The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-06 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
FROX THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
GLOBE.—Those conversant with the proceedings of
courts of Criminal jurisprudence have remarked, that
when the evidence against aprisoner at the bar has shown
itself too strong to be shaken by direct testimony, the
counsel for thedefence adopt one of two modes to afford
their client a chance of escaping conviction. The first,
and that most frequently adopted, is to argue upon the
extreme improbability of his being betrayed into
the commission of the particular crime of which
he stands :accused. His habits—his disposition, so
opposite to the tendency of heart.and life tending to
such an offence, would justify a doubt—heavily as the
evidence may seem to .press against him—that some
mistake exists ; which, though not capable of detec-
tion by his counsel, nor of being explained by the ac-
cused, will justify the jury in acquitting him of the
charge. Of course, a host of witnesses will be ready to
swear that the gentleman at the bar is all his counsel
has said respecting the correctness of his morals and the
kindness of _his heart. In many cases, this line of de-
fence succeeds, and the prisoner is acquitted. The other
mode is to rest his defence upon the previous excel-
lence of his character ; to fill the Court with wit-
nesses—all of whom have known the prisoner a very
considerable time, and never knew anything against his
character until the present charge, which placed him in
his now unhappy situation. The design is to raise a
presumption in the mind of the jury, notwithstanding
the facts in proof, that he has not been really guilty of
'.he offence with which he is charged. A course some-
that resembling this seems to have been adopted in the
louse of Commons on Friday evening, by the members
the Government who undertook the defence ofthe Irish
Attorney-General. The charge brought against this
functionary was, that he, while engaged in
conducting a State . prosecution, of the deepest
importance to the parties. he accused, and to
the county at large, was so far regardless
of the respect he owed to. the Court; of his duty as the
principal law-officer of the Crown in the country; and
of the temperate and impartial administration of justice
toward the indicted parties, who then stood on their
deliverance, as to challenge to personal combat one of
the counsel for the defence, who was then in
course of addressing the jury in behalf of his client !
There were other counts, charging him with unfair-
ness .in his general mode of conducting the
prosecution. The proofs establishing the ease against
this officer- of the Government were so strong, that even
the leading counsel for the defence of the culprit, though
he muttered something of " the House being imper-
fectly acquainted with the full particulars of the case,"
did not attempt to rebut the facts as they had been stated.
Still it was necessary to frame something in the nature
of a defence—seeing a defence was to be set up. And
how was this done ? After the most approved Old
Bailey fashion ! By drawing the attention of the jury
from the facts, and pronouncing an eulogium upon the
private virtues of the accused party. First it was at-
tempted to. be shown that he was not a person at all
likely to be guilty of the particular piece of miscon-
duct imputed to him. "-He had displayed remarkable
coolness of temper and moderation of judgment in
conducting these proceedings"—and these, it was further
urged, are the qualities by which he is, and always has
been, distingtfis,hed: Another witness stated, " the At-
torney-general conducted himself with the greatest po-
liteness and kindness of demeanour during these trials."
Now, all this testimony was brought forward to show
that from his previous habits the party accused was
not at all likely to be guilty of the offence charged
against him (and especially of those in the other
counts); it,sivhs, therefore, peculiarly unfortunate for
him, and Mose who undertook his defence, that it was
met by the stubborn fact, that he had been guilty of
them ! It was evidently felt that mere presumption,
where the, proofs of criminality were so strong, would
do little by way of rebutting the charge. This sliffi-
culty was met : by calling witnesses to general
character.. . These (as' in Old Bailey practice)
were easily found. One, who had known him for up-
wards of tnrelve months, could safely say, that " a more
honourable, right-minded man does not exist." Another,
that "he is an honour to hisprofession"—that " no man
is more remarkable for high-minded conduct, both in
public and private life." A third, that "in private life
he was a' man of most exemplary character." Now,
this is exactly what is seen at every session of the Cen-
tral Criminal Court. It resembles it in another parti-
cular ; viz., its, utter inapplicability. It is just as if a man
charged,with forgery should receive a good character for
temperance ; or one of the swell-mob, accused of picking
pockets, for.his humanity to animals. The forger and
the member of the swell-mob, when acquitted by
juries, upon the strength of the good character given
of them by their friends and associates, sometimes take
their departure from the Court with an expressive com-
pliment ftom the Judge—that " they leave the bar
without a, blemish upon their reputation !" So it has
been sicith Mr. Attorney-General Smith. That he
is . guilty -of the monstrous outrage of which he was
accused there exists not the smallest doubt. But his
general character (whether true or false) for the time
served him. He was not only saved from merited pu-
nishment, but his employers informed the Court that
" they had taken no steps toward his dismissal, and do
not contemplate taking any." In short, they intend to
retain hiinin• their service ! Mr. Attorney-General
Smith , it, therefore—at least for the present—a
free man. Whether he will be equally fortunate
on a future occasion, and before another jury, re-
mains to be seen. hat may, however, be the fate
of this unhappy subordinate official is not 1% mat-
ter of much moment. The day is not distant when
his masters, who are the principal delinquents, and have
adopted his guilt by screening him from punishment,
will themselves stand, with him, at the same bar, from
which, by their means, he has just escaped. The
charge which will be preferred against them is one
serious in' its character ; and of its truth the proofs are
abundant and irresistible. They have conspired against
the peace of one portion of the empire, and against the
prosperity of the whole. Their speeches and their acts
attest a mutual purpose. In fact, they are guilty of
originating the. very measures in carrying out which
Mr. 'r. B. C. Smith has been only an agent—their hired
tool; instnteted, paid, and protected by them. If the
jury which is to try these criminals perform their duty,
their career of crime will be stopped.
FROII- TRH MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAT.
ADVERTISER.—Next in importance to corn-law repeal,
which is a question immediately affkting the condition of the
country, and m•re especially the employment and food of the
large masses of the industrious classes—next in importance to that
grave practical question stands the question touching the character
and const4utjori of the House of Commons as a representative
assembly. Both there questions must occupy the chief attention
of the Legislature in the present session. How they are dealt with
depends, in a great measure, upon the people themselves. Nobody
can reasonably `expect that the Legislature, or either branch of the
Legislature, will take the initiative in reforming itself. The
farther if is "off from possessing the character it should sustain, the
farther off is the probability of any voluntary movement by it in
that directiOn. Reform of the Legislature, like all other reforms
of importance to the country, must come from without. It must
be forced upon reluctant, because interested men—men interested,
directly and indirectly, in the present system ; a system which
barely preserves the semblance of constitutional liberty,
while it, • in fact, utterly destroys it, making the
country •at large the slaves of a small, ignorant,
selfish, and reckless clique. Is it not a truly strange and startling
phenomenon, that a comparative handful of country people should
actually rule this commercial empire? Both Houses of Parliament,
the Cabinet, the Privy Council—all the high offices of State, are
composed-of and possessed, almost exclusively—and certainly for
all practical purposes—by the landed interest. It is true, that
large towns and cities send Members to the lower House, but what
then ? The county and borough representation, which is almost
wholly in the hands of the landocracy, added to their power over
the limited constituencies in many of the larger towns, gives them
a large numer:oal majority, which is as efficient for all practical pur-
poses, aet it they had no dissentients in the assembly. It has:been
confessed by Lord John Russell (prop pudor ! ) that the landed in-
terest has the " preponderance" in the House of Com.
mons; and, furthermore, that such preponderance was
intended to be given to it by the Reform Bill of 1832.
Just see how they have managed it. In England and
Wales there is one Member for every 30,000 of the population.
In manufacturing Lancashire there is one Member for every
51,nn0 of the population. In agricultural Rutland there is one
Member for every 9,000; in agricultural Dorsetshire there is one
for every 13,000; and in agricultural Buckinghamshire there is
one for every 11,000. Was that all accidental? Look at it in an-
other light. The county of Buckingham, with 115,989 inhabitants,
sends eleven members to the House of Commons, while Manchester
and Salford, with 853,390 inhabitants, send three members
While the land interest is thus overwhelmingly preponderant, has.
in g one branch of the Legislature to itself, and swamping the other,
is it in the nature of things that the interests of trade and corn.
coerce—the interests and well-being of the masses—can be fairly
looked after and attended to ? If they could even be understood by
the dominant party—which they cannot—they would be delibe-
rately contemned, as standing in the way of their own immediate
aggrandisement. It has been by plundering the people at
large, through the operation of corn monopolies, and sugar mono.
polies, arrd coffee monopolies, and money monopolies, and various
other monopolies, some of which have been recently wrung from
them ;—it has been by processes carried on under these monopo-
lies, avowedly for the good of the community, that the landocracy
and its adherents and abettors have hitherto filled their coffers
and built, up their fortunes. And they imagine, that because they
have bled John Bull so long, he can bear to be bled for ever. His
constitution, however, is beginning to show symptoms of suffering
and of weakness; and if their phlebotomy be not stopped, their
victim will soon be found in a state of syncope, if not of abso-
lute death. tiow are they to be stopped in their mischievous
course ? Zipostulation, remonstrance, entreaty, are alike vain.
So long as they have the power, they have given abundant evi-
dence that they will'use it. That power must be taken from them.
The representation-of the country must be taken out of their
ihandl. The House of Commons must be made, in fact, what it is
n theory—a reflex of the public mind, a representative of public
opinion. •

HARALD,The Duke of Wellington last night gave a signi.
hcant hint to such Noble Lords as might be disposed to amuse
themselves with " State of Ireland" speeches, while the trial of
the iepealers is still in progress. It isad but justice to Earl Fitz-
william, to whom the intimation was
addressed, to say that it was
well received and properly acquiesced in. Had the House of
Commons anticipated the advice it would have ea ped the exhibi.
Lion of sr scene little indicative of respect for the administration of
justice. We scarcely need to say that we refer
however,
the scene of
Friday night—the Reformed House of Commons,
example r,
last night
Mr. Blewitt, who, we suppose to the honour of thatplace,
Bents MOnitiouth; proved his loyalty and that " reveres
repro.
sex and station," which Mr. Burke has described as theceattfroir-
bute f a well-bred gentleman, by solemnly interrogating
the Premier as to the state of the Queen's private
affairs, . observing that he had heard from common
rumour that ber Majesty is deeply in debt, and likely to apply to
Parliament for relief. We can imagine how the friends of any
other lady in England would treat such an inquiry, and we do not
see why the position of our beloved Queen should expose ber to
--we are at a loss for a Parliamentary word, and will therefore
say—intrruiono into ber domestic concerns from which every
other hely is protected. Surely Mr. Blewitt, without much corn-
promise'of his patriot zeal, might have waited for her Majesty's
application, or, at least, for some more trustworthy informant than
common rumoiff„.before committing the—intrusion of which he
was guilty,. -ffir Robert Peel, however, set the matter at rest, by
assuring the Member for Monmouth that, in instructing him, corn.
mon rumour had very consistently maintained her character of a
" common liar." The Queen, he said, was not in debt, and grace-
fully appealed to her Majesty's whole conduct, as leaving without
excuse thoie who could believe anything to her disadvantage.
TIMES.—That there were limitations with regard to the stairs
of .Iqland iropon4 upo4 the 010111Nnisters by Prudenci• jsa