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" And I wi ll war , at least in wards , ( And—should my cbanc « « o happen—deeds , ) TPith a il who war with Thought J " * ' I think I hear a little bird , who sings The peop le by and by will b * th « stronger . "—Btbcs . ITALY AND SWITZERLAND . We suspeaa , for this week , the continuation of the - " Revelations of Rome , " to make room for the document given below , addressed by the National Association of YoungltalytotheSwissConfederation . The address was recently published in some of the French , journals , and the mere fact of its publication was noticed at tlie time by the London daily papers ; bat not one of those papers had the honesty to re-publish the address ; which now , for the first time , appears in the English language . "The address \ taspresumed to the Swiss Central Government on
the 1 st of February . On the subject of the address TO will merely remark , that there is but one feeling in Great Britain , as regards the mercenary character « f the unlioiy alliance of Swiss Republicans with Italian tyrants—the feeling of disgust . That Switzerland should have sons who sell themselves as mercenary tools to perform the infamous duties of gaolers and executioners , to keep in slavery and suffering the people of other countr ies , is monstrous . We trust this anneal of the Italian patriots -will have the desired effect ; that , at least , the Central Gorera-Bient of Switzerland will lenounce and denounce this abominable traffic , and that they will be supported by the unanimous voice of the liberal cantons . Every Swiss owes it to himself , to his country , to the historical associations that have made his fatherland famous , to raise his voice in repudiation of this horrible crime against mankind : —
TO THE PRESIDES ! ASD 3 IEMRERS OF THE DIRECTORY OF THE SWISS CONFEDERATION . Gestlehes , —You are the representatives of a free people . Tou were chosen by Providence , and by the suffrages of yomr countrymen as guardians of your national honour ; nothing that directly concerns it caabe irrelevant for jou . Listen , therefore , to our words , calmly and deiiterately . "We come to point out to you a stain that soils jonr standard . We may do so perhaps in a language sot the most consonant with the forms of diplomatic ceremony , but it is the language of men who are not the less ready to give their life for the freedom of Switzerland—some amongst yon well kno . v it—and we speak in the name of two and twenty millions of men , -whose oniy law is . at the present flay , silence .
There exists on the other tide of the Alps — that mountain ridge which God reared up before yon at if bidding you to be free and great—a brave , good , and genesons ration , to whom Europe twice owed the boon of unity , of civilisation , whose exiles powerfully aided the cause of your religious emancipation in the sixteenth century , and whose language and race are still represented in your confederacy . That nation is now enslaved ; crushed both in soul and body ; deprived of intellectual and social activity . They only feel existence from the evils entailed upon it . They strive for a common bond of unity , and are inexorably doomed to the curse of dismemberment and consequent impotence , bj eight different syrtemB of civil and political administration , eiirbt different boundary lines of duties and
customs , ei-lit foreigu courts , not { infrequently hostile to oneauotlnr . They aspire to liberty—that freedom you have ecjoyed for ages , that freedom that God vouchsafed to all his creature ; , without which there is an end of all human responsibility—and their yearnings are rotttvith espionage , hard imprisonment , and the scaffold . They aim at independence , they wish tube emancipated from all who , separated from them by language , by laws , by tendencies , and manners , are less calculated to penetrate the secret of their social life ; and they are trampled down by a foreign host , directly or indirectly ruling over all their movements and -vicissitudes . They ask for a feith—powerful to uphold them in their deeds , and strengthen them in their hopes—and they are met by an Intolerance that-would fetter Uiuu flimu tu me corpse of a corrupt , venal , hvpocritic belief .
All tins is known to you . None of you but feels in his heart for the evils of | taly , none of you but would readily sympathise with i » r efforts for her regeneration . And yet , firsframosg the foes we meet in our attempts at this redemption of our country , whom do we meet - ut Swiss , ? Your soldiers garrison the citadels Of Naples . 'Xom soMiefS marched , ouljr a tew months ago , against unarmed citizens in the States of the Church , when these latter almost peacefully asked for tome reforms in the administration . Your soldiers glaughteied—so far can a warrior be converted into a headsman , by despotism ! joung prisoners , wounded , defenceless . And all this , wherefore ! By what faith , by what principle , can these men , who are amongst you by the name -of republicans , be brought to fight under the standard of the foulest tyranny , against a nation guiltless of any Offence towards Switzerland , and demanding in God ' s name , iii the name of rights inalienable from human nature , that same freedom they enjoy in your mountains S
Then : faith , their principle , their God , is money . For a few pence a-day they come dowa—Protestants , some of them—they sell themselves to the Pope , the anti-Christ , as they , perhaps , in their conscience , esteem him ; all of them freemen , accustomed to acknowledge no government but what results from the unanimous suffrage of all—they swear allegiance to an absolute monarchy . Like the COH'Mifri , in the middle ages , they offer their arms , their blood and soul , their conscience , as republican Swiss , to the highest bidder . Would that they had , at
least , the bravery of those ancient soldiers of fortune ! They met characters so ltss desperate than themselves ; they threw their own lives in the scale . It was with them a fair trial of mercenary forces—but your Swiss only engage with an unarmed popnlatinn ; by the side of gendarvMS , or of villains enlisted in the Papal hagniot , they charge upon a few young men , who have hardly yet discipline enough to die at their posts ; they drag them fettered and manacled to the prisons ; they muster umkr the scaffold . Theirs is at the same time a criminal and a cowardly deed .
That deed , gentlemen , is equally yours and your country '* . Tile dii grace falls alike upon yon , representatives of Svsitwrland ; jou have , perhaps , often thought of this infamous traffic , and you , nevertheless , inner it to con-¦ tinue . Your fellow-citizens may , perhaps , plead ignorance for their exculpation . They , may be , know nothing about their ntw masters , or about the crimes they are called opon to defeud ; they are not aware of the contempt of all free nations , of the execration of a trampled people , TThich follow them at every sUp . Tbey have not been forewarned that the ground is mined under them ; that a certain death awaits them in Ital y , whenever the emaitu be followed by a general insurrection ; that pursued , crushed by popular resentment , they will meet with the -same fate their brethren underwent in Trance in 1789 ; away from home , from mother or friends to close their eyes , to soothe with a word of love thtir death-struggle , to mark with a ctoss the spot where they fell .
Not so you , gentlemen ; you , who know fnll well how much fureign governments , jealous of your republican standard , exult at this traffic that degrades jou , how thej watch for a favourable moment to dismember you ; "Why do you not represent to those deluded fellow-citizens that they dishonour their country for a sordid lucre ; that "their salary , like Judas ' s coin , is the price of innocent blood ; that it inflicts a stain on their country unequalled ia Europe , since the abolition of JJegro slavery > Ton cannot , gentlemen , call yourselves a free people ; . you cannot utter William Teli ' s name with conscious pride , while men from your own ranks are suffered to sell their co-operation inrivetting other people ' s chains , to shield Gesler ' s cap with their freemen ' s breasts . You ¦ Cannot style yourselves a Christian people whilst tou
abjure your Own liberty of conscience and your free will into the hands of the first despot who can purchase it . We cannot so easily point out the remedy as we do the eriL Ve know not whether your institutions enable you Jto prevent a Swiss from sweating away his citizens' birth . Tight , and vow allegiance to a monarchic government , after having jgiven his oath to the republic ; but it is jour sacred duty , at least , to denounce the evil loudly to the country , because silence makes jou sharers of the infamy . It is your duty , at least , tu move the abolition of the ignominious traffic—to expose the vices of a compact oudcr which a citizen can , with impuuity , disgrace the name of his country . By giving , at least , the start to SO momentous a discussion , you can alone provide to jour personal honour , and free yourself from a serious responsibility .
Heu of great ercdit , gentlemen , and true loveri of their fatherlanu , have , since the time of John Hiiller , made you aware that a source of corruption would unavoidably creep into jour national liberties , from the contami-• nation of so many free citizens , trained into a school of ^ foreign despotism . Recent exjicritr . ce has amply confirmed the soundness of their patriotic forebodings . Swiss blood , less than a twelvemonth since , was flowing in your own territory ; and he who headed one of the civil factions—the party of the Jesuits—in those uubrotherly / ends , was the same who enlists soldiers ia the service of the king of Naples .
Asforus , gtotlcmen , we do not petition , we protest . Many months have not elapsed since an Italian legion , organised by Italians at Jlouto-Video , iu the Republic of Uruguay , to protect the independence of the country against the despot of Bueuos Ajres , Rosas , received from he President of the State , Itivtira , a donation of lands and cattle as a reward of their services in behaUoj ' the beleaguered city . The donation was rejected almost with ¦ indignaliou ; our ltaTuj » 6 fficers unanimousl y answered that liberty was notamafter ' offact , but tf principle ; that the Italians had belfeved'fliey weielulfiliiaj ; a duty whilst they deiciiiied the rights of a hospitable country , and that any icwsrd wield have taken from their sorites : the merit uf ULduterested spoutanebustttss . This answer -was read before the soldiers , from among whose ranks -Jhere burst only one cry— "W « arc no Swiss ! we are no
Geut »; . _ ien , we are a fallen people—slaves , without a same amou jst nations , but whiist such worth issue from our bosoms , we / hall have a firm faith iu our coming liberty , far more it ; vour Pajial or Neapolitan recruits -can enable you to feel in j c-r / 'wn . In Use name of die Sationa : Association of Young Italy , GaUecra , Seer . J . M&zzm Freiideat ,
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• 1 HE- « GREiT CRIMINAL" MACaULEY . [ fbohacobrkspos peni . ] . ' Few new feel inclined either to controvert or deny the generally recognised propositions , that " the people arc the source of all political power , " or that" representation should be equally as extensive as taxation ; " but though few have the audacity to question tlie soundness ol the universal suffrage principle ,, a , solitary soul starts up now and then to controvert the expediency of the practice . Among this class , the Right Hon . T . B . Maeauley made his appearance last week ; and as he is a man whose " word comes with power , " from the prominent place given to hissentilnents both in the metropolitan and provincial press , we propose to examine his re » s . « ra for refusing to extend the suffrage to his still unprivileged countrymen . fi TTT * II ,-i-n-n . m sm »< r ***•« . ? *»» liA » n . tT 7 lW
To prevent misrepresentation , we shall quote his own words . Mr . Maeauley says , " My reasons lor objecting to universal sufi ' rage are—the ' belief that a great portion of the people do not understand their own interest , and that they aiight easily be induced , by the pressure of immediate distress , to act in apportion to their own interest . " Uere , then , we have Mr . Maeauley ' s reasons for withholding the suffrage . Look at them well , working men ; examine and consider them maturely . Mark the insult they convey . Mr . Maeauley > ays , a great portion of you do not understand your own interests 2 Who constituted him judge ol your incapacity to manage your own affairs , and by his decision deprive you ol the dearest , tagutst , aud most important privilege which can belong to you as members of civilsockty ? The arrogance aud presumption of some men—even well-intonned men—is perfectly inconceivable , of which Mr . Maeauley ' s impudence above written is a tolerably fair sample .
But to come to the essence of the right hon . gentleman ' s objections to universal suffrage , let us apply the same test , aud the same mode of reasoning , to the ordinary affairs of every-day life . Take a parallel case . Suppose Mr . Maeauley ' s next neighbour to be a drankard ; suppose , farther , that Mr . Maeauley is firmly convinced that his neighbour " docs not understand his own interest , " and will do things in direct opposition thereto ; suppose that he has irrefragible proof , amounting to ocular demonstration , before ,
that such will be the case again ; will such conviction—will even such proof , justify Mr . Maeauley ' s proceeding to denude his foolish neighbour of his property , but going still farther , and applying the property so procured to the promotion of his own private purposes ? Let him try it—aye , just try it , and see what the world would think and say of his conduct , lie would soon be made to hear in the deafest side oi his head , that such a mode of proceeding could , not be tolerated , and that his "professedly disinterested attentions" would he attributed to their true
causesumsHSKss ! Yet this is the principle that one oi the most learned and most intelligent of our legislators has the audacity to advocate the continuance sf , and desires to see carried out on an extensive—even a national scale ; a principle which , if carried into general practice , would at once dissolve the bonds oi society , and resolve it intu its original elements . "We , however , have not put a parallel case . The one we have drawn ia far too favourable for him and kis objections . We have put a case where there was a moral certainty of the individual neglecting—nay , acting in opposition to his own interests ; and we see even such an instance of i gnorance and inattention would not justify selfish interference . Mr . Macauley , however , says he has proof under the people's own hand . He says that hundreds of thou > ands petitioned for the franchise , that they might bring about national bankruptcy—in other words , spcsge out the national debt .
_ We do not now take upon us to vouchsafe an opinion whether it would be honest , advantageous , or expedient to wi pe out the national debt . Weaimplv ask Mr . Macauley , can it be paid ? Wearescepticai on this point ; and if it cannot be paid , what is the iueviiableiesuli ? National bankruptcy , no doubt . How does the public wish an individual to act , who contracts debts without the prospect or possibility oi paying them ? Why , they generally advise him to call his creditors together instanter , and deliver up the concern into their bauds to make as much out of it . as possible , because to do otherwise , and go longer on , is to go deeper in . And in what respect does a nation in debt differ from an individual , but simply in degree ? We leave every reasonable and disinterested reader to realise in his own mind the course that is proper to be pursued .
Admitting , however , the possibility of paying the national debt , is it just and proper that all—that an v of it , should be paid by the disfranchised ojaases of eur countrymen ? We ask Mr . Macauley if that debt was contracted with their consent , or the money expended for their benefit and advantage ? Both of these questions must be answered in the negative , for the opinion of the unprivileged classes was never sought in the matter , and every one acquainted with theirode in which thatmoney was spent , well knows
that it was squandered—not to further the cause oi freed « n , but to fix more firmly the fetters of slavery upon : he unrepresented class . If such was the ease ( and vho can deny it ) , how dare the right hon . gentleman charge the enfranchised massea with ignorance of , or inattention to their own interests ? 1 'he fact is , they know their interests too well ; and with possession of the franchise , they would have an 0 Uportunity of attending to them in such a way as would prevent the few from robbing the many , under the shelter of legislative enactment .
Togo a step farther , and admit , for the sake of argument , that the debt was contracted with the lull consent of the people , and bonaUde spent for their behoof , , did they get value for the obligations now said to be standing against them ? Was not that debt contracted in a depreciated paper currency , on the Jewish principle of giving half the sum for the voucher ; and has not the original injustice been fearfully aggravated by Peel ' s bill of 1 S 19 ? In fact , on equitable principles , the national debt has been more than paid by the nation long ago ; and Mr . Maeauley makes a most unfortunate allusion , when he refers to this particular point , as proof of the i gnorance and inattention of the people to their own interest .
True , we admit with Mr . Maeauley , that national bankruptcy would be productive , for a time , of the most disastrous effects , and increase the misery that the masses are suffering ; but wh at of that ? Their present suffering is great , and would it not be better to undergo additional privations for a short period , to be freed from suffering after ? Till we get rid of OUl present dishonest Ijaper money system , the labourer will never obtain his fair share of the produce . The debt supports the banking system , and the banking
systemaggravates and assists to create the debt ; and there is no doubt that the destruction of both wil follow the adoption of universal suffrage , because it is for the interest and advantage of the great body ( not a few ) of the people that it should be so . Nations have no interest in going vrvonj , and are Tmich mere likely to see , and even to rectify errors when they do fall into them , than a few interested individuals who profit by jaiisgovernment , and therefore naturally do all in their power to perpetuate the errors aud abuses arising from it .
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BANKRUPTS . ( From , Tuaiaift Gazette , March 10 , 1846 J William Harding , Euward . street , Portman-square , turner—William James Harris , High-street , Southwark , linen-draper—Joseph Sewell , Great Dunmoir , grocer-Edward Morgan , lisson-street , coach-builder—Samuel Pritchett aud Joseph Peckover Oridge , Oxford ; glove manufacturers , drapers and grocers — William Johu Idenden , limehouse , tailor—William Frederick Brewster , Bath , chemist—John Blundell , Coleman-strcet , pawnbroker—John Eajner , Stanningley , Manchester ' cloth manufacturer—Anthony Nichol , Newcastle-upon-Tyne , ship br . ker—Thomas Harding , liehfield , school , master and stationer — Charles Goldsmith , Bristol , saddler—William Bale , Liverpool , bricklayer—Richard Faulkes , Soughton , cattle salesman .
SANMCrlCY SUPIBSEDID . Joseph Collinson , AUerton , Yorkshire , worsted spinner . PABTNEBSHIPS DISSOLVES . John Tonng and Henry Westtm , linen drapers , 5 , JUbion-place — Elisha Thomas Archer and Thomsis Joseph Traveuer , paper stainers , 141 , Old-street—G eorge Grimley and William Kirb y , bootand shoe manufacturers Nottingham—Charles Perry and John Lateward , coach builders , Wolverhampton—W . F . Brand and B C Brand , woollen drapers , Wigan , Lancashire — Gcor- 'e Young ana Nicholas Peppereoroe , MacW manufacturers , Upper Tliames-strtet—Thomas P . Tyackeand J . G . Plomer , golicitors , Heltton , Cornwall—J . School bred , Gregory Cook , W . Shepherd , and H Brown woollen drapers , Tottenham-cour Uroad and Grafton ' streetEast , as far as concerns W . Shepherd—William ^^ T ^ JS ^ ^ -der , _ 8 adirs d aJto ™ Elizabeth
mongers , Hungerford- Williams and Pit . Williams , school-minresses , Monmouth-J IS * ' « " ^ l ^ d ^ ilii £ - 2 J . Bour 3 , djersand scourers , 5 o 31 RatM *™ . V SSSHSS ssfssss CrnSS * £ rd"aHCe-wl * r f . Itotberhithe-Patriek CruKkshank , John Melville , Robert Banw » and Wilham FauuUero , Street , 13 , Ausdnfriars-Wmiam Shaw and Thomas ihaw , machine rankers , Leeds-Charles Cole aud Vilbaiu Gell , furniture brokers , Nottinghaiu-Jolm Rigg and Charles Boykett , slaters aud plasters , Liverpool—J . Travis , J . Barcroft , and J . Whitaker , woollen printers , Grecubridge—S . Waters and Q .
Freemen , straw-hat manufacturers , Luton , Bedford—J . Salmon , jun ., and R , C . Salmon , Beaumont , Essex , merchants—E . HarrattandTJ . Balbirnie . buUders , Huntingdon —T . Sharpus , W . Cullum , and J . W . Sharpui , chinamen and glasB dealers , Cockipur-street , Chariug-cross- ^ H . Donaldson and T . Hudson , Mark-lane—John Hopwood and William Caokes , Mence , coal masters , Barnsley , Yorkshire . "
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HOUSE OF LORDS-MONDAY , March 9 . IRISH COERCION BILL . Lord DeNMAJt moved the second reading oi" his bill , to punish attempts to deter prosecutors , witnesses , and jurors from the discharge of their duty . This bill was iounded on the 20 th clause of the Irisli Coercion Bill , now before thu house , which provided against the intiiuitlatiou of witnesses , and he had iutrortuced it because he thou « htl » s odium would attach to these provisions if they were made applicable to the general law of the land , and not only to a special caercive measure for Ireland . The noble * ° r u then proceeded to ewnment oiithe Coercion Bill itself , and expressed , in particular , his repugnance to the amended penalty of seven years' transportation for the offence of being found abroad under suspicious circumstances between sunset and sunrise . ,
A somewhat desultory discussion on the Coercion Bill then followed , in the course of which the Lord Chancellor intimated his » ntire approval of Lord Denman ' s measure ; and the Earl of St . Germans announced his intention to postpone bringing up the report on the Coercion Bill till Thursday ' , in order that the amendments might bo coolly and deliberately considered . Against this delay several noble loras protested , and it was ultimately arranged that tho amendments should , be laid belot ' u the house on Tu « bday evening , / Their lordships then returned to Lurd Benman ' a bill , and , after some further discussion , it was read a second time , and the kouao adjourned . HOUSE OF COMMONS-Mondat , Makch 9 .
FAMINE IN IRELAND . An intcre&tiug conversation anue upon a question which Mr . O'Couneil put to Sir R . Peel , relative to the measures taken by the government to obviate the impending famine and disease in Iroland . Sir R . Peel answered the question at some length , in terms almost the same with those which lie had employed oa several previous occasions in the House of Commons . His statement led to a discussion , in wliicii Sir R . Ingiis , Mr . M . Gibson , Dr . Bowling , and Mr . E . Ellicc , jun ., joined , and sevemllyldeclared their opinions as to the best means of meeting the present emergency in'Ireland ; ' ' ' ' CORN LAWS . On the motion of Sir It . Feel , Mr . Greene brought up the report of the corn resolutions . On the' question that the resolutions be read a secunil time ,
Air . Liddell informed Sir R . Feel that it was not his intention to give him any further trouble on the timber duties . So many petitions had recently been presented in favour of the proposed changes , thut he was bound to take it for granted that those changes were not disagreeable to the feelings of the petitioners ; and as he had not received any further infonua ion from the parties who had seut him the petition which he had originally presented , he was prepared to withdraw the motion of which lie had given uotice . Lord G . Buntixck gave an intimation to Sir R . Peel that he must not flatter himself that he ( Lord Gr . Bentineli ) too was prepared to withdraw his opposition to the timber duties .
On the question that the resolution relative to the reduction of buck wheat , maize , and rice bu read a second time , Mr . f . Miles said lie had hoped that Sir R . Peel would have added to this resolution some words reducing the duties on maize for three . or four months 10 come . The protection party would have no objection to agree to such a resolution , as they were most anxious to provide food for the people ot Ireland . They were desirous of meeting a temporary evil by a temporary remedy . . ¦ > .-
Sir R . Peel observed that his proposition was for a permanent reduction of the duties on buck \ vheat , maize , and rice to a mere nominal duty , to take effect tor ever , so soon as the bill founded on the present resiilutions should be passed into law . He proposed , when the resolution was reported , to issue a Treasury order , reducing the duties on buck wheat , maize , and rice to a mere nominal duty , of which ( the force should expire as soon as the Legislature should have decided one way or the other on the fate of the new tariff , and on the new Com Law . Thut remission , however , will only be granted on the parties giving bond for the payment of the higher duties , in case Parliament should not gire its sanction to the pre ' sent measure .
Mr . P . Milks then proceeded to explain his reasons for opposing the resolution , and to suggest them as well worthy the consideration of those who were inclined to remit all duties on these articles , lie concluded by declaring that it was not his intention to give the house the trouble of dividiug on this resolution ; he would be content by entering his solemn protest against it . . . . , A discussiou , more rambling and inconsecutive than ordinary , then took place , in which the prominent speakers were Mr . Newdegate , Mr . S . Crawford , Mr . Hume , Colonel Sibthorpe , tbe Earl of March . Sir A . Brooke , Mr . P . Scrope , Mr . B . Escott . Captain Harris , Mr . P . Howard , Mr . Fitzgerald , Mr . G . Palmer , Mr . Butler , and others . Scarcely a word was said on the resolution before the house , as the difterent orators found it more convenient to
addresS tll « n » elvG 9 to the conHictlug statements on the extent of the potatoe disease in Ireland , and incidentally in Scotland , England , and indeed every other country in the world , to the amount of tho rate of wages in Ireland , and to the conduct of the absentee landlord , the middleman , and the squireen towards the labouring peasantry of that country—to the right of that poor peasantry to relief out of the union workhouse—aud to the necessity not only ol meeting tue coming scarcity in Ireland , but also ol accustoming the inhabitants of that country to rely on a better supply of feed than the potatoe . ThV merits of Mr . Biancoui and of Father Mnthev ? ibrwed the staple of one gentleman ' s speech , and the demerits of usurers in general , and of Irish usurers in particular , formed that of another . Indeed , Mr . Labouchere was the only speaker who did nioiv tlwu advert en passant to the subject of maize .
The resolution was then agreed to . ; A bill founded on all the resolutions was then ordered to be brought in by Sir R . Peel and Sir G . Clerk , and at a subsequeat hour was read a first time and ordered to be primed . The house then resolved itself into a coninritteo of the whole house on the Customs' Acts . Lord & . Bbmjkck then informed Sir R . Peel that his irtunds did nop intend to divide on tins stage upun any of the articles included in the tariff . They did , however , intend to divide bu . the articles of silk , timber , braudy , on some others at a future stage ! They would wait till the bill was introduced , and then , on going into committee , would move that certain articles be omitted from its schedule . After a conversation on the subject , it was agreed that the debate on the tariff should take nlaco on triday night .
Mr . Ewart moved that modern foreign books in foreign languages should be introduced into this country duty free . The reasons which he urged for this amendment were , that it would enable the literary public of England to purchase foreign books at a eheapiT price , whilst it would not inflict any sensible loss on the revenue . Sir G , CLBnK observed , that the amount of revenue obtained by the duty on . foreign books was ± 10 , 000 a-year . He admitted that the interchange of the literature of one country with that of another was very dcairable ; but there were other matters to be taken into consideration . We had of late years taken great pains to prevent piratical editions oi
English authors printed on the continent from beiny imported into that country . Negotiations for establishing an international copyright were now going on with the Prussian and French governments , and with every prospect of success . He thought that greater advantage would be gained b y the authors and publishers of this country from the establishment of an international copyright than from the abolition of these duties ; and therefore he must oppose the amendment . A discussion ensued , in which Messrs ; Forster , C Buller , A . Hope , Aglionby , D'Israeli , Bowring , and a . iiawes , supported Mr . Ewart ' s motion ; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer , Mr . Cardwell , and Si .-Shdr ° ° Sea U ' TUe m ° tiOn wai ^ 1 < iavc
nf hi n r ™ Ctl " . Mr < EwMt on tlle lail genes 8 of his professions and on the insignificance of kis performance on tbis occasion , and then conSuhated the government on the probability that it w 3 never agam be in a ^ £ y until ? JiK great and comprehensive scheme . To be sure , it had been thrown into a minority the other evening on ij bay , but that misfortune he was sure would not hetal it speedily again . To morrow morning tne public , which was anxious to obtain foreign literature at a cheap price , would be very sorry to find that a , majority ot their representatives had voted against their conviction to save a Ministry to which they were opposed . He again congratulated the Ministry on their good luck in getting out of a scrape by the support of an opposition which was only assisting it—to its own ruin . Wllun the tariff was nearly gone through , Lord J . RnSBltLL reminded the committee of Lord Grenville ' s
observation , that if the manufacturer was to have his corn cheap , the farmer ought to have his coat cheap . Now , in this tariff there was a permanent duty of 10 per cent , laid on overy manufactured article introduced into the country . lie had no o . l > jteti « n to that , so long as ^ hecorn ^ duties lasted —» . « ., to the year 18 !* . ) . But when the corn duties should be reduceu to Is . a quarter , he did not see any reason why the duty of 10 per cent , should be retaiued on maim facturcd articles . Sir R . Pro . did not deny that CNuidemtions of revenue influenced the deciawn o { her Majesty ' s Government on several articles of the tariff . If at the end of three years the revenue should permit that a mluctum should be made in the duties on articles K , , e . aswell asinthe dutk » on foreign com he should not be reluctant , to make it . But he refused to give any guarantee on tbatsubject . He had already mate a repeal of the duties on all article .
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used in the consumption of the poor , he had provided for the repeal of the . duties on corn at the end of three years , and he considered that he should leaye the country in a better condition than at present , \ t he left it onl y liable to a duty of 10 por cent , on manufactured articles , and that too levied , not for purposes of protection , but for those of revenue . Mr . T . Baring contended that to take off all duties would not benefit either commerce , or manufactures , or trade . The country would iiever allow its tea and sugar to be taxed , whilst no duties were levied on articles of luxury from agates down to vellum . 'jL'he result would bu , that you must have recourse to direct taxation , and then you ought to consider whether you will not drive capital out of the country . Aili animated conversation theu took place on the benefits of direct and indirect taxation , in which a numoer of members joined . . " , The remaining resolutions were agreed to . ; ' ' .. . . . ,..: . - . ; . , , . * ,.
Ihe Chairman was then ordered to report progress , and thu house resumed . Repuro to be received on Friday . On the motion of Mr . S . Herbert , the house resolved itself into a committee of supply on the army estimates , and several suras wore voted as grants on credit to her Majesty . The other orders of the day were then disposed of , and the house adjourned . HOUSE OF LORDS-Tdbsdav , MAncH 10 . Lord Bi touonAM presented a petition from the
Marquis ot Westmeath , depicting the miserable state of that part of Ireland in which Ins estates were situate , and praying the house to enact laws by which the mischief complained of mi ght bestajed . 'Ihe report ori the Irish Protection of Life Bill was next brought up , and the several clauses with various amendments were agreed to ; after which it was resolved that the report should be adjourned till Thursday , - and that the bill should be read a third lime on Friday . Tlie house then adjourned until Thursday .
HOUSE OF COMMONS-Tuesdat , March 10 EDUCATION IN WALES . Public business was commenced by Mr . Williams moving for an address to her Mfijesty for the institution of an inquiry into tho state of education iu the principality of Wules , especially into tho means aflorded to the labouring classes of acquiring a knowledge of the English language . The language of the educated classes throughout [ Wales , and ot the inhabitants of the towns , was English ; but the language of tho labouring classes , especially in the rural districts , waa Welsh . The Rev . Mr . Griffiths , the president of a Dissenting college in . Wales , and a
peihon well acquainted witli its condition , reported that there were 250 , 000 . children who ought tore ceive education—that there were only 70 , 000 of them who received any education at all—that of this numbei ^ of 70 , 000 , a great portion ; received an education so inferior as to bo only nominal—aud ' that there were 180 , 000 children who were totally lefi without that guide which all men ought to receive from a . sound , moral , and religious education . The iivVi member proceeded at greut length to show the state of the principality with reference- to its social and moral aspects , iind brought forward much interesting information on the subject . .
Sir J . Graham could not controvert any of the propositions advanced by Mr . Williams on this subject , nor ; was he inclined to object to the institution oi some inquiry into the matters-which he had brought under the notice of the house . lie admitted thut the want of an adequate knowledge of the English language was a serious obstacle , and that the knowledge of it was of vast importance to the due administration of justice in tho principality of Wales . He also admitted that the knowledge of English was an element ol great value in the advancement oi Welshmen in society . He thought , however , that Mr . Williams had scarcely done justice to what the government had done of late years to promote education in the mining districts of Soutk Wales . ' After describing those measures , and their effects on the
social , moral , and religious improvement of tbe inhabitants of those districts , he observed , that Ministers were nawengaged in a grand and comprehensive plan for improving the . social condition of the working classes throughout Great . Britain ; and that it they succeeded in carrying it through the legislature , their moral aud religious condition would force itseit more and more upon the . consideration of Parliament , lie proposed that the Educational Committee of the Privy Council should send down into Wales two of its inspectors to inquire into the extent of the ignorance of the English langua-e among the population ot Wales , and into the best means of removing it . He thought that the necessary information mighlbe speedily obtained , and that the intervention ofParuamentmight be procured , perhapsduring the
pre-, sent session . ' Mr . . \ Villiam 3 expressed his ' satisfactien at the proposed arrangements ; . ' . . and , after a few obscrva twos from Mr , C . Wynne , Mr . Davies , and Mr . T . Wyse , all expressive of theivadmiration of the anxious desire exhibited by the present government tu promote education in all parts of the United Kingdom , consented to withdraw his motion .
FROST ; WILLIAMS , AND JONES . Sir Dii Lacy Evaxs presented a petition from Westminster , praying for a pardon to Frost , Williams , and Jones . Sir G . StuioioaJJD presented eight petitions from Preston to the same effect , which were , however , withdrawn iu consequence of there being no signature to the tot sheet . .: ¦ . ' .: ' . . Mr . Fieidkm presented two petitions with * a like prayer . Mr . T . S . Duxcosibk , previously to submitting the motion oi whicli he had given notice , preyed 24 ' j petitions- to the same effect , from different places iu England and Scotland , signed by 1 , 400 , 000 persons . He could not enumerate all the places , but he would mention some : —Exeter , Dundee , Bradford ,
Bivmingham , Newport , Bridgewater , Wigan , Staley Bridge , the Tower Hamlets , from authois and other ! engaged m literature from tlie Vale of Neath Halifax , signed by 5000 ; Leicesteiysigned by 5 , 300 - . Sheffield , signed by 13 , 0 . 00 i Kidderminster , Todmorden-, Manchester , signed by 42 , 4 iC ; Salibrcl , signed by 10 , 710 ; the ; town council of Newport-Leeds , signed by 32 , 500 , among whom waa Dr . Hook ' the vicar , and several members of the board of Guardians ; and several signed by chairmen of lar < -e meetings , one of which was held at Glasgow , aud another at Edinburgh ; so that altogether these petition * stated , the viahe * of 3 , 000 , 000 of their . fellow-aukjeets . ihere was one petition which he wished to separate Irom theremaiuder for peculiar remark . It S ™ ^" on « V . ; a » d «* ned by U 33 persons of hW ^ J v t al J » > V . lcludin « wxof the jurymen who had tried Frost , Williams , and Jones . Mr . Um
a very respectable individual who had subscribed the petition , stated that the only six jurymen he had seen readily acquiesced in and signedthepetition , that three others of the jury were dead , that he could not nnd two others , ami that one could not write his name or tell whether it was Christopher John or John Christopher . All the petitioners prayed the house to address her Majesty , praying her to extend her merev to these uufbrtunate and misguided men . This petitionm did not attempt to palliate or to justify ths conduct of these men , but they said , looking at the circumstances of the country , and to the examples before them in which the prerogative of mercy had been extended , that the house might becoming interfere by an address to her Majesty . It would be impossible for him to bring up the petitions , but he would lay the iist on the table . The petitions having been thus constructively laid upon the table ,
Mr . I . S . Duncombe proceeded to say , that if he could receive the slightest intimation , he would not say assurance from her Majesty ' s government , or from the right hon . - gentleman opposite ( Sir James Graham ) that those respectful , and humble , and as he thought , proper supplications of tho people should receive the attention , and the favourable attention which he thought they deserved , of her Majesty ' s Ministers , he would not for an instant oeeupy the time of the house , but would leavo the uravers of these petitions to be dealt with by her Majesty ' s Ministers , satisfied that due justice would not oiilv be done to these prayers , but that such mercy would be shown as sound state policy required . If the right hon . gentleman would give aim an intimation—he would not aak for mi assurance—he would proceed no further . ' ¦ : Sir J . Giuiuu advised the hon . member'to proceed with his statement ; and then , on the other hand , lie would state his own views .
Mr . T . S . Duncombe trusted the house , then , would bear Yfith him ' while he trespassed upon them for a short time in stating this case . He was aware that in thus stating it lie had many difficulties to contend with ; ho was aware of the prejudices and alarm attending a subject of this sort ; he was aWare of the feeling entertained by many members of that house , that if it were not unjustifiable it was inconvenient lor the House ot Commons to interfere with the prerogatives of tlie Crown , and especially with that which reated to mercy ,-but there were casts in which the House of Commons might and ought to interfere . There were peculiar cases and peculiar circumstances which justified a member in asking tor that interference , although he thought that *
member was bound to make it out by proof that every other means had beon tried and had failed , betore he brought forward the case . ( Hear , hear ) In tlie present case , he thought that every means had been taken heretofore , by various petitions , toindtrte the Minister of t , he Crown to extend mercy to thuse untortunate and misguided persons . Lust year , tho right hon . gentleman well knew that memorials without end were presented to the Homo Officesome were presented through lum-which had been ljJHl by the right hon . baronet at the foot of the l iironei ; but the government had not folt themselves jiutiiied in acceding to their pvayer . He had no complaint to make of the eovernmc it in thuti-esneet :
tor no did not think that any government in the case of such a heuunuoffo&ce as this , wheie the parties had been accused , tried , and convicted of high treason ,, would have been justified of their own accord in at onco granting a pardon . The strong exprensiqn of public feeling , and aimost thc ^^ on - of that house , would perhaps Uaye , been necessary tojustify
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the government in taking . that course . Now , he thought he had proved , and , that the petitions he had presented had showed a strong and general , if not a universal feeling throughout the country that a pardon shouldbe granted to these men . What werethe reasons for this extraordinary and universal sympathy ? He believed it arose from two causes . In the hrst place , it arose ft om the doubt winch existed in the minds of four-fifths of the population of this country that the uonviction of these men ivaa riot altogether legal ; thatit wasinvolved in great doubt and mystery . Ihis doubt was not confined to men unlearned in the law , but was participated in by lawyers themselves . When they saw the fifteen judges divided six to nine on one point of the case , and nine to six on another . . - ' .- - .- "'«* * ' __ , ,
poiut . who couidsay that there , was not great weight in the . doubt , as . to the . validity of . the indictment , raised by the counsel for the prisoners , Sir Frederick Pollock and the learned gentleman whom lie had the pleasure of swung opposite ( the Sollcitoi-tfeneral ) ? He found not the slightest fault with that decision ; lie found no fault with the manner in which the trial was conducted . In introducing this subject he could have no party feeling , and he hoped that no party ieeliug would be permitted to enter into the discussion . ( Hear , hear . ) The petitions had been signed by men of all parties , regardless of the distinctions between Chartism , Radicalism , Toryism , or Whigism , who were imbued only with the spirit of mercy and charity . He Lad no complaint to make of the manner in which the trial was conducted . The officers oi the Crowu had upon that occasion conducted
thc case m a manner which was an honour to the profession to which they belonged , and with all the moderation and temper which ' , became servants of the Crown and of the country . Tlie prisoners were most ably defended by the honourable and learned gentleman and by the present Chief Baron . It was known that an objection wataken by them , which the judges thought they were then not altogether capable of deciding ; but if the judges had . been , then pressed for a decision , it was clear , from the subsequent opinions of Mr . Baron Purke and Mr . Justice Williams , that the prisoners must have been acquitted . The point , however , was reserved , and the trial proceeded . This reserved point was referred to the fifteen judges . If bori . gentlemen had not been tried for high treason , and he hoped they never would , they might not know that by the strict letter of the law in cases of high treason and
mispnsion of treason a list of the witnesses and of the jury , together witk the address of each witness andjurjman , inuat be given at " the same time " With the copy of the indictment to the party indlcitd . lie believed he was right in saying that in this case the copy of tho indictment was furnished not at the same time with a list of the jury and the witnesses ; that the copy of the indictment was furnished on Thursday , and that the'list of jury and of witnesses was not furnished till the Tuesday—five days intervening . Any one reading that could not have a doubt upon the subject . But the point was reserved and the decision was this , that six of the judges'to nine decided that the objection was fatal altogether to the trial and conviction , and nine , including those
six . decided that the objection was good and valid if it kad been taken at tlie proper time , Sir F . Pollock at the same time protesting before God and his country that he could not have taken it at any other time . Suppose that question had com now before the - fifteen judges , Sir F . Pollock being on the bench , there would have been then seven judges one way and seven another , and it would Have been decided by-a casing vote . But there were other authorities . Of the judges of tlie Queen ' s Bench four out of five decided in favour of the objection , so that if these individuals had been tried at the Queen ' s Bench instead of at Newport , tkey must have been acquitted . They had also the authority of Lord Brougham in the House of-Lords , who stated
tliat if the majority of the judges at the trial had been pressed for their decision the prisoners must have had an acquittal ; and it was but due to that noble and learned lord to say that he not oniy stated that in Parliament ; but he did the utmost man couid do not onl y to save the lives , but to regain the liberty of these men and to carry out what he said , that an acquittal was their legal right . Virtually the conviction was confirmed by the judges , but let them recollect what oecurred at that time—the feeling in the public mind : lie believed that at that time 4 , 000 , 000 aiunaturea were attached to a petition to the Queen . They knew perfectly well that the execution of these men was fixed for Thursday following , the decision of the judges having been given on
Friday night . The scaffold was erected , the block prepared , the executioner was down there , but then the human voice of the British public succeeded though not until pushed on , and accelerated , and assisted by Lord Brougham and Sir F . Pollock . Sir F . Pollock waited six times on Saturday , after the decision of the judges , on Lord Melbourne and the Home Secretary at that time , and kept returning in distress and dismay , saying that they were quite inexorable , that . nothing could move them , and that those men would be sacrificed . He then saw Lord Brougham in a room of the House of Lords , and again stated Ins distress , and how often he had been to the Ministers , but could make no impression upon them ; * and Lord Brougham said , "Go a seventh time , and tell them from me that these men will be legally muraeied . " He went , and the public voice of humanitv
uiu ti'iumph on that occasion . The sentence was commuted to transportation for life ; but there woulk always remain this doubt on the public mind , that if the sentence could not be execuwd by the extreme penalty of the , law , it was doubtful ' whether they could legally transport them . ( Hear , heat . ) That impression still existed , and though it was necessary to make an example of these men , there was a hope that it their future conduct entitled them to the clemency of the Crown after a certain number of years , their case should be taken into consideration Ibat time had arrived , and the people of tbis country were beginning to think , that after six vearsof suttenng , the law and the majesty of tiie law had been sufficiently vindicated . Frost , Jones , and Williams , lor three , yeais , were working in eansrs in chains , In what part of tke world did they find
political pnsonors-ior , utter all , these men were but po-. iticul ymuum v > f the highest class-treated in that manner ? Did they treat them so w Fiance ? But he did not complain of that ; he asked now for their release , and he said it was a most extraordinary thing that England should be the only country in which , on every great occasion fur puWic rejoicing they did not otter an amnesty to all their political orisoura . To be sure , there was a remission of sentences of some prisoners made on the birth of the Prince of Wales—a public rejoicing took place—the ditterent prisons were opened—peisons were taken out—free pardons were given to them—but no political prisoners upon any but that occasion ever received such an amnesty . Now , look at France . Only within these two years—in 1844 , upon what they considered a victory and triumph of the French arms on the coast of Africa , in conseouence . as it
was stated in the ordonnance , of the exploits of the Prince de Jomville , between fifty and sixty prisoners were released from DouUen . Amongst the persons released on that occasion were several who , as the house would recollect , had proceeded from the coast ot England to Boulogne , and had made almost as insane an attempt as had been made by the persons who had descended trom the hills of Wales . That however , was a partial amnesty ; but he hoped k would be general , and that Louis Napoleon Bonapar e and others would be released . Several of his c . mtederates had ; and amongst them was one who SkhvSZT * » "Wto * assassinate the Duke DAnmale . But had not our arms been crowned with victory ? And was not this the t mS the government to s , how some degree of mercv to these individuals ? We were at tlfat moment Li . ting Imnce . to a more liberal commercial ™ lin »
nere we to De behind her in the cause of mercv "He vm sure that the law had been satisfied bV the punishment aud suffering these men had undergone and tneir release would be in accordance with the wwhes ot a great body of tbe people in this counfi lie knew that there was great alarm and prejud ce upon the subject and nothing had given him greater pain than to read a letter from the right hon . gentleman the moraber for Edinburgh , recently addressed oy him to his constituents . In that letter the right hon . gentleman stated that tkeso individuals were great criminals . Ho did not deny that ; he did not wialr for a . moment to palliate their conduct , but he thought that the ri ght hon . gentleman was creating an unnecessary prejudice against them , and causing unnecessary alarm , in case the government thought fit to release them . He said - Ssir , —I cannot agree with you in thinking that the law has , as respects Frost and his accomplices . bePn
tlioroughly satisfied . Consider what they did and what they have suffered . They raised a rebellion which you admit to have been perfectly unjustifiable —led thousands of ignorant labouring men into emit and danger-fared on the Qusen ' s troops , wounded a magistrate in the discharge of his duty-caused the deaths of several unhappy creatures-and would it their attempt had not been stopped in the outset have caused such a destruction of life and property as has not been known in Enuland tor aaes W « ; their offence . What ha 3 been theirlunislmufnt ? Transportation lor about five C * ~» ffil punishment ; than bu been inflicted " n many ? 2 'fr J 1 "P ket 9 - Youdisclaioiveryp LS all projects o insurrection . But rely on it tliat here will be insurrections enough , if turbulent and de « g . iing men are apprised that the penalty of raising a cml war is henceforth to be less than the penalty , o robbing a hen-roost . ' fi £ his , 1 cannot kola out any hope that I ¦ hall v 1
sara ^^ Es ffffia ^ S F * fiaftdeessa
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said in that letter— "That this ib so , 1 have proof under their own hands . , I refer to the petition which Mr . Duncombe presented to the House of Com . monsin 1842 . In that document . some hundreds of thousands of Chartists asked for the franchise , and told us how they meant to use it . They , avowed that their objects wero national bankruptcy , confiscation of the soil , of ; canals , of railroads , of machin ery- ^ short , the destruction of all property . " So that fo ( Mr . Duncombe ) presented a petition for the destnu > tion of all property . The letter continued : — " IWas firmly convinced , and am firmly convinced , that such measures would produce indescribable misery to ic great majority of the petitioners themselves . " _ _ _ j , iL . i 1 a . 44 h « . (( fHL « .. t xU ? n i- * . « . f ¦»
In that sentiment . he fully concurred if that were the case ; , but the right lion , gentleman continued : — "I refused them , the , franchise , not from disregard of their interests , but from the same feeling which would lead me to refuse a jrazor to a man who told we that he wanted it in order to cut his throat ; and I assure you that I have never inquired of any inhabitant of Edinburgh who complained to me of a grievance , whether he was an elector or not . " He wished he had been there when tho right honourable gentleman took up his pen , for he certainly would have ret used to let him have it , as the right hou . gentleman would have refused the man the razor who wanted to cut his own
throatla lauguHur he did nut think that he was obnoxious to this charge of haying presented a petition , the avowed object of which was the destruction of all property . He would havo . been unworthy a seat ia thathoime if he had presented any such petition , particularly one emanating from three millons of his fallow-subjects . He wished the right honourable gentleman would point out any paragraph bearing such a coustrnuiion as that . ( Its found certainl y such a passage as this : — "Your petitioners deepl y deplore the existence of any kind of monopoly in this nation ; and whilst they unequivocally condemn the levying of any tax upon the necessaries of life , and upon those articles principally required by the
labouring classes , they are also sensible that the abolition of any oue monopoly will never unshackle labour from its misery , until the people possess that power under which all monopoly and oppression must cease ; and your petitioners respectfully mention the existing monopolies ot the suffrage , of paper money , of machinery , of the land , of the public press , ot religion , of the means uf traveling and transit , and a , host of other evils , too numerous to mention , all arising from clasa legislation . " Now , really , lie did not sec that any one was justified in saying thai the object oT that was the destruction of all property . First , they spoke of the monopoly of the suffrage . Was there not such a monopoly ?
xnen ne tnougnt the hon . member tor Birmingham would tell them thai there was a monopoly of paper money . Of machinery decidedly there was one , and also thesame with land—for they were figb ting about it every day . Well , then , as to religion . Would they say there was uo monopoly of that . ( A laugh . ) Aud as to thc ineatia of travelling and transit , had they not been passing a bill since that petition was presented with regard to the railway travelling , and to prevent the company ' s having a monopoly ? Well , thou , if the right hou . gentleman looked to the concluding sentence of that petition he would see that he had not put a fair construction upon it in that letter . He presumed that the right hon . gentleman did write that letter and authorised its publication
, but it was an uufortuuate letter to have been written at that ti Be , and was calculated to produce prejudice , and if any hop . gentlemen were about to vote or speak from tuVimpression they might have imbibed in consequence of that letter , he hoped they would read tke whole petition boibro they came to any decision on the point ; for if that were to be the feeling of the future Whig government , he agreed very much with the letter which had been lately addressed to the electors of Westminster by the hon . and gallant officer who lately represented that city . The committee appo . nted for the purpose of endeavouring to liberate these individuals addressed a letter to that hon . and
gallant efficer , and aho to the present hon . and gallant member . The latter wrote and assured them that he would give them every assistance in his power , and that his vote would be in favour of the release of these individuals , showing pretty strongly the feeling there was amongst the tradesmen of the metropolis belore tbe election , when both the candidates came forward and said they intended to support this motion . But what said the late hon , and gallant member ( Captain Rons ) ? He said that he thought they stood a bettor chance of being liberated by the present government than b y any other . He had , therefore , a right to quote the authority of a Lord of the Admiralty in his favour .
After that letter , then , of the right lion- gentleman who bait been Secretary at War once , and would in all probability be Secretary at War again—for he Baw that he wrote about the niiiitia in a very bellicose strain—( laughter ) , —he looked with conttiumce to the Ministry of whicli Captain Rous was a member , and thought they were likely to obtain the liberation of these individuals from this government in preference to any other , more particularly when he saw the hon . and learned gentleman the Solicitor-General sitting by the side of the right honourable baronet . I hat lion , aud leavned gentleman knew tbis case fully , He ( Mr . Duncombe ) had read his aule arguments , and although he knew that counsel was not bound by
any sentiments he might express upon the trial , yet they , Blight see a veiu aud seutunents running through the whole of his address which led them to believe that these individuals had been harshly treated . The conduct of Sir F . Pollock had thorouL'hly entitled him to say that his opinion was in his ( Mr . Duueombe ' s ) favour . Alter Frost had been eondemntd and sentence passed upon him that he should be hanged , drawn and quartered , he visited him in his cell and took leave of him . ' Do not tell him , that Sir F . Pollock , or any member of the bar ,
would have gone to the cell of an individual if he had thought him a felon of the sort whose cause they were obliged sometimes to advocate . The house then saw what very atrong sentiments there were in favour of those men , and iu regard to the case he had submitted to the house , thc summing up of the Lord Uluet Justice Tindal would , he thought , have justibed any man in saying it was very doubtful whether or not the ease amounted to high treason ;' though it was necessary they should ba tried for high treason . JNow , he put this case . Suppose the hon . learned member for Cork had been tried for hi « h treason
instead of being tried for a misdemeanour , had he been convicted he would not have had the same chance of the judgment being reversed that he really had under iho lattur mode ofprotection . His case was argued before 13 judges , ami 11 to 2 decided in favour of his conviction . In the wise of Frost and Williams there was no appeal from the decision of those juihjes ; had theiebeen , how did they know that the House of Lurd * nnjjht not have decided against the judijes the same as they did iu the caw of the hou . add learned member tor Cork ? That circumstance alone proved thatit was absolutely Decenary there should be an appeal m criminal cases , and he believed the right hon . gentleman at thc commencement of Parli . ™^
, uau stated thatit was the intention of the government to bring in a bill for that purposeIn teS cases . Well , he suid that England had never mm "J « WMimi . ql pn ^ MjoiauSg ^ tteSiyiHJ to political prisoners , but he forgot-upon one occawI noST , d 0 nU ' f ^ " caseESS woutft i £ h " ' l Iey wero Canadians , and he Inv Hi « & S f t 0 a " \ lon < « eutle" »»» t « show him any d tierence between Frost ' s case and that of the Caluulian rebels . ln the case of the Canadian lebe s they were actuall y engaged in a continual ttdte ot variare against the Queen ' s troops , but in in-osts case , m point of fact , it was no rebellion , it was a tumult , a dangerous tumult , and certainly some lives were tost . If those persons were tit subjects of Royal clemency , he could not understand why thes « three unhappy Englishmen should not be entitled to the same consideration at the hands of her Majesty ' s government . He mishfc
observe that some ot the Canadian rebels had been raised to offices of high trust and importance "which , he had no doubt they filled with advantage ' to the State . He did not a , k a similar indulgence for Frost Williams , ; and Join *; but he did ask , if the public wish , wJuoh had been so strongly and frequently ev P res » ed upon this au » ject , was deemed worthvofat jKrut ' si&tfsSsS Sf nfs ^ S ' iSa ^^^ s ^ m their native land of Frost , WillianVs , and S > ' * Ihe question havmsr been nut
SSSSfcr-KM wtsatm g ^ ifflst r ^ a » Si \ i V J J admit also tll ! lt the memorials wmcli it has been my duty to present to her Majesty W the course ot the last year were not only
numerous , ouc signed by a very large portion ot the working classes ol mis country . 1 must also add that the decit Siou of her Majesty ' s government is adopted after duly weighing all tne circumstance * of tbis case with reference both to the uature of the orime , and th « oircumiUiwea under vluohitia qw uutytowgS
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 14, 1846, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1358/page/6/
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