The National Register.
London, England, 1819-03-15 00:00:00

MONDAY, MARCH 15, 1819.

ion, furnishes a plain, practical lesson on the sub-
ject of Annual Parliaments, and enables us to ar-
rive at the safe conclusion upon which we have
so often insisted, namely, that " Annual Par-
liaments would be but annual confusion."—
Whatever mortification may have result-d to Sir
Francis Burdett, at finding his influence in West-
minster was not without its limits, or to Mr•
llobhouse front the sad experience that the
sentiments be chose to promulgate were not those
of the majority of the Electors whose suffrages
he thought he had secured, we doubt not but
the country at large will be well satisfied with
the mode in which this battle was decided. The
sound awl constitutional friends of rational free-
dom, if we may judge of Mr. Lamb, from his
talents, his declarations, and the high character
of those who have espoused his cause, will have
no reason to regret that his competititor ?mist still
defer his legislative services, at least to a future
period. The man who has chalked oat for him-
self the Fine of public policy which was trodden hvt .
'
Sir Samuel Romilly, and can muster in the train o
his triumph such men as Lords J. and WAtussel,
Lord Sefton, Lord Nugent, Sir R.Fergussok, and Aft..
Lambton, can be no enemy to the • rties of man-
kind, and the real interest of his con try. We call
asure our readers that we personally feel no small
pleasure in being thus able to bid adieu to such
a subject, and to turn to topics of more general and

permanent importance.
The march of public business in Parliament has
lately been so rapid as-to allow to the weekly Jour-
nalist scarcely any chance of keeping pace with
it and yet when we remember that in a free
country, not only every act of the Legislature, but
every vote given by those to whom our political
Interests, our Rights, and our Liberties, are en-
trusted, are matters of high and indispensable con-
cern, it n ill not be witlitnit sincere reluctance
that we shall suffer any of them to pass unnoticed.
The debate which took place on the •2d instant,
cot the motion of Sir J. Macintosh, for an enqui,y
into the state of our Penal Code as it relates to the
punishment of death, must have been heard or
read by the whole people of England with a deep
and lively interest, It is a measure which the au-
thority of the wise atal of the good had li,ng calk
fur, which reason, humanity. and piddle policy
were all pledged to sanction, and which we should
indeed have grieved to see
by the unmeaning tissue of Lord Castlereagh's so-
phistry enrol statesman-like aims told evended
principles. The measure is now, by a nta•jority of
19 against Ministers, placed in the hands of tho•:e
trim whose zeal, industry, talent, and expel ieuce,
oven thin May be expected teat eau tend to tile
amelioration of a system widell no good man could
calmly contemplate; frr m man, tae :Train
red eat, could arc tvithuut pa'n and rut the da-
rot; defects of our s in.sniale enactments, and the
Oleos which 'Lined from them ; could see our

dis-
tolo.:e.s, our jariezz, our toro,eent 00, driven to
or to evade the very kw)) then were atpointed
too eill,)rue and to final it conflict
of
of wcii_rcis.„l„led
blotould ever tn:e.)tiuti, to!)i o lindo can

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