The Sun.
London, England, 1831-09-17 00:00:00

',PIM OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

There are no people in the world more disposed
(
10 respect whatever assumes the shape of law than
the.peo.plilif Erifitand,,and therefore we are sure
nothing but the grosteSt departure from the essen-
kipl principles of justiCe and equity, could have led
e inhabitants- of_ the populous parish of Maryle-
bone to refuse to pay the rates which oppression, in
the shape of a self-elected vestry, has persisted in
imposing on them. The truth is, the people
throughout the metropolis and its neighbourhood
(and indeed we may say most populous places) have
had their patience exhausted by incessant demands
on their purse, not for legitimate expenditure on ob-
jects necessary to the welfare and order of the re-
spective parishes, but for the expenditure for all
mariner of jobs, among the most common of which
is the jobbing in new churches. In the different
self-elected vestries there are several honourable and
respectable names, but these names are mere blinds.
Thus, for instance, the Judges are among the select
vestry of St. Giles and St. George, Bloomsbury;
though we dare to say no Judge ever attended a
vestry meeting. One or two thick-and-thin men
generally do all the work, and they have the
most powerful mceives for attending to business,
merely, the distributing the money in jobs among
their own friends and connections. The distress oc-
casioned by taxes to Government is bad enough ;
but men would bear this as an inevitable evil. They
lose, however, all patience when they see the beds
taken from under poor men, struggling to keep their
heads above water, to pay heavy tradesmen's bills
for furnishing new churches and other unnecessary
branches of local taxation. Local taxation by irre-
sponsible individuals, who have had interest enough
to carry, by the most corrupt means, Bills through
Parliament, is the great curse of this country. The
manner in which this curse creeps on was well illus-
trated by a Correspondent, in giving an account of
the new District Church in the parish of Islington.
The people within the district set apart for the new
church, are entirely at the mercy of a "select vestry,
appointed, defaelo, by the vicar and his church-
warden ; for, of course, . the Bishop of London,
the Lord Chancellor, and the Commissioners can
know nothing of the parishioners themselves,
and therefore the vicar and his churchwarden de-
termine the whole. The people of Marylebone
have, it appears, fairly lost patience; and when
we consider the daring disregard of all decency
manifested. in that parish, we cannot blame them
An attempt was made yesterday to force a sale at
Marlborough-street ; but - the respectable auctioneer,
on understanding the nature of the business, deter-
mined to have nothing to do with it. An appeal
was made to the honour of the Hebrew nation, and
they determined to keep aloof. We have no doubt
that public opinion, now that it has been directed
in this powerful manner against the organized op-
pression to which the people of Marylebone are sub-
ject, will deter all men from touching a piece of
goods belonging to an inhabitant of Marylebone
taken under distress for Select Vestry rates ; and it
will be deemed as disgraceful to invade a man's pro-
perty under such circumstances as to he caught in
an unnatural offence. The conduct of the inhabi.
tants of Marylebone will, we trust, be a warning to
those who wish to set the public feeling at defiance
not to draw the bow too tight. When those in power
disregard justice, those subject to power are but too
apt to forget obedience. Why will the self-elected
Vestry of Marylebone compel the whole community
to cry out shame on their proceedings ? Let them
resign their usurped power, and allow those who
pay to have some controul - over the expenditure,
and all will yet be right. We promise them that
they will find they have much mistaken the charac-
ter of the people of England, if they think they
wiil tamely submit to be plundered for ever as they
nave been plundered for years past.—Morn. Cbron.
lo another column will be found a copy of a re-
quisition to the Lord Mayor, which has already re-
ceived many signatures, calling on his Lordship to
permit his nomination for re-election to the Civic
Chair on Michaelmas-day next. From what we
learn, the requisition cannot fail to be signed by
two or three thousand of the Livery; in the course
of a week. The able and active exertions of his
Lordship in the cause of Reform have determined
his fellow-citizens of the Livery (to whom, in other
respects, his conduct in office has given great satin
faction) to mark in this manner the deep interest
e .ey take in the measure to which England will owe
i,s regeneration. It becomes Englishmen at a crisis
I ke the present to take every opportunity of identi.
f ing themselves with the question, which has such
a formidable opposition to encounter from quarters
interested in the perpetuation of corruption. The
Livery of London will do both themseivez and the
Lord Mayor high honour, by the re-election of his
Lordship.—Morning Chronicle.
When the House was in a Committee last night
on the Public Works' (Ireland) Bill, Mr. Goulburri
had the modesty to wish the Government to be
guided in their nomination of men to conduct the
public business by his (disinterested, of course) re-
commendation. " The improvements," be said,
" promised by the Government were neither more
nor less than the turning-out one set of Commis-
stoners to make way for another. He thought that
the claens of a man like )11.. Payne, whose abilities
were acknowledged, and who had been thirty-three
years a servant of the public, should not be passed
over." Mr. Rice and Mr. Stanley defended the
Irish Government, and contended that the appoint-
ments, as respected tire activity and intelligence of
The par tire, were highly creditable. But Mr. George
Dawson returned to the tender subject of " die
placing individuals, one of whom had been thirty.
three years and the other sixteen in their situation."
Mr. Hume stated, what is but too true, that the
Government have displaced far tee few individuals;
and it would be well if they could as easily justify
themselves for retaining in office, or naming to office,
persons politically opposed to them, as for displacing
them. Mr. Hume was foolishly interrupted by
some Member exclaiming, " That s in the Morning
Chronicle !" as if writers iii Newspapers did not
naturally occupy themselves with matters of general
interest ; and as if a Member of Parliament were
bound to exhibit the frivolous fastidiousness of ab-
staining from topics, because the Preea bad already
adverted to them ; or the weakness of appearing to
reject what he thought sensible, because his own
views happened to concur with those of another.
There are times when parties in a country appear to
acknowledge many principles in common, and to
have no great difference of opinion as to the tries
sures to be pursued. But there are other times when
men are toto cal() opposed to each other. After the
war of 1194 was entered on, to put doon revolu-
tionary opinions on the Continent, and to resist all
Reform at home, a most tremendous system of pro-
ecription was set on foot in this country. The
word then was given from on high, not only to
exclude from offices of all kinds men suspected of
liberal opinions, but to combine against and
injure them in their private business. Poor
Burns, who never attained higher proßlotior.
under Government than being an Exciseman, with
difficulty retained his office, information of his liberal
sent merits having been given to the Board of Ex-
cise, who authorised a superior officer to inquire
into his conduct. The poet, in his private corn.
mon-place hook, observes, " Whatever might he
my sentiments of republics, ancient or modern, as
to Britain I ever abjured the idea. A Constitution,
which in its original principles, experience has
proved to be every way fitted for our happiness, it
would be insanity to abandon for an untried, vi-
sionary theory." In vain lie wrote loyal ballads,
summoning his fellow-countrymen to arm to repel
threatened invasion. He was told by his superiore
(in &lice) that if he wished to eat the bread of
Government, his business was " to act, and not to
think." Longafter thisperiod the proscription agams
men who had even allowed an unguarded expression
to eicape them continued in force. The justification
offered for these harsh measures was, that the exi-
gency demanded diem, and that it was necessary
tiosertiment should be ter ved by none who did