Lord Broughampresented a petition from John Waters Col- 1306 decott, a prisoner in the gaol of Castle Rushen, in the Isle of Man, complaining of being imprisoned without a hearing, and praying for relief.
The Lord Chancellorsaid, that he had caused inquiry to be made into this case, and when he had done so, he found that his right hon. Friend the Home Secretary had also instituted a similar investigation. He understood that the petitioner had been kept in gaol for debt, and not for the cause alleged, an assault upon his wife. The result of the inquiries both of himself and his right hon. Friend had been, that the proceedings in the case had been in perfect consonance with the law, good or bad, of the Isle of Man. If the law were bad, it might be amended, which could only be done by the House of Keys, the Legislative Assembly of the island.
Lord Campbellthought that what had fallen from the noble and learned Lord on the Woolsack, showed this to be a case for their Lordships' interference; for there could be no doubt that the Imperial Legislature had the power to pass a law for the government of the island. If the proceedings had been contrary to law, the course for redress would have been an appeal to the proper legal authorities; but if it were the law in the Isle of Man that an individual could be imprisoned for seven or eight months without a hearing, the sooner it was altered the better.
§ Petition read, and ordered to lie on the Table.