The Sun.
London, England, 1826-11-30 00:00:00

prevails at the Shire-hall, of " always conducting what is
termed the County Business with close &ors, a practice
held to be, decidedly hostile to pie spirit of the British
CoestitetiOn." The' Resolutioes agreed to at this Meet-
ing are highly honourable to the County of Norfolk.
After stating that the County Rate had increased enor-
mously, within the last twenty yeais, namely, from 7,200/.
in the year ending Midsummer, 1807, to 20,400/. in the
year ending Midsummer, 1826 ; that the County Rate is
at " the , sole•arbitrary and irresponsible disposal 'of the
Magistrates of the County, whose patronage increases
with the increase of funds at their disposal," the Meeting
Resolve e-e-
-" That the practice' adopted by our Magistrates of conducting
public business priVately, and with closed doors, is a practice
bettersuited to the genius of a Despotic than of a Representative
Government.
" That the exclusion of the public from any Court, and par-
ticularly from one in whose decisions their pecuniary interests are
concerned, is hoitile to the spirit of the 'British Constitution, which
practically recognizes poldicity in all Conti., Legiilative and Judicial.
" Should any doubt exist concerning the legal right of the
public n) 4elliarail admittance into the County Court, and to be
present at the whole of the deliberations 'of the Magistrates during
the General Quarter Sessions, or any Adjoirrned.SeSsions held by
them,, that this question of legality shall be brought to issue on .
the very first attempt which may be made on their part to enforce'
exclusion ; that a fund be itinnediately raised to defray any ex-
pence which may be incurred in trying the question ; and that a
Committee, consisting of the following' gentlemen, be appointed,
and are hereby appointed, to take the necessary measures for that
ptirpose—nainely, Right Hon. Lord Suffield, Hon. George Wel-
' pole, Jehos. Postle, Esq., It If. Gurney, Eaq., T. S. Norgate,
John Ensor, ESq., Wm. Jury, Esq, W. Gilbert, Esq., J.
Culley, Esq:'
Is any other proof wanted of the mischievous character
of the system which beatews' such extensive discretionary
and irresponsible pewers to Magistrates, •than the spee-
tacle which the country now exhibits of the formation of
Associations, in various, quarters, for the express purpose
of opposing the Magistracy in ie oppressive exercise of
their powers. Their seizure of public' roads and foot-
paths has led to Associations for their preservation. Their
jobbing at the expense of County Rate Payers, carefully
excluding the public, has, in like manner, led to an As-
sociation. The flagitious invasions of property in the
character of Lieetisers led some years ago to an Associa-
tion. It is in the country, which is the envy of surround-
ing nations, and the admiration of the world, that this
listrangephenomenon is witnessed of the people banding
against their Magistrates, just as the people in the middle
ages were obliged to band for mutual protection against
the robber---Barons who plundered them op the high-
'ways. Mr. Ceke, speaking on the subject of transacting
business with closed doors, said that
" Many years ago be bad been in Court at the time of Mrs.
Sinclair Sutherland's ease, when Mr. Windham proposed to re-
quire sureties in five, hundred pounds. He confessed he was hurt
at a man of Mr. Windham's liberality proposing such a sum, and
wished it to be 300/., observing that Mrs. Sutherland was an in-
jured woritim.' Mr. Windham proposed that they should go up
stairs to debate with closed doors ; but he, Mr. Coke, said, rather
indignantly,- that he would not go up stairs to debate with closed
doors, and Mr. Windham was defeated."
Whenever men wish to do any thing mean or unprin-
cipled they retire froM general observation. All persons
who prey on the public, whether high or low, prefer deli-
berating with closed doors. When Soames and his
associates meditated a coup of any sort, or when they
divided, they did not, we ;nay, be sure, any more, than
Jobbing Magistrates or eCommittee-men prefer being
surrounded by an audience. Nay, even Mr. Peel (to. his
credit be it spoken), in the Debate on Tuesday night,
on' Mr. Littleton's Resolutions, to guard against the.
injustice -perpetrated in Committees on private Bills,
said, "he believed the best corrective of the abuses
complained of, would be letting he the light of day upon
them." Yea, yes ; the light of day is hated by unclean
birds. Fear is not Sp rispectabk a motive as virtue; but
it is often It very telerable substitiite ; and were it not that
no small number of our species are cowards, , the world
would be worse than it is. A Magistrate who with closed
doors would vote a Chaplain for madsnen ut the expence
of the County Rates, or strip an innocent and unoffending
publican of his property, and who can look his brother
Magistrates (whose moral pulse he has felt) firmly in the
face, When he sees a hundred or two eyes fixed on him,
feeli his heart die' Within him, and be cannot muster
courage to perpetrate his foul purpose. And yet it
may be thought to argue a very. relexed‘ state of mo-
rals in that class from which Magistrates are taken', that'
a Gentleman should coolly propose (when the public
are excluded) to a dozen or so of his brethren, that
they should commit an act of such barefaced injustice,
as the withdrawing of a. licence : from a public-house
which has been Meritoriously conducted, thereby involv-
ing an innocent individual in ruin, for no other reason than
the proprietOr's having voted for a particular Member, or
having refused to lend money to one of their number, or
on account of some other private pique. That a dozen of
men. should coolly look each other in the face, while such
unhallowed work is going on --that they. should feel no:
niacin at being known thus intimately for what they are to
each' other, suggests conclusions which we shall take carei
not to draw. We regret, however, to be obliged to state,
that such is the extent of the demoralization produced by
the Licensing System in the Magistracy of England, that
not a few well authenticated "instances are known (would
that we could doubt their existence!) of bands of six oe
more of them coolly committing
whose
acts of spoliation, com-;.
pared with which the conduct of the highwayman, _
poverty or vices send him to the highway,
Moi.ning chronicle. .
The politicians of the Stock Exchange
provided them-
selves With a panic yesterday, in the shape;of reports and
_
rumours of the King
of Spain having marched an
MO Portugal, to support the rebellious subjects of Don
army
Pedro against his legitimate authority. We Oppose th'fi
absurd, story' bad its believers among those who
hooiwnqinth.wetalf:
neither, where the army was concentreted, no
to be maintained out Ufa
pennyless exchequer. It is suf-
ficiently obvious, that, under existing circurnStances, the
relative position of Spain and Portugal must present
triereue occasions for complicated and diffieult discussionse
arising from the known tendencies of Spanish policy,• and
the easy communication with the Spanish territory. Unless
rcr(liaand could establish an effective Military Cordon
:along the whole western frontier of his kingdom, the Por-
tue malcontents, as often es their ,safety requires it,
will necessarily take refuge in hie dorninions. We readily
4'l'l'4 too, that the Cabinet of Madrid,acting under sinis-
ter influence, is well disposed to augment the obstacles
which already stud in the way of establishing the new
constitutional ,system ' but to talk of Spain, as $O4,
daring to provoke the hostility of England, by an armed
aggression upon her ancient atid faithful ally, is a manifest
ahserdity. A Government without money, and without
credit to borrow it--without lower, almost, to enforce the
execution of its own decrees—is in a fit condition to rouse a
spirit, whose recoil Would go near to annihilate it.—eN.Tinzes.

Mywrxittowi DISAPPEARANCE or A CHILD,

Information was given at the different Police Offices in the
M metro-
polis
yesterday, by a r. Beck, of the. singular loss of a child,
only four years of ant',
on the 18th instant, front a place called
F.lford Mill, near Litchfield. It appeared front Mr. Beck's state-
, inept and from the handbills which he, left, that his brother, who
mettles at Mord Mill, had an only eon, a fine boy of four years of
' no, and that On the 18th instant he left his father's house about
twelve o'clock in the day, and was seen playing near the paper-
m—
illfroin whence it wits supposed that he had proceeded—a
very short distances-to the house where another relative resided*
suAdii however, was not the fact; but he was not missed till four
looms afterwards, and though persons were dispatched in every
direction, no tidings of the
titild could be gained. 'that night and
stnthe ft'lklwinflAq. Perbunta were employed to drag the rivers,
and admit every place in the neighbourhood ; but all was unavailing,
and tits tiarenni ware in a state of affliction the most inconsolable.
A few days afterward*, they learned- that a female " tramper"
nwitaisseved,nwiltz tatto6l,:teLgltionugtooyd, about the time the child wax
ed
all ttlirr7ait.fair ,ei:ilmi.
vulva,
itfi,neHlutetv.;4lnrs4t;), libtltitieftelyie,4l:Thdateclauye.,(l-1
four year* of ago, has dark
It)er:tZniu his rapper jAVV, awl is left handed. Ile had On 'a dark
grey Cloth jacket, light thickset trowiter*, half bootd, and a stat-
ion
car. A reword is offsrtil for the child's recovery.