The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-06-15 00:00:00

Pardee@ sad Owens** of the Poste of the Pariah of Deasy,
in the County of Worcester, against the Poor Retie Bill.
Me. LUSHINGTON presented • similar Petition from
ca isterhury.
They were ordered to be printed.
M►. S. RICE moved Hut • lineage he seat to the Lords,
requesting their Lordships will be pleased to direct that there
he leek before the House a tope of the Report of their Lord.
shipe'7Conanittee ear Private Trade to lathe and China.—
Cli dared.
The Snipe HIND. Member then moved for an account of
Feeshalid.Entolitomento received be the Usher of the Court
of Exchequer is Ireland, which was also ordered.
The Miasfes of &ideate heard by the Land Tax Com-
mittee were pre voted sod hind on the table.
4 Rehire was also presented from the Load Tax Office,
of the exposes interred In the collective of the Laud Tax.
The Silkiest Reed Loan Bill was read a second time, sod
ordered to be committed to-morrow.
The Exelnieser Bills Bill was also read a second time, and
ordered to iiveoramitted to-morrow.
The Irish Treasury Bill was also read • second time, and
ordered to be committed to-aurrow.
MOCK CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION.
Me. HOBHOUSE rote, and retreated the attention of
the Hoare to a Petition from as isdieidstal, coinplainiag of
the /widows of Out Associate.. of which so much had been
heard of Isle, and which, in this iostaare at least, hail sanc-
tioned a specie, of proceeding which moat subject it to Ilse
censure of every honest maa, whatever his political feelings
might be. The Prlllioa was from as individual of the
wino- of Kiug, against whore an indictment had been pre-
fees cd, DU the teatirensy of a single witneu named Orton.
Of the intention to prooreate him he heard nothing until he
Yarned from a newspaper that the indictment against him
Lid Veto 'brown out by tie Greed J my. This indiination led
lOW to publish a statement of the case in the ',naval/era, which
AMR forth an affolorst from Otiose, COlStainilbC • statement,
the filitehood of which, in several particulars, antuented, at.
lba lath
to the legal offence, perhaps, yet certainly to
the marsh guilt of perjury. He stated, that he called on
King is artier to ascertain 'the same Dribs pablishee of the
pamphlet, for which the isdietessed alluded Is wsspref. rrrd;
but he must hare lumen the same at that time, for it was
the 1111 day of Met, sad as imlietaret had bees pie-
frreal by the Association on the Nib, against •
person armed Dolby, as the publisher of the work
tit q.iestiou, and his name was also misted on she cover
-Of the publitatioe. it appeared, therefires, that this
Orton must have Mrs seisereed by some persoe bolo the
swearing of an affidavit which chwely resembled perjury.
Ding had committed no armee, fur lee had not eves the
publication its his pessimism, and consequently was nut in
the slightest degree blameable for its existeoce or its sale,
until he was repteateil to procure it by Orton, who thee
tempted rim into the consetiasioe of an offence to furnish
grlNltld for a prosecution, The object of the Petitioner was,
'hal surer mnu. might be devised by which he might get at
Ike names of the Committee under • how directions Orlon had
acted. This ease wa. one of the mom atrocious nature. It
was an attempt to bring roinnpos a tradesman, not for
dealing is an improper publication, because the affidavit of
the int...rine, himself proved that be hail not the publica-
tion in his possess t', hot was employed liy him to procure
it. Tr be pant on his defence was •lone sufficient to ruin a
small tradesetatv. He had even an advertisinteni from the
Snciely fur the Suppression of Vice, from ts 'Orb it appeared
that the expense of • iwoseciation, against • man named
Davisoo, amounted to 1701 ; if it cat so 1111101 to prosecute
the House Might conceive what would be the 'monist of
expense to which an iodivividssal most he put fur Isis de-
fmce. In the case Of ars informaihns or indictment ley the
Alioniey.G I, ilar prom colitni was always dropped if not
proceeded in within a year; but this Society was lOUs obliged
to priierial within any gismo time; it might keep a proaecu.
Moo open led libiline.•sot an individual, might thus be ruined
by • perhaps groundless OM esaws,t brio( kept hanging over
Isis bead. A her vireo antaare which greatly aggravated the
int of a proarcutimi by this Society was, that whereas is per-
secution+ by the Croats, is was directed by one of the six Acts,
that office come. of the indictment' and informitioa. should
he furnished to the Defendants gratis. In the cace of a pro-
aeration by the Society, the Defendant could not procure
such copies without paying for them, and that locum MI
• charge of about 201. It was also • great grievance, that
in case or-failure of • prosecutton no redress could he hail,
'them- being no -visible prosecutor who was amenable eves
to 'Unbar of public ineiniste; for what redress would it be to
airy man to be referred to Mr. S. B. Sharpe ? In Crows pro.-
locutions there was always the satisfaction of tracing them
to their source—a responsikk public officer. A still greater
hardship, however, was bs she power of this Society at pre-
sent to inflict. Hy the !Sib clause of the Libel Ad, it was
reacted, that it should " be lawful to hold to bail, for good
behaviour, as 1.01 as to answer the-charge in cases of libel;"
by Use modern iaterpretat ion of this clause, the Courts deemed
it to be imperative to hold to bail as described, and on the
finding of a second indictment the recognisance. for good
behaviour on the Scat became forfeited; the eoettequence of
which was, that bail was not to be forted, for few me* were
willing to give a recognisance which it was in the power of
a malicious proarcolor to entreat by preferring flesh indict-
vatenk. As to She legality of the Association, it was not his
.duty at that time to go into that questiou ; he would, boars
'der, correct • Mistake which bail been made on • former
evening by one of the Law Officers of the Crown, who said
tows the Judges of the ..Ceourt of King's Bench had re-
cognized it sia. legal. The case was nut VII; but, when
the Counsel, Mr. Blackburn !tutted fur a list of the
Amneintion, he did not say it well illegal, because that
would have hoes a good ground for refusing his application,
inasmuch as the Court could cot call open persons to fur.
nisi, a ground of eviraination against themselves. Therefore
the Counsel studiously abstained from any mention tif the
illegsli,y of the Society, and inasmuch to the question of
its IV.. .Raid), was not the matter before Ike Judges for their
consideration, it was quite natural that they also should
abstain lions say elseereation as to its legality, which they
accordingly diet. A. attempt hod b.eis made to defied She
Associatioa by refoence to Societies fur prosecuting felonies,
bat there was • tide &91-Felice bet wren the two cases. In a
case of felony there was at since a corpus &fief!. no doubt
could be entertained of • crime having been committed; but
its cases of libel it wsa • question fur tips Joey to decide whe-
ther soy offence at all had been committed. The ar-
gument. therefore amosiuted to • complete non sequitur.
aVisetbirr ,the Society wail legal or nut there could be no
doubt et the ttpretteissible nature of their mode of proceeding.
If to puuish and suppress improper publications were their
real object, they would becormet %bee they found a pets.
lidarr, but they sought out venders also, as objects of their
reageance. The rigour of their proceeding •lior, so
slight degree, relayed the spirie by which obey were actuated.
When nutter was sewed of a Special Jury, it was the rule in
ordinary ..... to allow a fortnight for what was called re.
(truing tlteJury; but it' the prow-cations by this Society,
only fury-eight hours Notice had beam given of the reducing
4.4 the Jury!. Au excess of teal also, if not • rapacious ap.
petni fur proserstiag. had bees displayed in she entering of
promicutions against Newspapers, fur expressions, or words
used iu the heat of political feeling, which might he a little
litieloas, perhaps, but swat as might well be overlooked. On
the ocemrion of the impriaostnint of his Hon. Colleague, •
meeting of his coestituents was held, as which ati address you
agNad to, some parts of which, perhaps, were aoincishat
strongly worded; hat the A itorisey.Geseiral had not deemed it
des/vying of prosecution; bg bad thought it might be passed
veer without any legal visitation. This Society, however,
thought differently, and, sr if they meant to reproach that
Livened Gentleman wok a oeglect of his official duties,
they had taken upon themselves to make good his de-
ficiency, and constuenced prosecutions against the news.
piper. to which that Address was published. If it were de-
amain, of presort-shoo, iliey should have prosecuted him, as
int signal ure an attached to the Address as Chairman of the
Meriting. lie wished they had so done. They had, how-
ever, scut Lim a teller, soliciting a suborriphou—whether
that was a boas or mit, he resold nut tell. As to the Gentle-
moo sad Ladies who had subscribed to the Amocialtion, be
was unwilliag to make soy obwrvatiolis upon them.
Leery roe know, that. so England there was a grim charm
in a subscription list, strikingly beaded, and arrang-
ed. I. atpludatical urdrr. Many of she solleeriptions,
lesesraer, is the hiss of this Association were ettanyineus ;
among which be had tabseirred eve hem s widow of SO/. but
sorely such subscribers never *veld have melee to furnish