The Sun.
London, England, 1826-12-01 00:00:00

perpetuity, passed the Act of Westminster the second,
commonly called the Statute Dc Donis, that the foundation
was laid for . the present subtle, complicated, expensive,
and inseenie system of conveyancing. By that statute
entailed estates were first created, instead of the condi-
tional fees at common law; and by that statute the landed
interest hoped to make the alienation of estates so dif-
ficult, as to preserve for ever the power, .which great possessions
confer, in the same hands hat held it then. The Judges, who
front their education, and habits of thinking and observation, were
more enlightened than the illiterate and martial nobility, soon per-
ceived that this doctrine of perpetuity would work great mischief
to the general interests of the country, by so tying up property
ax to put an unnatural restraint on the diffusion and circulation
of wealth. The. Judges, however, had no influence that could
overcome that of the aristocracy in Parliament ; but they endea-
-votired to carry into effect, by subtle devices and legal stratagems,
those principles which they could not establish by direct power.
—They contrived or countenanced certain fictions for conveyan-
cing, for the purpose of evading the Statute De Donis, and
opening estates tail notwithstanding its restrictions. , Hence arose
those apparently absurd legal forms 'of levying _fines and suffer-
ing recoveries, by which such estates are now unfettered and con-
veyed. They are founded on fictions that appear ridiculous,
and which are certainly expensive, but were invented for the
purpose of giving a colour of law to the actual violation of the
still more absurd statute that was intended to confine landed pro
perty within the same channels for ever. There are a vast number
of other fictions of conveyancing, originating in the necessity which
existed for certain ingenious contrivances 'to meet the difficulties
which the feudal vanity and ignorant domineering of the landed
interest opposed to the simple facilities of the more anchmt mode
of conveyaneiug. This is a subject that Lord Milton ought to
have kin better acquainted with than he appears to be; and we
can tell him that, before conveyancing can be materially improved,
the Statute De Donis must be repealed, and the doctrine of estates
tail abolished.' The pride and ambition of the landed interest have
re-acted on themselves, for the very Act by which they thought to
-secure their power for ever, and to make them the perpetual
tyrants of the people, has operated so as to establish a tyranny of
lawyers over themselves, who punish the present generation for
this sins of their ancestors, by levying a perpetual tribute upon their
estates.—Morning Herold.
A petition was last night presented by Mr. Liddell,
from the Coroners of Northumberland, praying for an in-
crease of their fees. We copied a paragraph from the
rem's 41Ierenry of Saturday last, in which it was stated
hat the receipts of Mr. Wigglesworth (recently decased),
the Coroner for that immense County, for the year ending
at Easter last, amounted only to 265/. ; that- he had held
180 inquests, at 1/. each, during the year, and the remain-
der of the 2654 was made up of travelling expences at Dd.
per mile. Judging from these data, one would suppose
the office of Coroner was the last which would be coveted;
yet there are in Yorkshire a number of candidates, and the
same competition is as uniformly witnessed elsewhere.—
This is a country in which the value of money is well un-
derstood ; and we have little doubt, if tl-e truth were
known, it would be found that the Coroners, notwithstanding the
smallness of their fees; contrive, like good Englishmen, 'to make
their own out of the office, either in meal or in malt. Whether
the fremient contemplation of mortality has softened their hearts,
and filled them with the desire to have a good income by honest,
rather than .by questionable means, we know not; but whatever
determination be come to regarding their fees, and whatever
the degree of confidence reposed in their principles, we should
think that an a precaution it would not be amiss to let a little light
in on them. If Committees of the House of Commons job—if
Magistrates job—why, it is possible that Coroners may also job.
The Canner., we know, are by no means so unanimous in the
wish to have their Courts considered
.open, as they are to have
their fees increased; but we. cannot help thinking, that as for as
the public is concerned the latter would be of less importance than
the former. Mr. Warburton remarked that he saw no reason
why the. Coroners' Courts should not be as open as the Court of
King's-Bench, the Common. Pleas, and other Courts, where ma-
gisterial proceedings were transacted. We profess we can also
see no reason. But we can see that all Magistrates, high
and low, prefer to transact business with closed doom The
Coroner does not like to be • behind the fashion set by
his neighbour the Justice, and anxiously does he lay hold of any
words of encouragement that fall from those Judges, who have
the prejudging-phobia strong upon them, to enable him to
keep the public from a knowledge of his secrets. Mr. Warbur,
ton says, he can see no reason why the Coroner's Court should
not be as open as the Court of .King's Bench. We can see
one pOwerful reason why it should be equally open, and that is,
the necessity of trying before a Jury. It is preposterous to con-
found the duty of a Coroner with that of a Magistrate, in his in-
quisitorial capacity ; because the presence of a Jury puts all idea
of secrecy and inquisitorial proceedings out of the question. A
secret known to a Coroner's Jury is likely to be as well kept as a
secret told in the barber's shop in shaving neighbourhood, on a
Sunday. attuning. Wherever a Jury is called in, the country is
supposed to be present.—Aforning Chronicle.

The Corporation of the City of London, which is one
of the purest in the kingdom, according to Mr. Richard
Taylor, whose opinion we have no disposition to under-
value, possesses, according to the Report of the City
Finance Committee (see our Report of the proceed-
ings of the Court of Common Council yesterday, in ano-
ther column) the soodlY Revenue of 114,992/. But
this pure Corporation, which never could be charged
with injuring the trade of the Port of London (for Mr..
John Hall's detail of the injuries inflicted on trade, by
the Col:lunation, is deserving of little credit; and the
comparison between the tnpnieipal regulations of Li-
verpool end the Metropolis, which seldom redound to
the adVantage of the latter, is equally undeserving
of notiee)—which keeps up no uselesS places—which
has no wish fir more than a proper share of patronage—Which
is the most economical of public Imdies, has, like some other pub-
lie bodies, discOvered the secret of being at once most pure and
most prodigal ; for the expenditure greatly exceedi the income.
During the last five years, the deficit amounts to no less than
62,9711. ; as large a tam almost as that which produced the
French Revolution, and nearly destroyed, according to the late Mr.
George Rose, our most holy religion. In short, it was avowed
yesterday, that this model of Corporations was "on the brink of
bankruptcy." The Corporation abound in virtues; they are libe-
ral, they are generous, they are improvers of the very first water;
but, alas! with all these virtues, they are on the brink of bank-
ruptcy, and their virtues are threatened with an untimely dissolu-
tion. In short, a motion was made yesterday, with a view to in-
duce them to tie up their hands for Nome time—to relax a little in
their observance of Sheridan's golden maxim, which, as it has
brought many a good-fellow into the King's Bench, may possibly
bring the pure Corporation of London into some ether asylum for
distressed virtue. The Members for the county of Surrey look
with an evil eye on the liberality which eaddles.their constituents
with an oppressive tax on coals, and would fain pick holes in the
skirts of the Corporation.—/bid.

We are really Sickened at the continued. outcry for
reduction of taxes, and a diMinished expenditure. Whe-
never temporary distress comes—no matter from what cause
—an over issue of papera bad harvest—an unnatural in-
terfereece with the market for labourers, resulting from
the sudden discharge of soldiers and sailors—still the re-
medy, the only remedy, is, reduced taxes—diminish the
Government establishments. People altogether forget
what a very small proportion the whole Revenue, collected
by the Crown, bears to the real income of the country.—
If the calculations of Political Economists be entitled to
respect, the total annual income of Great Britain, estimated
in money, exceeds 1,000 millions, the article of Corn pro-
ducing 100 millions. Supposing then it were possible, at
once, to discontinue the collection of the 50 millions of
taxes now levied, would it affect more than one-twentieth
part of the whole ? Of this fifty millions also, it must
be remembered, 30 millions are at once paid back to the
public as dividends—the Government 'being merely the
medium of receiving from one, and transferring to another,
and not in any. material degree affecting the produce.—
Again it is said, that more is taken from individuals in
this country for taxes than can be borne. We deny the
fact. We assert that, in proportion to our means, we are
the lewd taxed nation in Europe. Each individual gains
infinitely-more by the application of machinery and steam,
than he pays on account of taxes. Take the poorest man-:
Does he pay, on his porter and beer, or on 011ie taxed arti-
des together, what he saves on cheap dothinfalone ?
out machinery, he must give four days labour, et least,
for a pair of stockings ; now he gets them, -for one; and
'the labour required in exchange for every other article is
diminished in it greater or less prOportion. Let an average
of years be taken, and who will not Say that an English
labourer consumes more—that is, to say, is better fed,
better clothed, and better lodged, than the labourer of any