The Sun.
London, England, 1812-01-18 00:00:00

Were truly the But perhaps the Right
pourable Gentleman meant. to call all the watch-
men tan ln Ldon before the Committee, to have
them examined-in the • same. manner ,es recruit:
were examined-by Surgeons, in order to -aacertaire-
- whether or not they. 'were fit for duty. He con-.
fussed that he thought it • highly u.rheco ping the
, gravity of the Right 'Honoutble Gentlena et, (and
he must do the 'Right .Hnnourble Geotletnan the
Justice to say, that he preserved his gravity and so-
lemnity on every-occasion), to propose at • that time
of day, the appointment 'of a Committee of the
House 'of Commons, Ito itiquireinto the state of the:
nightly watchbf London. The Right Henourabla-
Gentleman had not condescended -caw -to consadt on/
the subject, those -from whom he might have- derived
.information and-assistance. -He saw a ,worthy Al • -
.derman its his ,place, a -Member for Ate City of-
'Landon,' 'whose social ebd convivial. habits must
have given him frequent •opportunities-eof aseat-
taining the estate of the .niOtly watch. He would
a•k ;that worthy 'Alderman, whether the Right Hon..
Gentlernan'had'tequired hisOpinioh ? He would -ask
•t he Noble Lord near him, who so welt desetaedto
represent the City of Westminiter, ,and who, ' he
trusted, would long 'continue to represent it, wile-.
ther any ofahe Magistrates among his Constituents.
'had, been 'consulted faa, he firmly believed
that she Right Eon-Gentleman had 'never had
the sligtate-t communication with one of the Magis-
trates, either of city of London 'or of the of.•
Westminster. Many endeavours had been made to--
throw the odium ofthe late horrid -murders on 'fo-
reigners. Sometimes they were. 'said to .have been
committed by Portuguese,-sometimes by 'vial?. -The
Sha&vell Magistrates 113(1'1A-en great pain, t- she,v
-that the •whole originte 3 teas -Popish plot., But
reveet:to the suppoSitiOn that the murder was com-
muted -by 'foreigners, meta, ibody knew who the
Gentleman was Mitt was .at the head of the Alien
Offieeo of that. Gentleman's activity he had never
doubled, although -certainty, -on a former occasion, -
'he had differed. front him in opinion upon political
subjeals,'aafd had Wen moved in that House hiy
proSecution, by the Attorney-General. It was na- -
rural lo'-'sistipOse,a hat -a Gentleman at the
,head of
Such an 'office• as • the Alien Office, (mak tat be
Voseited with the S-acratary of State lot the Home
Department at leaat two or three tiny s a week.
'as he right in saying that 'there had
,been no in-
tercourse between them for a year and a halt ) If so, -
what- sort, of a Secretary stif St Eta for -the Home De-
pertinent must- that man be, who, -in the discharge
of the important and peculiar duties of his station,
never deignecho consult in Alderman of LondOn, -a
ivlagistrarte ,of Westminster; or the At-ad
.of, the
Alien Office ? The contrast between the importance
of the-matter 'proposed by 'the Amendrrient to he
Consiaerel, and the insignificance of that to which
the original inotiort I.seaild have limitad the delibera-
liens Of the Committee, was truly whimsical. It
was like atlding a loaf to a crust-of bread. rtwas
as if 'a:motion-find -been- made'resi e&ing the pitch
and „far in ttre..•dock-yards, rid an amendineot.,
added to ioquite into the state, number' and dis-
cipline of the whole of his Majesty's. Navy.--i.
The nightly watch was a- very, trifling subjeal
indeed: The Committee might diSpatch it its
three hours ; but he defied any Committee in
three months to investigate so extensive a 'sub-
je6t-ta 1 m—Trofiree-: And in the _Mean • TiTne—VV hat -
was to become of the security of the metropolis? It
was indeed a most extensive question. In tine year
1780,. alter the alarming riots_olathaaperiod,_he had .
himself moved the appointment of a committee &+-to
inquire into the nature and'charaeler of the Police Of
the metropolis,"-ascribing, as he did, all the distur-
bances and dangers of. that time to the bad state of
the- Police Magistracy. The repartee which was
made upon him by the Lord Lieutenant, his Grace
of Northumberland, was to-put him into the corn- •
mission. An Hon. Baronet had justly complaint d
of offices given in the Police as jobs, and not be-
cause the individuals on whom they were conferred
were competent to the situation. Could any thing
be more wrong than this ? He- was glad tcr hear
the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite agree no
inquire into the
,state of the Police. But would the
• Right Hon. Gentleman assert as a Ia Et, that there
had been no jobs of the nature to which the Hon.
Baronet had alluded? Would he assert that no in-
dividual had been put into an office for which he
was unfit, or confirmed in that office-when he was
found to be unfit ? He believed• the Right Hon.
Gentleman woulchnot venture to say this. The Hon.
Baronet had, given notice of his intention to move fur
, a list of the Magistrates and their qealifieations. It
was a most unpleasant - and invidious task to point
out the miscondua of, individuals, in situations of
importance and responsibily. a With what-different
feelings did is,e' mention the name of Graham, to
Whom, in his opinion, the public was. infinitely ina
debted for his -condu&' both as a Police Magistrate
tied a Superintendent of the Hulks. - In adopting
the -Amendment, the House would impose a most
laborious task ors the Members-of whom tire Com-
mittee might. be constituted; but Le trusted that
they would. discharge their duty with alacrity, con-
Scions of the importance of the subject to the public
tranquility..

Mr. STEPHEN thought the Magistrates of: the
Police Office, Shadweil, had . been too harshly a
tacked by the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite. Ile
had no personal knowledge of any one of th,.-rn,
but lie could not .help feeling that they had been v.
placed in a very unpleasant situation, in a situation -
in which they had a most arduous duty to perform, •
and in a situation of such a nature, that it -'entitted.
them to compassion. From all (he information he
had obtained on the subject, he could not but be-
lieve the wretch who had destroyed- himself jn con-
tioement to be•the monster who had perpetrated she
bloody deeds of which he had been accused; and
couch he deplored his premature death, he
sincerely idjuiced that he bad not escaped with itnpu-
ffity. -He could.not help feeling that the Right 'Hon.
Gentleman had been rather, hard on the Secretary of
State tor the Home Department, when he charic:_
terised the Right Hon. Gentlethan'siacceding to the
amendmetA which had been moved, as' eing in s!une
sort like consenting to a whole loaf bcing-acided to
his little piece of cost. It appeared rather -era-
ordinary that such observations should be made,
after his consent to an inquiry, which the R
Hon. Gentleman seemed to expeat would redound
so much -to' his discredit'. Had the. Iti,ht Honkeur.
able Secretary been conscious of this, surely nothing
could have been more easy than for him to bile no-
posed the niol ion. Adveiting to" What ha I be