The Sun.
London, England, 1825-05-13 00:00:00

[MORNING POST.]

The Bill for disfranchising the Irish Forty-
ghilling was postponed in the House
of Commons last night to the 27th instant. The
cause of this delay is plain. It is toascertain the
fate of the Catholic Relief Bill, before another
step is taken in support of this measure, which
is certainly to be abandoned if the Emancipa-
tion Bill do not pass, and perhaps even if it
were possible that it should pass. For as the
sole object for which it was introduced was to
gain a few additional votes, and that object
has been attained, the Bill itself becomes a use-
less and embarrassing appendage in the hands of
its framers ;—uselesS, because it is tto longer
made a condition of Emancipation even by Mr.
BtoWnlow—and embarrassing, because it has
justly exposed its authors to the charge of hy-
pocrisy and time-serving. As no reasonable doubt
can be entertained of the rejection of the Catho-
lic Relief Bill in the Lords, the Irish Disfranchise-
ment Bill will follow as a matter of course, and
botil the state and the people will be rescued from
F. measure which threatens the Constitution of the
one and extinguishesthe personal rights of theother.
In a Committee ou the Currency Acts, Mr. \Val-
-I;Ce proposed a Resolution to assimilate the Cur-
rency of Ireland with that of England, taking
care to leave unaffected. the value of the 40s.
freeholds of the font-ter Country. This Resolu-
tiou was agreed to, and a Bill will soon be brought
ist to Carry it into execution.

[THE TIMES.]
Two very important Pills affecting the law of
Scotland have just been introduced into tile
souse of Commons, with every prospect of re-
ceiving the Royal assent. The first relates to
the Scots Act passed in the year 1701, for pre-
tenting false imprisonment, and is commonly
called the " Scots Habeas Corpus Act ;" but is
so obscurely framed (and an eminent Judge said
.
once, front the Bench, it was so purposely), that
more questions have been raised on it than on
almost any other statute. A criminal who is
cornMitted can, in virtue of this Act, either
compel the Magistrate within 24 hours afterwards,
to specify the amoant of bail, on procuring
which he can be liberated ; or, if he cannot find
bailxiir that the crime is not bailable, the prisoner
can run his letters, as it is called—that is, he
can give notice to the prosecutor to fix a day for
the trial; and unless the trial came on within
140 days afterwards, the prisoner is set at li-
berty, and can never be again trouble'd for the
uce. But the whole expence of these appli-
cations and notices must be defrayed. by the Door
unfortunate prisoner himself; and so few of them
are able to do so, that the average number of in-
stances where the whole criminal prisoners in
Scoffand force on their trials do not annually
exceed ten or twelve. The old Act originally
litnyed the period of confinement to one htin-
tr,exi ; and for some ye'ars this was ae-
tt%tided 'to. 'But the Judges afierWard,s;' by a
freed' construction of its terms, 'extended the
ttiite daps more, 'in open -disregard of the

statute. If the prisoner is-unable to defray the
expence of these proceedings, he may lie in gaol
to Doomsday, for there is no gaol-delivery i►►
Scotland ; the law does nothing for him, and all
must proceed upon his own application, and at
his own cost. On the day of trial, too, he must
give into Court any special plea or defence which
is to be founded on for him, and if he does not do
so, be is deprived of the benefit of the plea;
while, on the other hand, the Clerk of the Court
will receive no such defence without a large fee;
so that a man who, in the eye of the law, is inno-
cent until the moment of conviction, may, from
mere poverty, suffer punishment. The other Bill
relates to sedition, which, for the first offence is,
by the law of Scotland, without the authority of
any statute, punishable by transportation for 14
years. And in 1793, Mr. Muir, a Scots barrister,
and Messrs. Gerald, Palmer, and Skirving, were
all sent ftir that period to Botany Bay, for ex-
pressing political opinions of which Mr. Pitt did
not at that time approve. The subject was fully
debated in Parliament on the motion of Mr.
Adam, now Chief Commissioner of the Jury
Court ; and no man will soon forget the character
given of Lord Justice Clerk 13raxfield, who offi-
ciated at the trials. it is agreeable, however, to
"see the Government now retracing its steps, gra-
dually stripping the Scots Courts of their arbi-
trary and discretionary powers, and infusing into
them principles more consonant to the spirit of a
free Constitution.