The Sun.
London, England, 1835-04-10 00:00:00

WALES.

ANGLESEA.—Beaumaris and Newborougli, G. H. Wil-
kinson and T. J. Hogg.
BRECKNOCKSHIRE.—Brecon, Crickhowell, and Hay, J.
Booth and C. Austin.

CA RNARVONSHIRE.—Bangor, Carnarvon, and Conway, G.
H. Wilkinson and J. T. Hogg; Cricceith, Nevin and
wlheli, T. J. Hogg.
CARDIGANSHIRE.—Aberystwith, Cardigan, and Lampeter,
J. Booth.

CARMARTHENSIIIRE.—Carmarthen, C. Austin ;
J. Booth ; Laugham and Llandovery, C. Austin ; Llanelly
and St. Clears, J. Booth.

DENR/GIISHIRE.—Denbigh, Holt, and Ruthin, G. H. Wil-
kinson and J. T. Hogg.
FLlNTsunii.—Caergwrle, Caerwys, Flint, Overton, and
Rhuddlan, G. H. Wilkinson ani T. J. Hogg.
GLAMORGANSHIRE.—Aberavon Cardiff, Cowbridge, Kenfig,
Llantrissent, Laughor, Neath, and Swansea, J. Booth.
MERIONETHSHIRE.—BaIa, Dinas Mwdw, and Harlech, T.
J. Hogg.
MONTGOMERYSHIRE.—LIanfiIIin, Llanidloes, Machynileth,
Montgomery, and Welchpool, T. J. Hogg.
PEMBROKESHIRE.—Fishguard, Haverfordwest, C. Austin ;
Kilgerran and Newport, J. Booth ; Pembroke, St. David's,
Tenby, and Wiston, C. Austin.
RADNORSHIRE.—New Radnor and Presteign, J. Booth' and
C. Austin.

4. The Commissioners proceeded to investigate the several
matters within the scope of your Majesty's Commission, in
each Corporation, under the heads of inquiry suggested in the
following printed notice, which was forwarded to the principal
functionaries of each Corporation, a short time before the
commencement of the personal inquiry there :

183 .

" To the Mayor (or Town Clerk, &c.) of —:—
" Sir,—His Majesty hdving been pleased to issue a Com-
mission to inquire as to the existing state of the several Mu-
nipal Corporations in England and Wales, we, being two of
the Commissioners, have to inform you, that we propose to be
at -on —, and we request you to be prepared with
whatever information you can supply on the following points :
g, I.—The local limits of the Corporation.
" ll.—The charters by which it is constituted.
" lll.—The title of the Corporation, a copy of the govern-
ing charter, and the date of all other charters.
" IV. The several officers of the Corporation, how, and by
whom elected, or removed ; the time for which they hold
their respective offices ; their respective functions and
privileges, and their salaries and incidental emoluments.
" V. The Mode by which persons become free; their duties,
privileges, and emoluments ; the number of resident and
non-resident freemen.
" VI. By whom and from whom the ruling body of the
. Corporation is elected.
" VII. Fees paid on admission to the freedom or any office
in the Corporation, and to whom paid.
" VIII. Courts, criminal and civil; the officers or magis-
trates presiding or otherwise acting in them ; the extent
of their jurisdiction, whether exclusive or otherwise ; the
nature, of their process ; what fees are paid in them, and
to whom; and tables of costs.
" IX. The juries, grand and petty, criminal and civil ; by
whom, and from whom, selected.
" X. The management of the local police, and the general
regulation of the town.
" XI. The superintendence of the gaols ; by whom exer-
cised, and under what control.
" XII. Fines imposed by the Corporation on their own
members or others.
" XIII. The nature of the property ; the amount of receipts
of the Corporation, from whom derived, by whom received,
to what purposes, and by whom applied ; how, and to
whom, accounted for.
" XIV. The patronage, ecclesiastical and other, exercised
by the Corporation, through whom dispensed.
‘• XV. A schedule of the dates and titles of the local acts
of Parliament relating to municipal government or local
taxation. •
" XVI. The general state and prospects of the town.
" The Commissioners will be obliged to you to make the '
result of this communication public.
We are, Sir,

Your obedient servants,

5. Almost every place of importance offered additional and
peculiar subjects of inquiry, which could not be anticipated in a
general form designed to be applicable to all corporations.
The general form embraced such topics only as were presumed
to be common to all the place where it was the duty of the
commissioners to institute their inquiries. The inquiries in all
cases were conducted in public.
The Commissioners were instructed to transmit to Mr.
Blackburne, the chief commissioner, a digested report of the
evidence collected in each of the places visited by them, in
which should be given a detailed account of each corporation,
with reference to the foregoing heads. The inquiry is com-
pleted, and all the reports are delivered, except those on the
boroughs of Colchester, Macclesfield, Saffron Walden,
Southwold, Stamford, Stockport, Sudbury, Wigan, Yar-
mouth, Bala, Carnarvon, Conway, Cricceith, Holt, Llanfillin,
Lanidloes, Machvnlleth, Montgomery, Nevin, Pwlheli, and
Welshpool. Of those which have been delivered, 183 are
printed, and are appended to this report : the remainder are
in course of being printed. The completion of the whole
has been delayed by various circumstances, among which may
be mentioned the death of Mr. Whitcombe, one of the com-
missioners. It was our intention to have presented to your
Majesty a complete digest of all the facts stated in these re-
ports ; but, as such a digest could not be satisfactorily made
until some considerable time after the whole of the particular
reports had been delivered, we have reluctantly abandoned the
attempt. We have therefore confined ourselves to a state-
ment, with only a few illustrations, of the results drawn from
the inquiries of the commissioners, first giving a general view
of the present constitution of the municipalities, and subse-
quently pointing► out the defects we have found in them. We
have reason to believe that the remaining reports will not
affect our conclusions, otherwise than by affording greater
illustration and confirmation. In this report the constitution
of London has been occasionally referred to, but the impor-
tance of that city is so great, and its inhabitants are so pecu-
liar, that it will be necessary to make them the subject of a
special supplemental report.
7. We have the satisfaction of reporting to your Majesty
that with few exceptions much readiness has been evinced by
the corporate authorities, and also by the inhabitants uncon-
nected with the corporatious, to promote the objects of the
inquiry. In some towns where the corporate body refused to
assist in the investigation, the difficulty has been in a great
measure removed by the testimony of inhabitants and others.
8. The corporations which absolutely refused all informa-
tion to' your Majesty's commissioners, are—Corfe-castle,
Dover, Lichfield, Maidstone, New Romney, and several of
the London companies.
Those which assisted in parts of the inquiry, and refused
to do so in other parts, are—Arundel, Kingston-upon-Hull,
Leicester, Rochester, and several of the London companies.
Among the last-named, the point principally objected to
was an examination of the accounts, and an inquiry into the
income and expenditure of the corporation.
The commissioners considered that the terms of their
commission, directing them to inquire " into the nature and
management of the income, revenues, and funds of the said
corporations," did not direct or authorize them to institute
any investigation into the titles to the property held or
claimed by the several corporate bodies.
In several cases where the title of the corporation to
property was actually disputed, or was on the point of be-
coming the subject of litigation, the corporate officers de-
clined to give information which might be subsequently
used to the prejudice of their claims ; and as this view of
the subject coincided with the opinions entertained by the
commissioners, no further inquiry was made upon points to
which the objection applied, after receiving such an inti-
mation.

9. The commissioners did not inquire into the particular
state of pulalic charities, and eleemosynary foundations, in
the corporate towns, of which the corporators were in whole
or part administrators, except so far as respected any misuse
for corporate and municipal purposes, or in cases where the
administration of the trust estates appeared to have been mixed
up with that of the proper funds of the corporation.

Count Cad,:: St. Vincent (Admiral Napier) has
purchased the splendid estate of John Walker, Esq., of Pur-
brook, Hants.

No wonder that the frequenters of a hell should be
actuated by a devilish spirit. Such was literally the case with
the diabolical act perpetrated a few nights since in Pickering-_
place' St. James's, where it is miraculous that many lives were
not lost, in addition to the property destroyed. How often
must we ask, how long will such a den of infamy as this be
permitted to perpetrate its orgies, and set itself above the law
of common decency?