Star.
London, England, 1803-03-12 00:00:00

AFFAIRS OF SWITZERLAND.

Lard ro role, and called to their Lordfhips'
recolleaion a Notice which he had given, previ-
oully to the Clitillmas Reed's, of his intention to
bring forward, as fpeedily as p•dible after that Re.
eels, a Motion for Inquiry into the conduit of his
Majefty's Minillers, refpeeting the Affairs of Swit-
zerland. That Motion it was his intention to
have brought forward in the courfe of the prefent
week, but the intervention of important circum.
Stances, already well known to their Lordfhips,'
circumliances prominently developed by his Ma-
jelly's gracious Mdrage to both Honks, preired
fn much more urgently upon the entire attention ,
of their Lordlhips, as totally to avert their eves '
from all retrnipeCtive views, and to turn their
views to the pimp:A immediately before us. The
plain path for Euglifhmen to purfue on this neca-
lion, was fo obvioully chalked out by the animated
and eloquent fpeech of a Noble Lord, a few even-
ings fince, (Lord Moira) that no man could mif-
take the great line of his duty to his country.
Under fuch circumaarces, he Paid, it was impof.
fible to withhold Itls expreffions of the prefent fa-
tisfadion he felt for the unanimous fentiments of 1

both Houfes of Parliament within doors, fupport-
ed by the Dpiuions, the fortitude, and the b)1,1,
manly, and patriotic fenfe of every clafs of the
People without. Mivated by foci a fenfe of our
,fituation, and our common duty, fiiniulated by
fentiments at once fo national, lo animated, and
fo truly charafteridic of Englishmen, there could
remain no doubt as to the final iffue of any con.
Ilia, into which the exigency of circumftances
might, however reluaantly, force us ; and in fuch
a contemplation of the cuffing circumaances of
our country, their Lordships, he was confident,
would not impute to him any dereliaion of his
duty, if he now declined bringing forward the
Motion which he intended ; at the fame time, he
congratulated the country upon the fpirit and
energy manife fled by his Majefty's Government, on
on occahnn fo interAng to the honour and the
rights of the Britifh nation.
DMUS P 5005511

Lord MOIRA moved the Order of the Day, for
the fecond reading of the Bill for the better Pre-
vention of Vetatious Arrells on Meru Procefs.—
The Order of the Day being read,
Lord Mouta role, with a view, he raid, of tref-
palEng, as shortly as poilible, on the attention of
their Lordfisips, in explaining his objeas under this
b7ll. which he had introduced, after many years of
deliberate c,nfideratinn, as the bell refult of his
• CM'Il judgment on the fubjea. His main porpore
in this bill, he raid, was public juilice between all
the parties concerned ; tempered, at the fame time,
with as much humanity as was conidient w;rh, as
well as indilpenfibly neceilary to, the adminittra•
tion of that jutlice, confiflently with the fpirit of
Britith legiflation and Britith jurifprodence. He
bad to exprefs his fincere thanks to thole Law
Lords, who, happily for this country, prcfide at
prefent in the public adminifiration of national
jußice, for the deliberate confideration and whole-
thine counfcl, whereby they had favoured him in
12is endeavours to bring this bill forward. To their
wifdorn, as well as to the colleCtive fenfe of their
Lorellhips, he would now fubmit it, deferibing, as
briefly as poffible, his views, under the feveral
clanks it contained. His lard principle was ground-
ed on the quantum of debt for which a man may,
as the law now (lands, under the 12th of Geo. I.
be arrefied in merle procefs, namely, a debt of
01. ennfidering the very material change in the
value of money fiom the period at which that bill
paired and the prefent, and the great promptitude
of creditors for (mall fums, and the low clefs of
pruCtitioners, by sviimo they are bit too much in-
t! tien:cd, to artea their debtors for (mall fums,
his Lordfli;p thought that an incrcafe of the film
frori tcl. to 2.-.)!. cnuid in no d.gree alter the fpi-
ra of the i 2th Gen. I. though it fhould prevent
many ilithirces of ci itchy and npprcflion, which it
s mild ncv:r have hen the objea of that law to au-
thorii.e. The objeet was the litm of main-
tenance to be all..wcd by the arrelli.:l4 creditor to
tly! impritOnesi &bun. Than the principle of this
repl num, as it Rood now auth"rihed by law, no-
tion,: in la, Lordthip's m nd could he morenit or
reaf...r.thle. It was, however, er:dulively appro-
priated to thofe debtors only who were detained
und,:r e rcention. Bat it a man was thrown into
prif‘m for a debt w1;:li h.: was alike unable to haj
I:: tr. di:.:harac, it was to all intents and purples
the fame it h.: had been 1:r:d to exe-iaion ; and
there(' ,re the Noble Lord couid ice no rational
cittlf;• why that cafe Should not be
ol‘lived ti; atiord :imac iodic unfortunate
r whom he throws :.in prifon, and deprives
of dl ro,:ans to earn bread, as :a the other. Cer-
tainly the railing of the lum would war-
tat;t 1-:ca from uti :wear.), rounds, swat coo.

fider4Sly to dintiniffi the evil as, it now [lands;—
but the principle in his Mind WAS equally valid in
the one cafe as in the other. The next principle
el his bill was one, which he conceived highly ne-
ceftry, to prevent oppreffive and fiandulent ar-
reft*, and the adoption of which could never, in
the ffightea d.-gree, impede jultice. For intlance,
as the 14w now Itands, nothing more is neceffary
to procure a warrant for the arrelt and imprilon-
ment of any man, than fweating to a debt. Upon
Inch an oath a warrant is iffued, the man thrown
into pi icon, and though the oath he abfolutelyfalfe,
and not one penny fairly due to the plaintiff, vet
the arrcfled perfon has no alternative for his liber-
ation but to pay the debt, or enter bail. If he
does the former, he fubmits to injußice without any
privilege of fublequent appeal, and as to the latter,
he may be an titter ilranger, with his pocket full
of money, and ample climes in another country,
yet he maw remain imptifoned for many months
until the iifue of a licit is determined, without any
certain mode of forcing the plaintiff to ptocced, in
order to accelerate the itfue of fuch fait. Now,
what his Lordship wifficd, was, to enable the per.
fon arrelted to pay into the hands of the Sheriff,
or fome eligible officer, the amount of the debt,
and probable cons for which he fhould be arreli
ed, and then he entitled to go at large until the
debt thould be fully invelligated and fairly prov-
ed in law. It might be laid that a man, for ma-
licoufly (wearing falfely to a debt, for the purpofe
of embarraffing a man by arra}, is feverely pu-
nifhable in law ; but fuel) is the complicated na-
ture of debt, under fo many balances, counter ba-
lances and let offs as may be pleaded, that nothing
would be more difficult to cubit:lll6.oe on a probe-
cution, than fuch a malicious fwearing. The re-
medy which the bill propoled, however, he con-
ceived with deference, to be a reaftmable one for
the evil he mentioned. On this ground, having
barely mentioned his objeds on the bill, he thought
the Committee would be the proper place for fug.
gelling fuch amendations as to their Lordlliips
fhould feem necelfary ;—and for tile prefent he
would offer nothing further on the rubjed.
Lord ELLIA BOROUG H laid, that certainly chef.
Noble Lords whofe more peculiar fundions led
them to the adminillration of the laws in this coun
try, had many cogent oblations to the alteration
of thole laws, where firong motives for Inch alte•
ration were not made clearly apparent. His
Lordfhip was, however, ready to acknowledge
that there were borne of the alterations propolcd by
the Noble Lord's Bill on the exifting laks between
Debtor and Creditor, which were but jail and
reafonable, and might have a vet y falutary effeel.
That, for inflance, which propofed an encreafe of
the film warranting arreft in the mefe,e procefs,
fiorn tot. to 201. in which fubjea he agreed in the
principle laid down by the Noble Lord. But rn
that part, where the Noble Lord propnfeil to in
creak the allowance from the Creditor to his
Debtor in prifon, beyond the prefent firm allowed
by law, or to the Debtor confined in truffle procefi,
and not in execution, he could not fo readily agree,
as it would be rather hard uon the Creditor who
arrefted his Debtor in purfuit of redrefs, to he
obliged to increafe the debt, and his own injury,
by an extra fubliftence to his Debtor, who might
flay in gaol eapricioufly, though in many initances
able to pay t and with refpelt to the liberty which
the Noble Lord willed to give the Debtor arra-
ed, of paying the debt, and the trivial coils incur-
red in the firll inaance by fuch arreft, and thus
procuring his liberation, the perfon an-efied had
already that privilege under the law as it now
liands, and may pay the fum into a Court, nr to
a Judge at his chambers, and thus procure their
liberation.

Lord ALVANLIT obferved, that there was cer-
tainly fume points worthy of notice, and which, in
'its n.ind, called for remedy. On the point laft
mentioned, certainly a man arrefted, however
li,4,ll.ilently, by paying debts and coils in the firft
initancr, would be entitled to his liberation. But
then, in foci' a proceeding, he admitted the junice
of the claim, and had by law no fubfequent ground
of app-al againft its injullice ;fo that to be entitled
to a Lnir trial on the merits of Inch claim, he had
no alternative but to go into gaol, or enter bail to
Iland the iffue—a thing which the almoft nniver.
fat objeftion which all men entertained to becom.
ing Imeties, even for their deareft friends and re.
lations, was often found impraßicable to men of
good charatter and property. However, as the
Bill was to undergo a full diktat-lon in a Commit-
tee, a proper remedy might lupeft itfelf on this
point ; but he trolled that difcuftion would not
take place in the atdence of the Noble and Learned
Lord who ufually prefided in that Houle.
On the motion of Lord &lonia, the Bill was
committed for Tuelday, under the ftippolition that
the Lord Chancellor would then be iu his place.—
Adjourned to Monday.