174 LON 
inffead of rifing, ivouk! full, an confequence of a defalcation 
of revenue arifing from a ftagnation of trade. But, be- 
fides the objections to the meafure propofed, drawn from 
the calculations of political arithmetic, there was one much 
infilled on of an ethical nature. 
Mr. Windham obferved, that there was this obvious 
and fundamental obje&ion to it, that it would tend in a 
greater or lefs degree to vitiate the morals of the lower 
orders of the people. He was afraid that too many pa¬ 
rents would be found who would be very willing to facri- 
fce the future interefts of their children to their own im¬ 
mediate gratification. The fyftein of annuities was too 
generally attended with fuch confequences, and he law 
nothing in the plan now propofed, to obviate fuch effects 
in the prefent inftance.—Sir John Newport, too, deprecated 
the holding cut any inducements to the lower claffes to 
fpeculate in annuities. If there were vices in a country, 
government ought not to partake of them. In France, in 
the time of the rentes viageres, there had been many in¬ 
stances of perfons who facrificed the interefts of their pof- 
terity for their own immediate gratification. This was 
Jiot confonant to the feelings of the people of this coun¬ 
try ; and he (hould deprecate any meafure that would have 
the effect of affimilating the habits and morals of this 
country to thofe of P'rance.—Neither could Mr. W. Smith 
abftain from bearing his teftimony to the immoral ten¬ 
dency of this plan. He looked upon thefe annuities as a 
moral potion, which Ihould not be circulated. 
Mr. Hulkifi'on defended the plan of his right honour¬ 
able friend. It gave no bonus to perfons for inverting 
their capitals to the prejudice of their families. The 
fcale was calculated upon the ufual principles of the pro¬ 
babilities of life. And, as to the effedt it might have on 
the morals of the people, it Ihould be recollefted that the 
iliort annuities which had lately fallen in, to the amount 
of 4 or 500,00c!. per annum, had been in the market 
■without producing any fuch effect, though, upon the prin¬ 
ciples of the gentlemen oppofite, they were much more 
dangerous, as they required a greater proportion of capi¬ 
tal to be funk. 
The debate was refumed on the 27th of May; when 
Mr. Tierney made a variety of calculations intended to 
fliow the inelHcacy and inutility of the plan. He objected 
to it as interfering with the linking fund, and with the 
faith of the country, pledged in confequence of that mea¬ 
fure ; of which faith he confidered it as a direct infrac¬ 
tion. He dwelt particularly on the extravagant induce¬ 
ment which this meafure held out to a man of 70 years 
of age, to leave his family and relations deftitute ; feeing 
be could thus raile his own income in the proportion of 
32 to 3 ; or, inffead of tool, could procure for his own 
life 400I. per annum.—Lord Petty thought the plan alto¬ 
gether objectionable in a political, moral, and financial, 
point of view. Would it be proper, would it not on the 
contrary be dangerous in the extreme, if the great bulk 
of the property of this country were allowed to be thrown 
into annuities ? 
Mr. Davies Giddy thought that the plan new pro¬ 
pofed would have the effect of encouraging a greater de¬ 
gree of frugality in the lower claffes, by affording them 
an opportunity of applying their favings with perfect fe- 
curity to the increase of their incomes ; and that in this 
point of view the benefit would overbalance any evil that 
might arife from it.—Mr. Biddulph did not think there 
could be any found objection to this plan ; on the con¬ 
trary, he was friendly to its adoption ; becaufe, in a free 
country like this, there Ihould be as great a diverfity as 
poflible of option afforded to perfons wifhing to lay out 
their capital with fecurity. And, as a proof how much 
he approved the meafure, he propofed that the annuities 
Ihould be rendered more marketable by facilitating the 
infurance of the lives of the nominees ; which would be 
effected by taking oft' the tax on.the policies of infurance 
upon fuch lives. 
The refolutipng were agreed to 3 and afterwards carried 
BON. 
into eft'eft by afls of parliament; for the particulars 6? 
which, and the Tables for calculating the annuities, fee 
the article Life-Annuity, voL xii. p. 647-650. 
The effablilhment of a local militia was propofed in the 
houfe of commons, and after long and interelting debates 
was parted on the 21ft of June.—The neceffity and ad¬ 
vantages of it on one fide, the danger cf arming the peo¬ 
ple, exemplified by the French revolution, on the otheiy 
were forcibly urged ; but the imperioufnefs of circum- 
ftances gave ftrength to the partisans of the bill, and it 
became a law. 
It has been generally acknowledged, that the criminal 
code of Great Britain requires alteration in ieveral points, 
but moll: particularly on account of capital punifnments 
being appointed for fo many crimes, whillt the convifl- 
generally efcapes the feverity of the lav/ by a commuta¬ 
tion of puniflnnent, viz. tranfportation inffead of death} 
and perhaps a temporary penance at Woolwich, inffead 
of tranfportation. Sir Samuel Romilly, who unites to a 
profound knowledge of our national laws a feeling heart 
and a diferiminating mind, made a motion on the 18th of 
May, in the houfe of commons; and laid, that, in com¬ 
mon with others, he had always lamented, that, by the cri¬ 
minal law of the country, capital punilhnients were ap¬ 
pointed to be inflicted for fo many crimes. He faid “ap¬ 
pointed,” becaufe, in fa6l, they were not fo frequently 
executed, although no principle was better eftablifiied, 
than that the certainty, not the feverity , of punifhinent, 
rendered it efficacious. This principle had long been 
proved, and publifned to the world by the marquis of 
Beccaria. But the admiration which his work produced 
in Great Britain had not produced any change in our 
l'yftem, which was directly the reverfe of that noble 
writer’s ; for with us punifiiments were moji fevere, and 
mof uncertain. Having illuftrated the truth of this pro- 
polition, he faid, that, for the prefent, he would confine 
his obfervations and his motion to one clafs of thofe crimes, 
which, as he had before ftated, feldom received the pu- 
nifinnent the law had appointed for them ; a clafs oa 
which the law inflifted extraordinary feverity of punifh- 
ment, without any well-founded motive to that feverity. 
He meant thofe cafes where the capital part of the 
charge depended on the amount. By a ftatute of William 
and Mary, privately to Ileal from a perfon to the value cf 
five {hillings, was rendered capital. In queen Anne’s 
reign, to iteal to the value of forty (hillings in a dwell- 
ing-houfc, was rendered capital; and, by a Itatute of queen 
Elizabeth, a theft of fo final I a fum as twelve-pence, un. 
dercertain circumftances, was made a capital offence. As 
the necefl'aries, the conveniencies, and the luxuries, cf 
life, had become dearer, the feverity of the laws occa- 
fioned the frequent non-execution of them. He there¬ 
fore moved for leave to bring in a bill to repeal fo much 
of the a 61 of queen Elizabeth as related to taking away 
the benefit of clergy from perfons Healing privately from 
the perfons of others. Leave was given to bring in the 
bill ; and fir Samuel Romilly met with great applaufe for 
turning his enlightened mind to the conlideration of fuch 
fubje&s as thofe on which he had that evening addrefled 
the houfe. In a committee- of the whole houfe, June 24., 
the folicitor-general propofed a claufe, declaring that 
dealing without a perfon’s knowledge, whether privily 
from the perfon or not, as contradiftinguilhed from rob¬ 
bery, (hould be puni(hed by tranfportation for life, to be 
reduced at the diferetion of the judge to any period not 
lefs than feven years ; leaving it, however, optional with 
the judge, if the cafe (hould feetn to merit it, to commute 
the punilhment into imprifonment for any period not ex¬ 
ceeding three years. The bill was pafi'ed with this amend¬ 
ment. See the article Larceny, vol. xii. p. 241. 
Several bills were alfo propofed during this feifion, for 
the better adminiftration of juftice in Scotland, (fee 
that article ;) and for the enforcing the refidence of 1 pi- 
ritual perfons in Ireland on their benefices. 
Though the petition of the Roman-catholics of Ireland. 
&4 
