counties. Now, if' th e people at large were to pay for. the benefit of improving the police of London and Westminster, they would be paying too much ; for, although it, was cle,w that every individual had a di-• rect interest in the dimioutien of crime, yet, if the neigh bouring counties. paid for London and. Westminster, and the police of the neighbourine b , places was not improved, they woald be paying for that which must tend to their immediate injury. There was another subject to which he could have wished that the Right Hon. Secret ar y h a d adverted ; .this Was one that had occupied the attention of former. Coinmittees on the subjeet.ef the.police, and with , ont a remedy was afforded tOilit evil, he'thonght but little good would be done. ' He alluded 'to th e present syatenf.of fi ses i s tog publie house s . As long as that system continued itaita-present : state, especially in the Metropolis and its vicinity, where Magistrates were noun much confined in their exercise 9f theft power as in other parts of the coun try—as 'long, he said, as that 'system was not only per mitted hut encourededa . and as'long as those Magistrates were out of thereaeh 'of control-,-some ltouses, however bad, would be licensed, white nthers, let them be ever so good, would be refined a licence, and the consequence ne • cessarilt' must be an increase Of crime. (Hear.) Now that he was on that subject; he would - say a few words with re gard to the state of juvenile delinquency in the Metropolis. Without looking With attention at the state _of the class of jUvenile Offenders in London and its vicinity, he thought much good could not be gained. Much bad already been done among them by alterations, the credit of *which wits due to the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, who had ef fected a great deal by the improvement of prison laws_ butthere was still a large clasi of young offenders, who were confined together in one prison, in such a manner as must tend to the increase of crime.. On this subject he wished the Rightlion. Gentlethan to consider what had already, on another occasion, been prOpOied 'by a Noble Lord, who had declared that the 'axe would not be laid to the 'root of the evil until a separate prison had been-con structed for the offenders who shOuld be classed, not accord ing to their age, bUt with: reference to the crimes which they had committee!. There was' another cause, to the consideration of *which they must' come sooner or later (Mid the sooner they came to it he thought the better)._ he alluded to the present system of punishing offenders of a certain class with transportation. ' From letters which, in cOnsequence of his official situation, had come under his perusal—letiers received from persons Who had been trans- ported—it seemed to him - there was 'nothing so clear as that transportation operated as an encouragement of crime, rather than tended to deter, men from committing it. - - The descriptions' of the Colony were 'such as to invite, instead of alarm, those who read them ; and such descriptions were to he found not in One letter only, but in hundreds, and the language they contained was often Ihisa-•" We are placed here in a situation infinitely better than you who have committed no offence wh4ever, and the best wish we can faint for you is,' that von May be - emit:led - to came and join us." 'lf that waa ihe case--and that it was - -he could truly state—it was impossble long' to adhere to the system of transportation, as a punishment that would operate•to preVent crime. He would state to the House an improve merit introduced while a Noble Friend of his recently held the seals of the Home Office-...an' itriprovernent _which, as he believed; had been effected.. The House wai.aware of the publication of a paper called The Rile end Cry. Ga idle. It was one Which bad but a limited sale, and the mode in which it was issued was not one which had been found to answer its intended purposes, and his N o bl e Friend had adopt ed means to extend its cireuratien, and a iii Ore frectnent issue of it Was ensured. He noW:requested the Right' Hon. Gentleman to consider, whether its distri-; bution could mot be further extended .and .he begged to state, thatits extended circulation had been contemplated, but that. the proposed plan was not one which" could be adopted without the intervention of Parliainent; and as it Was propped during theracation a it had not, on that ac count, been carried into execution. The plan was 'this— that a paper, containing it description of the crime or 'of the property 'stolen, together - with all the circumstances kticwn to the parties; that might serve es indictee to lead to the - detection of the criminal; should.- be printed as ra- ' pidly as possible after the crime had been committed, and should be put inter the hail& of every keeper of a public house, of every licensed' dealer 'in herses, and of every pawnbroker in the kingdom I- so that .the moment a crime was discovered, all the known accompanying circum stances should be published- as extensively as possible, in order to lead to the detection.of the criminal. By that plan, a species of übiquity would be given to the Police, greater than had ever before been employed.— fie agieed that there had been .a lamentable increase Of crime Ohio the last few years ; but he was not disposed to show the subject in too desponding a . manner.; for, in the first place: while the number of : criminals had increa sed, the virulence and enormity of the crimes had decrea sed. - That was something consolatory; but even ' suppo sing that they had not that fact, he should say; that the increase was to be accounted 'for by other causes. One of these causes was owing to the increase of property itself.— But there were 'other, causes 'Which contributed to the in . • in crease of crime. Every - step which contributed to in crease the * facility for prosecatioos must increase the num ber of crimes, at least in appearance. If the country paid the witnesses and all the expenses of the prosecution, such aneffcct rtnisit be ' produced. There could be no doubt that since the Right Hoop . Gentleman had introduced the Bills which gave witnesses their • expenses, there had been many prosecutions which in former pericda would not have been instituted. his only apology for haying troubled the House was, that he had acquired knowledge of these mas ters from his late connection with the Home Office. Mr. WILMOT HORTON—I have but a _few words, to address * to; alte House upon this subject, and. those few words will he in answer to some observations made by the Hon. Member for Arberaieeu.' On all the subjects that can be brought before the House, *sole and exclusive causes of all the evils under which he repre a sents the country to suffer are stated by Idris, te he the amount cf.the taxation ; and the ' only remedy he proposes fora evils of all sorts iz, the remission of those taxes, which he seems to consider 114 tsserely the greatest, but the only cause of misery in the couotty, ! asaiatain, that the remission of taxes, though it may be iaeut*ciol t p• the capitalist, can never - reach the mass of the peciole. i3s vie shall have other opportunities: of: `examining this principle, and ;teeing whether it is sound. I'ashilit that lowness of wag es is a. cause of crime ; 44 I say, it is the reFult of a red undant Population—of the disproportion between the amount of capital and the tiipply' of -labour. i hare often heard it as serted, that the immediate effect of cettaisa measures as ,to Ireland would be to remedy the grievances of that oaaatry, by inducing capital to flow into it. I say that I yield to no man in the deliberate conviction that those measures would put 'an end to the causes of the evils, at least, of the moral I evils of Ireland ;' but I deny ahsoluteiy that those measures would operate on the condition of the reduced population so as instantaneously to createa demand for their labour which did net - exist the hoar before. If it be true, that manu factures would then be introduced into Ireland, how does , it happen that the Irish population are not now brought , over here ? I assert that -we must look to other natters than those stated by the Hon. Gentleman—and to other remedies than -he is prepared to suggest. • • ' Sir E. KNATCHBULL had heard with great satisfac tion, that this inquiry' was not to apply solely to the me- la opolis, lint to be extended to the towns in theneighbour- hoed. He rejoiced at this circumstance; for whatever ' which the Police of th e M e t ro p c li s had to b struggleto ee 3jeffi wt ie ; they were not greater than those which existed in the towns , in •its vicinity. He would mention, in particular, Greenwich. In no part of this ' kingdom waslim inquiry more requisite, and in that opi-. nion he Was sure every Hon. Gentleman would agree, at all acquainted with the circumstances of the case. The same remark would apply to Chatham and Sheerness, in spite of the meritorious exertions of the Gentlemen in the Commission of the Peace; and•he would take that oppora ' tunity of saying, that the Magistrates of Kent had ge nerally diScharged their impOrtant dtities in the most satisfactory ' manner. He was the more _ anxious to make 'this observation, in consequenee o £. some state , mentS ma d e on a late occasion by an H onourable .and Learned Geotleman•(-Mraßrougham), and which it would 1 ' have heesk wevouellldtobvheavettuanous,wederd H a e t w th o e time, uld,bols; i e f the op portunity yet,ni • , say one word more son that Point, - Its the question would come On again to-morrow. An opportunity would then . offer, when he hoped, in the presence of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, to defend the Magistracy from the at tacks made upon it. He couldnot refrain from expres sing his surprise at the asperity of those imputations which . he was convinced alttle more reflection on the part of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman would have prevented him from uttering.- 7 (Hear.)—lf that Hon. and Learned Gen tleman were present he might carry his observations some what further...4l-16r, hear.)—On that evening, however, the .House would do him the favotir to-understand, tliat he wished rather to confine himself to the few observations he had to make on the 'state of the .police. As td the ei- I PedieneY of •the Committee:he had no doubt. It had his decided approbation. • The Ron. Gentleman . (Mr. Spring Rice) who had spoken last,but one, hadstated, that per sons removed to those, favourable. climates to which the convicts were transported, had written to their friends in this - country in such a style as induced the opinion; that that mode of punishment was not very severe. He (Sir E. Knatchbull) was of an entirely different opinion. It had happened to him, as well as the lion. Gentleman, to receive communications on the same subject. But though it was perfectly true, that those persons were in the enjoy ! ment of a degree - of comfort which - they could not have en. toyed in this country, he had felt some satisfaction inroad • ing these communications, because he was glad to learn, that the condition of any of his fellow-creatures, velsatever .their crimes mightthave been, hail been ameliorated. But lie had observed, that in all those declarations be had never seen one which was not accompanied . by expressions of the painful regret the writers suffered from - the loss of the so ciety of their frienda, and their removal from . their-native country.i—(Hear, hear.._)-isEntif transportation was not a. sufficient punishment, he shott/d „he ; glad to know what., Would the Hon. Gentlernan substitute ? He certainly•wat not friendly to the.eyatera of , confining- Men-on board the" hulks : it had been found to fail in every good purpose; . nor did he believe it capable of essential improvement. some of the, moral affects, were particularly to be:depre cattsl. It would become the House, he thought, to pause before they gale up transportation as a punishment, and adolit - that *of which ,he certainly ~could not ap prove. • He. would rather, not .. have . alluded to the Ganie Laws. • That was a subject' on which he had never ventured to . state his opinions ;- but as he was obliged to speak upon it,' he would say that nobody could be more hostile to the present system than himself. No, subject was more deserving of - the attention of the House. There was one other point to which he would referlefore he resumed his seat. His Right Hon. Friend's Act rela tive to prosecutions, had made a considerable increase in the public expenditure of the counties. At the same time, it bad produced another effect which bis Right Hon. Friend, no doubt, .had not anticipated, but which might probably .be -prevented by the individual exertions of the Magistrates ; it had produced a great increase in the number of commit ments. He thought his Right I-fon. Friend would do well to re-consider that part of the Act which gave such unre strained facility to prosecutors in obtaining their expenees. I-le hoped also that a fair construction would be put upon the conduct of the Magistracy. It was one of the greatest securities in this.country that it had an unpaid Magistracy, so far removed above all suspicion of injustice, and so ad inirably calculated to carry justice home to the doors of every individual in this country, without distinction of rank or property.—(Cheers.) . Dr. LUSHINGTON. should not advert to the extra neous topics which bad been introduced into this discus _sion, but would confine himself to the subjects embraced by the motion now before the House. Be was desirous to mention, that he had been looking into the reports Upon the state of the prisons in the county of Middlesex, and that since those reports were made, and during th e i n t erva l after the last session, he had visited some of those prisons, and theircondition he could state well deserved the consi deration of the HoMe Secretary. The evils which existed when the reports were made, were still- in existence, and no remedy had been employed for their removal. He had, amongst others, visited Coldhath-fields. It was stated i q the report, and he knew it to he 'a fact, that prisoners charged with- comparatively slight crimes, were confined in that prison in the same apartment with individuals found guilty of crimes of the most atrocious nature. What would the House say, when he informed them, that the space allotted to those individuals for sleeping in at night did not exceed 16 inches in breadth.—(Hear. )' He found • that to be .the fact on visiting this prison in October, 1826. ", He then saw 80 or 90 persons confined in one, room, and the sliePing spaceallotted for each was about 16 inches, or even less, in breadth.—(Hear.) - The greater portion of them, besides, Went to sleep in a perfectly naked condition. When he _(l2r. Lushington) inquired why such a number of human beings. were thus pent up in one room .togetlier, the superintendent who accompanied hint stated that there was .no other place for them. _ He (Dr. Lash -ington) understood front him, that when he wept - to open the door of this seem in the .morning, he was always nearly overpowered by the smell, and that he was obliged to leave the door,open-for several minutes before he could enter, such-was the dreadful stench which issued from the apartment. . He. (Dr.-Lushington) could vouch to the House that the condition of this prison still remained um. altered. No remedy had been applied but one, which, to the honour of the Magistrates of Middlesex, was unique in its way, the singularity ; of which he (Dr. L.) could_ not comprehend,. but which probably appeared to them as a measure quite successful: they dismissed the visiting justices. This was certainly rather an extraordinary mode of reme dying the evil. They had a specimen of the manner in which reports respecting prisons were made, in a large volume now on_ their table—the consolidated report upon I prisons. He had compared a portion of that report with the visiting dustices' report. _ The report merely stated in four_ or five lines, that the prOvisions of the Act had been complied with in the prison. , Here then, according to the report, - all was well. Where was the use of Acts of Par liament for the regulation of prisons and prison discipline, if, where the grossest violations of their esmetments were committed, and these evils existed which they were inten ded to meet, it was thus reported in four or five lines that the provisions of the Act have been complied with ? He (Dr. Lushington) had-also visited Newgate. The space afforded to the prisoners there was,very small, and the classification highly objectionable. In the same little cell would be seen confined one individual committed upon a charge affecting his life, and another whose guilt, if /sub was perhaps .of a very venial character. The House had beard of the increase of crime, but should it excite their surpriSe when they were told of the scenes of contamina tion whirls passed in Newgate? They had only to visit that prison and there behold, as be had seen, three indivi duals confined in the same cell, one of whom was under sentence of death, whose time was fixed, and who was pre paring for - his dreadful and. impending fate, while the other two prisoners, who were certain of a commutation of their . sentence-.to that of transportation, were in high spirits. Was this right?—(Hear.) The corporate rights which belonged to the city of London should be upheld, 'but they should not be allowed to exist for a moment if they tended to. continue such a sys ,tem as this,—(Hear, hear.) There was another point which he wished 0 suggest for the consideration of, the Hop. Pentlerpan i Mr. Peel. Why should the Old Bailey sessions be mawd to the pity of I,pndon and county of Middlesex alone? Why should not the jurisdiction of that court be extended . to the other side of -Blackfriars-bridge, - and include persons guilty of offences in Surrey and Kent? ,It may be said that it is better for the city of London that the eizppnces attendant upon the trial ;of . such: idTenders , should be thrpwp npon these counties respectively. God forbid that such an objection should for a moment stand in the way of the due-Administration of Justice. 40 the law now stood,-an offender upon the other side of Blackfriars- bridge mustochen apprebentled, be maintaiued in prison at sh,e,ptpence of the county until the assizes. The winter Assizes haul ce;tainly afforded great relief. But if the Old Bailey Sessions were more quali;ed, and took imp, larger -jurisdiction. than at present, many existing evils would be' remedied. The consequence would be that ranch evence would be saved, and the purposes of justice would be better accomplished. • He did not see any great difficulty against the arrangement, and he trusted the Right Hon, Gentleman (Mr. Peel) would include it amongst his intended measures of improvement. Mr. C. 13ARCLAY alluded to a report made upon the police in 1517. He said, that every member of the Com mittee on that ocaas4o was satisfied that until the paro chial police were abolished, no perfect system of police, could be established. The increase of crime bad been spoken of. He might mention that amongst the witnesses examined before that Committee regarding the increase of crime, watt Townsend the celebrated police officer, and he stated, remembe w r i ed th t r i a le th t e i r m a a srvinbget;rlarsmogr 20 d at once " graced thee of expression, that he gibbet," hut that now they had but one or two where they .hid so many formerly. : The Hon. igenter, referring to the late bank robberies, and other recent robberies to a large amount, recommended that in all such cases -a free pardon should be granted, to any one of the aecomplicei who should come forward and give, evidence against his assoCiates,. By this means, he conceived tbat much pro perty, would be more. easily recovered, and the ends of jus tice materially promoted. Mr. Alderman WOOD commenced by expressing his disseut from the ,opinion epresoed by- the Hon. •Member opposite,. Mr. Peel,.a9 to the ,effects of concurrent iariadie tions. Such a species of jurisdiction has been vested in the magistrates of the city of London for tr - ninstee o . f."O rs , aid had been productive of no inconvenience sr difficulty. The city magistrates also act in the borough of Southwark, and he never saw a more decided disposition than was evinced to co-operate effectually in the administraticn of justice at Union-hall. As to several of the alterations proposed in, the police system, he had rio fears that any difficulties would prevent them from being carried into effect, for many of them had been adopted years " ago in the city of London. Was it the parishioners who supported the police in the city? No ; they were supported by and un der the jurisdiction of the corporation. They had passed a law dividing the city into a number of equal wards, and there was no ward with Jeri than 10, 12, or 14 'watch men, two superintendents, and two night patrol. These were paid out of the purse of the corporation. lie should be always ready to vindicate the city from any attack upon this head. They supported and maintained a very excel lent police. As to the statements made by the Learned Doctor (Lushington), it was the first time that he:(Alder man W.) had heard them made, but he never heard the Learned Doctor' substantiate a single one of them. He had spoken of the crowded state of . - Newgate. He (Alderman W.) could assure him that the corp Oration would be very glad to have the inmates of that prison taken off its hands. It would effect a saving of 20,0001: a year to the corpora tion funds. The corporation had to pay for the support of all the prisoners there, and to defray, in many instances, the expences of witnesses on the trials. The learned ci vilian had spoken of the small space allotted for sleeping, and that the cell was appropriated to prisoners under sen tence of death as well as to those who were not. It was true that the prison was in a dreadful situation in that re gard at present ; but the fault lay not with the corporation. The accumulation in the number was owing to a circum stance to which, perhaps, he should not allude ; but why should he not mention it? The circumstance was owing'to the state of - an 'illuittrious personage's health, which had a) — long postponed the presentation of the Recorder's usual report. He could only say that:the city of London was always open to any alteration. If it were necessary to alter a chapel, or make any other improventent, the city of London never Shrunk for a moment from pro posals to that effect. This disposition .and readiness on the part of the city of London he was ready to prove in evidence before any Committee that the House might think proper to appoint. He must be allowed to add another word or two upon what had been said. He'did not mean to reflect upon the conduct of any magistrates; but he thought,, that-where magistrates had the power to avoid the commitment of juvenile offenders, they ought to exer cise it. It might be a little stretch to say so; but he thought that if they were to take A child only a month old who had always been in the habit,,of stealing—(Heer, and laughter)—he begged pardon, but he believed that he was not the only gentleman who in calculations had _mistaken months for years—all he meant to say was, that of how ever tender an age the juvenile depredator might be, there were not wanting magistrates who would commit them instead of adopting the wiser course, and con sidering that it was not so much the depravity of the child's disposition as the effects of bad example. This had no other example than to multiply the number of commit ments. Another practice which had the same effect was the allowance of the expences of prosecutors. He was sorry to say it, lilt he knew of many cases in which men of rank and fortune had applied for their expences--not personally, of course—hut by means of their servants. If the coach man of a man of fortune had been robbed of his coat, be came to the • Old Bailey to identify not his own, for it was his master's- property, and then asked for his expences. To the lower classes this was a great, tempta tion to prosecute. If it happened that a child had robbecla person of this class, he said--" Now we will proiecute this child, because we shall get our expenses allowed." These expenses, too, • amounted to a large sum. Persons coming from a short distance, from Hammersmith, for instance, stayed all night, and had their expenses allowed them. He thought that this ought to be done away with. One of the greatest causes of the increase of crime was, in his opinion, transportation for the short period of seven years, or rather of being sent to the hulks for four years, for it amounted to that if the prisoners behaved well during their confinement, and that was the general under standing. At the end of that period these people returned upon the public worse than they left them. Be* together in large numbers in the hulks, they there planned and con sulted upon the robberies which they should commit as soon as they were liberated. lie would merely say in con clusion to, , the Magistrates of the counties of Middlesex ancl_Surrey--!‘ We will do all we can ; and if you can point out any way in which the city of „London can, with out sacrificing its character and privileges, co-operate more effectually with you, the city of London will, dopt your suggestion." Colonel WOOD said, he should not have risen but for the mention which had been made of the Magiitrates of the ,county of Middlesex.. Thy. lion. Alderman Was by no means correct. Neither the Magistrates of Middlesex nor the Police Magistrates committed ire the first instance to Newgate, but to the New Prison, from which, a few days before trial, the prisoners .were transferred to Newgate. The Learned Doctor (Lushington) had complained of the 'crowded state of the New Prison. He had visited it a few days ago; and was happy to say, that although it had been sometimes 'in 'the state described by the Learned Doctor, yet he , did not find it so much crowded then. He had no 'hesitation, however,. in saying, that it was wholly unfit for a prison in its present state, and that it never could be made fit.--(lfear, hear. )—However great the ex pense might be, every criminal ought to have a separate cell. 'lt happened that most of the Magistrates of Mid dlesex were Magistrates of Westminster also; "but there - existed an extraordinary difference between Middlesex and Westminster. ' He wished that there should be two prisons —one for commitments, and the other for correction ; and as Westminster was going to build a prison, he said, " if Westminster will not come to us, let us go to West minster ;" but it was answered—no : it was necessary that they should have a prison of their own. He hoped that this jealousy between Middlesex and Westminster would be done away with. He would suggest that Cold Bath-fields' prison should he for correction, and another for commit ments. The present state of the prisons was a disgrace to the country. Alderman WOOD, in explanation, said, the lion. Member must excuse him, but he was really in an error; almost all the committals of the Police Magistrates were made to Newgate. Formerly, indeed, 'the case was as the Hon. Member had represented, 'but it was not so now ; and Newgate was now, kept open every night till twelve o'clock in consequence, in the expectation of receiving prisoners. Mr. Alderman WAITHMAN was very glad that his How. Friend had set the Hon. Gentleman opposite right. While he bad the honour of filling the office of Sheriff, it had been his melancholy duty to witness the execution of 36 persons. He also visited Newgate three or four days a week, and never found it In the state described by the Learned Doctor. He could assure the House, that during these visits, he made every possible inquiry into the state of the prison. Having stated thus much, and concurring as he did in what had fallen from his Hon. Friend, he must observe, that the crowded state of Newgate was their mis fortune, and not their fault, and was attributable to the thousands of prisoners that passed through it. Now, as to the increase of crime in the city of London. _ If the Committee about to be appointed was merely to give facility to prosecutions, then all that it would do would be to multiply prosecutions without removing crime, It was his belief that the greater part of the depredations in the city were committed by juvenile depredators ; and he thought' that tlae-Right Hon. Gen tleman.(Mr. Peel)_ would agree with him that there were much fewer prisoners sent from London than from Middle sex. As to the increase of crime generally, without speaking of taxation, he should say that it was in a great measure caused by want of employment. But it was taxa tion that had affected this want of employment. Let the Committee that was to be appointed recollect that they would do no good by multiplying the committals, and re member that their main object ought to be the prevention of crime, and not the punishment of it. - -Mr. DICKINSON (as we understood him) was sorry to hear the-Right Hon. Gentleman observe that the county which he had the honour of representing had been remark able for the increase of crime. He must, howeyer, lie al lowed to observe, after what had been said of the Game Laws, that though there had been a great increase of crime in that county, yet there had been very few prosecutioni under the Game Laws. Mr. MONCK agreed perfectly with his Honourable _Friend, the Memb er f or Ab er d een , crime was in at h a t th e increase of great. measure attributable ,to the increase of taxation. Mr. Alderman - THOMPSON said the police of London was as efficient as - in any other part of the country. As to the increase of crirne, he . believed one of the causes of it to be_ the low price of ardent spirits. Another cause was the 'system which bad grown up of compromis ing felonies, . Be did hope that the Committee Would . inquire cloielY into the state Of the law on, this subject, and especially into the ACt called " Jonattan Art:" To convict under this Act was extremely difficult and uncertain. M to the crowded state of Newgate, he lamented it as much as any body, eut he was quite sure the persdn to whoin the wretched inmates of that prison were committed, took tare that they should be treated with the greatest humanity Sit P.BURDETT addressed the House in itanellmOst inaudible in the gallery. lire understood . the Hon. Baronet - to observi; that 'there was already on the table of.the House the Report of a Committee that had inquired very fully into this subject—:.into the crowded state of the pri sons—the cause of the increase of crime—and the abuses of the licensing system. If that report were taken into consideration, and some practical measure founded upon it, he thought more good would be done than by going from Oar to year and effecting no practical good. At the same time he could, of course, have no objection to the attain ment of all further information on the subject that was necessary. • Mi. PEEL, in reply, said there had been police reports, in 1822, for instance, subsequent to that alluded to by the Hon. Baronet, and he believed that several practical bene fits had resulted from them. There had been an -Act passed relating to prison discipline,- and also an act which regarded the licensing system, and which had made several important alterations in the law relating to this subject. One Hon. Member, 'the Member for Penryn, had sup posed that it was intended to confine the inquiries of this Committee to London and Middlesex, but he was mistaken. The motion was " London and Middlesex, and the adjoining districts." He had only-spoked, it was true, of the in crease of crime in London and Middlesex, but that was because his aocuments extended no further. As to the city of London, he was quite sure that all its Memben3 would rise up to defend it. Three of them had ; and be -was only sorry that the fourth was absent. But he had been misunderstood here also. He did not complain that there was no concurrent jurisdiction; be complained only that there was an exclusive jurisdiction in the city of London. He hid no doubt the jurisdiction was extremely well exer cised; but his position was this,---that it was bad that in two districts, so nearly connected as London and West minster, there should be exclusive jurisdiction. With re spect to the state of Newgate, helbelieved that some steps would be taken in a few days. He had only now to ob serve, that in constituting this ccimmittee, he had been anxious to select those Magistrates who had been most active in their respective counties. Several very active Members' were already too much occupied upon the . Finance Committee to give this the benefit of their labours. He must not forget to take notice of one observationmade by the Hon. Member' flir Kent. The Hon. Member must recollect that4he.population had in many towns outgrown the police institutions. Indeed; what the Hon. Member had said respecting Chatham and Greenwich, - and other large towns, where there was no other provision for the preservation of the peace than a constable, was a perfect illustration of his (Mr, Peel's) argum en t. - The motion was then put and carried. On the motion of Mr. Pm, the following Members were placed on the Committee : Mr. Secretary Peel Lord John Russell Mr. Estcourt Mr. W. Peel Mr. Byng Mr. Western Sir John Brydges Mr. Pallmer (Surrey) Mr. Fagusson Mr. R. Gordon Mr. Bankes Mr. G. Lamb Mr. Denison (Surrey) M r . Alderman Wood Marquis of Chan The Mardos Lord Lowther _ _ _ _ Mr. S. Rice Mr. N. Calvert Mr. Hobhouse Sir T. Fremantle Mr. Ald. Thompson The Marquis of Blandford Mr. C. Calvert 'Major Cost. ' LAW OF SETTLEMENT IN SCOTLAND. Mr. KENNEDY obtained leave to bring hi a Bill for the better regulation of the Law of Settlement Scotland. Lord J. RUSSELL, as we understood, postponed the second reading of the Penryn Disfranchisement Bill, which stood for to-morrow, until to-morrow se'nnight. TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS. Lord J. RUSSELL moved the order of the day for the House resolving itself into a Committee of the whole House to consider further of the Test and Corporation Acts. .The Noble Lord observed, that there was another Act which he wished to be referred to the committee, namely, the Act for indemnifying froto penalties indi viduals who had not qualified, according to law, for cer tain offices. This proposition having been agreed to, the &EATER, on the motion of Lord J. RUSSELL, left the chair. Mr. S. Rice presided in the committee. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, in addressing the committee, felt very great satisfaction at the tone' and temper by which the former discussion had been marked. .He was happy to say, that in no part of it had angry feeling been manifested on the one side nothing had been introdneed•that could give offence to the most zealous friendsi of the church=nor on the other, had any argument been adduced that could wound the feelings of the Dissenters. In such a collision of opinion on a subject of this nature some strong expres sion of feeling might have been expeeted, but no such feel• ing had been expressed. No undue terra was made use of with reference to the members of either establishment.— Nothing was said on the one hand, td give pain to the feel ings of chose who called for the repearof the Test and Corporation Acts; and he was sure, on the other hand, that nothing had been uttered, that not one word had been advanced, which could create soreness in the minds of the Right Hon. Gentlemen who,had opposed that measure.— For his own part, looking to the question, as a r eally im portant question--as question connected with national feeling---4s 'a question which touched, in a very material degree on the rights of the subject—he should not allude to any of those minor divisions which might tend rather te narrow its scope, and to introduce a view of. it which it appeared to him to be the most deeirable to avoid.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Indeed, the only part of the question which he thought it necessary to allude to, was the proposition of his Hon. Friend, the member for. Devon (Sir T. Acland), for a temporary suspension of those acts. This proposition was one of much importance, one that deserved deep consideration.- . (Hear.)--In his opinion,- to treat the subject in that waywould be to tamper and palter with a great question—to treat it in a manner unworthy of its magnitude—to deal with it in a way that would.not be satisfactory either to the Dissenters or'to the , Church of England. Because, while it would give to the Dissenters the power-of connecting themselves with corporations and other establishments, it would 'still leave them in that state of precarious tenure which formed, at present, the great objection to the existing system ; while, on the other hand, it would interfere in such a way with the securities pro vided by the Test Acts, as to create dissatisfaction in the Church of England; for those who were favour able to the securities now in force would fear that,, if they were once suspended, they would never, again be carried into effect. Thus each party must remain dissatisfied. He therefore thought the Committee would be of opinion with him, that if, during the course of 85 years, the operation of these acts was, in a great degree suspended, nothing remained now but to continue the pre sent system,• or to do it away altogether...--(llear.) The indemnity act itself, being, as it were, buts' half-mea sure—if, is place of it, they introduced a new half-measure, what would be its effect, but still to keep the minds of men in suspense on a point of much importance to English men? If such a measure were calculated to keep the Dis senters in a state • of half security and half-suspense, it would be a great pity if a principle of that kind were - acted on. Ile hoped, therefore, that those gentlemen of the Committee who were disposed to make any alteration whatever in these Acts, would go with him the' whole length of removing them entirely.—(Hear.) . The only proposition which be could make was to supersede them.-... (Hear.) If the House or the Committee differed from him, he had no ether proposition to make ; and he must say, in candour, that he should not like to agree to a pro position of any Other kind. Much had been said the other night on the effect the repeirof those'Acts was likely to have on another very great and important question, which had been often discussed in Parliament--he meant the disa bilities under which , the Roman Catholics laboured. He was quite ready to confess such Wasliffeeling with respect to the Rornan. Catholics, and he considered their grievances to be so much greater than those of the Dissenters, that though, -whenever the present question was brought for ward, he should unquestionably vote for it, still lie con ceived it never could be brought forward without a strong desire on the part of those who promoted it to do justice to the Roman Catholics. He knew not the effect which his declaration might create, but he kept his feelings on this subject no secret from the Dissenters. He said to that respectable body last year, " I will bring your cause forward ; but if, at any future time, I shall think its suc cess injurious to the Roman Catholic claims, I cannot undertake it." He , could not, however, believe that the success of the Dissenters could be injurious to the Roman Catholics. In the - first 'plaCe, as a matter of general prin ciple, their views were precisely the'same. The petitions of the Roniati Catholics for the settleMent of their claims, and the petitions of 'the Protestant Dissenters themselves praying that they might be relieved from civil disabilities, all commence in nearly the saran terms, and concur in the 'same principle—that principle was; that men ought to be indUlged in the free exercise of their religious belief. He would, therefore, contend, that if, in this case lie pledged the House to a feeling of this kind—if he thus far attached the House to a principle of general liberty with regard to religious belief—undoubtedly he considered it a very great step in. favour of the Roman Catholics. If Parliament should say,' Nothing can be alleged against the Dissenters, and therefore those lawishall be abrogated, and if they after ward's decided against the Roman Catholics, who held'no doctrines, who harboured no feelings, against the C ons tit u . tion, whose only Crinte Was, that that they adhered to a parti cular religious' belief-4f they decided against the admission of the Reman Catfiolics to civil privileges, he could. not Very well conceive on what fair ground such a decision could Feat. He admitted, that between the . two eases tI re Were points of difference ; but still, he could not hut think that, in the end, the argument came to that which he had stated. One point struck him very forcibly, and it was this—that if the present motion were conceded, many would look to the other great question with a better temper than they were at present disposed to do. It bad been said,- that, by bringing forward this question, be was producing a. great and, serious evil—that he was pursuing a course which would- create dissension between the Pro testant Dissenters and the. Church of England, which would break down that kind feeling that had for several years prevailed between them. Now, his object was not to prevent but to perpetuate the feeling of kindness which. had so long animated those two bodies. Indeed, when any, individual imagined that there was any thing in the pre sent motion likely to operate against. a general feeling of harmony, he laboured under an error. Good evi dence could be at once produced to the contrary. Let. Gentlemen look to the petition of the Roman Catholics of . Ireland. They called on the :House to repeal the laws now under consideration. They were merely lookers on and spectators, In this particular question they had no direct interest. It was known that the Test Acts had .been done away in Ireland—and what was the result? •Why, since that time, it was ad mitted that a growing goodwill had been daily manifested between the Dissenters and Protestants of Ireland. If such were the effect of the repeal of the Test Acts there, he could not see why the same effect should not be produced here. He thought, after the great majority 'which sane-. tioned this proposition the other night, there was no begets course for the Church of England—there was no wise r course for that Church to pursue—than that of agteein g immediately, and with a good grace, to the repeal whirl a had been so decidedlir called for.—(Hear.) He truste that this would be done—that no . cavil wouldhe made that the friendi of the Church of England would impu . to no sinister design to the Dissenters, but that they would receive them as good subjecte--as men who loved the Co' a stitution—as a body whose innocence of all malice to t lie Church must be admitted._(Hear,) The Noble Lc Jrd concluded by moving a resolution expressive of the opin: ion of the, Committee, that certain parts of the Acts of tlhe 12th of Charles IL for the regulation of corporations, of the 13th of Charles 11. relative to admission into cert sin office' (and of the 12th of George 11., for the amend ins of the aforesaid Acts), which render it necessary to re ceive the sacrament under the circumstances therein ex pressed, ought to be repealed. .Sir T. ACLAND observed, that, after what had p assed during the present Parliament, it was clear that they (ought to take some decisive steps as to the effectual amendment of the laws which affected the Protestant subjects of this realm ; and he could assure the Committee, that its what he was about to say, he was actuated by no other design than that of arriving most easily at the object of tle mo tion then before them. But they ought to see that they were, at this moment, not legislating on the interest of one party alone. They had already, by the great majority by which this initiative measure was carried, marked the just claims which the Dissenters had upon them for ritlief ; but individuals might very reasonably entertain diffei.ent views as to the extent and manner ix which that relie f should be afforded.—(Hear.) He had said, when the question was brought forward very recently, that the interesta and feel ingc of the Established Church were in this matter entitled to special consideration ; and he had thought it not amiss to remark, that in a case in which, confessedly, great weight was given to, the feelings displayed by the dissenting :body,- in refraining from pressing on the attention of the House matters deeply affecting their interests generally, thnt the feelings manifested by others—manifested by a body which had been cherished for centuries by the country—were worthy of similar, consideration.—(Hear.)—lle thought he had shown by his vote and his speech on the former night that he did not give any undue weight to the' feelings of that church, but that he wished to act aecording to the rule of justice, and to strike the balance as fairly as he could.— (Hear.)—There was another reason why he could not act on this proposition, without a due regard to the feelings of the church ; and it was, because the decorous, wise, and dignified silence, which had been observed on this occasion by that body, constituted a special claim on the considera tion of the House,—(Hear,)—and he hoped the Com mons of Great 'Britain would not be slow in attending' to that claim.—(Hear.)—He was particularly entitled fo state this, because be had previoualy said that he did not think the silence of the dissenting body formed ,any bar against their:claims.—(Hear.)—Now, when theywere called on to remove those laws, it would be well to look to their importance. On this point he begged leave to adduce an authority which he had not adduced on a former night, that of Mr. Justice Blackstone. His dictum on this subject had, amongst legal men, almost become proverbial. He called those two Acts " the Bulwarks of the' Estiblished Church."—(Cries of " No, no.")—He thought this p o utt was a matter of so much notoriety, that there was no ne cessity for any explanation. But as the fact was challenged, and as he had taken the passage down, he begged leave to read it. • Mr. Justice Blackstone then said, " In order the better to secure the Established Church against perilsi from , non-conformists of all denominations, infidels, Turks, Jews, heretics, Papists, and sectaries, there are, however, two bulwarks erected, called the Corporation and Test Acts." Such was the opinion of Mr. Justice Blackstone ; and he must say, that the silence of the. Dissenters, for thirty eight years, with respect to those laws, had, particularly as churchmen were concerned, drawn the eyes of the public from them,, and led to error with reference to them. The suggestion, therefore,, which he threw out, with respect toincidentat bills, he would adhere to ate just one. That course of proceeding would give an opportunity to indivi duals to acquire more correct views on this.subject than generally prevailed on the subject at present. - not consider the frequent temporary suspension of the law as the most eligible mode that could be adopted. He should rather see something more nearly approaching to n perma nent course of law on this subject--a course which would not render it necessary to call the attentioe. of Parliament constantly to this subject; and by that therms he would close up those sores , and heart-rending animosities which, though i rui m i ght , than , thisn by m v had every app earance o f heal ing,treatment, be r etu l ere d more v he would s a y to Government, e at gh ae injudicious e d n i t ci t uo l h i u j e ss y that if they , allowed the present subject .to grow up as bone of contention, in the same way. as another g reat question had been allowed to grow up, the country would be visited by two plagues instead of one. He must say, that, his view of the question had somewhat changed since he addressed the House on Tuesday night. He had turned the subject in his mind, and no man, who considered the question at all, could leave out of his calculation the probabilities of amicably terminating this dispute by any measure that ;night be proposed. Now, looking to that point—looking to an amicable termination of this question—he confessed that he could not give his hearty concurrence to this proposition.. He did not think it would answer the intended purpose. They ought not to meet these laws by a simple repeal. How did they act with the Roman Catholic question? Was not every Bill introduced for theirrelief accompanied by securities? In the pill brought forward in 1825, was there' not an oath introduced, whiCh was to be taken - by the Roman Catholics who might be appointed to any situation under Govern ment, disclaiming all hostility to the existing establish ment? That oath, almost totidem verbis, had been taken by the Irish Roman Catholics fur the last 30 or 40 year/. There was then a practicallmode of relief for the Dissenters, mu bined with perfect security to the Established Church. But lie would say, that if the present Parliament put an end to the 'rest and Corporation Acts, without any protection be ing given t o the Established Church, very little s a ti s f ac ti on would be giv en t o th e g reat body of the co un t ry; and h e conceived that it would be very difficult to hav e suc h a Bill If, in the course of th e p rocee di ng passed int o a l a w.. put to the existing system ; but he of • the Bill through the House, either that which he hadi pointed out, or any other equivalent provision to the unqualified repeal of those Acts. were made, he, for one, would be exceedingly rejoiced to pfrroopmoseeves such h a annoyance. y e alce r . e ; I bait vas a il s bill of suspension, which would afford security to the Church, couldsTe eheo thereby b n j o e t c t c o n se ntwa n l i which he h i e had in view might be attained by a approbation, it might be well to consider himself o s the bill which might hereafter be proposed to the House did whether the Government itself ought not to take a step in thew ss* J. RUSSELL agreed entirely with his lion. Friend, that it was a matter of great importance to con ciliate the goodwill of the Ch not d i h a i l e so in f t rz t t io li n e Church of England. He , felt a strong objection to the last plan of his Hon. Friend, not meet with because it appeared to him that it would have the effect of keeping alive those feelings that ought to be suppreeeed. If a Suspension Bill were agreed to, the Church of England, On the one side, would look to the last moment, with atiziftY for its revival, as 'their securit y , while; o n the other, the Dissenters would view its enactMent as a mark of their degradation. .'The great reason, however, which induced him to object to such a Course was, because it militited against the total repeal of these acts.' - Ile thought, 49w... ever, that there might- be introduced into the lAta f or l a repeal of those Acts, something Palatable and welcome to the Ch urc h, 'without violating any feeling or imposing any obnoxious form of proceeding on the Dissenters. Magma object was the entire repeal of the existing laws. Mr. PEELsaid, that after the success of the Noble Lord (Lord John Russell) in his motion ott the present subjort set recently, he bid Pot expec t ed' that the diecotion erent4 Meal whi pre por shoe sup Nol ftni (CI affil ten' Ina Pv thi pia so s - 14 ,t « • gr r. ) _or • t,