The Sun.
London, England, 1824-02-21 00:00:00

is said, until next month; for, as it is pretended,l
it would at present prove fruitless, those who
command in the provinces being too inveterate
against the Liberals to further its execution. It
is thought, therefore, necessary to adopt some
preliminary measures and changes before pro-
mulgation."

[MORNING POST.]
The consolidation of the various Statutes on
each distinct subject of Legislation, of which the
Bills lately introduced by Mr. Peel on the Im-
panelment of Juries, and by Mr. Courtenay on
the Bankruptcy laws, so well exemplify the
utility and importance, will, when completed, be
one of the greatest benefits ever conferred on
the people of England. We cannot at the same
time disguise from ourselves, nor would it consist
with the duty we owe the public, to withhold
from the public the conviction we feel of the dif-
ficulty of accomplishing the undertaking, without
unadvisedly innovating on the old-established
practical jurisprupence of the country. It would,
therefore, seem to us extremely expedient to
confine, as much as possible, bills for the con-
solidation of statutes to that object only, unmixed
with any alterations or amendments, however
desirable the latter may be in themselves. The
intent, we take it, of concentrating several Acts
of Parliament and provisions of Acts into a single
new enactment, is to present the public and the
profession with a bird's eye view of the existing
law of the land on each subject of moment ; and
that this should be done in the genuine spirit
of the Constitution by embodying and combining
in one statute the practice of our Courts of Jus-
tice, according to the common law construction
which the Judges of the superior Tribunals
have from time to time put upon the different
statutes of the kingdom. The framing of
Bills on this principle appears to us in itself
a great and herculean task. In the first
place it would seem indispensable to have the
new law complete and conclusive, by rendering
it a repeal of all and any previous statute, pro-
vision, and decision on the point under review,
as well as a re-enactment of the scattered clauses
of the actual law of the land, in one concise, con-
sistent statute. We, nevertheless, would not
enact such rigid conformance to these rules as to,
prevent the framers of the new Bills from re-
moving absolute discrepancies, in order to
produce a certain evident unity of purpose
and congruity of legislation in the consoli-
dating enactment. Important alterations, how-
ever, though possessing manifest advantages, we
should think better reserved to a future oc-
casion. It is well known that the most practised
and acute Lawyer and Legislator, in drawing up
bills on comparatively simple subjects, can never
positively assert the true meaning of its own pro-
duction until it comes into operation, and is sub-
mitted to the test of judicial construction, in the
various cases to which the law may be applied.—
Even in the very recital of former Acts a differ-
ence of meaning often insensibly insinuates itself
into the new transcript of the law, and until sub-
sequently corrected, is a source of litigation or
injustice. is it, therefore, unreasonable to pre-
sume, that in Bills for consolidating existing Sta.
tutes, though restricted in the manner which we
have suggested, some flaws of this description will
be discovered when they are exposed to the scru-
tinizing inspection of our Tribunals ? Would not
these then be sufficient dangers to risk at once,
and particularly as an interval of at least twelve
months must elapse before the Legislature can
staunch the imperfection which it may thus have
produced in the Constitution,i ll'or our own part
we apprehend so, and greatly fear that if emenda-
tions of the Statutes are attempted exactly at the
same time with their consolidation, serious confu-
sion will ensue, not unattended la serious evil
to the country• The expediency of whatever
alterations in the established practice of the
Courts might seem meet to Parliament, we shall
ever be the last to question; but while we tacitly
subscribe to the propriety of all such amend-
ments, we may be permitted to express an un-
prejudiced, though perchance an incorrect opi-
nion, as to the precise moment and manner in
which they should be introduced.

The Greek Committee at Cambrid4,re have
transmitted three hundred pounds to the Committee in Lon-
don, in aid of the Funds for assisting the Greeks in their pre-
sent contest.

JOHN THURTELL.—The surgical knife has at
length concluded its operation on the body of
this wretched man. The business of dissection
was conducted principally by Mr. ABERNETHY
and Mr. STANLEY, ill presence of only a select
number of students. The flesh has long since
been removed, the detached limbs and sinews
having been prepared in the customary manner,
and being re-united by means of wire hinges.—
The affixing of the head will render tl►e skeleton
complete, when, we understand, it will be trans-
mitted back to Hertford, and being placed in the
custody of the High Sheriff, he may use his own
discretion as to its future disposal.

CURIOUS FACT.--A man named Thomas
Wheaton, of Rochester, New Jersey, while cut-
ting wood in a forest, slipped down a precipice,
to the bottom of which he must have fallen, had
he not grasped and retained hold upon a grape
vine. To this he clung with all the tenacity of
despair, and being unable to regain footing, by
degrees lost all sense and animation, and re-
mained thus suspended, at the distance of 25
feet from the ground, for two or three hours,
until he was taken down by some waggoners.
He remained insensible for several hours after-
wards, but was finally restored.—(New York
paper.)

A METEOR.—On Tuesday evening last, about
half-past ten o'clock, a meteor of great brilliancy
was seen at Washington, at Richmond, and at
Alexandria. It appearrd about the size of the
sun when at meridian, and although the moon
was then shining very bright, its light was eclipsed
by the meteor. Its course was from East to
West, and a few minutes after it disappeared a
rumbling noise was heard in the air like thunder,
occasioned, it is more than probable, by an elec-
trical explosion.—(New York Evening Post.)