The National Register.
London, England, 1811-03-03 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

140

LORD REDESDALE'S
INSOLVENt- DEBTORS' BILL.

• ••

TO TUE EDITOR.

Sin,—Permit me through the medium of your widely circu-
lated and esteemed paper, to submit some observations on one
of the clauses of Lord Redclesdale's Insolvent Debtor's Bill, to
the consideration door Legi.dators, before the second reading of
the Bill takes place. The benevolent intentions of its noble
author deserve the highest praise, and should it pass, the spirit
of strict impends/ justice which pervades the whole, must fill
both the Creditor whose loss of property it renders inomentaay,
and the Debtor whose precious liberty it redeems, with the most
gratitude. Perfection, however, cannot he found on earth,
and even where no great error can be pointed out, improvements
may be made. Among the'clauses of the Bill there is One di-
recting that as soon as a Debtor wishes to avail himself of the
provisions of the Act, he !oleo: serve every one of his Creditors,
not only with a melee of intention, hut with copies °fins peti-
tion, schedule, and affidavits certifying the state of his property,
the number of his Creditors and the nature of his debts, with
ether explanatory particulars, in order to enable each of them
so appear in Court at the time his application is made, and
on fair grounds either to oppose or agree to his liberation. The
propriety of this measure cannot be called into question. It is
necessary that every Creditor should by his assent sanction the
proceediugs of the Court, and there is no doubt but his assent
cut only be obtained by a full disclosure of every particular on
the part of the imprisoned Debtor. But the mode in which the
clause directs this disclosure should be made appears to me very
objectionable. The Act provides in one of its first stipulations,
that a Debtor must swear that since his confinement he has, at
no time, been possessed of the means of paying his debt, or ehe
he is to he deemed entitled to no relief; yet this clause would
compel him when he intends to ask far that very relief, to incur
law expeuces,which, in many cases, might surpass the sum for the
zon-payment of which he is confined. Would not this be a
Dgost effective, though not a nominal prohibition, defeating the
very intent of the Act, and reducing the disappointed Debtor to
a worse state than Tantalus? Would not the want of money
digit his hands whilst liberty appeared within his reach ? If it
be asked in what those law expellees would consist ? Let it be
remembered. that the drawing up of affidavits, and the attend-
ance of Altorrneis necessary for that purpose would amount to a
e.qnsiderable sum, were even only one copy to be made : but
when ;3 many affidavits must be taken and as many copies of
petitions and schedules written and served as there are credi-
tors, In no case, could the law expences be moderate. Yet this
would only be the first preparatory step'e_a step which the clause
as it now stands would render so indispethably necessary,
that no hope of regaining his liberty could be entertained by the
unfortunate Debtor unless he should be able to comply with the
stipulation. This is an imperfection in the proposed Bill which
might easily be removed. Instead of compelling a Debtor to
waste that money, which might he better applied to his support
or the payment of his debts ; in serving each of his Creditors
with copies of his petition, schedule, and affidavits, why might
not their insertion in the London Gazette, either once, or a cer-
ta7o number of times before his application to the " Court for
relief of insolvent Debtors" he made a sufficient warning to his
ereditors. The'A ct declares that "as soon as its appointment shall
Lave been minified in the London Gazette, the Court for the
relief of insolvent Debtors shall be deemed to be fully constituted
and established." Utile legal Constitution of a Court be fully
established by the mere publication of its appointment in the
London Gazette, why should not the paper on the pages of
which the records of bankruptcy and of Commercial ruin are
keps also become the organ through which reduced and unfor -
Onate Debtors should call for re ref ? might !Len appeal

to the mercy of tbeir Creditors and lay every necess.:ry infor-
mation before them at a most trifling expence, and stithout any
loss of time. It would be in vain to urge that Creditors would
not look to the Gazette for such, intelligence, for were it mule
by Act of Parliament the channel through which alone that in-
telligdUceshould officially be conveyed, every creditor's eye
would be fired on its pages with a degree of attention equal to
the magnitude of the sum which his neglect might cause him to
lose.
' I trust that these hints sown in the minds of our Legislators,
and enriched by the fertility of the soil, may.produce sorne im-
provement in this particular clause of a Bill calculated to do so
much good to two numerous classes of society, those, of Debtors
and Creditors. Should you deem them worthy of a place in
your pages, I shall probably trouble ynu next week with some
observations on another part of this Bill
Your Constant Reader,
lam

4s •

P. D. COLVILLE. =• ti '
Mr. DUNDAS, the Chairman of the Select Committee, ap.
pointed to enquire into the cause of the imprlsonm.ent of Colville,
a foreigner, now confined in the House of Correction, Coldbath-
fields, presented the Report of the Committee to the House of
Commons on Friday, which was read by the Clerk. The R.
port stated, that the Committee were of opinion that sufficient
cause existed to authorize the confinement of Colville; he suf..
fered no ieconvetsience to which persons in a similar situation
were not subjected ; and that it appeared, on examining the
Prison, that it was not well calculated for the confinement of i•
man, who, from the nature of his offence, should be prevented
from any communication with others. Lord Folkstone observed.
that the Report was ordered to be laid on the table, and printed.
Vee arc happy to find that Lord Folkstone has brought this bu-
siness before the House of Commons, as it shews, that however
undeserving any individual may be of commisseration, yet, in .
this country, no Mall will be permitted to be imprisoned without
enquiry--and the calls of humanity and justice equally prevail,
with respect to a destitute foreigner as a British subject.
We understlnd, that the Report states, that the individual in
question attempted, in the first 'instance, to deceive Lord G.
Stuart (then in command of the Briti,h squadron off Cuxhaven)
with a false account of the strength and position of the French
force, with a view to entrap him into an attack that must have
been destruNiv. cf our brave fellows. Lord G. Stuart, howe-
ver, had previous information of a more accurate nature, and
avoided the snare thus laid for him. Some time afterwards a •
British Resident communicated to Lord G. Stuart, an order •
signed by Lord Liverpool for the apprehension of Colville, and
in consequence a Midshipman and a beat's crew were sent
asho: eby Iris Lordship, who seized Colville at a Table D'Hotel

TUESDAY'S LONDON GAZETTE.

DOWNING-STREET. FEB. 26, 1811.

A Dispatch. of which the following is an extract, has been this
znorninjtreeeived at the Earl of Liverpool's office, addressed
to his Lordship by Lieutenant-General Viscount Wellington,
dated Cartno, Bth of February.
The enemy have coutinued in the neighbourhood of Badajoz,
and have broke ground before the place on the left of the Gua-
diana, and have tiiroven some shells intc, the town. The bad
weather, however, has obliged them to draw in the greatest part
of their cavairy from the ground between Badajoz and Elves ;
' and the communication has been re-established.
General Mendizabel sent orders to General Venies to adiance,
v4hich measure I had before recommended to him ; znd Gen.
?vfendizabel himself met the troops at Elvas on the morning of
the etti instant ; they marched on and passed the Cava; and
the inr:::ttry entered Badajoz and the Fort of Christoval, on the
right ei the t_latadiana, on the afternoon of the 6th. The French
cal; ..lry retired, and passed the Evora, and were pursued some
this:: ice by the Spanish cavalry, and a brigade of Portuguese
cavalry, under Brigadier-General Madden, who took some cat-
tle. baggage. Stc. ; but the attack, if any vas intended to be
male, upon the French troops on the left of the Guadiana was
*deferred till the following day.
I have received from Gen. Ballasteros a letter dated the (27th
.of .I:inuary, from which it appears, that this action of the 25th
:vac very well contested; and the loss of the enemy, who was
much superior in numbers, was two thousand men killed and
wounded ; and that the retrc:►t of the Spanish detachment was
nude is good order.

by thelait accounts front the frontiers of Beira it appears,
that a part of Claparede's division of the 9th corps was still at
Guarda on the 4th inst. with an advanced guard upon BiArnonte.
This was the position he was ordered to take on the sth of
January, by General Vrouet, referred to in in/ dispatch of the
itlth utt.

General Foii arrived at Salamanca from Paris, with letters
for Mitesena, on the lath January, and I imagine th:t yeiter-
day reached the head-quarters of the army. He Lad with him
an escort Of between two and three thon4at d men.

Colonel Grant, who commands the Oreenerza in Lower Beim,
had followed to the neighbourhood of Sobuzid the detachment
which escorted the couriers which marched from the Zezere
on the 22d of January, and had taken much baggage from them
.several prisoners. On his return he attached Gen. Foix's
eicort, with a fresh detachment of Ordenenza, at rnx:.h.irtia, at
t:ie entrance of Estrada Nova ; and I enclose his report of the
instant on this affair, and an extract 'of his report ~f the 4th
instant to Marshal Sir Wm. Bettsford, and the Marshal's letter
to me.

I hear from the enemy's head-quarters that they stare they lost
sa) men in this affair.

I here has been no movementofany importance in the enemy's
army since I addresied your Lordship.

141

•
only terminated by the tgl t ; the rt :.ult was >f a killed on the
road, a very considerable number wounded, and It) prisoner;;
several of the wounded were found dead this morning, from the
extreme inclemency of the weather. Several. carts with grain,
and a considerable number of bullocks, were also taken ; and,
having stilt parties to annoy their front and rear, I have reams
to think th?y must suffer considerably were they to quit the Es-
trada Nova. We lost enly one man, with a few nurses wounded,
amongst thcna my own.
I have the honour to be, &c.
(Signed) J. GRANT,
Col.aUrban, &c. &c. &c.

•
Extract of a Letter from Lieut.-Col. Grant to Col. D'Urbatt,
dated Fund. o, Feb. 4, 1811.
Have the goodness to state to his Excellency the Marsha!,
that the result of the affair of the Ist inst. near Eniabarda, has
been more complete than at first .stated, 207 of the enemy
having been found dead on the 2d, in the space of four leagues,
a number of whom died in cousecluence of their wounds, and
the inclemency of the weather. Eighteen prisoners are also in
my power, and four Englishmen who had entered the French
service, in the Irish Legion, to effect their escape, having been
live years prisoners ; one of them is of the 30th regiment, the
others had been sailors. I have also to state that the Colonel of
the 70th regiment (French,) also the Quarter-Master, were
found among the dead. The enemy lost the greatest part of
their baggage and cattle. 1 transmit some of their papers and
letters.

BANKRUPTS.
William Philips, of Liverpool, broker.
George Gregory, jun. of Liverpool, druggist.
James Airken, of Burnley, Lancaster, manufacturer.
William Forbes and George Lewis, of Liverpool, merchants.
Sarah Crossland, of Liverpool, ship-chaudler.
James Maddock, of Liverpool, soap-boiler.
Thomas Kellaway, of West Cowes, Isle of Wight, bakar.
William Harris, of Cholimy, Hereford, Miller.
James. Baker, late of Frome-Selwood, Soinerst-t, saddler.
William Harry. of Weston, Hereford, dealer in.cattle.
Richard florsfill and Samuel Stanton, of Coventry, ribbon-
manufacturers.
William Alcock, of Heywood, Lancaster, victualler.
Robert Bradfield, of Attleburgh, Norfolk, milier.
Cuthbert Hopper, of Tynemouth, Northui.iherland, inn-
keeper.
Francis EreMO, of Launceston, Cornwall, brazier.
William Langdale, jun. of Kingston-upon-Hull, victualler.
Sarah Potter, of TiHingham, Essex, shopkeeper.
Joseph Nailer, of Jefferies-square, St. Mary-Axe, merchant.
John Thornton, of Golden-square, feather-merchant.
Archibald Stewart, late of Broad-s,treet, Ratelifr, hoop-bender.
William Duckett, of Ramsgate, Kent, carpenter.
• Alexander Cleland, of Charles-street, Alary-le-bone, upher-
sterir.