The Sun.
London, England, 1830-01-13 00:00:00

SURREY QUARTER SESSIONS.

Yesterday these sessions commenced. The busi-
ness of the day was, first, the routine affairs of the
county, receiving gaol reports, &c. The Grand
Jury were sworn and charged by the Chairman, Mr.
Serjeant SCRIvEN, upon the nature of the duties
which they were bound to discharge. Nip lIALLSEY
and Mr. GORDON (two new magistrates) took their
seats on the bench, and were sworn accordingly.
A long conversation ensued upon the presentation
of the Coal Report, from which it appeared that the
grossest frauds were practised upon the public.
Complaints were made of the comparative ineffici-
ency of some of the coal-meters executing the pro-
visions of the last Meterage Act; and it was said,
that while one (Mr. Turquand) of them had, since
the Act was passed, prosecuted in 65 cases, the two
others had only proceeded with 21.—The report
was received.

Mr. BRISCOE brought forward his promised mo-
tion on the Game Laws, and moved, that the Ceurt
do convey, through the Members for the county, to
the Secretary of State for the Home Department,
the expression of its deep regret that his Majesty's
Government have not considered it their peculiar
duty to bring forward measures for the amendment
of the Game Laws, which are universally admitted
to be the fruitful parent of many grievous crimes,
and daily tend to demoralize the people.
Upon a show of hands there were—For the
motion 7, against it, 11. Lost by a majority of 4.
Upon the bringing up of the Report of the
visiting magistrates, to whom the petition of the
debtors confined in Horsemonger-lane gaol, for an
increased allowance of food, fuel, and clothing, bad
been referred to by Mr. Secretary Peel, it was stated
that the magistrates rejected the general complaints
of these debtors, and only recommended that during
the winter months they should have an additional
blanket.

Mr. BRISCOE dissented very strongly from this re-
port. He said he had taken some pains to become
acquainted with the facts of this case. The debtors
in this division of the county, until 1823, were con-
fined in the Borough Compter. In that year, an
act passed to require that all those whose residence
was within the Eastern Half Hundred of Brixton
should he committed to the county gaol, or some
other prison in the county of Surrey, exclusive of
the prisons in the town and borough of Southwark.
Nothing in the act is mentioned respecting their
treatment as to food, bedding, or fuel. But it may
fairly be presumed, that their treatment was to be
similar to that which they had hitherto received,
consistently with the good order and government of
the prison. The present allowance to debtors in
the Borough Compter consists of a straw mattress,
and three woollen rugs, with coals, tables, and
forms ; 14 ounces of the best bread, daily ; 21b. of
meat, without bone, per week; and good strong
soup, which will bear diluting, three times a week,
supplied gratuitously by Alderman Birch; besides
benefactions on Christmas and New Year's Day, and
on Old Christmas Day, when beef and porter, and
plum-pudding, are given by the Lord Mayor and
Sheriffs. The debtors are also allowed to receive
provisions from their friends, are permitted to work,
and to purchase with their earnings any articles they
wish. Now the regulations of the county gaol
strictly prohibit any debtor from receiving any por-
tion of food from their friends, who takes the county
allowance, consisting of a pound and a half of bread
daily, and a pint of gruel every four days, and one
pound of meat made into soup, with barley and oat-
meal, and vegetables, for the remaining three days in
the week. The bedding consists of a canvass ham-
mock, a rug, without table, or chair, or form, or
coals, or candle, except five chaldrons given at Christ-
mas in lieu of a Christmas dinner. Now, both un-
tried and convicted felons are allowed for bedding, a
flock bed, two blankets, and a rug. Why not
debtors ? when the 33d clause of the gaol act says
" Every prisoner shall be provided with suitable
bedding." The expression being general, seems ne-
cessarily to include debtors. It should be observed
also, that these being Court of Request debtors, are
for very small sums, and not able to provide them-
selves with bedding. In point of fact, very few had
a bed ; some a single blanket, and many only the
county rug. There were four recent cases of com-
mitment which he copied himself on Saturday, and
which strongly showed that the law required amend-
ment as to the imprisonment of debtors for small
sums. The cases of poor debtors he had selected
were as follow :
Dec. 30, 1829. s. d.
Original debt 5 2
Costs 8 0
Officer's fee

14 2
The costs were nearly twice the amount of the debt.
From the Court of Requests at Wandsworth :
Dec. 30, 1829. s.
Debt
Costs 5 5

12 5
Paid

10 5
Execution

12 11
Officer's fee
Jan. 4, 1830.
Original debt '1 10
Costs 5 6
Officer's fee 1 0

Jan. 4, 1830. 10 4.
Original debt
Costs 5 6
Officer's fee

14 6
The report of the visiting magistrate was then
agreed to.
On the motion of Mr. H. SUMNEa, it was ordered,
with a view of preventing the growth of frauds in
the coal trade, " That the county members be in-
structed to apply to Parliament for an extension or
renewal of the Surrey Coal Meters' Act."
At six o'clock the Magistrates adjourned.

,VENING, JANUARY 13, 1830.

IMPROVEMENTS AT BATTLE-BRIDGE.

The inhabitants of Battle-bridge, much to' their
credit, intend erecting, by subscription, a splendid
Obelisk where the old Toll-house stood, to be called
St. George's Cross, for the purpose of improving
the neighbourhood and removing the danger the
public are exposed to in crossing the seven roads
that smite at that spot.
The lower part, or lodge, intended to form a
police station, is ornamented with eight bold Grecian
columns with enriched fascia and cornice, from which
arises eight ornamented pedestals to support gas-
lights, in the centre of which, on the east and west
sides, is the royal arms carved in stone. Above this is
another pedestal with base and surbase mouldings,
with a double faced illuminated clock, which will be
seen at a great distance, the whole surmounted by
St. George and the Dragon sculptured out of one
block of stone—the total height from the ground
about forty feet. The model of which, as designed
by.:Mr. Stephen Geary, has been submitted to Mr.
Peel, as head of the, new police, Lord Lowther, and
the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Roads, &c.
Thus Battle-bridge, with its dust-hill and turn-
pike will no more be known but by the new desig-
nation of St: George's Cross, surrounded with well-
built respectable dwellings, together with the new
grand and magnificent Bazaar, the extensive Lon-
don Horse Repository, the Panharmonion, Prome-
nade Gardens, and the Theatre now forming, the
Dramatic School, &c. &c. &c. It is expected that
Prince George will shortly lay the first stone, and
be opened on St. George's day.