The Sun. — London, England, 1824-04-20 00:00:00

"tad hardship enough, without such an aggravation mo ly n-Eer i five room-months' imptieonment. That such was the view of the legislature in passing this oleariy proved by contrasting it with.another of a eimi- Jar nature; the Act respecting foreegnera. In this they did eventemplroe such imprisonment; and the manner in which a el:oreigner shall he treated, is distinctly pointed out. Now, if the right of intermediateimprisontuent was necessarily implied intim power to remove, why did they take the trouble to give it expressly -in the case of foreigners? Does the English Goo: esernment o With the advice and assistance of its law eaffisters, Peas actsfor mere waste paper; stuffing them with superfluous reed useless clauses, giving people powers which they must have' 000rsessed without them ? The following is an extract from the Act referred to : ' And whereas it is expedient that the several Governments :'.ll the Post .Indies should be enabled -to prevent subjects of lereign states from residing or sojourning within the British territories, there, againstehe consent of sueh Governments re epectivelf ; Be it further enacted, that it shall and may be law ful to and for the Governor General in Council, .and .to and for The Governor in Councilor Chief Officer for the :time being of any presidency, or of.any place not being shbordinateto any Presidency under the Government .of the united Company of ..rterchants of England trading to the East Indies, to cause notice in writing to: be given .tonny person, not being a native set any part of the British territories in:lndia or within thelimits Of the charter of the said.united company, other than such na tural born subjects of hisPiajesty's as may from time to time 'Awfully resort to, or reside in the East Indies, to -remove him eeltutieraeltfrorn such presidency, or from all or any part of the British -territories in the East Indies, as may be deeined ex pedient within a time to be limited'by such notice; and in case any such person shall notobey such notice then it shall and may lYostlawfal to and for the Governor General in Council or vernorin Council, or other Chief Officers, as the case may be; of the place where such person shall be found, to cause such lersop. to he apprehended and brought before the Court of civil -or criminal judicature, to ,the jurisdiction 'whereof such place .may be subject:; a.nd,upon.proof being made upon oath to the .satisfaction of-such Court by any credible witness sweariey, to saris knOwledge or -belief, stating the ground of such belief that such person is an alien and the subject of a foreign state, and that-stich notice as aforesaid has been served on such person, ~eitheof p ersonally or by leaving the same at hie dwelling house, unless sueh person shall prove thathe is a natural born subject be his Majesty, authorised to reside in India, or a native of the -British territoriesin India, or within the limits of the charter of the Company, for the making which nrool,reason ableoinie and oppor . tunity shall be allowed by the said Court, such person shall be re mended by the said Court into the custody' of the Governor- General, Governor CiaietOfficer, who shall, as soon as'may -cause anchperson. to-be removed in such manner as his or her rank, state and condition in' life-shall require, by the first con venient opportunity to the country or place to which . he or she shall lielmig e if he or she 'shall: . be . eto go thereto, or, onherwiee to such country or place as': the Geivezner e Gencral„ err Officer 'by whose authority he or she Shall have ,been eppree .handed or shall be detained, shall be of opinion shell be most ,proper, regard being had to the convenience of the.perioo to he r e moved, and the peace and security of the itritieli Territories in the East Indies, and of the Allies of .his Majesty and the Mast ....ludia,Compapy, and of any neighbouring. princes or states ; mill in the mean time, and until each person can be con -venientiv.and.pruperly removed, it shall and. may be lawful to or her in such custody or under such guard as the Pelson -by. witeee•aothority lee or she shall have beep apprehend ed orlshill. be..detained, shall -see fit anti necessary, so as that the_peseon.aetained may be pat to as little inconvenience as el:all le.consistent.with the objecteef his or her detention ; and An case any such person, having removed him or herself in pia -silence of any such notice, or having been so removed , shall again%Welly return to any country or place from which he or she 4141 have had notice to remove without the consent of the Goveinment or .chief officer of the place to which he or, she shall teturro it than and may be lawful to and for the Go verlearoGeneral in Council, or Governor .in Council, or chief efli n of the place where suds person shall be found, to cause such person to be apprehended and detained in .sate custody, until-he or she shall be discharged out of oestotly, upon such terms and conditions as the Governor-General in Council, Go vernor; in Council, or other. chief officer at the place where he or she, shall ha detained, shall deemoufficiene for the peace and security-of the BEtich territories and of - the allied of his 3lejeety . and pf the bast India Co:npanv, and of the neighbouring Princeo.and states."-55 Geo.-llf. cap. 8•4, Sec. G. . Wag it possible (asked ;Vr. Tinton) to imagine, that the Le gislattire, having made such-careful provision for the confine ment of foreigners, with due attend= to, -their contorts, would have been utterly regardless about the treatment of British born subjects.? If it had meant the latter to be imprisoned, when .fountlin India without a licence, would it have made no provi, ..st-m-Aki- their good trcatmi at ? would it not, in' sonic Man ner,; have mitigated or. restrained the exercise of tte power. itgraiitcd over them ? Or was the English Government, in consenting that its own natural subjects should be deprived of tlie,ir liberty, to assign no limits. to the exercise of this power, hilt leave them entirely to their fate, without any hope of relief.? 11tr,,,r4u ILI as also argued . that Mr. Argot could not he im , prleenetlin -the fort, nacre; the act expressly, authorised it, as it was an •illegal place of .confinement. If the Governer General had. the.-power of committing to private prison and not to a public prism, the benefit-al the t § 7. c. 3 (certifying commit, rneot,s) wonid be lost. He referred to Acts passed against con '. lining..pea:4)/e to private houses or dungeons, to which persons Might be horried away, and shut up without an opportunity of eoamounicating with their friends ; and as the keepers made no reports -of their proceedings to any'legal authority, a person might be immured in this way without any means of legal redress. He referred to a case decided in Englend, in which Mr. 47ergusson,. the present Advocate-General at this presi , dent johad adduced it very able and learned argument to Wive that a person was illegally confined in Cold-bath-fields on the ground. that it was not a.public prison. The Judges had ad initteirthe validity of the argument, and only decided against him ona particulaeground; that a certain Adt of Parliament tool rendered this a public prison ; ; otherwise, the perion must have been held to be illegally confined. .Returnipg to the Act-on which. Mr. Arnot had been corn; meitteo—hes e abservedottiet as it gave extraordinary powers,' it eohnst be strictly interpreted,—its meaning not arbitrarily ex tended.. It appeared, by its preamble, that transmission was intended fur cases where no-other punishment was required; a circumstance which aloneesoggested its being need leniently ; the government were authorised to proceed against individuals here ~withoirna licensofor. a misdemeanour ; and they might- Ptusiehed by. a - fine not exceeding Sieca Rupees 2,00 t), or im prisopment not exceeding two ,inontli*. But,. observed the 4 o :earned Counsel, as there may be cases when removal to Eng : . land is enough, without any further .punishment, the Govern -. -mem is thee authorised-to apprehend individuaLe in this pre-_ Aims:Let - 40;1cl send them to, Unglsed, when-no further punishe meat-is deemed necessary—not even two inonthe imprison mentdeeervedo Could the Act at the sane time intent to in flict severocr eight months imprisonment, or more, (for such it idight amount to) over and above the haniehaneot to England. On the grounds : stated, and others• which,eif necessary, might be adducted from the return, the Leerned,Counsel concluded that AlreAvnot was entitled to his discharge. The AreseoceT„o-GEorunon then stated, that he appeared in support of the return made -to hiss writ of Habeas Cerra. from the first mention of it, he had.never entertained hr doubt that the government possessed the power to imprison ; if it had not this 'wer e , the person must be set at large at once; and the tloyernor-General -would be left without the means necessary for .exekcising the authority vested in him by the Act for sending to the .United Kingdom British subjects found 'here without a license. It would be absurd to suppose, . -the Legislature meant -to give him such a power, without giving.also the means necessary for carrying it into effect._ The analogy drawn between this case and that of aliens or foreigar . s was inapplicable:. because aliens vieze guilty of no otTli-noe -by- being in the _country; whereas British subjects re siding here without a license were declared by theiket of Por i:Amer-it to be, committing a high crime-and misdemeanour every deys ..The Government was authorised he arrest and send them to -,f4soland ; -and the power of detention till they could be put onboard a•ship was clearly necessary for the exercise of ohat power. • , The Learned Counsel then referred to a manuscript oonk r containing accounts of the proceedings of the Supreme Court of .Calcutta, extracted and copied (he stated) under the on e ntrintendaoce of a gentleman very competent to the task, (Mr. l'faclier, clerk of the papers), Irone this he cited a case sledded in this Court, when Sir Robert Chambers was Chief Justice—than whom, he thought, an abler Judge bad not sat' ou that Bench. • Mr. Burroughs, M r. Ledlle,.(andutheri Whom he named), all men of considerable abilitlea e were Couniel in the-case.; and although all time -argument's on both sides were not given, it appeared to have been fully cinvassed,.affording the greater security for a mature and just decision. This was the case of "Julian in 1791,, when a writ of Habeal Corpus was applied. for : and a return being made that he had been con- Eorid in the Fort-by order of the Governor. General, the-Court • decided thet he could not release him. .(The beck contained a copy of the return in that case : which return Sir Francis Macnaghten pronounced to be manifestly bad and not supportable inlay/. It bore, we believe, that the parson was to be kept in prison, unless he entered introseverity to quit the country,) • The ADVOCATE-GEXERAL then quoted the fitly Geo. I. cap. 21, which confirmed the, 2 thand 1001 of Wm. Ili. for -bidding pecple to trade , to the East Indies without license under p alty of forfeiting the effect embarked in such trade, and 'aoidsleelle value thereof; and it was settled ,that residence., veithout licence, should be construed into unlawful trafficking. m a none of the Acts till the 53d Geo. 111. was there any men-. Jaen of the indivittual unlawfully trading or residing being put • Note.—This is a mistake of the Learned Advocate, for the C'ompa»ys ships are dispatched even in the height of the Monsoonl it is not material however ; for the argument, if well founded, would cut both ways. t We should think this is not quite correct, because we understand that a ship cannot properly be said to be bound' for a.p,ort, until she has actually sternheeted customs fot that place. • * With reference to the supposed danger: of persons ordered to quit India being allowed to go at large in the intermediate time before their embarkation, Mr. Turton observed in one part of his address to the Judges, that " he was well aware the Government did not apprehend any danger at all in the present case. Indeed his client was punished for the fault ot another person." (Meaning the Editor of the Paper, lie being solely resonsible as befo r e stated for what appeared in its pages). — This observation of Mr. Turton was omitted in the newspAper reports. t IVe are desired to state, that with reference-to our report of the judgment given by Sir Francis Alacnaghten, in the case of Mr. Arnot, his Lordship did pot speak of the decision of this Court in 1701, in the case of Duhan, as at-all connected with the construction of any Act of Parliament. Be. declared the Return to the writ in that case to be bad, inasmuch as Du-• han had been arrested under special authority, which special authority did not appear by the return: Hedisapproved of the decision, because. the return having been bad, the prisoner ought not to have been remanded.; and because the Court, in support of its decision, treated the proceeding as if the Coun cil Chamber had been a Court of Record : it was this that be' considered to have been contrary Ito .I.aw.—(Calcutta .Journal of Sept. 27.) lc onboard a ship bound terEngland." The words did not occur previousto this Act. It gave to the frov.-Gen. the Governor of any of the Presidencies, the Chief officer of the Company resident at any British Settlement, the Company's Council of Super cargoes at the factory of Canton, &c. the power " to take, ar rest, seize,-and cause to be taken, arrested and seized," persons withontalicence and to remit and send them to the United Kingdom " on board of any ship or ships of or belonging to or in theservice.of the Company.' The power of confining them until they could be sent on board such ship was, the Learned Counsel contendedosicessixily implied. If not, how could the Act be carried into effect ? When a person is ordered to be ar rested and.committed to jail, after the officers have laid hold of him, there must necessarily be some detention before ha can be put into the prison. If it be at a great distance, perhaps twenty or thirty miles, they may find it necessary to stop - somewhere on the road all night. This is imprisonment, but not unlaw ful.; because necessary for the person being lodged ultimately .in theplace-destined,far his confinement. In the present case, such intermediate confinement was obviously necessary for .carryingthe purpose of the Act into effect. In the custody of his (the Advocate-General's) friend, Colonel Vaughan, a gen tleman distinguished for the urbanity of his manners, he was confident Mr. Arnot would receive every indulgence consistent .with his safe detention. The clause of the Act .(105§) which the Government hail gone upon, was that which enabled them to-scald persons home without adopting any further proceedings .against them, and was evidently. meant as a comparatively-len ient measure. And the manner in which it was put in practice was favourableto the individual ; for if they did not lodge him in the fort, then they must put him on board a ship where he 'would be less comfortably situated. Now, if the Act con. ferred no power to detain, what was to be done during the . S. W. Monsoon, when none of the Company's ships were ever dispatched I.* Suppose Mr. Arnot had been put on hoard of the Ogle ' Castle (lately obliged to put back), must he have remained there . till she was again able to put to sea ? And if the ship was con -dernned, what is to became of him ? Must he not be lodged somewhere ittAafe custody.. Bot if he can only be kept on board a ship bound for England; a Alip may be bound for England though in Kyd's dock ; t mus t Mr. Arnot go there too, and have hi p i eces —(a l augh Wo -- - -until e carpenters s head- hammered to are able to make her se a -worthy ? ul ) d he not th be very glad to - exchange the smell of pitch and tar with the noise of viork • men, for a quiet lodging in Fort William with • Lieuten a nt- Colonel -V a u g h a n ? =lry this" view of .the case, the Learned Counsel considered the mode pursued towards . Mr. Arnot. not - only necessary for his removal, but the best for himself. The question. was whether Government were bound to put him im .ntediatcly on board a ship. . lie.thought they were not, by the terms of the Act ; which he'maintained contemplated inter mediate imprisonment. For in the 123 d section it expressly mentioned the word " imprisoning. " It saitt---. "That if any suit of action shall be brought or commenced against the said United Company,. or any of Cleir servants, or ' any person or persons acting by their authority, for the reco very of any costs or datnages for t;:e unlawful taking, arrest ing, seizing, imprisoning, sending or bringing into the United Kingdom, of any person or.persons fo u nd i n t h e E as t I n di es , or other parts aforesaid, within the limits of the said Corn pany's Charter, •or as not being authorized to reside or traffic there," &c. The words_ " imprisoning, sending," he could not apply to the captain of the vessel; and must therefore refer to:the Governor - -General, or any others actingon,the same AU. thority, instrumental in the individual's being sent out of the country. Ile was ready to. go as tar as Mr. Turton in saying, that there should be no imprisonment unless necessary for Mr. Arnot'S conveyance on board ship ; that there, should be no superfluous delay on the way; but some detention was ob viously necessary ; and no attempt had been made to prove that, in this case, more had taken place than was necessary. No ship of the description required had sailed since his arrest, and he was entitled to be sent by the flrst. It it had not been the intention of the Act that he should be detained in custody till a ship be prepared for his.reeeption, it would have said, he shall be " taken, arrested, seized," &e. provided only a ship of the .proper description be ready to receive 'bins on board and convey him to England. On these grounds the Learned Coun sel concluded that Mr. Arnot's detention was agreeable to the Act of ParliaMent, and legal; and that he must therefore be remanded to the Fort in custody of the Town Majoi. Such was the tenor of the Advocate-General's argument, according to the notes of it taken by Mr. Turton; and the re collection of the persons in Court ; but in reporting Mr. 'l'ur ton's reply, we have unfortunately no assistance whatever but our memory, and the 'account of it we can give, must be therefore very inadequate to do justice to its merits and to the side of the argument which he supported. According to the impression on our minds, it was something to the followino. effect : "Mr. Tuturolr.—My Learned Friend has told us he never entertained any doubt of the legality of Mr. Arnot's imprison ment. Well, perhaps not. For I have observed, that in start ing on a case he has a wonderful facility. in getting rid of his doubts : the moment he embarks in it, be immediately heaves all his doubts overboard, to render his argument the safer. — Nay, he does not even leave enough of doubts to serve for bal last. Ile has also been less courteous than he usually is ; for , he has told me my argument is absurd. The ADVOCATE-tiES'FRAL explained that he did not Mean to say that, for his Learned Friend, as usual, argued very well; but in this cake his arguments led to an absurd conclusion. Mr. TIIItTOX resumed.—lt is very easy for my Learned Friend to say that such a conclusion is absurd, or that the power of imprisonment is necessarily implied in the Act of Par liament. But .I go upon the well' known principle of the law of England, known to every one who has ever passed the thre shold of an English Court of Justice; that all penal statutes must be construed strictly ; and that no man must be deprived of his liberty without an express authority froth an Act of Par lianient. In interpreting the sense of an Act, there must be no stretching of the meaning, no supplying of supposed omissions in order to trench on the liberty of the Subject, further than is expressly aushorised. The Advocate-General says, that the power of imprisoning is necessarily implied. But where is the authority for saying so? On what acknowledged principle of law is such a construction put apon the Act? What legal. dic tum is there in favour of this latitude of interpretatiOn ? ,We have heard of none. He has indeed cited a case decided in this Court in 1791. Ido not care what was decided, unless I know the grounds and the principles upon which that judgment was pronounced. Not being made acquainted with these, I must still rest the question on the broad ground of the law of Eng land; according to the principles of which I maintain this im prisonment- to be illegal, and not warranted. With all due, respect to the authority of precedents, JUdges are not infallible, or wherefore the number of new trials we see granted in Eng land ? After decision; the Judges see reason to deliberate fur • ther on the subject, and the judgments are not unfrequently re ! versed. Notwithstanding, therefore, the high encomiums passed by my Learned Friend on Sir it. Chambers, he was by no means infallible. My Learned Friend, indeed, always has a very high admiration for those Judges and hawyers4who en tertain the same opinions with himself. But I have no doubt' that in examining that book (in MSS.) he has found many things to astonish him ; and that lie could put his fingers on many passages, in the propriety of which be is very far from coinciding. I do not know what particular notions Sir R. Chambers may have entertained as to the liberty - of the subject or the power of the Government. Sir William Jones, who also sat on the bench, was a great Oriental Scholar. Sir F. 11.1A.CNAGIITEN.—And a great stickler for liberty. Mr. Tu RT ON.—Ve.s, my Lord; but apt to be facinated by talent. NOW all the learning and eloquence of the bar, might have been in favour of the imprisonment. Ido not know what arguments Were used on the other side : this I know, that the decision was contrary to the lawof England, as hereestablished. The Advocate-General considers the confinement of my client in the Fort a lenient way-of proceeding. Anvoc AXE-GEstEnAt.--I expressed no opinion at ali.on the present case, further than that his imprisonment in such a ease was legal"; and that in granting a power 'of sending him home without any further prosecution, the Act intended to be comparatively lenient ; and that he may be more comfortable ' in the Fort than on board a ship, until the time that the latter is ready to proceed to sea. Mr. TunTot.t.--Well, admitting that in the custody of my. Learned Brother's Friend, Col. Vaughan, my client may be more comfortable than on board a ship, nevertheless, as in the , ease of a person taken up by a bailiff', who may be willing to detain him in his own - house instead of taking hiM to prison, the person in custody may say, " It is true you have a com modious house, with agreeable company and a pleasant pros pect, let I don't choose to remain in it. Take me to my legal prison, for there only . will I be confined, however much it may be inferior to your house." go my client may say, " Ido not choose to 'remain in the Fort, I am willing to go on board a ship bound for England, and there only you are authorised to confine me." The intermediate confinement, unwarranted by the Act, is by no means necessary to enable the Government to send persons on board a ship; but even if It were, the Court could not authorise what was not warranted In the Act, since they sit as Judge and not as; Legislators. If a Magistrate were empowered by the statute to fine a person for a certain offence, it did not go on to say, that in case of the offender fail ing to pay the fine lie shall be imprisoned until he do so—then the Magistnte would not be warranted to inflict imprisonment upon him ; and must content Yiimself with awarding the pecu !nary penalty, leaving it to be recovered in the best way i t can. The above is as much as we cari at present recollect. Mr. Turton thought it unnecessary to take up their Lordships' time, by stating the many.latal objections Which lay against the return, and rested satisfied that on the 'grounds already stated—on the printiplelaid down by Sir William Blackstone, and the greatest law-authorities, that penal iftatutes must be construed strictlythat the personqiilyertY 'cif the subject must .not be abridged, unless -there is as express warrant for it frOrn the words of a statute or the • conuilon law of the land—the Court would order illr. AtuOt's release. _ The Judges, after whispering, together a few moments, theh retired into another room, Wbere they continued upwards of half an hour in consultation ; about half-past two they returned into the Grand Jury room, and delivered their sentiments as follows : Sir Fume cts MACNAGHTEN began by regretting that there . was little hope of a concurrence of opinion between him and his colleague in office, on the subject before them. But (said his Lordship) I think there must be something plain and dis tinct—something clear and express in the Act of Parliament._ something which admits of no other construction; before the subject can be deprived of his liberty. if this principle be not adhered to, and preserved without any reservation or admix ture of any thing else whatever, then I know of no security from the laws on which the subject can place reliance. lam well aware that, if the Governor-General acting under the 33d of George 111., or the 53d, send to England British subjects found here without a licence, we have no right to interfere: HE is authorised t o do so by Act of Parliament; and whether that be a constitutional or unconstitutional Act, with that— sitting hire as Judges—we have no concern. Nor have we any thing to do with the discretiOn or Indiscretion, with which he may exercise that authority ; nor with his regard to liberty or his regard, to tyranny. Therefore, I put this entirely out of the question. But tile Act of Parliament, conferring such au -thority, gives no power of imprisonment. The word is not found, nor the idea conveyed in it at all. If the word "detain" even had, been used, it might have afforded some shadow of an argument for this imprisonment, but we do not find even such a word in .the Act. Therefore the obvious and neces sary conclusion is, that the Act has only one object : it gives -the power to seize and- remit to England persons . found here without a license, but confers no power whatever of imprisoning them. Many things have been introduced which - were not necessary for the argument; as the 104th section of the 53d George 111. (on which the warrant of commitment is, founded) is alone necessary; and must by itself. decide the ques. tion. - I do not ckny that other acts may be referred to for illustration or analogy ; but on this the question. depends. It may be said, that if the Government has not a right to imprison,.until a ship be ready, than a dangerous ntan may go abroad and do mischief in the intermediate time. So he may; and supposing . the worst case, :hat he has the means and the desire of doing mischief, I say he may do. all the mischief he can, subject always to the contrail of the laws, and to be punished for every illegal act he ,may commit, but no person has a right to prevent him by any precautionary measure.— Such, I say, was the intention of tle Legishiture in passing the Act. . For although, sitting here as Judges, We have no right to enquire whether an act be constitutional or unconsti.. tutional ; yet we are bound, as British Judges, to put upon it a constitutional rather than an unconstitutional interpretation ; and were it liable to two constructioss,.Where the right of the subject. is concerned, we are bound to give it an interpretation in favour of liberty. - .On this point I wish to be clearly understood. To say that we enjoy here ihe.full.privileges of the British constitution, is absurd. We enjoy no such thing.. .lhe:idea of such liberty is absurd—is ridiculous. : How can any man in his genies say, I will act as I choose, subject only to the laws, when. he' knows that lie may be told, "You shall do nothing—you have no right to be here at all." To speak of British liberty; then, ex isting here as at home, would be little .less than frenzy. But• the fewer the privileges we do enjoy, the, more numerous and heavy the restraints imposed upon us,—the more our liberty is narrowed,: the more, I say, does it become incumbent on. the Judges to guard with greater strictness that portion of liberty which remains to us—for we have the less to spare. - With regard to the pretended-necessity of guarding against the mischief a party may do, before a vessel is ready for his con veyance to England, let ys see what the Legislature has done in another case very_nearly related to this. When a person is residing in the country with a licence, it can of course only be recalled on account of his own misconduct. Therefore, in such case, it is to be preaumed; that there must be some cause which renders his removal a matter of public expedience. But even then, did the Legislature empower the Governor-Gene ral to seize and immediately imprison this public enemy, to keep' him from doing more extensive mischief until he could be conveyed out of the country ? No such thing t—He is a ll owe d s a t n h d a t.a to roam at large tor two months ! Then in the other case, if g th P e e t r r i a 'a p p , any idle pevsoh happen to have come here from . England, with olitnnthsciakwainsgucaebeostLtrtyh,e a tint matter, i s or b c n clu o t k g r i i n n or dered out of the country without, . RI pe aps, having committed any offence, or what is a mere parliamentary offence--can it be contended, with any shadow of reason, that he is to be impri soned without any, express authority ? * . I say .without having committed any- offence not with reference • tar the particular circumstances . at' this case, which have induced the Govern ment to order Mr. Arnot's removal from the country; for I declare I know nothing, about them, . and have nothing to dO with them. But the Government, by this mode of proceed. ing, have declined prosecuting him for at misdemeanour, and, rested-satisfied with Ids being removal. It.is to be presumed, therefore, that he has committed no offence which calls for pro secution, and is removed merely for not having a license. In such a case, are we justifi, - d in considering him a dangerous. man, wild must be secured right or, wrong, legally in illegally ? Am I sitting here as a British Judge to put words in au Act of Parliament, and supply its suPpoiled deficiencies ? And for what ? why, to invade the liberties of the subject. Am I to say that such an expression was inadvertently omitted, or such .a power was meant to be given ; and, on such grounds, agree to this person's being imprisoned, without any express autho rity from the statute ? Sitting, here as a.liritish Judge, (and I hope -I am not obliged to lay aside my feelings as a man), and viewing the ease, as I hope I do, both as an English lawyer and as a gentleman—l declare that my understanding and my conscience will, not suffer me to send back this person to the cell or prison, or whatever it m a y b e , in the Fort, where they have confined him. I hope Judges of this Court will never be swayed in their divisions by any respect of persons ; nor if, in, construing the laws, they find two roads, pursue that most agreeable orconvenient to men-in power, merely because they. know it to be so. I trust they will never, in any case, truckle to the GOvernment, as -I fear those. Judges have done.: [As his Lordship pronounced these words', in a very emphatic-man ner, he laid his hand upon the MS. book of cases from which the Advocate-General had quoted that of Mr. Duhan. t] If such ever were the case, it, would MR:ord. a cloak for every spes cies of oppression. -I would infinitely rather -see the Court abolished, for it would then be a nuisance rather than It.pro- - ,tection to the subject. Ldeclare I should hope,. in such a case, to see a public meetingof the inhabitants of Calcutta, to join inn Petition : to Parliament, to recall its charter, and put an end : to it at once. This Court is supreme, and. the moment one particle of this supremacy is forfeited, I trust the Court will be annihilated. • • • SoppoSe we were to remand this gentleman again to the Fort, I should like to know how long he is to be kept in custody ? By this Return, on the extraordinary nature of which I must now . remark, the Government assumes a power to act as it pleases—to - imprison him with any one it likes; and by what authority ? I know of none. Theiwords, "to detain or im prison," are not once used in the Act ; and ant I to put a word .in the Act to construe it by implication ? I confess it would be some comfort, some sort of satisfaction, to me to find it stated in this. Return, how long be •is to bo kept in durance, and whether for weeks or months ? But thejteturn does not favour us with any information on this subject • it,does not say when he is to be put on . board a ship, or how long he is to re main confined in the Fort. Lord Iloit refused to know that the City of 'London returned. Members to Parliament; and on the same grounds, the Judges of this -Court have no right to know that a ship will ever sail to England, and thus he may be . confined for any indefinite length of time. Good God ! is it to be tolerated that a British subject, after being shut up in this man ner without any authority to be kept all this time, and as long as the Government may think proper to keep him, in prison; without bail or mainprize ? Can this be done under English laws for any thing but felony or treason ? But the Act which is assumed as the warrant for this, applies equally to Bombay, whence the Company never have a ship bound directly to Eng land. Then are we to put a forced and unwarranted construc tion upon the Act, by which a British subject, for merely be ing in India without a licence; is to be e9pdernned to perpetual imprisonment ? - The idea is monstrous. ',But if the Governor.; .General ever had the power to imprison him, I should say that he might be bailed; because if they ,prosecuted.him, even at home, then he is to be committed; only. if not bailed. do not 1;now what feeling this person's release might excite, bat if a general feeling of satNfaction or congratulation should preVairat - his . release, I see no-reason why the Government should not participate in it. The-Governor-General himself, in my opinion, will not be offended at not meeting with un limited submission to his will, knowing that such blind com pliance must necessarily impart weakness and instability to his .own - power. Convinced, by the experience of living under a constitutional Government, of the eminent advantage of every one being secured in the full enjoyment of his rights, he must rather be pleased at seeing the liberty of the subject protected. I. am not intimately acquainted with his Lordship, who has laiely.arrived amongst us ; but I naturally ascribe these senti ments to.him as a British Nobleman. My principle is, that, if the words of the Act of Parliament are not clear beyond a doubt in conveying the power to im prison, then we, ought. not, by so stretching its meaning, to curtail the liberty of any man.. We ought, (though 1 do not speak of-this as a constitutional Act, I care n o t whether it is or no), but this I do say, we are bound to give it a constitution al rather than an unconstitutional construction. It does not empower the - Government to imprison ; and although it may be said that in the fort, in the care of such a Gentleman as Colonel Vaughan, this individual will experience all the in dulgence which that officer can extend to him, and no one who knows him can doubt it; yet, in depriving a man of his liberty, you take away that from him which is necessary for his happiness. It is in vain to talk of the pleasantness of this alone is eno m i o ig tho li na t n o bo m ma a ard k k e esib l i i i i i i: vi n ca i t i ni s idn er s a k l ee il ep . place . or the, other,—he is no longer master of himself; and this mayanyt y p r i a a n i t l miserable h li i n 'h a t t i e more,r e ft in is t l a ft irkge, charge of the Captain, but I should think the wooden walls of the vessel a sufficient prison. They could not confine him to his cabin, or keep him in fetters. Nay, I think him entitled, by the terms of the Act which pro v id es f or hi m a goo d an d sufficient vessel—one of the Company's ships—to the best treatment and accommodations. And when the ship readies England, this Gentleman is immediately entitled to his discharge from the vessel at the first place where she is safely moored, and is at liberty to go where he chooses. No conditional term of impri sonment is to be tacked to the end of the voyage. Andis im- i prisonment less a hardship in the East Indies than in Eng. land ? Is it of less consequence to a British subject here? is the society in this country less consoling to his feelings, or less necessary to his happiness, than in Europe, that we should thus trifle with hi s liberty? On every principle of law,—of reason,--and of justice, then, I declare it to be my decided opinion that Mr. Arnot be discharged. Sir ANTHONY Bur.i.En then delivered his judgment, asl l Pearly as could be collected, to the following effect :—He set out by expressing his concurrence in the regret experienced by the Senior Judge at the difference of opinion that had arisen be tween them ; but he deemed it necessary to state the grounds of his dissent from his colleague that they might not be here after misconstrued. He had, when he first heard of this matter, been of 'opinion that the Government had acted wrong ; but after 'material doubt, and a reference to the case of Dehan cited by the Advocate-General, he had come to the opposite conclu sion *. He had some doubt whether the Judges had power in this case to bail the party; but that - was not a question now before the Court. the Government had the power in 1791, they had it, his Lordship thought, now. In' the Act of the 53d of Geo. HI. there were the words " Company's ship bound to England," which were not in the Act of the 33d ; but he did not think that - this introduced any loss of privilege, though it might unintentionallyhave done so. Unfortunately the Legis lature had not recollected that no such shipolight, sail for some time after the removal of an individual from the country had been decided on. He thought that the object of the Acts was to give the power of , exercising such authority to send home persons, circumstanced as the party in this case was. The Go-- verninents of India had thepower, under former Acts, of seiz ing, taking, and detaining for the purpose of sending to 'Eng land, British subjects residing here without a license, in order to prosecute them fora misdemeanour; and it was not con tended that they had not the power now,. for the purpose of con veying to England when the ship was ready, a British subject so circumstanced—for it was admitted that they might arrest and seize him, and carry 'him on board of her. Lie, Sir Anthony Buller, thought therefore, that this authority necessarily im plied the power to detain till the ship was so ready ; and that, consequently, Mr. Arnot was not entitled to his discharge. Mr. Ttratost then applied for the decision of the Court, when Sir Francis Macnaghten ordered Mr. Arnot's immediate release; . . . N. B. Ire think it necessary to correct a misstatement con tained in a letter signed A. published in John Bull, and trans planted thence into the Government Gazette of Sept. 25th, viz. 'That Mr. Arnot was called upon to put in sureties for his ap pearance when a Company's ship should be ready to take hint to England ; and that he refused to put in . sureties as demand ed. The fact is, as stated in p. 2, that he was called on to bind himself to embark on board a ship bound for England (he being left to find such ship for hiinsell, liable to the risk of none sail ing, or of the Captain refusing to take him unless on exhorbitant terms) and at all hazards under a penalty of 20,000 Rs. to re move himself from - the country within a month from the 3d of September, the date of the order togive sureties for this purpose, and which he declined doing under the particular circumstances already detailed. 11 _ After going over, it appears, all the grounds of the case, the Learned Judge coincided entirely with Sir F. Macnaghten in: thinking the intermediate imprisonment illegal; and .the 'change of opinion here announced is not said to have taken place up till - the very moment of the matter being discussed in Court, when the Advocate-General brought for Ward the case of Duhan here alluded to, the only new ground adduced, which case how aver was not decided on the Act on which Mr. Arnot was com mitted—(i. e. the 53d of the King)—this being passed upwards. of 30 years after. THE ARMY. • INsPEciloif.---Tliis morning, at nine o'clock, a general muster of the 3d battalion of the let Regiment Grena dier Guards took place opposite their Barracks, in Bird Cage Walk, St. James's Park, and were inspected by Col. WOOD. FORD, and other Officers of the same battalion. On the batta lion forming in line; the Commanding Officer, Col. WOOD FORD, proceeded along the ranks, front and rear, and minutely inspected the whole of their accoutrements, clothes, &c., which appeared in very good condition ; and the military discipline of the men themselves, who seemed all in perfect health and 'Spirits, gave general satisfaction to their Superior Officer. The battalion, after performing several evolutions with the greatest precision, were then dismissed, in the presence of a crowd of spectators—His Royal Highness the Duke of YORK, COM. mander-in-Chief, will to-morrow morning inspect in person the same battalion, on the Parade in St. James's Park. A detachment of recruits belonging to the 65th (or 2d York North Riding) Regiment of Infantry, embarked yesterday, from the Leith Wharf, on board smacks, for the purpose of being conveyed to Paisley, where that corps is, at present, .eta tinned. ..-..—. Another detachment of recruits also embarked yesterday from the Leith Wharf, on. board smacks, in order to be con veyed to Glasgow, where the head-quarters of the 99th (now raising Regiment of Foot) are at present stationed. THE PALLADIUM LIFE AND FIRE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. The plans of the above Company were distributed yesterday, and the following are its chief heads : The Society is established for the usual purposes of Assurance Companies. The Capital is Two Millions, divided into forty thousand Shares of 501. each ; ,51. is to be paid upon each share, towards which 21. has been deposited, with a liability of forfeiture on non-payment of the remainder when called for. The holder of 10 shares will be entitled to one vote, 30 to two votes, and 50 to three votes. The holder of a policy foi the whole term of life for 10001. will, after two annual payments, be entitled to one vote, 30001. to two votes, and 5000/. to three votes. It is competent to vote in respect f both these classes of qualification. No person can hold more than one hundred shares, unless by Act of Law or by bequest, except the Directors and Officers, who may each hold three hundred, but no number of shares confers more than three votes. The Management is to be vested in twenty-four Directors and the other Officers of the Institution. Nine-tenths of the interest actually produced by the Proprie tors' realised capital will be paid to the shareholders annually ; and when such capital shall, by the accumulation of the remain ing one-tenth of the interest and the subsequent additions of profit, amount to the full sum of two millions sterling, the whole of the annual interest will be so paid, and the personal respon sibility of the Proprietors will then cease. llhds . . Sugar Tierces . - Puncheons Ruin 1-1 - - Coffee 'S Hhcli and Tierces Barrels and Bags Bales and Bags Cotton / Pockets and Serons Wine f Butts and Pipes (Inds and Casks Pimento { Casks Bags Ginzer ( Casks - 1 Bags - Cocoa Ca -81" 2,060 7,984 21,30) 1,53) 5,5 1 J ,og wood Tons . Fluids Tons . Cheats of Sugar Casks of 111o'asset # 4 ". For an Artiele on the FIN EASTER TUESDAY.--holiday India and Soutl PRICE OF IRISH Bank Stock .................266 Gov. Deb. 3i per cent 24 Stock, 34 per ct l,l boy. Deb. 4 per cent. Goy. Deb. 5 per cent. —Stock, 4 per cent. New I Treasury 13i11s, 5 per cent — City Debentures, 5 per ct — 14&ng in Huspital 4 per ct — Excliange'on Lone 1,020 3,794; 1,110 7,72 E ARTS, see the Fourth Fite at the Bank, Exchequer, Fiat h Sea Houses. STOCK, APRIL 17. Grand Canal Loan, 6 p.ct. Ditto 4 per cent. ..• Ditto Stock l2 Royal Canal Stock 2 si. Wide-street Cert. 6 per ct I Do. Deb. with Gov. Sec..— --- Pipe Water Deb. 5 per ct. Do. 6 per cent. Ballast. Office Wirt. See. I 4 per cant. .................. -- don, April 16, IL HUM WATER kr LON DOD Morning, 33 minutes after 7. BRIDGE TOZIORROW• Evening, 0 minutes after 8• TB - E ► u N. SOLEM QfJIS DIOERE FALSCIM AUDSIAC, LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 18%4. We have received the remainder of the Paris Papers of Saturday, the contents of whichare unimportant. ln the Chamber of Deputies the report project of the forretiu e Committee ing. a t p h po h e tte d to interest inquire o f into ie Na tional Debt was received. The Committee con clude their report by proposing the adoption of the project without amendment. FRENCN FIPXDS.--=PARIS. APRIL 17.—Five per Cent!. opened at 102. 10., closed ar 102.35. ; Loan of 1823,16 A. ; Ban k Stock, 1,900. ; Neapolitan 5 per Cent„ 95i. ; Spools - 1i Reny 16. ; Royal Spanish Loan of 1823, 624 Exchange on Lond"! one month, 25. 15. ; three months, `ls.—(Corers AWhestiqll4.) Theintelligence froni Greece continues to be of a.highly favourable kind, .as respects the con solidation-of-the Government, and the unanimity of .the People. The subjoined letter from Cairo, dated the 15th instant, -Would seem to spew that the reported revolt -of the Pacha of EGYPT was at least premature, 'if not altogether without foun- dation. It must be recollected, however, that the original accounts stated that the 'Divan had made magnificent offers to the Pacha, with the view of securing his alle giance, or decoying him into the power of the Porte; and it is therefore still not improbable that he has gone to review his troops previous to putting himself at their head for the maintenance of his own independence, rather than for..the pur pose of marching them against the Greeks : . " CAIRO, r ... Is.—The PASHA has gone to Upper Egypt to inspect his new raised corps, accompanied by Mr. SALT, the British Consul, and Monsieur DROVETTI. He has raised and disciplined about 25,000 men, and is about forming - a Regiment of Cavalry, with European Officers. " IBRAHIM PASHA, the only son and heir of the PAstrA,_ has lately become quite reconciled to the system and views or his father, and has entered cheerfully into his plans. 05m.%14- EFFENDI is "ri the head of the College, and is doing 01 1,1 his power to promote the arts and. scienees. He has into Italyand France; and is well informed. Several young: men (Copts) from Egypt are in Italy pursuing their studies at the expence of _the .PASIIA. So far from the.PASIIA having an idea of making himself independent, he has just received instructions from the Porte to take the entire direction of the conduct of the war against the Greeks in the Morea, . ;t is not known what these instruc.! 'tions arc, but it is certain that the. PASHA has great influence in the Divan at Constantinople. . • " Mr. BURTON, who has for same years been employed by the. PASHA in -.making geological discoveries in Egypt, may shortly be expected in London, and it is supposed will publish a very interesting work on the subject. The PASHA has offered to afford every facility to steam-boats from England." When the . French were talking of their hi tended evacuation of Madrid, for the purpose of trying the spirit of the Spanish capital, we stated as our opinion, that their real object was to give an opportunity for the occurrence of some dis orders that might serve as a pretext for the continuance of their troops in the Peninsula. From a Madrid letter, which appears iu the Morning Herald of to-day, it would appear that the 'same opinion is entertained by persons resid ing on the spot, and who have therefore the hest opportunity both of observing the conduct and WEST INDIA DOCKS. DELIVERIES for the-WEEK, and STOCK ON RAND, for the Week ending the 17th of April, 1824. • Delivered. Articles. Stock on Hand. 13,05 2 24,52 5 Home Con sumption Exporta tion. 73 ~ f.:~~ ~. r 'Y f -'~ f ~ ~j: