* * * little practice and experience. As to the placing the power of appointment in the hands of the LORD CHANCELLOR, a minister of the Crown, it was a monstrous proposition. For effectively exposing this job, Lord WHARNCLIFFE deserves the thanks of the country. The Model Republic-Negro-Slavery.—Sept. 13, 1836. THE United States of America used to be held up to the world as the "model Republic" of modern times. * ** * The British Constitution-not a paper Constitution of speculative politicians or crazy philosophers-has, like the British oak, sprung from the soil, and stood the storms of centuriesstriking its roots deeper into its native earth, and growing in majesty and grandeur as the governments of neighbouring nations have been shattered and overthrown. The American system of government has scarcely numbered the years of half a century, and already strong indications have been afforded of the instability of this specimen of democratic excellence. A government under which a mob, whether well dressed, or in the aboriginal condition of sans-culottes, it makes no difference, can take the execution of the laws into its own hands-can mock the established tribunals of justice by arraigning the victims of their displeasure as criminals before themselvesand then, descending from the revolutionary judgment-seat, perform the part of executioners, by torturing and hanging the objects of their vengeance, or burning them before slow firesa government, we say, under which such things can be done by the mob, and done unpunished and unreproved by the legitimate authority of the State, does not promise a long endurance. The passions which it cherishes, or, at least, which there is no power within itself to repress, must eventually work its destruction. If the government cannot put down the anarchy of the "Lynch" mobs, and punish the horrible crimes which they commit in defence of the system of negro-slavery and its abominations, it will itself be put down by the democratic licentiousness which it allows to revel in the work of cruelty and blood! In addition to the many atrocities that have lately caused humanity to shudder at the doings of the Lynch democrats of America, it appears that those outrageous conservators of slavery have lately been engaged in the furious persecution of an Editor of a philanthropic Journal, who has endeavoured to awaken the moral sense of those "ultra-liberals" to a consciousness of the criminality of enslaving their black-skinned fellow-creatures, and treating them as the cattle of the field. The account which a New York Paper gives of the fanatic and inhuman proceeding of the democrats on that occasion, ought to be perused by all those who have been misled into the notion that America, without a king or a House of Lords, is really the land of liberty. If liberty consist in the mob having the power to murder the citizens of a "free state," who fall under their displeasure, and to plunder and lay waste their property, without having to apprehend any of the consequences of a criminal responsibility, then, undoubtedly, Republican America is a land of liberty. But, those who regard such a state of things as a tyranny of the worst description-the tyranny of the many-headed monster-will prefer that liberty which flourishes under the British Constitution. Legionaries in Spain-extraordinary "Order of the day."Sept. 17, 1836. THE correspondent who wishes to know whether General EVANS, as commanding officer of the British auxiliary legion in Spain, has lawful authority to order the execution of any British subject under his command for a military offence, we must refer to what we wrote on that subject, in reference to the atrocious "order of the day," which was published, with that officer's name: and the substantial authority of which neither he, nor any person authorised by him, has ever ventured to deny. * * * In the next place we stated, that-even allowing for argument sake, that all which was said about the co-operation of the Royal Marines, and the rebellion against his Britannic MAJESTY, was unmeaning surplusage, and that the sanguinary order of the day had reference only to deserters, still-to justify General EVANS in putting any British subject to death as such, he should be able to show that the Mutiny Act, under which military punishments are inflicted in this country, extended to the "British Legion;" for by entering into the Spanish service, General EVANS could not throw off his criminal responsibility to the laws of England; and so assuredly as he put a British subject to death at St. Sebastian, without being authorised by the Mutiny Act, he would be liable to an indictment for murder at the Old Bailey. The law stands thus:-If a British subject be unlawfully put to death by a foreigner, in a foreign State, the crime can be punished only through the Government of which the murderer is the subject. If a foreigner murders a British subject within the dominions of the British KING, the foreigner is liable to be punished for the murder, according to the laws of England; for while he is within the dominions of the British Crown, he is under its protection, and, as the price of that protection, owes obedience to its laws. Also, if one British subject unlawfully puts another British subject to death, within the dominions of a foreign Prince, the offender is triable for the felonious homicide within the realm of England; as General EVANS would find, if as Commander of the British Legion-he ordered any British subject to be executed, on the ground of being either a deserter or a rebel. Our legal authorities on this subject, we produced during the controversy respecting the murder of Mr. BOYD, at Malaga, in FERDINAND's reign. * Necessity for a Poor-Law in Ireland.-Oct. 29, 1836. ** AN idle population is always a mischievous one-a truth of which the state of Ireland affords the most melancholy evidence. It was Mr. LYNCH to whose efforts the Irish people were indebted for the Select Committee upon Public Works in Ireland, which has elicited and placed on record a most useful and instructive mass of information, touching the natural capabilities of Ireland for improvement, such as never before was brought under the eye of the British public. Mr. LYNCH, is an advocate for a poor-law; but, like ourselves, he is very anxious, at the same time, that everything possible should be done, by reclaiming waste lands-by making good roads through those parts of the country, where the opening of lines of communication is sure to bring improvement-by encouraging the manufactures, the fisheries, &c., of Ireland, so as to narrow the necessity for a poor-law as much as possible, by affording the means of employment to the people. At a dinner lately given to that gentleman by his constituents, he delivered a speech which was indeed a striking contrast to the high-sounding and unmeaning verbiage, called political eloquence, in Ireland. It was addressed to the understandings of his audience, not to their political or sectarian passions. Its object was to stimulate them to works of local improvement, and its materials were the natural capabilities of Ireland. We give an extract :-"True it is, that seeing the misery that prevails-the great want of employment for the people-the great want of the cultivation of the land-the total neglect of millions of acres-I have turned my attention to the consideration of measures by which the waste lands of Ireland may be reclaimed, and employment afforded to the people. Have I not passed to-day through a country abounding in beautiful scenery, destined by nature to yield all the fruits of the earth every natural facility given it for improvement, but neglected by man—and upbraiding man for that neglect? I have travelled miles without seeing a human being or a human habitation." And yet the cold-hearted economists say that the miseries of Ireland arise from an excess of population, while at least a third of the improvable surface of that island has never been taken out of a state of savage nature. As to a legal provision for the poor, Mr. LYNCH says, "I do not, as others, fear the introduction of a well-regulated system of poor laws. I regret that such a measure is necessary; but, after reading the evidence taken before the Commissioners of Poor Law Inquiry, wherein I find that many families are compelled to live for months in the year on one meal of potatoes a * * * day, and that others are depending for that one meal on the bounty of the labouring class, I cannot refuse my assent, (without pledging myself to any particular plan,) to the entertainment of a measure whereby this distress may be relieved, and the burden of supporting the poor by the labouring class alleviated and shared with the landlords, who are unwilling or who neglect to contribute to such support, or to find employment for the people." Does Mr. Spring RICE see any necessity for a poor law yet? Does he want more evidence? Ministerial Bills for amending the Criminal Law.- LORD JOHN RUSSELL, in moving for leave to bring in a bill to abolish the punishment of death for those cases of forgery which still remain capital-to be followed by other bills to remove the capital penalty from various other crimes-has taken occasion to make a long and elaborate statement to prove the necessity of a very extensive revision of the criminal law, with a view to its mitigation. The reasoning upon which the noble Lord supported his general proposition to limit the punishment of death to a small number of crimes, as compared with the present amount of capital offences, was strong and conclusive. His arguments were strengthened by powerful statistical evidence, showing that laws, with moderate punishments, are more efficient in repressing crime, than laws that are intemperately severe. * * * We have said that the premises of Lord John RUSSELL were ably reasoned, and supported by convincing evidence, but that his conclusion was not logically drawn from his premises. His premises went to show, not only the uselessness of the punishment of death, as a protection to society against crime, but even the pernicious influence that it has on the interests of justice; yet the conclusion at which he arrives is, that the punishment so useless and pernicious-should be retained, not only for high treason and cases partaking of the nature of high treason, but for a variety of crimes affecting the person, |