The Sun.
London, England, 1828-07-07 00:00:00

'PIRIT OF TIM PUBLIC JOURNALS.

(moat THE TIMES.)
The public generally, whatever might be their
apprehensions of the designs entertained by the Duke
of Wellington's government with respect to any
useful system of retrenchment, were not prepared
for such a vote as that of Friday evening.. They had
uoteimagined that the desertion of pledges would have
heen—we do not say so profligate, but—so eager and
ao hardy, as that which has actually been displayed
'lna the Military and Tory Administration. But the
veil has now been rent asunder, the cloak thrown
aside, and we see what is likely to befall us. To
any body who will be at the trouble of examining
the several speeches of the Ministers who opposed
the abolition of the office of Lieutenant-General of
the - Ordnance, we are not afraid to say that we
defy him to eatract from those speeches a single ar-
gument in justification of a vote for retaining- it.—
There is, indeed, no argument attempted, but that
of sin unwillingness to give up the office. Allusion is
made by a gallant Secretary at War to his evidence,
and to that of the Duke of Wellington, who both, it
seems, informed the Finance Commit-tee that it
would be inconvenient to the public service to
dismiss the Lieutenant-General. •But this opinion,
and the grounds on which it had been formed,
were fully communicreed to the Finance Com-
mittee, who decided, upon a sober consideration
of both, that the office ought not to be kept
up. It was said by the efficial gentlemen, that if
a Master-General,or, on the other hand,a Lieutenant-
General of :1)0 Ordnance, should be called away
taison a distant, though temporary service, the indi-
yidaal of the two who remained at home must be in-
srusteel with the duty of the absentee ! Why, was
there eves heard a plea like this for continuing a
duplicate placernan ? • The-clear common sense of
the matter is, that the Government which sends
away a public officer front Lis departments anal still
continues' to him hi salary from that department,
aemmits a rank robbery alp') the nation. If the
'Lieutenant-General of tLe anivance was a necessary
eadice, why did the Government aserMit Lord Beres-
Joe& when be held it, to sail away Iste ?Drowse! (for
ie) good, we feur) during three or kw 1.--.4.pas, be-
fore he was eomeseiled to resign ? Why, anise ahe
°dice was considerede-what, in fact, it has been
.wade- sinecure, why sea Away Sir W. Clinton,
e-ho still ho:ds it, and let him 'remain for 16 or
months at Lisbon, drawing his 'fray from the
piblie Treasury all the time ? it tab not
,„,,„„try that the „taienitenant- General of the
Ossinatice should reeaivss the pay of Comman- •
iikr 4 the Forces in Portugal, over and above
isis salary in ; nor, on the other hand,
asas it requisite to a proper discharge of
t't,e duties of Commander of the Forces at Lisbon,
that his excellency should have, in addition to his
al)7 aorl staff allowareoss as such, the salary of Lieut.
+Geiser-al of the Ordinance in England'. We have
s,ever heard that either office singly was under paid.
I( the Lieut.-Generalship was to be an efficient
office, it uuglir to have been taken from arc absentee
east given to affective officer.. If it was held by
row ;sho did not dis,eharge its duties, it was a sine-
care, lead ought to be swept away. There is no
araaina eot of this dilemma, But• Sir . Henry
Hardinge .43ys, that though not inconvenient
to the public service, it was mat inconve-
itiun to Lord Downes and to himself, that they
should have the burden of Sir William Cliefon's
duties as well as of their oaear to embarrass them.
That may be very true, because tLey were not pre-
pared for the extra duty by any systemaCse modifica-
sien ado) department generally, or by such a fixed
al;etrilartioti of the business of tieolenant-General as
would of ne,Jeisity take place at a final abolition of
ate office. llsseeover, although no one ear: be
tact unreasonable as to wish that public ftme-
sionaelea should he overwhelmed by an unremitted
business, we do most feel that a mere
eomplaint of inconvenience by one: Pffieer, when ob-
4ed to diaelsotege duties which tome (;regularly
upon him,•ought to weigh against the public i4te;:est
whew a question of economy is suggested. It
seems plait) that all Masters-rleneral of the Ord-
nance, and indeed most hezdv of high departments
in this country, ate loth to reduce the stajf of their
establishments, aithoegh they' often wake havoc
among thts. rank sad file. Who urea toe I,ord
'allatcaro's opinion in tisvour of retaining Coo-
siereeed office ? 'The idlest and most indolent ren
existing was pretty authority against a redaction,
would have thrown more -work UpOn himself!
As for the instances given of absence ftom,duty, in
the case of Lord Cornwallis, Sir Arthur Wellesley,
ear., as apologies for following such examples, we
etiy that such instances were examples of gross abitse,
and to be reprobated instead of followed. Altoge-
slier this was tine most hardened act that we could
lave aoneeived possible in any Government. We
yefer awin to the speeches of Mr. Caderaft, who
seem: ashaened of his situation (we give him joy of
that sign o( ware), and of Sir J. Graham, which
latter gentleneatt,;sf be maintains the high tone and
arrati, which he tlisitlapd on Friday, may yet give
snore than niaajoaajog 3.li,s4ster the heart-ache.
(V 11034 THE AIOWSItiC ETISER.)
The ultimate result of the Clare eleafisan becomes
daily more and more doubtful. ''fWt Mr. O'Connell
will not be returned no one entertains Ole slightest
suspicion ; but, what is of still greater importance,
understand that the highest legal authorities, not
only in Ireland but also in this. country, have ex-
pressed their decided opinion that there is now -no
law in existence which can possibly prevent him from
sitting, speaking, and voting in the House of Com-
mons. Even Lord Eldon, we are infortned;- whose
opinion, on a matter of this nature, is, of all others,
the most important, congratulates himself that he
.aa,s
,not concerned either in the framing or in the
passing of certain acts, which aro eousideted capable
of being, savisted into a license for Roman Catholics
to heroine Members of the British Legislature—we
say hvisteJ, i142474115E, however the letter of any Act
may be capable of such construction, the spirit of
every Act which Iris over received the Royal Assent,
is decidedly hostile to sixth an interpretation. As
Parliament, hoWever, is sitting, it can-of course putt
sahat construction it pleases on th.e former acts of the
I.e;tislatnre; and, after all the eosntasation to which
the affair will naturally give rise,. we iselievelittle
fear need be arasartained that Mr. O'Connell, os.any
other Cetholie, will hold fur any length of time the
honour of being a Memhee,

(PROM' THE MORNING tt/RAT.TO
Ay we have feequently advocated zpower to be.
given to Magistrate; to dispose sunco hits .4.-f com-
inuia as:sault.s, We feet hound to regret, now that ;t
is passed into a law, that it is VW the reverse of
what we intended. or what, we believp, the public
wished or expected, An assault, generally .;peaking,
a private grievanee, and therefore a matter of
pri
ate recompence. Indeed the essence of all law ic
,o punish the Wrong-doer, toed to make satisfaction
KO' him to whom the wrong is done; and if, for in-
ice, in a wanton affray, it appears that a man has
got his head broke, it is much better that a Magis-
trate should at once have the power of awarding one
4.•rown. for the fracture of the ether, than that the in-
itwed party- should he driven to the slow and ex.
pensive process of. an indictment, when the lawyer
get., 'the oyster, i.,aving the plaintiff an. de-
letidant to contemplate find choose hebteen
the shells. But what. has Peel's clause
done ? Why 4 gives to two M4strates the
power of adjadiratin,o; between the optics
and of assigning damages to the extent of 5/. ;!kg.
/which' damages are to be given, not to the party in-
jured, but to the prior of the parish; or in other
words, in effect, to eke Out the dinner bills, R.T.id
other extravagancies, of select vestries. Besides
which, it makes the certificate of the Magistrates
bar to any other remedy. Now this may or may •
not be an improvement in the law. We humbly
conceive that it is none. It may act as a punish-
ment to the wrong-doer, but toward the injured
party it not only gives no redress, but absolutely
tliuts him out from any. Nor is it any boon, or im-
provement, that this power is confided to two'Ma-
Eistrates instead of one, seeing how difficult a thing

it is, in many parts of the country, t. 19 get two Ma-
gistrates together, or, when together, to see them
agree. One great benefit of this alteration in
the law would have been, its enabling a single
Magistrate to reconcile priVate injuries, more
especially those in his immediate neighbourhood,
without being hampered with the loss of time, and
the fee-paying, which belong to the Petty Sessions;
and when it is considered that a single Magistrate
has, by the Trespass iAct, a power much more ex-
tensive than this—andthat, in fact, a thousand laws
give him a thousand powers to the full as arbitrary--
we regret that this alone should be the exception,
where it was so little called-for. We shall regret
exceedingly if that which was meant to be an im-
provement turns out to be none; but we fear that
beyond easing the Chairmen of the Quarter Sessions
of part of their trouble, and perhaps preventing a
few persons from being sent to- prison (an advan-
tage certainly not to be overlooked), this alteration
in the law is calculated to work mote injustice than
it is likely to be productive of good.

(NEW TIMES

THE QUARTER'S REVESUE,—We have not for
the last two years had so gratifying a statement to
lay before our readers on the subject of the Revenue,
as that which we give to-day in the account of the
Receipts for the Quarter just expired. On previous
occasions, while announcing the increase in one
branch, we bad to regret the falling off in another.
On this we have uodraWbacks.; for the only defi-
ciency is so slight 'and uncOnseqtiential, as not to
merit notice, nor require explanation. There is
another point of view in which the present Quarterly
account is exceedingly gratifying. We have had a
regular increase for, a considerable time past in the
item of the Customs a proof that Commerce was
reviving. But it .was long, -hOwever, before the
Excise gave indication of improyernear. Qn the
contrary the tide of our national prosperity had ri;.;en
high before its turn was perceptible umong our ti-
Arta god labourers. Indeed, the one branch had
not reaehatil ids Jpwest depression for a considerable
time after the.otber )44 ipg.de great progress towards
the highest pont from whiny; r 110 fallen. Now,
the ratio of their progress is c.nd during
the last Quarter the Excise has greatly outstripped
the Customs. While the latter have remained
nearly s,44.pnary the former - has improved more
than two hnnit' thousand pounds, which, if the
year keep pace t,;-ke eitterter, as we venture
to anticipate it will, is at Inc: rav of about
twenty-five per cent. per annum. As thtc giot
trKL.c.s pf the Excise Revenue arises out of
articles w4i,c,cl ere subservient to the comforts and
little luxuries o he Athouring classes, it may he
easily seen, front this. statAct.spt, how much these
has' increased within these lust.tke,;; mcintloi And
from that fact, which speaks a langoagi
pagiai noc local embarru,.sment can for a moment
contradict, p'ay be satisfactorily deduced an answer
in full to all thirst 30- kg would persuade us that there
is at this moment either Aido7, 6preud or deeply felt
.
distress in England.