The Sun.
London, England, 1830-01-09 00:00:00

manurseture, the most desperate and ridiculous,
of articles, the import of which tray be invalu-
able, and the growth of them ruinous where it is
not altogether abortive. We know hardly any
case in which protecting duties are to he justi-
fied. Certainly nothing can be more foolish, or
more melancholy, than the American imposts
upon British manufactured goods, save only
a British duty on wheat and &Ur, the
raw productions of America. And see
how logical is the military President :in his
propositions ! He makes the encourageMent of
fair competition' his rule, after asserting the
minute before that the competition encouraged
by the Tariff had not sensibly diminished the
importation of foreign goods : then cui bow—
any tax with an eye to competition ? And
further, he adds, as if in ridicule of his own no•
dons, " that domestic competition had increased
productions much beyond the demand for home
consumption !" The result from all this is, the
direct reverse of what the President has asserted
—that it is most mischievous to impose any
tax, great or small, for the sake of establishing.
a competition of American with foreign manu-
factures, inasmuch as America does not afford,
in the present stage of her population, materials
for a successful rivalry ; because with low pro-
tecting duties, the foreign manufacture undersells
the native by direct means ; and with high duties
through the indirect medium of the smuggler.
To a system of taxation for purposes of re-
venue, no one can reasonably object, though,
indeed, from the rapid extinction of the small
remnant of debt which still presses on her, the
Republic will soon be released from the chief
inducement to raise an income by levying taxes,
except so far as may be requisite for the mainte-
nal= of a modest army of 5,000 men, and a
gfdlant navy of a dozen men of war and frigates.
—Times.

The unusual and cruel procrastination of the
reports made on convicted criminals, has sprung
from a cause but little suspected, but we should
vat►Ceive no cause now sufficient to occasion a
'repetition of the mischief. The Recorder, it is
known, has been ill. His place would naturally
be supplied by the Common-Serjeant, who in-
deed had, in that Niels', made himself perfectly
master of the cases which were to he submitted.
But an objection was unexpectedly taken to re-
ceive Mr. Denman ! Ye powers of pity and
humanity, on such an occasion as this, too ! The
brave Duke, brave in more senses than one,
could not officially recommend a deviation from
oeirilar and prescriptive practice, for what was in
filet but an effusion of spleen. He stood firm,
and the matter lingered till the Recorder was so
far recovered as to he able to undertake this
the most painful of his duties hin4:elf. But
what if the Recorder should die !—who will

then have to report upon the convicts ? Arc
feelings of personal pique to prevail against the
-..t_laims of public justice and official duty ? Will
the.city quietly abandon one of their principal
privileges ?—/bid.
In another part of our Paper to-day will be
found the report of a case at the Westminster
Sessions, which deserves the particular attention
of the public. The disgraceful and unpre-
cedented occurrence cf two children, between

five and six years of age, being indicted for
felony, will excite the strongest feelings in all
who have a-regard for the dignity of justice, and
are not callous to the sympathies of human na-
ture. We do not know whether it is a more
melancholy or ludicrous scene, to observe all the
terrible and complicated machinery of a British
Court of Justice put into action to ascertain the
guilt of two babies, as they are very justly desig-
nated in the report. Only think of the Clerk
of the Arraigns opening the indictment in such
tt case, with all the solemnity of a functionary of
offended Justice, and calling upon the infants to

plead to the charge of stealing. a pair of stock-
i:?gs !—we are not told whether they were doll's
moelcings—and then wisiting them " a
.good
ddircrance"---while the Barristers on either side

unfold their (►fiefs for prosecution and defence ;
the Chairman in the meantime arranging his
note-book to record the evidence, and forgetting
the stern majesty of the law, as he views the
" culprits" in the dock with a look of mingled
surprise and compassion. Nor let the imposing
array of the Jury be left out of the picture—
the twelve " good men and true," who are
called upon to Weigh the evidence, and
determine upon their oaths whether, the poor
infants took the stockings with a felonious
intention ! So rapid is the march of mind in
this country at present, that we could not be
surprised to see an exhibition of this sort im-
proved upon by the solemn trial of a sucking
b:iby for stealing a pap-spoon ! The manner in
which the Chairman (Mr. Coast) met this case
does credit to his feelings as an administrator of"
justice and a man. The report states that the
simplicity and childish appearance of the child-
ren created a strong sensation in all present ;
and the Chairman evidently astonished, exclaimed
" can there be any prosecution in this case ?"
On the circumstances being inquired into, it ap-
peared by the testimony of one ofthc new police,
that lie had watched the children for some time,
as he thought they were going to steal something
(the stockings were 'then banging against the
prosecutor's shop-door) ; at length he saw them
take the stockings. Upon this the Chairman
very properly asked the vigilant guardian of
public morals—who was no doubt a profound
scholar in the new system of police-regulations—
" then, under such circumstances, why did you
suffer them to commit a robbery ?" The answer
of the new policeman is not upon record, but
Mr. Phillips volunteered an observation not
snore prompt than sarcastic--" That, Sir, is the
English for preventive justice." We have heard
a great deal of this preventive justice, as being
the essence and life of the new system ; but it
would appear front this instance that it consists
in watching► the progress and completion of the
robbery, for if it were stopped in limine what
would become of the expenses of a prosecution ?
—and we find that in the present case the police.
man had his expenses. The machinery of the law
was not put in motion for nothing. The Argus
eyes of the preventive system did not watch the
progress of the infantine act of plunder through
pure patriotism. The Chairman, in addressing
the Jury, said, " I do not wish to give any bias
to your minds ; it is. for you to say whether or
not this baby (Lynch) is to be convicted of a
felony ; and, in decidi►►g that question, you
must take into consideration whether she is of
an age to discriminate between right a 1 wrong.
If at the time they had both been 1: ,Ted,
would have had a more beneficial effect than
placing them at that bar; and I. feel now that I
never can send them back to prison. Gentle-
men, I could say a great deal more, but I do
not wish to guide your mind. I will therefote ,
only ask, can you find that child ,ouilty
felony >t It is a distressing case." The July
immediately returned a verdict finding the " baby -
Lynch" not guilty—her infant companion had ,