The Sun.
London, England, 1831-06-01 00:00:00

COURT OF EXCHEQUER, MAY 31.

The following Judges sat in the Exchequer
Chamber, and disposed of several Writs of Error :
The Lord Chief Baron, Barons Bayley and Vaughan,
Lord Tenterden, the Lord Chief Justice of the
Court of King's Bench, the Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas; Justices Park, Gaselee, Taunton,
Bosanquet, and J. Parke.
Upon the Barons entering this Court, the Master
read the following rule, with regard to a certain part
of the practice of the Court :
_

" Whereas since the statute of the 7th and Sth of George
IV., chap. 71, instances have occurred, in which, upon
proceedings in the Court of Exchequer by way of subpoena
and attachment, defendants have been arrested upon writs
of attachment notwithstanding the same have not issued
for a bailable cause of action, and it is desirable that such
practice should be discontinued ; it is therefore ordered, that
from henceforth no arrest shall be m ide upon any such writ
of attachment, unless the same shall be for a bailable cause
of action, and rule be duly marked and indorsed for bail.
(Signed) " LYNDHURST. J. V.AucHAN.
J. BAYLEY. W. BOLLAND."
W. GARROW.

The LORD CHIEF BARON stared that it had been
deemed right to order there should be no rule for
the delivery of paper books, and that the rule for
Concilium should be according to the practice of the
Court of King's Bench.

LIBERTY OF THE PRESS IN DEMERARA.

The Demerara Gazette has been suppressed by
order of the Governor of that colony, for an article
reflecting On the measures of the colonial Govern-
ment. There was in this case no prosecution before
a tribunal,—no appeal to a jury,—no sentence of
court. The Governor, Sir B. D'Urhan, felt hurt
at the remarks of the editor, and, without notice or
ceremony, two days after the publication, withdrew
the licence to print his journal.
We are quite sensible of the difference between
the state of society in our colonies and in the mother
country, and arc willing to allow that a freedom of
the Press, which might be innocent or salutary at
home, might be dangerous cr mischievous in the
West or East Indies; but we cannot perceive any
dat ger in the article for which this journal has been
suppressed. It did not attack the system of colo-
nial slavery,—it did not excite the slave population
to rise on their masters,—it did not even tend to
bring the local Government into contempt with the
colonists. We subjoin the article (published
March lest our negative description of its con-
tents should be discredited, and cart only say, that
after this we shall not place great reliance on the in-
dependent observations of a Demerara Paper.
"The meetings of the Combined Court for this Colony,
will, we understand, terminate their sittings this day, when
the public will be made acquainted with what measures of
economy they have, in their wisdom, thought proper to
adopt, commensurate with the present unparalleled de-
pression of prices for all our staple commodities, and conse-
quent general and overwhelming distress. The example
of the mother country will not, we trust, be lost upon our
legislators. The necessity for a Reform of both legislative
and financial abuses is certainly not less here than at home,
and we hope that among those to whom the important
task has been delegated of legislating for this colony, some
few, at least, will be found sufficiently honest to discharge
their trust with fidelity, and ►who, unawed by authority,
uninfluenced by any petty vanity of time-serving servility,
will stand forth the uncompromising champions of public
rights, and declared enemies of abuses under every form,
whether of encroachments on the legislative tights of the
people, or of profligate expenditure of their means, on
sinecure appointments, or salaries disproportioned to the
present conaition of the colony, verging on the very brink
of general bankruptcy. These are considerations which
the present awful aspect of the times calls, not only
upon all legislators, but all citizens, to entertain and
seriously to discuss. On their conduct on this occasion
may probably depend their future safety or ruin. The poli-
tics of Europe are at this moment highly interesting ; but
to us, individually, the politics of our own little republic
are infinitely more so. What consolation will it afford
to us to hear of kingdoms in the old world, who, having
broken the sceptre of despotism, have nobly asserted their
just right to free and cheap governments, if we, in this
small distant settlement, continue oppressed by legislative
abuses and financial extravagance, and become, in conse-
quence, reduced to the worst of all slavery—the wretched
lependence of beggary ? Time was in this colony when
the profits on private adventures were so liberal as to ren-
der the extravagance of public expenditure a matter of
minor importance. Bat now, when those may be deemed
fortunate whose earnings suffice to meet their daily out-
lays, the burden of public expenditure presses hard upon
the very necessaries of life. Such would be the case even
were the expenditure most frugal; but what shall we say
of an expenditure which bas gone on increasing with reck-
less and unfeeling indifference in inverse proportion to the
general prosperity, which has been doubled within those
few unfortunate years, which has witnessed the decay of
more than half our resources. These are the subjects to
which we shall shortly deem it our duty to draw the at-
tention of the public in detail, unless we find our labours
fortunately anticipated by others better qualified for the
undertaking. In the mean time, we shall content our-
selves with throwing out these few preliminary hints, and
await the results of the last week's secret deliberations of
our legislators."

Sir TiioNlAs LAWRENCE, writing to a friend
who was about to give a large price for a supposed original
work of art, says,
" As the sum proposed, or to be given,
must, from the real merit of the work, be large, demand a
full history of the picture ; you have a right to do so;
and, since the value set upon it is equal to that of an estate,
with the title to which you would be fully satisfied before
you bought it, require that a clear account be made out
to you of the original destination of the work, and the
names of its possessors down to this moment,"

MAGAZINE DAY.

BLACKW 0 OD' S MAGAZINE.

The opening article on the late Edinburgh
election is evidently from the pen of Professor
Wilson, and, though we eschew its politics, it is
impossible to deny praise to the spirit, arch-
ness, sarcasm, and sterling vein of eloquence
that pervade it. " Dr. Parr and his Cotem-
poraries" is a subject now, unfortunately, so
stale and trite, that not even the learning and
vivacity of Dr. Quincey can redeem it. " Hymn
of the Mountain Christian," by Mrs• Herrin's,
is full of solemn and stately thoughts, clothed in
appropriate language. We _ regret that our
limited space will not allow us to extract it.
" On Parliamentary Reform" is the old story
repeated and reiterated for at least the thousandth
time. The very word " Reform" has now be-
come a decided bore. It is worse (if that be
possible) than the Catholic Question. We meet
with it in all directions and under all circumstances;
at home and abroad; by day and by night ;
in town and country ; in the peasant's hut and
the Peer's palace ; at church, at the theatre, at the
Freemason's Tavern ; it is the first word that
strikes us dumb in the ball-room, that drives us
into downright drunkenness at the dinner-table,
that sends us prematurely to our couch, ensures
us the night-mare, and salutes our eyes at the
breakfast-table in the leading article of the
Times or Chronicle. If we fly to the country
for refuge from this nuisance, we find that
is is übiquitous, and pursues us like our
Familiar. The coachman who drives us is sure
to be a Reformer; the eight-outsides are Re-
formers ; the fat lady and gentleman within are
Reformers ; the very ostlers on the road are
Reformers ; all are advocates—landlords, waiters,
chambermaids, and even the nondescript boots
himself " for the Bill, the whole Bill" and would
we could add—" nothing but the Bill ! "Such
being the case, we regret much to see the question
agitated again in Blackwoods Magazine. Surely
his readers have by this time had quite enough of
Reform ! It is but fair to state, however, that
the article is well written, and cleverly, though
sophistically argued. The remaining articles are
neither better nor worse than the usual run of
Magazine contributions. By the way, we should
except the " Diary of the Physician," which is
capital.