The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-12-16 00:00:00

subsisting low, both in the construction and lime-
tire of the Court. One alteration was to give
• a power of examination into the affairs of the in-
solvent, previous to his going into prison, and also
to empower the creditor, after a given belle, to com-
pel the insolvent to come before the Court, in the
same manner that he compelled them to allow him
•to have the benefit of tar Act. lie Itad also pro-
. posed .to alter the cotostitutiom of the Court. by
snaking it consist of three Judges ',tetrad of one
—and that all the property of the insolvent
thpolel be bottle to he act up by the assiggsees for
*le, for the getters' beitett of his tzredimrs. The
Mull, with these alterutioni, had pasiedthroogh that
House, hut waslost in its thrOgreva ellewberr, nod a
temporary Bill possrd to Continue the Acts then in
farce until February tteXt. lie was not in towii at
the time, or else Me should have opposed the pa...
ing of that temporary Act, fur he thought the pre-
sent Issas in 111 constructed, that however able 1.114
itidefotigahle was the Commissioner, it was im-
possible for him to administer them so us to
*give general satisfaction. Since the passing of
that Act, the former Commissioner (Mr. Seijeant
Autmistgton), and all the clerks, except one,
in the office of the Court, hail been dismiss-
ed. Ile felt it his duty to stale, and he did so
Without meaning to cost any particular reflection,
that this alteration was moat proper, fora complete
change had become necessary. The result of this
change had been he I
Mitthe preeent COU-
missioner (Mr. Reynold.) had done every thing
that persons in trade could wish, to give the effi"-
e;elicy to the existing laws of which they were soli-
cyanide. Last Sesaion he thought it was totally
impossihte to conduct the business of the tuurt as
t ought to he conducted with a single Judge.—
He had now changed that opinion, and was willing
that the business should rest sting one Judge; but he
should propose, for the previous examination of the
afro; re of the insolvent, that an examiner be oppoiot-
el by the Commistioseser. And he meant further
to propose, that instead or the clear property of an
insolvent being liable to sale. it should be merely
placed under sequestration for the benefit of the ge-
neral creditors. Such was the general outline of his
Bill—the details could be considered in e Coitign:t-
tee after the recess. The preaein Act would ex-
pire on the CV February. But he was not :noxious
to hurry his Bill, so as to inert the actual expira-
tion of the oilier; lie was alone anxious for use
titre and deliberate discussion. and he might as well
riow state its on any forum occasion, that unless the
previous examitoitiou into the affairs of the
and the power of the creditor to compel him sifter
he MOP iii custody a certain time to take the benefit
of the Act were admitted, he should oppose in
lifnine the introduction of ally new Bill. The Nu-
hie Lord then obtained leave to bring iu o Bill fur
the relief of Insolvent Debtors, and Intivielf and ,Ir.
George Lamb were ordered to prepare and bring iu
the same.
PETITION OF THE HOOXSEI.I.FRS RESIDENT IN
THE METROPOLIS.

Mr. Jon Skim !sev er! Irate to call the atten-
tion• of the House to a Pa-litmus of very great Mt-
patance iiitrueted to him for presentation. It was
served by 5' of the most eminent Booksellers,
Publishers, sod Printers in the metropolis, and
complained of is clause in the Bill twee before the
House, for the more effectual Parsenti (((( of Blas-
p'temous mud Seditious labels. That clause pin -
voted, that in cake of a sacond offence, meaning. of
r minor, the publication of a second libel, the party
*tumid be subjected, at the discretion of the Judge,
to a punishment of tither banishment or traospor-
tuition for the term of severs years. The severity of
this clause had occasioned considerable said just
alarm among those who were eitilmiked Mil the or-
c;lsation of booksellers—a sotirty composed of
very many of the most respectable men iu tier
'country, whose station, whose property, attaininemos
and qualifications, entitled them to the highest
censideration.—(Year, hear, hear.)—They were
in the greatest alarm, its con.rquencr or the
xtraordinary imrovisioes of the iompendMeg mea-
sure. it was not, lie thought, necessary to remind
the House of the soigne sod uncertain import of the
thing called " a libel." ‘Vitat one lawyer (termed
Machines, another did not—what as London July
considered no libel, and founded an acquittal upon,
111 Joey in the country held quite the reverse, dm—
chireal it a libel, and theta convicted. In nature
there was nothing which had as wider latitude; of
elefinitiou than libel. The Petitioners were as de.
serous as any other persons in the community to
put down the very extensive circulation of Mass
rimentoos and seditious Imbals—they were most
anxious they should be prevented by all effectual
meanse-('s Hear, hear," from I.u,d Castlereagh )
—but they can never concur iu the application of
that sentence of transportation which is only re-
served by law for felons and criminals whose guilt
is of enormous die. Such a sentence for the
offence of libel, they humbly c ntcetred, was
analogous to the other penalties prescribed by law
for general offences, and they conceived that its
affect, if evicted, would be to deter from following
their trade niany of those who had now embarked
in it immense capitals. Among the Petitioners
were several whose disbursements no their business
antonnted to enormous sums. Ile may within
bounds say, that they had several hundred thou-
sands • year embarked in their trade. Was it
possible, then, that in concerns so extensive they
could conduct their affairs with that dispatch re-
quired by learned bodies and the public, sod that
security which every man had • right to look to for
his person and his property, if on a second con-
viction for eke vague offence of libel they were
liable to transportation to New South Wales ?
(Hear, hear.)—lf it were possible the House
unsold feel itself justified in time enactment of so
severe • law, there were Geotirmen of the drat re-
speetability who signed this Petition, who would
then have no other alternative but to abanden
business which hitherto they had been enabled to
conduct with character for themselves, awl exten-
sive advantage for the commueity. Even thawe
who were doomed to mutant iu this tonic after the
passing of such a law, could not possibly promote
the general benefits of literature in the manner ,fry
had hitherto dour. Ile therefore most eati,roly
hoped that some other idiom of punishment for ltba I
may be devised than that which bad created so
much universal complaint. It was quite impossi-
ble for the booksellers to protect themselves against
the severity of this penalty, were it once adopted,
fur et would Bleu be to the power of any chacnitteut-

. T..:io-.,

_,