The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-27 00:00:00

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which had called them together. • As tradesinen of
the City of -L-ontleni--thsty_seere. compelled, in their
various transactions, to give credit; though the Legis-
lature had proceeded on the principle that they had
no occasion to do so.—(Hear, hear.) He appealed to
every tradesman present, whether wholesale or retail,
whether it would have been possible for the commerce
of this country to be conducted without a facility in
giving credit?—(hear, hear.) It was remarkable that
the Legislators had taken care to protect themselves
in matters of this nature. Rents must be paid before
any other kind of debt.—(Hear, hear.) But such
conduct was not just to the creditors generally. The
small tradesmen who were injured by this Bill
were the most numerous and industrious of
the trading class ; they were the chief distributors
of all the necessaries and comforts of life; they had
the greatest share of toil and anxiety. It had been
shown to one of the landlords who had been applied
to on this subject, that, in one case of debts amount-
ing, within the last twelve months, to 21,000/.,
18,000 consisted of debts under 201.—(Hear, hear.)
He was astonished at this fact, not being aware that
the proportisn of small debts was anything like so
large. Having been in business himself upwards of
forty years, he believed that half his debts were below
the amount which restricted the power of arrest.—
(Cries of " Hear, hear.") He believed that the
measure of last session was meant as a feeler,
the intention being ultimately to abrogate the
law of imprisonment altogether. He deprecated
incarceration for debt; but then there was no
reason why the creditor should bc deprived of the
power of taking his debtor's property. Let the cre-
ditors be allowed to take what a man had, including
books, and he had no wish to see him imprisoned.—
(Hear, hear.) It had been admitted by one of the
law Lords that there was some great defect in the
Act of last session. His own opinion was that it was
altogether one-sided. It was passed with feelings of
mock humanity, rather than with a proper sense of
what was required for the support of trade and com-
merce ; whereas what was wanted was a law to
punish those who acted dishonestly and fraudulently,
while, at the same time, proper sympathy was shown
for the unfortunate debtor.—(Cheers.)
Mr. Cieksineas seconded the resolution, which was
carried unanimously.
Mr. ELLIOTT moved the following resolution :
" That the frequent modern alterations in the Insol-
vency Laws, which have so harassed the commerce of
this country, have been unsolicited by the merchants,
bankers, and traders, are unsupported by any evidence,
arc in direct opposition to the judgment of most practical
men, are false in their principles, mischievous in their
operation, will continue to cause a large confiscation of
the wealth of the middle elmse, and will produce an
exteneive deterioration in mercantile morality."
Ile said there was a diseased sentimentality abroad
which was excited in favour of the idle, the roguish,
and the spendthrift, but left the honest, careful and
industrious man to take care of himself. Though no
advocate for persecuting an unfortunate debtor, he
thought the cause of commerce, of honesty, and of
public morals required a very different law from.that
now in force. The whole legislation respecting in-
solvency for the last forty years was a disgrace to a
eivili,ed country; it was a long series of maudlin and
miserable measures. With regard to the Act of last
session, no man except Sir James Graham could
be found to defend it; it was repudiated by Lords
Cottenham, Brougham, and Lyndhurst, neither of
whom would acknowledge themselves to be its author.
What they wanted was to have the power of bringing
the debtor before a competent tribunal by a writ of
summons. Under present circumstances, whenever
it was a man's interest to be a rogue, he could be one
with impunity.—(Hear, hear.) The great masa of
insolvent debtors were not persons who had become
so through misfortune; persons who took their plea-
sure instead of minding their business, who kept no
accounts, who lived at the rate of 1,0001. a year, when
their income was 300/. ; and who gambled, if not
with dice, yet in tea, pepper, hope and other articles.
The CHAIRMAN-1n railway shares ? (Laughter.)
Mr. ELLIOTT—Yes, zind,in railway shares. Insol,
vency was a catchingdiseaskand a man was never
more likely to do a dirty act himself than when he
had been cheated by another.—(Hear.)
At this period of the meeting, Sir Peter Laurie
was compelled by another engagement to leave the
chair, which he did after giving his name for 101. lbs.
towards the object of the meeting. Mr. W. D. Sattll
was chosen as his successor.
The resolution, after a short discussion, was passel
unanimously.
Mr. ISl•Coxsion proposed the last resolution, which

was as follows :
Resolved--That this meetine, pledges itself to support
the Equitable D. btor and Creditor Association to its
utmost in an application to Parliament, by petition and
Bill, to secure the representation of the error gs of trades-
men, and the remedies which their wrongs require." „
He said the Association was based upon two principles,
from it could not be driven : one was, that the
creditor had a right to the payment of a debt; tht
tnat it tnereThva.l or property to psy
it, he had a right to know why that was the case.—
(Hear.) Upon those principles they must base their
operations, and he felt that there could be no doubt_of
their success.
Mr. F. 13AILEY seconded the resolution, whieh was
carried unanimously; and a vote of thanks having
been given to the Chairman, the meeting dispersed.

GENERAL NAPIER IN GUERNSEY.
(From the Jersey Gazette.)
The true key whereby to unlock the hidden mys,
teries of Normanism is to be found in this Channel
Island axiom—" All poor and sinful persons area spe-
cies of feral natural, to bellunted down at the will
and pleasure of any man or boy that happens to be
clothed in a little brief authority." It is a sufficient
reason, according to this rule of misrule, that a 042 -
son is helpless that he should be trampled upon ; that
he is at the world's mercy that he should be treated
mercilessly. This is a strange code, sounds rudely upon
ears accustomed to hear that the safeguards of law
were principally intended to protect the help-
less from the contempts of the powerful; to award to
crime only such a due measure of punishment as may*
protect society from danger. A man who can give a
cheque for a thousand pounds has little need of the
law as a defensive safeguard. The rich man has at his
command innumerable ministers who will peril soul
and body to protect him for a consideration. The
lowly have no such refuge, and if tja portals of the
temple of justice be closed to them I..tie rude hands
of subordinate officials, whence are they to expect
redress? From the
thron nly, or froth the repre-
sentative of the throne. T an eternal truth, daily
o,
becoming more and more aniftrite.,.. ,
The case of Maria Hatch, Ala poor wretched Eng.
lish girl, which, as we iriermerbur readers on Merl,
day evening last, had been referred to the Royal
Court of Guernl,f; by tie-Governor oft Island,
General Napierrts a striking. illustration of the truth
of what we VAT advanced. She was seized after her
confinement of a son-born child, by mere policemen
—no warrant issued justifying such violence, and im-
prisoned-in a' hospital previous to being sent to Eng-
land—she, neither solicitieff.alms, nor being in a
state which rendered it probable that she
might become chargeable -to an Island which
owes all of wealth and privilege it pos-
sesses to the generosity and favour of that poor
wretched girl's countrymen. General Napier insisted
upon inquiry into this gross outrage upon the per-
sonal liberty of one of the Queen's subjects, who,
whatever her sins and misfortunes, however she_ be
poor and destitute, is as much entitled to be protected
against brutal violence as the chastest matron whose
brows arc encircled by a coronet. The Royal Court,
after long deliberation, at last decided that the
constables were not to blame, but there existed
no sufficient reason at present to send her to her pa-
rish. Was ever judgment more absurdly contradictory
than this ? The complaint is that the girl is 'died
and imprisoned, in order to be sent out of the Island
—the magistrates decide that there was no justifying
reason for imprisoning or sending her out of the Is-
land, but those who thus acted without justifying
cause are not to blame !! The Solomonsl Virbstia
privilege to be allowed to elect such people.
The conduct of General Napier in Guernsey en-
titles him to the heartiest thanks of every clear-
headed, right-minded person—Of every person that
livshes to see a hitherto unchecked Oligarchy, litteved
in corruption and educated in prejudice, restrained
4 checked. —..

LLSSYLCS.
At a general meeting of the members of Lloyd's, held
yesterday, at their new rooms at the Royal Exchange,
G. R. Robinson, Esq , in the chair, the following. votes
were proposed and carried unanimously, viz.:—
The ium of 211. towards the subscription for a statue
of Prince Albert, to be erected at the Royal Exchange.
The honorary silver medal (of Lloyd's) to Lieutenant
Trollope,:of her Majesty's ship Isis, for his highly praise-
worthy, humane, and persevering exertions in saving, at
the imminent poll of his life, the crew of the barquo
Orion, of Scarborough, wrecked near Ichaboe, 20th
July last.
51. to Thomas Clarke and James Chalmers, who ac-
companied Lieut. Trollope on the occasion.
201. in aid of the subscription opened 'at Great Yar-
mouth, for the benefit of the widows and families of the
men who perished, and to reward those who riskektheir
live; in the attk'mpt to save the crew of a ship wreeited
on the Scroby Sand, 26th ult.

ExETER-lIALL.—The Sacred Harmonic Society
has announced a performance of Cathedral Music for
to-morrow. Thu several pieces forming the programme
are chronologically arranged, commencing with 1)r. Tye
in 1550, and concluding with 1)r. Cooke in 1790. They
include specimens of the works of Tullis, Purcell, Blow,
Crofr, Greene, Boyce, Gibbers, anti otherA.
The following di,tingnished pert,ons visited Capt.
Siborne's new Waterloo Model at the Egyptian-hall :
The Duchess of Bueckuch, the Marchioness of London-
derry, the Marchioness of Ely, the Earl of Cardigan, Sir
Willoughby Cotton, Lord R. Grosvenor, Sir J. and Lady
Lushingtou.

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