The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-26 00:00:00

`,LONDON, FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1887.

" Noharms leges Anglice m'etari !" This was
the manly declaration of the Barons at Runny-
mede, and, so far as the constitutional liberties of
the subject are concerned, every true-hearted
Englishman will endorse it at the present hour !
No doubt there are evils that may be more corne
pletely suppressed by a despotism than under
liberal institutions. But still we are not prepared
to relinquish the privileges for which our fore•
fathers strove—to barter the rich inheritance of
social freedom, which they have bequeathed—in
order to clothe the police authorities with addi-
tional power to abate some petty nuisances, which,
by a little extra vigilance, they may suppress
under the existing laws 1
It is said that " every man's house is his
castle," which he is entitled to defend against
every invader. But this constitutional aphorism
must be interpreted cum, grano salis. It has
already been ma+erially interfered with by the
legislation respecting gambling and betting
houses. On an affidavit that wrongful practices
in these respects are suspected—and policemen
have fertile imaginations, or, as it has been well'
designated, " a quick and technical sense of
guilt"—a warrant may be granted, and the
" Englishmau's castle" -broken into, taken forcible
possession of, and searched from top to bottom,
without his having the slightest claim to redress,
although the strictest scrutiny has failed to pro-
duce any corroboration of his suspected crime.
It is now gravely proposed, by no less a personage
than the Lord Chief Justice of England, to extend
the list of exceptions, and t:) confer the power of
domiciliary visits wherever it is supposed there
may be "obscene prints or publications.".
We give the Noble and Learned. Lord credit
for the best possible motives, but we cannot con-
sent to constitute every policeman a censor
morum, with power to judge of the tendencies
of works of Art, or of the writings of our most
illustrious poets. The Gentleman, who bears the
letter and number X 157, may be a very exem-
plary person, actuated by a sincere desire to do
what is strictly legal, but it may be possible that
his previous education bas not qualified him to
judge very accurately of the master-pieces of COB-
REgro, of TITIAN, or of POUSSEIN, or of the
writings of HORACE, of TERENCE, Of OVID, Ants-
TOPHANES, and MARTIAL, or even in English
literature of SUAKSPERE, DRYDEN', or BYRON.
But certainly, if he is so qualified, he ought to
occupy a more distinguished position in the
social scale. Without meaning the slightest dis-
respect to the imaginary person alluded to, we
may say that the educational standard required
for his appointment does not render it certain
that he possesses those qualifications, To his
professional view, " TITIAN'S Venus " may be
merely a shameless hussey, with a profound con-
tempt for the decencies of civilised life, and
SHAKESPERE an immoral writer, whose works
should not be permitted to remain in any respect-
able dwelling-house. " The Greek Slave" should
be broken to fragments, and Don JUAN publicly
burned by the common hangman ! An Index
Expurgatorius, not]inerely of literary works, but
of paintings and sculptures, would be a necessary
addition to the regulations by which he is to be
governed, in order to mitigate his iconoclastic
seal, and, after all, the publication might only
tend, as hinted by BYRON, to save some persons of
prurient imaginations the trouble of searching
through voluminous works, for the passages that
may be considered objectionable.
Speaking seriously, we must confess our asto-
nishment that after the brilliant oration of Lord
LYNDHURST, Lord CAMPBELL should have perse-
vered in the motion, or that their Lordships
should have consented to the second reading o
the bill. A great concession was made to Lord
CAMPBELL, whose excellent intentions were beyond
question, but we may hope that the measure will
not again be heard of. It is not Holywell-street
that should rejoice in its rejection. The law as
it stands is sufficiently stringent for the punish-
ment of those engaged in the detestable traffic ;
and we believe that sundry persons are even
now expiating their offences. But if it be
passed, the National Gallery, Hampton Court,
Dulwich and the Crystal Palaces will
" come to grief !" They would speedily be
brought under the indignant action of the
worthy X 157. And if he rejoiced in a classical
education, ho might seize on the naughty
EIORACE, who addressed his friend with the words,
Ne sit ancillce tibi amor pudori.
Lord CAMPBELL stated that "he did not
intend the measure to refer to such works,"
but no one knows better than himself
that the intentions of Parliament can only be
gathered from the express terms of the
•aactment, that the Judges cannot travel be-

yond " the four corners of the statute," in
its construction. Serious abuses may be perpe-
trated under its cover, and therefore it is essen-
tial that a matter which may prove so mischiev-
ous, should be rejected, and that England should
not be more police-ridden, than is already the
case. The matter complained of is bad enough,
but the remedy would be far worse than the
disease, it is intended to cure.

One obvious result of representative govern-
ment is, that the Executive rarely applies itself
with vigour, except to objects of necessity or of
considerable popular interest. It will work at
tax-gathering, because it cannot move without
money ; and it will give itself to great schemes of
religious, political, and commercial reform, when
they have become the favourite topics with
electors. Julia is one of the obvious illustrations
of this fact. For tho best part of a century
JOHN COMPANY ruled supreme. lie resolutely
kept Jour BULL out of his domains. The latter
could not acquire a foot of ground to build a cow-
house on, and could be deported, if he got there,
at any timo th 3 Lf.adenhall-street Merchants
( hought fit. Every now and then the Indo-English
❑abobs had a little brush with the Enlist public,
but they retained their power.

The abolition of their Charter in 1833 left,
however, the famous double system of government
still in force. They had been compelled in 1813
to admit the competition of private merchants in
India, they were now compelled to renounce the
monopoly of the China trade ; but not only in
1833, but even in 1853, the absurd govern-
ment by the Board of Directors and the
Board of Control, conjointly, was retained.
A set of annuitant 3 on India, having no more
fitness to govern it than other Government annui-
tants, were remained to cumber the administration