The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-05-05 00:00:00

REFORM.

Sir R. HERON said, tta4t in .constlnence of the
inability of one of the Ministers to attend on Thurs.
day next, be was induced to postpone, until the 15th
lust. his intended motion with respect to the repeal of
the Septennial Act.

POLICE REWARDS.
Mr. BENNETT moved the recommittal of the
Offenders' Reward on Conviction Bill.

Sir C. BURRELL spoke against this Bill, con-
ceiving the grant of Rewards necessary to the detec-
tion of crimes and the appreheusion of criminals.—
Therefore he felt it his duty to oppose the motion for
the Chairman's leaving the Chair.
Mr. BENNETT observed, that this Bill prosided
that persons engaged in apprehending, and bringing
felons to justice should be duly rewarded; and,
therefore, there was no ground for the objection of
the Honourable Baronet, who was no doubt as
anxious as any ene concerned in framing the Bill, that
the system of rewards should not be such as to in-
duce persons to get up crimes and instigate criminals,
merely with a view to their own profit. It was solely
with a view to put an end to this mischievous system
that the present Bill was brought forward.
Mr. N. CA tiv Eta objected to the provision that
' the amount of rewards should be paid from the funds
of each county rather than from the public Treasury,
on the ground, truly, that every county was bound
to pay for its own police.
Sir C. BURRELL withdrew his objection to the
motion for the Chairman's !easier( the Chair.

The House having resolved itself into the Com-
mittee,
The ATTORNEY GENERAL expressed his
opinion, that rewards should not be abolished alto-
gether, as this Bill proposed, but that it be left to
the discretion of the Judges, to award the whole, o►
an; part thereof, to the persons apprehending felons,
to the witnesses against them, or to those concerned
in their prosecution.—The Learned Gentleman pro-
posed an amendment to this effect ; and also, that
the Clerk of the Assize should be entitled to only
ss. fur the certificate of the Judge with respect to
such reward.

Mr. BENNET disapproved of the amendment,
apprehending, that by its adoption, the object of the
Bill would be defeated, because it would still hold
out a, stated reward for the apprehension of 'itch
persons as might be convicted.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL observed, that it
was not the intention of his Learned Friend, that
the conviction of the person prosecuted should be
necessary, to dispense the reward to [hove concerned
in the apprehending or bringing him to trial.
Sir S. ROMiLLY deprecated the amendment,
from a persuasion that its enactmeut would serve to
continue the evil of which every one was heard to
complain. That evil was, indeed, of an enormous
magnitude. A case had ()marred in which Police
Officers had obtained a reward of MI. for detecting
two boys in stealing articles out of shop windows, in
consequence of the prosecution being instituted for
burglary. The system of rewards was, indeed, so
operative in producing an eagerness for conviction
that he had himself known a case in which a father
sought the conviction of I►is son, in order to obtain
the 'reward—did not then a system of such melan-
choly effects call loudly upon the Legislature for
some adequate remedy I Bert his Learned Friend's
amendment would prevent that remedy ; for it was
clear that the eagerness which was now evinced to
to get the verdict of a Jury, would, after the adoption
of this amendment, be employed to obtain the recom- '
mendation of a Judge, and it was idle to suppose
that the evidence which contrived to impose upon
the former, would have no effect upon the latter.—
The Learned Gentleman quoted the Police Report and
the cases of Brock, Pelham, Power, and Vaughan
(who sere by-the-by released from prison, as they
ought, only because they were not properly prose.
ruled), in order to show the necessity of some mea.
sore of the nature of that brt rght forward by his