The Sun.
London, England, 1802-10-19 00:00:00

INDIA.

.
A Morning Print, violent in its opposition to..
Governmen't, i,nd zealous to advance the views of a
triend on rite office of, Advocate General iii
thinks fit, among other aspersions on Marquis •
WFLLF.SLEY, to assert, that the appointment la: eiy
made-by his-Lordship t, that station,' is thertied a
invasion of the Patronage of rile Court of Director..
Upon what ground that assertion is fin:tatted,
wits
appear from the follow ing.short statement of -fatt :
- About the year 1776, when the office was it.St 1-
tuted, Sir
JOHN DAY, at the recopitiendation of
Lord NORTH, vas nominated to it, and sent out .
by 'the Court of Direelors. On his resignation,
seven or esAht years after, Mr DAVIES, then at
the Bar in Bengal, and second Law Officer of the
Company there, was appointed his successor by Mr.
HASTINGS. On the death of Mr. DAVIES, about
the latter end of the year 1791, Mr. LstrRitOUGHS,
then also at the Bar in Bengal, and second Law
Officer of the Company there, was appointed his
successor by Marquis CottNwAws. On. the re.
signation of Mr. BultkoUGHS in itiot; Mr.S.ritET-
TELL, then also at the Bar in Bengal, and second
Law Officer of the Company there, was appointed
his successor by Marquis WELL Etii.EY. TIHIS,. of -
the four persons who have hitherto herd the office of
Advocame General, the first only, who, on its insti-
tution here, was without impropriety,.nominated
in England, can, he said to owe his aPpOintnient
either to the Minister at home or the Court Of Di-.
rector. The other three Were all appointed in In-
dia, and rose, one after the other, according to the
just and regular course of succession, -and according
to that system, which the CoUrt of DireEtors them.
selves, with the concurrence of their best Govern.
rnents, and the sandion also of Legislative Audio-
Tity, have wisely established, for the- laudable put.
poses of encouraging merit, securing the advantages
of local experience, and preventing the abuse of
patronage by unjust supercession.
_ So delicate indeed were the Court of Dire&ors on
former occasions, in liStening to any application
that might interfere with that system, or with the
patronage of the Supreme Government in. India,
that they not only refused to make even a provisional
appointment th the office, when solicited so to do
by the friends ofihe late Sir- Joy Ricita.ttesoN, of
Sir JOHN Rovers, now a Puisno Judge in Bengal,
Mr. BURRAUGHs, and others, but in a General Let.
ter of the year 17.90, mentioned the requests which
had been made to theakon the subjea, and expressly
• declared,' that they had refused to comply, and that
they left the appointment, in case of a vacancy., to
the Governor General.
With what appearance of justice the Opposition '
Prints, under these circumstances, can accuse Lord
WeLt.tstt Y of encroaching on the Patronage of the
Court of DireCtors, the Public will be able now to
determine. He appointed, it is true, a Gentleman
who was educated with him at ,Eton, and for whom,
in common with all others who know Mr. STRZT.
SELL, he entertains a strong personal regard.
But he appointed a Gentleman, who not only .stood
next in succession to the late Advocate General,
and as the Company's second Law Officer, waa
mately acquainted with all their law'concerns'abroad,
but who,. since the departure of his prediCeSior,
stands also without competition,. and. with the, local
experience of thirteen or fourteen years, the first
man at the Indian Bar in professional reputatibn 'and
pra6tite, and who, in addition toa most honourable
and amiable charatter in private life, and at the
bead of a very numerous family, is esteemed the
best Lawyer on the other "side of the Cape of Good
Hope, without any exception, either at the Bar, os
on die Bench. Such a man the Court of Diretiors
would have thought it their duty themselves to ap-
point, supposing the nomination had rested with
them. Their law-affairs have hitherto been con-
. dufted with distinguished ability and uniniertupted
success by •every Advocate General aPpointed in
and we. venture to prophesy, that the O.
position Prints will lose. their time in endeavouring
to prevail on that respettable body' to dismiss*Mr.
STRETTE L L from his c like, fur the purpose of gra.
tifying their own-views to Patronage, or diet-ling a
job, which would be at once so unjust to him—so
injurious to the Company .and.their Service abroad—
so insulti, g to Marquis WELLESLEY—and so dis-
graceful, it is plain, to themselves.

At the General Sessions held at Grantham last
week, a man vaned William Ward was indiaed
and found guiity of furiously driving the coach
called the Rockingham, of which he was ccach.
man, against the coach called the Highflyer, on the
57th of June last, when coming down Gonerby
Hill, near Gt antham, by which meansioth coaches
were overturned, and the horses drawing the same
very much bruised and makmed,- one of them so
much so that it was obliged :in be kineti: -The Re-.
'cortrer (the Solicitor General) sentenced him to 12
months, imprisonment, but in mercy to his family
one of the coach .proprietors caused it to be mid_
gated to six months only. We understand there
were several passengers in the coaches at the time
the accident happened, none -of whom sustained
any injury. It appeared on the trial thtt this was
one of the careless, wanton, and aggravating tricks
toy dzfily praaised by coachmen, who, it is much
to be regretted, are often so forgetful of their duty,
`as at the time they are abusing the trust reposed in
them, as to endanger the lives of many fellow crea-
tures, as well as the Ir'aluablr cattle_ they are driv.
ing. We hepe this will ad. as a caution to coach-
men in future, as we understand the prnprietoss are
determined to put 'a stop to the many offences
lattlq praaised by them, with impunity, on the