Star.
London, England, 1831-05-31 00:00:00

LAWS OF VAN DIEMAN'S LAND.

' A copy of the laws and ordinances passed by the Governor and
Council of Van Dieman's Land was laid before the House of Corn.
mons last March, and ordered to be printed. The document affonls a
curious specimen of legislation, particularly as it evinces the spirit and
notions produced by our systems of education, and evinced by our
countrymen whenever they sic in situations to act without the controul
' of the Government at home ; or, what is of more importance, without
the controul of public opinion, set forth by the press. No great rage
or itch of legislation seems to have pervaded the rulers of this Colony,
fur the laws passed from 1826 to 1f.f30 amount to only twenty-six, and
each act forms a perfect contrast to acts of the home legislature,
with respect to brevity, and, consequently, with respect to precision
and clearness.
Of these twenty-six acts, six relate to the sale of beer, wine, and
spirits; one, at least, of which articles we should have supposed the
colony as yet to be little troubled with. We ob,erve an act to tolerrae
the Catholic religion, for the spirit of bigotry, which seems indigenous
to our nature. was working its effects in this Colony. There are three
acts for regulating, as it is termed, the press; for an enmity towards
the press seems to be a sort of morgue aeistacratique among our coun-
trymen when they get clothed with a little brief authority at home, or
are " provided for" in the plantations. It is amusing in these acts to
see how accurately they follow the sophistry and slang, or cant,
which is invariably resorted to in Parliament when sinister designs
arc formed against the liberties of the Press. Lord Charles Somerset,
at the Cape, annihilated the press a to Napoleon, but the Governor,
of Van Dieman's Land set about the job in the true style of a rise
print lawyer in the House of Commons. We Mid in the preamble to
the first of these acts, that prior to the Bth of Oct. 1821, nothing was
inserted in any newspaper without the "consent" of the Lieutenant-
Governor ; bitt this wholesome practice having been discontinued, the '
act is passed in 1828 to bring back the good old times, or to make that
law which formerly had been only practice. After a little cant about
bringing the governor and administration or any public authority into
comempt, an annual license is prescribed to every newspaper, to be for.
felted upon any attempt to effect " any alteration in government, or the
administration of the government, otherwise than by lawful means."
What lawful means exist in the colony, further than a governor's fiat
to alter himself, it would be difficult to discover. Heavy securities are
required front newspaper proprietors (four at 4001. each), heavy fines
are enacted for breaches of the act, and the pillory is prescribed for
procuring a license by false representations.
After this specimen of Attorney.Genetalship, we have a true touch
of a Treasury or Chancellor-of-the-Exchequer-law—an act imposing a
stamp duty of 3d upon " every sheet, half-sheet or other piece of paper,
whereof any newspaper shall consist." with stamp duties upon licenses
to print, licences to publish, &c. A line of 201. (no small sum in such
a colony) is imposed for printing, publishing, or for even possessing
an unstamped paper. These fines are to be levied by summary pro.
ems on goods, chattels, &c. on proof before two justices of the peace.
A person inclined to the " serum cognoseme causes," might inquire
in what quarter of the globe is there a country which rears its edu-
cated classes in these arbitrary notions of despotic principles, and with
such inclinations towards restricting and taxing knowledge ? But we
subsequently find a still more severe law on the subject passed in
1829, the 12th section of which is as cunningly contrived as any Lord
Charles in a colony could wish.
' There is an act constituting Courts of Requests, which contains
some cut ious provisions. The 2d clause makes the tenure of offices in
the court dependent upon the will of the governor, who is to remove or
appoint all " ministerial or other officers" as he may be pleased to dil-
-1 reet. Considering the wretched state of our own laws with respect to
courts of requests, the act of 14 George 11. cap. 10, being one of the
worst upon our statute book, we are not surprised at any defects in this
law of Van Dieman's Land. The last act in this code is curious. It is
an act for establishing regulations to restrain the increase of dogs.' A
Law of this sort is most grievously wanted in our large cities.—
but we know not that the most constitutional way of abating the nui.
sance would be to make every person keeping a dog take ant a licence.
In the lowest depth there is a lower still, and though Van Dieman's
Land is the Botany.bay of Botany-bay, we find an act for the trans-
portation of felons beyond the high seas. The le:lawful exportation of
wool is classed among the crimes of robbery, burglary, and other felo-
nies. There is a very useful act in this code, which evinces that the
colony lit this respect is a step before us in the march of intellect. It
i is a general act for the registration of deeds, wills, judgments, and con.
veyances affecting real property. Why mortgages and other property
I than in fee simple should not be included, we know not. There is an
important act which requires the attention of our Colonial Secretary.
It is an act which empowers the superintendent of convicts to inflict
punishment upon female convicts, by a summary process, without the
cognizance of any justice or magistrate whatever, which had previ•
ously been required. If the convict is in the service of Government,
the superintendant may even dispense with any complaint or examine.
tiou of witnesses upon oath, and he may inflict what is termed mode.
r .te punishment. This moderate punishment may extend to se limey
conhnentent upon bread and water for 14 days, or to imprisonment and
hard labour for three calendar months. What Colonial Secretary
would dare to justify in Parliament his sanction of a law like this ?-
IVe would not wish to lessen a single exertion of humanity in favour
of the negro, but a little humane attention to other classes of sufferers
is devoutly to be wished.

T n -co Lot: R.—A short time since a lady made her ap-
pearance in a box at the theatre " Della Scala," in Milan, attired in
three insuirectionary tolours--red, white, and green. The police
handed her out. But the nexb day, three belies, each of whom had
selected one of those colours for her dress, were seen sitting in the same
box • they were received with loud applause by the audience, and then
dismissed from the Inusa by the Argusrreyed minions of power.