Star.
London, England, 1810-05-31 00:00:00

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ilipmempirais of la!
PiIIiLI,III(EIVTARr PROCEEDINGS. and
1.--., of pr
HOUSE OF LORDS, MAY so, to ca
'The LORD CHANCELLOR, in the Committee of ' Privi- Nobi
Itles, moved to postpone the further consideration of the Roxe the I
!'' burgh case till Tuesday next, on which day he should bring for- Li
Ward certain resolutions.—Agreed to. - censt
The Trish Warehousing Bill, the Oil of Vitriol Bill, and the
Soots Roads Bill, were read a third time and passed. tern
The Loan Bill, the Isle of Man Customs Consolidation Bill, spirit
and the Scots Excise Officers Superannuation Bill, passed through jest.
Committees and were reported. press
The Exchequer Bills Bill, the Irish Insolvent Debtors' Bill, the
Churchwardens and Overseen' Accounts Bill, and the Poor next
Laws Amendment Bill, were read a second time, and committed men
for Friday. bons
The second reading of a Bill from the Commons, for carrying the 1
' into effect 'he bequest of Anna Maria Reynolds to the Sinking
• - loud, was objected to by the LORD CUA NOEL LOA, who observ-
ed, that if the will of this person was gond, there was necessity ing I
for an Act of Parliament to carry it into effect ; and if it was not his 2
' good, it was a subject for very serious consideration, whether Lion
they slimed, by Act of Parliament, deprive her relatives of what L
they might he entitled to on failure of the will. The second read-
ing of the Bill was deferred. Lor
The second reading of the Bere Forest Bill was, after tome 'I
eonversation between Lords Walsingham' Holland, Grantley,
Hood of Catherington, and the Earl of Suffolk, postponed till
Friday.
The Order for hearing Counsel on the London Docks Bill vas ,
discharged, and the Lilt read a third time and passed.
The Embezzlement Bill was, on the motion of the Marquis' „'I
Of LA N SDOWNE, read a third tithe, and passed with an Amend- Rol
went. don
The Scots Courts Regulation Bill was, on the motion of Lord the
- Viscount Metvitte, read a. second time, and committed for ..t,
Tuesday, for which day the Lords were ordered to be sum- pub
ble
moned.
The second reading of the Stamp Duties Surplus Appropriation at 1
Bill was fixed for Friday. his
SCOTS JUDICATURE.
.1
. Earl STANHOPE moved, that the Commissioners of Scots star
Judicature be ordered to give to the House respectively the par-
ticulars of their various and discordfact opinions. tun
The Earl of LIVERPOOL and the LORD CHANCELLOR spe
thought the motion should be worded more respectfully.—Notice Ar
was then given of the Motion for Friday. taut
• The Embezzlement Bill was read a third time and passed.
it
PRIVATELY STEALING BILL.
The order of the day being read for the second res
reading cf the Bill, Lord ELLENBOROUGH wa
lose and briefly stated his objections to an innovation If
i f the kind proposed upon the existing laws of the del
Lind, which, after consideration with those persons to vki.l:
whom the administration of the laws was confided, '24
was found not to be by them considered expedient. un
His Lordship then moved that the Bill be read the CO'
second time on that day three months. au
Lard ERSKINE, in a few words, expressed him- an
self favourable to the progress of the bill on the a"
ground of the certainty of punishment on conviction an
being preferable to the existence of some statutes e„"
'which were scarcely ever put into practice, and which "3
therefore slimed the propriety of making a whole- re]
• come alteration on this subject. ini
The Earl of LIVERPOOL said that he had given ra'
the subject very great attention, and was convinced c?
that the alteration would not produce the expected t s'
advantages. He approved of the present system by °I
which a.severe punishment was held out, but which w'
was not put in execution except in aggravated cases. re
His Lordship stated, that for same time past, comic- t''
-ons for heinous crimes had been fewer, and petty th
-tons
*fences more numerous. 'Pc
Lord HOLLAND spoke at some length, with M
considerable animation, in favour of the Bill, which ,
be contended was tendered necessary by every fair tu
mode of viewing the true state of the ease with respect ,
to the law passed in the reign of William the Third ul„.;
on this subject. He argued that the Consequences of °'
- - a sentence of capital punishment deterred many, very
many, from prosecuting, influenced the feelings of tt
Jurors, and actuated the minds of Judges, so that s',
offenders were too much in the habit of reckoning be- tl
fore hand on their good luck in escaping the punish-
talent which the laws decreed. Though he had a
'high respect for the opinions of Dr. 'Paley, ye: on
this subject he had the authority of Justice Blacks,tone, .11
from sslicK-e Commentaries he read a quotation, and ii
the opi&cyl of that great moralist and observer of
mankind, Dr. Johnson. He had also the calcula- c
lions and remarks, (which on this particular subject, a
might fairly be admitted,) of Mr. Colquhoun.—
Ile had likewise the opinion of 'persons in some 1
of the departments of the administration of Govern- /
:tient respecting the offences against the revenue laws. ,
He protested against this, which was a specific Bill, f
being considered as a speculation in Legis'ation,
and added a variety of arguments in favour of the :
;neasnre.
The Earl of SUFFOLK in support of the Bill, (
stated a qtsc of his own within these few days. He 1
Found himself robbed by an ()Li woman who kept his J
bouse during his absence ; but was deterred from pro- i
"secuting her, chiefly because of the severe punishment i
that might have been inflicted upon her.
The-Marl of LAUDERDALE also defended the
Bill, and maintained that the present state of the prac-
-tice of the law was not that which the legislature in
the reign of William the Third intended, Comparing
the-value of money, whati was then the value of five
shillings stolen from a shop, or 44) shillings from a
dwelling house, could not now be less than double
either of those sums. It was clear that the practice
was not according to the intention of the law, and
that was an innovation. As to the benefits of the '
terror of severe punishments which were seldom car-
ried into manioc., lie contended, that a sort of co-
partuery !dust be exercised by the prosecutor, the
- Jury and the Judges, which took away the certainty
of law, and therefi ire diminished its wholesome effects
The LoaD,.CI-1-ANCE 1.1.0 R had much respect
_ for the person' Iv whom this Bill -had been brought
into ParLatnent ; buthe was bound also to she's, much
deference tr the opinions of the Judges of the laad,
who were in the constant habit of attending to the
criminal law in which he, from having been chiefly
used to a Court pf Equity, was not so deeply versed.
. The offence from which capital punishment was taken
• away by the Bill of last Session, had, he was well in-
, formed, greatly increased since, according to the
;timber of convictions. His Lordship stated several
cases that had occurred while he presided in a Court
pf Critilinal Law, and concluded, after many obser-
vattons, with expressing his concurrence with tie mo-1
pm of the Noble and Learned Lorkj.
, The MarquisofLANSDOWNE said, that their
Lordships were now to consider whether, after 40 or
50 years innovation of the law of the land, as passed
• in the reign of William 111. they were prepared to
• .., •-• affirm, as they would affirm; if they rejected this Bill,
that such an innovation and discordancy should con-
. ..
upue. The increase of the convictions since the Bill
. ,