The Express.
London, England, 1848-01-28 00:00:00

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fsw wards. Heelless we we all weed that such a elate
of things as I have depicted, and Hear it is bet a picture
of what it prolog lel your owe county, rapine any
mernice-te norm What linn peeposerk, in ay *if
-
=oat will be no merillen. It hat teeny any
pereseersame--it switelree that erhitin,rerrit it, Is, at all the
qualities el our eatisnel elesneler, the see lee% frequently
to be found—relf-reliares adieeppert. I meson net,
in throwing oat them_ seigenliens, to do more than lead
you to the eerie% mnsidsouelen el them.. You may this*
them imprestimbitu het geoid irk you to try firet whether
they an to we Est. Bioko the eapsruamst—see whether,
when you estkelg set le week, you array the Mends of
seder end et pine epee side for their own oreesedeve—
ler their ownrsaMy-{ran
the protection and the enmity
at seehil and civil the protection of life and of
property—age wholemeal* spirted to them wall or well not
immeed—reeese whit Meet—sec them the consequesets,
IlWria Mum 111 lath st the frightful examples the neigh.
' brevity somatic exhibit, the misery and destitution, the
mime ael spoliation which overrun them. Glentlemes I
have Whin farther to observe to you upon this %hied.
As ajar side bad, I may remark that the great object of
all %LAW laws is le prevent the oommission of crime—to
prevent k by pneildes. I would ask you to %eyelet exertions
to prevent It without punishing—to try whether there be
not within your power a means of preventing the compilation
of crime • because, if that be within your power, I most say
that awial is your r spombility if you do not endeavour to
make that power available for • purpose of such inestimable
insportanee. With respect to the particular cams which will
be submitted to you, there is only one which requires any
particular observation from me. I find upon the caleodar a
charge ef hip, accoesory after the fact. Now, gualemen, you
will take are, in investigating that ease, I. be apprised of two
things ; the one is, to be ratified that the evident* sum.%
the indictment in two particulars,—first, you ought to be sa-
tisfied that the crime stated was actually committed, and pre-
bably there will in any ease be no difficulty in proving that ;
but the next propotition to which your attention should be par-
ticularly directed is, that you ought not to find the bill unless
you are satisfied that the party charged did harbour the
felon, he knowing that he had committed a felony—that is,
not that yen mast bring mend knowledge of the felon y to
the assumil, but that the efronievenness nadir whisk he how-
bewail andellsted Ida preletelemsnised presemplina that
he haw he wee rate whim ellirded Idea timber. I will
sew dim% year ellentlea tog% dams t dillhana sets
elffiatiligeml. Aim orbs& et width b. dm isapottant
estreereketaire, est the sleet et roe r peculiarly
he dr with of year wear, end the personsby
whoa eerie la pearl eramiteed. By tits 50th Geo. 111.,
chap. 101, smiths Ith red's, power is given to magistrates
to arras seereero, sad m eoresit them if they do not
oriehetarip meant far themselves. You all know the
ropereste of that power; Deems it is a notorious fact that
where parson., for fear of being recognised, will not tempt.
trate crime with their own hands, or with persons who are
known in their neighbourhood, they call for the amistance of
strangers, and crime is perpetrated through their instru-
mentality The other clause is more familiar, a clause
of the Whiteboy Act, by which a magistrate is furnished
with power enabling him to compel by summons any
suspected capable of giving material evidence, and
mining him on oath, binding him to prosecute at arises, and
if be refuse to submit, or be bound to prosecute, then the
magistrateis authorised to commit him until he be dis-
enraged by due course of law. The power is conferred by
the 15th and 16th of George 111., chap. 21, section 22. Gen-
tlemen, these are powers which are created for the purpose
of preventing crime—for the purpose of procuring informa-
tion. They were not intended to remain a dead letter on
the statute book, and you ought not to allow them to be so.
They are powers of a most salutary character, and if oftener
exercised would in my mind be productive of the greatest
benefit, and would tend most materially to repress the die-
m der to which I have called your attention. I have nothing
more to urge I behave bills are ready to be sent before you
and you will.be enabled to dispose of some of them before
we adjourn.