The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-08 00:00:00

ham ever suspected your Lordship of any of the qualities
to which plain speaking is abhorrent. No apology there-
fore is required in saving I am, my Lord, your Lord-
ship's most obedient humble servant.—October 19, 1831."
Times.

The second edition of a pamphlet under the title
of " A Letter to the Mayor and Corporation of the
City of Bristol, upon their judicial conduct and the
local Jurisprudence of the City," by C. 11. Walker,
which has been sent to us, contains a variety of
statements respecting that Corporation, that ao far
to account for the eversion of the people of Bristol
to their Magistracy. We suspect it will be found
almost uniformly that functionaries neither named by
nor accountable to those whose affairs they admi-
nister, will display very little anxiety to deserve
their approbation. It has been thought by many
that the Aldermen of London would be materially
improved by giving to the Livery, at certain in-
tervals, say every seven years, the power of electing
others in their stead. But London is perfection
itself when put in comparison with Bristol. " I
have now lying before me (says Mr. Walker) a little
pamphlet, written and published by the late Mr.
John Rose, a very worthy and honest man, in the
year 1792; it is ended ' Free Thoughts on the Office
of Mayor, Aldei men, and Common Council of the
City of Bristol.' In this pamphlet Mr. Rose con-
trasted some of the rights and privileges of the
Corporation of London with those of 3ourselves ;
and surely a greater contrast, so far as it goes, could
scarcely be imagined. I need only to transcribe it
to demonstrate the fact :

IN LONDON. IN BRISTOL.
The Mayor is elected by the The Mayor is elected by the
Livery. Common Council.
The Aldermen arc elected by the The Aldermenare electetf.by the
Inhabitants of the respective Mayor and Aldermen.
Wards, who pay scot and lot.
The Common Council are elected The Common Con itcdttre elected
annually b} the inhabitants of for life, by the Common Coun-
the respective Wards paying cil.
scot and lot.

The Sheriffs are elected by the The Sheriffi are elected by the
Livery. Common Council.
An account of receipts and dis. No account is rendered,
bursements is published annu-
ally.

" Will any man tell me why a more arbitrary and uncon-
stitutional power should exist in Bristol than in London ?"

The Corporation is as rotten as any thing known
in Scotland. Are we to be astonished then that
the Magistrates live in the constant violation of
their oaths—that they convert their offices into si-
necures? It is expressly ordered in the charters,
" that all the Aldermen (the Recorder excepted)
shall be resident within the city of Bristol, the su—
burbs, liberties, and precincts of the same." So
far from this being the case, Mr. Walker says that,
with one exception, all the Aldermen are non-resi-
dent. Some of these live in remote counties, and
in the metropolis, filling situations under Govern-
ment, and only visit Bristol occasionally to enjoy
their share of feasting arid plunder. The Corpora-
tion possess large revenues, and have the manage-
merit of several wealthy charities, and they deal out
to each other handsome incomes out of the funds
tinder their controul. It would seem that even
Judge Jeffries was ashamed of the daring wicked-
ness of the Bristol Corporation in the time of the
Stuarts. There is, it seems, extant a charge of this
Judge in 1685, in which he charges them with
making justice subservient to the basest purposes:
" Gentlemen," he says, " I find a Special Commission
is an unusual thing here, and relishes very ill ; nay the
very women storm at it, for fear we should take the upper
hand of them too ; for, by the bye, I hear it much in
fashion in this city for the women to govern and bear
sway Gentlemen, I have brought a brush in my
pocket, and I shall he sure to rub the dirt wherever it lies,
or on whomsoever it sticks. I shall not stand compli-
menting with you ; I shall talk with some of you before
you and I part. I tell you-1 tell you, I have brought a
besom, and I will sweep every man's door, whether great
or small. Come, come, gentlemen, to he plain with you,
I find the dirt of the ditch is in your nostrils Good God !
where am I? In Bristol ? This ci'y, it seems, claims
the privilege of hanging and drawing amongst themselves.
I find you have more need of a commission once a month
at least. The very Magistrates, which should be the Mi-
nisters of Justice, 1.11 out with one another to that degree
that they will scarce dine with each other ; whilst it is
the business of some cunning men that lie behind the cur-
tain to raise divisions amongst them, and set them toge-
, Cher by the ears, and knock their loggerheads together.
Yet I find they can agree for their interest, or if there be
a kid in the case ; for I hear the trade of kidnapping is of
much request in this city. They can discharge a felon or a
traitor, provided they will go to Mr. Alderman's p:antation
at the West Indies! Come, come, I find you stink for
want of rubbing. Gentlemen, what need I remind you
of these things ? I hope you will search into them, and
inform me. It seems the dissenters and fanatics are well
among you, by reason of the favour of the Magistrates !
For example, if a Dissenter, who is a notorious and obsti-
nate offender, comes before them to be fined, one Alder-
man or other stands up, and says, ' he is a good man'
(though three parts a rebel!) Well, then, for the sake
of Mr. Alderman, he shall be fined but bs. Then comes
another, and up stands another good-man Alderman, and
says, I know him to be an honest man' (though rather
worse than the former !) Well, for Mr. Alderman's sake,
he shall be fined but half-a-crown ! So manus mamas
,fricat ; you play the knave for me now, and I will play
the knave for you by and bye- Gentlemen, these things
must be looked into. I shall not now trouble you any
further. So adjourn," &c.
The chronicler of this charge adds—" Upon affidavits
read, and other evidence, against Sir William Clutterbuck
(the Mayor), Alderman Lawford, and others, for kidnap-
ing, there being bills preferred to the Grand Jury by John
Ramsey, the Town Clerk, and being found, the Chief
Justice made the Mayor and Aldermen concerned to go
from the Bench to the Bar, to plead to the information, say-
ing of the Mayor, ' See how the kidnapping rogue looks !' "
Mr. Walker, alluding to this subject, quotes the
following passage from the B iographical Magazine,
published in 1775 :
" It appears (says the writer) that when he, Judge
Jeffries, was under no State influence, he was sometimes
inclined to protect the natural and civil rights of mankind,
of ,which the following instance has been given ;—The
Mayor and Aldermen of Bristol had made a practice of
ilanngtato-
ttransporting
selling
convicted
ri criminalsot
fo
ttrhaed e
;tli Americanus tn r
rip
good account when any pilferers or petty rogues were
brought before them, they threatened them with hanging,
and then some officers who attended, earnestly advised the
igonno
as tthae nodn
yntwitnaiydattoedsacvreeathtteirmes; beg for fogrentreartaisi
x rtheirta
advice was followed. Then, without more form, each
Alderman took one, and sold him for his own benefit; but
this infamous trade, which had been carried on for many
years, at last came to the knowledge of the Lord Chief
Justice, about the year 1684, who, on inquiry, finding
that the Mayor, Sir William Hayman, was equally in-
volved in the guilt of this practice with his brethren, made
him descend from the Bench, where he was sitting, stand
at the Bar in his scarlet and fur, and plead at a common
criminal. He then obliged them to give security to an-
swer objections; but the proceedings were stopped by the
Revolution."

According to Mr. Walker, the Corporation is still
distinguished by the most unblushing violations of
justice; and in truth it seems high time that Go-
vernment instituted some inquiry into this den of
iniquity. We are not astonished that Bristol should
be distinguished for its riots; for the iniquity of the
Corporation has on several occasions led to riots
which have terminated in the concession to fear,
which would not have been given to justice. Is
this Turkish system of allowing iniquity full swing,
subject only to the dread of mob vengeance, to be
tolerated in the 19th century ? Mr. Serjeant Lud-
low, the Town-clerk, is charged by Mr. Walker
with violating the law by non-residence; but, says
he, " it struck me as being within the range of pos-
sibility, that if you assailed Mr. Out-of-Town Clerk,
Mr. Out-of-Town Clerk might assail you." He
knows too much to be meddled with. Mr. Walker
transcribes a bill of costs of a Mr. Jarman, an at-
torney, in which several items of a startling nature
with regard to Mr. Ludlow appear. We shall not
at present enter into the transactions alluded to;
but if Mr. Walker's statements be correct, all we
shall say is, that we are surprised at nothing that
has taken place. When men in authority set such
examples, what are we to expect from the poor and
needy ?—/Iforning Chronicle.

In the present situation of the country, when all
the quiet and loyal and well•disposed part of the
people live in daily apprehension of outrage, rob-
bery, conflagration, and murder, there are two or
three measured which it especially behoves Uovern-