The National Register.
London, England, 1815-04-16 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER:

IP whit!h great abuses were said to have prevailed. The high charges
ri!teuding foreign osissiona, were likauise pointedly adverted to.—Some
riisco.Njoit !sts united relative to the claim of Captain Usher, for the
imvoyi.lice of Boonaparte to Elba. That otl•icer had refused to make
aot an account of Ilk expellees on that occasion, and hence he had not
yet rec .ived any compensation. The resolution was at length agreed
tn. _ _ .

.•
The second reading of the Assessed Tans Bill was further postponed
till Monday next.—Adjourned.

1111:8DAY, Arm.
INSOEVENT DEBTORS.

Seerjeent Beer rose, pursuant to notice, 'to move for leave to
bring in a lid' to amend the Insolvent Debtors Act, of last session.
The learned Serjeant proceeded to state that his object was twofold.—
:st, to make >t delivery of effects on the part of the debtor compulsory ;
'flit, to inflict pebisliment tin It acidulent debtors. This was the
More necessary, as there were now in confinement men of large fortunes,
Who declined to take the benefit of the Act. So far back as the time of
eleorge the Second, there was an Act by which persons who had been
imprisoned six months [nicht be discharged, hut that act was limited to
erbts under 1001. To the first pert of the Bill he could obtain no op-
position. ontivr the second bend it should be his object to distilignisli
between the criminal and the unfortunate debtor. 4 species t f credit
bad beers given by tradesmen that had been extremely prejudicial ; but
his object should be, to punish the man who had dishonestly procured
. e'redit, and not him who had foolishly given it. 13ut the Act of last
session had destroyed a degtee of credit that was indispensably [teem,
saey•to cetunierciel purposes, as the debtor could now say to his creditor,
if he threateruid any legal proceedings, I will give you a Winn fiord
Redesrlale, payable in six months. The part of last year's act telut:vc
to impriwiement he should pr.pose to modify in this manner. If a
debtor could pay fifteen shillings in the pound, he should be entitled to
Ills discharge within the time sp;cified by the Act of last yeia ; but if
.he May pay ten shillings, he ahotild suffer an impriponment (by
which he meantime residence within certain limits, but confinement
sidthin the walls of a prism.) of not Jess than twelve months. If lie
could only pay five shilling and under, he should suffer an Imprison-
suent of tar, years. But as cases night occur, when a debtor wax pre-
' vented from misfortune only, from paying, and in which certainly he
Ought not not to suffer imprisonment, he intended in the Bill which he
proposed to bring in, to leave it open to him to prove to the Court,
that his insolvency was the consequence of causes over which lie had
no confront. In that case, with the consent of a majority, the creditors
'night discharge the debtor ; as he did mit approve of the judge, how.
later respectable, having the power of discharging the debtor at his own
discrete/it. One abuse under the Act of last year called kindly for a
tiorieity ; it was casual for debtors in the eouotry to procure temoval by
huf,e¢s corpus from the country gaols, to those inrhe metropolis, as in
most cases daub Creditors would not take this trouble to conic up to Lim
don to oppose their diseliaige. He should propose that the Court
alioulel have [ower to retuded the prisoner to that county Raul, nearest
to which the majoriry of his coeditors resided. The
which
Seroati
.it
toncluded by morisat for leave to bring in the Bill whicb4as granted.
Mr. Haut Davts, efter stating the advantages resulting to the
toeitiry from the emelusion of peace with Amerefa,
"That an humble Address be presented to the Prince Regent, return-
leg bin, thanks tUr haviv been graci"usly pleased to lay before the
jltiuse e Copy of the Treaty which had been eoncleded between Greet
Mid the United :totes, and assuring his Royal Higenese, that
having fully considered the same, the Heuse retie( te'd with the wiliest
g.atitu.le and eatislartion on the fresh proofs afforded by this important
rraegenient of his Royal Highness's anxious regard for the welfure of
the' people f an arrangement which the House trusty,' aaadd esraeli,e a
rerlect reconciliation, amid a permanent friendship, between countries
whiclf Were united by so many ties of common origin anti lii te rest."
Mr PONSONBy said, no one more sincerely rejoiced at the re•
atotation of peace with America than hinteelf ; but he thought it
would be disgracefill to the House to present to the Prince Regent
rieti an ethlreits as had been moved--because it was the ditty of the
Hence 10 inform hie Royal Highness of time mismanagement of Mi-
t titers, both in the prosecution and 611(.1w:ion of the Tieaty with
Aajtiea, There was no question which had existed heftily, or bad
)arisen out of the war, which had tint been left entirely open by the
treaty ; and there was no pretension of our Coisenissioners which
bad 01161214 y been abandoned. Another Objection lie had to
the A411111...4 was the unnecessary delay in roncludime it Had ne
gocitltiebi• eon) tamed immediately after the Treaty of Yam., what
a %lisle of tiea•stre and of ',hood iil tld have been spared.. He
'vrottld ,ethnic to fray, tont tiso will or. the Orders in Council; bad
litottelleti the ream* of America topfards being to great hiaintlap-
;la iug awl tr `,cat natal at lOW a: cute)' peutale'