Star.
London, England, 1824-05-12 00:00:00

Chester jail since 1819, on a charge of a political na-
ture. The *Petitioner had or4;inally been a manufaC,
turer at Macclesfield, where he failed; and he then en-
tered into the booksdling line, and•in the course of his
,business, he had the misfortune to sell a political
for which he was prosecuted, and committed to
The Honourable Member then proceeded to detail the
facts of the case, and observed, that one fact most re-
main undisputed—namely, that he had been in prison
four years and three-quarters. The Petitioner stated
that he (Mr. Williams) had been Counsel against him
in this prosecution ; that might be the fact ; but if it
was so, certainly he had nothing to do with the punish-
ment or imprisonment which followed ; that imprison-
ment spoke for itself: it had beer: long beyond parallel
for such an offence. It was true that, at a certain pe-
riod, such feelings and such disorder prevailed in the
country, as rendered the prosecutions and punishments
necessary ; but that period had passed away, and now
was only recollected as it was recalltrd to our minds by
the punishment which such miserable individuals as the
Petitioner were still suffering. He would put it to the
Right Honourable Gentleman opposite to say, whether,
when this period bad so completely passed away, it
would not be policy to put an end to the punishment,
of which, he believed, the Petitioner was the only re-
maining victim? He concluded by moving for leave
to bring up the Petition.
Mr. JAMES supported the Petition, and expressed
his hope that the Secretary of State would comply
with its prayer.
Mr. Secretary PEEL said, the prosecution of Swan
took place before he was in office ; he had, however, ,
made inquiry into the facts of the case, and felt it his
duty to say, that he did not consider it expedient to ad-
vise his Majesty to remit any part of Swan's punishment.
I-k was prosecuted upon five different charges: two for
sedition, two for blasphemy, and one for conspiracy.
Upon three of these charges he was convicted, EL,2 other
two charges were not pressed against him. He would
remain in prison till the expiration of his sentence : he
would then, upon finding security for good behaviour,
be discharged, as there had been no fine imposed upon
him. The Right Honourable Secretary then proceeded
to describe the nature of the seditious libel of which the
prisoner had been convicted, which was of a most vio-
lent description, and submitted to the House, that he
should not be warranted in recommending this person
as an object to whom the r oyal mercy should be extended.
Mr. HUME strongly supported the prayer of the Pe-
tition. He could not consider the offence which Swan
had committed as of so serious or dangerous a descrip-
tion as the Right Hon. Gentleman had described it.
Mr. SYKES wished to call the attention of the House
to the situation in which this unfortunate man would be
when discharged. How could it be expected that he,
forgotten as he now was by former friends and by the
world, could find security to a heavy amount for future
good behaviour?
Mr. PEEL said, the only security which would be
required would be two persons in the sum of 251. each,
and himself in 501.—The Petition was then read, brought
up, and ordered to be printed.