The Sun.
London, England, 1832-02-14 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—In sending you the following plan for the
improvement of municipal police, I take the oppor-
tunity of offering a few observations to the public
through the medium of your widely circulated
Journal. It will not be, I suppose, disputed, that
the first, the paramount duty of every Government,
is to ensure the protection of the persons and pro-
perty of all the subjects who owe allegiance to it.
Nor will it be denied, I hope, in this free country,
that whilst the Government is thus bound to afford
full and efficient protection, it is also bound to afford
that protection in the way which may appear to be
least dangerous to the liberty of the subject. If
these principles be admitted, it follows as a
necessary conclusion, that in a free State like
this, exposed from its very freedom to occa-
sional ebullitions of party or popular violence,
the civil force should have sufficient strength to re-
press all such outbreakings of public tumult ; thus,
on the one band, preserving the King's peace, and on
the other, preventing the necessity of a too frequent
recurrence to the employment of military force.
Not that I conceive that the liberties of this country
would be at present in any danger from the mili-
tary, nor that I imagine that any civil force could
enable us to dispense with a very strong and power-
ful military force, always ready to be brought for-
ward in case of actual necessity. Whilst then I
should deprecate, as fatal to public confidence, as
injurious to our proper influence as a nation, and as
quite uncalled for and unnecessary, any wider reduc-
tion of the military than may be fully and entirely
justified by circumstances (and at present no
such reduction does seem possible), on the other
hand, I maintain that the Government is bound
to establish so efficient a police, as may not
render necessary the employment of troops except
in cases of indispensible necessity. Lamentable,
indeed, would be the state of things, disgraceful to
our character as a free and enlightened nation, and
derogatory to the character of our much boasted
la, s, if it were necessary that the military should
be called out on every trivial occasion to ensure
the preset vation of the public peace. Highly
appreciating, as I must do, the character of
the British army, and holding as van the idea that
it would ever injure the domestic liberties of that
country whose independence abroad it defended
with such heroism and gallantry, still looking at the
principles of our Constitution, I should regret ever
to see the day when we were offered the alternative
of anarchy on the one hand, or of military interfe
rence on the other. It is to prevent the occurrence
of such a dilemma that I press the prompt adoption
of a firm and efficient police. The present is 0
great national crisis; we are engaged in bringing
about a great (in my opinion a beneficial), but still
it must be allowed, a great revolution in the present
state of our representation. I, for one, believe that
its effects will prove beneficial to the empire; but
we must not conceal, it were worse than folly to
conceal, that times of revolution are also times uti
great excitement ; and if I maintain the wisdom o'
the proposed Reform, I also admit that it is the dull
of Government to preserve the public peace front
any dangers which may arise during its discussion!,
and to ensure to the opponents of Reform, as to a°
other subjects of the King, full and perfect securiq
of persons and properly. Never let it be sal
°
that whilst engaged in this great contest fur free,
dom of representation, the English contradicte'l
their professions by their actions, and whilo
proclaiming liberty, exercised despotism °vet
their opponents. No, let it be rather said tbe,t
we fought our battle, that we gained our constl#
tutional triumph, by no arts but manly ar s ; and let,
posterity point to us as an example how at 004
freedom may be ensured, and licentiousness be re
pressed. Let us prove that we could reach 111"
freedom which Montesquieu so highly eulogized, ye
steer clear of that violence which he so strongly 1:1(
precated and feared. The storm of the political,
of the physical world, often clears the atmosphere,
and to borrow a beautiful expression of Lot!,
Erskine's, " charms into healthy action the dense;
which otherwise would stagnate into pestilence;
but it is the part of a wise Government to condoe#,
into a safe channel the lightning which may othe'
wise destroy the citadel of the Constitution. Noo
let us suppose that when the Bristol riots broy
out, disturbances had occurred, at the same time',
other towns, how lamentable might the col/
quences have been ; and how easily may such el,l/
sequences be averted by establishing a regular poll
in all large towns, and organizing the constabul
force.

Need I point out how such measures would pt:
serve confidence ; how they would establish credr
how they would re-open the now closed sluices
national prosperity, and awaken into fresh life sb
htalthy action the spirit and enterprise of ENO;
men ? The political deluge has left no lanai
place for this spirit in other parts of Europe;
from them by the tempest, let the spirit of ce,l
mercial and manufacturing enterprise here flit
shelter from the storms that desolate other kingdir;
Need I point out how such measures would
crease our influence abroad? Need I allude to id
effect produced in other countries, if they 101.,
that we had so strong a civic force for preserl:;
public peace at home, that we need never hesi7it
an instant to send our troops to resent ire)
abroad ? Thus might the Ministers of the prei/M
day realize the boast of Chatham, that whilst, `4%itl
one hand, he upheld the liberties of the country4d
the other he successfully combated the united '"
of her foreign foes. I fr
In concluding, let me remark, that I shou-jlic
the last man to recommend any system of 1)°0
that should he inimical to the liberties of Bog': 1
But I conceive that a well-regulated plan 014,
preserve their liberties ; and it is my fervent Prld
that not only liberty, the birth-right of every fir' I
may descend unimpaired to our latest posteri-
but that it may also be preserved pure and utialZ,'
by licentiousness. " Happy, thrice happy I°,
land T." observed to me one of those illustrl
exiles, who having fought for liberty in Poland,
taken refuge here—" Happy England I whose tir,
have gone on increasing in importance, whose eof,,
has progressively accumulated, whose fields areili
desolated, whose towns are not burnt, 00
hearths are not violated by that greatest ceir
curses, the curse of civil war Your Judges, 11
in the most disturbed times, have gone the eirc't
your Habeas Corpus may have been suspendede'ilt„
never except with the consent of your Parliaill Dr,
and amidst all the storms and tempests with :4/,
you may have been visited, that palladium 01 or
liberties, Trial by Jury, has stood not only unocroi9
by the lightning, but sanctified by the verse
of ages.uch' 06‘)
S, or somewhat similar, were his obsel/'