THE NEW LETTRE DE CACHET Sta,—parliament was invented to curb
the Executive in defence of Englishmen's liberties. The right of trial before prolonged imprison- ment is one of our most cherished liberties. The guilt or innocence suspected persons ought to be quickly established in open court. Exercising its true function in 1679, Parliament strengthened the CAlm, Ion Law by passing the most famous of the four Habeas Corpus 'eta to.rnforce the right of personal freedom by preventing prolonged imPrisonment without trial. Lord Clarendon had previously been impeached for sending persons in custody outside England, where theY could not be tried. The 1679 Act forbade Englishmen to be "t Prisoner to Scotland, Ireland, Jersey or any place beyond the 'eas. It made the committing of any man to prison out of the realm the one praeostmire unpardonable even by-the king. This was ezPresslY to prevent persons from being removed from the jurisdiction
English courts The present Parliament has already been called the " Suicide Parliament " from its having abolished its own privileges on Decem- ber itth, 1940. The present Government is now asking Parliament to plumb still lower depths of infamy by passing a Bill, with the short title of the " Isle of Man (Detention) Bill," to reverse the Act of 1679 by giving the Executive power to send prisoners out of the jurisdiction of English courts, to the Isle of Man, where the Execu- tive could imprison them indefinitely without trial. Although this Bill has only two sentences, they are enough to destroy our liberties. The Home Office is trying to rush this Bill through Parliament. If Parliament passes this Bill, it would enable the Government, under pretext of fighting Hitlerism, to get rid of persons inconvenient to it, without the possibility of their being brought to trial—a practice which led to our Civil War nearly Soo years ago. If Parliament still further abdicates its function by passing the two fatal sentences of this Bill, it will have denied a natural right of man, older than Magna Carta, which did not invent the right, but only affirmed it. Is it possibly for even this Parliament to sink so low?—Yours faith- 25 Catherine Place, S.W. r.
Previous page
