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

were brought into the prison, and that a rejo!ea
ing. took place in his acquittal, which was not
a very ors.e.lly proceeding in a jail. The Sheriff,
it should be observed, had referred 'their com-
plaints to the Committee of Magistrates. lie be-
lieved it was a general' abuse in all gaol=, that a
great part of the ipace intended for the conve-
nience of prisoner's was applied to thc convenience
• of the Jailor himse:f, and he understood that one
of the Turnkeys of Lancaster Castle was employ-
ed in a hot -house. Another charge alleged against
Mr. Higgins was, that he did not visit the rooms
of the
_prisoners for ten months. He then pro-
. ceededto read a letter which he had received from
a 'person of -the name of Jacob Wilson 'Wardel,
on which he principally depended for convincing
the House of the necessity of investigation. The
letter stated, that on the 4th of May, hOrrible
sercamings were heard in the. prison proceeding
From a person named Jahn llawling. Several of
the debtors had heard him exclaim; as the Turn
• key was flogging biro, " :Monier ! -kill me, kill
the !" On the Monday followiti,g he ara4 dead.—
It was understood in the yard, that he was re-
moved to a cell under ground,, where his cries
could not he heard ; and on Tuesday morning it
was given out that he had hanged himself with
his stockings. This man was, be understood, a
lunatic; and had been confined three years for
murder. The Inquest which sat upon the body
consisted of six debtors, and, these not the most
respectable, and six .stone,-masons employed in the
jail, The body was not stripped, and the only
maul( of violence on the face tvas one of the eves
being blackened. . Two persons who had assisted
at the washing of the body described it as a mass
of congealed blood. He believed every one would
agree with him, that a ease of this nature ought
to be inquired into. In corroboration of the
minor points of theoccusation, he read a letter
from a-person of the name of John .Speneer, who
was formerly confined in Lancaster Castle fOr
debt, 'stating that he had broken his leg while
in confinement by afall; and that the door was
shut against the admission of a Surgeon for whom
he had sent, on which account hawas lame to this
day. It stated further, that 'the county allow-
ance was withheld from him, and his son prevent-
ed, from seeing hiM, merely for having 'inodestly
remonstrated. He should not dwell upon the
facts,
.or endeavour to excite any. prepossession
against the itnii‘idual who was concerned,. but
should merely content himself with stating them,
unless his motion should be opposed. This hadid
not expect, especially as there was a petition filom
Mr. Higgins himself, demanding inquiry.- Hewas
proceeding to quote a pamphlet written. by the,
Rev. Mr. Bingham,, who was c onAned in -Horsham
jail, on an unfounded suspicion of having set
fire to his house, in order to defraud the insurers,
when

Mr. DENT called the Hon. Baronet to order, as
be was travelling into cases that had no applica-
tion to the question. •.
Sir F. BURDETT said he wished the House .to
be aware of the system of imprisonment which
was going on in the country, but he should not
persist. Now, for the first time since he sat in
Parliament, he saw a disposition in the Govern-
ment of the country- to attend to' complaints ; and
though he could not but feel a little jeatchts of
Commissions, after the Commission of the Cold-
bath-fields Prison, and the Commission of Kil-
mainham jail in Ireland, which,, after detecting
seven instances of gross misconduct, concluded
with a panegyric to Mr. Dunne and Dr. Trevor,
still he felt confident that the Government would
do what Was right.. He concluded with moving
an address to his Royal Highness the
b Prince Re-
gent, " Prayini, • that he would be graciously
pleased to order a Commission to be appointed
for the purpose of inquiring into the charges
made against the inspecting Magistrates of Lan-
caster Castle, and the General State of the Jail."
Mr. WILBRAHAM BOTTLE Said; he felt himself
placed in a difficult situation, by the new matter
which the Honourable Baronet had introduced,
and entered into an explanation on the different
points . contained in the Petitions. The circum-
stance of one of Mr. Higgins's sons being an At-
torney, and the other an Assistant-Stugeon, could
not be imputed as a fault to him, and therefore
could not if&ct the caste. As to the prohibition
of bringing small quantities of coals to the
debtors, and the circumstance of rejoicing with
oaken boughs, he did not believe them ; and hav-
ing often inspected the gaol himself, he could
state, that he had never seen a-hot house attach-
ed it. The jailor had been a called a gardener,
only because he had a small garden, not half the
size of-that room ; and/also described as a mann-
fP cturer, only because he employed, for the benefit
of the county, those persons who had been con-
demned to hard labour. A spirit of discontent
bad sprung up a Wort time since.among theri-
sinters, acid 'he believed that the person from
whom 'the Hon. Baronet had his informatiom,
was at the bottom of it. The gaol was at present
unusually full, which, of course, must produce
some inconvenience, and give some colour, though
it could not justify complaint. He then read a
letter from the High Sheriff, stating that he had
investigated all the prisons under his juris-
diction,, and bearing testimony to their salutary
regiilations. It had been brought as a charge
against* Jailor, that the county allowance Was
withheld ; hut the jailor bad no contloul over it

whatever, it was • or,dered by two' of the. County
Magistrates, desiring that it should not he paid until
further oriters which proved that it Nv,as revoca-
ble. Here he read several Petitions in favour of

the conduct:of Mr. Higgins, and various deposi-
tiops on oath, contradicting the facts a►~~rted in
the complaints against him. With ripect to,the
case of Rawling, he had been acquitted of mur-
der on a special verdict of insanity. There were
a number of unfortunate persons• in the same
condition in the gaol, and the jailor had the care
of all, those unhappy individuals, without the
conveniences that were found in other places-,
Nothing, he was sure, could appear more un-,
likely to the House, than that they would whip a
person to death, 'under such circumstances of. no-

ioriety !--A Member of Parlia;uen►t was certainly
bound to present all well-founded Petitions : but
he should inquire into the truth of the- facts, or