The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-21 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF TYE

co_rresrondents, on the
observe in nearly all the letters published in
the Times, from numE4ollo
subject of hotelkeepers, *at eatnpar;6olisi Innriably
made between the hotelp in England awl those. on tae

Continent.
" They manage these things better in France," says
Sberne, and Sterne is undoubtedly right. Our neigh-
bours do indeed manage these things far better than we
do in England. Permit me, Sw., to draw your attention
also to another subject, one which concerns not merely
the comfort Qt tho passing stranger, who can pay, but
one which is of the highe4, impertanep tfi m4nkind in
general. The rich and the poop, the fattier and the
[ the husband and the wife, the brother and the
sister, *4s.e 4,9114 hife"9l;ed in this T 1,9
And Well, as it at present exists, `lihiglapd s greatest
curse. p, word, Sir, I allude to the law, as it now
debt I have been led to
stands, of imprisonment iv, •t .* , • •
these reflections and induced to make these observatien&
from the comparisons which have been drawn between
our own country and France, and more especially owing
to cartain circumstances which have passed under my
own personal observation within the last few days, and
which I never could have believed possible would be
sanctioned by the Legislature of any Christian country ;
but before I enter on this particular subject I wish to
draw your attention to the wisdom and humanity of the
laws of France as regards debtor and creditor. In
France, if a creditor is desirous of imprisoning his debtor,
he can do so ; but it must be at his own expense.
The law of France does not allow him to do it at the
public expense. The view wisely taken by the law as
regards debtor and creditor in the Code de Napoleon is,
that if a creditor allow a man to incur debt and chooses
to arrest him, he, the creditor, must bear all expenses of
the incarceration of his debtor. He is, moreover, com-
pelled to allow him, if in Paris, thirty francs per mensem,
if in the country twenty-eve francs, and the money must
be deposited in advance quarterly, on the incarceration
of the prisoner, and always paid in advance, in default
of which the debtor is immediately liberated. How dif-
ferent is the law in England ! If a creditor throws his
unfortunate debtor into prison, the burden of the ex-
pense falls upon the public. Will any one believe that
the expense of maintaining debtors and keeping up the
establishment of the Queen's Prison actually costs the
country 28,000/. per annum 1 What an immense saving
would be effected to this country if some wise and pa-
triode statarean were to bring in a bill to amend
the present law 9f imprisonment for debt, by adopting
the French law, and making the creditor support his
debtor, instead of allowing them to throw the burthen
on the public. Again, observe how merciful is the law
in France as regards aged prisoners. No sooner has
the prisoner completed his 69th year than the doors of
his prison are thrown optin, and the aged prisoner is
free to go forth, and devote, if so inclined, the remainder
of his life to the service of his God, and to offer up his
daily prayer and thanksgiving. to the Almighty that he
was born a Frenchman, for,
.149,4 he been an 4nglish-
man, he might have languished in jail until he had
attained his 100th year.
Sir, I am well aware how valuable are the columns
of your paper, and how necessary it is to be brief ; but
a circumstance has lately occurred in this prison which
I consider it a, duty to lay before the public, more
especially as no notice has yet been taken of it by any
of the public journals.
On the 24th of the last month a lady, aged 76 years,
was brought to the Queen's Prison a prisoner, for what
is termed contempt of court. She was arrested in
Gloucestershire, and had never been 10 miles from her
native place. She was perfectly ignorant of the cause
of her arrest, and quite unable to afford any information
as to the questions put to her respecting the lease of a
cottage which some one laid claim to, and in which cot-
tage it appeared she had lived for the last 40 years. She
was arrested and brought here, and being iu extreme bad
health, the fatigue made her worse, and in three weeks
she breathed her last. An inquest was held on her body,
and a verdict of death from English cholera recorded,
but no report of this circumstance has appeared in any
of the papers, although it was considered a very sus-
picious case, and occasioned much talk in the prison.
Another case occurred a ,short time since of a person
dying in the prison, aged 91' years, under the most cruel
and distressing circumstances, and I am acquainted with
a gentleman who has for many years been incarcerated
in this prison who has stated to me that when his daugh-
ter was at the point of death she expressed an earnest
desire once more to see her father. Application was
made to the highest authorities in the law for permission
to allow this unfortunate man to go under the custody of
a beeper to see his child for the last time. Will it be
credited that, in a Christian country, this application was
barbarously refused ? Another ease is that of a gentle-
man, confined many years, whose mind, unable to bear
up against so much complicated misery, went raving mad
a short time since, and was taken to Bedlam, where he
now remains.
I could recount many similar cases, but my pen re-
fuses- to trace such scenes of misery. Humanity cries
aloud that deeds such as these should be put a stop to.
You, Sir, can do much towards it by exposure. Let but
the law of France, as regards debtor and creditor, be-
come the law of England, and the result will be an im-
mense saving to the country, for few creditors will con-
sent to pay 3s. per day to support their debtor in prison.
The effect will be to restore to liberty thousands of un-
happy persons now in captivity ; and, lastly, it will in-
flict a great moral lesson upon all vindictive creditors,
by teaching them that in encouraging persons to run
into debt, they must bear in mind the fact, that although
they have the power to incarcerate their debtors, the ex-
pense of supporting them will fall upon their own shoul-
ders, and that the public will no longer be taxed for
that purpose.—l am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
ONE WHO HAS SEEN THESE THINGS.