The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1808-03-12 00:00:00

IPUtat.

DEBTOR AND CREDITOR BILL.

'file Earl of iNlinita rose to move the order of
the day for the second reading 'of this bill. He
felt himself called upon to pertorio a great public
duty, convinced as he was that the repeal of the
preseut system was to restore the true principles of
the constitutional personal liberty which it was the
birth-right of British cibrets to enjoy. It had been
trestueutly said, that it was popular to goalie appmhs
of tuis nature. What was Li:climb' that the popu-
larity was entirely the other way ; and iuderd he
Ihrused a very false view of gratifying his love of
vaiu glory, who could look to an advocacy of the
forlor.,, Inc destitute, the imprisimed, and the per-
secote.t. There was a leadisig consideration which
ought to press the poney of this measure Oil the
winda of men, that this was•not a time to loosest
the affections of any part of our tClloiv-subjects,
cud to collect a
,number of torn, prepared in cir-
CIIIIII44IIICeS. and ready, from a diction*, to for-
ward any change . or revolution which would
teud to grant even the probability of ame-
lioratiou to the deplorable situation in. which
they were placed. 'I tie fkeble Lord then entered
iaitoa variety of arguments, and cited a number of
ca.es, attested upon the oaths of most respectable
iteriai.d., to prove that, the preseut rystrus of co-
ercing the de,itnr, only tended to punish thol'e
wheal misfortunes had rendered actually umible to
pad, whilst it protected the unpriecipked, who re-
heatl rots, a gaol for the purpose of evading their
just ettio,/ealei,ts, a,,1 spent their pruptity lit
.4 wry auu detaiaelrery, at the awe time that they
scolievl tile impotent expedients of their creditors,
hr lull he proposed went to remedy that defect. It
went to release the unhappy. and to compel the
ooprimiplc.l to fulfil their engagements. lie woulc
cite two reveal instances, where two unfortunate
widows were arreArd, and thrown into' prison,
the owe tor a emu of one pound ten shilling',
Lod hie other for seven shillings and siipence.-..-
AII a very cuort period, hy the process of law, the
expenses were diertweed to nearly lot. and to this
moment one of the unfortunate women was cousiued

iu the gaol of Macclesfield. The Noble Lord asked
—Willi Mu jusukes—ots this humanity? And What'
snit he propose l---iothing new—nothing
aupre-
ce.feuted. fhe prtuciple of the preseut Dill was
acted noon iu tery wise; liberal, and coiumercial
country iu the civilised world. it was, founded
upon the CeSSW bafierane, anti, he trusted,. Made
that Just and charitabie distinction between the
frauds of the deceitful, and the afflictions of the
unfortunate. He eonc'uded an able, energetic,
lutd truly hnuidne speech, by tinning the second
readi.4 thr

Lord ExteNDOIMUOVI rose to warn the flonse
of tile danger to which they might expose the
Cans itutiou by law established, by permitting the
preterit Lilt to !eve:. He bad always tven averse
to innovation in the fundsnental priwiple, of the
established law, particularly when the principle of
the law to which this innovation itpplieti, relate.] to
the regulations of trade and commerce, sli,ch
molt ever be considered the foundation of the
wealth cud power of this nation. He quoted Copi-
ous extracts from I .ord Chief Justice Hate, to prove
the general danger of Moor:Aims in legal arrange-
ments, which, arising progressively from the defivi
cleat* or redundancies of former enactments, eon-•
initiated a regular series or chain of legislative acts,
too iatimately connected throughout all their parts
to be assailed in any without materially injuring
the whole fabric. lai this country, where coin
lIICITe and trade were the striking features of the
Legislative provisious, us well as the icetirCes of the
'unwind greatness, all posbible Care should be
taken to tuaiiitain the general principle of credit
and persio.ial respousibili•y for debt•contracted un-
der promissory notes, bonds, and other legal
libtrUtactit,. To reudrr the creditor unsafe,
wus to render the sources of our wealth preixtrious,
if not to subvert the whole system. _ It would
either compel the fair dealer to circumscribe his
trade within the bouuds of ready-money transac-

tions; and thus make the geueral trade of the
country a tenth or what it is at present, or lead
ihe:u to permit all descriptions of per.ons to con-
tract with theta debts which it would be totally
impciatible they could ever be co•nuelled to pay.
. For to make one bill for the bene,it of insolvents

regularly succeed another in a certain allottel
space of time, wait to hold out rocouragemein to
debtors to withstand the applications of their cre-
ditors, well knowing that should the creditor pro-
ceed to may extremity, the probability. nay, tilmost
re; Wady, was, they should be enlarged by an Act
of. lasolvettcy. He neat proceeded to object to
several inaccuracies in the Bill, as before. the
House, and feared that even the Noble Mover had
not accurately Dead it; since, had he perused it, he
could not expect those inaccOracies should have ren-
dered the Bill one system of error. lithe House
should agree to the second reading of the Bill, he
should certainly move several amendments to the
Bill when in the Committee. He, however, hoped
their Lordships would at once throw out the Bill.
since it went materially to injure the trade of this
country ; since it. though purporting to have arisen
in a spirit of benevolence, was productive of the
most cruel and undeserved hardships to the honest
and industrious creditor, who, in nine cases out of
ten, followed himself the unjust debtor to that gaol,
to which his extravagance or want of principle had
brought him 7, and since the Bill was contradictory
to the avowed principle of onr otatnte law, which
gave no other security for the payment of a debt to
the creditor, but the detention of his person to
confinement.

Lord illou.siso said, he was sorry to he compel-
led to rise in opposition to the learned olaition of
his \Mlle Friend. since it might perhaps sol)esir
presumption in him to attempt to combat with ro
able nil advocate an his own groom's. lie eon-
trinnci the idea of trying the exuedie.ley of this
rcat measure, ou the principle of authorities,

however reeposembie they might apperir ; on
iinportmit kientaahius, we sboual br vu; rain,
of attending to authonties, tspeelinly who„
authority width eh wise no otti.:r than the C
Justice who opeiily avowed the pro?' iety of
tinkling the ridiculous hiws ae,..kinst witchthati
rigorous execiktiou (a laNgA). It'
ever, was the Noble kArter prop,:iitity for
elkority, he would adduce one equally eutit
to credit, since he at least never yes accused
that pruriency for innovation attrilmted to the st
porters of the prevent motion by the Noble Le
nautely, Dr. Johnson. • He had stated in No.
of The Idler, the whole of which he would rek
mend to the Noble Lord's peewit!, that there et
be no motive whatever for the detention of
debtor's person in prison, for the purpose of I
pilling hun to pay the debt.
_Hence there sbk
be a definite tithe appointed for the creditor
wove the concealment of the debtor's property
else to discharge the debtor from continenit;it
This wee a just criterion of tie propriety of e
Ling a fellow-creature of liberty—the best boon
Heaven. He would not harrow up their mull
nufolding the tale of the wretched debtors' suti,
logs in the prisons of the Fleet and the lily
Beech ; but if thairtordships had feelings of I:
inanity or pity, it would be too much for thew
withers the distress and profligacy of manoerst
casioned by their confinement. He was Lita.,,
of the detail the:Noble Lord bad entered Mtn on
clerical errors of the Bill under discussion; such
servetione would have Leen with more propri
urged in a Committee. He however hoped tii
observatioos would bays no effect on the P
but that the Bill would be read a second time.
The Earl of Molex, in reply to the. Lear
Lord-who had opposed the progress of the
stated, that the errors to which the Noble l.
had alluded, as existing in the Bill before
Douse; had promeileil hum adontiog the chat
which had heti/ used in foruier hills of lusolvon
He thought uo objectiou .ou the groaod of into.
tiorecoulif voloibly bw erste:trifled on the pre,
01.340a0a. Pariiimeat wet for the purpose of wit
ing the law to the einergeucies of the times, or
cooemireiveles and necessities of tire State. lie,
they might be said to be celled together for
express purpose of ianovatio.s, if every reform
to he denuinioniteJ innovation, as the Noble
:had maintaiweel.. .

The Hbuue then divided, mod there "patted,
'the beimisti reading of the Bill

Ayes
hots

9

11NeflOieshist readlai tee M.
'Pt, Howie ocliwitiruid to Monday neat.

HOCSE OF COMMONS.

TROMAI TUIRTOII postessed his Siution,
. .

lie Carnet:c Qerytiop, totieetal loot.
Th.! Usher of the Wade Rod haviug summoned
Norse to the tlouse of Prers the Speaker epos kis

info,. d the noose that the a9yal ii berm
c:. mission to the to,sno,oool. Exchequer dills
Tee:mover uf the Ned Gll.6ce kepaletbod
Petty etlittlUill Office Abolition Dill.
_ . .

M;. CA It pis LEA. brought i➢ 11l bill for supplying
kith Weterp whicb WM read aSu st, sod unlarsd ski I

**cued Caw tu-sieurrow.
MUTINY BILL.
Mr. WWI/ISOM IbMuglit u? the Report
Committee upon the Mutiny Bi.l, the *trend Ei
solution* of which etre reed and agreed to,
Lord Fot4teroric pre notice, on the pert of
Fraucii turdi:tt, that upon the third reading
this Bill, he should propose a clause to pro,
olicers from being disaii,sed the service within
Court Martial.
Several accountl from the filiation DQcis w,
presented, sad orderer' to be printed. Amoi,i
these were an Account of the Progress of '
Works._ aud also the Itetceipts sad Diaburstin•

of thei:ompaiuy, from the 30th November, L

to 30th e; eu;ber, 1 bo7.

EAST INDIES.
Mr. RoSKST Deso.ts, pursuant to notice.
that he was anxious to have the nadirs of Use 1

India Company- investigated and laid before
House, in order that some means might be'aile.:*
ed to curiae the Company to inert the large skjiai
which, it wits believed, existed iu their accounti.—
lie hoped the reasons which had.operuted hot ”If
to prevent this inquiry taking plaee, as he the
wished, would not, upon this emersion, exist. lk
was well aware that such compiirated conceit
could not be gone into by the Howie themselves,
and therefore he was noxious that 110113 C measure
should previously be suggested by aCocomittrri
to be appointed fur that purpose. He should
word the motion for its appointment in snail uty
as to .comprehei.d au investigation of all their rot
cerns, territorial, commercial, and pecuniary. 'lie
Hi.zht Hon. Gentleman then moved, " That a ',e-
lect Committee be appointed to inquire into tie
state of the tttfAirs of the East Indio Coisitninvi aril
to report their ryinion to the !liaise, with .ckar-
vations thereon."

Mr.CRICEVsx was far from wishingt* oppose sufh
a motion, but on the isontrary expressed his atipto-
bcion of this iorestigation, so long looked ikirt l•e•
log likely at length to take place. He ass von-
vinced that the annual Budget of their pec tiwar?
coucerus, for none yeart, bad been merely. delusive.
from 61.10.111111ig to end. A siutilar species of ii,-
quiry had be&u instituted so long back us 0:IL
I& wished to know whether it was intended, that
besides their iitiancial, commercial, and territori..l
matters, their politicul relations were also to
.ultinitteil to that Committee ?

Mr. DUN DAS answered, that the present eituato
of the atraira of the Eabt India Company, in erg
point of view, were to be referred to them.

•
The motion was then put and agreed to, mil
a select Committee of twenty-one members 1:-
et.iiitted uccordisigly, comistidg of the follo*ri,;
Members, viz
Mr. lltunlon, turd Castle:rack, the Chauctllor of the Cl
chequer, Mr. ttrearille, Mr. ITRlserforte, Mr. itsitser. W.
Johnstone, Mr. Greens, Mr. Chtulrs Great, Mr Clot,
Mate, Mr. Paulson, Mr. N. Vtossitta,t, Nls. Tiern,s,
John Alotrutto r, So. Rohert Reel, Mr. Sturos Bourn+
Arthur tVeNowy, Mr ritnhork, Mr. Uothouse, Lord Ms,
petit, Mr. VankierLeydcu.

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