The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-12-11 00:00:00

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letriser
_t_t. is:iivtkriretet;
1 Telleentforleness
-ptevailing tit • at led to many the disorder&
Net infested suet . I saw some) nti
!Men is
the room wbo" . atitcb,ourt *me in .
rt,
siting and eta 'lig oeuiikg,p ad 'he
warmly praised the.etrellence of the discipline ob.
.seliffillaila beThreilWreott;tl
served in them, a
to I ty,
that oat not lad Worthy Alder.
man opposite (Alderman Wood) had minutely ia.
spected the Maisots de Force, at. Cheat, sad spoke
in the highest terms of its admirahle management
aid regolations—the arrenpment and classificatioe
of the pritioners. From the circumstances of the
times, many persons occupied our prisons far from
,the last stage. of guilt—multitudes, comparatively
innocent, were sent in there after the commissioa,
or for attempting to commit very trifling offences._,
Bow did we treat such persons? We received thole
hut just affected, as it might be said—we sent them
out completely tainted, and utterly depraved. With
all our Charitable Institutions, and uo country piel4
ceased more, there was still a deficiency--there was
no piece where unfortunate men and women, snakes
to return to the habits of industry and honesty, eligia
go and ask for work, or where they might even seclude
themselves, and prove, by t heir conduct, they were it,..
deed refoimed, and desirous to procure employment
from any charitsfilyitsposed and more fortunate meat.
• bers of society. It was in, sail) to elide:mar to eludeOt
parry the consideration Of this walk's; they wo•ild
be compelled to meet it tyeilly, and argue it on
briiad grounds It was peCuliarly Neu reheat on them
to dn' so ;-they should recollect the words of a great
naval' officer—" England expects every Mau to do his
duty. P.— He sincerely believed that if they did their
duty; the -Legislature would be • fully dispos,A to
assist them in the meat work. But the first step, as
he conceived, towards amendment, was an elect see-
cation by them of the functions consigned to them
by •the law. 'fhey should make punishment cer.
tarn in its infliction wherever it was sentenced. it
should always he inflicted under 04 eye of the Ma.
gistrates tbernselves, aed never left to inferior
officers. .Soch a delicate trust should never be as.
signed to a dewy. He had himself seen how .cue.
-fully this. was attended.. to in other countries. It
had often been bis lot to witness public whippings
in London, where no Magistrate made his appear.
entry but in -Holland he had had ocular demon-
stration thin the most respectable Magistrates and
ihirghess did not consider it beneath them to super.
Intend on sack oceasionf He believed things were
noel 'Came to that pass that something by way of
remedy could not longer be deferred ; he was not
enthusiastic; but he should, at least, honestly dis•
charge his Den duty. He should sum op by say-
ing, that a fair, conscientious trial of the offence
charged, and a certain punishmeut following cone
victioti, would go mach further towardilhe repro,-
sion of crime, and reformation pf public morsisythaa
1 irty discretion Wt to the Judges to modify the nota-
tion of undiatinguishingly severe laws. lie hod had
the good fortune to know the philatithropicAratieth
they differed in opinion on many points) ilitmlnat
Geutteman constantly endeavoured to imprele pit
his mind the importance of examining the manage.
spent. of jails—he had accordingly hen Pte: oaths
prison of Bury St. Edmonds, and Mae bound to
"declare that the keeper of it was entitled to all
praise. . Re iwAsi ' also *sae tistough tattraiter ittil,
and been highly gratified at the regulations sign.
blished there. Gebtlemeu would do well its pets
visit to these places, they would convince them how
greatly inferior their own houses of confinemept
were. He had seen a prison at Rotterdam exhi-
biting the utmost marks of misery and wretchedness;
lie enquired the cause from the keeper, nho old him
that before the reign of Bonaparte it was not so;
i
j that there had been fond; and a good system of ma.
nagement, bet that in his time the place had been
I I neglected, and every thing in it suffered to go to decay
and ruin. He should now conclude, begging pardon
for having occupied so much of their time.
The Resolutions were then read by the proper
Officer, after which—
Mr. JACKS addressed the Court. He rose, be
said, under circumstances of considerable embar-
rassment, compelled to disagree, as he was, in
many particulars from the opinions of his Worthy
Friend who had proposed the Resolutions. There
was not 4 single Member in the room for whose
onderstandsing or personal charaCter be entertained
a higher respect; he concurred in many of his po-
iitious, but he was yet .. to learn •thet the remedy
suggested by him, would reach the evil complained
of.-'-ills Worlll Friend -had said, and said very
proper ire that any innovations on our Criminal Cede
otsght• to be 'attempted with. the nicest caution ;
bet he also said, that such innovations or altera-
tions had been generally deemed advisable, and de-
sirable for many years. This was quite new to him.
Sir Samuel Itomitty, indeed, saw a necessity for
alteration, but on the first agitation of the question
by him, having consulted the twelve Judges, they
were unanimously of opinion against it. At that
period, he bed himself asked the opinion of the
two Law Officers of that Court, who agreed-with
them, and within this half hour the Common Ser.
jeant had told him be was of the same opinion. It
was said our Code was the most sanguinary in the
world. lie should examine that position in detail.—
The severest code that ho was acquainted with was
that of Draco. who punished even idiots with death.
The worthy Member then cited and examined the
codes of Solon and Lyctirgoa, and the laws of the
twelve tables at Rome, particularly that for dissect-
ing and dividing among his creditois the body of an
insolvent debtor—norieed the changes made in the
lime of Augustus, and the vast extent to which the
Justinian Cude reached. Ile afterwards referred to
the translation of the Indian Code by Sir W. Jones—
but was called to order by
Mr. WILLIAMS, who said that the qoestion before
the Court related to the taw of England. '
Mr. JACKS replied, that as it• had been esierted
that the English Code was the most severe in the
world, it was competent to him to adduce other cedes,
and show that they were rigid.
Mr. Favxm. said, that his expression was, '6 tie
most sanguinary in the civilized world."
Mr. Jacks continued.— Moses enacted the punish.
1 meta of death for the crimes of murder, adultery,
1 blasphemy, and cursing a father or mother.