The Sun.
London, England, 1819-04-08 00:00:00

RECESS.

Lord CASTLEREAGH said it was his intention to m vs
the Adjournment of the House to the 21st, but he should
hare proposed an Adjournment to the following Monday,
were it not for the inconvenience to which. it might put
some Members. He trusted, however, there would be an
understanding in the House, that no business of import-
ance would be brought forward till the Monday following
the 2ist.

The SPEAKER stated, that an Electionlltit stood for
Tuesday, the 24d, and the House could not adjourn beyond
that day unless it were disposed of.

SCOTS' BURGHS.

Lord A. HAMILTON gave notice, that on Thursday, the
6th May, be should submit a motion to the House on the
subject of the SCots' Burghs.

ALIEN ACT.

Mr. C. HUTCHINSON gave ❑oticc, that on Friday, the
7.th May, he should wove tor leave to bring in a Bill to repeal.
the Alien Act.

Sir CHARLES MONCK moved for an account of the
amount of the Husbandry Horse Tax for the year ending sth
April, 1819.

FEMALE CONVICTS.
Mr. BENNET now begged to call the attention
of the HOnse to the motion which he had pro-
mised, for preventing the sailing of the ship or
brig" Wellington," chiefly with fem•rle convicts

for New South Wales. The Hon. Member ob.

jected to the system of transportation to Botany
Bay, the tendency of which operated as a degra-

dation and debasement of character. The n►iuds
and morals those unfortunate fellow-creatures

became entirely corrupted, and irons the vicious
practices of the prison' to those of the ship, the
transition was but short and easy. The eneral
objection which he had to punishment in this way
continued to confirm him in his opinion against
the system of transportation. The grand object

of punishment was to excite dread, and to esta-,
blish example. By thismodeot punishment the in-,
tendons of the Legislature were defeated. All
abandoned criminals, deserted by society, looked
upon sentence 'of transportation as highly fa:*
vourable to them. This effect clearly demon-

striated, that through this medium there was

a want of the establishment of ,a sufficient and

an impressive example. The Honourable Mem-
ber then stated the number of convicts which had
.been transported in the year 1817, amounting to

2900. He censored the conduct of the Govton-
ment of the Colony for, not attending to the in-
structions sent out by Lord Castlereagh in the
-year 1812, when his Lordihip was in, the War
and Colonial Department. Not one step had
been taken to carry into effect MS Lordship's in-
'structi'ns for the better government of the con-
victs sent out to the Colony. In allusion to the
Statute of the 19th Geo. 111., 'which' had been
drawn up by the celebrated Sir William Black-
stone, its chief object had been misconceived. A
preference was given by it to Penitentiary houses,.
rather than transportation. That system had for•
some years' been acted upon ; but for a Dum-
ber afterwards had been abandoned, till lately
revived by the erection at Millbank. The
Member was also more friendly to the Peniten-
tiary system than to that of transportation. But'
:even the transportation system was defective.4'
At •a late Assize, the Learned Judge passsed -
sentence of transportation on some convicts for
seven years, though suck a sew ence had lately
seldom been carried into effect. Then what be,
came of the unfortunate persons thus situated ?'
They continued to remain promiscuously tone- .
titer in prison, corruntiog each other by a reel-''
procity of vices. At all events, the transporta-
tion of women to New South %Vales appear-
ed to lint exceedingly improper. It might be
called a Colony, not a -Settlement, for no pro-
vision was made' for the good government
and prbtection of the women convicts whets
they arrived there:. Sending out women was its
every view contrary to the principles of huma-
nity, not to-say a wanton violation of morality.
The Hon, Member then related some instances
of. cruelty pfactised.upon womru, by their con-
veyance from the country prisons to London, its
order to be sent on board the ships destined for
-the voyage. 'lle called their attention particu-
larly to two cases, information of which he had
received from the Keeper ot Newt ate. One was
that ot a girl who had been br.ought up from
Cambridge, that had been chained in a manner so
shockingly cruel, as to dety all the instruments
which Newgate could afford to rottener the oil-
happy victim. They were at last obliged to get a
.blacksmith, who was forced to use' his utmost
skill and sitengt4 in emancipating the woman

from her chains r The next ease sea's that aft Sit I
with a child at her breast, chained nearly in a si-
milar manner, and enduring the most heart-rend-
ing tortures. The lion. Member saw the girl
himself, and conversed with her on the subject of
her sufferings, and seldom was heard a more de-
plorable tale. When put on board the ship, there
was no distinction of persons, no distinction of
character or conduct—no encouragement for those
who did good--,-uo punishment for those who)
t °omitted evil. They were so practised in vice.
luring the voyage, that they might be said to, pre-
sent on their landing matured brothels. He would
ask if this was the way to check or controul the
progress of vice ? Was this the way to reclaim
our fair but corrupt countrywomen ? He was
therefore determined to use his utmost efforts
to persuade the House to suspend the sailing
of the vessel with more women convicts, till
they heard that some plan had been adopted for
the better government of the. women convicts in
the colony, the seat of every species of vice, and
of every speei,s of corruption. Notwithstanding
the reputed humanity of :he Commander of the
yt,ip, and notwithstanding site was to have the
professional skill and boinane treatment of Dr.
Condey, the Honourable Member was against the
sendineJuore women convicts at a time when we
might to recur to tic penitentiary A:3-tem. lie
then referred to several letters from that phila,i-
thropist, Mr. Maisden, Chaplain-General for New
Swot, Wales. la these, the, result of a promis-
ctioes intercourse saf the sexes, and the result of
prestiovion in all i s vat ious stages, were traced
and manifested by the rapid progress of disease,
wish all its peculiar but shocking coocomitants.—
Not contented with these dreadful scenes on shore,
numbers of women had been sent on board a
King's ship for the gratification of lust and pros-
titution !—Mr. Marsden ga,ve a shocking descrip-
tion of the hospital of. Parramattah, where the
most loathsome disease was raging from the illicit
and promiscuous intercourse of the sexes—from
the abominable scenes of prostitution now con-
demned. After many more impressive descrip-
tions, the Honourable Member concluded a long
and able speech by moving, that an humble Ad-
dress be, presented to his Royal Highness the
Prince Regent, praying that his Royal Highness
would he graciously pleasedlogiyealirections to
suspend, for a tithe, the sailing of the ship Wel-
lington, with the women convicts on board for
New South Wales. The Hon. Member assured
the House, that he had no other motive by mak-
ing the motion than the benefit and happiness of
his fellow,cleatures.

Mr. WILBERFORCE rose to second the motion.
tie recapitulated some of the arguments of the
last Speaker. He said, he did not see why Mem-
bers, who might not be prepared to say thit fe-
male convicts should.not be in future transported,
might not yet vote for the motion of his Hon.
Friend, because a Conmittee was now sitting up
stairs, under whose "consideration the state of the
Colony Or New SOuth Wales would necessarily
Come—that Committee might devise me lIS by
which the evil attendant on the system might be
avoided. •It was a subject of great importance,
and the House, he hoped, would take every
means to correct evils so enormous as those at-.
tendant on the present system. What evils, in-
deed, could be more enormous than the violation
of every virtue the abandonment of every
moral principle—the shameleis and open com-
mission of public prostitution He hoped the
House would agree to the motion. He hoped
thiS fresh cargo of females would not be per-
mitted to sail. The object of the House must be
to put a stop to vice and misery, and they could
not, in this instance, more effectually do so than
by voting for the Address. •

Mr. 13. li4THURST made several comments on
the arguments which had been advanced by the
Mover and Seconder. He stated that when a
ship arrived which contained females on board,
the married inhabitants were allowed to come and
select what servants they might want. The rest
were then sent to work at the woollen factory at
Varamatta. He would allow that their accom•
modations at that place were not very complete,
but they were not so bad as had been represented.
if more convicts were not to be sent to New
South Wales, and that country was only to .be
regarded in the light of a colony, penitentiaries
most be erected in the different counties at home,
which could not be the work of a day. It ap-
peared to him, that as none but the worst of the
women were sent to Paramatta, the selec-
tion was made as it should be. lie contended'',
that few of them had a wish to come back.
Most of them married and settled in the country.
It was not correct to say that they had no means
of returning home but by prostituting themselves.;
Men could save a sufficient sum in four or five
years' work to pay their passage home, and wo-
men must have facilities of a similar nature. Some
bad come home with a sort of fortune,which had
induced them to return. If the present system
were abolished, no substitute could be found
without the greatest deliberation and time.
Mr. Wm. PARNELL stated, that out of 160
women employed at the Factory, 150 had no
means of procuring money, save by prostitution.
Mr. BaTuonsT repeated, that the statement
must be incorrect, as they had every day from
three o'clock in the afternoon to work for them-
selves, and one holiday besides, every week.
Mr. Box.rosr stated, that when it• had been in-
quired tram some of the witnesses in the Coln-
mittee how many lived by prostitution, the an-
swer had been, nine out of ten.
Mr. GOULEURN was understood to object to
this mode of partially discussing what had fallen
groin witnesses in a former Committee.
Sir BYAM MARTIN did not believe the prostitu-
tion in New South Wales was halt so bad as in
the streets of this metropolis. The chief effect
of the Hon. Member's motion, if it were agreed
to, would be to keep prostitutes in confinement
till their time was out, and then to let them loose
upon the town again. It would also delay the
sailing of the ship till the Equinox, and thus ex-
pose the unfortunate females it was intended to
convey to tile tempests of that season. The Gen-
tlemen opposite were, no doubt, actuated by n►o-
tives of pine humanity, but if they wished all
their notions to be rendered practicable, they
must bezin by introducing an Act of Varliannut •

'to alter tit nature, ana 4.6-romiti it to
taste.•
After a few observations from Mr. CLIVE and
Mr MARRYAT,
" • • • •

Mr. BENNET, in reply, contended, that the ship
in which the cases of prostitution and cruelty
which he had mentioned had taken place-, was one
sent tinder exactly the same order as the present.
There was, thelefore, no hope that irinch good
could be derived from what was 'called a new ex-
periment. He then read several passages from
the evidence taken before the Committee to prove
that the women had no means of coming home
save through prostitution. lie should not suffer
himself to be deterred from the execution of what
he conceived to be his ditty by any sneer: In-
stead of passing laws to regulate human nature,
tber'e was nothing to do but to repeal those by
which it was degraded. He then referred to what
had been done in former times to dispose of con-
victs. Wonld the House helieve ulna it had been
discussed in the Privy Council, whether British
convicts should be sold as slaves to the Deys of
Algiers Loud Tripoli ? Yet such facts,' as well as
the immense tnimbers which had perished from
ill treatment during the voyage since 1787, would
he found clearly proved in the work of Mr. Col-
!Ms. The motion was then put and negatived
without a division.