Biographical Memorials of James Oglethorpe Part 22

On the preference of a militia to a standing army. Plea in behalf of the persecuted Protestants in Germany January, 1731-2.

On the bill for the better securing and encouraging the trade of the sugar Colonies. January 28, 1732.

On the pet.i.tion of Sir Thomas Lombe relating to his silk winding machine.

On the pet.i.tion from the proprietors of the Charitable Corporation, complaining of the mismanagement of their directors &c. February, 1732.

On a second reading of the sugar colony bill.

On the motion for an address of thanks in answer to the King's speech.

January 27, 1734. [His speech fills more than three pages.]

On the motion in the grand committee on the supply for granting thirty thousand men for the sea service for the year 1735. February 7th, 1734-5. [This speech fills six pages and a half.]

Against committing the bill for limiting the number of officers in the House of Commons.

On Sir J. Barnard's motion for taking off such taxes as are burdensome to the poor and the manufacturers.

Against the act for disabling Alexander Wilson, Esq., from the holding office, &c.

On the pet.i.tion, in 1747, of the United Brethren to have the _Act for naturalizing foreigners in North America_, extended to them and other settlers who made a scruple of performing military service.

On another pet.i.tion of the United Brethren presented 20th of February, 1749.

[All the speeches in both Houses of Parliament on each of these pet.i.tions, were printed in the _Universal Magazine_ for the months of April and May, 1749.]

He spoke on other occasions, to have indicated which would have required more research than I could spare.

V.

PRISON-VISITING COMMITTEE.

This committee consisted of the following gentlemen:

James Oglethorpe, Esquire, Chairman, The Right Honorable the Lord Finch, The Right Honorable Lord Percival, Sir Robert Sutton, Knight of the Bath, Sir Robert Clifton, Knight of the Bath, Sir Abraham Elton, Baronet, Sir Gregory Page, Baronet, Sir Edmund Knatchbull, Baronet, Vultus Cornwall, Esquire, General Wade, Humphry Parsons, Esquire, Captain Vernon, Robert Byng, Esquire, Judge Advocate Hughes.

On Thursday, the 27th of February, they went to the Fleet prison to examine into the state of that gaol, in order for the relief of the insolvent debtors, &c., when the irons were ordered to be taken off Sir William Rich, Baronet. The next day, the same committee went a second time to the Fleet prison, where, upon complaint made to them that Sir William Rich was again put in irons, they made report thereof to the House of Commons, who thereupon ordered Mr. Bambridge, the warden of the Fleet, to be taken into the custody of their sergeant at arms.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE

"On Thursday, the 20th of March, Mr. Oglethorpe from the committee appointed to inquire into the state of the gaols of this kingdom, made a REPORT of some progress they had made, with the RESOLUTIONS of the committee thereupon, and he read the Report in his place, and afterwards delivered the same (with two appendixes) in at the table, where the Report was read, and the resolutions of the committee being severally read a second time, were agreed to by the House, in substance as follows, viz.:

"Resolved, _nemine contradicente_, that Thomas Bambridge, the acting Warden of the prison at the Fleet, hath wilfully permitted several debtors to the crown in great sums of money, as well as debtors to divers of his Majesty's subjects to escape; hath been guilty of the most notorious breaches of his trust; great extortions, and the highest crimes and misdemeanors in the execution of his said office; and hath arbitrarily and unlawfully loaded with irons, put into dungeons, and destroyed prisoners for debt under his charge, treating them in the most barbarous and cruel manner, in high violation and contempt of the laws of this kingdom:

"Resolved, _nemine contradicente_, that John Higgins, Esq., late warden of the prison of the Fleet, did during the time of his wardens.h.i.+p, wilfully permit many in his custody to escape, and was notoriously guilty of great breaches of his trust, extortions, cruelties, and many other high crimes and misdemeanors, &c., &c.

"And that James Barnes, William Pindar, John Everett, and Thomas King were agents of, and accomplices with the said Thomas Bambridge in the commission of his said crimes.

"At the same time, upon a motion made by Mr. Oglethorpe, by direction of the committee, it was unanimously resolved to address his Majesty that he would be graciously pleased to direct his Attorney General forthwith to prosecute, in the most effectual manner, the said Thomas Bambridge, John Higgins, James Barnes, William Pindar, John Everett, and Thomas King for their said crimes.

"It was also ordered that the said Bambridge, Higgins, Barnes, Pindar, Everett, and King be committed close prisoners in His Majesty's gaol of Newgate.

"Then, upon Mr. Oglethorpe's motions, two bills were ordered to be brought in, one to disable Thomas Bambridge from holding or executing the office of Warden of the Prison of the Fleet, or to have or exercise any authority relating therein. The other, for better regulating the prison of the Fleet, and for more effectually preventing and punis.h.i.+ng arbitrary and illegal practices of the Warden of the said prison.

"In the last place the Commons ordered the Report from the Committee relating to the Fleet prison to be printed." [N.B. The substance of this report is given in BOYER's _Political State of Europe_, Vol.

x.x.xVII. p. 359-377.]

The labors of Oglethorpe and his a.s.sociates to correct prison abuses, were warmly acknowledged by their country, and were the grateful theme of the poet. They were alluded to by THOMSON in the following strain:

"And here can I forget the generous hand Who, touched with human woe, redressive searched Into the horrors of the gloomy jail?

Where misery moans unpitied and unheard, Where sickness pines, where thirst and hunger burn, And poor misfortune feels the lash of vice?

"Ye sons of mercy! yet resume the search, Drag forth the legal monsters into light; Wrench from their hands oppression's iron rod And bid the cruel feel the pains they give!"

[_Winter_, l. 359-388.]

"The wretched condition of confined debtors, and the extortions and oppressions to which they were subjected by gaolers, thus came to be known to persons in high stations, and this excited the compa.s.sion of several gentlemen to think of some method of relieving the poor from that distress in which they were often involved without any fault of their own, but by some conduct which deserved pity rather than punishment."

VI.

RELEASE TO INSOLVENT DEBTORS, FROM PRISON.

In a very excellent publication ent.i.tled "_Reasons for establis.h.i.+ng the Colony of_ GEORGIA, _with regard to the trade of Great Britain, the increase of our people, and the employment and support it will afford to great numbers of our own poor, as well as foreign Protestants_," by BENJAMIN MARTIN, Esq. _Lond_. 1733; are some remarks in reference to the release of insolvent debtors from gaol, which I deem it proper to extract and annex here; and the rather, because the work is exceedingly rare.

After describing the deplorable condition of those who are in reduced circ.u.mstances, and need a.s.sistance and would be glad of employment, the writer refers to the situation of those who are thrown into prison for debt, and judges that the number may be estimated at _four thousand every year_; and that above one third part of the debts is never recovered hereby; and then adds, "If half of these, or only five hundred of them, were to be sent to Georgia every year to be incorporated with those foreign Protestants who are expelled their own country for religion, what great improvements might not be expected in our trade, when those, as well as the foreigners, would be so many new subjects gained by England? For, while they are in prison, they are absolutely lost,--the public loses their labor, and their knowledge.

If they take the benefit of the Act of Parliament that allows them liberty on the delivery of their all to their creditors, they come dest.i.tute into the world again. As they have no money and little credit, they find it almost impossible to, get into business, especially when our trades are overstocked. They, therefore, by contracting new debts, must return again into prison, or, how honest soever their dispositions may be, by idleness and necessity will be forced into bad courses, such as begging, cheating, or robbing. These, then, likewise, are useless to the state; not only so, but dangerous.

But these (it will be said) may be serviceable by their labor in the country. To force them to it, I am afraid, is impracticable; to suppose they will voluntarily do it, I am sure is unlikely. The Colony of Georgia will be a proper asylum for these. This will make the act of parliament of more effect. Here they will have the best motive for industry; a possession of their own, and no possibility of subsisting without it.

"I have heard it said that our prisons are the properest places for those that are thrown into them, by keeping them from being hurtful to others. Surely this way of thinking is something too severe. Are these people, with their liberty to lose our compa.s.sion? Are they to be shut up from our eyes, and excluded also from our hearts? Many of very honest dispositions fall into decay, nay, perhaps, because they are so, because they cannot allow themselves that lat.i.tude which others take to be successful. The ways that lead to a man's ruin are various.

Some are undone by overtrading, others by want of trade; many by being responsible for others. Do all these deserve such hards.h.i.+p? If a man sees a friend, a brother, a father going to a prison, where felons are to be his society, want and sickness his sure attendants, and death, in all likelihood his only, but _quick_ relief; if he stretches out his hand to save him from immediate slavery and ruin, he runs the risk of his own liberty, and at last loses it; is there any one who will say, this man is not an object of compa.s.sion? Not so, but of esteem, and worth preserving for his virtue. But supposing that idleness and intemperance are the usual cause of his ruin. Are these crimes adequate to such a punishment as confinement for life? But even yet granting that these unhappy people deserve no indulgence, it is certainly imprudent in any state to lose the benefit of the labor of so many thousands.

"But the public loss, by throwing men into prison, is not confined to them only. They have many of them wives and children. These are, also, involved in their ruin. Being dest.i.tute of a support, they must perish, or else become a burden on their parishes by an inability to work, or a nuisance by their thefts. These, too, are useless to society.

"In short, all those who can work yet are supported in idleness by any mistaken charity, or are subsisted by their parishes, which are at this time, through all England overburdened by indolent and lazy poor, who claim and are designed only for impotent poor;--all those who add nothing by their labor to the welfare of the state, are useless, burdensome, or dangerous to it. What is to be done with these necessitous? n.o.body, I suppose, thinks that they should continue useless. It will be then an act of charity to these, and of merit to the public, for any one to propose, forward, and perfect a better expedient for making them useful. If he cannot, it is surely just to acquiesce, till a better be found, in the present design of settling them in Georgia." p. 16-21.

VII.

SIR THOMAS LOMBE'S MILL FOR WINDING SILK

"In 1719, a silk-throwing mill was erected at Derby, and from that time to the beginning of the present century, various improvements were introduced.