The Sun.
London, England, 1812-07-04 00:00:00

DIED.

On Tuesday the 9. 3 4.1 ult. hi KeTington-square, J. Waller,
- .

St Masse'burgh,- in the 29th year of her age, Mrs. Kerr,
wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Kerr, al Ceylon Regiment.
On Saturday in Niar3hani-street,
,Westalingter, aged
7.2, Mrs. Speed, widow of the late Jolin Speed, Esq. and
daughter o 1 the late Colonel Will iamAyan.

OfOlonti.ty cvenimr, at his house. in Edgers, re-road, after
a lingering illness, Elizabeth, the wife of Edward Langley,
Eq. - - -

'the same day, at Lilley, Herts, Mrs. Sowerby, ,wife of
John Sowerhy, Esq. of Hatton-garden. •
On Toesdav last, at the Grange, near East Grinstead, Sus-
sex, Mrs. wife or Charles Birkhead, Esq. aged .57
years. .
The same da.y, at Rosenau, in Datchet, Lieutenant-General
Charles Baron HuropesCh.
On the 3oth ult. at Suuthsea, near Portsmouth, of a de-
cline, in the 19th year, Georgiana, second -daughter of the
late Colonel Dacre.

On the 3d inst. after two days illness, at his house in Fen--
church-street, in the 13th year of her ale, Anne, wife of
Wiiiiaia Borradaile, ,Esq. of Stieathatu, Surrey.

HOUS:S OF COMMONS, FRIDAY.

The Frame-work Knitters Bill, and the Army
Prize-Money .13,i11, were appointed to go .through
Committees on T.Nionday-next. . ,

The Local "Mali{ Athendruent Bill went through
a Comniittee, and was ,ordered to be read a third
.
time on -Monday next.

-The Poor _Returns' Bill went through a Com-
mittee,- the report of which was ordered to be-re-
ceiired on Mon,lty.

A message frtnn the Lords announced their
Lordships assent to the Linen Bounty Bill, and a
nuMber of others.

Mr. LiJSIII.N.GTON brought up a. report of the
Committee, on the Starch Duty Act i the report
I: as received, and the third reading ordered for
•
Monday. -
__ ' _ _ _

• The_ -Malt Duty Bill was ,read. a second time,
and ordered, to go through a Committee ,on
Tuesday.

The second reading of the Auction Duty Bill
was postponed till Tuesday.

Tlie East 'lndia 'l'rec•;ws Bill went through a
Committee, the report of which was ordered to
be received on Monday.

The Starch Bill went sthrough a Committee, the
report of which wap ordered to be received on
Monday.

(',ommittee was appointed to examine the
Jonr'n:•ils of tlic Lords, for their Lordships pro-
on the Gerwral Inclosure Bill.
The Defence Mots Bill was read a third time
and passed. •

Ile third reading of the Lotteries Bill, and of
the Irish Stamps Bill, was-postponed till Monday
nest.

LANCASTER GAOL.

Sir FRANCIS BuitDETT said, tint the subject on
which he was now going to address the
was one of the greatest. importance, as it con-
cerned the peace and vital interests of the coun-
try ; he meant the treatment of prisoners, whe-
ther under the sentence of the law, 'or-from any
other cause, confined in the. Gaols throughout the
. kingdom. Tfie law was bound to protect all per-
sons while under its custody 3- but he regretted
that' he had cause to state that such persons were
frequently treated witb,the greatest inhumanityby
the jailors, who were induced to be guilty of such
barbarity, from a view to their own emolument, as it
was customaryfor prisoner s,who could afford, it to
endeavour to procure more' lenient treatment, by
means of indulgence money to the jailor., Abuses
of this kind prevailed to such an extent, that he
thought a necessity existed for a general inquiry
into the state of jails throughout the kingdom,
and this he meant to make the snbjeet of a motion
in some future Session ; at present he wished to
call the attention of the }louse to the Lancaster
Jail, regarding the slate of which, as he had re-
cently an opportunity of obtaining very particular
information,, he thought it hiaaltity not to with,
hold this information from the public any longer.
lie had.,long been of opinion that there was not
any one jailogainst which less cause of complaint
eouid exist:Allan the one now in question ; and
lie was led to this opinion from the very high chit-
- racier Which he had heard of the jailer, Mr. !lig.-
gins. He begged also to say, that he -would not
pledge himself for any of the statements he should
now Make. Those who communitated them to
him must bear the discredit, if, upon investiga-
tioal, they should be found untrue. But what-
ever the good character of Mr. Higgins generally
•might he, it should not have the slightest weight
to 'prevent the investigation of facts. What he
should say would divide itself into three eonsi-
-d'erations : some of his observations would reflect
-UpOir the Magistrates of the Coanty, some
upon the jailor , himself, and some should he di-
rected to the important office of Coroner, to
which he lamented that so little attentioi was
paid. He held in his hand u copy, of printed Re-
solutions, intended to exonerate ?dr. Higgins
lrom-the blame attempted to be thrown upon him ;
but he would confess that they operated in his
mind in a very different manner, and he thought
Mr. Higgins-would have acted more judiciously_
hat' he depended on his general' character alone..
Be disapproved in -strong terms of solitary con-
finement, which he contended was in its nature
eaposed to abuse, and must be abused miless'under
the superintendance of such ,a man as Mr. Howard
himself. It was -a system calculated to give-rise
• to the evil of foul oppression covered With rank
hypocrisy, as he had found in the instance of Cold-
bath-fields prison. He recollected thatthe method
of investigatiort adopted there was, that of calling
upon Aris himself; and then upon the persons
complaining to give evidence in the presence of
'him they feared. It was the same way in Lincoln
Castle • and as Aris had made a sort ()florally com-
pact of business, ,so Mr. Higgins had one son
acting as his deputy, another as an attorney, and
a third as a sort of, assistant surgeon to the pri-
soners. The Ma'.gistrates who had examined into,
the circumstances of this case, came to the reso-
lutions which he held in his hand, •acquitting him
of all the. charges ; and stigmatising the - com-
plaints as vexatious. and unfounded. The reso-
lutions'proceeded fo state, that a disposition had
of late manifested itself among the prisoners to
resist-the salutary authority of the Governor, but -
this, he thought, rather improbable on the face of
it. Great praise was also give nto the voluntary
and manly manner in which some of the prisoners
hail come forward in behalf of Air. Higgins's cha-
racter, but that was represented to him. as pro-
ceediug from the circumstance of his having lent
money to those persons. The charges against the
jailor. were, that the filth of the jail was not
cleared- away for four days ; that he did not allow
small parcels. of coe,lsi to be bropght to the prison-
ers• id6cold.weather, when he lose' that they could
not afford to buy large quantities; another im-
puted hriinry to the turnkey, and the Magistrates
permitted- the turnkey to defend himself by his
own* oath against the allegations. The prison-
e-s who had complained, represented that the
prison allowance was withheld from them by the
Magistrates—an Assumption of power to which
the‘i had no right, and which they had co-
etaised in a =liner the most cruel. It had been
sated to him, that a quantity of oak • boughs