Surrey Quarter Sessions.
The Times, 1824-07-14T00:00:00

YCftetdA9Ythe urrey Quar ter& ion ws- theld aGuifard,for tepurpethe ofuconsidering r. rietyx) of buswinessconnectedlwith the manasement othe county, <and principy the -notice of, motion eiven by- Mr. Jo J T;oB3 a)sC mE the A strt ao priou to theadjoumment day atquesinte,ion peatedyo psede,ech upon,theo idorain oc a the benchnthe'suasn ofO'elegalitylandproprimty of the use of the treod.wheeas an engne of prison discijilisie; aiid who then gave no paeftd ?- The sude ansh wdimera of'-forms whieh were oeftrvhie, ofbue t of meoiude oo to he avile desied entire question of' the tread-whieel, as an-instrument-6f punishiment and rison lthevaour, both as to i legalUti ana wacdtale witha the ?*U ies re of justice, a mocaftity ari sosnad policy, as weD L matos itS Weretsn ther byodher a misones onfid e s mubjcted to Its opeation; and inthe admnitratton youthen, oreadherfin the county oa Surrey, asc tthewacs exof seadc? esg, cheainid ore ohercame iben;ihe com. plamed onat the ttheet assgned to thimp,acce of thearng wawayte, har and be din g ati b andgh fro m pris oneral s hener so bs e ct eio solnitary. co - At eleven o'clock Lai8rd athLET02e took the chair, assisted by Lord yEASTnoRt,Baronlde Tlissa?-the High Sheriff of thecountY, Mir. Ho.x.Eu SuaNE?n and Mr. DEsrrso-w the county m-embers ; the Ron. H. G. BENNEaT, Sir TaroziAs RT'enoX, and nearly 50 other magistrates of Sturrey. The. usual routine business of swearing in the grand jutry, reading the proclamation,tswearing in the constables, making the diff?ere-t rturns, from the hvole within th e jurisaiction of the county, was then di posed of Lord MI%IDUETOS in charging the grand juary remarked that the only cune out. of tne common course in the cendar w ant ii dictinent against three persons forhaving at Elsted contemptuouslY distubeihd afcongregaton oit ps ardesedhimbted for religious wordhip ais authoriged by law. o entreatedthat they would give due at? Senirn THOMAS aTUBse,Owhen the obaectiars were submitted for their considerstions Th otherna businese wa i so much in the ordiary course, t hdes e 1 should thoe tresp as t n theo sm with any Particular Sone arrangements were then made by the magisktycy for the re- pairs of some roads, &c., which were presented by the loc con- stables for 0hat purpos This preiminary business occupied uPm wards of two hours. CA5nFi 5 MRt. O'CALLAGRAN. Vhen the surgeon (inr. Dixon) of the horsemonger-lane Prison put In his report, Sir TtoSAs TURTON rose, and said he wished to put a few questions to this gntleman, as he did no., like to detain him until ater in t a whenhe (Sir Thtomas) ieat to subaitda motion on theaubject. H isfirst questionwas- o you see eachprisoner upon fhis first committal to the wad in which he is ?laced ?-Yes, I do. Do you recolect a. person of the name of O'Callaghan being com- mitled to Horsemnonger..iane Prison ?-I do. Wherewas be placed ?-(The surgeon's answers were delvered in a very low tone of voice; but we understood hin to have described, in reply, the ward in which Mlr. O'Callaghan was p laced, and to have referred for a nore particular description, tors falters, the Goveror of the gaol.) WVas he in good health a t the Itime of his cormmtittal '-.Yes Were there any other prisoners confined in the same warld P-Yes. Dir Theomplai to yBouf then, obafter bof the harsh treatment to Shohme wasveosedion ?th-en hople didpeien he eamn in; he com- plained that thc die a si so him, ofbread and water, was hapoh Didhe expev.ssl anyA wihaherecle time ?attestio othe wiheCorarbt tsr diet.~~~~~~~~~~~fo bt Had you any pwer to afford it ?-I had ito such powe-, unleas the healthe of the inbiindual was affected'. Are you of opinion that the place inpwhich Mir. 'Callaghan was confined admitted the air and exercise essential to health p-Cer- tatinly, he might have been in a more salutary place for healthi, but I Wtv,as the,in pointeof tact, Silduring his cnfiement, or exposed to injury fom iet certisnmly fo eund e him atonetime labouring under anscomplaintion the stomactgh, romsomethin which had disareea with him ionehisddiet, and for it I ordere himthe necessary diet and He is discharged now, is henot ?-Yes, he is. Sir Th omd s TURT02;...y object in putting to you these questions is not in any degree to impute the slightest blame to you; all I desire is to show the public that the officers of the ceuntyshave done their duty if such be the fact I shallaenskou one question iore-Are youof opinion that a pers-on in the a`pparent situationin life of Mr.eO'Callghrn, with his visible demneanour and manners, was or was not likely xto sustain consideroble injury fronsone month's confinement inc the manner he had been confined ?-That would depend on a great variet of circara8tances. Air. GREY BEWK.ET....Wat was the size of the cell P-I be- lieve 8lfeet by . eglat of The yard ?-I cannot exactly say. Mlr. HEDGtEL-.Dc, you remember being sent for on the 2d day of his imprisonment by himn ?-Yes, I do. What did tbe warint? He corn pined of the hardsnip of being keatnup ad and vater, and he also wanted wine. ido ththink his state of health required wine?-I did noL. Mlr. HOLmS Susrwast..-.Do you ever order liquors for prisoners, execept in case of disease P-Unquestionably not. -reewr W DEh soN.-How many were in that ward? P-here were three others. How many calls were in that ward P-I believe 15, andaa day-roomn Sir TaomAs TuRToN said, that by anid bY he should ask the gaoler a few questions. Some conversation then took place respectnmg the education pro. Thend ev, lilt. COURTENA here called the attention of the C;ourt tth regularit ry ofd isposingof therebusthineof the day, and pointed ein theincehsity of disposingof walshe privbate obusiness before they entered upon publicmotions,forthecnvenience of many parties in It was then agreed, that Sir TmnoAs TitUroN's MOion should come on when the prison rules were under consideration, and 1r. Briscoe's motion respecting the tred-maill, whElr that enien rnwa mentioned In the order of business. sr. BltscoE.-I wish to ask the Governor of. the Gaol if Ar. O'Calagihan's omom had anyhglazed window in it P-It had not, it had a shutter. he al- Thn,iohwoeed t ha shutter for air,elin wettoweather,tthe must be a rexposed totehumidt of thre -es hatm nosphere to musnt.hi request. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ us Do you rerarmembertMr. than h 's v;hcomheing into the aol Pa Yes,perfctlywellhe cme is atoncefromthe sessions. awhre was he placed P-With other conyicts, convicted of misde- meanour.s. Whatwas thesid yof the room -About 8 feet by or 7, and Ir I feet highi. The day-room was atbout eight yardsr square,orearly8so. What was the airing groud ?-I should think ten yardserig , and six wide. Wdho were with him in that ward P-TwO others who were con. victed, Timothy Harragan (an trishman), cnvicted of an assult, (a hagistrate here remarkedndlhis offence was a sort of a lark.") Be was a common day labourer. Who wag the other l-Morton, a journeyman haidreser. What criMe had he comm-itted P-A very aggravated assault upon his wife, whose jaw-bone he hadl broken, And these w-ere the people with whom oAr. O'Oallaghan had to spend his days in the ward P r-Yes. Air. D1ItUn ERD.- Pray ispthere anything disierent in the ward in which G r. O'Callaghan was placed, from that of any other ward for a convictedh risdemieanrant -No There it no place for poore en who commits larks, and genole. men'who do the same t-Certainly nont Mr. oftbe ) ist.-.I belteve the Irishman, Harragan, had been run- niogngdmuck somewhere in the Borough, on a Sunday mnorning, assaulting every body he met. Sir Tanod ASTuRTON resamed his interrogatories. At the time s;r. O'Callaghan entered the prison, did he complain to You of the want of proper food P-He didt:he wished to be al- lowhed to provide for himself, and to get a little wine. You refused him of course ?-Yesd; I had no powerd tohgat his d y tnw that as governor you had thepower to place him ina dierent apoartmcnt than that which he occupied lP-Iwas not awar I hd suh pwer. wat sthreps dnyt ou take upon his application for food P-I recom- ded, toast apy r ely to auviiting magistrate or to the Sheriff: he didtothe asheriody;fo was then in the gaol, and food of a different kind whas allowd ahimafosthat day. On the iscrondg yay the received thei safle winduthe foma Maur. odger; but he was afterwards five or six dast palac upon and water,n intil the visiting magistratea aAir. HunsoN;...Of what profession was Mr. Oautatagher pu-I unders;tand he was a theatical character. Air. R. SumNER...-A player: why not say so in plain English at orince M1r. G. BENN.ET.-Mr. Walters, were you ever acquainted with Air. Garrick, 51r. Keinble, or Mlr. Young P-I was not. They were players, were they not P-Yes, I believe so. Some conversation then took place upon the presentation of the re- port of the magistrates at a late sessions in Newington, which ye- commreadedan alteration in the time of eXerciftse,allwed the Prisoners and also contslned permission to provide themselvles with betterfowd and some porter daily. Lord EASTNOR s sid, that when the proper time arrived, he had a few observations to make on the subjectof the prison regulations which it was now recommended to alter. Sir TheoSAs TuRtTox begged to assure the noble lord, that no- thilng was farther from his intention than to cast the slightest re- flectioni uponl his conduct in the case of BMr. OYC'aliaghan ; nor was there any thing in his motion which went, when fairly constru- ed, to cast any reflection uXpon the conduct of the Surrey Mlagis- trates as a, body ; for he had never k-nown a set of men more anxi-. ens than hie had always found them, to discharge all the duties of their office with humanity and forbearance. But he need not tell themn, th-at public opinion had borne against them in tke recent c-ase of~iar. O'Callaghant, perhaps without reaon, ignorant as the public were described to have been upon the real evidence adduce-d at the -Mr. UOr.sEa Summsnst hererose to order; and sugzgested thAt the question shoaild be put UPOn, the proposed aiteration in the prison re- gulations before the subject was open to dehb.te, The question was accordingly put, and Lord EASTirOR expressed the gratification he felt at the intended alteatin intheprsnrlsa a nsItasoennth egperience of life discorered, that rules which at first appeatred good in theory, would afterwvards prove injudicious in practice. Until lately, he had not been in the habit of interfering in the ge- neral public business of the county; but he was certainly much struck with the report of the sirgoon of the gaol about two montbi ago, setting forth the inadequacy of the gaol diet. He was therefore now gratified to find that the bread and water allowance was not to beuniformlyperseveredin. There were at the sametime, other rules which he should wish to see altered-le alluded' to the proposed schedttle for the hours of exercise, and rif.rred to the 18th and 19th of the prison rules. Thie clauses of the act of Parliatupt he did not certaiily think iere followed as closely as they had been in tlhese rules and regula ions: there was, he feared, a misinterpre- tation which had led to much inconvenience, He entirely agreed in time propriety of leaving to the surgeon the admission of spirituous liquors; but wine in small quantities to a certain class of prisoners, and beer to altwho could pay for a smsall quantity, oug'ht, he thought, to be allowed witbout tho invervenition of the visiting maigistrates. lt was. he tnought, a misinterpretation of the clauses of the act of Parliament respecting the diet of the prison, which had, In the par- ticular case of mr. O'Caliaghan led to an undue application of rigour. Notwithstanding wliat had occurred out of deors, he had no hesitation in adhering to the opinion he had already ublicly ex- pressed of that case. He certainly felt sorry that Alr. O'Callaghan had been put for any day upon bread and water, nor was he aware that he had been Eo restncted, until it was publiecly mentioned. As so much had been said of the case, he would beg leave to repeat there what he-had already said in hie place in the. House- of Commns ; and he could deldrethat erery memberof the bench -who 5sat on that trial felt that he had; in the sentvnF pronountcd ups,,the -defeind, moters ofi,wh a tp e so 0 te ro menIs mlcm o.0 the e biden rat~ tate- ments, an3d an miperfect verino- h vdne Dir.m Da,xvsox said, th&t hav"ing alt-ere the diet of fr. O',al Iahn, he oweda few words of explanation to his brotber naimig trates. Whbenhe ha,d heard of thediet to which Air. O'Catllax, was exposed, and which was suitea to a very diffeent clwl 'O ii from that in which the particular individual must have inmoved, bhe\ had interfered. Fnteziig thiropinion,hehadenaeavouO-eby,alI the means in his power to remedy tne inconvenience- he had order- Ied bette food the use ofmew pers, andsnnalterat,on in thegrat.. ing through:which Mr. O'Cal nhsn had to seehisafiiendasarid so fa c nthseremoval of o'ne of the gratings went, lie hacl now to plead an indeminity, for upon subsequent inquiry he firund he had gone geyndtleman, inorern that altetin. ~He thougit. that a tbeplaced in this state of n5reca and be had ''ted upon that opinion. The honourejble member then eulogized the general r-ba.. Mecter Of the Magistrates for the county of Surrey, and saicd. tat throughout te ki ungo he bad never knovn a more humane, honounrble, or conscientious body. Still, lik-e all oth" mentheywere liable to error, and bound 'to redress, ther erce whnevr tey erebrought to light. He kznewt thatfurther ril.e thJhatopeadthe iiovelty of their formation,. unde th prvisons ne ac ofParliament: th.e r~ was hei exuseforany error into whirh they miight have fallen. Theyhadby teirpresent ulterariesi of the rtiles admttrea the pro- pret o gvig eterdiet and more air to the prisners. He kmew thatpriones oghtnot to be placea irn a condition Of luxury, but the wee bundtosend them fromgaol,not iiia Worse Stte of'helth that wheni theyrcie them.They -were, he thought, rjually hound, to ~aaenessofmi6demeanour, persons oF particular classe nawowere entirely accustomed to a different tara don nd ifibenthaits. Althoug hbe entirely Wgeed that all men wereequa in he ve of the law. vet inaortoru mg punishment a disincio 'iasalwyataLen ; otlfierwiseitley wotuld beconfounding disint ffcts fr hesame term of jpunUishert would aet muclx diferetlyupo oe manr from what its oxration would. -be on an- othe. H hadtheutmost confidence in the visiting magitrates.but he mch ishe toseethis classification carried into suitable.fffect.- ined emeanttogv notice ofsuch a motion, so as thwV 1 dia.. tnioasto diet,&c should be afforded without the prsn.cu allowed t depend upon the discretion ftevstn aie~ Sir T 3orAs TuBT0ON Said, thatheojcofh 6n r~ mermberwould probably, comprehendthaconlsm tfhj~ (Sir Thomas) had in view-1..amelY,tecasfaioofpso.jfb miademearioers. He had introduce i.OClaha' aesta which had caused the greatest pbi ooit,ntta ake n thiing of Mr. O'Callisgiianfo,drclornietl,hhaet communicated either with'mohifred;bttw antris fact that the Surrey Miagistracy, respectable a eamte hmt be. had sufferedI in public opinion, ontegon0htte a n flicted too severe a senteence, upon teindvda,adafewrsa. gmavatedl the severity of that sentencebytem eofirinen which they had inflicted. He did noE ihtL paeteMaitae under the eontrol of public opinion, rtepbi press, bt he thought that they ought not to dlisrgd eihrteoeor the other. if tbe press were misled, its ifuence would soon vanish with the better explnation of a more correct statement of. facts. Not having read the noble lord's notes of the trial all he (Sir Tho- mas) meant to say was, that he thought at least jir. O'Callaghsn'sa offence had been adequately punished. The hon. baronet then con- tended that some greater attention should be paid to the character of~ the oifence and the condition of the offender, than he belitved hatt been paid in this case, and pointed out how Llifferently the same- term of imprisonmnent and labour woald operate upon his healthy- looking and well-fed friends around him,and other6 of alower class,I in life who were accustomed to more sedentary habits and more con-. stant confinementu He was perfectly convinced that Lord Enstmor- would niot have inflicted the sentence he hadl passed uponL ir.. O'Callaghan, had he known that his treatment in the prison must have been what had afterwards occurred. in fact, the gaoler need nothave classed MUr. O'CnlUaghan with those who were in his ward- he hiad (only he was mnistaken in not exercising it) an optional power by one of the rules. (A cry of"1 No.") He would insist that be betd that pewer, sand he read a rule -which supportedhis opli'ion. He proeeedt urge strongly the propriety of a more compendlious re- viino their prison regulations; they had become liberal izn commercia and manufacturing transactions, but not -so inD their prisan disciplne, for there they retained their old and long es. tablished pClas of severity. He did ample justice to the huimanity of Lord Bastnor, but still thiought that they owed it to their own charactr to endeavour to restore themselves in the pablic opliion, which certainly on this last occasionii htd been moust stronigly opposed to them. He concluded by moving as an amendment to the reception of the report, " that a meeting shoul& be forthwith a ppoinited, to consider more fuilly the expediency of re- consideringal the rules and regulations ot their prisons, and that they report thereon at the next Qaarter Sessions, whether any awid what regulations as to a more complete classification of t-he Pri- soners saould be adopted." Mlr. GkRE B wiesx said, that the act of F'ezlia-ent, which had led to the u riso tinsomliued. of, bad not passecd without much, dXtse in tHouse of aoo;itid bren long before comamittees, during two successive sessions ; it was sent to the EHouse of loards, and returned tothe Commons with 400 and odd amendments. (A laugh.) WVith respect to the case of Dlr. O'Cal. laghtan, hehadnodifficultyin saying, thathewasnotataflls satisfed. with the evidence as some of his brother magistrates appeared to be. On the contrary, his opinion was, notwitbstading hit,admitted sensie of the humanity of nis noble friend, and of the good intentions of his brother magistrates, thattbey ought to have borne more in maind than to him they appeared to have done, the recoimmendation of the jutry, who did record a provocation to have been given to the defend. ant. He was ther-efore ready to go the whole length of what had4 beensai bySirThoas urtn o ths subject, andl he equtally conurrd i te ~ustaninalvesios hich the Dublic 1presha baiC- reced ealat instrasacion Hethoghtit was the duty, of the visiingmagstraes o ve pevetedtheunjtustifiable treatment whic th iniviualalldedto ad ecevedduring his imprison- ment. The HIGH SHEaRIFF here begged to say, that he had O%fred Dir. O'Callagban an adjoining apartment, which, however, be h?Ad te-. clined. (Hear. hear.i Mlr. DRUXeaOXnD concurred in the opinion, that where a syeve rity was endured by a prisoner beyond vrhat his sentence intanded, he mutst be deemed as in that degsee suffering unjustly; butt witht respect to Mlr. O'Callsghan's case, be had seen every tbiag aserted on the one side contradicted on the other he must, howeever, object in principle to the visiting magitrates having a powver to alter in it6 execution the sentence of a courtof session. Sir THomAs TUInTow and Air. DvENISON said inaexplnation, that no such intention was entertained by them. MVr. H uDsosr could not reconcile the principle- that dIfferenee. of rank ought to be accomipanied with any d~renceof Pairdshmeat; he thought, en the contrary, that the aducated.classes oughtt to set an. exaTnple to the lower, of avo,jding infractions of the law ; but when they commiitted them, they ought to be particularly puubihed. M5r. HOLIVE SuwansE said, that this wa a moat p4rnfl discus.. sion, from the public misepresesiation to which th-e subjert had given rise. He defended and eulogized the nunotsrates for the county, of Surrey ; and denied that, except in tho Wtanne Of his noble~ friend (Lord Eastuor) the magixtrat- who,.sat on the bench on the Itrial of 16Mr. O'CallsgLin were ignornt of the prison regulation to which they ware consigning tho defendant for one month bDY their sentence (Hear, hear.) We entirely agreed in thLe princ'Ip which had been laid down-thitt when persons of education infring'ed the laws, they ought to be held miore sternly responsible for their mis- conduct. He despi se the clamours which hwA benu raised agailnst the magistrates, and said they ought to discharge their duty as their consciences pointedl out, relying in that ultimteai justice wihich they could soat fAlI to obtain in the long run from the public,i magistrates were liable to this misrepresentation with inppunhy, who would be foundt icag th esd~ of the magistrac-Y Mr. Taowxsrs complained tht the kpnaidaration of a most im- portant principle was mixed up. with MAr. O'Callsgban's esee. He could never admiit the new iprinciple which was now urged. The law knew nothing, of persons,but of the quantum Of injurY inflicted by the individLual;'and if- the upper classes erred, theY must ruflFer as other men were doomed tosuflfer takingcare*llm?.theiaheath did not suffer, and of that the medicalJ officers ought to he alone the judges, btAt not commiserating the share of comifort of which they- were bereft by misconduat that they ought to have wvoided. Lord EASTaroI said that the visiting magistrates bad not, in, point of fact, altered the sentenc, bikt exerci-sed an authority which, they pussessed. Air. Scourvxy condemnne;1 any attempt to revise, at quarter aes.. the ubli cein.~tedby te bnch .nmgistrates in Surre%c..Let upon te suggested alteration of the prison rqltos Dir. Basscoz- agreed entrelY in the opiineprse ythe: hon. baronet with respect to the gre4aateeiyo iuism nti.. flicted in a particular case so oftelk AU"dd~i.H uos tedatth same timne aga.inst the doctrine that the richaol b oe seerely unished thlan the po.0r n the particular sentence,th loss of luberty- for amontih was. only contemptLt?ed. by the law;ase. meanant was pot a felon, anti oughit to be allwdt ucaea moderaite rate, at his owln expense., the sort of iorarsn owi in h'gs sitiation of tire he hW been previously aiccustomd h magistrates ought to execute the sentence literaly, audrit to aggra.. veat ~it by subsequent severity. Mlr. AOLZIt. SUsn1~91.-Buat theg law imposed oni tbemagistrates, rules for the regulationci6' the prison, which they, were boand, o enforv Sir?isso~e TutTae..-Yes, but with a discretionary power.. l~r Basvo stongy enforced the better revision andct eViha. tio oftheprsonruls,upon every principle of reasonl and law. ' Mr. x~cso~ gae ntic, tat t te next session in octobr, lhe shoud tovetha allpriones (othrich and poar4 cansictea j mildemeanourasohol bealwdt upytheminsves at-thehr own ex p cure ith all provisos In moderation, and the same allowance of beer as the debtors, not exceeding two pints each 'd~iy- Sir Thiomas Turton's amecndment was rejected, and die o4ginal A log mmoriiwa thn pu inandread, from the prisonetsin Horsmoner.lne,compainng o th seerity of the prison rules andreglatonsas ow ubsstiK, ndentres,ting the general. inter. TStIE TREAtD-NILL. At five o'clock, Mr. Bsuscox rose to bring forward&bis promi,e moaion respecting the triad..mill andTprocepded to adiLss the Court from a written paper, which hetad preparea for the ozmson. The addressthufresdbylDlr. Buiscoi contained mcompendl. ottl Surhary, of slltteio"umanrs .nrged ag-msi dW.treadwhee1-- an en6ine of prison discipte; ie, iequkity of its .inRiction:upw diirerent individuarh rheixpr,ev31o aits s t. ;eidiev =el. .~~~~i~Arrb4 tics, etWi o imptiir4liealth nhdias of lie, which hIad betr. the result of exposure td It, many intinEes ofblwhich i gave aslisring eTcuri, aecerdigtotheinfirrnatibnwshibl.e ha.d'treeved, with. in the coanty of Sutrer, but the parttc ars of which-we forbear gublishing .penaUy etaffeecttig, as ifrtace,luegyrnu'at undoubtedlydo, the eflleea of the prisons in which they.were taid to have beett con- reitted,. Iad omie of whom in Courtfdeiiicd theta ;ilrfd rinore parti. clulyas 1hey are now put in a tjAin of magis iltc.j;itiqutiry. This Addr;esof Mr. Briscoe occuledaan1iouir nd'awhalf inIthe.delivery, =ad was hevd thrughout: withouit rspetiiiortof'tintption whi6ch was Usny,partsoftbjiaddre;s cos Yeyeinotfedingapeahothemagis. trzac -,n the indiscrininate t asit6i-mt' -tbc treiad-wlieel,to per. smis of both sexes t -the ft tnpi.car. who rould, whiltt suft In general of saiffing d1tit el'yfrona its ef;cts neiier. learin fom its exercise ay mneans of industryF when agail restored tOso. iiet. But in depreca$ing this engineof lidini3hment uponprsncple,. in a in all Its deails, hc begged particulasly to be, unrstoed nsa,e slter dmiinister to tbeir own support by the naturalexcrcise.of theirOwn industry, and notapain andpunishrnent like this; wich cm-'erred no new power of industry-upon the individual, hutthtr atutihim on the world deprived of the energies to execise wlever Zoahis of uapply;ng his lib3ur he had previously dcquired. Atthe conclusion of his address, tho worthy nagistrate-quotedthe esesgof extrenme cruelty upon wrhich he relied, anid vhuich -we gener:ally allude tn, to avoid drliciuz the inquiry by an ex-parfe Statement. 3Ur. Ar.r. seconded thc motion, for the purpose, however, of havingan inquiry toshow thefallacy of MIr. Briseoe's cases. AIr. ThrrscoE declared that he believed the statements whheb had beers banded to him were true: he had endeavoured to obtain as an. curate infordmation ,s he could upon the sabject. MIr. BENNET saia that the Court could not have any other op. tion thanto promotean inquiry intosuch cases as hese.Withoutgiv- ing theleast opinion uipon the aUeged facts, whether true or false, or sying a werd on the general fuestion of the tread-mill, they were bound, for the sak-e of their oficmers, for the sake of their own charac- ter, to institute the propyosed -inquiry in some shape or oilier. Mr. HOLmE Suikitxn denied tbat Mr. Briscoe had a right to call upon the county, after the refutation of his former cases, to take the tmrble of renewing the Inquiry. If, however, it must be done, it onuld be entered into at once, by examining the offiucrs of the Prison Twho were in court. They haAd already seen how fallacious were tie cases which rlt. Briscoe had brought forward; and before they discussed any more of them, they ought, in the first instance, to aslcrbat theiroffiershad to say in answertotbe specific casesstated by the worthy magistrate. Afr. DE2N1SON could not sit silent zwitb these imputations upon the magiatracy and officers of the county. He agreed that they must br.ve ant inquiry, and that it ought to be promptly entcred into, by hleexaminsdon of the officers of the prison at the instant. lHe musut also complain of the hon. magistrate's mode of int oducinS the subject, by reading a memnoii instead of making aspeech. It that examSuple-were followed, there woald he no end to the inconvenience of their receivingdeclamations penned in the closet by gentlemen of leisurcand studious habits.- Mfr. ThOwERS suggested the pr,opriety of first considering whe- thes thei should appoint the committee, and next, vhat mode of in. etigating the inquiry they contemplated. Mr. HiEDGEn said that both Alr. Briscoe and Sir J. Hippisley had admitted, after the last meeting at Reigate, upon an examina. tun of thesoldiers whose cas^s were mentioned as having occurred at IBrix I, that these oldiers had been very properly treated for their rrib ct in the Hoouse of Correction. i pnt. arMoNn complained of the exmpar-t nanner in which thea itions hadbeen got p. Theyweresaid to have been taken eclth ;but he denied that there was any legal authority for taking thOm in thenmanner they had been taken; still less for giving them the rce of properly attested documents. in answer to a question from the Rev. Dfr. COURTExAY, the Governor declared that the individual named Logan mentioned to have been put upon the tread-wheel by A r.Briscoe, was neverplaced there at alL MIr. H. SU1rxv;Er -aid, that if the statements of cruelty weretrue, the Governor of the House of Correctiorn at Brixton ought not to be allowed one moment longer to retain his situation. The Governor was called up and examined, and lto read from his books an entry to show that Sarah Lane tvas handcuffed to the wheel for refiusing to Eprk, and using offensive language. A long convecsation then took place upon the proper course of proceeding, when several magistrates declared that, established as that mode of disdpline (the tread-wheel) was, they could not al- low the use of it to be now called into csestion: they could not however have any objection to an inquiry (indeed, th;y admitted they were bound to go into the investigation) itto the conduct of their officers in the discharge of their dutv. Mr. nrzscoE was now called upon to frame a specific motion, not embracing the principle which the magistrates had already es- tablished. He accordingly moved" that a committee of magistrates be appointed to inquire into the divees cases he had mentioned, and to decide upon them bv confronting aU the partie3 concerned in the circumstances stated to have taken place in the houses of correction within the county." Re then, in justification of having read a written statement, alluded to the repeated intemrptions which he had xeceived at Reigate, and the difficulty lie had then experienced of collecdtng his thoughts upon the general question, wchich rendered it neecssavy for him to reduce his view of thecase to writing, to prevent future misunderstanulisigs. Mr. Briscoe's motion was then carried, and a committee ap- ponted to conduct the inquiry into the specific abuses to whici tre had referred in his sta-tement. The Rev. AIr. COURTSNAY complained of the former statements of lUr. Bnriscoe, respecting the officers of the Brixton House of Cor- metion, and denied that the tread.mill was an engine of torture. He thea digressed to express his opinion of the merits of the John Bull newspaper, which, whatever he thought of certain modes of attack it adopted, had yet done great service to the country * arid read extracts from that paper respecting some case of a woman named Shephard, stated in pamphlets written upon tread-Tmill disciplihe, wrhich he re- futed, and declared that the public were grossly deceived respecting the imputations which had been castupon the tread.mill. A long conversation followed respecting the particular case of this woman named Shephard, in which Mr. Briscoe defended himself from the imputation cast upon bim of resorting to improper n:eans coot~aviadcn, and reiet&ltlimiens takeen by hinrorl allucca. sions to obtain credible testimony. It we.a ultimately resolved, after some furtber conversation that the case or cases alluded to by the Rev. lr. Courtenay should also be referred to the committee appoinsd on Mr. Briscoe's motion. The Court did not adjourn until half-past eight o'cleck yesterday evening. .VURREY Qu(AATgJK sR.5sros.