The Sun.
London, England, 1812-01-18 00:00:00

hey
,be frilled, and would perpetate offencea
elsewhere. On 'this remark the Right Hon.:Gentle-
mai) had thought fit to belaimOroos. The intention
of his Hon. Friend-was-only to shew the necessity of
ascertaining the root of the evil—of ascertaining the
defect of the present systetn. lithe House neglect-
ed to do this;-they;would be deficient in their duty,
and he would therefore move as an amendment to
the original motion, the addition of the-following
words :

"And also into the state of the Police of the metropolis."

Lord'CoottaAws ascribed. the origin -of the evil-
complained of, to the Pension. List; 'and to the va-
rious other modes by which individuals of the
higher classes, and particularly Members of that
House, partook of. the public money, without per- •
'forming any public service. The enormous -exr
:penditure of the State, to. WhiCh such abuse
contributed, had the effect. of grinding, the lower
classes, and of drving them to the, commission of
offences, of which they otherWise'Would haVenever
thought.
Mr. SECRETARY RYDER professed himself•unable
undeastand the bearings of the Noble Lord's ob-
servaVionSOn the. question 'before ihe House: He.
had .no objection to the Arhendmen't proposed by the
Hon. Gent. provided hangiould 'consent to substitute
the word fort her" for the word " also," in order
that the primary object of ilte Committee might be
that which he (Mr: ft.) thoUght a. great practical
benefit. Adverting to the .questibn of the 'Hon.
Gent+ respecting the persons alleged tO have been
recently liberated from the hulks, he allowed that a
.grent. many had been so liberated, but hedenkd that
he offences tor ivhich they. had ht.enc-Onfined were'
of an aggravated_ na,mte, ,:He bad inquifecivrtieb--
.larty into.* subject, and the information w,hirlb,he
had 'received led him to.eniertain the firrn peruasion
that not any of the persons al:uded to lind returned
to their former, depraved habits-of life., He.had also
endeavoured to investigate the causie of the great and
recent increase of primes, and, as far as lie had been
*able to discover, it appeared to him that it Was to
be-found in the •number of:.persons wlio.had)lately
returned from transportation, and had nnfortunately •
resumed their old pra6tices.. In joqi:...e to the Police
Officers, he must hegeleave to notice. the acOttsation
made.against them by the Honouralyle and -Leaned
Gent. opposite, when he stated that they 'were never'
disposed, to detect offenders, unless a' great reward
was offered to them (or "that purpose..
•similar
suggestion-had -some time ago beet's 'made to him
frorm another quarter, He had. recourse to the best
authority, and he had, been assured by the Magis-
trates, who were. surely the naot corni)etent. to give.
an opinion on the subject, that no ,str.,:h indispOsition
exi,ted; and that it any such indisposition were mitt-
nifested by an officer, he oeld be. immediatety dis-
missed (ruin his situation. He was convinced qitat
greater efforts to detect offewlers had, never -heenl.
made, khan those which the Police. o,ffi,ceis of the -
metropolis had made during the list two months..
Mr. ABERCRoMBY acquiesced. in the alteration of'
the word in the motioh.•

.Sir S.Romt LLY did not wish to speak hatShly . of
the Police, but he did think it a monstrous evil that
so many persons had been taken upon that occasion,
upon such slight grounds of_ suspicion. Among
them was the nearest relative of one oldie: •murder-
ed persons, who on no ground .whatever was i 4 p-
prehended and kept 48. Wows in .custody, on the
theadfnl .charge-of having murdered his brother.
One way and another, there ‘ti.ere no less than 40'
or 5-0 persons apprehended op suspicion. He.could
not theref6re join. in the. I\ight Hon. Gentleman's
rOmmendaiion of the Police Od-icers, when he con-
sidered the high reward by which they were Stimu•
arld the number of .persons whom they.appre-
hended, in the most slight manner. He was,glad
theiefore, that the House had agreed to inquire into
the•state of the Polite. • . ,
• •

Sir F. BURDETT expressed himself happy to find
that a suspicion, which he confessed he .had enter-
tained, that advantage would be taken of the alarm.
of the public mind to extend the Police of the me-
tropolis; proved to be unfounded.- As to the mo-
tion itself, it was,utterly impossible for him (Sir
Franti Burdett). to oppose it for an instant. In-
deed, lie. was convinced, that if the :system of
nightly watch were made, what in his opinion it
could easily be made, the necessity of any police
whatever might be precluded, as the 'passibility of
any crime whatever: might be prevented.
The CHANCELLOR 01 the EXCHEQUER begged to
be'distinCtly understood, that in consenting to. the
Amendment he did not imply any impression on his
mind. unfavourable towards the conduct of the Po-
lice Magistrates, or ofthose by whom they were.
appointed. An Hon. Gentleman. had imputed to
him a- facetious intention-in his deprecation- of clog-
gins. the Committee with any theoretical considera-
tions. It appeared to him, however, to be a very
serbus truth,. 'that an inquiry into the precise nature
of •the punishment, for any 'particular offence, was
as little calculated as the recommendation by the
Hon. ,M,...mber for Westminster, of a .Reform in
Parliament, for making the' Police-twitter. These
were the considerations which to him appeared
theoretical:,

Mr. SII ItIODAN declared, -tint 'after the progrei-

sire increase of crimes fir a considerable
after the peculiarly al 'ruled state in Willett the me-
tropolis had existed for the space of two he
did think that the Secre'ary of Sate for the HoMe
Department, the first Magistrate of -Police in the
country, woul3 have so turned his mind to the con-
sideration -of such an jnipoitant- subjea, tit tt he
would have come down to the House prepared with.
ll-
a detailed reme4 to arrest the evils,- and to allay
the apprehensions of the metropolis.. Instead of
which the Right Hon. G ntleman had brought for-
ward t,he strangest, and (he beg •61 pardon) he mint
say the silliest proposition that he had ever heard in
Parliament. At a moment of the greatest public
alarm, excited by the recent occurrence of the most
mipreeptlented murders, the prayer of the night
Honourable Gentleman to the House was to appoint
a Committee to examine into the state of the nightly
watch ! As well might a Comtnittee be appointed
to examine into the state of the parish nurses.—
After intiimating that lie had heard it rumoured that
the various parishes of the Metropolis, instead of
selecting able-bodied watchmen to defend their

houses Iron) midnight assault, had appointed a i‘et of
decrepid creatures, who were wholly inoOth-
petent to the task of proteilion, recoonniendedihe
institytion of a Committee to inquire into the fad.
Whom were the Committee to examine ? Those by
whom the watchmen were appointed No, they