The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-12-20 00:00:00

r~l ors OF CORN.

Average Prices of Cunt of England anil Wales, by the
Quarter of Eight Winchester !Instals, and of Oatmeal per
bull of 14011ni. aroiritu poise, front the returns received in the
week ended the 11th of December. 11119.

- -
..:
a b.
sa a
'
c., L; 4 = 5 u •i°
;•1 11 1 ;,
Z vt• I" 4 z. cz 4
S. d S. d s. 11 r. d a. d a. d a. d a. d.
68 6 41 3 37 11 25 7 48 14! 31 4i 27 2 -

CRIVINAL

(Continued Pus our Paper of Saturday last.)

R r•.PORT.

The &duet Committee of the of Commons appointed
to cousider of lunch of the Criminal Laws as relates to
CROW Ihmi,hment in felonies, have signed upon the

foil owing Rc;:ort :
T. W. Carr, F.l. Solicitor of Excise, a very intelligent
public tillici r, gave au important testimony, directly appli-
cable indeed only to offences against the Revenue, but
throwing great light urns Ills general tendency of severity in
penal tans to defeat its own purpose. From his extensive
experience it appears that .welt punishment hat rendered
the law on that subject iuefficacions. Prosecutions and con-
victions were easy when breaches of the law were subject to
moderate pecuniary penalties; even a great pecuniary pe-
nally liar been faun.' so favourable to impunity, that fraudu-
lent trailers prefer it to a moderate penalty. The act of
coissiterfeiting a stamp in certain cases, *Rhin the Laws of
Excise, was before the year 18116, subject only to a penalty
of 50ti1.• but in that year it was made a transportable of-
fence, of which the consequence was, that the convictions,
which from one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, to
one thonamid eight hundred and six, had been nineteen out
of twenty-one prosecutions, were reduced in the succeeding
years, from one II sand eight hundred and six, to one
thousand eight hundred and eighteen, to three out of nine
prosecti I tuna.
Mr. Newinan, Solicitor for the City of London, speaking
from thirty years capes lessee, id the rouser ofCrimtunl Pio-
secutions in that city, info' med time Committer, that he had
frequently übseived a reluctance to prosecute and convict,
in tapital of not directed agaiast the lives, persons, ur
dwellings of men.
The Reverend Mr. Cotton, Ordinary of Newgale,bas de-
scribed in strong terms, the repugnance of the public to capi-
tal execution in offeiters unattended with violence, and the
acquiescence reel, of the most depraved classics iu their in-
flirt 1011 is, ulruCtosis crimes.

Mr. Colgithoun, fur I weuty year a police magistrate
in this capit.il, soil well known by his publications on these
subjects, leclares his firm conviction that capital punish-
ment in lice minor offinert, operate powerfully in preventing
cosivietioi.s ; and that there is a real relitetance to prose-
cute in forgery, shoplifting, larceny in the dwelling-bumf,
but glary without actual entry, horse stealing, sheep steal-
ing, cut le waling, Game break ing, Imusehreak lug in the day
thine, rubbery without acts of violence, and other minor of-
fences, 110 M I.llllirei to he minishmeist of According
to the testimony of ibis intelligent observer, the public mind
revoits at capital punishment in cases not atrociouf.
Mr. Newman, late keeper of Newsate, and connected with
the administration of justice in London for forty years, gars
testimony to the same effete.
Mr. Basil Miuslague stated a fact of a mod striking na-
ture, inimeiliAdly applicable only to one offence, brit sbew-
Mg those 'lmposts' 111 l s to the minds of the public which mud
produce kir effects wherever the general feeling is at va-
riame with the piiivisions of criminal law. From the year
one thousand reveal hundred and thirty-two, okra eves rile-
menu of prop. rt y by • liatikru pt was made a capital offence,
there have been probably foot), I Imiloasid bankruptcies; in
that ;reglad thine have nut been snore limn ten Mem,-
timer,
3" Ltuce itittutions for the capital offence, aott yel

they Wtle prevented by the capital inthishoorett from prone.l
collo; offenders, vision they would bore hron•fht to jests+ e•
if 11w p•tnishment had in their opioton lo en MOM loopor..
Clotted to flie crime. They also drelawil, that twit, is 4.
Icm-rat diniudiatattoti to prosecute among the trade's + •
tl•e city of London, or to tumid in thefts *milord %wham, ,
■nd in iortterirs.

Sir Hit bard Phillips, a bookseller io Lnr.di.n and lam e
Sheriff, as well as alive. a Joror, has '.us Ik,, a set I'4 Cap-

cilia observed Ilse same farts.

Mr. Richard Ti”lor, a Common Colin, jiman, oriisecure,t.
some men fur breaking into his priming i.thee and steatitic
route n,,pert y out or it, for which they were ti
but whom bc wiitilil not I. prosecuted if ha huh not pie- •
viously ascertained that the connection of the printo
office with the dwelling-house has nut such as to make the
art a capita, offence.
Mr. Richard Martin, it Member of the Mum; informed
the Committer, that the punishment of death prevented pre-
si cuticula in Ira Isild toe Mnsr, cattle, and shei p sleahng, for
privately stealing in threlling•liouw* autl slo‘ps, tm.l in
general fur all larcenies Without ithilet:ce. the rya..
teusive estate t.f whirl, he is proprh fur,
waste by sheep stealing, be has been prevented f.ons
filling by the punishment of death. If tie pittosl.m•mit *tete
reduced to transportation, lie would r. mainly piuscrute the
offenders to conviction. He hall to J.,s 1 that his estate
would be better protected if the law were snore her+ at : and
that the reditetiosi of the twualiirs of the law would promote
the security of property throughout the province of Cm:-
naught.

Mr. James Sonnet., of Saint Helen's-plare, Mr. Ebenezer
Johnihn, of Tholiopsgase.street, ironmonger, Mr. Raker,•of
die Tower, Mr. Lewis, a retired llWlThaut, end Mr. Cm:ale(
an insurance.hroker, bore tetstinsisey to the cents:el es pus .
ounce to prosecution which arose num capital stuki-lintelit ;
'some of them mentioned instances in whirl Oweg had beset
deferred by that comodeemino from is teigiug off. toti ese.s. lc
justice. Mr. Garrett said, that as far as In. oftset statism,
there was not one in tweuty who did out shudder at the idea
of inflicting 1'..! capital punishment its tares to foi gay.—
Messrs. Frederic and William Thornhill, h tialwareinem. men-
tioned 07354.1 of theft in which they had forhorne to promenie
on account of she punishment of death. The ram, sdikat.
that he found it to he an almost snivel sal sentiment among
his neighbours and acquaintance, that exceeeive punishment
tends very greatly to the prwluction of crime; he a 1151.101014 NI
massy persons who have been great sufferers by thefts lia
shops and dwelling-lotuses, and who declare that if Ilea
punishment of such offences bad 'Well any thing letot'sbau
death, they would have regarded it :IS highly crintinel in
themselves to have forborne prosecution. which they trot felt
themselves compelled to sihstain Irmo in CYPI y ii,L a net lilt
account of the poutelenient, and must continue to ail no
the same principle of forbearance till these was an anoint-
ment in the law. Ile also informed the Committee, that
from his knowledge of a great variety of eases, be was coo.
vineed the snore lenient punisluneut would mum efb ciw.illy
prevent forgery.
Mr. Collins and Mr. Crowther, considerable and very re.
spcctable traders in Westminster, gave evidence *leech the
Committee consider as of peculiar value. Mr. Colima has
suffered both from larcenies nod forgeries, and was wt.!. Jilt-
d by the state of the penal law from bringing the offroders
to justice, which be would otherwbe have taken the .sestet
pains to do. He thinks that the laws of God do Lot to f-
ruit life to be taken away fur were offences agaiii,t i ro.
perry ; and that among his friends, 'natty of wows ate
traders in Loudon and Westminster, he dues tic' know a
single exception from concurrence in such semi,,,, no.. Mr.
Crowther stated, that so porter had left their est.thiolotsiesig
for 20 years fur any other cause than theft ; that a prowew•
then had taken place in one instance, tool bad terminated su
cenviction and condemnation. " The pato and anxiety." he
adds, " occasioned by that event, until se olitaiwal for him
the Royal merry,
I made us resolve water to prosecute amain for a similar
offence." The general opinion of the traders in Londe, and
Westmisister is the same with his own. lie llealllll, I hat if
Ihe received a forged batik note he should be peeve:to d from ,
prosecution by the petnishmeist of death, and I hat t I the po-
nishment were less than death he should utuloolffely 50,,.
Pidrr it as his absolute duty to bring she of to ittst.ce.
He believes that nose tradesmen out or ten nice iv, il. loin,
Mr. Stephen Curtis, a leather factor is. Lontliiii, at at. it se-
veral cases of forgery, frauduleat bankruptcy, and lateetiy,
where the pelllffill illitllMltdCtilllll.ll to prosecute, fi,ois :Tyre.
Manion that the offenders might mirk, delft fn; I:, i is s.e
genets! opinion of the traders of laitodou, iltout,:ll #lB list'
opinion of this witness, scarcely a shopkeeper from Combed
so Charing-truss who does nut suffer from shop-titling.
Mr. Jacob, • ho has lately travelled through Cte2latid oil
business, wed Mr. Jenesings, fur some time a shopkeeper
near Beidgewater,gave some evidence tending to slow that
the general toothsome' of trailers iu the country as se, isa
capital punts, 'MIS the same which the Controiffic had
such ample remote to consider as the prevalent oin .. i,, I. of
the same valuable class of persons iu the weetettoods• Mr.
Joining. observed, that these opinions prevailed among far-
mers as well us shopkeepers, and steal the capital 1 le-
nient prevented piusecutions for horse, rattle, and ..ter;.
idealism, as well as from privately stealing its shops and
dwelling-houses, and in ronstrocsive burglaries.
Mr. Jueeph Harmer, who has practised for twenty years S.
Solicitor at the Old Halley, gave a tessonsmy whole die
Committee canuot but recommend to the most st netts con-
sideration of the House. lit the COWS!' of his practice lie lead
rwillilential cumnsionieation with at least Iwo thiiii:.and calm.
sal cuovscts, and may be presumed to have as good novena of
understanding Rime' temptatioua, their fears mot thew hop.:.
as any iuelsrolual in the kiugduro. Ile is now much employ.
est by prosecutors, and from imereourse with skew, as well
as by former oleses wail of their mythic., has the amplest
means of knowitig the Mfluence which capital poslielmwmt
has out their disposition, to mid and euZiace the extent ~,,, of
the laws. The Committee must also add, that lot app.aro.l
to them a man of sagacity, as well as of a conscientious and
humue character, whose tepiuions OM Thosl,l-', ! i “ I new VIIIII•
tied tU much cou•aderatiuu. Lively part of his evedesiee so