The Sun.
London, England, 1831-08-16 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS,.Auausr 15.
( Continued from our Second Edition of yesterday.)
Mr. ROBINSON concurred in the prayer of the petia
tion, and said that if the law of imprisonment for debts
under 201. were repealed, he hoped some other measure of
enabling persons by other means to recover their small
debts would be adopted.—(Hear.)
The petition was read and ordered to be printed.
Mr. HUME said that he had next to present a
petition from two individuals, praying for an alteration in
the hackney-coach laws, and that the trade might be
thrown open. Also a petition from the journeymen
coal-meaaure-makers, praying that as by the alteration in
the coal ditties their trade would be greatly injured, they
might receive compensation.—Ordered to lie on the table.
Mr. HUME then rose to present a petition, which he
said, was of great importance, as affecting the liberty of
the Press. It was from a number of individuals assembled
at the Rotunda, in Blackfriars-road, on the 4th of July,
and it prayed for a repeal of all the laws that levied duties
and imposts on the means of knowledge, which were the
bane of every society, and the repeal of which must be
advantageous to the country. The Hon. Member referred
to the Act of the 60th Geo. 111. chap. 9 (one of the Six
Acts), by which any person pull/hefting 4 p4tnphlet or any
thing containing news of a less vise than two sheets, or sold
at less than 6d., should be liable to a penalty. That law
therefore prevented cheap publications fur the use of the
poor, while it allowed the rich, who could afford ;nose ex-
pensive works, to publish as they chose. The result has been
that fur a long period individuals have fin borne publishing
in fear of the penalty, hut of late there has been such a
demand for knowledge that individuals had published small
works in defiance of that law, and had been prosecuted. Mr.
Carpenter was one of those persons who was pow suffering
imprisonment, having been convicted, not for the matte,
of his publication, bqt for publishing a pamphlet, which
Government called a newspaper, of a less size than
two sheets. The continuance of this Act the Ho-
nourable Member held to be wholly incerrei;teat
with the diffusion of knowledge, partipulerlf ;tow when
so many schools were establish;el, some of which received
annual grants leom We House. Nothing was more con-
trary to good government than the existence of these
laws. This Act was avowedly passed to put down Mr. Cule-
bett's Register, and passedas it were by force, He (Mr. H.)
did not wish to speak of incliVid.4 pui;licatione, but as
showing the principle ITT.; whia he contended that such
laws should nu; e;:iirt. 'Some of the works now published
in defiance of the law even went so far as to impnwfbe set-
tlement of property ; every person who as evil disposed
could break the law and putilieh what he pleased, but f,
person wishing to do zoo,l would be afraid to act in des-
ance of the law. If the law were rel44teda ane opinion
or argument could be trier another, and the
mischievous consequences now resulting would ha
destroyed. Every man should be allowed - ituly to
publish what he pleased, for he (lltr. Hu_ «) knew
of no opinion or argument that could not be met lay
a reply. Every man now suffering for acting in defiance of
this law was suffering unjustly, and ought to be imme-
diately set at liberiy.—( Hear.)
Mr. HUNT concurred in the Fiver of the petition,
however, declared that he never had
n a
that all these Acts, called the Castlereagh Acts, ought to
bee e r
pamphletiie' that objected to the settlement of pra-
nsertyep
though',nele d.
he had seen some that objected to property
qualifications.
Mr.
ain'4ddh eheeli and
ofO tChOeN p
eNt i i
grreeqattreiseaetidsfatcotieounpipnerdtoitnhre
prayer
so. The mitchief was, that cheap works were now pub-
lished in defiance of the law, and no well disposed veitcn?
would risk disobeying the law by answering ahem. There
was now a monopoly of mischief M the market. As to
Cobberes Register; 01,.iigh the Act was passed to put
it down, it was afterwards published, and roe: from 2d. •
to flit. He hoped Government, who had—and ought to
have—leisure enough to attend to the wears of the Royal
Fattilly, would attend to the prayer of the petitioners, and
repeal this odious leer.
Colonel TORRENS spoke also in favour of repealing
this Act. The evils and dangers of the present cheap