The Sun.
London, England, 1832-02-06 00:00:00

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

(From the Morning Chronicle.)

1 A return has lately been laid before Parliament (pp
No. 39) of the Justices of the Peace who have qualified to
act in the several counties in England and Wales, by which
it appears that there are 5.371 Justices qualified, of which
number 1,354 are clergymen, and 4,017 are laymen. The
perusal of this abstract, which we annex, will, we are con-
fident, lead to some curious, an•l, perhaps, serious reflec-
tion., which we may hereafter more particularly notice ;
at present we would only observe, that there is not one
clergyman in the counties of Derby and Sussex, and yet
we have never heard that any inconvenience had been
found in either of these counties from the want of clergy-
men. The county of Derby has a population of 237,170,
and there are 79 Magistrates, or one to every 3,002 souls.
The county of Sussex has a population of 272,328, and
189 Magistrates, or one to every 1,441 snub,. WV
presume that in both counties there are enough
of Justices. The county of Bucks has a population of
146,529, and 144 INlagistrat,s, of whom 51 (or nearly
one-half) are clergymen ; and there is thus in the pro-
portion of one Magistrate to every 1,000 souls ! The zeal
manif sted in favour of the Anti-Reform candidate at the
late general election in Bucks may thus be accounted for.
In Cornwall, Herefordshire, Lincoln, Norfolk, Somer.,t,
Brecon, Denbigh, Glamorgan, anti other counties, it will be
seen that one-half of the Justices of the Peace are clergy-
men ; and we think some practical conclusions m ty he come
to regarding the state of these c,unties as to crime, from an
examination of the list ; and it may be curious to notice the
connection between the clerical Magistrates and Anti-Re-
form Lord. Lieutenants The attention of his Majesty's Mi-
nisters to this connection may not be without its use, if they
contemplate a Reform in the Magistracy or it they do not,
for those that shall come after them. It will be curious to
hear what excuse there can he in Norfolk, for instance,
for having 78 clergymen, when that county is so thickly
studded with resident gentry an 1 men of character and
forthne to do the duties of the magistracy. We notice
Hereford county, with a population of 110,976, and 155
Justices, of whom 58 are clergymen, i. e., there is one
Magistrate for every 718 souls in the county. This looks
Cathedral-like—part of t' e Church staff—and can any
man say such a number of Magistrates in an agricultural
county can be requisite? Wh I.t in Yorkshire, with a
population of 1,371,296, and a large proportion of their
manufactures, there are only 414 Magistrates, or one to
every 3,312 souls. Will any man consider these inequa-
lities, and not say the appointments to the Magisterial
bench must be, in many cases, made to suit Parliamentary
views, it nothing worse ? We sh only call the serious
attention of our readers to the table, and we trust that
each will make his own remarks.

It is to he observed that the Idgistrates of towns are
not included in this list.

AST OF MAGISTRATES OR JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
IN EACH COUNTY IN ENGLAND AND WALES,
WHO HAVE QUALIFIED, APPOINTED BY THE
LORI) CHANCELLOR.

Names of the Names of the Present Lord
Counties. Lieutenants.

j No.
1 Cler ILa y Tot.