The Sun.
London, England, 1833-06-26 00:00:00

The early adjournment of the House of Commons last
night caused the postponement till this evening, of the
motion of Mr. Vernon Smith, for the appointment of
commission to inquire into the state of the municipal cora,
porations in England, Wales, arid Ireland. The ittentiore
of our contemporaries and the public has been strtntte,y
drawn to the publication of the report and evidence of the
Commons' Commit'ee on municipal corporations, and by
the sanguine expectation that these odious local Oligarchies,
—these last remains of the infamous beroughmongere—
will be swept away to the tomb of the Cannier. Tire
continued existence of such abominable corruptions at this
time of day is scarcely Credible. If we contemplate, with
some few exceptions, the whole municipal corporation" of
England, Wales, and Ireland, what is the disgusting
spectacle they present 7 The deadly principle of self
election and impenetrable secrecy ; the imperfect and fre-
quently corrupt administration of justice; civil and criminal
jurisdiction, corroded by long lapse of time; public wilds;
used tor p;;litical party porpoise, and not nifrequently for
private advantage ; no conservation of the public
peace, but often open and notorious encouragement of
of power or emolument
ci tos breaches;
r porat e a
officers
struggling, constant
Bishops
the freemen
for
trn
atati
°boy,
to pass from one corporate ogee
to a higher; antiquated local custi7ne
and by-laws,
excluding from settlement or oppressing the industrious
stranger and foreigner; public schools, with deem..'"ngrY
foundations, and charities capable of educating • • 11!
youth and supporting all the aged sad infirm of their
communities, in a state of absolute decay and utter use-
feistiest; charities diverted from the original purposes of
the founders, and frequently wholly lost to those for whom.
they are held in trust, the right or custom i.l conferring
he freedom of cities and boroughs on pub is men who have
deserved well of their country, prostituted to the bass
purpose of manufacturing freemen by the score to in-
fluence elections of Members to represent the people in
the Commons' House of Parliament; the diversion of the
oval public funds to bribe the wretched " electors,"
when thus fictitiously created; the " livings" given to
rank Tory Divines; lastly, the selection of all those
men for corporate offices who are least worthy to.
perform public duties, and the systematic exclusion
of intelligent, wealthy, and honourable citisens, best
qualified to fill municipal offices ! Sodom and Gomorrah
never more deserved the vengeance of the Must Higlitltihaen
do these abominable sinks of political corruption deserve
t of
thhee heldp
oratei in un i
sesystemextoec
prartegioenr; e Fanu
dr th
perpetuateer,the power
existing evil, of our representation is pslpahly notorious.
The shameless exposure of the creation in Leicester of SO
honorary freemen, by the magic wand of the Corporators;
the venality periodically practised with the corrupt free-
men of Liverpool ; the 41. per head to the Coventry
freemen, from the charity of Sir Thomas White; the
electioneering corporation of Stamford; the recent ekr-
tion cases of Warwick, Hertford, Carrickfergus, and in
the undetected boroughs equally notorious; the Noble •
Recorders and their subservient Town Clerks in nume-
rous cities and boroughs ; the political riots and mill- -
tary interference with the freedom of election recently -
displayed in every part of the kingdom—all these scan-
dalous and easily remedied abuses cry aloud for redress. .
In fact, it would be far better that the " Municipal
Corporations" should be utterly obliterated from the -
face of the land, and the people left to their own good
sense and natural feelings, than that these institutions
should be perpetuated in their present corrupt and
defective state. And when we direct our attention
to the unincorporated communities, what is the
melancholy picture of their municipal conditiomi?. We •
see Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and atp the
large manufacturing towns—the extraordinary creation oU
the industry and mechanical ingenuity of our admirable
countrymen—for the moat part without even' the shadow
of municipal organization, or any civil govirnment founded
on sound and popular principles. We see here and there
a stipendiary Magistrate acting under a limited jurisdic-
tion, and on the powers of defective local Acts of Parlia-
ment; in most places a spurious honorary Magistracy,
appointed by Tory Lord Lieutenants, the qualifications
of which are in general exclusively the possession of mere
wealth, or political subserviency promoted with a boos
rowed money qualification—Magistrates too -frequently;
viewed with hatred and contempt by the people in theirr
jurisdiction. The jurisdictions for debt 'limited to 54.
Court of Requests, where Commissioners come to serve•
only their friends or themselves—penal law administered;
~n the worst principles and practice—Courts Leet, Court
liaron, and Hundred Court', spread over the country,
totally inadequate to the municipal wants of the nation.
Such is the real and unexaggerated municipal state of this
country. We have, in fact, stood Atiilllacmany cen-
-uric,. The proposed Coninaimion is a move onwavall
end we trust will receive the support of every party, ex,
eept the Conservatives.—Morning Chroxicht.

It is expected that the Naval, promotions wilt
,hortly be peened in the same form as the promotions in
the Army.
HORRIBLE CASE.--On Wednesday night
!ast a case of the most appalling description occurred in
,he Lunatic Asylum of this town. It appears that two
persons, both from Roscrea, one who had been but re-
cently admitted, were placed in the same cell, in conse-
pence of the prevent crowded state of the Asylum.
Neither of them were remarkable for outrageous conduct,
lor did they betray any symptoms of malice, so often the
concomitant of mental derangement. On the night in
iue,tion, however, it appears that the lunatic who had
,een but a few days admitted, arose, and having taken the
.taves out of the bed on which he lay with his unfottunate
•umpanion, beat him therewith so unmercifully, that the
.Juor creature was discovered dead by the keeper in the
corning, and in the most mutilated and dre„itul Callii.l-
ion that can be imagined. A Coroner's ingt.e.t w.ts Egli
,n the body on Thursday, and a verdict accordingly Was
TiDntraryt P... P....