The Sun.
London, England, 1820-01-05 00:00:00

INSOLVENT BILL.

Ma. Entroa—The gentlemanly candour •of
IGNoTUS merit% public approbation, and he is se-
quester!, through this medium, to accept my in-
dividual portion. ‘Vhen opinions are frankly
suppos e d without prejudice or bias, a just con-
clusion may be an:icipatr d in the result.
Al er devoting more than twelve years to the
consideration of our Debtor and CseditOr Laws,
both in principle and practice, the result of ex-
perience may become a ground of presunlntion
!you which arguments may claim attention.—
With this contemplative view of the subject, and
of the evils proposed to he remedied by Legisla-
tive Enactments, I shall not offend by a positive
avowal of the opinion before stated, that Impri-
sonment for Debt, unneceskatily protracted, is de-
structive to the victim, and prejudicial to those
who enforce it,

The necessity of imprisonment, as a means of
coercion, 'till Account rendered, and Restitution
made, is not to be denied. BA an exten,ion be-
yond that cannot be successfully contended for as
a means of justice. In my deliberate view of
our old legal system, applicable to Debt and pe-
cuniary Contract, it has heretofore occurred that
a scale of proportion, and a gradkion, a distinc-
tive portion as to the term of Imprisonment, might
be properly introduced. And it has frequently
been suggested, that the same period of Imprison-
ment desirable for Debtors to a tarot amount,
%you'd he highly disproportionate and unjust, if
applied to the mallet Debtors. And indeed the
provisions of former enactments seem to have
contemplated such progressive gra,latio,,s or terms.
Thus, under the Act commonly called "
Lord's Act," prisoners cannot be relieved when
debts exceed 3001. ; the Law contemplating that
Debtors beyond such limit are properly amenable
to the Bankrupt Laws; and that Creditors should
be cautious not to confide beyond that sum in
persons out of the pale of bankruptcy. To the
extent of 3001., theretore, the Lord's 44ct is made
operative, at the trill tit the Debtor, or by the
compulsion of the Creditor. Subsequent to the
provisions of that Act, and its dependent Statutes,
the L-gislature, from the -narrow operation of
those Enactments, and front the consequent
crowded state of the Prisons, found it necessary
to introduce temporary Insolvent Acts, to give
relief in cases of Imprisonment, upon a surrender
of the Debtor's property, although exceeding
3001., restraining, however, the operation of In-
se'.-ent Acts, wilt') Commissions of Bankruptcy
were in force ; and, indeed, limiting such Insol-
vent Acts to specific sums, such as 10001., 1500/.,
and 20001., till at length it was found expedient,
for the same reasons as wieinally occasioned
such Acts to intervene, to extend Insolvent Acts
to unlimited operation upon a principle similar in
effect to the Bankrupt Laws, but less beneficial
to the Debtor.

(.li-to such a principle it is not reconcileable to
:he Writer to admit the necessity of an exten-
sion of the Imprisonment beyond the object for
which it ia resorted to, namely, the Restitu-
tion of the Debtor's means to discharge the Cre-
ditor's demands. And as concerns the mere matter
of account between Debtor and Creditor,
the shortest Imprisonx..mt is the most beneficial
to b''ttt, and unquestionably to the Public.

If, indeed, fraud or dishonesty is truly imput-
able, and can be established, the Debtor may be
justly considered as a public offender, and should
be treated as such. His conduct should be visit-
ed with due severity proportioned 1p that offence,
but not with a reference to ar►y irritated feelings
of the Creditor. In this contemplation, the frau-
dulent should be distinguished from the• honest
and unfortunate. If the Debtor bas been guilty
of fraud, dishonesty, extravagance, concealment,
imposition, or gross mi%representation, he should
be made liable to specific punishment for each or
either offence, first 'being thereof lawfully convict-
ed by a Jury at his Country.
Temple, 4th January, I g 20.

W. M--N.

The Gazette of last night contains Proclama-
tions, offering rewards for the apprehension of
the persno ur persons who tired at a private of
the 61t Dragoon, at Neweastle•opon-
'Fyne, on the 29 h tilt. ; and Of the perion of
persons who shot at Mr. JAMES REDDROP, of
in the co,lnty of Salop, on the 27th