The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1808-05-19 00:00:00

eerier to determine that the Log shall be ex-
ecuted neon oue individual. nod not npou another.
la this liztermiliation, trim the utmost imeer:iiinty
woe:ally prevailtei ; there would' be found 'nine
Jowl.* s whistle natural. ' positions led them to hu,
tuanioi, while others, ere moor strongly impressOd
With the necessity o iiithetiog the iew with strict-
ness,/is
for thesake of the .coniniu.ity. lii %Mort,
one found every thing which generally intlueuced
the judgments of mankind, openiting upou the
tiuntis of the dud, ets upon these occas a, they,
acting very soften from venous and contradictory 1110•
tines. Thew, and such arguments were, he thought,
OtlitiCiellt to batisry the House that the law ought
not to remain in its present stoke At the issue
time, he considered. that en linnible inagyidual, such
as himra If, proposing alterations upon established
laws, onght to proceed lo slow snit gradual steps;
rather to do too little than to do ton Much ; and to
bare the evil-outage of the experience of what lie
hail done, rather than proceed oiw step further.
NVith this intention, he meant merely to move a re-
peel of row of those statutes that inflicted capital
putlishinent aeconling to the ranount of the pro-
perty stolen. The moat expedient mode of doing
this, he thought, was first to have brought every
file of those objectionable statutes under the con-
templation of the I lance, and then only to move •
the renal of the most objectionable of them ; he
- meant the Act of the sill of Queen Elizabeth,
limp. 4th. One misfit be surprised that at this day
such a stntnte should be in existence. both on ac-
t-omit of its severity, us well as its absurdity : it set
out with saying, that w hereas a certain portion of per-
moos had associated together, for the secret spoiling
West robbing of their fellow-creatures, at public
rewritings and places of worship, and also in the
Prinee'a palace. public places, and courts of justice,
fairs end markets of the people. aid even at
eaeentions, and this under the cloak of honesty,
be cutting their plums and taking their good%,
fOr elects eviunes the law shall appoint II ca-
pital punishment. without benefit of clerea.
Ties capital punishment was only to be infl.cted
where the crime was unti-led with no aggravat-
ing circumstances, meaning where it was done
by force and openly, atul not secretly. He he-
believed thine RIM only one single case, within ine-
'story, where a person had anfered a capital
purnslitteat under this statute, and that was the
taw of an individual. who hail picked an-
other's pocket in a Comet of Justice. The ate
Virdity of the law was, that where • persou's
packet was packed tmolently and openly io such
places, lie was piotected 'front the violence of
the law. All that he should therefore more, for
the ereiwnt, upon this :tart of the subject, would
be for the repeal of this absurd and useless act.
There was, however, another part of our criminal
law, which required to be amended. It regarded
the cast" of persons who, having been accused of
crimes, had suffered iinprisonnsent, were brought to
teed, and foiled . oven... There was no mode, by
the present law, of affording such individuals earn-
penman)°, except be bringing an action for mali-
cious prosecution. in all systems of criminal law,
there was no possibility of preventing sitapi-
earns attaching to persona perfectly inuocent.—
The ennsequence of this must naturally be their
apprehension and imprisonment till their innocence
hr ascertained. When, however, that suspicion
fell upon any person of the labouring OM of the
community, whew. family depended upon his
Industry tier subsistence, his situation was ren-
dered eseesdingly hard and grievnus by his con-
finement previous to trial. In many I:arts of the
country he might he eight ematlis confined, and iii
the four northern counties, upwards of a year, we-
enies to his innocence bring made manifest, al-
though in Imairion and Ilividlesex the case was
otherwise. lhirieg all that time his family might
penhahly Ise starvii,g, and forced to go to a work-
house. where their minds will be corrupted. On
reflecting upon tiie misery produced by such con-
linen:x.BA. oue uould net but be surprised that no
comaeneation tied been trovided. Ebert might,
Ihrmever. he scme considerable gliffietiltits in this
CAW. o.le cold not say that compensation ought
to lie mail.• to every verve's accused of crimes, and
ariplitted : rot levioubtedly there were many in-
divirtoule w'io were tried mid acquitted merely
for the want r•!* ev;ileace to prove their guilt. It' •
person a..!elised h•s .ervaiit of having rohlit,4l him,
and if liaiei .tool hr ens acquitted, it was not
indeed to ho r., :t reel that the prosecutor would
take hint I• it's: ii:o his service; but yet there
might be 0.-cie.in.is in wit:v:l that servant mizlit
he innocciu, and it' he bed suffered long nu-
onion:neut. it wid(' he but reas.nialile ti make
han taiate: net inn. There %sere many eases iii
wind' the ev-idee.-e was en tersely balanced.

that Ch. Jare ine7;lit l,e (I,,ubtful of *his guilt or
inuocerite and tit such easel it tutglit be proper
that no cornpentiatiou should hs-. given to hiu.i.-
11'iwa the question o as. in whoa] vught this power
or ;lax-, ,1.:C,-tireio.itoi!: to lie reposed? I.:ltizlit
e, to be 'All !O the Jiir or to e.t 42oirt Clot trlrti
16:,u? He toqu:tht that it blioula not tw lift to the
Jury fat th. Court. Ai, .tit had pawed c. tl.e
reittit (;r4.:--,r 1I.a11•1vIt. reelipeasetteas to tfoe pro-
set ietor for the esprieors and loss of tame ineur.ed.
)1- tio, the Court or Judgt
1110 A troe: to tirter3ll,le. s.ad Upnn the -Ali.t• i07.1!.t.•p1e
iie should take tne Lberty of hool.teong. that
11l eertina w 4.4 rr it perten pai wc..pitt•st, lie
should he aV,ioril bi the .I.teLO•teer
Of the I:l•itry. 111 rr to tlie cu,
titJ d : ty ut tatati!,..- it to
It dee mined I y t'.e .1u.:0. He cou d
think of :tor ole-etion that totild he !nude to tli.s;
Cie ajirw • •:,e-cwil!, n, ti.e I•tinth H t :t1:1.0•4

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