The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS, THE

The Times, in referring to the bill introduced by the
Attorney-General on Friday night, observes that there is
universal assent as to the need of reform in the present
law of bankruptcy, and most people are agreed on the
general direction which attempts to amend it should take.
But the same state of things has existed ever since 1861.
Sir Robert Collier's bill follows the principle of restricting
within as narrow limits as possible judicial intervention
between creditors and the fund out of which they hope to
be paid. The abolition of imprisonment for debt is promised
as the subject of a second bill, to be introduced in the course
of a few days. The Times agrees in the Attorney-General's
conclusion that imprisonment for debt is doomed. Modern
legislation has destroyed the sentiment of a kind of natural
connection between imprisonment and debt. It is open
to argument that debt is a crime to be punished, but the
superstition is extinct that a punishment the essence of
which is that it bars any effort to make amends for the
offence is the one special and appropriate penalty. The
opportunity which the abolition of imprisonment would
afford of doing away at the same time with a debtor's
power to make himself a bankrupt is in itself a
powerful bribe to acquiesce in the propriety of the

So long as debt without resort to a bank-
ruptcy court exposes a debtor to imprisonment,
there is an obvious harshness in making bankruptcy
and the consequent freedom from imprisonment
dependent on the caprice of creditors. But a debtor
has no intrinsic right to clear himself at his own discre-
tion from future liability for past debts. The Attorney-
General's bill, or bills, will take away the creditor's power
over his debtor's personal liberty, but will at the same
time deprive the debtor of the liberty he now has of cur-
tailing his creditor's remedies over his estate. Such a
change would remove what is at once a scandal on the
bankruptcy law and an incubus on the courts. Whether
this or that provision be erased, however, from the pre-
sent bill, the Attorney-General's propositions have, at any
rate, what is in bankruptcy legislation the exceptional
merit of being intelligible, and, yet more, of embodying
the whole law. The measure is meant for a consolidation
statute, and the interpretation of its clauses will not be
embarrassed by the necessity of reconciling them at every
turn with earlier Acts, speaking a different language, and
framed on different principles.

abolition.

The Herald looks favourably upon the Attorney-
General's measure, and says that the new Bankruptcy
Bill is undeniably one of progress, but full of complications,
nevertheless, and likely to undergo severe criticism and
large amendment before it passes. The Attorney-General,
in explaining it, remarked upon the long series of failures
by Parliament to legislate satisfactorily upon this subject,
although seven separate acts encumber the statute-book,
r.nd as many, or more, have been carried to a certain
stage and abandoned. Two of the latest, although
fromed by eminent legislators, collapsed almost
without debate ; while the last of all, the work of
Lord Cairns, was defeated by political events. The
scheme of the present Government owes many of
its principles to that of Lord Cairns ; but in other respects
it may claim whatever merit belongs to boldness and
novelty. It is based upon the simple proposition that a
bankruptcy law is for the benefit of the creditor rather
than for the punishment of the debtor, but that it is an
engine which no debtor should be permitted to make use
of for his own convenience or advantage. Therefore, the
bill proposes to abolish an immense mass of officialism, to
superannuate the present commissioners, to appoint a
superior judge, with an appeal on cases granted by him to
the House of Lords, to extinguish the practice of arrest and
imprisonment for debt altogether, except under county
court jurisdiction, and to prevent the adjudication of
debtors on their own petition. The system. regarded as a
whole, is a very near approach to that which prevails, and
operates with much success, in Scotland.

The Telegraph does not think that Lord Kimberley'
measure will be a success. Our view is, that an efficient
administration of the police, which may be perfectly
carried out without troubling Parliament for fresh powers
at all, would cure two-thirds of the evils of which the
Public complain—and justly so. We say that a detective
police, worthy of the name, simply has no existence at all,
and that, before inventing more horoic remedies, it might
be as well to make trial of the one which is ready at hand.
If an ounce of Glauber's salts will cure a patient, why
resort to poisons which may kill, as well as cure?
This we fully believe would be enough for the
moment ; but, if it should be desired to proceed
further in the matter, Lord Houghton's proposition of
Friday night would recommend itself to the acceptance of
men who are not fanatics, or system-mongers. Let there
be a resolute and stern investigation by a select
committee of all the facts of the case, including the ad-
ministration, for criminal purposes, of the Metropolitan
Police. Let competent persons be called before the
committee, who may inform its members of where the
shoe pinches ; what remedies are possible, what impossi.
ble ; let us, in a word, legislate upon facts, not upon a cry.
Mr. Bruce said the other day that crime was not on the
increase : why, then, this mad haste, when a few months
would enable us to adopt proper measures for the puLlic
safety, in place of those which will certainly result in dis-
credit to the proposers, and disadvantage to the public
~whose lives and properties are at stake?

- The Post remarks that the House of Lords seems
seriously bent on freeing itself from the opprobrium of
-taking only a nominal share of those legislative functions,
_which in theory are divided equally between the two
11 ouses. The session had hardly commenced when,
to the great astonishment of the nation, there was heard
in that august assembly the cry of "No work to do ;"
and so clamorous were the Peers for employment that
a measure, the introduction of which had been notified in
the House of Commons, was transferred to the other
House of Parliament. A mere sop of this kind, however,
could not satisfy the industrial cravings of the Lords;
*and a few days later, the Marquis of Salisbury pressed
upon their attention a measure which, if it becomes law,
will unquestionably enable the Upper House, on the
'commencement of future Parliamentary sessions, to
:plunge at once in medias yes, and thus utilise the
time which, under existing- arrangements, it complains
of hanging heavily on its hands. The danger to the bill,
if any, is to be dreaded from an unintelligible rivalry
between the two houses ; and on this rock the similar bill
introduced by the Earl of Derby (then Lord Stanley)
in 1848 seems to have split. It is only right that the
Commons should claim the initiative in all measures
in the nature of money bills ; but when these have
received their sanction it is not easy to understand
why they might not be revised in the Upper House in a
'subsequent session, and then carried to their final stages.
As, however, the matters dealt with in the bill concern
intimately both Houses, and there must be something in
-the nature of a compromise, it may be well to submit it,
as Lord Granville suggested, to a joint committee.
Mutual concessions may thus be the more easily accom-
plished, and the rejection of the bill by one House after
receiving the assent of the other be the more securely
avoided.

The Standard declares that the noble chairman of com-
mittees looks the Irish Church question straight in the
face, and has arrived at the conclusion that the Ministerial
scheme involves nothing less than absolute robbery. And
he is not careful to keep his opinion to himself. He has
an objectionable way of calling a spade a spade. Ho
declates that to take away the property of a secular
corporation is confiscation, and that in the case of a
religious body it is " sacrilege." Lord Redesdale asked
to be furnished with any Acta of Parliament sanctioning
this mode of dealing with property. Of course it wa, A mum
farce. Lord Redesdale knew perfectly well that the Legisla
ture had never dealt with private or corporatepropertyaftel
this lawless fashion, but he bad a right to bring the fact t.
hear upon the Government. It was a piece of gravo
irony, and Lord Granville was not proof against it. He
declined to take part "in any sarcastic controversy.' As
to the return asked for, he said what was perfectly true—
that it would involve a prolonged and laborious research,
and that the facts would not turn out to be of much use
after all. Considering that the return would be nil, seeing
that there are no such Acts on the statute book, the
guarded reply of the noble earl was perfectly intelligible,
and Lord Redesdale withdrew his motion as a matter of
course. It has served the purpose, however, of eliciting
from the Government a public confession that the measures
which we deem with Lord Redesdale to be unjust, tyran-
meal, and wicked, arc as entirely destitnte of any warrant
znparliamentary precedents as they are repudiated by the
spirit of the Constitution.

The Star thinks that the public may. be well satisfied_
with the result of the recent debate in the House of
'Commons on the introduction into the metropolis of street
'tramways. The oppoSition to the bill was so unsuccessful
*that we cannot doubt that every well-considered scheme
for improving the great lines of communication with the
suburbs by means of tramways will meet with the approval
of a decisive majority of the present Parliament. It is
`difficult to gather from the speeches of the gentlemen who
epposedthe bill upon what practical grounds they object to
the proposed improvement. The metropolitan rail-
ways will either not be affected at all, or only to
an infinitesimal extent. People who travel by steam
desire great speed as well as cheapness, and the tramways
can scarcely come into competition with the railway train.
-As for the omnibuses, we do not know that passengers
are under any special debt of obligation to them. They
will be at liberty to use the tramways if they think proper.
The " monopoly," whatever it may mean, does not con-
template their exclusion from fro), part of the road:
whic:i they traverse. They have no tto expect
more. The London omnibuses are net so roomy
and comfortable ; the mode of ingress and egress
not 5,) convenient ; the fares are not f4O equit-
•ably imposed ; and they are not so distinguished
by the rapidity of .their motion—that we should feel par-
licularly sensitive on their account. The omnibus interest
.naturally views the tramways with great disfavour ; but
that is no reason why the travelling portion of the tom.
'munitv should share the prejudice. These carriages will
-run without jolting on a grooved line of rails flush with the
surface of the road. The means of communication with
,the conductor-110W often so difficult—will be instanta.
1130115. Inerever the passenger may be seated, lie will
only • to touch a cord, and immediately the conduc-
t er's and driver's bells will be rung, and the vehicle
~topped. Tire .
bills before Parliament the maxim um
fare to a penny per mile, and the passenger will pay three.
pence,
.where, generally speaking, lie Low pays twice that
-amount.

RECENT DOUBLE MURDER AND
SUICIDE AT _POPLAR

The inquest on the bodies of Mrs. and Miss Browne
was concluded on Saturday. Certain letters from a married
woman to Bradshaw, the supposed murderer, were read,
but did not throw any light upon the murder. The signer
of the letters denied writing them. As far as the evidence
went, it was proved that Bradshaw and the Brownes were
well acquainted, that he was much mixed up with their
affairs, and had several times quarrelled with them. He
was evidently not a man of very high morals ; and there
seems to have been several intrigues of which he was
the centre. It is presumed, therefore, that he quarrelled
with Mrs. Browne, and then committed the dreadful deed.
The evidence, however, as to his being the actual murderer
was conclusive. He was seen walking wildly up and down
the street outside Mrs. Browne's shop on the day of the
murder. At the inquest Superintendent Worrell produced
a tablecloth he had found in the parlour of the shop where
the murder took place, spotted with blood, and also a towel,
on which, from its appearance, the murderer had wiped his
hands after the commission of the crime. A hat was also
found in the parlour, which had been identified as having
belonged to Bradshaw. This had two spots of blood on
the leather, and another on. the inner portion of the lining.
Inspector Thomson, of the Detective force, and Inspector
Maddigan produced some locks and keys found on Brad-
shaw, and also his clothes, which were stained with blood.
Then there was the fact that he, after an uneasy night,
conimitted suicide. With this before them, the jury re-
turned a verdict that the deceased Mary and Annie
Browne were wilfully murdered by John William 11*-3 4-
shay.