The Sun.
London, England, 1822-06-21 00:00:00

old Colonial Constitutions were charters from a
power somewhat less than the Legislature, being
only the King, one of the branches of it, and yet
an interference with them would have been re-
sisted at any time. We question if Jamaica,
or the other West India Colonies with Consti-
tutions derived from similar Charters,' would
relish the summary process which Mr. Wilmot
here advocates. The Ultras say that the French
Constitutional Charter may be revoked when the
King pleases. A British Minister may strip the
inhabitants of all our Colonies of their franchises
by means of Parliamentary majorities. This is
not certainly calculated to enhance the value of
a Colonial Constitution. When the Governor
of a Colony hereafter finds the Legislature re-
fractory, he has only to threaten it with the
wrath of the superior Legislature.

[THE TIMES.]
By the American ship Ann and Hope, which
has arrived in the Channel from China, we have
received accounts from that country to the 19th
February. The letters which she brings, though
numerous, add little to our former knowledge
respecting the state of the negociations for ad-
justing the differences between the British Fac-
tory and the Chinese authorities, arising out of
the late affray ; but, happily, they all concur in
anticipating a favourable result. We must,
therefore, still remain in suspense—though a sus-
pence less anxious than the former—till the arri-
val of the Kent, which was to sail from China on
the 26th of February, and which, according to
accounts that reached town yesterday, is supposed
to have been seen off Penzance. It was natural-
ly to be supposed that the Hong merchants, who
derive such advantages from their trade with
us, would exert themselves to prevent their pro-
fits from being endangered by a final rupture ;
and that the wealth of such a body must always
be powerful enough to command some atten-
tion from the agents of their Government, who,
though . absurdly proud and repulsive to fo-
reigners, have' no strong antipathy to presents,
and are not inaccessible to corruption. It there-
fore alwayi appeared probable, that an arrange-
ment might be formed by some diplomatic fic-
tion, by which we might be enabled to obtain
Hyson
,and Nankeens without, sacrificing our
countrymen ; and the Viceroy of Canton might
get broad cloth and Spanish dollars without a
surrender of national honour. The great danger
arose from the previous compliance of the Ame-
ricans with a demand which we thought it our
duty to resist, and their disposition to foment
the quarrel in order to take advantage of a trade
which we might be called upon to forfeit. To
this latter cause we may no, doubt ascribe a re-
port in some of the letters, to American houses,
that the negociations were likely to terminate
unfavourably, and that in consequence several
English vessels had been ordered to ports in
India.

[MORNING HERALD.]
The Bill for the Amendment of the Marriage
Act underwent a third discussion yesterday even-
ing in the House of Lords, on which occasion
some very important, and, in our opinion, most
salutary clauses, were introduced by Lord
Redesdale. The effect of these will be, to pre-
vent the possibility of any marriage, solemnized
by the consent of the parties, being rendered
null and void, even should the parties be
married under false names ; but in the latter
case an adequate punishment is to be in-
flicted on the party committing the fraud,
while the marriage remains indissoluble. Who-
ever has been in the habit of witnessing the
proceedings in our Ecclesiastical Courts, in suits
instituted for nullity of marriages, and recollects
the cruel decisions which the Judges were com-
pelled by law to give—decisions which broke
asunder the tenderest ties of affection, which re-
duced many virtuous females to a state of want,
and brought degradation and infamy on innocent
children, the marriage of whose parents was de-
clared illegal ;—whoever recollects these things
must rejoice at this correction of the law, by which
all marriages hereafter are to be indissoluble. But
the evil which arose from the frequent dissolution
of marriages was not confined to individuals—its
influence was felt throughout society in the cor-
ruption of morals and the insecurity of property.
This leads us to make a remark or two on the
dissolutions which have taken place by specific
Acts of Parliament, in cases of adultery on the
part of the husband or wife. We know that,
through the facility of obtaining divorces in that
way, there prevailed at one time in this coun-
try' a most 'disgraceful system of profligacy and
collusion. Husbands who disliked their wives,
and wanted to get new ones, threw them in the
way of seduction ; and then, after going through
all the regular processes of law against the adul-
terers, obtained their Bills of Divorce to enable
them to marry again. And there have even
been instances where husbands and wives,
mutually disliking each other, and wishing for
new partners, have contrived, by tacit agreement,
and the intervention of proper agents, to manage
matters so, that sufficient grounds wore laid
before Parliament for the passing of the Bills
that were to produce the wished-for separation
and the new marriages. About twenty years
ago this corruption of morals was openly com-
plained of in the House of Lords ; and new re-
gulations were adopted to check the facility of
divorces. But, in our opinion, the only effectual
regulation would have been, a determination to
make Divorces extremely difficult to obtain.
Had this been done, we should not have witnessed
one-tenth of the shameful trials that have polluted
our Courts of Justice ; and husbands and wives
would feat it necessary to live on better terms
with each other than they have done. , '

SUICIDE.—EarIy on Monday morning Mr.
Cbox (of the firm of Mantle and Cook, brewers, of Castle-
street, Bloomsbury), made a desperate attempt to destroy him-
self, by blowing his brains out with a pistol. The ball remained
in the head for some days, but, by the skill of the surgeons, it
was extracted, and faint hopes were entertained of his life, until
this morning, when he expired at half-past eight o'clock. Mr.
Cook had, for some time previous to the sad catastrophe, shewn
evident symptoms of a disordered state of mind.

Oa Thursday last the doors of Hereford Prison
were thrown open, there not being a single pri-
soner under confinement.-.-(Hereford Journal.)