The National Register.
London, England, 1819-12-13 00:00:00

LIIWL BIEL.

Viscount SID MOUTH rose to noire the 'evend reading of a
Bill to toehold the extension of blasphemous and seditious libels.
'Rite object Of tile Bill was to effectually suppress such libels by
giving the Court power to therelse the punishment in cases where
peristins art convicted .tithe offence a second time. It did not go
encrease the puniettnent in the first instance. Having on a
Loner occasion etated the ground on which the Bill was introduced
the Noble Viscount omitted a recapitulation. lie concluded by
Moving the second tendin' of the kWh
/seed ERSK IN E said he should trouble that !louse with but
}kw obsertations. speeered to him, that the circumstances
did not iustify the proceedings. yet they were told it was expedient.
The Rill gave in explanation in the preamble tojustify a measure
of so much impurtattee to the liberty of ohe subject. The Noble
Viscount was as bold in his speech as tile bill itself. No case be
could be strong enough to warrant the chains they were about to
Lung on every writer. The Noble Viso t said the bill
applied only to seditimis and blasphemous libels There were
many ehaties of what tens termed b:aapliemy, btu nu One could
deprecate more than himself the attempt made under any (loc-
. trine to rvb the pour and contented Chrihtian of liih last solace, the
dependence he had upon nffieion. He beheld Slidt attempt, with
',wren, and it' he could morose the bill would do any goal with
hj V: A' to the pretention of the idence, he shotilti not only go
with the Noble lards, Let rim betnre them to pees it. It was
'toeless, because lie was enabled to soy upon experience. that the
exihting law was strong enough to extinguish the evil. Some
years ago another specit4 in libel was common. Ile abutted
to horrid obscene publications, which rotund the way into Wattling
schools, corrupting and putiaining the mind, of youth. (In that
occasion, he repo:sewed a society of g.nticmen, who /amiably
came ui the wholtv ion to stop the destructive flood ref contamieft-
tion. He stood Howard as Counsel for the Society, in the King'ss
Bertelt. and he could say, some of the baneful publications were
a, IISUM:41114 as the filthy productions of French oliscenity, pub-
lished and sold in the PaLeis Royale. Those libels were lint down
by the law. (Hear, hear !) Th. much revered Doctor Portetes
Wallop of London, and other persons equally eminent, aAistec
in putting tnem down, and succeeded in their endeavour. Why
could not the Attorney General, with the public purse ai hisconii
imam?, put down the libels, now the subject of compLaint P The
tact was, there bad been no seasonable effort to check the publi-
cations which the Government then so notch deprecated. ss The
Age of Reason," when first published, was not porsecuted. but
Sir S. Shepherd, the Attorney General, preferred prosecu
tiog Mr. Hone's parody. which few persons would consider the
wove of doe two libels. Tne 1.4 w din not define what seditious
libels were to be punished with transportation.—A thousand se-
ditious hitch itti.Jit he written by men of wisdom, without
knowing it; and the Lords did not want proof at the present
day, that n prosecution for some libels only increased the sale
and extension of them. The !Ards apposite could never suppase
that the people of this country would cease to animadvert en the
laws, and they ought to take care that they did not give eneou.
ragement to libellers by the very means they propiked to adopt
fur keeping them in check.—if tiny punished a man once for the
publication of a libel, and lie afterwanits thought fit to try his
strength with the law by a second publication, he increased his
punishment. Every copy of a libel puhiished after conviction
rendered him liable, as the law stood, to additional punishment.
That being the use. what ground was there tin the indiction of
new punishment ? If the Government had nor inforted the law,
the omission did not furnish any fair pretence for making a new
law. Believing, as lie did, that the existing law was sufficient to
check and punish libels of every description, he could never
assent in the principle of the. Bill.
The Earl of IlAtt HOW BY said, he had much respect for
what tell from the Noble Lord, but on this occasion he mild not
admit his roaming.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE considered the Bill destraw-
tive of the liberties of the Constitution. It was a Bill to apply
the punishment of felony to misdemean me It was a punishment
that was unequal, failing on room inure lisaitly than others. In
respect to the Bill. the punislituent of transportation for libel
would lead to difficalty on time part of the law officers. They
wouitt tied it difficult to procure convictions. It would increase
the eisint ;Mutton of .litries to give C:os.• convictions they coin •
Veined hod been withlichi. Ile alluded by way of example to
the present situation of RI) II nnaltrhtile Iheonet. the !Sleiliber for
Wesintinster He asked the Noble Viscount whether he sup
posed in tribe the Don. Baronet was tried for a second libel
that a Jury would given verdict which might send Lim to Botany
play' Stan caw:., would occur, and instead 'of convictions the
Jurors would give acipitteis. Ile uppos.sl the Bill in its then
state.

Lord EI.I.ENBIiRIit:6II in a maiden ireecli supported the

Lord 11101.LANTI,itlinittc3 that the Nobte Lord who spoke
List has! stated the inte!ligibe ground fur Pie adoption of the Bill.
Tar Noble Vii.einint who innnu,be it in said it isas to pi tierce
tie Litirrry of the Mess. Ills exprrictiiie hail emil..tl him to
taut, Parliamentary ‘it Iterie%er he hail been asked
to pay money, in compliance with some Palliamentary measure.
the statement almost Inv:vial-1y was :—.• it is to protect your
pmperty." In nie present instance, the attempt to des r% the
Liberty :of the Prt•!: was termed, in parliamentary liT,te, an
etrirt to i -ve ty. Thy Noble Laid could not wlitiii
•.• leopl • apt, sn a.-atioattily wiek• i' as they NOT deser;heil.
The rm..]: of Er... Altai were a n, moral remit, rind ton
easy to j, cantllll,4: be 1/111/111.141t101.1. a 1./Cll 110110.1 kine cud anti-
dote. Five years ai..o the table of that Home NAS covered with
Petitions tin the treetion ul Cl.welies and Ulitipels. the that ne
cwsion the Petitaintrs were called niiskid penple—misled by re.
bgiun thee were to'd tte people were so iireli.izious, that
it wet; um spiry. Perhaps the intention of the Noble Lords w.t, to
follow the system of (hirer Utoinwill, by funning a sort of •pi-
ritual Government. They bad heard ut the thretclionary power
of the Judges. but that was a sum.' ot dependence galling to the
mind sit au Eng:6lllmin. Flom the now of lint son," to
Mt. BUlke.:i I.oo'. there had not, perrlicps. been a man in public
IJt who had avoided writit, libel Gist or three lima. Millen,.
bq der. Pope. Swine Addison, and Steel acre libellers, and
bed Steel lived tinder tie opera: ion ot a Bill like that heliire
the lintsu, IP' would ilo doubt have been seta to Botany Hay.
The Noble lord, in a speech of considetable length, stretittobsiy
oksposeu the nuclide 01 tl.e Bill. ,
The Bill ails subsurtacntly opposed by Fails Grey and Bleu-
ainitun, and impputtett by the hail of Liveipool, and
LOND•C lAA NCIA.Lot( 1.410, liar ~p v4.01'6.1%1,1
the aeresesus 111/00 orbit NllO 1411 j at
*id dove hailconsist ewe Ntlh an
ee.•uti.•ll' 1.1'1•P•441% to the pet servutiun ut pre lite con-
ittu:4“. yoa ;

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