The Sun.
London, England, 1832-01-21 00:00:00

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•
BIRMINGHAM POLITICAL UNION.

The following; is a copy of the petition to the
from the Council of the Birminghath Political Union, in
favour of the mitigation of the sentence of (With nna•Pd

against the wretched criminals under the Special Comm..
signs at Bristol and Nottingham :
"TO THE EING'g MOST FXCEI.I.T.NT MAJESTY.

SIRE,--W,pitthilunderxlohd of the ton n
of graniughain, calling ourselves the Council of 4he Poli-
tical Union, venture, with feelings of the deepe,t respect,
eratitudeland loyal,v to your Majesty, to approach your
Majesty's Throne on:be',alf of tie utd.rtunate men now
under sentence of death under Special Commissions at
Bristol and Nottingham.

" We witnessed the lamentable and disgraceful occur-
tences which took place in those towns a few weeks ago,
with the greatest regret, sorrow, and mortification, and
we would not, in any degree, attempt to justify or excuse
the crimes and outrages which were then committed.
" Zealous as we are for the recovery of the rights and
liberties of our country, and penetrated with gratitude to
your Majesty for the noble and truly patriotic manner in
which your Majesty has sanctioned and supported the great
Bill of Reform, brought forward by your M tiesty's en-
I ghtenrd Ministers, for the accomplishment of that glo-
rious vital 'object, we shou'd be the last to attempt
to justify any violation or disrespect of the law under the
sacred name of Reform, and under pretence of mani4st-
ing zeal and enthusiasm in favour of y ,ur Majesty's Go-
vernment, much less to excuse the guilt of men who
could take advantage of the popular excitement, anti pro-
ceed to commit- outrages and atrocities which have in-
flicted a lasting stigma on their •oaetry.
" We cannot, however, conceal the fact, th it if the
peculiar and unhappy situation in which the country was
placed, at the period when the Bristol and Nottingham
riots took place, is taken into consideration, circumstances
will appear which, though they cannot in any degree
justify, may perhaps tend to palliate the guilt of the
wretched criminal, now left for execution.

" Owing to a reckless and obstinate opposition on the
tart of the advoc ttes of the present corrupt system of Par-
liamentary representation, to the wise and patriotic mea-
sures of your. Majesty's Ministers, the people bad been
kept for many months in a state of the most intense and
agitating anxiety. They had centred all their foulest
hopes of peace, prosperity, and happiness, on the pissing
into law of the Bill of Reform; and at the vry hour
when they deemed the immediate. accomplishment of those
hopes certain, and when they trusted that the loue-con-
tinued period of their miseries and sufferings was at an
end, the cup of promise was suddenly and rudely dashed'
from their lips, and in the disappointment of the moment
they were tempted rashly to give way to despair.
" Considering the hitter and cruel disiappointtnent of
the people; considering the insults which had been heaped
on them, by the repeated and unblushing assertions of the
enemies of Reform, that a re- action had taken place in
public opinion; and that the mass of the people weie indif-
ferent to the fate of the Reform Bill, and considering the
evident remissness and inattention of the civil authorities,
and the neglect of all proper and judicious precautions on
their part, more especially in the case of Bristol, we can-
not but hope that the benevolence of your Majesty's he n•t
will prompt your Majesty to make allowance for the feel-
ings of irritation under which ignorant and deluded men
were hurried into acts of violence, and urged on by sue-
v,.;ss, by intoxication, and by the wild excitement of the
moment, from one crime to another, until they were guilty
of atrocities, from which, if they could have had time for
reflection, there is reason to hope that they might have
shrunk with horror.

" We cannot but consider that between crimes com-
mitted deliberately, without any such palliation, the same
distinction might justly be held to exist as the law wi'ely
makes between manslaughter and murder, and that the
penalty justly attaching to them might therefore be justly
mitigated in the same degree.
"We would venture also to represent to your Majesty,
that in our bumble opinion, however much it may unfor-
tunately.be at variance with the present state of the law,
t.le broad principle of justice requires that man's life
should only be forfeited in atonement for crimes which
affect the li'e of man. Although it is contendtd that se-
verity of punishment is necessary.to ensure respect for law,
we cannot but think there is such an immeasurable dis-
tance in point of guilt between crimes which affect life,
and crimes which affect property only, that any policy
width tends to equalize, in any degree, the punishments
of the two descriptions of offence, is not only in principle
unjust, but is in such direct contradiction to all the ideas
arid feelings of the great bulk of the community as to cre-
ate sympathy instead of repugnance towards the criminals,
to convert, in some degree, culprits into martyrs, and
thus ultimately mainly to defeat its only object--the en-
f wenn; of obedience to the laws.

" We, therefore, humbly pray your /11.jetoy to take
these facts and repre.sentations into your Majesty's gra-
cious consideration, and we cannot hut express our most
anxious hope that your Majesty's wild an may deem it
consistent with the ends of justice to remit the extreme
penalty of the law, and to iulct some minor puni•hm•nt
upon the unhappy criminals in ques.tion, more consistent
with the dictates of humanity, and with the gracious and
bentvolent sentiments of your Maj.-sty's paternal heart.
" Birmingham, Jan. 17, 1832."