The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-11-16 00:00:00

the maul :1r

to oh

,~'('t'~l ~~

t is ci.d!eti

tile present sky, and the constitutional jealousy 0f ar-
bitary power wliich the old race of English patriots
cherished, and which used to he considered character-
istic of liberal
----.ll4;44l.lil.ltilaniaii_____ off that which ancient

• T-. p,ttriotism mast dreaded—arbitrary power.. -frt e greAt.
promoters of a centralised system of police, the most
effective weapon that domestic tyranny ever wielded
to crush political rights ate

I -;'ence public opini,in, a
nth' ~!stiiies,

the present condition of Franc
are chiefly of the li
CMS of the advocaf

set House. Vie may
himself, the chairman o

mitte
we dare s
with the exception of
Grote and Mr. Hone, no man ex
a more profound dmiration
pressive and uncoostit,
legislative powe'
poverty to the
alism" of Mr. H
one of the only
deavoured tol
the House of Lords,
say endeavourer!, ft
failure ; and, from hi
House of Lords on
Hawes tool
rather, older and not It
ttust drat, will prove
We stated yesterday that Sm..
lilted the assertion of the met rop:.l i tan p
that summary conviction wouncl. tend
by producipg authentic returns, wh.:-
that crime has steadily increased

Mr. .13 12 n j

He wilt not co

11.11 Is

3 three 1

cannot i

tIN 0 CD

O'Cc

bortiv

to cutting down a popular in

hat op.

en nw,

summitry commit!"!.:, whilst ea. übmitted to juries
have remained nearly stationary, or have continued to
retrogadc. The learned sergeant observes th.tt the
returns which he has adduced in evidence conclusively
show that, " if we wish eijier to detect and punish, uf
to check and diolinish criine, we must look to other
sources than the erection of summary tribunals—viz.

a vigilant police eslahlishinent, and a whoi,soine pri-
son discipline." Now a vigilant and efficient consta-
bulary power we by no means object to, but what we do
object to is, that the orgAnisation ant control of aii
the constabulary force in England (we are not fowl of
foreign terms when we have as good in English) should
be in the hands of the ministers of the croon. We
are, therefore, glad to see the. great corporation of
London determined on having a vigilant and efficient
constabulary force,undefits own commend and super-
vision, in despite of the effoits which our "liberal"

govethment is nilking• to establish th exotic
Bourbon svweni o "c:-nr ralisaiion," with tli

swamping all tilos
are essential to the

Relent institutions
irity of our hereditary lib

In additibn to a vigilant and .efficient constabulary
force and a Ivholesome prison discipline, we think th,,
repeal of a most oppressive modern statute necessary
to check and dit»inish c7iine. We know not whet:ier
Sergeant Adams is an advocate or opponent of the new
.poor law, but we do kri,w; that the eil:2ct of that law is
to increase that class of crimes which come under the

head of " larceny," from the offence of stealing a loaf
of bread to that of sheep stealing in rural districts.
We know that in some counties the increase of ci imi-
nal business at the sessions since that cruel and impo-
litic act came into operation is as remarkable as it is
alarming, more especially as crime had hoeu prey inns])
on the decrease. We also believe that the deficient:l
of sound religious and moral instruction has a yen
pernieions effect upon the social habits of the people
We will, then, make an addition to the pass
we have qu.ited from S21.2:•111t. Adams rely
checks anti preventious of crime, am
must look to other sources than t

" tv

lant police e.i.lab

marY tribunals—namely, a
:Went—a wholesome prison disci ii ,
and mor,al education of the poor, Id
YUilib poor law."
As to the efl-:!c' of n
checking crime,
the operation of the s
fields Howe of C, ;
year from 9,803 to 7,600. _
that result, the silent system ha\ ig
in the year 1835, when the larger nurnoir Jiro:cat
the state of crime, which in the following year was
represented by the smaller of thosU figures.
The metropolitan police committee state the tiiree
following alleged causes of tire increase of crimc
arguments in, favour of summary tribunals
The delay and loss of evidence caused by the neces
sity of submitting the case to the consideration of li
grand jury-2ild. The chance of escaping.f cony
lion from the want of proper
conduct of the case for the prosecution-3ra.
production of false evidence for the prisoner at the
trial. In remarking upon these Sergeant Adams
says, "Assuming these to be amongst the causes of
the increase of crime—and I doubt whether they are
so to any serious extent—are the legitimate causes
for the establishment of summary tribunals in any
part of the kingdom, and, least of all, in the metroon
titan district, where, from the freTiency of gaolkd
liveries (36 annually,) the first evil hey
and the second and third, f,.,,.-
trifling nature of tire cases ,
old tribunals, can only exist
assuming them to exist,
superintendence and conduct of the case for the pro
secution is, at least, as likely to happen before a sum-
mary as beim e a more. deliberate tribunal. And, with
respect to the production of false evidence, although it
may be true that, in some rare instances, acquittal. are
obtained by Atbbricated test barony, does it therefore fol-
low that prisoners are to be shut out from the produc-
tion of true evidence, and our courts of criminal juris-
prudence converted into courts of pied poudre ? if it, is
assumed by the committee that p,,lice magistrates con-
vict upon cases impnrrectiy prepared, or that prisoners
have fewer facilities :if brioging forward their evide-
before summary before
than eno,titutional tr"
(and without such an assumption, howe.
their arguments have no force they should, upo..
acknowledged principles of jurisprudence, have re-
commended the abolition and not the extension of .such
tribunals." Most assuredly the sergeant is right.
The very view which the committee gave of the work-
ing of summary tribunals, so as to ensure the des-
patch of business, by excluding the mourn; of arriving
at a correct decision, is a group
not the extension, of tour is of sin
As to the at ..,,,turient upon which the coon
pears to lay most stress, anti whit.'
tices now exercise indirectly thos,
want parliament to grant to them ti
think it worthy of notice, although Ser
takes some pains to
fact is the practice of bending tire
gistrates to obtain indirectly a ir,risdiction
allowed by law is a practice which can and ought to be
checked. If the power can be shown to be r-.
the ends of justice titan trial by
to be so by other argon--

of the

Sergeant

rref.,t

in tilf

adence

existence

ination ? But,

how its

want of proper

unjust,

I for the

ry jurisdiction

is that police jus-
powieN which they
"re.ezh-, \V do 11,,t

ICi (1 JI eIW,SS

tii3a al

TB'lQf7,

only amounts to a fraud upon the law. If it cannot bi
shown to be better for the ends of justice titan trial 1p
jury, or at least as good, it should not he allowed
all, either directly or indirectly.
Along with the abolition of trial by jury tote ox
tent which we have stated, the committee ask of .1f;
legislature, without embodying it in their recom!nen
dation, to have the power of summary it
extended from three to twelve mouths,
party an appeal to the qtt

Upon this extraordinry proF.ositi
served by the learned chairman of the
sessions, that "the power oftmprisonmen
calendar months, accompanied by hard labour,
barring the offender during that period -of the privi-
lege of speech, is a tremendous power to he lodged in
the hands of any individual upon his own mere will
and motion, and I doubt whether the public -mind is
yet prepared for this adrance in arbitrary porier, or
whether the police magistrate; wenld covet its -po:ses-
sion." We will take upon us to say that' the public
mind is not yet prepared for this advance in arbitrary
power, to the deprivation, upon individual judgment
or caprice, of an Englishtmn's lirty fora term four-
fold . .
exceeding that for

it is rigii'dv ob

liddle~E

r :weive
nfid de-

e magistrate can

commit a subject of the British crown at present
though the public mind is not ret prepared 10'
stride towards the establishment of petty Ins:
the police courts of England, there is great reason to
fear that if " liberalism" can " progress" for a few
years longer, as it has done of late under the auspice
of a wing government, arbitrary power will be er
bled to inflict such deadly injuries upon the..
of the rights and liberties of Englishmen, that thenla,
where the constitution stood will only be marked out
by its ruins.

SUGh a

ism in

Lifeguards

It was formerly the proud boast of Englishmen that
not only was trial by jury, in the hands of the people,
a bulwark against tyranny, preiudice,. and oppression,
but the judges, 1i hose duty it is to expound the law to
juries, were themsel►es independent of the crown and
people. Here, independently of the primary proceed-
ing before the grand inquest on the trial, is a double
barrier to protect the interests of justice from the in-
fluence of.unjnst power, passion,prejudice, or revenge,
in the provisions of law which secure the fearless
integrity of judges, and the impartial selection of
juries. But Mr. Benjamin Hawes and his "liberal"
colleagues on the metropolitan police committee, would
reform all that. They would have, in place of twelve
probi et legates homine.v, a single police justice—they
would have, instead of judges independent of the crown
and people—or a bench of sessional magistrates
independent in their fortunes, and acting through the
intervention of a jury also—a single police justice
intrusted with the fearful power of savinN upon his
own individual judgment, whether a lititisil\subject
was to be pronounced a felon, and subjected toNlthe
ignominy, forfeiture of goods, and pains and penalties
Of that civil death!
We hare more to say upon the iecommenclations of
this metropolitan police committee, but, this is enough
for the present,