The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-06-01 00:00:00

•-•
•

an unlicensed distillery in the mountains. was it
not most unfair to punish a man because the head
of a still. or the worm of a will, was found in his
vicinity ? to such eases. where those articles are
found by the inhabitant., they take fright, and get
rid of them to soon al possible, by leaving them
with some others of the inhabitants, who, in their
turn, transfer them in the seine manlier. so that
the head or Worm of a still is perpetually driven
shout, I,ke Little Hunchback. in The Arabian
Nights Entertainments. The Hun. Member then
said, that he dot nut impute any bad motive to a
Right Hon. Baronet opposite, fur supporting the
principle or the law, hut the he appeared to over-
look ilia means in iiecom,ilwhitid the end. The
Right Hon. Baronet ought to have shewn that there
were no other means, which lie had failed in doing.
It appeared unworthy of the Right Hon. Baronet
to rest his cause on the good e Is, fat that
was an argument toy which he co stify the law
of torture. The Right Hon. Secretary for Ireland
had not attempted so justify the priaciple of the
law. No such law could be notifiable in a sound
state of society, and the only cases in which it had
ever been resorted to, with any plausible pretext.
were those of infant aociety. o► actual warfare. and
efficacy seemed to have been the only argument oa
which the Right HMI. Secretary seemed to rely.
The Hon. Gentleman then mid. that it must
pear evident to every one that the Excise officers
had not done their duty. Theft persons. invited of
being appointed with a view to patronage, ought so
have their qualifications previously ascertained, and
if they neglect their duty, to be dismissed; and he
hoped that as the Right lion. Secretary had already
shewii proper sentiments respecting the appointment
of 36 persons, under the late Road Act, he would
expect • similar conduit from him reopecting the
Irish dicers of Excise. He said that he must
once more advert to the publication alluded to, and
remark that the statement therein contained. re-
specting the power exercised by the Board a( Excise,
io withdrawing licenses, was fully confirmed by an
instance which had recently been brought before
the House.
Mr. Pear. explained.
Mr. VOMIT FITZOIMALD complained in strong
terms of the expression which had fallen from the
/lon. Gentleman (Mr. Parnell), that a measure was
enacted fur Ireland which would not be tolerated in
Englaud.—( Beer.)—He denied that there exulted
any such partial or unjustifiable system of legisla-
tion in a British House of Parliament.—(Hear.)—
As to the general argument, Ise would may say,
that with all respect for the Hon. Gentleman, lie
could not take his simple denial as subversive of
facts, nor had there been a single ground laid down
in support of the motion. An Hon. Member
(M►. Chichester), had said, " Let the question be
judged by the fact.;" but the Hon. General's
motion embraced no such object. it laid down no
specific ground to justify the coarse of proceeding
required from the House, nor did the Hon. Ge-
neral's speech contain a single argument to sustain
the recommendation he gave. Mr. Chichester had
in his pamphlet stated, in very feeling language, au
anecdote respecting a poor widow who bad a small
field capable of feeding a cow, attached to her cot.
tape. and had also a son to support, who was a
cripple. This poor woman's cow. was taken from
her by distress, in consequence of not beiug obis to
supply the quota of a fine levied on the township.—
She solicited to be allowed to milk the cow. with a

view to keep off for a few hours !auger that famine
which, in her distress, she and her helpless son had
such just reason to apprehend. This request was
most Inhumanly denied, and an insulting scoC
added by the barbarous officers, in order to give
greater palming to her agony of mind. All this
the Right Host. Gentleman admitted was nearly
true • lint the Reverend Author had wilfully sup-
pressd the remaining part of the transaction, for
this plain reason, bereave it did not suit the object
of his pathetic and highly-coloured appeal. The
fact was, the cow was seized, and of course exposed
to sale, and sold for sixteen shillings ; but a
humane person on that occasion, pitying the
unhappy woman's situation, perchesed the cow and
restored it to her. More extraordinary to my, this
was the seizing officer of Excise—(Heer, heee.)—
After such a detected misrepresentation as this, it
was bard to draw any line, and say how far may of
the statements of this pamphlet were worthy of at-
tention. It would appear upon reference to the
accounts of the Excise, that since the year 1816,
when the Bill whose effects were now complained
..1, was posted, not more than 4911. had been levied
in the shape of still tines in that county ; of which
the barony of Ennishoweo, alone paid 5151 L, and
whilst the Grand Jury hail complained of such an
enormous waste of the property of individuals,
with a view to enforce the observance of the laws,
they had had the cruelty to vote 3.4000/. during
the same period for county purposes, of which sum
the barony described to be so desolate, had sub-
scribed 8,400/. In one of the cases stated, in
which the Excise officer had conducted himself
with great impropriety, it should in fairness have
heels added, that he was prosecuted by the party at
had had a verdict given against him with heavy
&integer, and ws dually dismissed for his misconduct
from his situation. In God's name ! what did the
Rev. Gentlemen and the gallant General require ?
War there to be no bounds to the visidictiveireas of
spirit whieh seemed to characterise the complain-
ants ? The punishment of this man's offelice was
almilute and total rum, and yet they accused Go-
to I ornent or suffering these excesses to be committed
• impiiiiity.--(Hear.)—The Rev. Gentleman
lir I argued with the same latitude with which he
made his statement., and toulophantly sisked.
•* \V!ort could bean ad. quote answer to there swe-
ll.. -.is of excesses and grievances, if it Weft Dot a
q• .4nalion of the whole ?" If only the truth part
ul the facts stated were true, enough had been prow-
.l to call on Government to retrace its steps.
bran what he had stated, from the best authority,
he tinagioell the Hove would, v well its himself,
not l,t rlirp.o.ed to give credit to even that tenth-
part, slid i..art of all agree in the conclusion of the
Rev. Cvotlrmait, that a rue had been made out,
shish uu ht to induce the Govt. Cut of Ireland
1.1 door' front its took:avow. to put down throughout
the country a racist.r to which he could Hot help
s'othutiog 1111111%* or t or the incitement, to out-
t•nr, and 1.104....-I.iied in the history of that country.
Mr. l'aeort.s, in explanation, said he hod
*lever intrude l to confiiii,.d the character of the
Right Honourable Geutletuan's (Mr. Fitzgerald)

government with theme or his predeiersiffit He
only wished him on this occasion to he consistent
with the liberal sentiments he had espoused wheu in
the Irish adrainiitration.
Mr. T. Kiwi admitted to its fullest extent the
disastrous elfects of illicit distillation on the con-
duct and morale of the lower classes in Iteland. He
could not consistently with the view he had taken
of the Bull, and the period at which it had been
presented to the notice of the Howie, sapport it,
but recommeuded to the gallant General that it
should be postponed until next Sennett.
Mr. Aldrroiati K. SHAW thought the Bill, even
if unexceptiouable, had hero very improperly in-
troduced at this period of the Session, and should
therefore vote directly sgaiust its passing into a
law.
Mr. WA NM hoped the general and manifest in•
clitiation•of the House would produce the inset-
ponetnent*of the Bill for the Session. When the
question had been last agitated in the House, he
had then felt the necessity. of having more idioms-
tion, before the House could consistently proceed
to make the changes proposed--more liortieularly
so account of what had fallen, in his mind, with
considerable weight, from the late Secretary for
Ireland (Mr. W. Pole). At the mime tune he
could see nothing very deserving of congratulation
in the allegation that instances of cruelty or spores-
sioo, under this law, had lately become less fre-
quent. No wonder. since some officers had been
suspended and some displaced for misconduct.—
The mischief hay in subjecting the country to a
system which exposed the inhabitants to the inflic-
tion of ills of so serious a nature. Prevention
would be much better then cure. There was no
doubt the present system was a cruel one, and
tended to demoralise the country. The "ffelice
was rather mekas prohiloitaine two, actual nsa/em in
811 ; and was, therefore. lint..r to he turf with preven-
tion than severe punishment. Hr• min before heard
the present Secretory for ;reload most eloquently
deplore the difficulty he found iu carryiag the law
into execution, from the reluctance oil the part of
the lower Irish, from their strong attachment to each
other, to give such information to Government (not-
withstanding considerable rewards uttered) as might
lead to a detection or conviction of the offenders.
A strong objection, in a moral point of view there-
fore, to the present system was, that it rooted up
altogether this amiable and genet nit* frelisig of :.t.
lachment on the part of the Irish peasantry, with-
out substituting a better in Its plane.
Mr. Peet. said, he should feel extremely happy
if his Hon. Friend would novour him, (rum time to
time, with any project for improving the law in this
respect—the necessity of winch, toe certain extent,
he had not hesitated to admit.

Sir GIIORGB HILL explained.
Mr. FOllBllll felt a strong disposition to oppose
the system of the Excise laws in Ireland. They
proceeded upon the worst possible principle that
had ever entered into legislation, namely, (motioned-
Mg the innocent in the puuisliment of the guilty.
What the Hon. General ought to do in the pre-
sent cane, he should not presume to dictate; but it
was evidently the disposition of malty in the House
to postpone this Bill for the present Session.
Geneve' HALT, in reply, mid. that the grounds
of his ntotieu had been plainly stated to be the
unprecedented sufferings and acts of injustice cont-
ained in levying still lines; that there were other
mesa which mass have succeeded in putting an
end to illicit distillation with great advantage to
the *venue of the country. and that they are now
(since the punishment of tratimportatii.n has been
added to the others for the actual offender) suffi-
cient to suppress the crime. He asserted that the
author of the pamphlet, which was fiat put into
the hands of some Members of the House, bad
acted in a meat exemplary manner as a Magistrate
in aid of the laws in a country driven almost to
insurrection : that he (the author) had been shot
at several times in execution of the laws, and that
one of those who had a attempted to d him
had . been convicted : that the Right the
Chief Secretary of the LordiAeutettant of red,
might be appealed to on that point, id a his
Bishop (of Derr)), now in London : that the
pamphlet alluded to had net been answered its any
point, except two immaterial cases of a little mis-
information : that all such cases as Mts. Bram-
hall's bad bee* left unnoticed ; and the General
pledged himself to have, with the permission of the
House, all the facts contained in that pamphlet
proved, either at the Bar or before the Committee—
not, he hoped, at a period so nearly approaChing to
the conclusion of the Session, as that in July 1816,
when no time remained for exn 1111 l ling witnesses
material to the true investigation of several circum-
stances whaling to the misconduct of Excite officers.
In the course of the General's reply, he explained,
that the apparent high rate of tithe, taken notice of
by the Right lion, the Chief Stc.etery fur Ireland,
arose from not having considered the great mag-
nitude afro Irish acre of land, compared with art
English acre, and of the smaller comparative value
of Irish money, whirls ascertains the comparative
rate of tithe for an Euglish acre of barley to be
7s. 6d. lie also explained, in reply to the Com-
mittee examination, the cause of the ludicrous op-
imitation of " Parliament Whiskey," to have ori-
ginated in that name being made use of by some
other person present, and iuumedtately used to hint
during the interrogation ; and also that spirits
which had hems seised for bring illegal became
legal, by being openly sold at• a contiguous Cus-
tono-houee to any purchaser. Ile observed also,
that in the returns which had been entailed to as
marking the suppression of illicit distillation, that
effect may be only apparent, and nut depending
o.i the number of lines stated, as it could only be
really ascertained by the number and exertions of
Excise officers. He also said, that the lateness
of the period at which he brow gut forward his mo-
tion, arose from the withholding of papers ordered
by the House, and his not being is the secrets of
Government as to proroguing Parliament : that Ise
brought the mea-are forward in consequence of
Petitions, and a knowledge of the cruelties sonic.
tined : that the county of Donegal hail been
made the scene of trial how far human embalmer
could last. as Sealatizatti, and other philosophers,
had tried how long animal life mild be sustained.
ender different flegreem of torture i mid concluded
by moving for Iri.ve to withdraw his ItititiOti. there
not brio;; inure than twenty Members present, but
it %ill 114ns-41.

31r: Cu►cue.Tca thought dad in the present

t'•

Jr attendance
the onoe, 'ere could he no
in
AI purpose answered by previewing the don.
-amend from withdrawing his motion ; because, if
the Haase should even decide against giving leave
to bring in the Bill, he for one, mud he could not
help thinking the (louse also, would he very re-
luctant to give to its decision in its present state,
soy decisive character us to the seiltimsgus of the
Members of Parliament geiterally, upotthe rape-
(henry or inexpvdienry of such an altetglinn in the
laws relative to Excise, as had now proposed.
The prwceeding to determine as to the propriety of
the Bill being introduced, wont( therefore neither
serve the object of one party our the other, as col-
lecting the sense of the House upon the yu.kiwi.
and could therefore answer nu purpose whatever in
his mind.

The motion ryas then negatived.
MR. CUNDY'S PETITION.
•
Mr. %Valuta Own give Holier, in the aloence of
his Hon. Friend (Sir Francis Burdett). that the,
Hon. Baronet would on Wednesday nest, instead
of Tuesday, as had before been fixed, make s
lion, grounded upon the Petition of Mr. Candy.
proprietor of the Pantheon Theatre.
COMMISSIONERS OF BANKRUPTS STEF.TINGS.
Mr. Witortesi.Ev °blamed leave to bring in a
Bill einpotte ring the Commissioners of Bankrupts
to h-ld their meeting., either fir the choice of as-
signees, or what is termed the first meeting under
the commission, in some other ',lace (by thrtn to be
_ .

selected) than the Gu►ldh.tll of the C►►y of London,
03 stow appointed by exi.ting Acta, He afterwards
brought in the Bill, which was read a first time, and
ordered to be printed.

Ile also movrd for the appointment of a Com-
mittee to consider of and report a place proper and
convenient for such meetings to be held in—which
was agreed in.