The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-25 00:00:00

AUGUST 22.

The Right Hon. the Lords of the Committee of Privy
Council for Trade have received, from the Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs, a copy of a despatch from her
Majesty's Charge d'Affaires at St. Petersburgh, containing
an announcement that the reduced duty of 30 kopecks per
pood on rags exported by the Custom-houses on the
Western Land Frontier extended to the Kingdom of
Poland.
ADMIRALTY, AUG. 23.
Lieut. Godolphin James Burslem has been this day pro-
moted to the rank of Retired Commander, under Orders in
Council of Aug. 1, 1860, and July 9, 1864.

BANKRUPTS.
That portion of the " Gazette" containing the Bank-
rupts had not arrived when we went to press.

COURSE OF EXCHANGE-Friday.
-4. --
Amsterdam Short. 11 181
Ditto 3 Months. 12 1
Rotterdam
Antwerp — 25 52f
Brussels
Hamburg
Paris Short 25 20
Ditto 3 Months. 25 45
Marseilles
Frankfort on the Maine 121}
Vienna, — 11 20
Trieste — 11 20
Petersburgh
Berlin
Madrid
Cadiz
Leghorn
Milan
Messina
Genoa
Naples
Palermo
Oporto
Lisbon

11 19
12
12
25 57k
25 57k
13 10fr
25 27k
25 50
25 5
121/
11 27k
11 27k
30/
47/
47f
25 621
25 62k
25 62k
25 62!
25 62
25 62
511

471
25
25 57!
25 571
25 57i
25 57*
25 571-
511
51f

ACCIDENT TO A CLERGYMAN AT LLANDUDNO.—A
sad accident occurred to a clergyman, named the Rev. J.
H. Ferres, on Monday. He was walking along the path
which goes round the Great Orme's Head, when somehow,
it is supposed, he missed his footing, as be was found in-
sensible, lying on the rocks close to the sea. Luckily the
tide was going out at the time, or he would have been
washed away. The unfortunate gentleman was taken to
the nearest hotel, where he is still lying in a very danger-
ous state. It is feared that the internal injuries received
will prove fatal. The rev. gentleman is about 28 years of
age.

How CRIME IS INVESTIGATED IN SCOTLAND.—The
first and most conspicuous defect is the want of pub-
licity. All the preliminary investigations, or, as they aro
technically called, precognitions, are conducted with the
profound secrecy of the Inquisition. The examinations at
the instance of the fiscal before the sheriff are secret, the
deliberations of the Crown counsel on the matters sub-
mitted to them are secret. If no trial ensues the public do
not hear a word of the case. This practice may prevent the
exposure to obloquy of persons taken up on a false charge,
but, on the other hand, it gives the officials concerned a for-
midable degree of power—the power of improperly conceal-
ing offences and circumstances which the public are en-
titled to know something about, and the discussion of which
would be in various ways useful. As an aggravation of
this privacy, the accused, or suspected person, on being
taken up, is not allowed the benefit of legal advice. He is
subjected to repeated examinations without tho aid of a soli-
citor, or the comfort of public sympathy. lam not aware
that the authorities use their power oppressively. That
would be against the genius of the people ; and anything
like wanton tyranny would be sure to meet with public re-
probation. But a thing may be wrong in principle and in-
convenient in practice without being a downright atrocity.
Admitting, for the sake of argument, that fiscals, sheriffs,
and Crown counsel are alike discreet and scrupulous,
they undoubtedly wield a power which is contrary to
the principles of civil liberty. These blots on the
Scottish system are signally observable in the case of
inquests. There is no coroner's inquest—that is, no public
investigation as regards a sudden or suspicious death—in
Scotland. The town or county fiscal, acting as coroner, in-
stitutes a private inquiry, and the result is submitted to
Crown counsel for orders. In other words, all the deaths
occurring under suspicious or flagrantly criminal circum-
stances have to be reported to two or three gentlemen of
the law seated privately in an apartment in Edinburgh ;
and, as far as any one can understand, these said gentlemen
are authorised to do as they like. They may indulgently
consign the whole thing to oblivion, or they may bring it
above board, seemingly on their own responsibility, which
is a good deal like no responsibility at all. Would the
English, with their love of publicity and fair play, submit
to this lino of procedure ? Would they agree to allow the
entire preliminary investigation of homicide to be carried
on secretly by local authorities, and the final decision as to
whether there should be a trial or not to be also settled
secretly by a mysterious conclave—a kind of Star Chamber
—at Westminster ? I greatly mistake their character if
they would endure anything of the sort. The Scotch sys-

tem may be paternal, as some aro pleased to call it, but it
has not the smack of the Anglo-Saxon freedom. It does
not seem logical to say that two processes directly the op-
posite of each other, and operating in the same country, can
both be right. If the plan of investigating charges of crime
in open court in England be right, the plan of making the
same species of investigations secretly in Scotland must be
wrong; and vice versa. We of course all know how in-
consistencies and stupidities are tolerated, and even thought
respectable from long usage. One,however, fails to see why
with the universal jumble of interests and feelings in this
United Kingdom of ours, there should continue to be such
a diversity of legal institutes and customs in London and
Edinburgh. According to the Scottish procedure,
on inquests especially, the law officers of the
Crown do themselves less than justice. They ne-
cessarily are obliged to decide on the narrow
grounds presented by the papers transmitted to them,
instead of that wider ground which would be offered by a
public inquest, when all and sundry knowing anything
of the matter would be able to come forward with their
evidence. The comparative value of publicity and secrecy
may be judged from certain cases reported in the news-

papers. A house in London takes fire, and two or three
unfortunate inmates are burnt to death. Immediately,

what with coroners' inquests, and examinations before ma-
gistrates in open court, with a crowd of reporters for the
press taking notes, the whole community, as it were,
are taken into counsel. Every one has a scrap of evidence

bearing on the— catastrophe hastens to give it; at all events,
the truth comes out somehow, and the ends of justice are
satisfactorily served. Mark the contrast. A house takes
fire (or tumbles down) in Edinburgh ; and there is loss of
life at which all are horrified. But it is against rule to
make a public inquiry. The only information afforded is

that " an investigation is going ou by the proper authori-
ties ;" with which gracious intimation people aro bound
to be satisfied, and ten to one they never hoar any moro
about it. Fortnightly Review.

The following advertisement appears in the Elber-
feld Gazette :—" To-day, about 1 o'clock in the afternoon,
my dear wife Catherine, born at Elberding, was happily
confined of two girls and a boy. Barely ten months ago
she had twins, making five children in one year.—Elber-
fold, August 11, 1865."

. _ .
A CAKE OF GOLD.—A very splendid cake_ f gold
got from the Prince Alfred Company's claim, Vic-
toria Reef, Bendigo, will be exhibited in the window of
Messrs. BaiHie and Butters's office, Collins-street-west,
during the next day or two. It weighs close on 1,2000 z.,
and its value is nearly £s,ooo.—Melbouro paper.