The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-10-30 00:00:00

ON THE VICES OF MANX ATIRISE'RUDRNCE-,3::
LAW OF ARREST.

(Froin the Mona'
Sir ollo~iin~ op-tio-sanie train of thoughti Whieti
induced me to expose the hardshiPs idlicted Ori the agri-
cOltural community by the baneful aliases of trespags
jury Wthants, I proceed in the I,D e;
the present lettr td lay bar
the still krater enormlti'es of the law of arrest, as
affects stranger residents; contradiWngaishfid from the
native-born Manxman.

To any man of common observation it is almost a wok

r. •
of supererrigatarin to premise, that to the stranger resi-
dents and visitants, and, through their medium, the in-
creased communication with Great Britain, thia island isi
.almost entirely, if not altogether, indebted for whatever
Wealth and influence it now possesses; arid that by di-
rect and obvious consequence, it is the positive interest
of its constituted authorities,_ by every poaaible means,
to encourage the emigration of the stranger to its shores
and,. e conversa, td discourage every attempt that may
be made to their injury, and abrogate and annul every
local laW that has the slightest tendency to infringe upon
their rights, their proPerty,or their libertieS. These data
adMitted, and it would be prima' facie evidence of in,
sanity seriously to deny them, I proceed to assert and
prove that our insular law of arrest. necessarily tends to
make the liberty -and property of the stranger insecure,
simply and solely because he is a Stringer ; and that the
native is not exposed to similar jeopardy, simply and
' solely because he is a Maniman born. This inhospitable
law, too, as at present administered; has this hateful and
injurious effect, without the slightest reference to the ca-
pacity, the .property, the honder, the honesty, or integrity
of the different individuals exposed to its obnoxiods pro-
visions. I shall follow the mode adopted in niy former
communication on trespass jnriei; and lay down cases in
illustration of the system; thereby clearly detioing my
own idea of the laW, and at the Same titre challenging,
eye, and courting, contradiction from the insular bar
wherever I can be convinced of error. My sole object is
to elicit truth, and expose to the, public eve; in all its
naked deformity, a festering' gangrene in the body po-
litic, which, instead of being carefully eroded; Is, I fear,,
extended and cherished by. a nuns Heal majority of the
insular bar; and, if not speedily eradicated, by compe-
tent authority, will most inevitably end in the final disso-
lution of our local government, And -demolition of our pe-
culiar privileges. Magna est veritay etprcevalcebit. ThiS
model aprocedure must. occupy a considerable portion of
your Columns, but that is unavoidable-the sn .ject is of
vital importance, and cannot be dogMatically discussed
and dismissed in a brief sentence. I shall state the case
of A., an individual stranger, keeping house and living
respectably, who owes 8., a tradesman with whom
he has had a slight difference, three pounds; B. well
knowing the state of the law, sae3t out an action in the
Court of Chancery for the above trifling sum, (he can de it
for forty shillings MANX in this form, and sixpence in
another,) and actually arrests, and thereinider imprisons
in jail the body of A. (unless he procures competent bail
for his personal appearance to be amenable for debt and
costs.) Admitting that A. can procure bail, which is ex-
tremely difficult for a stranger to do. the action is trans-
mitted from the Chancery Court to that of the deemster
of the district, and there execution is granted against A.
with taxed costs, amounting to four or five pounds. The
judgment so recovered is levied out of the effects of A.,
or in his default, out of those of his bail. This is a most
favourable statement of a case—none more favourable
can by possibility occur ;—in many, the unfortunate de-
fendant must, of necessity, be incarcerated in a dungeon,
from the utter impracticability of obtaining bail. The
bar, I regret to say, in too many instances, make a point
of adopting this harassing mode of proceeding—it being
so much more lucrative than a simple summons to the
deemster's cow, where the costs of an execution or judg-
went for an undisputed debt can never exceed six shil-
lings British and one penny Manx. Now, Sir, I shall
proceed to prove to demonstration the iniquity of the
practice, and lay bare the scandalous legal distinction
made between the stranger and the Manxman, so that he
who runs may read, and cry, as I do, "Fie upon your
law." In the case supposed, B.'s affidavit, on which he
obtains his action in chancery against A., instanter, runs
thus, verbatim algae Itteratim :—" B. of &c., personally
appeared before me, and made oath, &c. that A. stamla
justly indebted unto B. in the sum of, &c." "And the
deponent B. further saith,"—What, in God's Mettle ?
that A. is about to abscond ?—that he is in meditations
fuga. le or even that B. apprehends such a thing? No!
nothing of the kind ! B. simply goes on to swear " that
the said A. is not a native of this isle, as the deponent B.
understands and believes." This is the affidavit ' • and, I
''unhesitatingly say, the scandalous and wicked affidavit,
on which an action is, as a matter of course, issued froin
the Rolls-office, for the immediate arrest and imprison-
, went .0.1, it may be, an honest and industrious stranger,
to hi certain and irretrievable rnin, Aye, and worse.
andeavre iniquitous still, under that meee naked affidavit
alone, without the' governot's name and process being
• appended thereto, withopt the signature of, the clerk of
the rtilta, and without a' scintilla -of an eider or rule from
any authority under the canopy of heaven; can that
wretched, helpleia stranget be- apprehended; aye, and
lodged in a jail.
This is no piece of declamation, it is an appalling fact,
of every day occurrence—and yet with these iniquities
staring them in the face, we have in this island a set of
knaves, who have the astounding bitidihood to assert;
that England is anxious to assimilate her equitable laws
to our monstrous abortious—we have also enow of fools,
" God help them silly ones," whcireiterate and believe the
barefaced lie.—Now Sir, bear with my natural indigna-
tion, and mark the difference of proceeding in the ca'e
supposed, where A. is a Manxman, and also strongly
mark the safeguards and niceties thrown like a halo
around him, to protect his sacred person from the fangs
of a dangerous 8., previous to obtaining*. Chancery ac-
tion in this case, must swear not only to the truth and
justness of the debt, but, mark again entreat all
you stranger residents and visitants, must elm° so-
leinnly swear on the Holy Evangelists. as follows
"the deponent B. further milked) oath and saith, that he
had been informed by C. D. of, &c.—that the said A.
means and intends speedily to depart this Isle, without
paying the said debt, and this deponent B. further saith
that he verily believes such information to be true."
Does this roost outrageous and degrading insult to the
British stranger require one word of indignant comment,
to rouse the free blood of. the proud inheritor of Magna
Chile?. Will he, sir, whose ancestors wrung froth the
grasp of another adverse tyrant 11+c famous Bill of Rights,
and nobly claims it as his own inherent birthright,—will
he, I say, tamely stiffer his liberty, while a denizen here,
to lie at the mercy of every petty Munx tradesman? Or
will he, think you, without one loud appeal to the home
of his freedom, the Commons of England, longer endure
this insufferable assumption of superiority.by a Manx-
man, which he would laugh to scorn in any other created
man? I trow not—" Coming events cast their shadows
before," and, if there be one political truth more obvi-
ous than another, it is this, that as surely as there is a
heaven -above us, so surely will the first strong appeal
from the insulted British resident to the British paplia-
liament, backed by the foregoing facts, and a host of
others readily forthcoming, scatter to the winds Manx
laws, and lawyers, deemsters, Keys, and all their boasted
Celtic trumpery—l do not wish for a consummation, if
it can be properly avoided, but rather than longer tamely
witness these most nondurably insulting lines of demarc-
ation drawn up and pertinaciously defended between the
Briton and the. Manxman, I would willingly behold, to-
morrow, the Isle of Man incorporated with an English
eounty—and its separate existenee doomed to death " un-
knelled, uncoflined, and unknown."

In another letter I shall touch on special actions in the
Court of Chancery, many of w hick are ten tlyinsand times
worse than the worst of the common actions in Chancery,
to which I have been now endeavouring to arouse the at-
tention of yourself and your numerous readers, as well
native Manxmen as British and Irish residents and visit-
ants.

I an Sir, your obedient sem ant,
BitITANNICUS.

Doug/wt, Oct. 19th, 1835.

INDISPOSITION Of THE Duns' or? -WELLING-rms.—We are
sorry to state that his Grace _bait been confined to his bed fur
three days from the effects of it severe cold caught at St iatfleld-
save. On Friday es-ening, when on his way to town, his Grace
was seized with spasms, and on Saturday there were three or
four medical well in attendance at Apsiey Ilintse. For three
days the patient had taken nu fond; but we are happy to be en-
abled to annunnee that his Grace is now much better.

THR HOUSES LIM PARLIAMENT.—Very considerable anent-
eioue ace makiug in the House of Lords, itt older to lender it
wire convenient for carrying on the public bteeness. ltrceeses
have been cut in the side wails (which are .very iltick) to a setli-
eientleeth to ethic: of additional seats for about twenty pet rs
to be erected. 'fbe side gaMeries, which used to cettitl. the
while length of the 'Muse, have been intich ditnieisl:ed; one-
helf of each (at those .entis nearest the:strangers' gallery ) have
beeti•reinoved, and the parts which'reinaiu wilt in fut.:,..: be ap-
proached by a winding staircase at the bark of the throne.
Several other alterations about the throne end below tie bar
are in progress. There are no alterations of any importance iu
the interior of the Mouse of COniniuns; but other accommoda-
awls en an extensive scale are preparing. A large building at
the south end (abutting Abingdon street) capable of huiding
htlU inen_bers, has been erected, and is nearly completed. This
room is to be used by the Library..Qommittee in the day., and
iu the evening for divisions. It will Le entered from the house
by a door behind the Speaker's chair, and under the reporters'
gallery, and will afford much g. eater facility than at preseut in
collecting the votes of earls eieniLer. The room-. is built of
wood, but the under part is, of very suleitantial brick-work, and
is divided into severel couipartinentfc vehicle, it is said, ate to he
fitted up and used as.the priseu'of the house; and that all per-
sens who ate itifuthre committed by the Soaker for a breach
of privilege will not, it is supposed, as hetetofore, be sent to
Newgate, but he.confined in these monis, under the immediate
custody of the Serjeant-at-Atins. Two other additional rooms
are also erecting; one of etich will be for the private use of the
Speaker; and the other for members to. hold consultations. It
it expected the whole cif the alterations will be completed by
Christmas.