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VOL. 43.—No. 5.] LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 1822. [Price 6d. Published every Saturday Morning, at Six o'clock.

TO MR. PEEL,

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE

HOME DEPARTMENT.

On the Bail and other Matters, appertaining to the affair of the Bishop and the Soldier.

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the way of 1810, been committed for trial, the public, with no feeling but that of sorrow that soabominable a thing had been imputed to two of their fellow subjects, would have waited for that trial in the hope that the imputation would prove unfounded. But the manifest, the almost monstrous endeavours of the " respectable" and infamous press to stifle the whole thing, have filled, as they ought to fill, the whole nation with suspicions, which it will not be easy to remove.

The bail, taken in this case, has been, and long will be, a sub

SEE the disagreeable conse-ject of great interest throughout quences of endeavours to smother, on the part of the "respectable" press I mean; for I have, as yet, no positive proof of such endea

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vours made by any body else. -See the disagreeable consequences! If the horrid affair in question had been communicated to the public in the usual way; and especially if the parties accused had, in the usual way, in

the nation; because here the government, through one of its infe rior agents, is the actor. I am no lawyer, and, therefore, I do not pretend to say, that it was absolutely unlawful in Mr. DYER to take bail, and to set the Bishop at large. Nor do I say, that it was an unlawful act to take such bail as was taken. But, I do say, that I was astonished when I I

Printed and published by C. CLEMENT, No. 183, Fleet-street.

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heard of any bail at all being | Sir, hear the Doctor, before we taken in such a case; and that I proceed any further. He does was equally astonished at the not name the party after all; but amount of the bail; the reasons he says that the law has done for which astonishment I am now hitherto all that it can do. His about to state; for addressing words are these: "More the law which statement to you your Office" does not permit; for, black as is, I think, quite sufficient ground." is the moral turpitude of the conAs to the first, the admitting of" duct deposed to, it still amounts the Bishop to buil at all, I was only to a bailable offence; and astonished, because I had never we all know that both by the heard of such a thing before. I" Common Law, and by the Hahad never heard of such a thing "beas Corpus Act, it is deemed a in the case of the Vere-street gang; "violation of the liberty of the nor did it ever enter into my mind," subject, in any Magistrate, to that the offence, especially when" refuse or delay to bail a person both the parties were of the age bailable. In the present inof discretion, was bailable ac- stance, the wealthier individual cording to law, though the act" found bail immediately: and if · might stop somewhat short of cb-" the other should tender bail at solute completion, it being, besides," any time before the Sessions, it very difficult to affix degrees of" must be accepted. The Magisguilt in such a case. "trate demanded much more than

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Nor has the Doctor" of the ordinary, though we fear much New Times, in his "loyal" paper" less than effectual bail; but it of the 30th of July, succeeded in" must be remembered that the convincing me, that I was in error" Bill of Rights strictly forbids in my notions as to this matter of" the taking of excessive bail. It bail in such cases. The Doctor" is to be regretted that a villain is a great railer against "disloyal" "should ever shelter himself under people; and he works hard upon the protection of such salutary this occasion (for what reason we "enactments; but they are too are left to guess) to make us quite closely interwoven with our lisatisfied, that Mr. Dyer was com- "berties to admit a doubt of their pelled to take the bail, and let the "

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general utility, even though in

Right Reverend Father in God go" a párticular instance they may

at large. We will, if you please,

"operate to produce a defeazance

ing, namely," envy of surrounding nations and admiration of the world," which I am sorry to per

ceive is rather going out of fashion,

not having been used but once, as far as I have perceived, during the last Session of Parliament, and only four times on the two last Circuits. It is a pity it should go out of use; for it has caused more

laughter than any one thing within

unanimity in the passing of your my recollection, not excepting the

"of that entire and exemplary parties having given their friends "justice which the case demands." what is called leg bail. The Doctor's conclusion, namely, that One can hardly help bursting this bail work has arisen from out upon the Old Doctor here and calling him a hypocritical vaga-with our liberties," wanted a roundinstitutions, "closely interwoven bond. This is a pretty fellow, indeed, to cry up the excellence, of the Act of Habeas Corpus! a pretty fellow to discover, now that a Bishop is caught, such a tenderness for the " liberty of the subject !" A pretty fellow to discover that a Magistrate violates this liberty when he refuses to take bail or when he delays taking it This old hack justified the delay in taking bail in the innumerable instances, in which such delay took place in the case of the Reformers. The old hack knows well, that, in scores of instances bail was delayed on the alleged But, now, let us look a little at ground of want of time to ascer- the doctrine, or, rather, the law, tain the sufficiency of the bail. of old Doctors' Commons. It is We cannot help laughing, how-my opinion, that Mr. DYER was ever, at the idea of the Magistrate not compelled to take bail at all. having had the Bill of Rights in I am sure that he was not comview, and that he therefore avoided pelled to take it without delay. demanding"excessive bail;" and, I am sure he was not compelled we must admire the hint of the to take it the moment it was tenold Doctors' Commons, that if the dered. I am sure that the law Soldier (the Bishop's partner) authorises the Magistrate to hold "should now tender bail, it must in custody for forty-eight hours, be accepted!" This is a good hint which he is to take, if he pleases, of old Doctors' Commons; and as time necessary for him to inthus the law-officers would have quire into the sufficiency of the nothing but names to try; the bail: or, if this be not the law,

famous Bill about Bullion and Paper-money..

pla

what will you say to the following | trate at Woolwich could delay in Anecdote. A man was taken up the case of the man who was at Woolwich for sticking up a guilty of the enormous offence of card, exposing the baseness of posting up a paper, reprobating the Morning Post in asserting that the idea of sacrificing an innocent the Queen, whether guilty or in- Queen for what was called the nocent, ought to be sacrificed to public good. The public will not what it called the public good, fail to draw the proper conclusion A man was taken up for posting from facts like these; and thereup this placard against the house fore, I shall now come a little of a Baker who gave him leave to closer to old Doctors' Commons, post it up upon his house. He was and state the grounds of my taken before a Magistrate, who opinion with respect to this not was also a Parson. Bail was being a bailable offence. "tendered; and that bail delayed for forty-eight hours, on the *ground of notice of bail being necessary. Before the forty-eight hours had expired the man was sent to Maidstone Gaol, where the Quarter Sessions were just coming" God, determine it to be capital." on. A Gentleman went down from He says, that our ancient law, in London, the Baker went from some degree imitated the venWoolwich, and the man was ex-geance of God on the two offendpected to be tried; but, behold, ing cities of old, "by commandno Bill of Indictment was pre-"ing such miscreants to be burned sented against the man, who was to death, though Fleta says they then turned out of goal to find his should be buried alive: either of which punishments was indifferently used for this crime

way

Blackstone, in the fifteenth Chapter of his fourth Book, in speaking of this crime against Nature, says, as to the crime itself, "that the voice of Nature and of "Reason, and express Law of

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back to his home as he could." And this, Sir, is in this same country, where old Doctors' Com-"

amongst the ancient Goths; but mons would have us believe, that" now, the general punishment of Mr. DYER dared not delay to bail" all felonies is the same, namely,

"by hanging." And here Blackstone adds something of great importance in the present case.

the Bishop! This Law of ours is a curious thing, indeed, if Mr. DYER could not delay in the case of the Bishop; and if the Magis-"And the rule of law herein is,

"that, if both are arrived at the Blackstone in the same Book and

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So much for the nature of the

years of discretion, agentes et Chapter, enumerates the cases “consentientes, pari pœna plec-in which bail cannot legally be “tantur.” Which Latin words I taken; and amongst these, he has dare say Dr. Coppleston taught this, "persons taken with the you to interpret, "both acting" manour, or in the fact of fe"and consenting and agreeing in "lony." By referring to another "the act, shall receive the same part of Blackstone, we find that "punishment." the old word manour, means mainoevre; which means, in plain offence and the legal equality of English, a handling, or having the crime. Now then, as to the hold, of the thing stolen, or being bail. It is clear, that no person about to be stolen. That relates can be bailed for a capital felony. to the case of theft. The other Blackstone says, (Book 4, Ch. 22) | part of the rule relates to all felo"Where imprisonment is only for nies, and particularly to a felony "safe custody before the convic- of the description which we now "tion, bril is ousted.. or taken have before us. "In the fact of

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felony," are the words. Now, Sir, what was the case here? In what situation were the parties seen by the witnesses? You have read the description of it. In what situation were they taken to the Watch-house? You have read the description of the situation of their garments, when they were assailed and beaten by the people. If these descriptions be true, if any thing like what these descriptions give us were true, did not the act of the parties and the manner of their detection fully amount to the description of the thing here given by Blackstone, being one of the cases in which,

according to him, bail is clearly

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