The Sun. — London, England, 1819-10-28 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL JOURNALS. Uroni The Maidstone Journal ) - r) THE ) , :DITOR OF Ti-IE MAIDSTONE JOURNAL iovving that the pages of your valo• ablu .I. , urnal are always open tor the admission •10>ject written ~;ith the intention to pro piibic good, I shall feel greatly obliged by y•,r inserting the annexed remarks, which I have c , ..1.1 ,,, 54ed int.° as -stniill a compass as the nature 14 the subject would possibly admit. I am, Sir, &c. THOUGHTS ON A PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. Tiie great object of a Parliamentary Reform, 1 he this, to procure a Parliament totally independent of the Crown and its Ministers ; iu which no Member shall be intimidated by powtr, seduced by hopes, or corrupted by interest ; this seems at present to be the chief pursuit of all our political doctors ; the grand specific which -alone can cure all our national disorders, and re 7 store our Constitution to ils original vigour. On this important subject two questions of f er themselves for our consideration ; first, what are the most likely means to obtain such a Parlia ment ? and, secondly, what would be the effect of it if obtained. . For the first, many_ are the schemes presented to the p u bli c by rea l an d pret ended patriots, - that is, by those who have Mare honesty then sense, and those who have more sense than honesty. Some are for shortening the duration bf Parlia ments to thrce,,and souse to one year : some re commend voting by ballot, as the most effectual method'io put an end to bribery ; others disap prove of it , as inconsistent . with that open avowal which ought to accompany every act of a British freeman, some have proposed to annihilate all the small and corrupt Borongbs, and to add the same number of Represcidalives sNltich they now send to the several Counties ; some to add to the 'Counties, and not to disfranChise the boroughs ; oiltvrs to abolish the boroughs with out any addition' to the comities; some to enlarge "and , iotne to diminish the qualifications of the Electors ; and others to reiptire no qualification at but to nI;ow every man a vote who is not diS- ThrdifpM-by nature for want of reason, or by law for tae commission of some crime : but as very few are agri':eil in any one of these propositions I shall not litre enter into any discns,ion.of their merits; Or make any coniparisotchetween then); but shall - only observe, that Of all ihese'plans, that of giving It•riglit of le,tiog universally, together with An nual ELctions, appeals to carry the most weight, and to'be thought the most unifoim, consistent - , and effectual ; and it has indeed but one capital defect, which is, that it is absolutely and uttetly impracticable. To be convinced of the impracti - cabili'y of this scheme, let IC Is but-figure to our selves moltitudes of all descrintions and denotni 'nations called out to exercise their right of voting, inflamed by contest and intoxicated by liquor ; labouters and toani:facturers o' every kind above and under grolind; , Aseavers front then' looms, and miners from coalpits ; sailors from their ships, and t ()Idlers from their quarters ; to whom we must add, ii.ousands of inieves, smugglers, rogues, va gabonds, and vagrants : 1 say, let us figure to oti;4.-ters all these respectable Electors, let loose in one day throughout every part of the kingdom, and such -a scene of confusion, of drunkenness and rapine, murder, and . conflagration will ptesent'itself,-as must shock us with horror, even in imagination Nor would it be possible to carry on, at ever e. ei;nchide Elections in which the Vote!s are so iontimerable, and consequently so TI-'y [mkt be polled in one of these two ways ; they must either be admitted to vote only in the parishes to which they belong, or per tnit.yd to be polled in' whatever place they hap pei.ed or chose to be at' the time of the •Election. Should thy first of these methods be adopted,' the acceptance or rejection of every vote - might be attended with the trial of a settlement, andConusel learned in the law he beard on Itut: sides. if the Lifter, crowds numerous, einf-sa unknown to the Candidates and all whom they could employ to poll them, would press into every place where money and liquor flowed in the greatest abundance, that the chief -part of them !nip! vote in ten different places, or tell times in , ante place undiscovered ; and if these Elec tions were annial, one 'could no t be finished be- , Pure the oilier began. But 1 -do not think that even , the people at large would be extremely zeal ous to'SuppOrt it; at first, indeed, when they are told that they shall a2I be Legislators, obliged, to obey no laws but of their own making, nor pay any taxes but of their own imposing, and that every one of them shall have as good a vote for a Parliament-man as the 'Squire or the Parson, they Kill in.t+ Ips be a little elated and delighted -. with tneir new acquisition;• but when they are better ;wormed and find they are precluded from re ceivinv- one- shitling or one dram of gin for their votes, they will rejeo IltiS useless donation with contempt ; and there will'not he a tinker who - will not choose rather to mend a kettle'for sixpence, than the constitution for nothing, nor a labourer 'Who v ili not make faggots rather than laws, nor a 'lA:pocket who will run prefer the exercise of his profession at an ElectltN to giving his vote. litir Was 'this scheme of universal representa tive, any other of, the.proposed plans of refor. !nation, practicable and pursued, I think most assuredly they won'd not in tie least contribute the great end;"which is the forrhotion `of an peodent if oil4inent, bccatise, le.ison clots !to: )gets cede the that Electors t'• e loos( f~i~ali, - anli the mot fleCeg-ii Otis, ‘VOtlld retui.o mymbers more incorrunt t 1 an the present, nor lines expel tepee tette!i that ten or twenty eurvati -1 r at a 'sl , %•olll(l Choose repre , en!etive3 Its, L O)ie. or 4-.4 honest than tent or t Went v thoo,and. f of htlt do taherrvion in the itittile of electlng, tir to the Eletors ti:etnselves, wool(' produre any cli . mlo.• in the cle.cted ; in them lies the swirce.ot evil, (it evil there be) which nu external cm] appr:l;tcl: : whether thoi are chosen bV,-;n greater or legs number, by / Cniintirs or '114) , (1410)4, hy the rich or by the poor, by ballot or H':,,ir!ible voices, the Paritanten, heti assembled hr jinn the amine; different modes . of decline, rrm•+v ►Hake s urne clitrereucr in the trouble awl ex- ti; (he c./1041aLes, exi4d may dititif:mly the morals of the people and the peace of the - Country, but will make nn difference in the repre sentative body when brought together, and it is of little signification by what means they conic there : the majority of any legislative body con sisting of six hundred and fifty-eight members io the sione circumstances and sittatinn, will infalli bly act in the same manner; if their situations differ, their proceedings will differ with thern. In times of imminent danger they will be mote intent on the safety of the commhnitybecatt , e t brit own is imme diately included in it ; but when the danger is re moved they will be more inflncnced by the views of interest and ambition, they will split itito.fac tions and parties, and list tinder contmoling faders, and sometimes prefer their interest, or their own, to that of their country. Tlo6e who cannot make shift with such a Parliament mart have none, be ' cause it is impossible for,any mode of Election or species of Electors to ehoo,e a better, unless they could make men as well as members. Let us now.see what would be the effect of this 'independent Finliament it obtained. By an in dependent Parliament, in the language of the pre sent times, is to he understood a Parliament in which the majority would oppose any Admini- Stration ; now no arguments are necessary to prove that with such a Parliament no public busi ness could be transacted, nor any government subsist. But it will be said, this is not whit:: is wished for, but one in which the Members shall be always ready to support the measures of the Ministers when right, and to resist them when wrong ; unawed and uninfluenced; and gliided only by the dictates of their own - ,judgment and conscience. This indeed is what every wise man would desire, but what no wise man expects to see, as 110 such assembly, it 011111e1011s, ever ex isted in thii or in any colortly from the beginning of the world to the plestnt hour, nor ever can, nilde3.4 mankind were melted domo and run in a new mould. As, they are now formed, in every nonetous assembly there must be some who have, no judgment, acid 411 lier, who have no cons , ienee, and some ~elio have neither : . take away sell-in serest and all these will have no star (0 steer by, hut niu , t sail without a compass, just as the gales of favour or resentment, of popular absurdity' or their own shall direct them ; a Minister therefore must lie posisessed of some traerive influence to enabl e him to di aw,logether these discordant par ticks, and to unite them in a firm and solid ma. , ionic v. vvithoitt which he cart pursue no measures of public ,utility with steadineis or success. An independent House of Commons is no part of tile 14.:ngli , diConstiunion, the excellence'of which con sists in being composed of three powers mo tuallydependent on each ‹,ther ; Of these if any one was to become independent of the other two it must engross the wholtipowerlo itself, and thc form of our GOvernment would be immediately changed. A numerous assembly nninflueticed is as meet) a creature of the imagination as a griffin . or a dragon, the one crated by the poets, the other,by ignorant or designing politician's. Par liamentOtave ever been influenced, and by'that means our Constitution has so long subsisted; but the end and nautre of that influence is Per: neurally Misrenreseuted and misunderstood. They are seldom, very seldom, bribed to injure their country, 'because it is seldom the interest of Mi nisters to injure it ; but the great source of the alleged corruption is, that they will not serve it for nothing. ,Men always have, and always will get into Parliament in pursuit ra honour, power, and prefermentst,and tint illheir'obtain them may ob struct and disturhGoveromeut, bin happily for their country, they are no sooner gratified' than they are equally zealous to promote the one, and support the other. Upon the whole, under.the.same mode of Elections, a 4 ml tinder Patliathents not less in fluenced titan the Irreseot, this' nation has not on ly subsisted for so many years, but arrived at that summit of wealth, honour, power, and dominion, which has no equal ; for if we survey the condi tiOn of every country on the globe, and compare, it with our own, we shall find abundant reason to he content,: there' are in it some evils and mud) good, which is the utmost that any human insti tution will admit of. The- great iuei4aAe of national debt, and the changes that have taken place throughout Europe, cons Tient on the French Revolution, are the true sources Whertee have 4.risen our present diffi culties. England is like a ship come sant of a bug and severe action in which many political vessels of state have been stink; but although she is hard battered in hull and rigging, let her not be broken up. We are certainly hard pressed by taxes, and - our manufacturing districts are - doubtless in great distress, nor is it in the pow'er of the masters at present to relieve those they eailploy. TO ame liorate the former instead of adding ro the already overbearing, vexatious, and unproductive list of . Assessed Taxes, let a well-modi6eiltax be again placed on real property. To relieve the widows and orphans of our sol diets and sailors who have fallen in battle, tip COD rribute to the sufferers at Leipsic; find other dis tresses abroad, the people of England'have always. beeri prompt to lend a generous and bounteous hand; let us - not then be wanting to chew our liberality at house to our poor coUntryihro: this would greatly tend to allay hat irritation-arid tit. nodt which now prevails, as it may be hoped the stagnation of our trade is only temporary.; it few words, let the rich assist he poor, , atid. all will 4;4)1) be well—to COI/dude (fur iutuiorta l Bard,— " better sit-e to hear the ills we lino,w, • 6 Than fly to others which we know not of.: At the general Quarter Sessions for the East Riding of Yorkshire, held at Beverley On Wed nesday last, a true hill was found against Frederick Coleman, a joiner, for distributing among the -nilitary, in the garrison at that town, a scditir n ts libel on the Government, in. Sherwin's Leiter to the soldiers, and published in his freckly Political Register. He was taken on a Bench warrant, and remains in custody in the East )tiding [louse of Correction, for want of bail. At the time Cole man was arrested, lie and two other of his CUM- pa G io l o were busily eMployed iu painting the figure of " Lthvrty," with cu ours stolen limn Ills maocr's pHi(tr • 9)114). Provost AtiiingasoN, nt fittntlee, having tier•lin ed rnH a rittriie Aleetin t : of the inhabitants, the R equ i s itionists, it is said, ate to utre tht,'Ln st.l“:s, toll; to Nuvullber. LAW I'NTZLLIGItN6E. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Om 27- Sittings at Sergeant's Inn flail. The Cont.,. Proceeded with the Special Paper to-day, hat mine of the cases disposed of were of general interest. The only case worth mention ing was the tollowing':— FLANNIGAN if, %WATKINS. This'wsis a deintirrer to the pleas to a declara tion in debt on a bond of indemnity, dated sth Alarell, 1811. The question raised in the argil munt was, whether under the 49th Gro. 111. c. 121, commonly called Sir Samuel Romilly's Act, the surety tinder an annuity deed, where the annuity is redeemed after bankruptcy, may or may not make good a claim against the grantor of an annuity upou indemuity, bond, notwith standing the grantor of the annuity has proved the v•thie of the annuity under the Commission. The Court, alter hearing Mr. TINDAL tor the plaintiff, and Mr. LATTLEDALF for the defendant, postponed their jmigmew nntii ;he next term. MIDDLE,EX SESSIONS, OCT. 27. THE KING V GEORGE NICHOLSON, ESQ. This was an indictment o,:ai , st the defendant, who is a 'retired Captain of the Veteran Battalion, for an assault upon Michael Elijah Impey, grand son of the late Sir Elijah Impey, on the 4th of June last. • Mr. Anou.nus conducted the prosecution, and Mr. ALLOY the defence. Front the statement of counsel, and the evi dence adduced, the following facts were disclosed : The defendant had in 1816, married the whir), of the late Major Impey, or Jersey, where his regi ment was quartered, and the prosecutor, a young mall aged eighteen, was one of the children left by the Major, to whotn the defendant was guardian. The prosecutor had been at Bagshot Military School for his education, and on teaving that se minaly he became one of the ititna , es in the de fendant's family. During his residence wiih his step father, ;hose disagreements which but tq frequently occur amongst such relations, unhap pily found their way between the prosecutor and the d , ft•ndant. In the month of June last the prosecutor's married sister- was on a visit at the defendant's house, at near Hayes, when an accident having happened to her child, thern secutor immediately went for ,Mr. Evans, the lantily surgeon, to attend it, but finding that 'Gen tleunsn from home, 1;c brought in the assistance of a Mt. Oliver, who attended to the child.— When Mr. Oliver appearerft he defendant express ed I is dispieaaure at the circumstance, and seemed anxious that Mr.. Evans should have been called in,prelerence. The prosecutor was about to explain the reason why My.„ Oliver was called when tine defendant, iminediatelv said' to hin t --• ",What do you kooty about it, you dirty puppy ?'' Upon wlkich the prosecutor replied, " This is very uncivil language to ,use to me, before a stranger . ; if you have any thing to say tOulfe, say it, at another, time." 'The prosecutor having Ills: put'on h is hat to go out with Mr,: Oliver, Use defendant came behind him, and struck him a violent blow on the right, Ode of the head, and knocked his , hat off. A scuffle ensued, tinil Mi. Oliver interfered to preVent farther viOleuce, 'ln the scuffle the. prosectnoe ,received several other blows on his forehead, eyes and : mouth. He then retired to his room to bathe.his face, when he w as followed by the defendant, who co ll are d hi m , and Again struck him several violent blows, ,using a great steal of abusive language; upon being re strained from committing further outrages, he said, that he was very sorry be had not given the prosecutor a tl-41 good thrashing. 'Some tithe afterwards he came up, iNtl again renewed the assault, and said, "1 Will have him ethe house"; I will have the villain out by the scruff 'of the neck." On his eross•exatninat ion :he 'pro "securor admitted, that when be was first struck. he had his hat on in the room, there being qtr that titne home Ladies present, but he denied that the blow was given in consequence of his refining to take his hat off when requested by the defendant. Mr. OLIVRR, the satgeon corroborated the tes timony of the prosecutor, and stated on his cross eXaMitl6(loll, that the defendant had desired the prosecutor to . take off his hat at the time last mentioned. Mr. ALLEY addressed the Jury with such topics as the nature of the case suggested, but called no witnesses. :rite ,LEARN BD CIIAIRIiAN summed up the case with his usual good sense and discernment, and the Jury found the defendant quilty. The Court sentenced him to pay a 'fine 'of 51. and eater into securities to keep the peace for 12, months, himself in . 1001. ilud two sureties in 501. each,--(lllornitrg Chronicle.) WESTMINSTER SESSIONS. B ZGGING, —A t the conclusion of tbese Sessions, a number of vitgrants, long known about the ' stfeet• of the metropolis, were brought before the Court on the prosecution of the Mendicity So ciety. One of them named James Jones, on the ealeuktiou of the Governor ►)f Tuthill-fields liridewell, has been committed to that prison at le,,:st 20 times for acts of vagrancy ; but in con sideration of his tong imprisonment on this occa sion (being nearly three months), the Court only con►tnitted him for seven days, and then to be • tiassed to his parish. Frances Ann Fielding was given Over to the officers to be conveyed to St. Xlartin's Workhouse; hut when she got there, knowing that the Court had risen, she became yin lenhand refused to enter the house,and accordingly she was again necessarily let loose on the public. Alexander Ill' Kenzie, another notorious vagabond, was co►nmitted for six weeks; Wm. Jones for 14 days ; and many others were discharged in con sequence of their long confinement. The Court commended :l►e activity of the officers, and ad vised them not to relax in their exertions, consequence of the present dis - t tubed state of the country, the disbanding of the 25th Light Dragoons, which latuly arrived at Chatham from India, has been countermanded, and orders have been issued to suspend for the present any farther dischargea flout the Regular Army. The skcletou „r 56,1, it, tt i men r, which also lately arrived trom India, at Chatham, is expected to join its depot thil Oty immetlikitely.---(C a nt, r b w y Paptr) POLICE INTELLIGENCE• GUILDHALL. DARING ROBREELY AT NOON-DAY•---A stoei t' fian-lookin g f e ll ow , w h o gave h i s na me .h.iPi ri Price, was brought to the Office yesterday a bout one o'clock, by Henson, one of the city coast,* tiles, fry a dating street robbery, of e ldeo, following ,are the circumstances ;—.An gentleman of the name of Kew, a wine-merch ant ' 43, Parliament-street, was sassing in his from Fleet-street to Chancery-lane, through ford's and Serie:miss-Inns, about 12 o'clock Ye". terday ; and as he was going through the &o f '. way which separates the two inns, in the cel l ": of which there is an upright iron bar, diivi 4 ": the - opening into two, the prisoner, though was safficient room on the other side, rushed 4 ' 4 ' 4bl ~ great violence against him, and 'ere he could Off . which th.: why he did so, Mr. Kew felt a strong tug t:-,: watch; fortun a t e ly, h av i ng a b utton to hi s ~watch ' fob, the f e ll ow was part l y d i sappo i nte d' o f ir is booty, and M r . K ew preserve d h i s watc h ; bth ,„ " by the viol ence o f t h e j er k t h e go ld cha i n brolica . . and the fellow ran off with, that, and the Pk / seal anti key attached to it. Mr. Kew iroll' e 's diately gave the alarm of " Stop thief," aGII young gentleman, of the name' of Burfoot, th e. brother of Abe Solicitor of that name, in KiPt, * Bench-walk, who was coming in the opposite 04 : 4 , rection throu g h Serjeant's-inn, h ear d th e cryn Stop thief," and seeing the prisoner taannigo seized-and secured A Mr. , Kaye, of Gra° Charlotte -street, Blackfriars-road, witnessed dlc, robbery, and joined Mr. Kew in the purstati . an - both rbpse gentlemen deposed that there wer' no other persons near, anti that they 'never 104 sight of the prisoner till be was stopped by W 4 -t Borfoot. The prisoner was taken inio the iodget, and searched ; the propertV, however, was' 04w fount! ',non him, but was subserviently diScovitte in a corner, close Jo which,he (tad passed isr ill ntterupt to make his escape. Henson prodoccu the property before the Alderman, which 10 4 4 sworn to by Mr. Kew, the prisoner ; - who had thing to say in his defence, was . COMIlliMaYq Newa t ,ate for MANSION-HOUSE. William Adams, a soldier in the first re4ii l t ql of Foot Goards, was brought up by Gregory, tha officer, charged with robbing a man of asils'if, watch. Peter Owen, of N 0.5, Red Lion-street* Spitalffelds,labotirer, was examined. liesstagadj that bet kveen the holrs of eight and nine o'clocil on Tuesday evening, he was going throutol Bishopsgate-street, and observed prisoner following him; At the corner of Union-street' Bishopsgate-street, the prisoner Came op to stir- and asked witness the boor, on which. witne o took out his iratch to tell him, when the prisro o instantly sejiert • his hand, and With 4:sharp inscr‘r meat cut the ribband, having finer Reef,,-irthe watch, leaving. a part of the ribband and sea s * with.witneis, The prisoner immediately ran' os .; hot witness pursued him, crying " Stop t hief r ay , He was stopped by an officer with the watch at,if-!• in bi's hand. Jos e ph G regor y, , t h e officer 5413! stopped the prison e r, st a t e d, t h at a b out h a lf eight on Tuesday, evening, whilst standiug at. 1 14$ corner of Artillery-lane, psishopsgate- s treet; heard, the cry - of " Stop ,thief !" and obserYed man running towards him; he went up and seiZ r him ; found the watch in hi s p ossess i on . took the, prisoner into custody, and on s s earchia4 him at the watch-house, he found a razor in #airs cep. The prisoner made no defence.—Hc Ens fully •committed for trial. HATTON-GARDEN. . Yesterday Master --, a fine youtb, about 1.4 yearspf age, who eloped a few days ago # 4 , z' l ,• Eton school, and for the recovery of Whotli . '' large reward has bean offered, was brsdptlit this Offibe by William Read,. jolt. who los'" him standing in a - wretched state, by-a .11.1 1. post,..in .Gray's-lna-lane.— He wad brought fore the Magistrates, and:the, Office tieing. - cigart.' -of strangers, he candidly confessed who hezsl 4 !i The Magistrates, to ease -the mind of ,his parents, with thetgreatest:promatitorle, •aero 04" - off immediately, in care of. the, Officer, by tis ° stage:. WORSHIP-ST'REE'T 1.• , '„ t 1 Yestcrday a man named Masters well knave:a this Office, was brought ,velure the IVag,itttr;lti: charged tv it it: offering, to : purchase cognicl,f,e!, 4 silver. The prisoner, on. Tuesday night,. .": 4-11 into a public-house in Shortilitch, where swaggered about the...taproom, and e ntere. into ,conversation 7 . 10,1 : the persons t here, saying. be-would bet a ont.pound note, his wit would pawn for a pound. Observing aJew Sc he suspected of having bad. money about pretended he could do mach in the trade, an4Pl l . posed buying if he had. any. base silver. The said he 'had only about eight shillings, and ltelr' him in conversation till be sent for an officer, wl le took him into custody, but :no purchase 0010 made he was discharged. DREADFUL MURDER NEAR YORK.-00 severalohildren who had been sent to.v,atbr acurns, discoVered, in the plantation of die nef; Mr. WARBURTON, on the Stamford Bridge-o°l about five miles from York, the body of a wool% recently.murdered. The corpse was nearly. nali L.A e i " and dreadfully bruised about the heat!, necks face, and is quite unknown in the neighboutho7d A Coroner:a Inquest was immediately belf l, ! ° , 4 ,' r the Jury returned a verdict of " Wilfuo, l 4. l against,some person or persons unknoW BIRTH. y jm .e.ro On the 25th inst., in Bloeinsburv-squarc, Mrs. G. of a daughtvr i MARRIED. On Thursday, the 2ist ti.t Greenwich, Abrabaci C f cri b l i; stable, Esq. of Mount Pleasant-house, Leysisharn9 cnc A nd Majesty's Deputy Lieutenants for the Counties of Kei' 4o 3l , Surrey, to Jane, eldest dauzhter of Mr. Edward DroWD , nierehitut, London-street, Greenwich. . bo sno On Tuesday. the 27th inst., in Castle-street, ilc u tr i ls e aged 73, Mr. Samuel Randall, of Chancery- 4 ' 3e ' merchant. 'A Is': ° On Saturday, the 23d inst., at ilalf-past three c'"' c Ant. Ulmer, the morning, of the scarlet fever, and most matir,--- 4ir ated sure throat, Lieut. Robert Gorman, late of Olv °_,“,, 0 4 meat, in his 24th year, and second son of Met. D 3sue' No. 3, Upper Cheyne-row, Chelsea. CO, Priuted'hy CARSTAIRS, of No. Ormond-street, Queen-sip:ire; and •published bY Stlr SCRIPPS, of No. 7, South Molton-street, at TP07,10, Office, No. 112, Strand ; where A dvettice . men!if Loters, (poet,.-r6C avist i ~ti %c) 1 az t , th Li s Na