The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-07-04 00:00:00

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ful effects *gels these thiega mast proisok)and he wa'
confident be should not hear them talk as *Thad debt
in that Horse. .0
Mr. WILBERFORCE said, that he should net.
bareeronbled the House if the -Hon. Member who
spoke last but one, had not chosen to speak In terms
of the grossest abuse of another Society to which be
had the pleasure to belong. Sure be was that if the
Mee. and Learned Oentlemao knew as little of the as-
tute of the Constitutional Society as he did of the lift-
eiety for the Suppression of Vice, never did a Member
creme down to that House more completely fortified is
ignorance. Ile was quite sure that if the Hon. and
Learned Gentleman knew what that Society bad done,
he would be sorry that he bad been led to apply such
language to it. The chief object of that Society was
to prosecute the publishers of obscene print*. Many
of these, of the most disgusting and beastly description,
were circulated amongst young people. They had
even been found in setiiinaries for young women, where
they had been introduced fur the brutal purpose of vio-
lating the purity of female delicacy. The Society had
prosecuted 45 of these cases, and in no one of them
had they failed.—(Hear, hear, bear.)—He considered
the Hon. and Learned Gentleman's allusions to the
conduct of persons in the first circles of life to be no-
thing more than arguments to advocate the right of
the lower orders to commit every violation of the
Sabbath.—(Cheers and cries of " No, no.")—The
Hon. Member then contended that if such practices as
had been charged upon them were indulged in by the
great, they did not at least commit their offences
openly, and offer a public example for others to fol-
low. The objects of prosecution with the Society were
those offences committed in the public streets. He then
anded to the other purposesof the Society, and warmly
defended its general conduct. With regard to the
motion before the Honse, he thought there never
was a time when the licentiousness of the Press had
arrived at such a pitch as at the present period. It was
quite insufferable. No man was safe from calumny and
detraction. And so far was he from being of opinion
that no man had a right to step in to assist in the appli-
cation of the remedy which the law provided for
offences, that he held that right and the practice of it
to be the very genius and spirit of our Constitution.—
(Hear.)— How far the conduct of this Society had been
proper or improper, be did not know, for he had not
attended to it : be would frankly confess, however, that
he thought it liable to much abuse. For himself, he
had one or two objections to becomina Member of it.
In the first place lie considered it to be his duty as a
Member of Parliament, to direct the Attorney-Ueneral
to prosecute where it was necessary. He would here
observe, that when the state of the press was such that
it endeavoured to destroy ail reverence for the autho-
rities of the land, and to do away with all subordination;
be did not think that the Law Officers had exerted
sufficient energy. There was one individual who had
committed every outrage upon religion, who had recons
mended rebellion and assassination, and whose crimes
had drawn upon bins the visitation of the law, still con-
trived to receive the supplies of the poison in which he
had before dealt, from London, and to vomit it forth
upon the country from the prison in which he was con-
fined.—fle really thought this ought to be put a stop
to, or there was an end to the power of the laws aho-
y:47r. AeelnK, as he did, this licentiousness of the
be hoped the Association would go on with its
proper object of prosecuting calumny and detraction,
on any side, without indulging in improper political
bias, whether they found it in the true John Dull or in
the false John Bull. For these reasons he should vote
agaiost the motion.
Mr. DI NMAN was happy his Hon. Friend (Mr. Wil
herforce) had addressed himself rather to the Society
which had bees incidentally alluded to, than that imme-
diately under the consideration of the Hoene. The ob-
jection to the present Society was, that it must neces-
sarily 'moorage spies and informers, and he believed
it was impossible for any ma. to act the part of either
without abusing it. He never would believe that a
roam who condescended to the office of a spy, sad
whoa* reward depended upon his finding subjects for
prosecution, would not take care to earn that reward
in souse shape or other. This was the nature of all
spies and informers. The Society, however, under
debate was distinguishable from all ethers that had
keen named to for the purpose of justifying it, and
when be heard a Cabinet Minister stand up and defend
tech a Society, his surprise amounted almost to indig-
nation. Many Societies were instituted for the defence
of property, and for punishing all felonious attacks
upon it. Were these political Societies ? Were these
likely to ingratiate the Members with individuals in
power ? Even the Society for the Suppression of
Vice. though objectionable, perhaps, on a strict view
of the law, had many laudable purposes for its object,
and none which be more approved than those which
went to check the distribution of obscene pamphlets
among the young.—(Hear, heat.)--In cases where it
was necessary to enforce the law, there could be no
doubt of the propriety of the Attorney-Oeneral being
the prosecutor ; but was the law to be enforced by a
combination of men without authority, who raised
powerful friends, among whose subscribers many ap-
pear to be anonymous, and some, he believed, were
not in existence. That many of these persons were
respectable in private life, be had no doubt; but mere
respectability was not sufficient to justify a Society
which required judgment, discretion, and inflexible
public principle to prevent it from becoming mis-
chievous. Associations like the present could not
be legal in any sense of the word, for they
sought the ruin of those who published works which
this Society forsooth thought proper to condemn.
If it were urged that the state of the times required un-
usual legal interference there was the greater rea
son for legal responsibility. The object of Mr
Reeve's Association was to answer itepnblicen work'
and ibis Society professed somewhat of it similar oh
ject. He found that in their circular they proposed t.
employ literary men of ability to answer the sophi.
tries of seditious and blasphemous writers ; but th
only written arguments he had known them to use
were indictments, a species of argument powertui
though rarely convincing. Conduct Ilk* this was i'
fact placing the press under a censorship without
authority of the law. He believed there were as man
atataymeos subscriptions as he bad ever observed at!
tertised in support of any object. Sow of the sit
natures too might he very fanciful. He had jest pu
his finger upon one—" Ogles, the Mis,:es." Nn
whether this was the real subscription of some Ladle
of the aaa of Ogle, or whether it was kneaded as
of-s 4, he really could not sae; but it was not a
all material. Another point of view In which it strati
hint that Oh Society was highly dangerous was this-
Suppost.it wore met by a miaow Abratiatkm. Wow
k oat is the seam of time bo &riot broptoibleibilo