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sentence of death? Was the person who took a few shillings, without committing any violence, to be compared to the nocturnal, way-laying murderer? Were the obvious moral distinctions of these crimes to be confounded, and held forth to the people, as meriting the same severity of punishment? In truth, the complexion of our criminal laws was already too sauguinary. The punishment of the torture had been long banished from this country; and God forbid that it should ever be revived! Since that time we had little more than the penalty of death to inflict upon offences the most foul and flagitious; and it was painful to reflect that it was not entirely reserved for murder and high treason, but was inflicted for offences which had no comparative enormity. He was far from wishing to justify, or even to palliate any breach of the law; he could not for a moment, however, lose sight of the distinction to be made between the man whom distress obliges to go out into the highway, and without any design upon the life of the person whom he met with, demands a few shillings, and the nocturnal assassin, who, without any immediate risk that he knows of, lies in wait to start upon his prey. The law had set up, on the impulse of God and nature, this barrier between murder and all other crimes, and that legislature would, in his opinion, act most unwisely, which should be induced on any account to remove it. The most that could be expected from it, and even that must be extremely uncertain, was that they would have fewer burglaries and highway robberies, but more numerous murders. It was the honourable boast of England, that murder was here less frequent than in any other country. Let them therefore be cautious how they destroyed, or even confounded those impressions, prejudices, and terrors, which separated murder in its consequences, as in its nature, from every other crime. As to the effect which the measure might have in the improvement of anatomy, it bore no proportion to the importance of the other considerations; nor would the provision of this bill, he believed, furnish all the supplies for which the surgeons might have occasion. He was not such an enthusiast for the promotion of the science of anatomy, as to advance it at such a price, and by such means. He trusted the bill would not be suffered to go into another stage.

The Attorney General said, that had he been apprized that this motion was to have come on, he would have made inquiry among those who were at the head of his profession, and who were stated to have approved of the measure. If they had entertained that opinion with any degree of confidence, he thought it probable that this business would have come forward in a different way. Death was, in his opinion, a sufficient punishment for any crime. The crime of murder alone appeared to him to call for the extraordinary punishment of dissection. It certainly must take away part of the horror of that crime, to put it on a level with others of an inferior nature; and therefore he concurred entirely with the learned ser jeant who, by a long, able, and humane administration of the criminal law, had deserved the warmest thanks of his country.

Mr. Fox said, the point on which his opposition to the proposed bill rested was, that it annihilated that distinction between murder and other crimes, which was so essential to inspire just impressions of guilt.

The motion was negatived.

Debate on General Macleod's Motion respecting the Employment of Bloodhounds in the War against the Maroons.] March 21. General Macleod said, that the transaction he was about to state, and the motion he should ground upon it, were of so much importance, not only to the honour of the House and of the country, but the interests of humanity for ages to come, that he regretted his inability for such a task. Before he entered into any detail, however, he should endeavour to wipe away some aspersions which had been thrown upon him since he had undertaken this business. It had been both publicly and privately asserted, that he entertained two objects for his present motion, private malice and hypocrisy. In fact, that he endeavoured to calumniate a noble lord under the mask of friendship. In reply to this cruel insinuation, he appealed to all who knew him, whether, they believed him to be capable of entertaining sentiments of private malice against any man, far less against a person whom he loved as a man, and respected as an accomplished soldier, and with whom he had always lived in habits of intimacy. The first account he had received of the importation of blood-hounds, from the

these Maroons were? and the result of that inquiry would be, that they were men: and not only men, but freemen; that they never had been slaves themselves, nor had their ancestors been so, their freedom having been acknowledged by several generations. The second question, then, would be, what were these blood-hounds that were imported with thirty Spanish chasseurs to hunt up the Maroons from their recesses? and it would be found that they were dogs which the Spaniards had found of great use upon their discovery of Mexico for the purpose of extermination. He would crave the attention of the

island of Cuba to Jamaica, was through | son inimical to government, nor to the the medium of a newspaper; as that was introduction of the blood-hounds. The not, however, the most authentic inform-first inquiry that presented itself was, who ation for the House to proceed upon, he would read the following extract from an original letter:-"Kingston, Jamaica, January 5, 1796. I dare say you have heard of our internal war with the Maroons of Trelawny-town. We have laboured under the oppression of martial law since August last, and when it will cease, God only knows. Last week they made overtures of peace, and requested three days time to surrender, which was granted to them, and we entertained ourselves with the flattering hopes we should soon again enjoy tranquillity. On the contrary, the three days truce afforded them an opportunity of gaining every in-House to an extract from the writings of formation respecting our situation, &c. Bartholomew de las Casas, a simple and they are again retreated farther into monk, who was the only person that opthe woods than ever. Strange might the posed the barbarities of his countrymen. idea appear, but 'tis a fact, we have im- [The general here read an extract from ported from Cuba, 100 blood-hounds, at- Robertson's History of America, descriptended by twenty Spanish chasseurs, and tive of the horrors of this sort of warfare they last Friday proceeded into the woods in Cuba.] Bartholomew de las Casas, to hunt out and destroy the enemy. It on account of this inhuman butchery, is the opinion of people in general, they separated from his countrymen; and reI will have the desired effect. Query, presented to the court of Spain such What effect will it have on Mr. Wilber- abominable practices. Would the parliaforce? I suppose he shrinks at the idea ment of Great Britain wink at such proof hunting human flesh and blood, as he ceedings as these? It was usual in Cuba, is pleased to style them, with blood-hounds. for the Spaniards to feed their dogs with We all wish him present. We had severe human flesh, that they might be unnatuduty during Christmas holidays, in keep-rally bloody and fierce; it was common ing guard in and about this town, that among the soldiers to split a child in two; being the critical juncture to observe the or cut up an Indian in quarters, and feast dispositions of the slaves, but I am happy their dogs. Would the House sit careto say, they are universally well affected, less, while fifty couple of blood-hounds and I never saw a quieter Christmas; were imported from Cuba, and thirty there is very little to be dreaded from chasseurs, to pursue the same bloody and them. One half Kingston is in Trelawny; inhuman sports? And who were the have been there these three months my- sportsmen? British subjects, British self; have been in one expedition against soldiers, and British officers! Surely the Maroons in Charlestown; they im- parliament would not suffer them to enjoy mediately laid down their arms. In addi-a chase that stained the character of the tion to a number of fine fellows that have lost their lives, it has cost the country above half a million since the commencement of this unfortunate war. You would scarcely credit that 500 of these fellows could so long withstand upwards of 5,000 troops, which are the number against them; they get into the interior parts of the mountains, and 'tis impossible to get at them. I suppose you are almost tired of reading; if not, I am almost tired of writing; so will conclude the subject by wishing a speedy extirpation to them."

This letter was not sent home by any per

country, and would blot the annals of his majesty's reign, as much as it had done those of Philip 2nd and Charles 5th of Spain. We had not heard the cause of this war, or what provocation the Maroons had given. He would, however, for the sake of argument, allow that the war was in defence of our rights, and consequently just; yet we had no right to resort to unjustifiable means in prosecuting it. We had no right to pursue them with bloodhounds into their inmost recesses. He had read in his youth the works of Putfendorff and Grotius, and he could recol

lect that they reprobated all improper instruments of war as unjust, because they tended unnecessarily to increase the horrors of war. It had been said, that these Maroons had been set on by the French. If this was the case, what effect would this produce on the French as an enemy? Were we sure of retaining all our West India islands? He was afraid not. Supposing Grenada or St. Vincent's to be taken by the French, might not they also send to Cuba for blood-hounds, and exercise those severities of which we had shown them the example? He hoped he had said enough to rouse the indignation of the House, and to inspire them with a zeal to vindicate their own honour and that of the nation, by an inquiry into a business of so shocking a nature. He would now move, "That an humble Address be presented to his majesty, that he will be pleased to give directions, that there be laid before this House, copies of such intelligence as has been received by any of his majesty's ministers relating to the mode of carrying on the War against the Maroons in Jamaica."

| land of Cuba, these dogs were used to prevent negroes from running away, and merely to seize and retain them, and not to tear and mangle them with that cruelty which was described by the hon. mover. The account given in the book quoted by the hon. gentleman, he doubted not was greatly exaggerated, but however it might be a just picture of the former practice it was not applicable to the present time. He did not understand that the description given by the hon. gentleman was the real and true state of the matter. The grounds stated for the motion certainly were insufficient. He confessed he had heard of the fact, but his chief objection was, that any information that could be laid before the House was lame and unsatisfactory. It was admitted, that the employment of these dogs was not in consequence of any direction of ministers here. If the assembly of Jamaica had caused such an application of them to be made, which he did not imagine was the case, it was surely unjust to lay the blame npon ministers. It was not requiring too much from the House to ask them to believe Mr. Secretary Dundas said, he was that ministers, on the first intimation, possessed of no authentic information would adopt such measures as would preupon the subject, that he could offer to vent or prohibit the use of dogs in the the House. He hoped that he should manner so justly reprobated. This mibe able to satisfy the House, of the im- nisters might easily be supposed to have propriety of the motion. The hon. gen- done. When the character of an absent tleman had taken it for granted that the governor, whose conduct had hitherto war with the Maroons was unjust, and commanded the greatest approbation, had originated in aggression on our part. was involved, he hoped the House would It should be remembered, however, that see the impropriety of pushing any farit had its rise in an insurrection of the ther a motion on such slight foundation, Maroons, unprovoked by any aggression and which must appear unnecessary, or ill usage, and that no part of it was considering the steps already taken to to be ascribed to the conduct of the as-prevent the employment of blood-hounds

semblies or of the inhabitants of Jamaica. Ever since this insurrection, the island had been in a state of the greatest alarm and danger. The Maroons were accustomed to descend from their fastnesses at midnight, and commit the most dreadful ravages and cruelties upon the wives, children, and property of the inhabitants, burning and destroying every place which they attacked, and murdering all who unfortunately became the objects of their fury. In this distressing situation, the militia of the island were constantly in arms, and forced to be always prepared for defence. He did not understand that the purpose of the dogs was such as had been stated, nor were they to be employed in the barbarous way that had been represented. He understood, that in the is

in the way deprecated.

Mr. Barham said, that the information on which the hon. gentleman rested, was not sufficient ground for the motion.. Whether the dogs were imported for the purpose of war was another question; but the hon. gentleman did not attempt to state that they were now fed on hu man flesh, either at Cuba or Jamaica: therefore, so far they must be less ferocious, than at the distant period stated in the book to which he had referred. Every gentleman who had a park kept dogs to protect their venison, and to hunt deer-stealers! some of these were called blood-hounds, but he never understood that they partook of that ferociousness, which seemed to excite the humanity of the hon. general. The object of using

the dogs in Jamaica was to discover the haunts of the maroons, and to protect the planters and their families from being murdered by those barbarous rebels. The present was a war against robbers and murderers; and if a banditti consisting of about 400 infested any of our forests, or poured down from some mountain and murdered every person that came within their reach, would gentlemen conceive it improper to hunt them out of their haunts in a manner the most likely to get rid of such villains? The hon. gen tleman seemed to lay much stress upon the Maroons being freemen; their being freemen, however, gave them no more right to a claim on humanity than the slaves in the island. If the hon. general meant to maintain the contrary, he must assure him, that, in the eye of the planters freemen did not stand on a higher ground than the slaves. The war was an unprovoked rebellion on the part of the Maroons, because one of them was punished slightly, for an offence for which in this country he would have suffered death. To the Maroons, since that time, the most favourable offers had been made, but they had persevered in refusing all

terms.

Mr. M. Robinson did not consider the communication contained in a private letter sufficient to induce him to vote for the motion. But the defence of the hon. gentleman manifested the propriety of its being adopted, as he confessed the fact of blood-hounds being actually employed in carrying on the war.

Mr. Sheridan declared he had heard, with the greatest satisfaction, that orders had been sent to put an end to this atrocious mode of warfare. He was concerned, however, to find, that the war in Jamaica was a war of extermination. It was surprising, that without the abominable aid of blood-hounds, the whole force of Jamaica could not succeed in subduing these unfortunate Maroons, who, by oppression, the breach of treaty on the part of the English, and in vindication of their rights, had been driven to take up arms. There was nothing which could justify the use of blood-hounds. The object of the war in Jamaica seemed to be the extirpation of this unhappy people. The hon. gentleman would not say that the Maroons whom in the habits of common intercourse with the planters, were not only extremely useful, but tractable. The slight punishment to which the hon. gen

tleman alluded, was that of publicly whipping a poor wretch through the town for stealing a pig. Such was the pride of these independent people, that they preferred death to such an ignominious punishment. The effect of the Maroon's bloody stripes created disgust throughout his nation. We had no right to try him at all; as by an express stipulation between us and the Maroons, they were to be tried by a tribunal of their own. We had, in this instance, therefore, violated an express article of a treaty. For the honour of the British character, he trusted that ministers would put an end to the atrocities complained of.

Mr. Courtenay said, it had been asserted that these blood-hounds were employed only to pursue and discover the lurking places of the Maroons; but when such dogs were set on for a purpose of this kind, they would not stop at merely finding the fugitive. In a private letter from Jamaica, it was stated, that two of these dogs had set on a soldier's wife on the beach, and that two soldiers were obliged to bayonet them in order to save her life. If these animals were so ferocious when not set on, what was to be expected from them when they were properly trained to this horrid business by Spanish chasseurs? It had been said, that these Maroons came down from the mountains to murder during the night. This was a mere assertion, and totally devoid of truth. But was it not strange that 500 men should oppose the whole armed force of the island of Jamaica, and oblige the government to put the inhabitants under military law, and permit a mode of warfare so discordant to the feelings of British soldiers? By the treaty with the Maroons made in the year 1783, it was expressly stipulated, that when a Maroon should commit a crime, he was not to be punished, but given up to his nation. This article was insisted upon by them, that they might not be subjected to corporal punishment by the planters, which they considered the greatest misfortune that could befal them. Like all other savages, their passions were strong, and their resentment of injuries indiscriminating. Let, then, reparation and friendship be offered, and their passions may be made to flow with no less violence in the opposite stream of affection and gratitude. To talk of exterminating this handful of brave men, who, had made such a noble resistance, was the very acne of wickedness, and would

fix an indelible stain on the British character. If we had broken the first article of the treaty, we must stand by the consequences. What right had we to complain of the descents of the Maroons from their mountains, when the mode of warfare carried on by us was so much worse than theirs. We were now reduced to be humble copiers of the cruelties of the Spaniards, whose inhumanity we had hitherto always condemned.

Mr. Dent expatiated on the ferocity of the Maroons, and the necessity of repressing them by every means that could possibly be suggested. He insisted that the blood-hounds were only used for the purpose of tracing the footsteps, and discovering the haunts of the Maroons, and concluded by observing, that as gentlemen seemed to have such an antipathy to this species of dogs, they would certainly have no objection to his proposing a treble tax on them, when the question respect ing a tax on dogs came to be discussed.

General Macleod said, that in consequence of what had fallen from the secretary of state, he would not press this business farther at present. He begged, however, that it should not be considered that he had totally relinquished it. He would never quit the subject until the evil was redressed he would stick as fast to it as those dogs did to their prey.

single line was marked out. Why, he demanded, was the public money so applied? Was that the way our ancestors acted when they wanted money for the public service? He moved, that that part of the act, called the Civil List Reform bill, should be read, by which it was enacted, "that no person should enjoy a salary of more than 500l. a-year, without an estimate being previously given and signed by the lords of the treasury. In former times, when any important measure was in contemplation, an inspecting officer was appointed, who delivered in a report for parliamentary consideration. If ministers had submitted to the House an estimate of the expense of erecting barracks, he was convinced that it would have been thrown out, like the famous fortification estimate. But ministers had first squandered the public money, and then came confidently forward to demand the sanction of parliament for what they had done. The chancellor of the exchequer had often extolled economy as a virtue; but where was the economy of expending 1,400,000l. in the erection of barracks? The expense was, however, a trifling object, when compared with the unconstitutionality of the measure. Good God! was every town to be made a citadel, and every village to be converted into a garrison? Barracks were already erected, capable of containing 34,000 troops, which was double the number of the Debate on General Smith's Motion re- usual peace establishment. From this specting the Expenditure of Public Money fact one of two inferences must follow, on Barracks.] April 8. General Smith either that ministers had betrayed the rose to make his promised motion respect- trust of the nation, in needlessly squanding Barracks. He meant, in the first ering the public money, by erecting barplace, to state the amount of the expendi- racks for which there would be no use; ture, then to compare it with the expense or that they meant to maintain a standing incurred by similar objects in past times, army, sufficient to enable them (to borrow and next to point out the unconstitutional one of their own expressions)" to exernature of the measure. The expense of cise a vigour beyond the law." Was there erecting barracks was alarmingly enorm- any thing in the present state of the ous. It amounted nearly to 1,400,000/. country to warrant such measures? The But the expense was not all. Ministers people had lately met with a severe trial, had obtained the means of considerable and they had borne it with patience and influence, by the patronage of the offices fortitude. If ministers were to have the to which this system had given rise. power of applying money to one purpose There were 46 barrack masters, a barrack which was voted by parliament for anomaster-general, and 19 officers with sala- ther, there was an end of the constitution. ries, amounting in all to 11,000l. It The constitution was much in people's there were barracks, there certainly must be barrack-masters. He begged to know, however, why barrack-masters were appointed and enjoyed ample salaries, before the barracks were built? At Lincoln this had actually been the case, before a [VOL. XXXII.]

The motion was then withdrawn.

the Dock-yards, which, after a debate which * Mr. Pitt's Motion, in 1786, for fortifying lasted till seven in the morning, was rejected by the casting vote of Mr. Speaker Cornwall, the numbers on each side being 169. See Vol. 25, p. 1156.

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