to compel the directors to disclose that utter ruin, which had been anwhat they had hitherto most anxious--nounced in the heat of debate, had not ly concealed, the amount of the pro- overtaken the country, yet, in so far fits which had been divided among the as the system was calculated to produce proprietors since the date of the re- immediate mischiefs, these mischiefs strictions. That the system of a pa- had already occurred. It was one of per circulation was not new, but had, the predictions of those who opposed at one period or other, been introduced the measure of 1797, that the bank, so into most of the nations of Europe. long as the retrictions existed, would Its invariable consequence had been to never of itself return to cash payments; entail bankruptcy upon the govern- -a prediction which had been fulfilled.ment, and ruin and misery on thou- That the measure now proposed would sands of innocent individuals. That convert the notes of the bank into a the temptations to forgery, created by forced government paper, the very such a system, formed, of themselves, worst species of currency with which an evil of an enormous magnitude, a country could be inundated.-A paragainst which the bill made no ade- ticular objection was strongly urged quate provision. That although the by some Irish members against extendbank directors might be incapable of ing the bill to that country. It was abusing the trust reposed in them, yet said, that leases were not granted in the powers with which they were vest- Ireland in the same manner as in Eng. ed, were too great for them to wield, land; that, in the latter country, they since they had no sufficient means of were usually granted for a short perestraining the issue of their paper with riod, and the landlord of course had it in due bounds.-That the only remedy in his power, after short intervals, to for the present evils seemed to be an compensate himself, by raising the artificial rise on the nominal price of rents, for a depreciation of the curthe gold coin, in the same proportion rency; but that in Ireland, leases were as bank notes had been depreciated; seldom granted for a shorter period that this measure was not so novel as than two lives, and were very often of might be supposed, for, in fact, the much greater endurance. The Irish price of coin had already been rai- proprietors, therefore, had not the same sed by the issue of tokens, at a rate remedy with the English landlord, above their intrinsic value, at which, and it was unjust to extend to his case however, they were received in ex- a measure, which, in other circumchange of those notes which were to stances, might not be exceptionable.be made legal tenders, and accepted in These arguments, although urged payment by creditors. That by ex- with great zeal, proved ineffectual; a tending the measure to Ireland, go- strong conviction prevailed, of the abvernment could have no other view solute necessity of the measure; and, than to destroy altogether the stand-although it was admitted on all hands, ard by which people are enabled to judge of the depreciation of paper; which standard, was, in some degree, maintained by the general circulation of gold coin in the sister kingdom. That it was not fair to say, that the predictions of those who had expected much evil from the restriction of 1797, had not been fulfilled; for, although that inconveniences would arise, it seemed to be the general opinion, that the mischief was imputable, not to the measure now under consideration, but to a state of things over which parliament had no controul. It became necessary, however, to protect the peo. ple from the oppressions to which they might have been exposed, without some interference of this kind; and the bill, as proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was accordingly passed into a law. A subject of much importance, was, itowards the close of the session, brought before the House of Peers by Lord Holland. It may be necessary to state here, that there are various ways of instituting proceedings against delinquents by the criminal law of England; the forms of presentment by a grand jury; of information at the instance of a common informer; and of information filed officially by the attorney-general, are all in use. The first of these forms is adopted in all cases in which the life or limb of the subject is brought into jeopardy; and since, according to this ancient and favoured mode of proceeding, no man can be held to bail or brought to trial, unless a majority of a grand jury, composed of 25 of his countrymen, shall think his case such as to warrant an indictment, the greatest lawyers have, in general, given it a preference over both the others. In the second case, where the common informer is to prosecute, the accused is not held to bail till the informer shall appear in court, make oath to the truth of his charges, enter into recognisances to insist on the prosecution till it is brought to an issue, and find security to indemnify the accused for the costs to which he may be put, should the charges prove groundless. The third and last mode is, that by information filed, ex of ficio, by the attorney-general; a form by which the defendant is exposed to more than usual hardships, as he has neither the advantage of a grand jury, as in the case of proceedings by indictment, nor the chance of recovering costs, as in the case of information by : a common informer. Informations filed by the attorney-general, however, are of very great antiquity, and are unquestionably constitutional; nor does it seem possible to dispense with them in certain cases, without endangering the public tranquillity. The greatest lawyers have admitted, that in prosecutions which have the preservation of the public peace for their object, and in all cases where delay might be attended with great public inconvenience, the proceedings by ex officio information, possess advantages over every other form, and are in many cases indispensable. Prosecutions in this form have accordingly been in use as far back as the history of the law of England can be traced. Lord Holland, however, seems to have thought, that if such proceedings were attended with advantages, they were productive of still greater evils; and although he was aware, that he had no reason to expect success in any attempt to abolish this form of proceeding altogether, yet he thought it right to endeavour to bring it under certain regulations. He therefore brought in a bill for providing that no information should be filed by the attorney-general, except within a certain short space after the offence had been committed; and that, if, after the information had been filed, the defendant should not be brought to trial within a limited time, all further proceedings should cease and determine. Various arguments were maintained in support of these propositions. The projected improvement on the law of ex officio informations, said the advocates of the measure, although chiefly intended to secure the liberty of the press, has a more extensive object; for there are many other of fences, besides that of libel, in which the attorney-general is authorised to prosecute ex officio. The mode of prosecuting, however, for the offence of libel, by ex officio information, is nei ther necessary nor safe; it never has beeu considered by the highest authorities as the course which ought to be resorted to on ordinary occasions, since the ancient and constitutional method of proceeding against libel as well as against other offences, is by indictment. If ex officio informations in cases of libel were altogether abolished, government and individuals would still have the same security against this crime, as the subject has for life, limb, and property. But the bill did not pretend to abolish informations ex officio, but to bring them under proper regulations, as to the necessity of which, no doubt could be entertained. -That this mode of proceeding had always been exposed to great jealousy and suspicion; that in the different periods of English history, when the people were greatly harassed by vexatious and arbitrary punishments, the grand instrument of oppression was this very power, or something of the same nature. In the reigns of the first princes of the house of Stuart, this course was much resorted to, and became a favourite with the Star Chamber, to the temper and spirit of which it was admirably suited. The informations, filed at that unhappy period, were not indeed, strictly speaking, ex officio, but informations at the instance of common informers; but the principle was still the same, and the method of proceed ing by the agency of common informers was found so convenient an instrument of oppression, that in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. ex officio informations became almost obsolete. This is the reason why no measures were taken at the Revolution with the avowed purpose of abolishing ex officio informations, parliament having been satisfied with correcting the grievance which then pressed with the greatest severity. Now that the proceeding by ex officio information, however, had become so general, as to be almost the only mode adopted in cases of libel, the necessity for regulation was imperious. The power entrusted to the at torney-general was peculiarly liable to abuse, and never was intended for active operation, except in cases of necessity, when the public peace might be endangered by delay. That, in fact, this power had been extended far be yond its original limits; that it had been abused, and was likely to be still farther abused; that the attorney-gene-" ral, as matters stood at present, had, in certain cases, all the powers of a grand jury; that he was thus enabled at his own discretion to put a fellow subject to great trouble and expense; that he might keep the prosecution suspended over the defendant's head for ever, and might, without trial, subject any one at his pleasure to a very heavy fine. The practical abuse of this power might fairly be inferred from a fact which was notorious; that although the attorney-general might in all cases, except those of treason and felony, bring it into operation, he had in practice thought proper to confine the exercise of it almost entirely to cases of libel, a species of offence which most readily excites the resentment of administration.-That by the power which the attorney-general exercises in such cases of suspending or quashing prosecutions, according to the future conduct of the supposed libeller, the spirit and independence of political writers were destroyed, and the liberty of the press very seriously infringed. The great increase of criminal informations of late years was calculated to excite suspicion. From the year 1800 to the year 1807, the number of criminal informations filed was fifteen; from the year 1808 to the year 1810, forty-two (of which, however, more than half had never been brought to trial;) so that the average number for the three years last-mentioned, was to that of the previous seven years, as fourteen to two; and to that of the three years immediately preceding, as fourteen to one. Coulld it be be lieved that all these cases were of such a nature, that a little delay might have been fatal, when it was considered that almost one half of them had never been brought to trial? If it was obvious, therefore, from reason, that this power was liable to great abuse, it seemed also clear from experience, that it had actually been abused. It became necessary, therefore, that it should now be brought under some sort of regulation. To these arguments it was answered, that it was a great mistake to suppose that ex officio informations were not known to the ancient law of England, and had not been recognised in the freest times, and supported by the most respectable authorities. That the practice was as old as the time of Edward the First; that in a very remarkable case, that of the five members for detaining the Speaker in the chair, no doubt was entertained of the legality of the process by information; and in the famous case of Plowden, for absenting himself from parliament, as little doubt was felt on this subject; the only question having been, whether the offences of these persons were such that they could be tried by information.-That it was a mistake, also, to suppose that the attorney-general could at his pleasure file criminal informations against any person whom he might select for vengeance, since he is obliged to appear openly in court, and make his motion under the checks provided by a special statute. So far is the proceeding by information from being a novelty in the law of England, that it was usual in former times for the attorney-general and the master of the Crown-office, not only to file such informations, but to have writs issued for the apprehension of the parties. A case was referred to, in which the secretary of state had issued his warrant for the apprehension of a libeller, and the warrant was found good, after a grave discussion before some of the most eminent lawyers of whom England can boast. The same principle is still virtually acknowledged in the practice of the courts, as persons informed against, in such circumstances, are allowed to go at large only upon granting their recognisances. That the legality and expediency of ex officio informations would never have been questioned, but for those unfortunate controversies as to the legality of general warrants, which occurred about the beginning of the present reign; the crown lawyers, in that instance, sustained a defeat, which has since inspired them with an unbecoming timidity. That the proceeding by information appeared to be, in many instances, more convenient and humane than that by indictment. The defend. ant prosecuted on an information proceeding on the affidavit of an informer, may, if the affidavit should prove false, get the person who made it punished with greater ease, than if the same falsehoods had been sworn before a grand jury. That nothing can be more absurd, than to suppose the honourable men who are invested with the power of prosecuting for the pub. lic interest, capable of condescending to the base practices to which it was insinuated they might be tempted to resort; and that as none but imaginary dangers could be discovered in the mode of proceeding by information, which has unquestionably been attended with great practical advantages, there could be no good reason for innovation. But at all events, the provisions of the bill were exceptionable in every point of view; for while informations were still to be filed as formerly, the bill went to render the power thus vested in the crown perfectly ineffectual in many cases of the utmost importance. If the prosecution, as the bill proposed, must be raised in the space of three months after the offence is committed, what must be done with colonial delinquents, what with those who may be dexterous enough to conceal their frauds for years, and what with libellers, whom it might be inexpedient or dangerous to try while the public mind is yet in a state of ferment produced by the very libel for which punishment is to be in flicted? The bill, in short, even if its principle had been good, was altoge ther defective in its provisions; while the changes which it did propose were highly absurd and mischievous.-The bill was thrown out by a very large majority. The employment of foreigners in the British service had occasioned much clamour, and had furnished an excellent topic for the tribe of libellers, now so numerous in the metropolis. The various acts by which the crown is empowered, under certain limitations, to avail itself of the assistance of foreigners, were severely reprobated ; and it was strongly insinuated, that, dan gerous as were the powers conferred by these statutes to the liberties of the country, the ministers had contrived to exceed them, and had thus very gross ly betrayed their high trust, Declamations on this subject were well suit ed to the taste of the lower orders, who were carefully reminded of the jealousy which, at an early period, had been entertained against foreigners, and of the dangerous attempts upon the liberties of the people, of which strangers had been made the instruments. The authors of such inflammatory discourses were either una ble or unwilling to make the proper distinction betwixt the past and present condition of England; they forgot, or concealed the fact, that, in ancient times, the sovereign possessed an authority almost despotic; that he was continually attempting encroachments on the slender privileges which had been extorted from his predecessors; that, as he often possessed extensive territories abroad, where the notions of civil liberty were little understood, the best instruments which he could employ for the purposes of tyranny, were foreigners, whom his independent revenue, not then subject to the con troul of parliament, might enable him to take into pay. How great has been the change in all these particulars, every one must be satisfied who is capable of the slightest reflection. The government is no longer a despo. tism as in former times; the king,whatever interest a bad prince might suppose himself to have in secret attacks on national liberty, will no longer dare to make such encroachments by vio lence; the revenue which supports the very considerable military establish. ment of England, is not hereditary to the sovereign, but is annually controuled by parliament; and, above all, the army is so numerous, and the propor tion of British soldiers in it so great, that a small admixture of foreigners can never excite alarm for the liberties of the country, but in the minds of the most fanatical politicians. The population of the British empire is much more limited than that of her most powerful neighbours; and, although it might justly excite alarm were the military spirit of the English so much reduced, that the ranks of their army were filled by foreigners in very large numbers, there seems not to be any reason, in the present circumstances of the world, for adhering to a system of utter exclusion. The enemies of England were, at this very moment, fighting her, not with their own population alone, but with the assistance of almost all the other states of Europe; and, if among the people of those conquered countries, some were to be found too high-minded to bend their necks under the yoke of oppression, would it not have been absurd in the British government to have refused |