The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-12-11 00:00:00

I the.

bearisWitirs4
;mien on tabled of brass... 4
.. --!
*
ffl
beta a Matter of iimpcimA _ '
great dation, so lit* 1410.00%
fee the mild and toledint '‘
which, it 'knelt's% 'koala
.s
stained by the adridnistrutioit-
nary code of laws in the world, • I
the Umtata, went a little beyond ti,tliiti
owl
for they punished with death !mg' .
to disturb them while at the gatdi .
the Grand Turk inflicted a:
upon any body in the Greek Wm* ..,
certain spice for their own we •btil.:,
served up at his den whir...-/
already said, that as a man ,in et~:i
thorities or graduated iii coedit, 14.444
fur introducing this subject—bug •Ibti
unpractised himself, he had a iscaessfiti
sanction the reformation hp visited toil
He would adduce argorneebt greet ens
able, derived from the highest simnel
and modern times—from men who bad
laws of the land, and isms their efir,
minds and eyei of philusophera. Belt
p
sustaiu Iris view of else Ishiect brtlie
lP and the unequivocal ereOliOn. of .
which, though it way mail!! qtr„
long misled by unsov ptineipled. 1
thorny in favour of illtlLi74 441195 i

is a

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victims were annually
had, therefore, an ample o,
sanguinary Criminal Code,.
was Erasmus, and then there w.
viz. Raleigh, Coke, Bacon, Clallsi
eta, Blackstone, Goldsmith,
Paley, Pitt, Fox, Romilly, Bnikine.
Grenville, Lanintown, Lauderdal.
Newport, Mackintosh, Mocdonolct, !-441•
several of the other distioginshed • 'limit •%arbs.
hid turned their attention to this object., t*lir
w Ilion) Grind had ably shelve thet„;etecitsaity of
making the laws, and their %gifieristiins; in At. -
cordance with public or. 'on. That Leitrim' •
Lawyer was one of the coolest sod ablest that
ever adomed the Enzlish Bar, awl he bail come to
this conclusion—" That the punishmeot of death
in our code was too severe for the classes of crime
to which 4 was awarded."—(ffesie, /rear./--He had
another greet authority in support of the neceeNity
of reformation; it was that of the Fassperor Ales.
ander, who had abolished in his dominion, the po.
nishment of death, except for treason and murder.
He remembered well the pleasure this yearn Ire
that excellent man, Sir Samuel Romilly. • l'he
next testimony in support of the prititifite which
he would adduce, was that of the preset's. Attar,
ney-General. The Court would bear in mind that '
his (Mr. Favrhl) proposition was, !hut the criminal
law ought to be revised. On the motion respectinx
the Game Laws, the Attorogy-General tepees,. d
himself against any enthusiavi)e efforts for a revision
of particular laws. But when en obsolete van of
the old law was called into action in Thorntaii's
%Yager of Battle, when again arraigaed on a charge
for a foul murder, then the Attornev-General, no
doubt with the acquiescence of the Judges, come •
forward end gave notice for a repeal of that
gular and obsolete law. The Learned Geouleme%;
could not staffer this law to reinsert say !millers**
the Statute Book. No doubt it was otisinally
framed in superstitious time*, to protect the Weak
against the strong—it was intended as the appeal
to Heaven in the sincerity of innocence %limn the
power of an oppres.nr. It was supposed that the

>, •
,

weakest person, when so assailed, might receive T
the Divine interposition fur his protection and le.
seise. In Scripture, they had tee td Jiow Davit!
slew Goliath. The Atiorney-General h.d alvesdc
given notice of his motion for a revision of this pert
.
of the Criminal Code. Tile fabric was Ikea touch-
ed—a was viten iii the eyes of the Learned Attor-
ney, no !Juges sok 'Nosed as he seemed to think
when he first cippOsed Ste let nituel Roinitly's
The Loomed Sergeant (q-who at thet 'timieess
ably supported the Attorney-General, had *WNW.
is thelauguage of theVlit Barons—.
unPfoluoas Lege, Anglite ionteri."
But wrist now would the Learned Serjeptir tar, ,
when his Learned Colleao.ne him ;et the 4,,,t ,x_
sinple of alieling the Criminal Corte
Ile would next init touch 111/Pll the expression of •
Sir W. Blick..tone—that it would be well if th,..
Legislature, once in every century, appointed
•