The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-09 00:00:00

THE SUN,

band. In her absence the majesty of the

law cannot be adequately vindicated, or a full
measure of justice rendered in the premises, many of
the most revolting facts and circumstances of the hor-

rible case must remain involved in obscurity, for evi-

dente will not be admissible as to any matters that
occurred in the absence of the male defendant ; and
it must be manifest that the mistress must have
had a much greater share in the management of a
female servant than the master. The corroborating

evidence applies to Mrs. SLOANE. She has been seen
by third parties beating the unfortunate victim, and
there can be but little doubt that she is the most

guilty of all the parties concerned in this frightful
outrage. We trust, therefore, that the interval
(three weeks) which must elapse before the matter

is finally disposed of, may not be wasted or misap-
plied, but that active steps may be taken to ensure
her apprehension.
From what fell from Mr. CLIRICSON yesterday, it
is perfectly clear that our anticipations with respect
to this person were perfectly well founded—that she
has no intention wh ttAoever of coming forward vo-
lint arily, and that the steement of tl'e attorney, that
there was no doubt that she would sum naer to
ta.k, her trig'," was but a pleasant fable, devised for the
purpose of preventing the close search that would other-
wise have been made perhaps before she had completed
her escape from the jurisdiction of the Cuurt. It
was like the former assertion, that " she had received
an injury in her leg by falling through an area
grating, which precluded the possibility of her being
enabled to leave her bed without great danger;" but
none (except perhaps Mr. Alderman HUMPHERT, who
exhibited an extraordinary amount of credulity on
the occasion) were deceived thereby. Mr. CLARK-
SON yesterday said, that "Mrs. Swann was neither
in the country nor with her husband," and he in -
sisted "that it would be quite unreasonable to require
that any security should be given for her appearance."
It certainly could not be enforced, as thanks to the
crassa negligentia and gross laches of the worthy
Alderman, ❑o arrest had ever taken place, and Mrs.
SLOANE, with her excellent protege, Miss LOUISA
DEVAUX, were enabled to seek retuge in another land•
We now know, however, what weight should be
accorded to the unsupported statements of attorneys
and counsel.

We rejoice to find, however, that. even at the
eleventh hour the guardians of the West London
Union, and the authorities at the Home-office, have
shaken off the disgraceful apathy that was so long
exhibiteOhe former having, " after some delibe-
ration, come to the conclusion that the matter

was sufficiently important for the guardians to take
it up," and having heard the voice of public
opinion throughout the length and breadth of the
land speaking trumpet-tongued as to their shameful
apathy in the case of the unfortunate child that had
been under their protection from the time she was
five years of age, and who was actually hired from

their workhouse, carried unanimously a resolution
that a reward of 201. should be offered for the ap•

prehension of Mrs. SLOANE," although when first
mooted it " had not been received with approbation ;"
dud we yesterday had the pleasure of announcing
that the Government had offered a lurther

reward of 301. for the rime purpose. We
are also happy to say that some few persons
have responded to the noble appeal of " J. D.," and
his fellow-workmen, and that we have now a few
pounds in hand in aid of•the working-men's subscrip-
tion to ensure the arrest of the cruel torturer of poor

JANE WILBRED. We trust that something will now
be done to render this movement worthy of the la-
bouring classes. What man is there with daughters

of his own, whom the exigencies of his position may
compel him to send to service at an early age, who
would not willingly mike some sacrifice, or slit-
mit to some privations in order to testify his
abhorrence of the unnatural outrage that was per-
petrated on one of his own class, and to show
(as "J. D." justly remarked) that "English artisans
nave humane hearts and feelings ?" Many penny sub-
scriptions have been made for objects of far less im-
portance. It is not the case of Jess WILBRED alone,
but a great public principle that is involved in the
result. It must be shown that such outrages cannot
be committed with impunity, and that, even if the
wealthier classes remain indifferent, the " work-
eig men " of the metropolis, aye, of England, will
not permit so greet an insult to humanity
to remain unpunished. Let them, then, he up
and doing, let subscription lists be opened in every
,hop, and collected from door to dour. It is not the
amount that may be given by each, but the number
,if subscribers that will show the intensity of the pub-
lic feeling on the subject. The widow's mite was
acceptable, and so will be the pence of the working
man. There is ample time to trace out the retreat
of the delinquents if the necessary funds be forth-
coming. But if she has indeed left the country, as
Mr. CLARKSON'S statement would seem to imply, the
reward offered by the guardians and the Government
will not render it worth the while of any acute
detective to undertake the labour and expense of
tracking the fugitive to her lair. 'We have confidence
in the English people, and we believe that they will
on the present occasion act in a becoming manner—
that when " weighed in the balance they will not be
found wanting." Let, then, small committees be
formed in order to carry out the object, and let it be
remembered that " if 't were done 't were well 't were
done quickly." There is ample time to ensure her
arrest, but the "irons must be put in the fire quickly?,
Every day's delay will be of serious import, and may
perhaps retard, if not altogether prevent, the attain-
ment of the object so generally desired—'.hi arrest of
elrs. SLOANE, in order that she may take her trial
along with her husband at the next session of the
Central Criminal Court.

We are told that "the worst possible use to which
you can put a man is to hang him." This may be
true, but there is another practice less horrible, in-
deed,
but scarcely less injurious to the best interests
of society, and which, perhaps, so far as the " object
of the experiment" is concerned, is no less cruel than
the summary termination of his existence on the
scaffold. We allude to the long protracted impri•
,onwents for debt, by which persons are confined for
a series of years at the meye will and pleasure
or their creditors until they become practically dis-
qualified from taking any share in the active duties
of life, and begin to look upon their prisons as
places of shelter and refuge, where they are removed
from the cares and anxieties to which those in the
enjoyment of their freedom are exposed. There they
linger out existence, having long Leased to do an) -
thing for their own support or maintenance, being
unprofitable consumers of the public resources—mere
drones in the national hive, in place of being the
creators and producers of national wealth.
If a man be really unable to liquidate his liabilities,
it is difficult to conceive how he can be rendered
more solvent by being taken from his family and
business, and locked up in gaol. His failure may be
owing altogether to misfortune—he may be really
anxious to pay every man to the uttermost farthing,
but it may be utterly out of his power to do so. " His
poverty and not his will" may be in fault, but he is
still left at the mercy of an exasperated creditor, who
for a time may be gratified by being enabled to
wreak his vengeance on the defaulter, but who is
seldom indeed benefited by resorting to extreme
measures. These evils are occasioned by the present
system of constituting the creditor the sole judge in
his own case, a custom derived from the ancient
law, which reduced debtors unable to satisfy the
pecuniary demands to which they were subject
'to a state of slavery, and enabled the creditor
to sell them and their families in the public mar-
' ket, and to apply the price of the human mer•
ehandise to the reduction of the debt. Our debtor
and creditor law is a remnant of the same barbarous
, code—less efficacious, indeed, because the party suing
out the writ of ca. sa. does not thereby obtain any
instalment or payment, however trifling, on account
of his claim ; on the contrary, he has to incur addi-
tional expense in bringing matters to that state, and
may even hLve to coatribute to the maintenance of
his victim in the gaol to which he has consigned him.
We are aware that many persons will consider
these opinions as startling. They have become ac-
customed to the present system ; they have seen it in
operation from their infancies, and therefore look
upon it as the natural order of things, and consider
any interference therewith as bordering on sacrilege ;
but similar views were long entertained with respect

to slavery, and also as to capital punishments for many
minor offences., The voice of reason hawaTer, at

length been attended to, truth has prevailed, and
sounder and healthier opinions are now generally
entertained on these points , and, notwithstanding the
existing prejudices in favour of incarceration as a
mode of enabling men to satisfy all who have just

demands, we do not despair of seeing a great change
of public opinion in this respect also. All we all is
that the matter should be calmly and dispassionately

investigated, being thoroughly convinced that truth
will ever be promoted by discussion.
What, then, we ask, are the objects for which im-
prisonment for debt is sanctioned and tolerated ? The
first and most important is to enable a creditor to
enforce payment, if at all practicable; and, secondly,
if that cannot be attained, to punish the fraudulent
debtor, who has contracted obligations which he is
unable to satisfy. We believe that there will
be no dispute on those points, and that
there is no other tangible reason that can
be assigned in favour of the continuance
of the present law of imprisonment for debt. Now
we boldly assert that neither of these ends are at-
tained under the present code, but that both objects
would be greatly promoted by wi=er and more equi-
table arrangfmentl., which would transfer the power
of arrest from the hands of creditors to these of an
impartial and unprtjadiced judge, wi.hout whose as-
sent no writ of ca. sa. should be issued.

At present it must be observed that we do not in
any degree interfere with the power of levying the
debts upon the goods and chattels of the parties, if
any there be, although we are convinced that it would
be for the good of all to place the administration of
the assets of a party who had given such practical
evidence of his insolvency as to permit a sheriff's sale
of his property in a competent tribunal, who would
distribute the proceeds for the general benefit of the
creditors. We shall not, however, discuss this point
now, but allude solely to the question of imprison-
ment. Let us suppose, then, that a person resorts to
that remedy, having either found it impossible to
seize any goods and chattels under aft. fa., or having
deliberately rejected that course for the more favou-
rite one of incarceration. The debtor is arrested and
transferred to Whitecross-street, and perhaps thence
removed to " the Bench." If he is without property
he files his petition, and endeavours either to obtain
protection or pass through the court. If, on the con-
trary, he has property, he either endeavours to settle
or remains in prison, endeavouring to weary out the
patience or to excite the sympathy of the creditor, and
so to obtain his discharge without any, or only a
partial payment on account. He is not, however,
compelled to file his schedule. It is true that a vest-
ing order may be obtained after he bas been a
certain time in close confinement, but there

the power ceases. He cannot be brought up
and examined before a Commissioner, and criminally
punished if he refuses to make full disclosures with
respect to his property. A man who has made up
his mind to endure imprisonment may set them all at
defiance. Now, in every case the object is to get at
his property. Why, we ask, may tbis not be done in
the first instance, without the preliminary imprison-
ment ? If a man refuses to pay his debts, the pre-
sumption is that he is unable to do so, and he should
be forthwith divested of his property, in order that the
same may be administered equitably for the benefit of
all persons having claims upon him. This would be
far more beneficial to the general body of creditors
than permitting the debtor to remain in prison until
all the assets were expended or made away with, and
would, we venture to say, be productive of much
larger dividends than are obtained under the present
system. _ _

- Again, as a punishment to the fraudulent
debtor, the present system is by no means
so efficacious as if imprisonment were only
allowed under the order of a judge as a criminal
punishment. At present the innocent and the guilty
are
_placed in similar positions; there is no mode of
discovering whether the prisoner be worthy of com-
passion or of censure, whether he be the victim of his
own misconduct or of the cruelty of his creditor.
Under such circumstances, the mere fact of imprison-
ment is by no means so disgraceful as it would be if
it could only be inflicted by the order of a judge upon
full inquiry into all the facts. Then, indeed, it
would be a matter to be dreaded, to avoid which the
debtor would strain every nerve, and make every
exertion, but at present the matter is too common to
excite much observation.
It may be asked, then, what substitute we
would suggest fur the present practice ?
Simply this, that creditors who had ob-
tained judgments, or in certai❑ cases—such as
on bills of exchange, or, in fact, any other debts where
the creditor pledged his oath for the validity of his
demand, should obtain an order for the debtor to ap-
pear before an Insolvent Commissioner to show cause
why a vesting order should not issue by which all
his property would be transferred to an official is,sig-
nee. If he did not then, within a limited period,
convince the judge of his ability to satisfy the demand,
he should be proceeded against according to the
present practice in bankruptcy, and if, on full inves •
tigation, it should appear that he was deserving
of punishment it would be inflicted under the
sentence of a competent tribunal, and for a
fixed and definite period, and not as it is at present, a
mere matter of chance, depending on the caprice or
humanity of the creditor. We believe that this
system would be found a great improvement on that
now in operation, and that it would prove far more
beneficial to the creditors as well as to the debtors.
The only parties who would suffer would be vindic-
tive creditors who could not gratify their private ma-
levolence, and dishonest debtors, who could not keep
their property for their own use, and live in luxury
in "the Bench," while those who had just claims on
them were set at defiance, and dared to do their
worst.

THE UCKFIELD BURGLARY. •- APPREHENSION OF
THE SEVENTH BURGLAR —LA.4 (Tuesday) evening a report
was current in Lewrs that a seventh individual, supposed
to be implicated in this daring affair, had been apprehended
during tae day, near London, with a quantity of the stolen
property iu his possession. The name of the party was
freely mentioned as that of a man well known in the town,
and recently holding a situation of responsibility, but from
obvious reasons we retrain from giving it. Brighton
Guardian.

AFFECTING SUICIDE.—In the night of Wednesday
last a poor woman, named Penfold, of Yapton, near Arundel,
who since her confinement, about six weeks ago, has been in
a very desponding state of mind, left her bed with her child
in her arms without her husband perceiving it, and descend-
ing to the garden, leaped into the well. On being missed,
search was made, and the lifeless bodies were foun 4, the
child being firmly grasped in the mother's arms, and but
little bruised.—Brighton Guardian.

REPRESENTATION or FINSBURT.—Mr. Wakleyt
at a meeting held at Islington on Tuesday, said, " In the last
session, when the question of the window• tax was moved,
his Hon. Colleague, Mr. uuncombe, was almost it might be
said on his death-bed ; and he was now so ill that he ( Mr.
Wakley) did not like to refer to it, and would only say that
every man must deplore his state; but it must be hoped that
they would see him appear again in health and spirits. For
himself, he (Mr. Wakley) had only to say that size was not
strength. Once, indeed, he had got strength, but con-
tinuous labour for mauy years had struck his nervous sys-
tem, and rendered him incapable of performing his duty ;
and he had already intimated that if in the coming session
he found himself still incapable of attending to his duties in
Parliament, he should resign his seat. He was bound in
honour to take that course, and did not shrink from the
avowal of it."

BURGLARY ♦T CAMBRIDGE: On Sunday evening
between seven and nine o'clock, some thieves obtained an
entrance into the house of Mr. Goodbody, a grocer in King-
street, no person being therein, by picking a small lock on
the back door. It would seem that Mr. Goodbody, who is
a young beginner, has some rather eccentric habits in the
secretion of his money, and that these habits must have been
known to the thieves. After ransacking the first-floor room
and stripping a sofa bedstead of the squabs, &c., they pro-
ceeded up stairs and broke open sundry boxes before they
came upon the object of their search. At last, on moving a
small box, they discovered under the edge of the carpet a
purse containing a cheque for 58/. 2s. 3d. on Messrs. Fisher's
bank. and 121. 17s. 6d. in gold and silver, with some keys,
which they carried away. The cheque has not been pre-
sented, and payment will, of course, be stopped. Mr. Good-
body is a single man, and the only other inmate of the house
is his apprentice.

SAVAGES AT SEA.—Captain Daley, the com-
mander of the Jeremiah Garnett (which arrrived yesterday
at Liverpool from Shanghai), reports that on the 7th Sept.
he fell in with two canoes, which contained nineteen savages
of a copper colour, tettoed all over, and in a state of nudity.
By signs and other means of interpretation it was gathered
from them that they had been blown out to sea thirteen days
previously from the I-lands of St. David's. They were re•
ceive4 on board the Jeremiah Garnett and fed, but one of
the poor wretches died the same evening. Captain Daley
bore up for St. David's (which lies off New Guinea), and
there landed them.
EXTENSIVE ROBBERIES AT KENSINGTON.—MIII4
alarm and excitement exists among the nobility and gent?),
resident in the vicinity of Kensington from the numerous
aed extecsive robberies committed thereof late. The pre-
mises 28, Lower Phtllimere-place, Kensington, have been
entered , and silver plate, value 10N., a large quantity of
jewellery of the most costly description, gold watches, and
about 171. iu money, carried off. The house No. 1, Sears-
dale-place, was also entered, and a large quantity of
valuable jewellery abstracted, and, notwithstanding the
exertions
ITettators. _
of the police, no clue can be gained to the pee-