The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-07-29 00:00:00

To rim EDITOR or rns STATESMAN.

SIR,--flaving observed that Too, stallion( Cor-
fespondent, TIMOTHY TRII&M AV, in his sensible lot.
ter on the love motion Of Sir FRANCIS BUMDETT, fi-
fer, to the scarce Work of Sir THOMAS SMITH, en.
titled " The Commonwealth of England," as to the
ancient state of bondage in which a part of our an-
crstors were held, as well es with regard to the de-
ceitful conduct of the Clergy in those days, it has
Struck me that a few watt from Sir THOMAI.6 book
may be acceptable to snag of your Readers, and
which I accordingly subjuiu.—Tour's, &c.
Berkshire, .11.4 _5.1819.

B. C.

" After that we have spoken of all the sorts of
freemen according to the di ilia of their estates and
persons, it reveth to say somewhat of headmen,
which •ere celled semi, which kind of people and
the disposition of them and shoot them cloth occopie
the most of JUSTINIAN't Digests and Code. The
Romans had two kindes of bondsmen, the one which
were called serui, and they were either which were
bought for money,token in tram., left by soccertion,l
or purchased by some other kind of lawfoll
lion, or else borne of their bondiromen, and called
across ; all those kind of bondman bee called in nor
taw villains is gross., ■s we would sly immediately
bond l• the persoo and his helm. Another they
bad (as appeareth in Jcsrtms trt's time) which
they called adscriptitd ekbre or ogre censill.—
These were not bond ►o the person, bet to the minor
or place, end did follow him who had the manors,
end in our kw are called villain's regardants ; for
because they be as members, or belonging to the
armour or place. Neither of the one sort nor of the
other here wee any number in I:sigland. And of the
first 1 never knew any in the realm. in my time; of
t►e second, so few there be, that it Is not almost
worth the speaking, bot nor law doth acknowledge
them in both those sorts."

" M,numinion of that kind. of 'Plaines or bond-
sotto in England, is vied and :loos after divers sort.,
sod by other, aid mere light sod easie meaner than is
prescribed in the Civil' Law : and being once mane-
milted, be* is not libel-Ns manumittentis, bat simply
liber : howbeit, elute our realm. bath ',Mined the
Christian religion, which maketh vi all in Christ
brethren, and iu respect of God and Christ, con:cr.
mos, men began to base conscience to hold is capti-
ski', Red such extreme bondage, him who n they must
eckoowledge to bee their brother, and as wee use t•
term* him a Christian, that is, who looketh in Christ,
and by Christ, to have espial' portion with them is
the G"spell sad Saluatiou."
" Vpon this scrap's., in continuance of time, and
by long seccession, the 11 dy Fathers, Monkes, and
Friers, in their confession, arid specially in their 'm-
istime aid &idly sicknesses,berdened the consciences
of th 6 whom they had ender their bands : so that tem-
porall men, by Mlle sad little, by reason of that ter-1
ear it, their conscience, 1g ere glad to coanumitteall their
tillainn: but thesaid Holy Fathers, with the Abbots
end l'siors, did not in likeliest by theirs, for they bad
also conscirace to empoverish and despoil. the Chord
so Loch as to osausmit Mich as were bond to their
churches, or to the manors which the church had
Rotten, mud so kept theirs still. same did the
Bishops also, till at the last, and now of Ilte some
Bishops (to snake a peace of looney) manumitted,
theirs, *stilly for argent, paid), for slanders, that
they seemed more creel" than the tempos slily. After
the mona'teries cocooning into temporal' men's hand', I
bare beans occasion that nun they be almost all ma-
numitted. The most part of headmen, el 6 they
Were, yet were sot used •Ws vs so cruelly, nor in
that sort as the boodmie at the Hooting Clod lAw,
as eppearo,h by their comedies; nor as in Greece, as
appeased* by theirs—het they were suffered to enjoy I
eeprhokt lmsd, to gaine and ref as other seruants."— •
nVir Dooms Smith's Curnsmunweulth. p. 259-262.
Again, p 265.—" This p ion of Chsistians,
set to make n r keeps his brother in Christ servile,
bead, and underling, for ever with him, as a beast
rather than a man, and the humanity which the I
Christian religion cloth teach, bath engendered ,
through realots (not neere to 'rashes air' ihrba-;
puss) a doubt, a conscience, a scruple to hare ser-
wants and bundrnen."
As

a man of the sew of Robinson, and • boy,
were employed last week, at Croft, nets puling.
io getting 110000 from the bed of the riser Tees,
the roaring of the waters at a diotance announced
;he approach of a rapid flood. The boy instant!,
loosened the for. horse from tie cart, which he
mounted, and horse swam with him on shore. Ti.
man, snide's, to save the other horse and cart, leaped
on the animal's back, and bad neatly pined the
land, when the torrent camp, and carried the whole
with the greatest velocity along with it. Thedrowned
horse and cart were thrown on shore some miles
dews the river, bat the body of the onforteuate man
has not been fiend. The Tees is very subject to
these sadden floods after heavy rains.
A dreadful 6,. broke sot yesterday afternoon is
tote sogar.bosse of Messrs. Craven and Sheila, Not.l
son-greet, Whitechapel, w hick from its firassommence.
resent burned most rapidly, there being a great scar.
city of water. The whole of the interior of the sager.
boos. is entirely consumed, together with • vast
quantity of sugar. Upon • moderate computation,
the lcss sustained is 0,0001, the greater part of
which however, insured. It extended its ravages
into Dentan•street, and at ore time great fears were
entertained for the White Swan.lno, in IVhi:echapel,
the lower part of the yard joining the sugar-house.
Happily no lives were lust ; and no serious personal
injury occorred. Dating this scene of distress, spec-
rat rickporkets were active among the crowd, which
was immense, and op Gentleman lost his gold watch
end seals.

ExEcullox nr 13cLIAMIX Nortt.t.—This odor.
tame wan, who was brined, 60 and ft/ years of age, under
weal the bedew, of the hte shortly atter right &clock all
Wedaesday moraiag, at the *soul plate in the Old Kaiky. He
was c.•vi. led Lot hessian* (together w ith an secompl tee, wwwed
Mary Bristle.) ef hawing stolen front Mr. Jeremiah Steele.
a!epseller, al Taster-hill, thraogh the medium of a boy of fender
Mai leatli W. Squires Smith. annr he had .educed into the
coutweisso• of arta of delimited?. y. a trait quantity of woollen
Chili,. He •as visited early in the sandwag by the Iles. Mr.
Cattalo ard Mr. Baler, sad appeared pettedly irt ague& bat
be became ode agitated ao the an tot women, split, ro heel. fa-
ired, 'sprat was him rear adendt. that it *a. foiled necessary
trt fairish him With Will. IN. Sals.Sierifs. Messrs. Pr Ilea and
Turner. astaaded au shaftweaskaa. and Mr. Hake, sapiorrted the
hshappy won to the waist& were a ads paecutioNer t Hotting,
lie reinter pen*, appu6sed to that ipelearbely oiler being
" at Poter) performed She awful ceeetittlithi lirCeNclf, trns•
stn. v;lc died ear:marl! hard.