The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-19 00:00:00

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LONDON, 310NDA.Y, JULY 19, 1852.

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Middlesex will to-morrow be afforded an opportu-
nity of displaying the gratitude entertained towards
its late Members by re-electing Lord ROBERT GROS-
VENOR and Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE, with larger ma-
jorities than usual, as the metropolitan county
representatives. The Liberal electors have in this
matter been put upon their mettle by the mistaken
zeal which bas recently thrust forward the Marquis
of BLAND FORD as a candidate on Ministerial principles.
Generally speaking, it is the cant of the bust-
logsr, in every little borough of the United King'
a !
ono matter how sequestered its position,
or
its
decision 1-linsignificant its character, that upon
the eyes of the community are fixed with
a peculiar and marked expectation.
can be used Ifthat phrase
anywhere
with justice,
be assuredly justice, it may, however,
employed in
Upon the result of the el
crt.eference to Middlesex.
county, the attention of
the
ion for the metropolitan
more observant politicians
throughout the community
with an must,
.undert all circum- 1
stances, be concentrated
larger than can be yieldedtheerest somewhat
similar proceedings. At p r byt majority of
esaen ,
veryhowever, that
interest has necessarily, in
sure, become enhanced. For thebattlegriesat on mea-
sure,
eye of being contested with more than ordinary
fervour by the supporters of the Government
and the utiholders of the cause of the Opposition.et
As the candidate in the Ministerial interest the
Tajo of Middlesex have brought forward the
heir to the duchy of Marlborough. As the
candidates on the Liberal interest the Whigs and
Radicals. of the metropolitan county have, on the
other hand, secured, as hitherto, the Noble Lord and
his: Gallant Colleague—until the recent dissolution
the diritinguiehed representatives of the constituency.
Gratitude, we again affirm, ought of itself to be a consi-
deratien sufficient to secure to those ex Members a
brilliant taurnph over their, tin agonist. There are, how-
ever, other and less personal rea.sous—reason4 strictly
national in their character, and peculiarly patriotic
in their tendency—whieh should combine to impress
upon the Liberal possessors of the franchise in Mid•
dlesex the advisability, or rather we should say
(principles considered) the absolute and imperative
necessity of recording
their votes to-morrow at the
earliest hour in favour of two such candidates as Mr.
BERNAL OSBORNE and Lord ROBERT GnosvENoß.
The question would secure that result, if regarded
wersl7
thi
refer6„,,,4o to the three men who have now '
Stai9464 the attention a the micidi
ekez constituency.

How much more, however, must that success be
assured if the question be viewed rint simply in re-
ference to the men, but in reference to the principles
of which these men are the representatives. In the
cause of OSBORNE and GROSVENOR are invo'ved all
the P:uvantages and hopes of a steady, and energetic,
and humanizing progression. Reform is the beacon
by which their course is guided throughout—reform
r not precipitate but well-considered, not peddling but
comprehensive, not restricted to this or that, but to
the whole of the motley departments of the adminis-
tration—Reform, fiscal, financial, colonial, sanitary,
legal, educational, and Parliamentary. Retrogression,
on the opposite hand, is recognised plainly enough as
the political ignis fatuus, leading the Marquis of
BLANDEORD in his obsequious dance after the Derby
Government. Without attributing to the Noble
Lord the same indiscriminating allegiance to the
Cabinet which has been announced by Viscount SEA--
HAm—an allegiance binding him over to vote for
all the measures introduced by the present
Ministry, whatever those measures might be,
it is manifest how far he would be disposed
to go in support of the Ultra-Tory Administration !
And it is in the expectation that a candidate of this
description will be preferred by the electors of Mid-
dlesex, to such men as Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE and
Lord ROBERT GROSVENOR, that the Ministerialists in
the metropolitan county have venturedto bring forward
the Marquis of BLANDFORD, as one who aspires to re-
present, in the House of Commons, a greal Liberal
constituency.
upon the occasion of the
franchise in Middlesex 4,944
Upon the last occasiforna9n
electioneering struggle of 1847, out of the 14,129
polling d ::,140:, forCo
accordingl Colonel
te
01
possessors of the,lcounty
polled for Lord RaTIZAT GROSVENOR and 4,175 for
Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE,
TRoMAs WooD, so that 1,552 elector au not voted a
all,the nwuhmenbetrhsegeievcennindldhalo'sfficial announcement. At that
time both the successful candidates had a claim upon I
the Litereats of Englemd—OsnoßNE for his :conduct
as Member, for Wycombe, and GROSVENOR as previ--
oulay representative for Middlesex. Since then their
claims have both been very considerably increased,
while those of Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE have secured
their application to the metropolitan county
constituency through the remarkable independence
with which, as their accepted Member,
he has during the whole of the late Parliament
watched over the Liberal interests in the House of
Commons. Among the most gallant advocates of
• reform no legislator has assumed a more conspicuous
or a more honourable place of distinction than
BERNAL OSBORNE—among the catalogue of whose
supporters upon the present election it is, therefore,
but only reasonable to find enumerated such names
as those of JOSEPH Hyand
ME, CHARLES VILLIERS,
and THOMAS DUNCOMBE. Remembering the
thorough independence of the course pur-
sued by the Honourable and Gallant Candi-
date—more particularly during the last five or six
sessions—remembering such facts as his refusal of a
place of 2,0001. per annum offered him by the late
Cabinet, because he did not deem its acceptance com-
patible with his position as the representative of the
electors of Middlesex—remembering the animated
and animating ability he has repeatedly displayed
in the course of the debates, and always on the
popular side, on the side of justice to
the many —we cannot but rest assured
that the liberal possessors of the franchise in
the metropolitan county will, by their course to-
morrow and on Wednesday, evidence their apprecia-
tion of his conduct, discomfiting the advocates of the
Marquis of BLANDEORD, and placing at the head of
the poll the honoured names of OSBORNE and Gaos-
VENOR.
__..........-- _

A very important decision was pronounced on
Saturday by Mr. Commissioner PHILLirs, at the
Insolvent Debtors? Court, Portugal-street. A pri-
soner, named BAKER, had applied to be admitted to
bail until his hearing in September. Upon examina-

tion of the schedule, the Learned Commissioner
discovered that the insolvent had become a party to
bills to the amount of 1,800/. for the accommodation
of his brother, who was now a bankrupt ; he there-
upon rejected the application, in accordance with a rule
recently adopted by several of his judicial brethren,
and the insolvent was consequently remanded to
prison. As there is, we believe, a difference
of opinion among the Learned Commissioners on this
very interesting question, it is exceedingly desirable
that a consultation should speedily take place in order
that a uniformity of practice may be arrived at.
Nothing can be more injurious than opposite and con-
flicting judgments from the Bench on any point of
frequent occurrence. So long as the rule is not
universal it cannot accomplish its object. Each
person will run the chance of getting into the list of
a Commissioner who has not adopted the principle,
and the desideratum of getting entirely, or
at least in a great degree, rid of accom..
modation bills cannot possibly be achieved,
while there will be all the inconvenience of bringing
:he administration of justice into disrepute, by having
that granted in one court which will be denied in
another; and of the adjudication not being dependent
on the real merits of the case, but on the accident
of who may be the presiding judges. Iplia-rwtiheesthiner.
volved in such transactions
the rule be rejected or a .
bb:are aidnmg:ttiesdotfo
littlebail or kept
in prison until the day of
conse-
quence, in comparison to the preserving the re-
spect of the people for the administration of this im-
portant branch of the
English law.
There is no judge on the bench for whom we enter •
tain a higher respect than for Mr. Commissioner
PUILLIPS. His rare talent, almost unequalled elo-
quence, his unquestionable integrity, but, above all,
his genuine kindliuese of heart, which has ever in-
duced him to temper justice with mercy, have gained
golden opinions from men of all classes in society. It
is with the greatest diffidence that we venture
more especially on one so
to differ from a gentleman of his great learning and
experiencewaiaic h
d he
e on any point,
closely connected with the functions of the office
has filled with so much credit to himself
awlshoicahfuvblaleyntiaige to the community in general. We
and strictly recognise the enormous extent of the evil
endeavouring to suppress, end the ho-
nourablesatisfy ourselves of conscientious motives by which
he is actuated.
cannot, however, immediately
under
hnedpresent r
notice. instance,w as"hise ?:rsopriety of his decision in
li.a all othseidrsinotgnhiat have come
power of admitting a
petitioner to bail
as:ttirably a matter for
the discretion of
it certainly appears to tuhaneck‘lt :
yJpuodingte,
to be
determined is whether the attendance
to abide the decision of the Court can of the prisoner
from
be secured
or not. If there is any danger of his absconding
kingdom, and not being forthcoming"'ding
the
ap-
pointed time, then by all means let the at the ap-
po e motion
rejected, and •
in every instance let the be
e tolvet,
d sureties be subjected to the ' sal
the proposed most strip_
gent if every reasonable satisfaction can
gent tests.
these points, can be
if there
be given on no
petitioner will appear
doubt that the at the
hearing, why should there be a decision that
The
must, however meritorious case, consign him to
t ' object of the Legisla••
undeserved puniahmen a
ture in authorising bail in cases of insolvency, was
that a man should not be condemned without being
heard in his own defence, if he can find adequate se-
curity to abide a strict investigation into his affairs.
Previously to the passing of that Act every person
mast have remained in custody from the time of his
arrest and the filing
of his
petition until the final ad-
judication. It was t
, hen considered that if a man was
deemed worthy of punishment, it might be more
properly inflicted after - In
inquiry than before.
many instances where censurewas deserved it was
avoided, in consequence o
viously suffered, while others the
incarceration pre"
an hour, remained many weeks should not be de-
These evils were avoided by the teeenaks in confinement.
of the parties on bail, but if the ruler discharge
refusing all applications where liabilit'll'e adopted of
lassumed without conaideration, the ;raj have been
be extended to other cases according to thle'flPie will
the presiding commissioners for the time a."les of
parties will once more • being, and
be punished before trial and
without a hearing. ad
It is true that the fact of the debt being
valuable consideration will appear on the Without
face of the
schedule, and that it is
essential to check the practice
by every means practicable. But there are cases in
which the patty may bars a
ssumed liabilities with

the thorough conviction of being enabled to pay the
demand himself, should the other party or parties fail
in discharging the amount. There are accommodation
bills of very different characters, some which render the
acceptors worthy of praise rather than censure. The
peculiar circumstances of each case should be in-
quired into, and a remand pronounced according to
the facts ; but the refusal of bail, placing all in the
same category without exception, appears not to be
a judicious rule, and it is possible that it might pro-
duce evils of even greater magnitude than those it
is intended to repress.