The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-03-06 00:00:00

Tu rex EDITOR or rse ST4TESII.4N.

Stit,—As the time is approaching. whow the expe-
diency of continuing the Insolvent Debtors' Aet will
be discessed. I am lodated to send you a foe obser-
vations on the sehjeet, for insertion in your (rely sa-
leable Pap►r, if yen think them of sufficient Im-
portance to merit it. Your columns aro devoted
to the cause of Liberty, and to the esposoro of these
defects in our system, thud wedge, most of the evils
of which we have to complain. And lis surprised
that amen so many of your intelligent Correspond-
ents, not one has appeared to advocate the cause of
the unfortunate, and to show t►c coovezion betties"
(litres* tasation sad elites, poverty, between un-
availiog ezertion and almost hisormoontablo diffi-
culties. All parties. the sopporters of the present
pt and vkions system, sod those who wish to
►efo►m it, concur in branding those persons as no-
principled. who have the misted's,* to be onsorcess-
fel ; as if it was not enough for • man to experience
miser►, to whom the waists of his family. and the
Inefficacy of his exertions to relieve them, without his
feelings being farther harrowed, by being stigoiatised
as ooprincipled. merely because he is unfortunate.

is Tarter times Insolvent Acts were only tem.
pinery meeseres for the relief of tile onfortunete, end
there will be seek at ell times, let public affairs be
ever so well conducted; but the present Act grew
out if the general distress, produced by a long, un-
just, espensive, and unnecessary war, during which
provisions had attained the most enormous prices, and
taxation carried to such an extreme, as rendered it
eery difittelt for the most prudent and industrious to
make bead against them. These are the causes oat
of which this Act originated ; and, I think, it bears
sefficiently hard upon the unfortunate debtor, with-
out seeking to depth's him of it altogether. The
great majority of persons whem this Act was intend-
ed to benefit, are those who move in the humble and
middling walks et life, cad who are more affected
b 3 the high price of provides and heavy tuition
than the rapidest Indents, or merchant ; it does, it is
tree, affect them also, bet net in an equal degree;
and in the event of their being unfortunate, they do
not vend In need of this Act for relief ; they are
protected from the vindictive end unrelenting per-
secution of the merciless creditor; a Commission of
Bsnkruptry will relieve there, and they can begin
Ike world spin, with their enrollees nnfettered.
Bet it is not so with the unfortunate and humble
debtor, altos this Act was intended to benefit ; be
inert give up hie all, and his future exertions be
shackled wish the claim, that he is at all times liable to
for thetleticiency,entil the whole of the debts for ouch
he was cnnfined are disrberged. The direct and im-
mediate effect of num. tuition is poverty, and its
remoter effect crime. Many sober and industrious
ine,, bate began business with very small rneans, and
'by their 'sections supported their families in comfort :
bet as prosisienserieroased in price, with the unceas-
ing calls made by the tat.gstherer, in addition, hare
found thentseliee is difficulties whirh they knew not
bow to got out of. The first, they hoped every year
woeld be lower • end the latter they were told
'meld be diminislied,thit the evil was only tempo.
eery, and that the pressure would soon cease.
—Disappointed in the first, and deceived in
the last, hope gated to 'ciente them, their am-
onions related, they no longer straggled with
difficulties that appeared inserementable, they be-
came careless of the property intrusted to the., and

this first departure from moral rectitude was the first
• step tcwards crime. How freqeently has it 'appalled
to this descriptioa of penes. to be scraping together
every shilling to pay a bill drawn by soma creditor,
•nd which is pear dee, sad when, •r before the
money was reedy to pay It, comes the bs.gethenr
for • third or ballot the sem that wu accessary to
do it. This man bed perhaps called before, more
this ones or twice: he was now become ciamitroes,
sad Anointed teen'', measures, sad in order to
support their credit in the •eighbosrbood, the la:-
gatherer is paid, end the creditor's bill unpaid,
or they are driven to sell • pert of their stock
at a loss to make their payment, er to gat a
bill disccnnted which must be paid by the same
metes, for by the time this ether bill becomes dee the
taingatherrr is at the door @Rein. The credit of the
bumble tradesman is as essential to hit•, and as no.
seamy to be maintained, es that of the more wealthy
or rf the estes►ive merchant, end more rlifilcult to
be I lose, as his regimen ere much fewer; it he then
to be celled etiprine:pled for doing only what is Conn
sooty dons by the merchant, who sells a whole a►go
at • loss to meet his payment., or who, by keeping
two bankers, gets his bills drawn by A upon B, dis-
counted at one, end by B open A. st the other ?
Is the bomb!e debtor, its addition to being called
unprincipled, to be incarcerated for five years at the
discretion of the Commissioner, for doing no more
than the ntensive trader or merchant, and whose
acts are mildly termed over specolatioo, and who
are eso•ereted from all effects of it in liter* by a
Commissiee of Bankruptcy ? But the advocates
for the repeal of this Act say, that it has beets
abased. New, does the abuse of a thing justify
lb. being deprived of the use of it? Are not
most of our 'shish'. Institutions abused? Is not
our Constitatiore itself abused, mod will these advo-
cate, say, t►at it is necessary it shield be done awsy
voNh? Have not the Bankrupt Laws been abused,
bet will then advent•, say they ought to be repeal-
ed? Away with such flimsy reasoning, and instead
of stigmatising the enti.rtunate es so pr:fteipled. let
them unite their efforts to remove the reuses that have
produced se mach dimness, and rendered this Act
otcessary.—l,et them unite to procure ► ►eduction in
she prices of all the articles necessary In esisteuce,
to redoes: the lases within Ibr meant of the bumble
and middling closers to pay them, and !here will
that be no necessity for r•ontiuuing the Act i! way
be safely repealed, or remain on the Statute IS,oL as
a dead letter.

Alr F.NI.IIIr TO OPI'RI 5310 Y.
Lathwark, ?larch 3, hug.

WILD cusrtnitiiwirs soulaQUY.
What s •to►m
About Melanie.
Yet Patriot II ctn.
N ill do Owlet).
Neat tier heroes
Out Ca►'aet rites ;
Awl ..w that Luis
001 w,•nh Janata.
Awl all the Wales
Areal worth two Igs.
The real rate is.
Tar; want oar plattea
I:real awl ratan,
d—a ?us all.

To rat EDIIVA •r ras STATESMAN.

haveweessioo to be satisfied with ear City
Members of Parliament as faros they have gene ; but
many such industrious men are wonted to cleanse the
Aspen stable. Abases upon abuses throughout our
whole Government have been allowed to accumulate,
till there is se conapteheoding the half of their es-
teat. The Secretary of States' offices : Aye. aye,
there Is plenty of refoimstion and retrenchment to
be made there to my koowledge. Twenty.twn thou-
sand poonds for snuff-boles as presents to Foreign
Ministers!!! This, let roe tell yen, Sir, is a ass not
to be swirled at ; and I should like to know w hat
kind cf muff borate Bond, the modest Mr. CAYSIING
received from the Prince of the BRAZILS when he
was Ambassador at Lisbon ! But as this was a
kind of surreptitious appointment, by himself of him.
self, I wish the boa (set handsomely with diamonds
no doubt) were well filled with ramose, though many
think that plain blackguard Irish is good enough for
the Right Hon. Gentleman.
Yours, *c.
Little Britain, Itarrh 6. JOHN BULL.