The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-03-22 00:00:00

w be a saving the public would bitterly lenient. If judicial
officers were necessary, then the individuals who sustained those
others ahould be placed in a respectable station in society. He
trusted the House would not consider he was proposing too great a
sum, in proposing that their salaries be increased to a sum of 800/.
per annum. Although there were now thirty persons so appointed,
there were only tour out of that thirty who were not barristers. He
would, therefore. move, that there be allowed by the Secretary of
Stile a sum of 8001. per annum to each 1 the justices of peace of
the metropolis.
Sir J. SE BRIGHT supported the motion.
Mr. HOBIIOUSE said, that the question was of very little im-
portance alit related to the advice of salary ; but as he understood
there were 820 barristers, and that there were 400 places under
Government to which barristers might be appointed, he would ob•
ject to the giving Government any additional influence over that
'body. if ttie proposed measure were to place the power of raising
the salary or not In the hands of the Secretary of State, he should
certainly oppose it.
Mr. PEEL, said that the proposition wits drawn up in the usual
form ; but certainly the salaries of all the police magistrates were
to be increased. He had never thought of raising it with one and
not raising it with another. lie did not, therefore, think, under
all the circumstances, 8001. could be considered an unreasonable
salary or too great a remuneration for the sacrifice to be made and
the services expected.
Mr. IW3lb was not disposed to object to the amount of salary
proposed. If a barrister gave up his professional prospects, and
devoted his time to the office, 800/. was not too large a compensa-
tion. But he wished to know how it was proposed to distribute
these 30 barrister, through the metropolis ? He was also desirons
of learning what was me present proportion of magistrates to each
office, and what were the hours of their attendance dttily. Ile
would have been better pleased with the proposition of the Right
Honourable Secretary (31r. Peel), had he encteased the salaries
and diminished the number of the police magistrates. Ile pressed
it still upon his (Mr. Peel's) attention, whether this object could
not ba offsetesl.
Mr. PEEL said, he had proposed no addition to the rutnber of
magistrates at present existing, and he believed they were not
found to be too numerous. In the year 1722, the metropolis had
bow divided into trine districts, to each of which three magistrates
of pollee were appointed. Since that period, no addition had been
made to that number (twenty-seven), with the exception of three
tnigistrites who had been appointed to the Thames Office, a
measure found to be necessary for the preservation of property on
the river. This was the only instance in which any sugntenta.
con had taken place in the course of the last thirty years. The
law required the attendance of two magistrates in many cases,
and when this occurred it surely could not be too much to provide
a third. for the purpose of providing against unaio:dahle absence,
and 'fending a little occasional relaxation to those officers. The
Magistiates of L'nion Hall presided over • population of 243,000
persons; and the House might collect a slight idea of the weighty
duties to be discharged by them, when they were informed that in
a single month of In. 3, the number charges for assault disposed
of at that office alone was 17fi. The question of diminishing the
number of Magistrates hat', in common with other police arrange-
ments. neenpud the attention of the Committee some time back,
and it had been ascertained no reduction could take place con-
sistent with the interests of public justice.
31r. W. 5311TH thought the argument of the Right Honour-
able Secretary for the Home Department proved too much for the
estal /ishment of his own position. Fur if the three 3lagistraten
of Union Hall were capable of mansging a department containing
240,000 inhabitants, there certainly was not sufficient employ-
ment fir the remaining twenty-seven, taking things in the sante
proportoo.
The eitiedion was then put, and the Resolution agreed to.
Me. LSTCOURT brought in a Hill to enable Magistrates in
censin cases to borrow money on mortgage of the county rates.—
Read a first time.

_ ...
The House resumed, when the Orders of the Day wet disposed
cf, and the House adjourned at ONE O'CLOCK.

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