The Sun.
London, England, 1832-11-07 00:00:00

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system of Governthent intact ; and as that could
not be maintained without fraud and corruption,
the means were deemed by him to be justified
by the end. As an instance of the spirit
which governed Lord Tenterden in what
may be called the politics of justice, we take the
following from an article in the Jurist fin-
' November, already alluded to by us :—" The
Corporations (says the writer) still find favour
in the eyes of the Judges ; and while Lord Ten-
terden presides in the King's Bench they will
never want a friend. On all occasions where
the rights of the larger body are in opposition
to those of the select few, the inclination of the
Court is in favour of the latter. An attempt
was made by some of the freemen of the Mer-
chant Tailors' Company to obtain a mandamus
for the purpose of inspecting the books of the
Company, on a suggestion of improper dealings
with the funds of the Corporation, &c. The
Court refused the application, with costs (2
Barn. and Adol. 115). The ground of this
decision is stated by Lord Tenterden, to be that
there is no instance of such an application as
this having been granted. The cases in which
the Court has interfered are all alleged to have
been where some such a controversy was depend-
ing. His Lordship added, at the conclusion of
his judgment, Nor can I see any good reason
for allowing particular members of a body cor-
porate to inspect every document belonging to
such body. lam sure it would lead to great in=
convenience and to much expensive litigation.'
Inconvenience to whom ?—.To those who profit
by concealment. Litigation with whom ?
With those who infringe the law for their
.own benefit.' The reasons assigned by
Lord Tenterden are characteristic. First,
there is no instance. But because there is
no instance, it does not follow that there should
be no instance. A precedent always supposes no
previous instance. Then it would lead to great
inconvenience. Where a Government is con-
ducted on the principle of furthering the good
of the few at the expense of the many, there
must be many things of constant occurrence
which will not bear open investigation. The
funds of a Corporation were, not long ago, ex-
pended in election bribery. The Courts main.
tamed that Corporations ought not to be
accountable for the mode in which they expended
the funds at their disposal. The end for which
the Corporation itself is appointed is here lost
sight of. It would be preposterous to say that
when the principle of the Government is
changed—that m,hen Parliament has been made
responsible to the people, instead of' the oli-
garchy—the principle which governs the Courts
in' what may be called their legislative func-
tions (for the most of our law is made by the
Courts) should not be in accordance with that
of the Government. if the public good be the
object which a Reformed Parliament will steadily
keep in view, the supreme Tribunals must see
that the conduct of Corporations and Magis-
trates shall not be at variance with that
object. The character of the different Go-
vernments of this country have always been
discoverable in the Courts of Law. With the
revolution and Chief Justice Holt commenced
a new mi.& Long after the revolution, the
Court of King's Bench was disposed to any.
thing rather than screen the misconduct of
Justices of Peace, or to abet churchmen in

their pranks. On the other hand, ever since
the American war, but more especially since the
French revolution, the word seems to have been

given to protect all in authority, whatever the
abuses. The whole ingenuity of Lord Tenter-
den in particular was direeted to the discovery of
the means of escape for Magistrates and func-
tionaries accused of abuses of the powers en-
trusted to them. We have no doubt that Lord
Chief Justice Denman will not on the Bench

Belie the professions of his whole life. 'We be

lieve him to be thoroughly impressed with the
importance of giving effect to the principles on
which the Government ought now to be con-
ducted. Sir Thomas has always enjoyed the
reputation of independence and consistency ;
and we trust he will maintain it. He will
not certainly tread in the steps of Lord Ten-
terden as a constitutional lawyer. He will not
prove himself what Lord Tenterden assuredly
was, one of the greatest enemies the Press of
this country ever had. Had circumstances

favoured Lord Tenterden, we may judge from
the doctrines laid down by him at the commence-
ment of his judicial career, he would have put an
end to all freedom of discussion.—Morn.Chron.

It was not without reason that we charged
Mr. Joseph Hume some time ago with the ma-
nifestation of a spirit of forward, obtrusive,
troublesome, and foolish busyboydyism, with re-
ference to the general election. If this pedantic
person have not engaged to foist a little faction
of his own into Parliament, then are his doings
as incomprehensible as they are, upon the face
of them, offensive. What is he about .now
at South Shields? Why should he pester the
constituency of that borough, and endanger the
election of a liberal gentleman of known inte-
grity, a worthy supporter of the Reform Govern •
ment, by smuggling into the contest, upon the
strength of a hole-and-corner requisition, a
fourth candidate, one Mr. Gowan, whose only
admitted qualification seems to be that Mr.
Hume has taken him by the hand, and said to
the electors " Here is any man—he will do
your business and mine together, which is
good economy, you know,—therefore choose
him." Mr. Hume is mistaken if he
fancies that he can anywhere play the rabble
of this island against both the middle classes
and the upper. He is much mistaken if he
imagines that the length of his own political
tether is not accurately known. A man who
sees nothing—literally nothing, in any political
measure or system, but the cost of it in shillings
and pence, may be a fit teacher of hedge school
arithmetic, but he has as much pretension to the
title of legislator or statesman as had the per-
sonage ridiculed by Sterne to that of " critic,"
when he tested Garrick's acting by the stop-
watch. 3'r. Joseph Hume may as well be quiet.
He has not stuff in him for the leader of a
party. He is too ignorant—too obstinate—too
narrow. He never can take into his contem-
plation more than a single object, and that ne-
ver in all its bearings; and he knows men's
minds as imperfectly as their interests, political
or social. When all other banks come to be
restrained within their proper bounds, let us
hope that the race of mountebanks will not be
forgotten. Mr. flume might be an important
person, if he would or could take a right mea-
sure of his own capabilities : his intentions we
.believe to be honest, but his inordinate vanity
counteracts his indefatigable industry, and neu-
tralizes his usefulness, by shutting up his under
standing against all suggestions, except those of
his own conceit.—Times.

The Times of yesterday morning contains a
high panegyric, not more high than his. merits
deserved, of the late Lord Tenterden, and pro-