The Sun.
London, England, 1840-01-20 00:00:00

•
To most respectable, and, I may add, reasonable ap-
plication for further accommodation tending to pre-
serve the health of the prisoners, his Lordship at length
replied, by the hand of Mr. Phillipps, " that his Lord-
ship does not consider that he has the power to order
them to be transferred to the debtors' side of the prison."
Lord John now left the Home-office, and Lord Nor-
manby took his place, and much time passed away be-
fore any further application was made. It being the
rule of the prison that Lovett and Collins should be per-
mitted to see one person for one hour in the presence of
a turnkey at the expiration of three months, and the time
approaching when Mrs. Lovett could see her husband,
she sent a memorial to Lord Normanby, in which, hav-
ing stated her husband's case, " she most urgently
implores his Lordship to be pleased either to give her
or procure for her an admission to the prison, with
such accommodation for seeing her husband as may be
uccessary for her to learn from him the actual state of
his health and his expectations relating thereto, that
.}.e may be thus enabled, so tar as circumstances will
peripit, to render him the assistance necessary for the
preservation of his health during his imprisonment,
itild thus prevent the fatal consequences which will
otherwise ensue." No reply having been received, and
he day on which alone Mrs. Lovett could see her hus-
band approaching, Mrs. Lovett went to Warwick, and
muerte saw her husband in the presence of a turnkey,
but so distressing and degrading was the interview that
Mr. Lovett requested his wife never to come again to
the prison while he should be subjected to his present
restrictions.

Give me leave here to observe that Mr. LovQtt is a
most respectable man ; that his manners are calm and
gentlemanly ; that his moral feelings and his integrity
iIFC of the highest order, and that he is consequently re-
,pected by all who know him, and that his wife is in
every respect worthy of such a man ; that they are
consequently far removed from the class of persons so
correctly described by you in your letter to Lord Nor-
rnanby, and for whom alone the regulations of the prison
were made.
Further communications were now had with Lord

Normanby. Mr. T. S. Duncombe, M.P., acted on the
part of Mr. Lovett, and had several interviews with
Lord Normanby. Mrs. Lovett now limited her re-
quest to a small allowance of animal food to her husband,
and at length Lord Normanby consented that a medical
gentleman should be permitted to see and examine her
husband, and Dr. J, H. Black went to Warwick, and
oa his return, addressed the following letter to Mr.
Duncombe

" Sir,—According with your request, I reduce to
writing the substance of my communication to you yes-
terday. I saw Mr. Lovett on Saturday last in Warwick
goal. I was accompanied by Mr. Wiltnhurst, the sur-
geon to the prison. I found Mr. Lovett without any
specific disease and without any complaint of diseased
s tisation, excepting a slight uneasiness occasionally
f,-om flatulence, but he was much thinner than he was
Lefore his imprisonment, with a yellow dry skin, and great
fullness of the small blood vessels of his eyes. To any
one not acquainted with his constitution, be would ari-
-1 ,ear in tolerable health, as indeed he thinks he is. To
tie, however, though certainly in a better st ste of health
than I expected to find him, his condition appears to be
one of peril.

About four years ago, when his health did not per-
mit him to work regularly at his business, I investigated
his case with great care, seeing him two or three. times a
week during several months. Tile debility under which
he then suffered was so much increased by privations
end anxieties consequent upon its interference with his
work, that the only chance of preventing him from
sinking rapidly to decay depended upon a total change
of habits by his removal from the workshop ; this was
effected under rather favourable circumstances ; but not-
withstanding this, his recovery to his previous state of
health was so slow that no decided amendment mani-
fested itself for more than a year, ,end it was not until
within the last twelve months that his health was really
restored. He now appears to me to hi; fast at.proach-
ing the same delibitated condition from which he was
No long recovering, and, consequently, I consider his
life endangered by a continuation of his present course
of treatment ; and a second sinking after his recovery
from his first may render it imposssible for his system
to rally again.

" His daily diet consists of 141 b. of excellent bread ;
11b. of bad potatoes with salt ; tea, morning and after-
noon ; water.

" I have great pleasure in saying that I was met by
Mr. Wilmburst. the surgeon of the prison, in the most
frank and gentlemanly manner. His conduct during
my visit to Mr. Lovett was of the most attentive and
delicate description. When I went to examine Lovett's
cell I saw Mr. Collins, whom I had once before seen.
Tile great alteration in his appearance, with the child-
like thinness of his voice, made so strong an impression
on me that 1 cannot refrain from mentioEing it, though
iny mission had nothing to do with him.
I am your's truly,
"J. ROBERTS BLACK.

" Thomas S. Duncombe, Esq., M.P."
On the 19th of December Mr. Duncombe read the
report of Dr. Black to Lord Normanby, and left it with
him. Mr. Duncombe was so well pleased with his it-
terview with Lord Normanby, that he concluded some
better diet would be allowed to the prisoners, and ho
hoped that candles would also be allowed to them. No
communication on the subject baying been received for
several days, it was concluded that the expected allow-
ances had been made ; but on the 29th day of Decem-
ber, in the evening, a letter was delivered to Mrs. Lo-
vett, of which the following is a copy :
" Whitehall, Dec.2B, 1839.

" Madam,—The Marquis of Normanby having made
particular inquiries of the visiting justices of Warwick
th e with
surgeon di-
rectionsgaol, to whom a copy of Dr. Black's report on the state
of) ur husband'stbat
itmight
e,.a toter haseo m beenrilo o i
e a t
communicated to
transmitted,
of the prison, I am desired by his Lordship to inform
you th the is assured by the Magistrates every that at-
tention is paid to the health of all persons who are con-
fined therein. The surgeon also reports that your hus-
band is in good health, and that an increase of diet is
not called for at present.
" I am, Madam, your obedient servant,
" Mrs. Lovett. " S. M. PHILLIPPS."
I have purposely refrained from every thing not di.
rectly pertinent to the matter contained in your letter
to Lord Nortuanby ; but I beg to state, that Lord
John Russell having made no distinction respecting
she wide range which the word " misdemeanour" is
sometimes made to embrace, and under which wide
range be included Lovett and Collins, reference was
made in the correspondence which took place respect-
ing misdemeanour to as great an extent as seemed
needful. Among other matters it was shown that the
definition of the word given by Jacob in his Law Dic-
tionary was the correct one ; and has been so consi-
dered, as it had been reprinted in all the subsequent
editions of that work. Jacob says, " Misdemeanour is
a genus containing many species, almost as numerous
as human actions." Examples were also given of the pu-
nishment for misdemeanour,from a fine of 15. to transpor-
tation for life. It was also shown that " seditious libel"
not being a statutable offence, nor likely to be committed
1 by the class of persons for whom the gaol regulations
I were made, persons convicted of " seditious libel" had
! hitherto been treated in a very different way from com-
mon misdemeanours ; that seditious libel had not been
defined by any law ; that what was a libel one day might
not be a libel either the day before or the day after ;
that no writing was a libel—that is to say, a crime,
until it was found so by a Jury, and that it differed in
this respect from all other crimes ; that it had been
committed by men who were scholars and gentlemen of
the highest characters, and of every sect and party ;
punished
that they who were "for it did not generally
I lose caste in consequence thereof, and that a very great
distinction had consequ=ently been made in the treat-
ment of persons who were imprisoned for this offence
and those who had committed the more co-nmon offence
! of high " misdemeanour" in the more common accepta-
tion of the word, for the conclusive reasons contained
1 in your letter to Lord NJrinanby.
I ain, Sir, your obedient servant,
FRANCIS PLACE.
I beg to add, that the proceedings alluded to in this
letter have been without the knowledge of Lovett and
Collins, but that, like your letter to Lord Normanby,