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Conniimtul Maiix
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pith of injustice . But it is the system which produces this state of things we seek to expose . It is not for individual or isolated cases , but against the principle we are at war . At Sir Edward s result I am not surprised . The spirit with which he embarked on the inquiry is too palpable throughout , la it matter for wonder that he should be convinced against his will ? He recoils from the idea of acknowledging how practically insufficient is found to be his act . Still , why should he shuffle off the responsibility from the Court of Chancery to the suitors , that these prisoners are confined ? " The court only acts upon the
bidding of the suitors . " Does that prove the system to be sound and proper ? This is an unintentional admission of the principle of my argument ; but I would remind Sir Edward that the suitors did not invent the system . Is it thus Sir Edward would have met the arguments of those two illustrious Lords ( Brougham and Campbell ) , who , seeing the error of imprisonment for debt—which in most cases irreparably injures the debtor , and rarely benefits the creditor—earnestly endeavoured to abolish a system
so absurd , mistaken , and anomalous . There , as here , it was the principle , and not the particular case . According to such reasoning , no judge would be responsible for the most atrocious sentence , because , forsooth , the prosecutor had exaggerated the offence of the transgressor . Excellent reasoning for an Equity Judge ! What a pity Sir Edward did not make his notes whilst he was on the spot , instead of deferring it until his return home . We should then have been favoured with a clearer statement of facts . But what is the amount of all his flourish ? why ,
that one man is about to move for his discharge on the ground of having been improperly detained ( it ' s odd all the irregularities seem in Chancery cases ) after five years' imprisonment ! But Sir Edward's stronghold is , that these gentlemen have , most of them at this present moment , common detainers ; therefore , they cannot be Chancery victims ! Did it never occur to Sir Edward , that , in the breast of a man , believing the attachment against him to be unjust , the higher sensibilities of his nature might , from the consequent sudden influx of misfortunes , receive such a shock as would wither up all the nobler aspirations of his being . What may not a strong impression of wrong and injustice germinate in a heart by nature kind , and generous , and peaceful as the dove ? " Perhaps these detainers are the offspring of
some luckless Chancery suit—the result of a struggle to possess a just and natural birthright , out of which he has been defrauded by treachery , aided by the most infamous technicalities . ( This , Sir , is no fiction , for I know such a case ; and the parties might be at this moment in helpless bondage , for anything the Court of Chancery has ever done to protect them ) . When once you have hampered a man ' s means , misfortunes come on as thick as hail—around him a young and helpless family dependant on him for daily sustenance ; what marvel that the little he has saved , the insignificant remnant of his wealth , is devoted to those who are nearest and dearest to him , in place of discharging his liabilities—perhaps unjustly fixed upon him—and suffering hit * children to starve ? Is Buch a preference so unnatural , I ask , as to excite reprehension ?
Sir Edward is not read in the book of life , neither knows he the character of the human , heart . As a lawyer eminent—us a politician and Reformer most unhappy . It is the business of the liit er , I fancy , to be guided , not so much by the law as carefully to Htudy the nature of mankind ; to adapt fitting regulations , and to harmonize that nature for the general welfare of the community , but not to destroy it . The never-failing remedy of this State Doctor is the Court of Insolvency . He offers it as an infallible panacea for every misfortune . But the question I desire to have answered is , why should you bring Huch ruin upon a man , that nothing remains to him but that fearful ordeal ? - —That that course should be inevitable , if he would enjoy what Uod hath given liim !
The decree or order , under which the attachment has issued , may hive been most atrociously obtained . JJut , nays , Sir Eelwurd , " you must not say so , it . purports to come from a high judge . " But let me tell Sir Edward that it is the registrars who make the orders ( a system I mean shortly to expose ) . Here , then , we arrive where wo ought to have started . It ih the Court , in its discretion , which sends the man to prison , if the practice gives a discretion to the ; judges and if not , it is Htill the Hyntein . to of who
I think we have no right say any man , enjoys the full aiid quiut possession of his worldly means , thut lie is a villain . Why should we assume that a fix-e mini would feel indisposed to pay his just und lawful debts ? . But this is Sir Edward ' s proportion , or it is nothing- Now , when he shows satisfactorily that these pernoiiH must have been brought to prison , even if they hud never been attached by the court , 1 promise him it Hhull avail hia argument much in defence of his durling and much calumniated Court of Chancery . _ . .
It is hh pregnant witH impropriety nnd bad taste , m it surely is deficient in rcuHon and sound Hense , to argue that a man would wilfully remain in prison all
his life rather than pay his debts ; when we know that , by paying those just debts , he would still be detained by virtue of an original arrest . It is taking a view of mankind which we are not warranted in doing . How morbid must be Sir Edward s mind to suggest such an idea ? I can easily comprehend the indignant feelings of a man who—believing himselt unjustly seized — declines to avail himself of that unworthv exnedient which Sir Edward allows to be
his only alternative . It often occurs that a man will give freely all that it is in his power to give amongst his creditors ; but who , with greedy or worse feelings , reject the offer . At last the great specific is resorted to . How complacently Sir Edward speaks of the purgation , as though the breast of a feeling man would not swell at the merest contemplation . What would he not do to avoid the painful alternative ? He knows himself the victim of unavoidable
misfortune , not of reckless extravagance—no impropriety , but pure accident . He has the same process to go through as the most hardened and criminal spendthrift . Perhaps Sir Edward would say , " What right have the penniless to talk of feelings ?" However , this much-desired Court is entered , pain and mortification surround him , and he does not very strenuously endeavour to assist his implacable creditors , and they fare not so well as they might under other circumstances . Does not all experience show us how injurious , to debtor as well as creditor , is the practice of imprisonment—generally—for debt ? When a man is known to be in prison , in quick
succession his creditors flock around him . A vague feeling of insecurity pervades . The multiplicity of their demands embarrasses him . All cannot be satisfied at once , and yet all are striving to be firstwrits , detainers out of num ber follow ; he is utterly , and for ever , ruined . Take any of our merchant kings—men with their hundreds of thousands . What are they if you destroy their credit ? T ell the world that Mr . Styles is " keeping out of the way . " Be he as rich Crcesus , only publish the fact that , he isat whose suit , or under what circumstances , you don ' t know , or care to inquire—the fact is , the important affair , and that is incontestable—in the Queen ' s Bench—be he there but for a single day—I ask , when that rumour is in circulation , what would
be the natural result to Mr . Styles ? Would it not be irremediable confusion and ruin ? Do I not speak in conformity with the experience of thousands in this mighty city ? I submit the question for their consideration , whether I am not substantially correct in the inference I would draw , when I say that , in all human probability , the Insolvent or Bankruptcy Court would be that gentleman ' s only alternative ? Then , would not this go to prove that the original detainer , and not his ordinary and every day liabilities , was the cause of his ruin ? Assuredly it would . Then the only question which arises , to my mind seems to be this—Has not the court sufficient power to do all that is requisite , without the present system of attachment ? And would not its importance and dignity be better sustained without it ?
The statements of Sir Edward with regard to the case of Taylor have been so completely met and confuted in the able reply of Mr . Carpenter , that I shall altogether pass over the circumstance for the present . Sir Edward ' s endeavour to shift the evil on to the shoulders of the Lord Chancellor , is truly in keeping with the other portions of his epistle . His insinuation that the Chancellor fails in his duty is contemptible and puerile . We have every reason to believe — and for one , I do sincerely — that his lordship would and does act , in all cases where the power is reserved to him , with that exalted humanity and hi » h-rninde < lnohB consistent witli an enlightened
judge — where that feeling does not positively militate xgainst good morals and substantial justice . I have an undoubted right to assume such to be the fact , until the contrary be shown by incontestable evidence , and that I defy Sir Edward , with all his ingenuity , to produce . On that point , however , Sir Eelwu . nl is not u competent authority ; he comes before us tainted with prejudice . Now , the experience we have had , teaches us that our equity chief in adorned with all the attributes ejHsenti . il to his ollice , as a lawyer able und profound , acting ever with the strictest impartiality and rectitude , in conformity with wisdom and sound policy , with dignified forbearance and that truly beneficent virtue , which ' blesseth him that gives and him that takes" — mercy . It is no flattery , it is no unmeaning compliment , that 1 week
to give utterance to ; but a solemn conviction that I am speaking hh justice would dictate ; . And let me . suggest , in accordance with that strict impartiality I am re-solved to maintain , that it is somewhat more probable that justice ; , by such a personage ' , should be udminiHtereel with clear , ay , and with broael and com pre'hensive ; principles , than that all the thinking and enlightened portion of sociesty should be in error in denouncing a system ho fraught with inexplicable evils . Through the length anil breadth of the land is ne > t the same feeding manifcsteel ? Is it ne > t onej of horretr and < lctcHtatie > n of that , barbarous sink of iniquity ? One ; noble lord , einineMit as a lawye ; rund u statesman , says that ruin generully besfals the unhappy « uite ) r the ) instant lie crouHuti the threshe ) ld of the " hell of Chancery . " Yet all this is known , in
acknowledged on every side , and is suffered peacefully to continue . Is it not marvellous that with one accord the whole people do not demand the utter extinction of this hotbed of all that is dangerous and destructive to the health , happiness , prosperity , and good name of England ? I am , Sir , your obedient servant , Marcus Meryweather Turner
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232 1 Rt > t tL ^ aJf *?*
[ Saturd ay ,
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HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK . ( From the Registrar-General ' s Report . ) It appears from the return for the week ending last Saturday , that the mortality of London is now greater than is generally observed at this period of the year . The deaths , which , as shown in last report , had risen from 1036 to 1213 , have undergone a not very considerable decrease , the total number now being 1148 . In the ten corresponding weeks of 1841-50 , there is no instance in which they equalled this amount—the two highest numbers , which nearly approach it , having occurred in 184-5 and 1849 , when they were respectively U 3 ' -i and 1138 . The average of the corresponding weeks was 1035 , which , if corrected for increase of population , becomes 1129 ; and the 1148 deaths of last week show an increase of 19 on this latter result . A comparative statement of the mortality at different periods of life shows that the present increase affects both young and old , but especially persons in the middle stage of existence . In the zymotic or epidemic class of diseases , the total number of deaths enumerated in the present return is 223 , while the corrected average is 211 . Smallpox wag fatal in 19 cases . It appears that in four of the cases recorded vaccination had been performed , and that th e ages of the patients were respectively 13 , 21 , 36 , and 47 . Among the various kinds of diseases , those which affect the organs of respiration continue to be most conspicuous , and they amount in this table to 281 ; in that of the previous week to 277 ; while the corrected average is only 215 . The births of 784 boys and 807 girls , in all 1591 children , were registered in the week . The average of six corresponding weeks in 1845-50 was 1479 . Ten Weeks Week of 1841-50 . of 1851 . Zymotic Diseases .. 1936 .... 223 Dropsy , Cancer , and other disease * of uncertain or variable seat .. .. 581 .... 55 Tubercular Diseases .. .. .. .. 1776 .... 190 Diseases of the Brain , Spinal Marrow , Nerves , and Senses .. „ .. 1282 .... 113 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels .. 327 .... 41 Diseases of the Lungs and of the other Organs of Respiration .. .. .. 1972 .... 281 Diseases of the Stomach , Liver , and other Organs of Digestion .. .. .. 614 .... 71 Diseases of the Kidneys , &c . .. .. .. 90 .... 9 Childbirth , diseases of the Uterus , &c . .. 107 .... 11 Rheumatism , diseases of the Bones , Joints , &c 84 6 Disease ? of the Skin , Cellular Tissue , &c . .. 6 .... 3 Malformations .. .. .. .. .. 22 .... 2 Premature Birth and Debility .. .. 239 .... 35 Atrophy .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 ( ' 6 .. .. 22 Age .. 704 46 Sudden 133 .... 5 Violence , Privation , Cold , and Intemperance 214 .... 29 Total ( including unspecified causes ) .. 10353 1148
Conniimtul Maiix
Conniimtul Maiix
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MONEY MARKET AND CITY INTELLIGENCE . Sattjhday . The market for English Funds lias been firmer thi « week than last . Conse > lH cloned at !)( i | e > n Meinday , since which they have gradually improved , an el yeaterday they e : l ( ist'd at !)(> £ to 9 ( i < j . The nuct . uatiems have been but . small this week . CoijhoIs , WiJ to !)(> g , JJunk Stock , 214 ? te > 21 . > 4 ; Three-and-a Quarter per Cent * ., 5 ) 8 £ to {)' . )]; Exchequer Bills , 45 h . te > / V 2 h . premium . The biiHincHs in Foreign { Securities h ; i « been limited , but prices have been iirni . The" Hides eif Kte > ck yesterday oonipMNcd Mexican at 344 to J : Peruvian , at 83 ; dilto Deferred , 37 $ : Dutch Two-anel-a-Half riei CentH ., CHI ; < litto Four per CentH ., 'Jlj ; RuMsiitn 1 ' uui - ( inel-a-llulf |> er CentB ., 1 ) 74 l <> ft ; «» el Venezuela . Deirne-el , 12 £ . Ma . uk-i . ank , I ' hi day , March 7-ArrivalH of grain inte > London moderate . Wheat on the-Hpeit inee-tH n re > tail wile » t . )> i < -vioun iuU'h . With large ' iiriivala from the south of Europe the : value e > f floating ' eiirgoeH declined in tho early part of the week about Inner quart e : r . Some largo miles of . Polish Odeshu were made at , 32 s , but yesterday anel t . o-eluy the bolele in have , ruined their pretenHioiiH te > 33 s . Hurley imel Out * an before . Arrivulti from March 3 te > 7 : — English . I riwli . Foreign . Flour . Wheat .. .. 1710 f > UU ) 215 ) 0 Hurley .. .. 2120 2 ( 100 Outs 2 ( 540 2 . ' ! H () 6270 - -
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Tiik Sun . —No mystery in creation need sadden us , as long as we believe nothing of the invisible world inferior te > what the visible proclaims . Life and geniality predominate ; death is brief ; pain fugitive : beauty universal ; order paramount and everlasting . What a ehame , to know that the sun , the greatest visible object in our universe , combines equal gentleness with power , and de > es us nothing but good , and at the same time to dare to think worse of its Maker ! — Leigh Jhint's Table-Talk .
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AVICRACJK l'HHJK OKHlHiAlt . The ) average ) pricu of llrown or Muucovuilo Hiitrur , coinputrel ' from tho returnn imulii in tho wuuk ondiuir tho 4 th duy «><' March , IH 01 , iu ; i () B . 11 Ad . i > er owl .
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Leader (1850-1860), March 8, 1851, page 232, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1873/page/20/
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