State of the Prisons in England, Scotland, and Wales, Extending to Various Places Therein Assigned, Not for the Debtor Only, But for Felons Also, and Other Less Criminal Offenders

Excerpt from State of the Prisons in England, Scotland, and Wales, Extending to Various Places Therein Assigned, Not for the Debtor Only, but for Felons Also, and Other Less Criminal Offenders: Together With Some Useful Documents, Observations, and Remarks, Adapted to Explain and Improve the Condition of Prisoners in General

AN esteemed writer, on the subject of our Penal Laws, considers imprisonment, when in?icted for punishment, as not according to the principles of wise legisla tion. If this position be true, in respect to crimes committed against positive institutions, (and it seems too firm to be shaken, ) how much more forcibly will it apply to civil arrests, and imprisonment for debt, 'when the multiplied and intri cate concerns of extended society make the path of the most' intelligent, in matters of trade, a course of considerable uncertainty. If then the political wisdom Of confining the persons qfdebtors for debt be matter of doubt, how important is it: that, whilst the practice is allowed to continue, it should be subjected to such general regulations, as are best calculated to lessen the resulting inconveniences; and prevent the necessity of resorting, at least so frequently as of late years, to the legislature, for acts of parliament to relieve insolvent debtors; which, while they do honour to the feelings of those friends of humanity who introduce and promote them, it must be admitted are too Often perverted, to screen a fraudulent debtor from thejust demands of his injured creditors. It is the fate of whatever is human to be slow in its progress to perfection; nor is it matter of surprize, when rightly considered, that the laws of a country should move the slowest, where rectitude is their aim.

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