The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-10 00:00:00

vi-count represent an indictment for misdemeanour under
the common law as totally inadequate to cope with a
great exigency, and contend that we mu .t therefore devise
a new law to meet a state of things which had not been
discovered independently upon our own perception of any
actual emergency, but alter our attention bad been very
peremptorily called t) it by a foreign potentate. There
was one more passage nearer to our own time; to which
be invited the serious cmasideration of her Majesty's Go-
vernment, and particularly of the Home Secretary,
because he was about to quote certain weighty words of
the right hon. baronet (Sir G. Grey) which are exactly
applicable to present circumstances, and which entirely
cut from under the noble viscount the ground on which he
based this measure. In 1851 the revolutionary excitement
of 1848-9 bad not subsided, and the moat dangerous ele-
ments were then o aected in this country. The attention
of the Government was earnestly called to the menacing
aspect of affairs by that veteran statesman and lawyer,
Lord Lyndhurst, in the upper chamber, and by his
right bon. friend the then Recorder for London (Hr.
S. Wortley) in that home. Is was then
discloael that at that very moment a body was sitting
in full conclave in London. calling itse f " The Commit-
tee of Central European Democracy," and which issued
manifestoes for the subversion of the Governments of
Central Europe, recommending insurrection against and
the extermination of the existing Srvereigna. There was
also a "Central National Italian Committee," whose
professed object was to keep up a spirit of insurrection
in Italy, and who opened loans here, publicly ad rertising
them and issuing shares accompanied by ciroulare, which
stated their Intention to he to purchase arms and ammu-
nition of war in order to promote their revolutionary
designs. There was also a " Central Democratic
European Committee," which issued proclamations, and
of which Mazzini and Ledru Rollin were metnhere, ;
together with a " Central Hungarian Committee," of
which General Klapka was the mainepriog, and which,
like all the other confederacies he bad named, put forth
inflammatory proclamatione. Oa that occasion Lord
Lyndhurst r xpressed himself thus :
" It has always been the priaeiple and the practice among
us to afford a ready' asylum to persons driven from their
.c aintry in i.nnssfineace of their religious or political
opinions or conduct. Ido no it the sli,rhteßt degree
to trench upon this pthiciVe. It appears to me to L, in
perfect accordance with the character of an enlightened, a
generona, and a powerful people. But it innq always be
remembered that this protection imposes on those who
take adv ntage of it a corresponding duty of a grave cha-
racter—to live among us peaceably, and not make this
country the focus of intrigues against foreign States ; above
all, not to carry on any proceedings of a. hostile character
directed against cmintries with which we are connected by

_ .
treaties of friendship and alliance. These are principles so
clear,.o just, so universally recognised, that it is unnecessary
for me to dilate upon them."
What sail the right hon. baronet oppoite (Sir G. Grey)
then, as now, filling the important (,ilice of Secretary
of State for the Home Department—and speaking in
answer to the late Recorder of London ! Hie words,
which were very remarkable, were as foilowB
" I shall not be contradicted by any legal au,,hority In this
house when I say that foreigners enteri.tg into conspiracies in
this country, living under the laws of this c tuntry, and en-
joying their security, and adopting any inea-inre with the
view of levying war against any foreign country with which
this country is at amity are guilty of an offence at common
law, and punishable on conviction by fine anti imprisonment.
We shall not hesitate legally and constitutionally to me t any
violation of the law. I believe that the powers we possess
arc amply sufficient to punlsh by penalties the violation of
the law by foreigners, after we hay.. been satisfied that they

have really committed themselves in any case in which 1 gal
proceedings can be instituted."
(Cheers.) If such was the opinion of the right
hon. baronet in April, 1351, with what face could he
stand before the country now and say that the law on
which he relied then as upon a firm staff was now but a
bruised reed, which could no longer yield him any sup-
port (Hear, bear.) No case, therefore, had been
made out fur the introduction of this bill. (Cheers.)
The despatch communicated by Count Persigny, the
more it was looked at, appeared to him to be only the
more unsatisfactory ; and when the noble viscount last
night informed the house that another communication
had been made to our Government by the French
Arnbabeador, to the effect that whatever had been done
in France was viewed with regret by the Emperor, it
would have been more gratifying if he had also pliced
that despatch on the table in answer to the challenge of
the hon. and learned member for Sheffield. (Hear,hear.)
Before that debate proceeded much further it was to be
hoped that the noble viscount would favour the house
with corms account of the terms of that document. He
for one, was curious to know its date. (Hear.)
Certain communications might have passed along that
rapid and misty medium of communication the electric
telegraph, which might infinitely enhance or detract
from the value of that second despatch. As an English-
man, he would like to know whether what bad ep-
pearedin the Iffoeiteer had been disavowed by the French
Government from a sincere feeling of regret that eff,nce
should have been given, or whether it had been merely
disavowed, after it had served its purpose, in consequence
of some adroit communications that ba I been very
recently made. No case had been made out for altering
the law of England. Not a scintilla cf legal evidence bad
been openly adduced bet ire our competent tribunals to
prove that there had been any conspiracy in Viis, coun-
try. For all we knew to the contrary, aftboiter one at
the aroused parties bad been here and had left England
with a weep mu of an infernal description, it might yet
turn out on due inquiry bef .re our judicial authorities
that it was all a mistake, and that no such conspiracy as
was alleged bed been carried on in this country. But how
stood the case in France? Toe first paragraph in Count
Wale erski'm despatch of Jan. 20 might well have made
the coble viscount and his legal advisers pause. It was
to this effect :

" The legal proceedi' g which has been commenced in ro-
g rd to the criminal attempt recently made on the person uf
the Fltnporor is taking its course, and we shill shortly arcs
tain its definite result ; but there is a point upon which even
nosy we cannot entertain any doubt. This fresh attempt, like
those which preceded it, has been devised. in Eugland."
Teat was not the way in which we proceed in England.
We did not alter the law a priori simply because some•
body thought he could point out an evil of which
nobody el•e had ever dreamt, and which had had no
existence ir. practice. But the moment the evil came
to light in a legitimate and judicial manna:- we did not
hesitate to act. In this case no necessity had been
shown for such a measure. Upon the mere supposition
that a ca•e might occur in which the existing law
would not be sufficient the noble lord rushed pell-mell
into the arena with a proposition to increase the punish•
ment for the common law offence of conspiracy. The
bill which be had intnduced was, In point of fact, based
upon two Irish acts. In the year 1796 there was
passed an act, the 30th Geo. 111., chap. 27, which, after
reciting that it had become necessary in order to deter
men from entering into conspiracies to commit murder
to increase the punishment for such crimes, enacted
that "ail persons convicted of conspiring, confederat-
ing, or agreeing to murder any person shall be adjudged
felons and suffer death." That act was found to be
ineffectual, and in 1798 the Irish Legislature passed
another,—the 30:h George 111., c 57, which extended
the punishment of death to any person proposing, /soli-
citing, persuading, or endeavouring to do any of the
acts against which that penalty had been denounced in
the former statute. The bill of the noble viscount
contained five sections, the last of which repealed those
two acts. The first section provided—
" That any person who shall, within the united kingdom of
Gre Britain and l• eland, or the islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, cmspire with any other person or
ersons being, either within or without the sail united king-
dom and said i•lanis, to s ommit murder either within or
without the dominions of her Majesty, shall bo guilty of
felony, and upon being convicted shall bo liable to be sen-
tenced to penal servitude for life, or for any term not less
than five years, or to imprisonment, with or without hard
labour, Mr any term not exceeding three years."
The second clause extended the same penalties to the
offenses included in the second Irish act. Now let the
house observe—we had just abandoned transporta'ion
as a punishment, and sub4ituted for it penal servitude,
vesting in the Secretary of State power to direct where
. .

the sentence should be carried into effect, either at
home or abroad. The first fruit of this application made
by the Gnvetninent of the Emperor of the French would
be to transform our old common law misdemeanour of
conspiracy to murder into a felony punishable by trans-
portation for life. It was possible that we might after
cards receive an intimation from the same quarter that
if we had no plane to which we could transport crimi-
nals, especially political ones, the Emperar had certain
dominions in South America—Cayenne, for instance,
—where he could accommodate them. He ()fleeted to
vesting such powl,ra for ouch reasons even in our own
Government, nod preferred to take his stand upon our
old common law. By that law the punishment of a mis-
demeanour was fine and imprisonment at the discretion
of the judge who tried the case ; but in this bill there '
was an indication that while greatly extending the guilt
and the punishment applicable to it, the Government
were anxious to have two strings to their bow. Before
concluding he must express his conviction that legisla-
tion, to be useful, effectual, am.d a precedent for future
times, must be free, He entirely repudiated the inter-
vention of any foreign Power with regard to it. He had
always thought that England was taus L-res (glue re-
(undies; an island cotnple ely and tntirely independent.
Suppose the King of Naples bad sent us a vapeuring.
application of this sort. He could imagine how the nobi
vi: count, full of his ancient martial arlour, woull have
received such a commut ieation in a towering pastior,
and would have replied with " Pooh !
to be dictated to or coerced by anybody abroad,' pooh I we, are
Wnbot
ty:
then should we yield to such a e demand
rw hOe 'n
omn an
ell to
one who, in the language appl ed by "
a glantio
Ireland, was with egalm ness
supplitca nt
eeu.jnderin at the
gates of the constitution."
and dignity tell him that noNe le on earth mere ab
peop.t
burred the crime of assassination than did we ; that if
our institutions were at fault we sh ad ou
the
stheattu first
was
vn-
lontarily to amend them but that
jas_hi.mt
.:. f' nwn account, sub adece, it would, in
' inn be premature nno, it. There
errof (.)
Were passages towards the close cunt 1, alew.-.4.1'e
despatch which were of a very grave character, and he
was greatly relieved when the noble lord told them on
the previous day that Count Wale wski had eiiice, in the
most unequivocal manner, disclaimed all intention to
interfere with the asyum which We oil red to distress
from all parts of the world, Tile (1€44.t.1a di3 coLtaia