The Sun.
London, England, 1830-05-10 00:00:00

ment of one shilling for fees; and the latter number are,
consequently, not included in the above list.
" The Marshal begs to inform your Honourable House
that the fees are received by himself, and applied solely to
his own use, out of which he has to pay very heavy law
expenses, and frequently through escapes, the whole of
the debts with which a prisoner stands charged, without
ever being repaid."
The Warden of the Fleet Prison gives a similar,
but somewhat different, answer 1—
" The Warden," says he, " who is appointed by letteis
patent under the Great Seal, receives no salary whatever,
hut is wholly remunerated by fees, settled and established
by his Majesty's Judges of the Court of Common Pleas,
under the authority of the statutes of the 2d and 32d
George the Second ; and the liberty of permitting pri-
soners to reside within the rules, upon giving an indem-
nity against an escape, has been granted by the Warden
for the time being from very ancient times, and the prac-
tice is expressly recognised by the statute of the Bth and
9th William the Third, c. 27. The fees taken by the
Warden from persons having the privilege, form a part of
his resources, to compensate him for his labour and ser-
vices, responsibility and risk, and to enable him to defray
the necessary expence attendant upon, and keeping up the
establishment of the said prison, for salaries to officers,
wages to servants, payment of the Parliamentary and pa-
rochial taxes, contingent law charges, loves by escapes,
and all other expenses appertaining thereto."
Now, it is quite evident from the statements of
these gentlemen, that there is rib blame attachable
to them for any evil resultiug from the practice of
taking fees for granting the privilege of the rules;
but, on the other hand, nothing can be more clear
than that the species of sanctuary which is thus ob-
tained is both a gross violation of the original end
and object of the law which authorises the imprison-
ment of a debtor, and a direct encouragement to
fraudulent debtors to swindle every one from whom
they can obtain either money or goods. The ob-
ject of incarceration is twofold—punishment and
compulsion to pay ; but that object is completely
defeated by the practice in question, which enables
the debtor to set his creditors ut defiance, and to
expend those funds in procuring the very privilege
of which it was intended to deprive him, which
ought to have gone in liquidation of his debts.
Again, if we look at the number of years during
which debtors are stated to have been in confine•
inept, it will be equally evident that imprisonment
ought in no case to be resorted to except as a means
of punishing a fraudulent debtor. By the Warden
of the Fleet Prison, it is stated that
" The number of prisoners for debt, who have been
confined above one year, 23; two years, eight; three
years, 10; four years, three; five years, four ; sever,
years,• one ; ten years, five :—Total, 54, whose debts
amount in the aggregate to 138,9081."
By the Marshal of the King's Bench it is vouched
that

" The number of prisoners for debt in his custody on
the Ist of January, 1830, who have been confined above
one year, 52 ; above two years, 28 ; • above three years, 18;
above four years, 13 ; above five years, 12 ; above six
years, six ; above seven years, six ; above eight years, six;
above nine years, four; above ten years, 14."
Now we think it must be plain to every one, first,
that no money can come into the pockets of the
creditor by the imprisonment of the debtor, unless
he happen to have effects, which the law, without
his imprisonment, ought to put into the possession
of the creditor; and, secondly, that those who have
been so long as five or ten years inured to the de-
lights of a prison, are by no means likely to come
out on any other terms than those of defrauding the
creditor. Persons who have been so long impri-
soned, may be almost said to have quitted the world,
and made a world of the prison, and the persons with
whom they are confined—nay, to take a liking to
that which was at first a punishment, and to refuse
to leave a place into which few are inclined to enter.
Yet the law gives the power of imprisonment to
the very end of life, and many are foolish enough
to imagine that, by continuing to confine the debtor,
they will succeed, if not, in recovering payment, at
least in punishing him ! Nothing can be more cer-
tain than that the power of punishing fraudulent
and spendthrift debtors ought to exist somewhere;
but assuredly it ought not to be placed in the hands
of the creditor, nor the putnshment to be inflicted
in any case without the judgment of a Court. Such
is.partly the law of Scotland,. and we trust, ere
long, that it will also be the law in this country.-
-Morning Advertiser.

ARTISTS' BENEVOLENT FUND SOCIETY.

The annual dinner of this Society _was held at the
PreemasOns"Tavern, on Saturday, when Lord Ross-
LYN, in the absence of the Duke of Wellington,
presided. After the cloth was removed,
The Noble CHAIRMAN proposed the " Health of
the King," which he said he felt the greater hap-
piness in doing, as the bulletins for the last two
days had announced his Majesty's health to•be' im-
proved. The toast was drunk with three times
three, and with every demonstration of enthusiasm.
" The Duke of Clarence and the rest of the Royal
Family" were then successively drunk, with three
times three.

Mr. SHE then rose to propose the " health of
their Noble Chairman, the Earl of Rosslyn."—
(Applause.)—The toast was drank with three
times three.

The Earl of ROSSLYN returned thanks, and begged
to take this opportunity of announcing to them, in
his Majesty's name, the donation of 100 guineas,
and in that of the Duke of Wellington, a donation
of 501.; and to add, that his Grace would be happy
to preside at their festival whenever he should be
invited so to do.--(Applause.)
The Earl of RossLYN proposed, with an appro-
priate encomium, " The health of M.A. Shee, Esq.,
the President of the Royal Academy, and the rest
of the Academicians."

Mr. SIIEE, in returning thanks, confessed the diffi-
cult situation in which he felt himself placed, as the
successor of the late highly-gifted President. He
feared they would have but too much reason to re-
mark the difference; but he assured them that an
earnest desire to forward the interest of the Aca-
demy, and to offer his best support to that institu-
tion, should never be wanting on his part.
" The Artists' Benevolent Fund," and " The
Artists' General Fund Society," were respectively
drunk with loud applause.
A long list of subscribers was read.