The Sun. — 1848-04-19 (London, England)

CROWN AND GOVERNMENT SECURITY BILL. The LORD CHANCELLOR, in moving the second reading of the Crown and Government Bill, apprehended that the public were in possession of information sufficient to justiFy the Government in the intro• duction of this measure. Inflammatory speeches were every day made in London and Dublin, and it was necessary to propose some alteration in the criminal law, in order to bring those to justice who were engaged in these nefarious proceedings. If their Lordships were of opinion that measures should bo adopted to provide a remedy for this state of things, he hoped they would consent to this Bill. The Noble and Learned Lord then explained the state of the law of treason under the Act of Edward 111., and the necessity of proving some overt act in order to procure conviction for treasonable words spoken, and the difference made in the law by the Act:of Geo. 111 , (which applied only to England), and which made inciting to attempts at compassing the death of the Sovereign, or at levying war against the Sovereign, or attempting to deprive the Sovereign of his dominions, or attempting to intimidate Parliament, substantive acts of treason. Great delays took place in prosecutions for high treason. The Bill proposed to make those offences which were treasons under the Act of George the Third felonies, and to extend the provisions of the Act to Ireland. To that alteration he did not apprehend that any of their Lordships would object. He was bound, however, to allude to one alteration which bad been made by this Bill in the Act of George lIL It ieclurled among the persons who should be deemed guilty of felony, those person who should by open or advised speaking counsel to any of the designs which were made felony by the Act. It was principally from open and advised speaking that the present danger arose, and therefore this alteration was required in the law to meet the danger. It was not by this intended to subject a person to the punishment of felony for the uttering of mere words. The felony consisting in compassing or designing any of the offences mentioned in the Act, and the words were merely to be taken as a proof of such compassing or designing. The punishment proposed to be inflicted on persons convicted of these felonies was transportation. The Noble and Learned Lord concluded by moving the second reading of the Bill. Lord Stanley and Lord Brougham rose together, but the latter Noble Lord gave way. Lord STANLEY would not throw any impediments in the way of passing this measure, which lie thought was absolutely required. It was necessary to have some measure inflicting sufficient punisbment on those whose crimes amounted to more than misdemeanours, and yet whom it would not be proper to dignify with a prosecution for high treason.—(Hear, hear.) This Bill properly degraded those persons as felons, classing them in the some category with thieves and robbers, and murderers. He should however, have wished that circumstances had so turned out as to have enabled both the House and Government to have given the subject a greater degree of consideration. With regard to the extension of the Bill to Ireland he approved of it. Yet he should have been better pleased if the Government had made this a special measure, and had left the permanent alteration to be made at a subsequent period. He thought the compassing the deposition or the imprisonment of the Sovereign should have been retained in the category of treason. He thought also that the Government ought to have the option of prosecuting many crimes made felonies by this Act either as a felony or a misdemenour. in order to give the Crown the power of having persons so charged tried by a special jury, and of depriving the person of his peremptory right of challenge. He should not detain the House further, than to observe, that the responsibility of the measure itself, and of the delay which had taken place in bringing it forward, must rest with her Majesty's Government. Lord BROUGHAM said no one could feel more strongly than he did the grievous state of things in the sister country which had rendered the introduction of this measure necessary. (