The Sun. — London, England, 1830-02-11 00:00:00

lways in the hands of the best instructors of the people. This was unfortunate for if it were it ' might be an instrument of the greatest good. But it might be made an instrument as powerful for evil as for good ; and, therefore, for its own sake, as well a a for the sake of the community, its excesses must be restrained." How insulting language like this to a country boasting of a free Press ! The Press has taken upon itself to question the decisions of Judges and to take some liberties with Juries I Why, in God's name, what is the use of publicity if we are not to examine that which is of all ether things the most important, the conduct of Judges and Juries ? The proceedings are public that they may be the subject of examination, and ex amination supposes necessarily the power of judging. Why is it that Lord Chief Justice Richardson, in the case of Prynne, and his fellow Judges, vilely lent themselves to the abominable views of the Court of that day, and sacrificed poor Prynne to gratify the Queen, and her uxorious bus• hand, end Mr. Justice Bayley, in pronouncing sen tence, displayed a moderation and decorum honour able to the Bench, lint that the proceedings in the one case could not be questioned, and could in the other ? Is it to he endured that an Attorney- General shall openly declare that the proceedings of Courts of Law are not to be questioned ? Every Englishman has a right to discuss all proceedings of a public nature, from those of the Legislature down to those of the humblest Court in the kingdom. No body of men in the country are entitled to call on the public to abstain from discussing their conduct. Every day we hear men complaining of Acts of Par liament the very day after they have received the Royal Assent, and seeking to procure their repeal. Is not this questioning the decision of the Legisla ture ? How are we to obtain the repeal of an op pressive law, if we may not question it ? And if We question the act of the Legislature, surely we may question the act of a Judge or the act of a Jury. ' What astonishes us is, that a man should dare, in the face of the English nation, to give utterance to language like this, which coght hardly to be ad dressed to a nation of slaves. But if he (Sir James Scarlett) met with publications of which libelling formed the sytem, and not the excep tion, he would prosecute them. The meaning of this is, that it is proper and just that the whole literwure of the country should be at the mercy of Sir James Scarlett. In the exercise of this discretion, it is impossible that he should err. Every Newspaper in London was completely at his mercy for twenty or thirty libels in their Reports of the proceeding of Parliament on Thursday and Fri day last. Ever other speaker talked of the con tempt in which Parliament had brought itself with the country. Sir Francis Burdett, on Friday night, for instance, observed—" Under these circumstances, satisfied that the House of Commons, which was miscalled the House of Commons, for it was not the House of the Commons of England, but a House of Representatives of certain Peers, contrary to the Law and contrary to the Constitution—a House of Commons in which of the supposed Re presentatives of the People eight or nine represented the Noble Lord whose son had Met eight moved the Address—a House of Commons which was stated to be most corrupt, and of which the corruption stared them so much in the face, that they them selves had been obliged to find a remedy-La cor ruption, too, which was known all over the country —of which the whole world was aware—and the House of Commons knew that all the world knew it—a House of Commons which would not be long suffered; when the people were contending with bold and increasing freedom for their privileges, they would not long submit to a grievance which was the root of all grievances, and which enabled the Ministers to govern the country by means of this subservient House of Commons." On Thursday night Mr. Protheroe observed, " that not long since he bad read in a Political Work which had not been much in the habit of attacking the Institutions of the country, that the House of Commons was not only chargeable with want of wisdom, firmness, and integrity, but was, besides, totally inefficient to discharge the im portant duties which were imposed upon them. He did not mention this with the view of setting the Attorney-General upon a prosecution for libel, but because he thought it right that the House should have such a piece of wholesome censure brought under its serious consideration." But there is no use in se lecting what is common to almost all the speakers. Now, though the Attorney-General cannot question the speakers themselves, we all know that he can prosecute the newspapers, and, indeed, there is just as much reason for prosecuting the papers which re ported those speeches as for prosecuting the Morn ing Journal, excepting in the ease of the Lord Chancellor. It was well observed by the late Mr. John Nicholls, that " the language used in the House is not to be viewed as language confined within these walls. The opinions there delivered are to be considered as spoken to the country ; they are to influence the judgment and the wishes of the country; and this, cannot be effected, if the Me►n ber is restrained from publishing his political opi nions. If those publications are injurious to the country, either the House itself may punish its Members, or direct the Attorney-General to file an information ex-officio ; but as the law is now held to be, the Attorney-General has the superintendence of all those political opinions which any Member may choose to disclose to his constituents. This is repugnant to what was intended to have been estab lished by the Bill of Rights. If those opinions are unfriendly to the principle of liberty, but subservient to the views of the Ministers, the Attorney-Gene ral, who is appointed by those Ministers, will not prosecute; but if the opinions published are un friendly to the Ministers, the Attorney-General will oppress the member by his prosecution. Apply Ode doctrine to the late prosecution of Sir F. Burdett by the Attorney-General, for the opinions which he published respecting the proceedings at Man chester, on the 16th Aiigust, 1819." This is what is meant by Sir James Scarlett, when he says he will determine whether the paper libels habitually, or libelling is only the exception. He will take good care never to find any libels in those publica tions which are subservient to the views of his em ployers. What we, however, complain of is, the manner in which he comforts himself. He does not seem to feel that he is doing anything which is in compatible with free discussion. He speaks as if it was proper that he should be held infallible—that all writers in the country should bow to his deci sion. Another man would, perhaps, have felt a little ashamed in exercising the powers; but he boldly heids up his head, as if there was no arro gance in claiming this dictatorship. We trust some Member of the House of Commons will bring him tr his senses.—Morning Chronicle. There is, says a distinguished law writer, an " unaccountable notion" that the man who deprives himself of life must be necessarily insane. But such is not the doctrine of the law of England; that law including the felonia de se among the cata logue of offences, and if not beyond, at least to the tomb, pursuing with its ignominious penalties the unfortunate individual who is at once both criminal and victim. From these penalties, which, although recently deprived of their ferocious character, hare not been wholly abolished, most suicides belonging to the upper ranks of life escape through the com plaisance of juries attributing the fatal act to tempo rary derangement. The facility with which, in the case of the unfortunate Lord Graves, such a verdict was given on Monday last, has attracted general notice, and been the subject of much animadversion, occasioned, however, in many, not so much, per haps, by any meritorious regard for the interests of even-handed justice, as by the disappointment of that prurient curiosity which has been excited by certain scandalous anecdotes connected with the fa mily of the deceased Nobleman. Whatever may be the political demerits or personal delinquencies of the individual whose name has been ►nixed up with these melancholy transactions, it must be acknow ledged that he is not in this instance a whit more cul gable than many of high rank and station in the cou try. But although bound in fairness to make these re marks, we readily join in condemning the conduct of the Coroner at this inquest, acting, as he appears to us to have done, under a complete misapprehension of his duty, and of the law which regulates his functions. The facts, as we recollect them,are these :—A witness, the servant of the deceased Nobleman, having said that " he had no doubt but his Lordship cut his throat in a fit of great depression of spirits, not knowing what he was about ;" a Juror interposed and asked whether the witness could state what had caused that depression of spirits under which his Lordship laboured ? But this searching question was stopped by the Coroner, who declared he did not consider it necessary to put such a question ; the Jury were assembled to inquire whether Lord Graves died from violence inflicted by himself, or by any other person, and in what state of mind he was at the time, whether insane or otherwise. It was in evidence that his Lordship had laboured under great depression of spirits, and it was therefore pro bable he committed the rash act while labouring under temporary insanity. The Juror replied, that he considered the Jury would not discharge its duty unless it inquired into the cause of that depresston of spirits, and demanded whether, according to the oath which had been administered, the Jury were not bound to investigate all the circumstances? To which the Coroner answered—No, Gentlemen, I do not consider it a part of their duty to make in quiry upon that point to which allusion has been made ...... Finally the Coroner did, nevertheless, put the question, desiring the witness to say, whether he could state, on his oath, what was the cause of his Lordship's depression of spirits. To which question, so couched, the reply was, that the witness could not take upon him, upon his oath, to say what was the cause. The Juror stood alone in his desire to extend the inquiry, and after having heard this answer., declared that he should not put the question again. No further effort was made, notwithstanding the candour and openness by which the evidence of the physician was charac terised, to elicit the circumstances which led to the unhappy event. Now, that the Coroner was mis taken when he gave so emphatic a negative to this spirited and intelligent Juryman's proposition, that " all the circumstances" should be investigated, will sufficiently appear from reference to the opinions of Serjeant Hawkins, in whose Pleas of the Crown (a work of the highest legal authority, book second, chap. 9, sect. 28), it is laid down " that a Coroner may and ought to inquire of all the circumstances (If the party's death; and also of all things which oc casioned it ;" an instance, showing the wide range which the inquiry ought to take, follows :—" If it be found by the inquest that the person deceased was killed by a fall from a bridge, and that bridge was out of repair by default of the inhabitants of such a town, and that those inhabitants were bound to repair it, the township shall be ;amerced." So that in such a case, the liability of the inhabitants to the repair of the bridge actually falls within the scope of the inquiry! Again, with leave of the Learned Coroner of Westminster, there may he accessaries, as by incitement or persuasion, to a suicide; and with a view to their detection, all the circumstances which may have induced the deceased to embrace the resolution of lay ing hands on himself are strictly within the proper range of investigation. As to the legal conse quences to be deduced from proving the-. depression of spirits under which poor Lord Graves was said to labour, let us hear Lord Hale, who says—" It is not every melancholy or hypochondriacal distemper that denominates a man non compos, for there arc few who commit this (fence but arc under such infirmi ties; it must be such an alienation of mind as renders a person to be madman, or frantic, or destitute of the use of reason." But Lord Graves, although labouring tinder the influence of melancholy, was treated as a rational being in full possession of his intellects, by all around him, and with whom he heti intercourse. Ile was occupied with the ordinary business and engagements of life up to the fatal moment. He had transacted business at the Excise Office, and dined with a friend on the day before, and was invited to dine with his brother-in-law on the day of his death. He appears to have given a series of orders to his man, in a regular and rational manner; so that his case would seem, upon the evi dence, to fall altogether within the exception laid down by Lord Hale ; it being clearly established that the imputed insanity must be proved by something anterior to, and extrinsic from, the act of suicide ; and that such act cannot in itself be legally re garded as evidence of any such state of inind.—lbid. There are men whose aristocratic principles we respect, but whose proceedings we deeply deplore —some whom we regard with pity, others with a widely different feeling ;—these err from their folly, those from selfishness and pique; but, whatever be the cause, the effect is equally mischievous; and whatever they may think in their delusion, we owe it to the common cause to declare what others think of them. The persons who, under the name of Tories, are now caballing against the Duke of Wel lington's Government, if not very blind, aid very weak, and very ignorant, must in reality possess a worse spirit than they would wish us to believe ; for, setting private respectability apart, what are they as a body ? Weak, or they would never need such a conjunction as that which we have lately witnessed ; and worse than weak, or they would never have condescended to form it. Time was when a junction with men of another party consti• toted a capital charge ;against Mr. Canning; and now the very men, whose watchword is consistency, make common cause with Messrs Huskisson and Waithman. But Mr. Canning, in making use of Whigs as teen, rejected their principles ; and they as a party conformed to his standard, not he to theirs. Our present oppositionists, on the contrary, not content with herding among Radicals, are mad enough to espouse their doctrines, and, like all new convects, out-Herod-Herod in their infatuation. Such a course, if pursued, can lead us to no good, and every effort made against the Duke must ine vitably fall back upon themselves. Wide as the poles asunder are their views and those to which Mr. Huskisson is pledged. Proud and petulant as their own spirits, are the feelings with which all Radicals regard them, and bitter as Mr. Brougham's worst sarcasm is the contempt entertained for them by him and the Whigs generally. Upon every question of vital interest, commercial policy, currency, and corn laws, they are op posed by all parties in the House—by all men of sense throughout the country. The only bond of union is a factious disappointed spirit—the only common principle a desire to subvert. That the Duke of Wellington will triumph over these new domestic enemies, as over our foreign ones, no one can for an instant doubt ; but for the sake of good old English feeling, for the sake of that aristocratic order, which to ensure support must deserve re spect, and to which the ninny will we trust do honour, despite the errors of a few—for the sake, lastly, of those consectarian principles, whose triumph disunion can alone endanger, we call upon all real friends of Toryism to rally round its only true supporters.—. Morning Post. The sentence has at length been passed—the first act of tyranny on the part of the Wellington Go vernment and a Whig Attorney-General directed against the liberty of the Press has been completed, and we who have, for so many years, given an uii bought and loyal support to the King and his Mi nisters, are compelled to address our readers from within the bars of a prison—from a gloomy cell, a stanchioned window, a fir board for a table, a damp and cold floor, and the sounds of the prison-bell ringing in our ears. These are subjects, this a situation, well calculated to create melancholy, and tempt one either to curse God and die, or nurse into duller apathy those thoughts and sympathies which induce men in dangerous times to relax their exertions for the good of their country. Well, let the result be what it may, we shall bear our mis fortunes as meekly as we can, and trust that we ehall survive these calamitous times, and the unprin cipied men who, with the terrors of a prison to re strain public opinion, have a truckling Parliament and a heartless Minister to laugh at the cries of distress, and turn a deaf ear to the prayers of the starving. The Wellington Administration commenced its ca. reer in deception and fraud, and it will terminate reign amid the execrations of an insulted people, if not amid the shouts of furious anarchy. When that moment arrives, and arrive it will, if an immediate and sweeping change both of men and measures do not take place, we shall be released from this hateful and debasing confinement, and probably it will be our lot to survive the men who, to indulge a mise rable spleen and a despicable malignity, have di rected all the powers of a bad law and a vindictive prosecutor against one humble individual. We say one individual considerately, for we ask who has been prosecuted or who punished but the editor of (he Morning Journal? Against him alone have the bitter invectives of Sir James Scarlett, the partial and shameless affidavits of the Treasury solicitors, and the persevering prosecutions of the Government, followed series after series, day after day, without al most the intermission of an hour, been directed. It is true that the editor of the Atlas has been tried and convicted of a libel—the grossest libel ever seen in print—charging Lord and Lady Lindhurst with selling, for certain dirty moneys, the church livings of England. But has he been brought up for judg ment ? Has he been sent to gaol ? No, no. He was contrite, fell down to the dust, and begged pardon from that moderate and learned Attorney- General, who, instead of protecting the rights and property of the King's subjects, and bringing the burglar, the duellist, or the conspirator, to justice, seems to have little else to do than watch the opinions of public writers, and visit with every rigour of the law the momentary effusions of those who either dare to speak their free thoughts or indulge in a harmless squib against the venality and military civilities of the servants of the Crown, and tile too well-paid ser vants of the public. It has been deemed a serious offence, not only by this vindictive lawyer, who was cradled in a land of slavery and sipped the milk of legitimate liberty among the Whigs—and not by him alone, but also by Mr. Justice Bayley—it has been deemed a grave offence by these upright and sensi tive persons that the prisoner in this case did not express any contrition for the libels he was accused of writing. Contrition ! Good God ! for what ? For an imputation on the Chancellor which he from the first swore did not apply to that noble and learned Lord. What ! beg pardon for saying that Mr. Peel was seen to smile when Mr. Fyler and Colonel Sibthorpe described in the language of holy truth the awful and heart-rending sufferings of the poor. Ask forgiveness for this indeed ! It would have been an insult to truth itself. It would have been a violation of the duty which every man owes to himself and his country. The fact was no torious. It is as indisputable as is the light of day. But, oh, we did not supplicate mercy for having re presented the Duke of Wellington as an ambitious and unprincipled Minister. Why should we ? Is there a man in the country of any intelligence or independence who is of a different opinion ? Is there a man in the United Kingdom so senseless as to doubt his ambition, or so blind, or so stupid, or so insane, as to assert, with the evidence before his eyes, and his conduct on the Ca tholic Bill still rankling in our hearts, that the Duke of Wellington is not unprincipled ? We declined, however, for these plain and obvious reasons to express any contrition or beg any mercy, and this was deemed a high ag gravation, which, of course, was not forgotten in the sentence. And this sentence in these mild times is as follows :—Twelve months' imprisonment in Newgate. A fine of 3001. to the King. Bond of 5001. to keep the peace for three years, and securities of two persons 500/. to keep the peace for the same period. But one of the dogmas of Mr. Justice Bay ley is deserving of notice here. On passing judg ment he remarked : " Tou charge his Grace with being unfeeling and dictatorial—with treachery and cowardice.' Now, giving every freedom to the liberty of the Press, and I hope it will ever continue to be free, and enjoy the right of fair discussion, particularly that discussion relating to political matters, it must yet be held in mind that such discus sions, and the conclusions drawn from them, must be founded on facts. It was most unfair, it was most wicked, to assert that the Duke of Wellington was treacherous, that he was destitute of mercy, if sash state ment was founded in fact. If there were no promises for sayings°, surely that could not be called fair discussion." We do not dissent fri.rn this dogma of the Learned Judge. The expressions which he makes use of as applied to the Duke of Wellington, were not written by any of the defendants who have been punished for them, but by a corre spondent, whose name, profession, and place of residence were appended. Had the Attorneys General been inspired by any feeling of justice he would have prosecuted this correspondent, particularly as he affirms he had charges enough against the other defendants. But we waive all this, and adopt the dogma, with all its imperfec tions. The learned Judge says that an accusation against an individual of this nature is calumnious and libellous unless it 6e true. The charge ought to be founded on facts, or such imputations go beyond the limits of fair discussion. Now, it is unfortunate that they are by his own law deemed to be libellous even though as true as are the gospels. Judge Bayley knows that if the defendants could have proved the allegations they would not have been permitted to prove them. Although we could have produced twenty Members of the House of Commons to prove that they saw Mr. Peel smile on the night in question, their evidence would not have been received. Arid the same with the allega tions against the Duke of Wellington. What non sense is it then to hear such law from a Judge ! It is folly to waste time on such twaddle. But let us consider the justice of the sentence in another point of view, as regards Mr. Gutch, Mr. Fisher, and Mr. Alexander. The first an older proprietor than the latter—who never complained of the libel till it was prosecuted—is discharged on his own recogni zances—Fisher is not even called up—but Mr. Alexander is severely punished because he had the candour to admit that he wrote the libel, though legally not more responsible than the others. And why did he admit the authorship ? Because he was conscious of inno cence, arid because to his own heart alone was known his motives. It is true that Lord Holland, and Lord Bexley, and several others, swore that they believed the squib applied to the Chancellor. But they did not form this opinion in utter igno rance of the facts. They were not even aware that the defendant had denied the application on oath. They thrust themselves forward between a man's private motives and their ignorant belief, and they interpreted that to be criminal or at least accusatory when they had no means of judging, except by the evidence of the defendant, to whom the libel ap plied. And this is called justice ! This is the law of libel in a country which vaunts of its purity, and whose'public men boast of their moderation and liberality ! Away with such cant. The sponge must be applied, and the law changed, or soon there will he no protection to life, liberty, or property in this country.—Moening Journal. The Times newspaper of Wednesday contained, in the form of a leading article, certain comments upon a recent melancholy and distressing event. The statement put forth therein formed the universal topic of conversation throughout the metropolis, from the earliest morning . to the milnight ! they have, doubtless, by this time found their way into all parts of the kingdom, and, as in London so in the country, men, and women, and children, are speaking or murmuring curses against a high and illustrious individual, as against a heartless seducer, who has been the immediate cause of a suicide, by cti hick a noble arid distinguished family is plunged into a state of misery and despair—who has placed the brand of guilt upon the wife, the crime of self murder upon the memory of the husband, and upon the sons and daughters of the wretched pair a double main that time can never remove. Such was the effect produced, and we presume intended to be pro duced, upon the public mird, by the Times news paper—the brother of the King, because he is the political adversary of the party to which that upright and consistent journal has given, or rather lent, its support, was, thus described to his countrymen, in a di' but fearfully indistinct outline. It was more than insinuated that a horrible story had been infamously hushed up; that a coroner and twelve jurymen had hugely lent themselves to pre vent crime from being exposed; that justice had been cheated of a victim ; that humanity and de cency had been outraged ; and that the voice of a whole nation should call loudly for punishment upon guilt that was without parallel ; upon the se ducer of the wife and the murderer of the husband. The atrocious calumny—for such it is now acknow ledged to be, even by the calumniator—was not the growth of a day. For some weeks past it had been hinted by the journal referred to, and by others who usually follow in the same track, that the peace of a noble and high-minded gentleman had been for ever destroyed; that a large family had been consigned to eternal shame ; that a lady, the mother of that family, had in the decline of life exchanged an envi able station in society for one of utter degradation; and that the author of this misery was—it is mine cessary here to declare his name. No mistake could by possibility have occurred; his base and atrocious enemies had pointed Him out, for public execration, in a manner that left no room for doubt. There was not, we venture to assert, a single per son in the kingdom who, having read the statement, hesitated for a moment on whom to fix the guilt. Unhappily the poison, acting upon a too sensitive mind, took effect—the husband, although convinced that the slander was without the slightest founda tion, read, and lost his reason—and died by his own hand. The Morning Journal stated more than once or twice that the accused courted investigation and challenged proof. The Standard took up the matter from the moment it was first broached; and, in the following paragraph, published on the 30th of January, denied that the charge was aught but a wicked invention of some designing and malicious enemy. Who that enemy was we well know : " We regret to see the * 444 *" " 4 "'" retailing though certainly with little ostet.tation, an exploded slan der, involving the character of a most respectable wife and I mother. The story was set on foot three weeks ago by the usual circulators of court lies at the clubs. It was subsequently printed in the John Bull and the Times, but it was not worth a contradiction until it went further. The delators of the club are by this time pretty notorious ; and the John Bull's connexion with the Treasury, and the hitter malignity of the Times to one of the parties calum niated, are as well known. Now, however, that we find the fabrication copied into a respectable journal, though, is we have admitted, in an unobtrusive way, and perhaps without the editor's knowledge, we feel bound to give it the most direct contradiction. There is not one word of truth in it from the beginning to the end. The acquaint ance between the parties is the slightest possibl The lady is living in the bosom of her family, suspected of wrong by those only who know nothing about her, and the person for whom she is said to have deserted her husband, never dreamed that he was an object of suspicion until the tale to which we are alluding had been many days in cir culation. We hope the business ends here." But slander, " Whose edge is sharper than the sword," secured one victim and then sought for another.— We will not defile our columns by copying the in famous comments in reference to the Coroner's Inquest on the body of the deceased lord that have led to these remarks. But though we do not disse minate the poison, we feel it our duty to spread the antidote, and to call the attention of our readers to an article in the Times of yesterday. We extract it word for word : " In relation to the subject which, in our Paper of yes terday, created so much attention in the public, we must first say that it is most unfortunate when people of un popular characters are in that rank of life that they can, of necessity, obtrude themselves where they please, and drop in upon those whom they may choose as associates at will. It is indeed unfortunate for the persons who are thus dis tinguished ; for it cannot be but that the potent guest will impart to his friends a portion of the peculiar regard which adheres to himself ; and that aptitude which may unfor tunately exist to believe ill of him, will of course extend itself to those with whom he establishes relations, psrhaps only of ordinary civility. A more intimate knowledge of the very painful transaction to which we alluded yesterday, has induced us to judge that such is the case in that very melancholy concern. But how miserable, if the lady (as we now conscientiously believe) be innocent, her lord con vinced of Ler innocence, and only unable to bear up, be cause the world unjustly thought he put up with that in jury which it would have been base in him to suffer tamely but which he himself knew he had never sustained ! And all this because one man is—what he is ! " It was a younger member of the family of the lady who went down to Hampton-court to announce the me lancholy event whirls had taken place ; and in a letter which he wrote from thence, when there could be no idea of the suspicions which were about to be excited on the subject of the Coroner's inquest, he wrote to an honoured relative in London, to describe the effect of his distressing news upon the widowed sufferer and her family. ' It is her only consolation,' says he, that the last letter she ever received from her husband (that which was sent down by Spry, the servant, by the coach)—the letter which he wrote when in contemplation of the rash act, was the most tender and affixtionate she ever received from him in her life.' Fhis is the letter which we said ought to have been produced at the inquest ; and which there is in truth no difficulty in producing." But even in its penitence the journal retains some portion of its original taint. It does justice, be cause it is compelled to do justice, to one of the parties against whom it preferred a most revolting charge; yet, although the innocence of the other was thus clearly manifested, it would destroy by an inuendo—it would murder by a dash. Its conduct is like that of the assassin who stabs over the shoulder the man he would not dare to meet—who departs satisfied that he has done the job for which he was hired ; and, although it was performed like a sneaking coward, remembers that it was no part of his bargain to look his victim in the face.—/bid. It moves us even to laughter to watch the pro ceedings of some of the poverty-stricken supporters of the present Administration—the " petty men" who " walk under the huge limbs" of him who would " bestride this narrow world like a Colossus." Here is the Morning Post levelling its paper bullets at the Marquis of Blandford—a mongrel cur barking at the heels of a true English mastiff. God save the mark ! The Noble Lord moved, in the Com mittee of Supply on Tuesday, " That no supplies be granted until the grievances of the people are listened to and redressed"—a motion that did ho nour to his head and to his heart ; at which, for sooth the fashionable chronicle takes umbrage, and argues, that a man is not justified in attempting to do good and to prevent evil, unless he is certain that his object will be accomplished. Very sound rea soning this.—lbid. The Whigs openly declare that the Duke of Wellington's political existence depends upon them, that they can turn him out of office whenever they please; in short, that his Grace is a mere puppet in their hands. This is fine talk, though, front what happened on the first day of the Session, it cannot be said to be a mere empty boast, without any foundation. On that occasion the Whigs certainly appear to have held the balance in their hands, and to have served his Grace in as good stead as the coming-up of " Old Blucher" is said to have done on the memorable day of Waterloo. But there the parallel ends; for, whatever opportunity the equal balance of the fight in the one case may have given for the junction of his Prussian Allies, he could not have been indebted for his political victory to the \\Thies, had he not first, by a singular neglect and infatuation, caused a desertion among his own troops, which left him at the mercy of the enemy. When only one-sixth part of the House of Com mons could be found to vote with the Ministry, it may well be said to owe its escape from defeat to the stragglers which were found (as they are in all kinds of warfare to be found) hanging about his camp. But the Whigs—the recreant Whigs—are greatly mis taken if they imagine that such a victory, thote-,ii gained by them, increases either their force or con sequence in the eyes of the country. On the occa skit in question, upwards of 400 Members of the House of Commont kept aloof, or did not vote at all. And can a little band of six or eight and twenty persons, because they were able thus accidentally to turn a scale which had little or no weight in it, ima gine therefore that their will is a law, or that their votes will be of any value when the real strength and numerical force of the House comes to show itself ? The real tug of war, we apprehend, is still to come. Nothing, we feel convinced, can ulti mately make the present Ministry secure but a prompt and candid renunciation of past errors, and an accession of talent, in which, as now constituted, it is miserably and manifestly deficient. If the Duke looks to any other means of sustaining his power than those resources which superior wisdom and integrity ought to supply to the Minister of a great empire, we would take the liberty of remind ing him of a memorable passage in one of his letters to Mr. Huskisson, when he disencumbered himself from that gentleman's assistance in his Majesty's Councils, saying, " any loss is better than a loss of character, which is the foundation of public con& dence."—Morning Herald. The heathen god Janus had not two faces more unlike each other than the different aspects with which the " leading Journal" of Tuesday and yes terday regarded the melancholy event in Hanover street. On one day fierce and truculent—on the next meek and conciliating; it has given an example of inconsistency, which the most versatile of its political patrons can never hope to surpass. But it is easier to lacerate the feelings than to heal them —to press upon misfortune than to pour oil and wine into the wounds of the afflicted. Whatever might be the circumstance which led to the death of Lord Graves, his children were, in their dreadful bereavement, entitled to some forbearance—to more than ordinary sympathy. But, in its eagerness to strike at an individual, who is politically obnoxious to its party, the Times was reckless of the misery which it inflicted upon private feelings and defence less character.—lt has, however, made some atone ment by proclaiming the injustice of its own conduct, and administering to the poison of its own charges the antidote of sudden and submissive retractation; we leave it to reconcile, if it can, such a mode of carry ing on political warfare, with the feeling requisite to support the decent interests of society and the re spectability of the Press. Of the circumstances connected with the melancholy case in question we know nothing, and profess to know nothing beyond what transpired on the inquest, and we alluded to it only as far as was necessary, in vindication of those principles which ought to direct and govern the administration of justice. We thought it a new and monstrous proposition that Lady Graves, who was ignorant of the death except from hearsay, should be called as a witness—the Jury being saris fled, on the evidence of the servant and the medic,' • attendant, that his Lordship was insane when he terminated his own existence. A Morning Paper of yesterday, however, laid it down that the Coroner was bound to inquire into the cause of that depression of spirits which ended in in sanity. In support of this doctrine, the writer in that paper quotes from " Hawkine's Pleas of the Crown" the following words :—" A Coroner may and ou g ht to inquire of all the circumstances of the parties' death, and also of all things which occa sioned it." The law is certainly well laid down in this passage ; but it is perfectly consistent with, instead of being contradictory to, our position. All the circumstances of the death should be in quired into. So they were in the present instance, with the exception of not having called the person who was present with his Lordship's servant when the body was first discovered after the infliction of the mortal wound. The cause of death was also in quired into—what was that ? The Jury was of opinion, on the evidence of the servant and the me dical gentleman, that it was insanity; but the writer alleges that the cause of that insanity ought to have been investigated. Neither Hawkins nor any other writer on English law states that in cases of suicide by a lunatic the causes of insanity shall be required in evidence. The insanity in such eases is the cause of death. The Jury are riot required to ascertain the cause of that cause. It stands to reason, as well as to law, that, if the insanity be once established, it matters not how it originated. To show " the wide range that the inquiry ought to take," the writer quotes also the following words : " If it be found by the inquest that the person de ceased was killed by a fall from a bridge, and that bridge was out of repair by default of the inhabi tants of such a town, and that those inhabitants were bound to repair it, the township shall be amerced;" and adds, " so that, in such a case, the liability of the inhabitants to the repair of the bridge actually falls within the scope of the inquiry !" So it does; and what does this prove? Nothing more than that in cases of accidental death, where human negligence ictd has f,fori led n t L ot a fin e a , m anb e called killedd a deodand by fall ing i - o a stage-coach, a deodand is leviedon the coach, which makes it necessary for the Jury to inquire as to who is the owner of the coach, that it may be known upon whom to levy the deodand. For a similar rea son, the liability of the inhabitants to repair the bridge is ascertained, that it may be known upon whom to levy the deodand incurred by a man being killed by a fall from it. If, however, a man kills himself upon a bridge, and he be proved insane, the liability of the inhabitants to repair the bridge is not inquired into—for, in cases of suicide, there are no deodands—and cessante ratione cessat lex. Indeed, when a man kills himself, the question of insanity only becomes necessary to prevent the consequences of a verdict of felo de se—and the Jury being once satisfied on that point, they have no more to do with the cause of the insanity than with any other question immaterial to their verdict.—lbid. O❑ Thursday the men belonging to the Coast Guard, at the back of the island, discovered a boat at a considerable distance from the land, after watching her for some time, they fancied something must have appeared to her at sea, as they could not perceive she was making any progress in either direction, which induced them to put off to her, when on coining along side, melancholy to :elate, they found the bodies of three men in her, who had all perished from the cold. They are supposed to have been smugglers.—Hants Chroniele. The long continuance of the frost has had a dreadful effect in Boston, hundreds of poor people have been thrown out of employ, and rendered utterly destitute of even what may be termed the necessaries of life. T; e low wages that ►abourers and mechanics have of late been receiving has precluded the possibility of any store being reserved, and consequently more than 1,000 individuals, residing in the town, have been reduced to a state border ing upon actual starvation. We are assured by one who has personally visited many of the districts where the poor people reside, that their misery beggars description. Without food or fuel, and frequently without decent cloth ing, families of ten or twelve individuals have been found crowded together in a miserable hut, but without hope or expectation of relief. It has frequently been found that the blanket which kept some of the children warm during the long winter's night, has been pawned in the snore ing to provide a meal's victuals fur the family ; the fishermen especially have suffered intensely by the storm, for their own avocation being impracticable, and they being unable to follow any other, even if opportu nities occurred, they hare suffered every extremity of hardship. Numbers of the poor have involved themselves in debt, under the impression that better times would come, and consequently they cannot obtain further credit for food to stay their craving appetites. One family, we have been informed, were entirely without food for nearly six and thirty hours. In another instance 14 human beings were found in a little room about 10 feet square, which formed their only residence,—and they were suf fering severely from want of fuel and food. To the in finite credit of several respectable individuals of this town, the poor have received considerable relief: in one case ne .rly 1001. was expended in bread and coals, and tickets given indiscriminately to the most needy ; in another in stance about 340 received an abundant supply of very rich soup, in which 18 stone of beef formed one of the ingre dients; and numberless other cases have occurred io the highest degree honourable to the benevolent and humane contributors, whose names we would gladly have held forth to admiratio❑ and imitation, were it not that from motives of delicacy they have desired to do good by ste tit!). —Boston Gazette. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. LONDON MARKETS. (From the Loneton New Prise Current of Tuesdl7.l Muir, FLAX, AND TALLOW.—The Tallow Martces early last week was firm, and the prices of yellow esodl e l Tallow rose to 3.35. Od. ; lint the Market since has become dull, and the prices are a shade lower; Hemp is a shade . higher ; Flax uuvaried. INDIC O. —There are more inquiriN after Inditei 064 generally the Market may be stated more firm. FRUIT.—Figs are svirce ; the holders continue to 2 . 4 prices 2s. a 4s. higher. The orders ire town for home consumption and for export are stated to in very cool:Wel" able, but generally limited to very low prices. TOBAC , o.—Tobacco continues neglecter. Intsu PROVISIONS.—In Beef and Pork there is no Iva' terial alteration ; Bacon is more firm, and there are buyers free on board at 355. Butters last week %ere bTiski and the prices rose so rapdly that it was diffienit to 0'. 4 quotations, as there were few sellers; but as the thee , has been rapid since Sunday forenoon, the Market is again dull, and lower prices must be submitted to to facilitate s ales• OlLS.—Sperm Oil is rather dull, the price about 71 1 4 a=. several of the holders of old Foreign arc selling Sperm about ff 9/. Linseed Oil is higher; in other descriptions acre is little variation. Corrox.—The Cotton Market is without briskness, the prices are little varied. The purchases for the week ending last night inclusive, are considerable; prices steady. Woot.—On the 3d inst. there was a public sale of 557 bales, which sold as follow :-228 bales Spanish Wa"lt washed in the German manner on the backs of the sheep, from Sd. to 'Sid. per lb., according to quality; 59 bslel regular Spanish, Sid. a 16d. ; 56 bales German, Is. 7d. a 2s. ; 11 bales Odessa, Is. Sid. a is. 11d. ; 4 balsa Cashmere, white Sd. a 2s. They sold freely at very g ood prices, considering their inferior qualities ; on the whole, the Market is improved, and the demand increasing, par ticularly for Wools under 2s. 3d. per lb., the stock being very Imv. On the 19th there will be another sale of 700 bales, 300 of which are New South Wales Wool, anct many buyers are expected to attend. EAST INDIA SALE THIS DAY. Saltpetre, 500 tons, East India Refined, refraction I b 21 per cent. sold 275. 6d. a 281. 6d.-70 tons licensed• 275. 6d. a 28e. Cassia Lignea, 277 chest., 177 with drawn, part of the remainder sold at 651. Cassia Buds, 32 chests, taxed at 81s. 6e1., sold at 85s. Ginger, 119 bags, 14g. a 16s. Pepper, Black, 733 bags, ungifted goo half heavy, 3d. a 3 d., white, 138 bags do Sid. a 6d. COAL IMARN Adair's . 345.6 d. 3'? 6 35 0 Kiliingworth 30 6 Liddell's 31 6 Ord's Redliugh 31 3 Polito') Windsor 30 0 Tan'ield Tanfleld Lea 3O 6 Townley , 34 6 Wrlam W-alliEndßewieke&Co. 34 0 Wall, End Brown's :16 6 Walls End Boundary 34 Walls End Carr and Co,. St 6 Ditto Crandington 34 6 Ditto Gosforth 351 6 Ditto Heaton„ Sr 6 Ships at market, 101%--Shi prr.—Feb. 10. Walls C:nd Newman:di.. 375. 31 Ditto I lifda 35 6 Ditto Hotspur..--. 15 3 Ditto Northumberland :18 8 Ditto Perkins and Co.—. 36 6 DM° 35 0 Laml.ton's Primrose 37 3 Russell's a; 0 Wall ;,• rdlletton...... 41 8 Walls End Lambton— 41 8 Walls End Ly0n5,...... 11 5 Walk End Stewart's 40 0 Russell's Hetton's 1/ 6 Com ell 33 0 li rte — nL — lang * ennech : 3 7 ; m tr t i t s ;Y Wall's End Elgin St 9 Old Ethcrley small ..... 22 9 sO $i --Unsold, '7l 14 rs DURING THE WEEK• COUNTRY COR. .N MARK . Wheat. Barley. Oats. Beans• Per Quarter. Abingdon.-- Andover-- Birmingham.-- rtridport Cirencester Guildford --... Henley - Hereford Elighworth Maidenhead Oakingham -- Reading ---- Southampton Stroud w. Tewkesbury Uxbridge --. Wantage Warminster Windsor-._. s. to e. 32 SS 22 34 32 32 32 3 , .) 18 40 36 44) 21 3.5 v. L. 31 42 23 32 SO 38 IA 42 21 34 37 40 34 38 40 42 21 32 20 36 23 41 2% 31. 32 38 ii, PO - 11 6 - 40 46 43 _ 4 40 I' 00 - - I - 4g - - 4O O S 'ad = as 42 44 - 46` - 44 = SS 49 .... CANTERBURY, Feb. 6. We had a fair supply of Wheat, which freely obtained purchasers at 2s. per quarter advance, and a few seles° samples of white sold as high as 70s. per quarter. Da - Icy and Ohl Beans were from Is. to is. per quarter cheaper, but we note no alteration either in Pease or OW' Wheat, white s4s. to (IS' Old —4. to ...4. red Barley, Malting llss. to Sts. Oats Beans 2ls. to :Ns l'ease 32s. to 38a. EXETER MAR . Beef (score) is. Od. 641. Mutton (113.) 0 4 —0 6 Ve:4l and iximb 0 S —0 6 Pork 0 4i-0 6 Geese (each) 3 6 —5 0 Duck: (mup'e) ...4 0 —5 6 Fowls 2 6 —3 6 K E l'S.—Feb. 5. Wheat (buthel) 98.0 d. 9e. ed . Barley 4 CI —5 0 Oats Si 8 —3 3 Beans 5 6 — 4 3 6 11,.tter (lb) 1 (1 —1 9 Eggs (9) 0 o—l 0 Potatoes (peck) OlO --I_2._ CHELTENHAM MARKET.—Feb. 9. Per Bushel. s. d. to a. d. Pei lb. d. to ("- Wheat Barley Oats Beans 4 S , ) 5 6 Lamb 0 7 Pease 5 0 8 0 Pork S C Hay 3/. loi. to 31. 153. per tom. —....... CIIRSTF.R.--W heat, per 751 b. 9s. Od. to Ds. 3d. Barley. 38 ( Irtr k 4e. 3d. to 3s. Od. ; Oats, 431 b. 28. 9d. to 3a. eld. NANTWICIL—Wheat, per 751 b. Ss. 9d. to 9s. Pd,; Barley, 99 rats. 4s. Sal. to ss. Od. ; Oats. 501 b. 3s. 3d. to 3s. 9d. .KETS.—Feb. 3. DUMFRIES MAh s. (I. s. ti. s. d. 1 . 4,t, v Wheat, Imp. Bush... 6 9 to 7 0 Butter, I6oz 0 0 to 0 Barley 3 4 3 6 Eggs, dozen 0 o 0 6 Oats y3 28 Beef, per lb. Flour, 141 l). Oatmeal Potatoes, cwt. Carrr.r.—The market today was well snsplied for the time of year, the total number being 343. Though none of the cattle were in superior condition, they were all remarkably fresh and thriving. A great proportion of the show were driven away unsold. _... BIRTHS. On the 9th inst. at Ashling-house, the lady of Lient• George Fraser, R.N., H.M.S. Victory, of a son. On the 29th of September, 1529, at Coquimbo, in Chili, the lady of Mathew Carter, Esq., his Britannic Majesty's Consul at that place, of a son. On the 7th inst. at Catherine-place, Bath, the Lady Gem giana G. Ryder, of a son. On the 9th inst. the lady of Dr. Sutherland, of Parlia' ment-street, of a son. On the 9th inst. the lady of C. J. Cook, Esq. of a eos• At Culyerthorpe, the Honourable Mrs. Handley, of a daughter. MARRIED. On the 9th init. at Walcot church, Bath, by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, Charles Augustus Manning, Esq. Captain in his Majesty's Second Royal Regiment of Surrey Militia, and second son of the late Rev. John Manning, of Portland Castle, Dorsetahire, to Margaret Elisabeth, daughter of the late Peter Sheraton, Esq., of Stoberry-hill, in the county of Somerset. On the 10th inst. at St. Martin-in-the•Fielde, Mr. Jacqueson, of Chalon-sur-Marne, to Louisa, youngest daughter of Mr. Jaunay, of Leicester-square. On the 10th inst. at St. James's, Westminster, J. Mur ray, of Chancery-lane, solicitor, fourth son of C. Murray" Esq., to Anne Derby, second daughter of the late Jolla Waite, Esq., of Old Burlington-street. DIED On the sth inst. at Fulford-park, near Crediton, the Countess of St. Germain!. At Arbuthnott-house, in the Slat year of her age, the Honourable Charlotte Arbuthnott, aunt of Viscannted Arbuthnott. _ _ On the 6th inst. Elizabeth, the relict of J. Horman, Edq' formerly of the Stock Exchange. On the Bth inst. the infant daughter of H. Whit e head, Esq. of Lower Tooting. On the 7th inst. Sarah, second daughter of the late W. Bloxam, Esq. of Highate. On the Bth inst. Mrs. Afinet, widow of the late Joseph Minet, Esq., aged 59. On the 7th inst. Mr. J. H. Fisher, of the 'Victualling' office, only non of John Fisher, Esq. of 13elgrare-street Pimlico. On the 25th ult. at Bou l og ne, t he Right Hoe. Lora Sempill. On the 6th inst. in Bolton-street, Piccadilly, F.:1% , Sowerby, Esq., aged 21. On the 6th inst. the Rev. Lascelles Iremonger, Vicar of Clatford, Rants, and one of the Prebendaries of the Cathe dral Church at Winchester. On the Sth inst. in Sloane-street, Anne, wife of R. Wimburn, Esq. On the sth inst. Mrs. E. Grimulde, of the Strand, wi dow of the late Mr. P. Grimalde. On the 7th inst. at his residence, St. John's Wood-road, J. Skelton, Esq. On the Bth inst. at East-lane, Bermondsey, Margaret Elizabeth, relict of the late S. Wright, Esq. of the sane place, aged 71. PRINTED AWE PUBLISHED EY MIJHDO YOUNG, At Tint SITE OFlllet, 112, ErnsAND, AL! trolling must he in'flie after wh The I in the la Academy Fri] day o f Buckl e , of Susses Georg e , forthwitl Debts be Masters in South default tl Order. 12, G 13R AI ,clarefl WILL ] NO. 8 , instant, between After Divider nesd Ay a M E stances, of JOS place eat sitively for its 41 Historic 191. N ° n , others, now res With lib any date 'yin be Commis r r il l'h variety, nary an, of th e ] There ii of his t And an Smith, Hen' ton-str( ...., T E • 'P, Nutre " Ai par ticu time, N mined sense o sonifica School Hen ton-str NEI Under This d T' *.,' Lond( This d T 4l. ' t ii 3/, 4, 2. th e n N l ll 31, 4s ;