346 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



will about rights, liberties, fran- 

 chises, privileges, and immunities, 

 ot" what avail are any or all of 

 these together, if our persons can 

 at the sole will and command of 

 any man, or set of men, be seized 

 on, thrown into prison, and there 

 kept during the pleasure of that 

 man, or set of men ? If every one 

 of you be liable, at any time, to 

 be sent to jail without trial, and 

 without oath made against, you, 

 and there to be detained as long 

 as it pleases the parties sending 

 you there (perhaps to the end 

 of your life) without any court 

 to appeal to, without any means 

 of redress ; if this be the case, 

 shall we still boast of the laws 

 and of the liberties of England ? 

 Volumes have been written by 

 foreigners, as well as by our own 

 countrymen, in praise of that part 

 of our law which, in so admirable 

 a manner, provides for our perso- 

 nal safety against any attacks of 

 men in power. This has, indeed, 

 been in all ages the pride of our 

 country; and it is the maintenance 

 of this principle which enabled us 

 to escape that bondage, in which 

 all tiie states and kingdoms in 

 Europe were enthralled by aban- 

 doning and yielding it up ; and 

 we may be assured, that if we now 

 abandon it, the bright day of Eng- 

 land's glory will set in the night 

 of her disgrace. 



" But I would fain believe 

 that such is not to be our fate. 

 Our forefathers made stern grim- 

 visaged prerogative hide his 

 head : they broke in pieces his 

 sharp and massy sword. And 

 shall we, their sons, be afraid to 

 enter the lists with undefined 

 privilege assuming the powers of 

 prerogative ? 



" I shall be told, perhaps, that 

 there is not much danger of 



this power being very frequently 

 exercised. The same apology 

 may be made for the exercise of 

 any power whatever. I do not 

 suppose that the gentlemen of 

 the House of Commons will 

 send any of you to jail when 

 you do not displease them. 

 Mr. Yorke did not move for 

 the sending of Mr. Jones to jail, 

 until Mr. Jones displeased him ; 

 but it is not a very great compli- 

 ment to pay to any constitution, 

 to say, that it does not permit a 

 man to be imprisoned unless he 

 has done something to displease 

 persons in power. It would be 

 difficult, I should suppose, to 

 find any man upon earth, how- 

 ever despotic his disposition, who 

 would not be contented with 

 the power of sending to prison, 

 during his pleasure, every one who 

 should dare to do any thing to 

 displease him. Besides, when I 

 am told that there is little danger 

 that the gentlemen in the House 

 of Commons will often exercise 

 this power, I cannot help observ- 

 ing, that, though the examples 

 may be few, their efi'ect will natu- 

 rally be great and general. At 

 this moment, it is true, we see 

 but one man actually in jail, for 

 having displeased those gentle- 

 men ; but the fate of this one man 

 (as the effect of all punishments) 

 will deter others from expressing 

 their opinions of the conduct of 

 those who have had the power to 

 punish him. And, moreover, it 

 is in the nature of all power, 

 and especially of assumed and 

 undefined power, to increase as 

 it advances in age : and, as Magna 

 Charta and the law of the land 

 have not been sufficient to pro- 

 tect Mr. Jones ; as we have seen 

 himsenttojailforhavingdescribed 

 the conduct of one of the members 



