The Sun.
London, England, 1819-03-11 00:00:00

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' ACT.

Mr. EDlTOR,—Having noticed some able Let•
tens on the subject of Abuses vnder the Insolvent
Act. and the propriety of its continuance, I take
the liberty of offering a few remarks to the com-
munity, as well as the -mercan►ti}e am! trading
world, and to answer some of the 'theoretical re-
math.; that have been made by the supporters of
the Act.

The 11.12cirrtoc1TtEs of Society ai•e tech defined
by N;tture, Reason,, any! Religion, and hare been
settled and determined by necessity. and. expe-
fience—they ►prescribe a MUTUAL assistance and
interchange of good cptii'7es, supplying the wants of
another, with that which we are willing to spare

fora SOMClbillg WiliCh we 'consider

Ns eq ix(' ei;

Thtt< the common law of the Imod does not. ac-

'l‹,!rivipti2e nor. GrvING AWAY
PRoPERTY to allot hrr, for NOTHING. It Al.

trays implies a recontirenee, and %here none is
settled, raises and establishes one equal to the
worth of his labour -or merchandi‘e; arid con-
tracts are, by the obl;gatious of NATITRAL JUS..
TICP, stiongly in the eye of the law,
as they would be by the most express promise.

If ow, been ADMV Fn by the Advocates for the
Insolvent Act, that it has sumenous defrctg, nod

is A great TPNIPTAIIoN for them to FSE:COSIE DIS-

11uNp.sT, anti its supporters betray great incon-
sistency in cuAuNTING its praises, and .are also
lunch at variance in their arguments and posi-
tions. Some of them direct public attention to
certain regulations, and indulge in arguments or
recommendations which in effect tend only to

excite pul►iic ridicule and contempt, as their opi-
nions appear to have beau founded non an, ideal
stale of iE inks, as also in some instances• upon
a perversion of facts, fo►►nded on theories long
since invalidated by its practical and baneful
effects.

The justice of aiding a Creditor to recover a
sum (Inc to him, appears to Itave been FE LT from

the earliest times.

The shifts and evasions of the

Debtor under this Act have been productive of
fraud to inn incalculable extent, fio:n the easy Fa-
cility by which the Debtor obtains his discharge,
and the Public sustain a sentous loss, as the Act
has a direct tendency in inducing men to become
voLuNTAR V prisoners in preference to using en-
deavours to discharge their debts, and. the Debtor
thereby DEFRAUDS the COMMUNITY♦ The Act

has also a great temptation to the profligate to
contract debts beyond their power to discharge,
to the auto of industrious Tradesmen, in the hope
that in the GLUT of cases which come before ()NE
Commissioner, they may be exonerated by a false

sind UNDETECTED EXHIBITION Of their circus-)

stances ; and it is evident, under this law, that
numbers hare thrown themselves into prison by
friendly and collusive arrests.
The consequences of the Act in its administra-
t;on exhibit a lamentable picture of the Disso-
tuTENesS and PIionAGACY practised by Debtors
in the prisons, and which it would be most de-
sirable to correct. Fears and blushes have no
place in those receptacles of GUILT. and although
I am inclined to admit, thin a merciful leaning in
favour of liberty is commendable, that cannot be
pronounced a measure of real humanity, which,
in HithTENING the discharge of the Debtor, leaves
the Creditor totally unprotected. if it is mercy in
the former, it is too FRE4URNTLY iniustice in the
latter.

To spew the impolicy-of the present law, it iS
only necessary to represent, that a person 'pos-
sessed of ten times the slut) for which he is im-
prison,d may set his Creditors at DEFIANCE, if he
will tno.he up his mind to a confinement of TuREE
Motu hs, which lie can, under the Act, render a
scene of -EXPENsIVE DEBAUCHERY and VOLUP-
TUOUS EXTRAVAGANCE i it must, therefore, be
admitted, that some restrictions are necessary to
defeat the marluttations of FRAUDULENT Debtors,
and to protect the fair Trader from the growing
imposition of the times. It is also observable,
that, should the Act continue, it will give addi-
tional encooragement to artifices heretofore re-
sorted to by persons discharged under former In-
solvent Acts, for the purpose of obtaining fresh
credit, and imposing on the CREDULITY of
KIND.

The Legiilature have the interests of traffic to
ptoieet iii a Commercial Country—they have also
to guard, ►t hat is still more dear to a Nation, the
happiness and SAFETY of a People at large. Com-
mince is noble and generous in its character, cre•
ating a delightful .intercourse between man and
man, (or the benefit of each ; that some law equal
for the purpose of PROTECTING Trade should be
DEVISED, cann►►t he DENIED.

A new Law between Debtor and Creditor in
favour of commerce is much required. It is a
noble- sentiment that grants credit, nor should it
checked by any indnlgencies- in favour of the
licentious and unptincipled. It should not always
be allowed on the part of the Debtor, that un-
expected loss has occasioned the breach of pro-
mise. The. grievance is the same, and a part of
society, ;thin the reach of its shock, becomes dis-
turbed or overthrown by its effect ; for such are
the MUTUAL DEPENDENCIES, that when broken in
upon; the disorder spreads, nor can the symmetry
of that part of the Common Wealth be restored
until every thing may be rei)laced.

JUSTITIA.

IR ELAN D.

rrrom The (Dubli►►) Correspondent.]

4, TO TfIE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL Or
CHARLEMoNT.

Lotto,-Among those characters whose
names have not derived distinction from the ob-
trusive glories of sthe Field or the Senate, your
Lordship ranks deservedly high. The private
virtues which 'conduce most to the happiness of
society, as well as that of the individual possessed
of them, crowd around your hearth, and exem-
plify themselves in ill the relations of life ; you
give to your country he valuable benefits of your
constatit residence, and the example of those
social dirties, which form the best foundation of
public happiness. lam disposed to eulogize you
even to the verge of flattery ; bit 'I will go no
farther than to say, that, but fur one thing, you
would he the perfect repressntative of your illus-
trions father—and that one thing, my Lord, is,
your desertion of the Protestant Cause.
" veriest school-boy of our day, at all ac-
quainted with the best period of Ireland's history,
were he who was the truest, the steadiest,
and most constant Irish Patrio!, would nut hesi-
tate to ariswer----the late venerated and illustrious
Charlemont If ,!fete ever was a man who, more
that, amoher, valued freedom, and sought it
rtiron.ol the pfinciples of the British Constitution,
that matt was your excellent and lamented
now more than ever to be lamented; nor was
there, my Lord, of his own day, or since, a Wan
better go.dified to clecide toi the political course
which lit adopted, and to give to it the sanction
of name ald of character. He seas not only
an elegant, but a prOfound scholar ; not only
tic-
qustin►ed with the laNs and institutions of his
own country, but those of every o: her which are
worthy of being studitd by the philosopher or
the legislator—aud, notch mote than all that the
closet can give; lie was well read in the living
volume of man. If tolerance and liberality 'were
to chose a form in which to walk the earth, they
would have fixed upon his ; and, my Lord, Ire-
land, although too forgetful of tier benefactors,
cannot but still hold in vivid recollection, that the
:Genius of her Liberties chose him for their Cham-
pion. But, with all this—the czeneral of the
Irish Volunteers, the patron of public talents and
public principle—this great man, the study of
whose whole life was, how best to serve his coun-
try, had but otie opinion on the Catholic Claims—
and that one he held unchanged to his death.
His immediate and particular historian, it is true,
has asserted that his opinion an this subject un-
der.went some slight dereliction' in the latter
part. of his life ; but in vain we look for the
proofs, and It is, I believe, pretty well known,
that the Memoirs' to which I allude, were writ-
ten under the direction of a character, who, if he
could not raise his political consistency to the
proud altitude of your father's, would naturally
make an el'ort to lower that of his early patron
to the. level of his own. In a more universal his•
tory Of the wisdom and whine of the Irish" cha-
racter, the Memory of your illustrious parent will
occupy an illuminated page and, if its lustre
shall not uniformly descend in his nawe, it will
not be that a onitorm example has not been af-
forded by his life. He was not only but
active in the expression .of 'that will, that real and
tangible }grievances should be removed from the
Catholic Body of Ireland. lie was willing that
they should be relieved from the pressure of
penalty; that they should have long leases ex-
tended to them ; that they should have the
amplest means of acquiring property, and of be-
ing scented in the possession of i! ; that they
should not Tabour under the odious restraints and
terrors of bills of discovery, &c. ; and that they
should be allowed the full and free exercise of
their religion ; he was, in the fullest sense of,the
term, a Tolerant ; but, my Lord, had he lived to
encounter your Lordship's new friends, he, lilee
every other man who dares to have an opinion
of his own, and to cling to the Constitutiori—he
would he bramkd with the vituperative epithet of
an Intolerant ; but, my Lord, from such men, be
would have gloried in the appellation, and his
character would have repelled the intended re
proach.

" So far as toleration could be connected with
concession, the late Earl of Charlemont was as
ready as any man to concede ; but so well satis-
fied was he of the danger to which the Constitit--
tion would be exposed by exceeding the boundary
which his experience and good sense had pre-
scribed—so convinced was he of the principles of
1688, and all the glorious results of that period,
which find their grace in the measure of unquali-
fied Emancipation—that he resisted it in limine
When the Elective Franchise was proposed to be
granted in 1793, he looked upon the boon with a
prophetic terror ; he raised his pure and indepen-
dent voice • against it ; he considered the propos-
ed concession as the off,pring of a weak and tem-
porising policy, and that, instead of satisfying, it
would only generate demand, While any thing of
the rights and liberties- of a Protestant Govern-
ment-remained to be demanded. This was the
view he took of the question. His honest voice,
which almost stood alone, availed not ; an`d he
recorded a Protest, which will for ever identify
his respected name with the integrity of our Con-
stitution in Church and State. He knew the
principles of the Catholics, arid the operation of
Catholic power ; he had resided, not indifferent,
nor inobservant, in foreign Catholic!countt ies, and
could not but be impressed with the Conviction how
Weil religious tyranny prepares the human mind
to bow before the rod of the temporal despot. He
knew that die Protestant could legislate, advan-
tageously and liberally, for the Catholic ; brit the
Catholic would never do so for the Protestant ;
find, therefore, lie was anxious that the Catholic
should not be suffered to cross that line which
formed the outer gliard of a Protestant Establish-

mew. A creed, which assumes to it the power of
exclusive salvation, twist inevitably beget the spi-
rit of proselytism; he is no Catholic • Who thies

not acknowledge its influence ; and, being tinder
such influence, he is not. a conscientious mien
who would not do all that in him lies to wake

converts from heresy, and increase the number of,
the saved. Upon the good and pious Catholic it
is am imparative duty to make proselytes, and,
next. to saving his own soul, to• save the finds of

otlicts ; and, if GI pliltc tde ..s!rT,ee H the
total ined"with power, how intich stronger,
and more to be dreaded, must it prove in a col-
lective body, combining the means of the Politi-
cian with the teal of the Christian ? Your Noble
Father knew this, my Lord, and be defeinled the
first approach of the Constitution. He knew tlett
the Reformation was intimately connected with
the Revolution ; that its light has uniformly led to
liberty; and that, wherever her blessed spirit rose
• tinder a catholic Government, it rose against
Oppression, but never yet was fostered by encou-
ragement.
" My Lord, the Reformation was to Religion
what the Revolution was to Politics, and there is
in the creed of the Protestants a sturdy and in-
herent tone of freedom, which will ever secure it
to its professors, and those for whoin-they shall le-
gislate. If the opinions I offer shall appear im-
pertinent to your Lordship, and, in troth, I do
not intend they shall, recollect those of your ft-
ther ; if these are not remembered, for it is even
possible that the opinions of such a. man may be
forgotten, refer to History; consult her most faith-
foil records, anti mark the ;Instruction she affords
you. You will there see, that, front the days of
Ethelwolf, when the Church took Tythe front
the profits of incontinency, down to the reign at
Henry VIII.; the Papal influence Was directed
against the liberties of nation's., 17infi" that the sla-
very imposed upon religious opinions WaS direct-
ed against every attempt to, ameliorate or improve
the civil condition rot mail.. Wilier! Henry Vlll.broke and cast front him the trammels of Papacy,
and made ambition virtue,' lie lett to his sne•
censor, Elizabeth, (I would fain forget the five
years reign of the infernal Mary,) an inhet it ance
of religious liberty which she improved, and nou-
rished with ptver priociples:; her reign is reserved.
among the boasts and blessings of Brick!, history,
and all ackinneledged its glories. hut—the mO-.
dent Cwholic. Another reign followed, and ari•
other, and still the principles of poblie liberty
were strengthening. and extending, hilt they could
neither inform nor correct the ovens of arbitrary
power, and that power could find no tutsociate but
Catholicity. The half Protestant and half Catho-
lic Charles H. was the pensionary and slave .of a
Popish Prince, because he had not virtue to de-
pend upon a free people, and his cirions spirit
was at war with their liberties. His wretched
brother, of despised memory, James 11., was. of
more decided character, and for that decision we
have to thank him, inasmuch as it has been the
involuntary source of our liberties. This wretched
Vrince drew his love of arbitrary rule either froth
the principles of the Catholir Religion, or af-
fected those principles, as most friendly to his de-
signs against the rights and 'independence of his
people. I care not, my Lord, how the ease is
1/41i-direct, inverted, or transposed—cast it about
as you may, still it will rest on a base of tyranny
and intoletance, and show, beyond dispute, that
Catt!olic Government is hostile to the priociples
of liberty, and the permanent greatness aud,hap-
pittess of a nation. I wish, my Lord, I could en-
force those troths on your conviction, as strongly
as they 'were 'felt, and powerfully as they could
have been advocated, by'•your venerated tattier ;
I should then find no difficulty nt fanning into life
and vigour the heritable spark of virtue in youl-
breast, and makiog you, nut almost, but alto
gether' such as be was.

r grant, my" Lord, that much has been done
of late years to deceiie.the wary anti 4+,11 the un•
suspecting. Bigotry has assumed the garb of li-
berality, and fixed and irrevocable principles have,
affected to deny their spirit. It has become,' te.-
fashion to mike a distinction between the term
, CATHOLIC and PAPIST, but, believe me, it it 4
• distinctiott without a digerence.; and, a!thoug)l
many indivichiall of thekomish Church may make
that distinction sincerely and liberally, the•spirit
of the sect, and the act of the body at large,
would refute anal deny it. This is proved by the
occasional forgetfulness of the policy that would
deceive ; and, as the moments Of exiAtation are
those which most expose the butnipt heart, we
accordingly find, since the unfortunate and
ill-
orner►ed Meeting at the li.ntnoda, Catholics in this
city openly avowing the connection of their poli-
tical hopes with the restoration of the power of
the Pope. • Yes, my Lord, anal they would refer
to that power, until Peter's pence should be sub-
stituted for the Window Ta.r, and bete.ey made a
• disqualification to the Throne.
" I assure your Lordship that it pains me to
dwell upon this ungracious subject ; but the rash,
unnecessary, and impolitic Meeting at the IttP-
tmola has forced me, and all taco of my senti-
ments, to the manly avowal of our principles, aod
the maintenance of our rights ; and, take any word
for it, that the time is gone by when the voice of
the friends of the Constitution could be deterred
by fear, or drowned in the uproar of popular
clamour.

" '[here are in this country men possessed of
alents deserving of a better use, who litivy made

a property of the passions of the people, apd
traded on their hopes ; • but this is a traffic un-

worthy of your Lordship—leave it to those who
are fitter for it. You do not stand pledged to the
errors of inheritance, nor does filial duty demand
from you the adoption of a viscious consistency.
Your no-ide and revered Father had, throu.,4l)
long and honoured life, set you the example. of a
constitutional and independent member of the
Aristocracy—he was a chaste ornament of this
pillar of the temple of our liberties, and never
suffered the beatities of his character to be de-
based, by betiding his integrity to the objects of
a vulgar and mistaken popularity. Ills example,
my Lord, will do more than instruct you in what
you should do—it will spare you the mortification
of defeat and disappointment. It is difficult to
believe that your Lordship could suppose the Pro-
testant mind of (treat Britain and Ireland so re-
triograde from the principles of the Revolution,
and so insensible to its blessings, as to justify the
hopes, or endure the objects of the Rotunda Meet-. •
int:. No, my Lord, the alarm which that As-
sembly has sounded rings- through the etnpiretlie
children of the Constitution will rdllv around the

parent of their liberties ; and though still willing,
to give to the Catholic what may be given with
safety, there is a point at which they !MI6( and
will make a stand ; :and they never will consent
that a PROTESTANTMRONE shall be divested of
the• safegltalds of • ritOTiSTANT PARLIANIiiSt

'"d a CovNc:c. T;;;,, mV D'ret'
WaS die priocipie of your licatified Father'
and is that. of evuy .
" GENUINE WHIG?'

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

VICF-CILINCELLOR'S COURT, NlAncxi 10.

BRADSHAW V. BR,ADSHAW.
Mr. AGAR said, this VI7A3 a motion to have the
report confirmed which the Master had made ill
this case. By the will of the testator, the plain
tiff*, Who are his children, were made wards of the
Court, arid the guardians he had appointefl wire
subject to the approbation of the Court. He had
PeVI al large estates, and an application Wss
formerly made by the plaintiffs and their nearest
of kin, that it might be referred to the Master, f°'
inquire and rep,,rt what umnber of trees was fit t°
be cut down and sold. The ease accordingly went
to 'he Master, before whom it appeared that
anti
'wards of 400 trees were fit to be cut doom
sold, without delay,-as they were beginning i %
decay. The Masttr reported that such was t",c
opinion ; ary the applieation now made was ta- •
the Report should he confirmed.
rt in
The Vics-CHANceLLoa ordered the
be cotlfirmed ; that the sale should td!ce„
with the approbation of the nearest of 131:
save.expences; and that the proceeds should --
paid into Court, to await the final result. •

• -81',1111t1 NG,
NEroks tits HIG/ENTE. ;111E". AIICII6UISe -14

His IlighbeSs having expressed an anxtpiß
wish to witness some of the national fl"
sports so peculiar to 14te character of Englisbidueid._
a distinguished Nobleman, high in 'the Foci', I '
tiieheighbouthooci of Grosvenur-sqUare,.requesii7i
some of the first-rate pugilists to attend al
inarisiOn yesterday, and-Mr. Jackson superint;r.
ed order of the conduits. Crib and °"b
first. made their bow; and this set_tp Was
udniired for its spirit and science. Oit Crib's. roc.
tag ityro,luced to his flightless, .
as the CbsaP;je:
of England, he appeared, much pleased 1.011)
manly and fine athletic appearance of th:s
ligtie hero; the muscidar arm's cif Oliver nls
claimed his attention. • `Turner, ‘vitO •
returned from a sparring tour, in hue colv111'i`;1::
hid a turn with the scientific Hales.
sanding the superior tactics of the latter,
has made such rapid improvement from 101 T
rial
practice, that he appeared to stand upon eq,e,
ground with his opponent, mid once or
like the acknowledgment of Laertes to ji '
" palpable hits" were admitted. It ", „Prt
flounced by all as an admirable display of ""„ea
o.f self defence ; and thunders of applausecros',
fittri-
t3:ir exertions. The Finale was 'etpon'Y
Owe. Richmond and the prime lrisbLi",a
played their various traits-of milling, '4-- tool
satisfaction of the amateurs. His Highnes,,:ed•
struck with the decided mode of hir‘ting, Pr"-;ans
by Randall, and also expressed himself coose'tory
of the Advantages that must result towards.c.ricigh"
in actual combat from its velocity. , 11-15';
u'-ss was much pleased wiih the politeness with-
attetdion shown to ; and he
,brel'gri-Li, cwt..
givinK praise to tire manliness of ibe "-
ratter.

BOXING.-11ANDALI AND matertti.
On Tuesday tug it the whole of the stAki
motley, 150 guineas to 100, wcre Invie 4()‘,1,E1e
Betting six to four, upon Randall.—The 11
will be fought on the 4th of Alsy-

A few nights ago, about nine o'clocl4, 99 ,3;
George Ethininl;ton, aged 71, of
near York, wish his wile and grandchil'f, tile so
-of Mr. Efherington, Excise Offi "
cer, Skil)'',rag
"'
sitting round the kitchen fire, ,
flied at them 'through the tiono‘s
looks into the garden ; the ball front
passed within en inch of the child's kt~lieege'i.
while sitting on its grandmother's
at the same instant that the pktol was di9c.
ed, a large sharp-edged stone, weigbi'lg t'
"1
poard-i and a half, VYZIS-tbrown throug•l I ," „t
with such violence as to gtaze z
the room. Oil the following wilrilf%gi'lha
glazi, Cs diamond was found contioons (-were
window through which the pistol and 51°11e to
discharged, whieh'is well knowo to heluilgththe
nelson who is in a state of hostilitY "t
It
,re •
Ethcrington family. As the matter .13 to
icgai we shall fur the rrers;'/lira"*.
stain from stating further particulars.
Per.)

MARRIED. , e pet'. G.
On T e
'Tuesday List, at. St. Mary's, Is:inntl, , bah
Clarkson, of Bingley, in Yorkshire, to Miss
Wilcocke, of Islington.

DIE!). 1'743"
Yesterday mornin7, aged nearly two years, George, as'''
.
117a!sh, son of ,11r. J. Walsh, of the' Inner l'c'1191"
Grac•
stationer. -tier
Yesterday, in Hamilton-i.:tee, the infant son of
the Ditcliess of nedford.
v 46.
0
PROVINCIAL lIIIITI IS, NIARRIAGES, A--
,-. vt:Athe
llttalf S.,
t r
Lately, at the Manor-house, Burnett, Glouces•eshire' f
La(!y of Colonel Netiham, Of a Gloucestershire, d. 1,0 °
Lately, at Bitton Vicara%:e, o the '
the her, 11. T. Ellicombe, of a Oluzliter.

g.utict e n.ftec""
Lately, at 'Ntirsli'n.7„ liant:, the Res-, C. Wiliam/Licit-L) Mar"
.of Chilton and Brown CanJ 4
e3lover coin tVo"'ln'aric°
L:aret datLrliter of the late Rev. '7sr. D'
Wetlls, and of the late Iti;:ht lion. Wol: VVPidbraelplet
t),l the 2ti inst. William Clo.tv'es, Es of the M,iddie
youngest seqt of Charles Clmves, Esq. date of Delaford,
13etlfOil-scluarc
to eldest daughter of John 1,e41),

Oft Tlmrsda 1 "i"". : t Che,tcrP
ylast, at act honve, in Newrate-stree ,
1\
1 'l4.7;itltil;":,el3l; '''l
il
;Sell:111f !iteijStirleiltl‘lled:2l:ll:;'ll", I::e"avr.:ll,ll,ergarerg,L:
James Morgan, Esq. only son of the lute James bluff`g ant .''''
of Bristol.
At Buchany,mear Dun ne,Scotland, on the 47th ttlt. 0611.c.463,,
Balfour, glazier, -de:eft Si. lie was a man of superior 8.1:0
tie;, of a ready country wit, pcs4.3essing. act astonishing' id it
of anecdote coneei pins:: the Lt rent. families of Scotland in
(trio adherent of the tinfortnnale Prince (.11:trles Edsearo.it., ::.
il),:mory of whom he m eserrcii, with the utmost vire, av
per,;;-h, nut of which the Prince is .Said to liar:. drank ottu,',
way thLongh I)onne, immediately before the battle of Cii'd
lod en. mm fie reebered t h'e Ifighiutobnan'N 'fear, anti boaste.,
of liiivinc; (race sectithe Prince. He was honest in all 111
dealings, led an active life, enjoyed it to the last, aati PI'S --
woi I the day before lit Med; , . 2.........____....„...
~,

~.,—,—.- —.......
_—_-_
Guest
r,ONDON: Printed by,.l. 14. CARSTAIR.S, at No, 29,‘7,
Ormond-street, Qlwea-square; and publiOie'd bv ''','„'A,;
sciapps, of N. 7, South Moltan-street, at Tt-Ig- ''.
Odice, N. Ili!, Strand ; where,dveitisement3, Ottivl',
Lvtivta, AL., (lays,t-r...44) mast '►!e a hltrzusre.. ' ,

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