The Sun.
London, England, 1821-10-10 00:00:00

BERMUDA,

The little island of Bermuda is involved in the
very " tempest, torrent, and whirlwind" of con-
tention, between the Governors and the governed,
between the Legislature and- the inhabitants of
the Colony. Papers from thence were received
yesterday to the 23d of August. The arbitrary
imprisonment of the Churchwardens and the
Mayor'of Hamilton—the former for want of suf-
ficient promptness in adjusting their accounts
with the Rector, and the latter for an alleged
stretch of power in the mode of suppressing some
disorderly assemblages of the people of colour—
have been mentioned by the American Papers
with some expressions of surprise at the conduct
of Governor Lumley. The following account of
the case of Mr. Till, the Mayor, and that of a
apt. Hayward, who assisted in the suppression
of the disorderly conduct alluded to, is taken
from the Bermudian of 61-. e Ist of August, divest-
ed, however, of much angry comment interspers-
ed by the Editor :
" A complaint on the transaction was preferred before the
Justices of the Peace, who dismissed it, as not cognizable be-
fore them, inasmuch as Mr. Till was exercising the preroga-
tives of his office. The complainant, instead of appealing to a
juridical Court, brought the matter before the Governor in per-
son, who accordingly issued a general warrant for citing Mr.
Till and Capt. Hayward before him. • Believing a warrant of
this nature to be illegal, they declined obedience to its tnapdate.
Order was given to the constables to execute it, and the Mayor
shut himself up in the Town-hall and refuied to surrender.'
The hall was in consequence invested by 40 or 50 soldiers ;
they did not, however, force admittance, and the Mayor re-
mained all night in a state of siege. Some insulting languari
passed between the populace and the military during the time
the latter were engaged in this. singular duty, but it led to no
tumult or mischief. Between nine and ten o'clock the follow-
ing morning, the Mayor. thought proper •to surrender himself,
and was conveyed to prison, having first, through the medium
of a friend, obtained an authenticated copy of the warrant."

These are the facts attendant on the imprison-
ment of the Mayor : we have before given those
relating to the Churchwardens. Both parties
remained under confinement at the date of the
present advices, and strict orders were issued by
the Governor to prevent all communication with
them, without 14 ritten authority from the Pro-
vost or Magistrates. Great indignation is ex-
pressed on the subject by all classes of inhabi-
tants in the Colony, and prosecution for perjury
of those who have given, as it is alleged, false
testimony respecting the transaction's in question,
and appeals to the Parliament of Great Britain,
are currently talked of.
The journals of the island of Bermuda, which,
whatever may be the case with the inhabitants,
appear to be free from all control, comment in the
strongest language on these transactions. We
quote two specimens from the Bermudian of the
Ist of August :

" The Churchwardens of St. George have now been impri-
soned 15 days for doing their duty, by an edict of his Excellency
Lieut.-Gen. the Hon. Sir Wm. Lumley, K.C.B. • their wives
indisposed part of the time, and one of their families labouring
under great-domestic affliction. When a representation of this
circumstance is made to his Britannic Majesty, we hope redress
will be the consequence ;
_and though this conduct is supported
by every dirty jack in office, the sense of the country is uni-
formly against rt. But when we see men sprung from the very
clregs of society endeavouring to palm their ignorant dogmas on
their superiors, and aspiring to rank with those whose shoes
they are only fit to clean, it is high time to turn with contempt,
and bid them recollect their pristine ignorance, degradation, and
servility, and not with matchless intrepidity of face' mimic and
place themselves by the side of their superiors."

The following, which quotes a precedent to
show the consequences that may attend the con-
duct of the Governor, is from the same Paper:—

" Has his Excellency ever by chance heard ofa circumstance
which took place not many years ago at Halifax ? if not, we
can inform him. Sir Andrew Mitchell,' the then naval !
Com-
mander-in-Chief, having reason to suspect that some deserters
from his Majesty's ships had taken refuge in the stores of
Messrs. Forsyth; Smith., and Co. for a few hours, caused the
same to be blockaded by an armed force, for which outrage the
Admiral was prosecuted in England, and had to pay 15,0001.
damages and expences. The Attorney-General of Nova Sco-
tia is said to have addressed the Admiral in the following terms
upon that occasion': —' For God's sake, 'Sir Andrew, withdraw
your men immediately, for it may be one of the worst day's
work you have ever done.' Let it here be said, if ever there was
an excuse for trampling upon the laws of his country, Sir Andrew
Mitchell had that excuse, for desertion had, at the time to which
we allude, made gigantic strides towards the destruction of our
navy. The occurrences, however, of last evening admit not of
the slightest palliation : they are of the blackest, deepest die ;
and let us hope for the honour of this colony, if our Attorney-
General had been consulted, he would have given his Excellency
a warning similar to that we have mentioned in the case of Sir
A. Mitchell. Besides all this, his Excellency has forgot that
Mr. Till is entitled to privilege of Parliament, which was de-
cided here in the case of the Speaker, who was released on that
ground, during the administration of General Hodson: We
have no doubt that several actions for perjury will be 'brought
against morn than one individual, and we hope that the Court
of King's Bench will visit this heinous offence with adequate
punishment."—('TlE Tituns.)