The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-05-22 00:00:00

PERSONS CONFINED UNDER LORD SIDSIOUTIVS

CIRCULAR.

Mr. BENNETT rose to 'twee for a Committee to
inquire into the Oleos' of the Petitions of
J. B. Mellor and Samuel Pilling, of Warrington,
d.►ted the 9.1 of March ; nod Robert Swindells, of
Macclesfield, dated the 13th of the same month,
who had been confined under the con►truction gives
by the Secretary of State to the offence of libel, by
the reilowned circular letter of Lord Sidinouth.
He should first state the case of the two former, as
established by their Petit . These parties were
taken up iii con►equencr or One of those libels of
Mr. Done being bought nut of their shop, by
persons connected with the police, and on that
occasion a most illegal outrage had taken place, by
the police officers causing their house to be ran-
sacked, and searched tl►rnughuut, to find out if
there were any more of those productions on the
premises. Against the illegality of such a pro-
ceeding, the House hail long since decided,
in the memorable case of 1765. The parties
making the search carried off various volumes,
amongst others Rollin's History— Wynne's Ame-
►ica, &c. and the Magistrates sentenced them
to give bail for tool. each, and also find two
securities for ea! It for 50/. Bring 'suable to cons-
. ply with these condi iionN they were stilt to the work-
, house, and confined at hard labour, f whesice,
after wine time, they were seat, chained together,
to Preston gaol, contrary to the well-known and
est.:blished principles of the laws in the case of
libel ; I r had they been committed for libel by
the sentence of the Court of King's Bench, that
high authority could wily have sentenced them to
coofineinent in the best rooms of their own prisons,
whilst in this case they were obliged to spend the
whole day in the yard with the eorninon felons,
After suffering a considerable time in prison these
parties were enlarged in the following month of
Septeinber—upon what ?—merely on their own se-
curity. Al'as then this cruelty to be sauctioned by
the House > Although lie would admit there might
be considerable exaggeration, and some unfounded
facto introduced in these Petit• ,be still thought
enough had been •hewn to resider iiivestigat a
duty on the part of the Douse. The next was the
case of Robert Swindells, of Maccle►field, who had
hero taken out of his bed on the id of March,
11117, at twelve o'clock at night, from his wife,
who was then in bed with him, and in the eighth
mouth of her pregnancy. The officers threaten-
ing to break in the door, he came down
stairs, followed by his wife, in a state of
alarm, and newly naked ; on opening the door
he was nearly run down by the officers in the pas-
sage, hastening up stairs to examine his house.
They then inquired for a specification of the num-
ber of persons in his house. During these proceed-
ings, his wife continued exposed to the cold, which
subsequently affected her extremely, to the et►dan-
geriug of her life. lie himself was lodged iii gaol
as having published a prohibited work, whence,
after five weeks confinement, he was liberated. His
wife was, on the 26th of the same month, delivered,
and died on the 28th. The little inland survived
its mother but a few days, owing to its being de-
prived of her ottentiou and care. The character of
this man was well known, from the circumstance of
his having been eleven years in the navy, where he
had conducted himself with spirit and propriety.
The Petitioner, after all his sufferings, hied cape-
iienced the additiontil mortification of being
charged without trial.
Alr. DAVENPORT endeavoured to refine. ia