The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-14 00:00:00

abridged power. Magistrates ought to be more
guarded in the expression of opinions on laws
which they have • spontaneously undertaken to ad-
minister. If their duties become too painful
to them, they are not without a remedy by which
they can rid themselves of the annoyance. Besides,
the Bench is not a proper place for exhibiting the
quixotic chivalry of the 13th century. Every woman
who trumps up a tale of fictitious merit, and unde-
served suffering, is not to be held up as a proof of
the unfeeling nature of legislative enactments. While
on this point, we may refer to the case of EMMA
PASSAU before Mr. CONANT, one of the sitting Ma-
gistrates of Marylebone, whose conduct elicited some
remarks from us on Saturday. This woman so en-
gaged the Magistrate's sympathies, that he hesitated
not to recommend to her the adoption of a trick alto-
gether unworthy of a public functionary, by which she
should entail a burthen on a neighbouring parish—
took her case as a text upon which he commented on
the Poor Law Amendment Bill, to the great edifica-
tion of the said EMMA PASSAU; and after having
displayed a charitable sympathy with her sufferings,
which it might be uncharitable to presume was intended
to reflect on the hard-heartedness of the Legislature, it
yesterday conies out, that the object of so much ma-
gisterial benevolence, and the subject of such bench
panegyric and commiseration is a woman of infamous
character, whose conduct had closed the doors of the
very receptacles of vice against her. This was proved
to the Magistrate by the accomplices of the woman
in her presence, and she herself admitted the state-.
went to be correct. Well might Mr. CONANT express
displeasure at her duplicity, but at the same time, we

kink of the two, he was most to blame. However

this we trust will prove a salutary warning to him,
and that for the time to come he will take care how he
commits himself on such occasions.

A desire to obviate the difficulties, and to remove

,he erroneous impressions, which the conduct of the

inconsiderate friends, and the covert enemies, of the
New Poor Law Amendment Bill, is likely to give rise
to, is the only object which has induced the Com-

missioners to issue the circular headed " Poor Laws,"
which we have given in another column, and

to which we direct attention. This circular ex-
plains the present state of the law as it affects
the pool, and which is to be observed until such time
as the Commissioners shall have prepared a body of
rules and regulations capable of general application
throughout the kingdom. It is a great error to sup-

pose that the Commissioners are so impatient of delay
as to force the new law on the inhabitants of any parish
where the effects of the old system are found to be of
a salutary nature. They are quite prepared to allow
the change to be effected gradually, so that as few as
possible of those entitled to relief may suffer from it.

It is necessary for the peace of the country, as well as
for the convenience of individuals, that nothing should
be done hastily, or before due consideration has been
given to the consequences likely to follow the suggested
improvement. Happily the ample powers vested in

the Commissioners allow them the benefit of a wise
discretion. But may we not put it to them, whether it
would not have been better to have used more definite,
and at the same time more simple language in the
circular now before us ? Is there not something too
lawyer-like, as well as the opening of a door to litigation
and abuse in the quotation of so many statutes as text
books for parish overseers and country Magistrates
We confess- zn-611-5-at-leastr is--our opinion. We_by no.
means approve of instructions which are given in any
form in which they may be misunderstood ; and we do
think that the Commissioners would have rendered a
much greater service to the country, had they conveyed
their sentiments to the public in a few plain words,
commanding this or that to be clone, in, and under,
such and such cases and circumstances. We of course
do not mean by this to convey any imputation on the
circular before us. All we would be understood to say
is, that we would have preferred it did it make fewer
references to Acts of Parliament, and embody in itself
the sum and substance of all it was intended to perform.
In the meantime, we know that the Commissioners are
not sleeping at their posts. They are hard at work,
to bring a law into full operation which will yet prove
one of the greatest boons that ever the British Parlia-
ment conferred on the British people.

The intelligence which has this day reached us from
the north of Spain is most unsatisfactory. The pro-
vince of Navarre is in a dreadful state ; and at pre-
sent there is little prospect of its tranquillization.
General MINA has not yet taken the command of the
army—a circumstance which augurs very unfavour-
ably. On all sides there is the grossest igno-
rance displayed on the part of the Government.
For example, could there be anything more ruinous than
to leave the army without a commander, as it virtually
is at present, in the midst of enemies energetic from
despair, and furious from the excess of suffering ?
Rom', will not fight, nor dare he except at the
peril of his head, as he is no longer at the head
of the troops ; and MINA is either indisposed,
or indifferent to the acceptance of the hazard-
ous office conferred on him. Thus the army is
virtually rendered a burthen to, instead of being the
defence of the country. Don CARLOS is still a fugi-
tive. Lis reported that in a Council of War which
he held, he proposed a journey to Russia, for the pur-
pose of entreating the assistance of the EMPEROR,
but that ZUMALACARREGUY, suspecting he me-
ditated flight to secure his personal safety,
refused to permit his departure.

The German papers are barren of all 'intelligence,
with the exception of accounts of the ravages of
cholera in Sweden and Denmark. The whole of the
north of Europe is suffering greatly from this pestilence.

It is stated in Frankfort papers of the Bth inst., that
Prince ESTERHAZY, who has lately been giving grand
fetes, will not return as ambassador to London. The
annual income of this Prince is estimated at two
millions of florins (convention money), and his
debts (which are chiefly those of his father) eighteen
millions. He has the finest and most productive
estates in Hungary. The number of his sheep alone
is estimated at three millions, which annually supply
from 40 to 50,000 cwt. of wool.

Brussels Papers of the 12th inst. contain no news

of interest.

We beg to call particular attention to the Report of
the Speeches delivered at a Public Meeting, convened
at Bristol, by the Directors of the Great Western
Railway, which will be found in another part of The
Sun. We exceedingly regret that our space to-day
will not permit us to enter into the merits of the great
National Question involved in these speeches ;