The Sun.
London, England, 1818-03-04 00:00:00

POLICE REPORT.

Mr. H. SmtNEß'pre,ented d Petition from the
Magistrates of the Epsot:► Division, complaining of
having been calumniated by the evidence befote
the Police Committee. It• prayed for, inquiry
into their conduct respecting the licensing of pub-
lic houses.

After a short conversation between Mr. REN-
NET, Lord LASCELLES, Mr. H. :SUMNER, and Mr.
THORNTON, in the cc utse of which many com-
pliments were paid to the Petitioners, and it was
observed by Mr. BENNET that certain passages in
the Repot t. were in no degree directed against
them, the Petition was ordered to lieon the table.

LORD SIDMOUTFI'S CIRCULAR.
Mr. BENNET said, he had a Petition to present
from a person who bad been most cruelly used,
nOi in consequence of the• Suspension of the Hi-
beds Corpus Act, but from the undue and soul-

dalous severity xvltich certain country Magistrate§
had exercised under the authority of the Circular
Letter transmitted by the Noble Secretary of
State. He was quite satisfied that it was not the
intention of the Noble Lord that such cruelties

'should he e-eetci.s.d, as they were 'such to Which
the cowl ry was .iititaccustomed. The l'e!'tlion was
from Jonathan 13,ckteV, who kept a small hook-
seller's and pamphlet 'shoo, at lVarringtonovhcre
501(1 ce)(4.,7 of the Political Litany; Pima
in Londoo, be was seated by order of the Magis-
trates, hand-cuffed, and confined several days in
irons. Meanwhile his house was searched, and
though not anothee copy of the parodies euniti be
'found in it, a number of lei•ltorical and religions
books were carried away, several of which had
not heel, returned. The Quarter Sessions being
over, he was confined sixteen. seek 3, anti. calico
to the next Sessierts, in a cart, ironed,. and in
company with felons. During this time his wife
and family were reduced to ruin, and obliged to
tective assistance from the parish. The lion.
Geutleman then commented on the different treat-
ment received by Hone, who was the original pub-
lisher, and who was only committed to the King's
Bench. He then added, that lie 'had anotherPe-
thins) to present front a person, similarly Circum-
stanced. It was from- Samuel Billing, of War-
ringtou, who had been taken up at. the same lime,
nnd after being confined in chains, was. assaulted
by the turnkey, who. gave hint two black eyes.
The petitions were severally read they prayed
the House, in its wisdom, to take measures for
preventing the recurrence of such. cruel conduct.
On time question for their lying on she table,
Mr. lIENNET said he wished to ask the Amtor-
ney-General whether, as these unfortunate per-
sons still stood on their own recognizances, he.
meant to call theM forward at the next Sessions ?
The•ATTOENEY..GENERAL thought'there must he
some mistake. Their recognizJoces bad bound
them to appear in the Court of King's bench,
which they had done. Unless, therefore, these
persons wine to receive the usual notice of trial
within a certain number of days before the Ses-
sions, they would not be bound to appear.
Mr. BENNET replied that this was no answer to
him question. He would put it plainer, by asking
him whether he did not feel it to be his duty to
discharge those persons from their recognizances,
after the three acquittals of Mr. Hone.? _
The ATTORNEY-GENVRAL had no objection to
give an answer. He should not feel it his duty
to discharge the recognizauces of any of those
persons who have published any of such blasphe-
mous and infamous libels as those for which Hone
was tried. NVbetherhe should proceed to prose-
cute those persons %vas another matter ; hut he
should 'not forego his ditty as to What appeared to
him to be libels, because the person charged with
having published those libels in another place
had been actritted by a Jury : lor he had
known it • happee, that the offence of such
publications had not been equally considered by
different. Juries ; and there tore it •did not follow
that such poldications by other people should en-
title them to have their recognizances discharged,
because one publisher had hero acquitted. He
did not wish to make any reflection the con-
duct of the Juries who aeqeitted Hone, or on
their verdict ; bur the question of libtl or no
libel was so 11111C11 a matter of difference of judg-
ment, that lie was not satisfied, .because one Jury
thought those parodies not libels," another might
not think- quite the reverse. There were many
circumstances that might have weighed on the
minds of •Hone's Jury.. It was proved that after
certain persons had told him the publications were
improper, be had stopped them. But did it tol-

low, that men nhing the sante horrid things in

defiance .of the prosecution going on against
Hone, an►l even courti►►g prosecution while sell-

. .
ing their disgustiog poison at the corner of every

street, were to be deemed to have committed no
• outrage against religion and morality, because
Hone happened to be acquitted ? He had no hesi-
tation in saying, that be-did not think it his duty
Sc) abstain- from similar prosecutions because Hone
bad been acquitted,—(Hear, hear, hear !)—but
whether he should do it in the individual cases
alluded to by the Hon. Gentleman, was another
question. He had certainly removed the
tiones's case by certiorari into the Court of King's
Bench, because he did not think it would be just
towards the individual to Jet him be (tied before
-the Quarter Sessions, till he haft brought to trial
him Whom he considered as the principal.
Mr. LYTTLETON was. glad to have this oppor-
tunity of declaring the dt testation anti abhorrence
in which he held those blasphemous piodnet ions.
The 'verdict ought not to altt r the opinion of any
man ; and if he had attended earlier in that House
be should have felt it his duty tar contribute his
mite towards correcting the mischief that had been
done by the verdicts those JUries had givea.. He

held it to be sound law, that those men who had
contributed to circulate such produetions might be
prosecuted, and verdicts given' against them ; but
he would say, with regret, that he believed the
effect of farther prosecutions would be rather to
aggravate than decrease the evil.
.. Mr. BROUGHAM quite agreed with ki3 Hon.
Friend in his opinion respecting those infamous
and disgusting puhlicat ions, and also in not .wish-
ing to make any remark disnaraging•tp the Juries.
But if he had been on those Duties, under ail the
circumstances of the prosecution,' he shOnld have,
felt himself bound to return the same verdict.. He
only wished that the same meas tires had been dealt.
out at all times to all men.
Lord CASTLEREAGH really could not suffer such,
observations to pass without offering some com-
ments upon them. He must protest most strongly
against the doctrine that had been promulgated
respecting Juries nothing was more liable to or

deservin4 of animadversion ; for never Was ,a

doctrine heard more fatal to the principles of
justice, than that a Jury, acting on their oaths,
Were to travel out of the question, and enter into
pok,ical motives for their verdict.—(Hear,
hear !)—He had never heard any doctrine so con-
trary to the laws, or so fatal to the tranquillity of
the country, if it were possible that it could re-
ceive any sanction beyond the opinion of the Hon.
Gentleman.—(Hear, hear!)—But this opiilion ot,
Juries having a i ight to set themselves up as
political partisans was 11:04 dangerous, and if
the Honourable Gentlemen were, to reflect on
'the tendency of such an opinion, it must con-.
tribute to lower him in his own estimation, as
such conduct on the part of Juries would • be-
high offence against the countiy. The blasphe-
'stiles for which the trials had taken place were
employed to corrupt the minds of those who had

, . • -
not. file bapacoy- to re3ist them, and t!,r 'the
pose of 'resiteet for religion tiOin
their breast. If he conic] fetneinbei any thhitt of
those parodies on which the ldOttourable Geutic-
tuan conmented, he thought they had nut
been addressed to the lOwer Orders. of fhc,peOple,
but to those claSses whose minds could not be
affected by their contents; 13nt it waS'against a
doctrine so monstrous and daiigerOuS as that Which
had been delivered that he must prOtest.
Mr. Iltiour; reidied that the' doctrine against
which the Noble Lord so vehemently }protested
‘t's no doctrine of his ; but his doctrine was, that
the Jury -had been placed in such a situation that
they could do no otherwise than they dud.

WVILBEIttoucB did not wish to judge at all
of the motives of the Jury. He was utterly igno-
rant of the libels, having never read them. lie
alluded to the J►rosecntiun (-or the publication of
the second part of the Age of Reason, in proof
of his opinion, that it was not likely such prose-
cutions could tend to increase the circulation of
the libels ; as those I bets were, before the prose.
cutions, in such a degree of circulation, tl►at it was
not possible to extend them, brit atter it had taken
place, this circulation stopped. After paying
n►any compihnents to the Attorney-General for
his conduct, the Honourable Gentleman said he
must confess that lie (Mr. W.) had endea••
voured to have. those prosecutionsconducted on
such ground, that it would have been impos-
sible they could appear to have any political
motives. He then entered into a severe reproba-
tion of such publications, and conchnled with de-
claring his opinion that the Law Officers of the
Crown would not have. done their duty if they had
not interposed in defence of the religion. of the
country. _

Lord COCH RANG said, it was incumbent on
Alinisters to punish those who had instigated -re-
bellion, as they were pleased to call it. 1-lone
had been tried for committing an offence against
t.eligion, while his offence was solely
and d;rected against Ministurs.

The Petitions were then ordered to lie on die
table.

Lord A. 1-IAmIt.ToN presented a Prtition from
the Corporation of the Town of Ayr, the nature
of which could not he heard, but it was supposed
to tel to the state ()U tile Scotch B,,roughs.

Sir S. ROMILLY said he had 45 Petitions to
present, praying for a Reform in Parliament.
They were signed by not more than twenty per-
sons each. They imagined that there was a law
to prevent persons from petitioning that House
in greater numbers ; but they were entirely mis-
taken. The first of these Petitions; and he he-
lieeed they were all alike, prayed for a law to
allow all persons to have a right to cote for
Members of Parliament. He did not coincide
with this opinion ; but he had been solicited to
present, the Petition.
They were then brought up, and it appeared
they came from Bristol. They were read- short,
and ordered to lie on the table.

Lord COCHRANE presented a Petition from Ro-
bert Thorn, a weaver of Glasgow, who hail, been
taken up under the Habeas Corpus Suspension
Act. The petitioner, who asserted his innocence,
complained of having been arrested and committed
to prison, where he was kept for five days with-
out be;ng supplied witicany aliment, and exposed
to all the horror's of famine and the inclemency
of the season. During a !Unger period he had hall
no bed -to lie npon. lie had subsequently been
somewhat better accommodated, and had been al
lowed the sum of 'eightpence per (lay, out of
which he had to purchase coals and other neees-
sarits. He fun tier complained, that when he' felt
sick from the hard Ships to which he was subject-
ed, he had been denied medical assistance.
simple denial of the facts 'ought not to satisfy the
House. The ' case ought to be. fully investi-
gated, that if the jailer had been guilty of the
oppression imputed to him, public indignation
might fall on the right head.
The petition having been read,
Mr. FINLAY said, he knew from a most anthen-
tie sonrce, from a 'Gentleman who bad recently
gone over the prison, and had heard every one of
the prisoners expreSS satisfaction at the manner in
which they were treated, and thanks for the at-
tention paid to their families, 'which had been
placed in a better situation than they could have
hoped to provide for them. With respect to the
innocence of the party, he believed.he would not
have dared to state on that subject what appeared
in the petition in any Court or place it here he
was known. Though he would be the last titan
to oppose an inquiry where any thing like areal
grievance called for redress, yet, on the present
occasion, knowing the gaol in question to be le-
matkable for the 'regularity and propriety of its
arrangements, he could not believe the petition in
any respect entitled tO the attention of the House.
The petition was ordered to be printed.
Lord CoctlaASE presented-two petitions from
Wm. Irwin and John thiehanan, two (4ber 'per-
sons Who 'had. been Confined, under -.the Habeas
Corpus Suspension Act, which, in the main cir-
cumstances complained of, were similar to that
which he hail jast laid before the House. 'One
fist these individuals stated his life to have been
pru.setved by the interference Of a Member of that
liOnse (Mi. J. 11.Grant),who might he questioned
as to the truth .of this statripent.........Th, petitions
Were ordered to lie on the table.

Sir S. ROMILLY presented a petition from Henry
SchOltei, of Doctors' Commons, respecting extra-
parochial exec►ptions.--Referred to the.COmMit-'
tee on time• Poor Laws.