The Sun.
London, England, 1828-12-15 00:00:00

•
' cases are parallel ; for Dido's trouble 4 were not in-,
creased-by the execration so named, nor was the
horse a whit nearer to breaking its neck by virtue of
the wish above expressed: But an inquiry rises in
:the mind of the reader of the narrative alluded to,
" Why does or did the editor wish that the said
horse had broken its neck ?" The only reason ap-
parent is, that the owner of the animal " descended
for the purpose of lighting his cigar." It may, per-
haps, be very easy to prove that every man who
smokes cigars deserves to have his horse's neck
broken ; which is visiting the sins of the aims upon
the horses.

(FROM THE EXAMINER.)

The Non-ling Chronicle has ably shown the im-
policy of vesting the prerogative of mere), in the
Crown. .It remarks, that the Crown in effect ex-
ercises the functions of a Revisionary Tribunal over
the High Criminal Courts, but it performs this office
very inadequately in all respects, and in a manner
strikingly disadvantageous to the convict, who has
no opportunity of meeting and rebutting the repie•
seutations which may secretly be made to the Mini-
ster, in proof or aggravation of his offence : the
whole affair being conducted in the privacy of a Se-
cretary's chamber. • Our contemporary s'visely sug-
gests that a Public .Tribunal should supersede this
slovenly system. The proposal, however strong in
reasoa, is liable to one most serious and powerful
objection, namely, a metaphor—" Would you wrest
front the Crown its brightest jewel ?" This is in-
deed the truly British method of discussing ques-
tions of jorisprodence.. Our legal polity is mainly
upheld by toasts, sentiments, and the burthens of
old songs. The man who deiired to vindicate to
the King the prerogative of mercy in a popular
manner, in the Quarterly Review, need only turn
to the word mercy in Stockdale's Index of hakes-
pear,' and by merely stringing together all the fine
things that haVe been said on the god-like attribute,
he would compound an article perfectly convincing
of the expediency and wisdom of continuing the
prerogative in the Crown. By the mere force
of calling mercy a
,jewel, the business might
be accomplished. The idea of jewels is neces-
sary to crowns. Of all jewels, mercy is surely
the brightest—" Would yourob your Monarch,your
own dear Georgy, of his most precious stone i" At
this appeal,John Bull fairly blubbers with tenderness
for the Royal baubles. In order, therefore, to take
up this question with any hope of success, we must
clear the ground of the metaphors before we venture
to touch on the reasons. We must not hope to
reach the head through the heart, by first represent-
ing the helpless state of the poor convict, whose ap-
peals for the last consideration of his hard sentence
are met by the private suggestions of idleness, or
malice, which he bas no opportunity of encountering
and correcting. The Jewel would prevail against
this picture, as all•Rundell and Brydge's against the
-condemned. cell. The first object, therefore, should
be to persuade honest and loyal Mr. Bull, that the
stone which, he figures in his Monarch's head-geer,
is, if it must needs be a stone, a stone in the ten-
derest part of his person, and ss painful and troubles
some to his feelings as a stone like other bodies out
of place is perfectly capable of being. The news-
papers, which. never fail to set forth with all histori-
cal exactness the virtues of the best of Kings, have
Often told us that for days: before his Majesty re-
ceives the recorder's p.7ort, he is moved to un-
easiness, and full of anxiety from that period to.
the hour of 'doom. This it is to have a precious
stone—this is a fit of the mercy. Pity, in little
people, is not an inordinately troublesome affec-
tion of the mind; we give it a free vent, and it
goes fptth irr a sigh, a tear, or May be, in u thing
of the substance and value of a halfpenny; after this
evaporation of virtue, the mind consoles itself for its
sweet pain by dwelling and wondering with a healing
complacency on its getteions susceptibility to sensibly
evidenced. We have seen an honest creature's head
touch the seventh heaven, after having given a
copper to a beggar. The personal duty of a King,
in connection with his people's power, becomes,
however, much more troublesome peat, and a Etre
conflict is excited between his compassion and his
duty, his tenderness for human life, and his reverence
for Divine justice. We would spare him this struggle.
The sweets of extending mercy are not comparable
with the more frequent distress of doobtiogly with-
holding it. A Revisionary Tribunal would relieve
the Monarch of this constant and sore trouble, sub-
stitute a more intelligible principle than lta been dis-
guised under the name of mercy, and give better
effect, by better means to the same real end. We
orzasimially see it stated, that his Majesty has been
graciously pleased to commpte B.'s sentence front
deakh to transportation. Now there is no grarioos,
'less whatever in this or any such act, for if A. B.
merited not death, but transportation, what would his
Majesty be if he suffered the undue sentence to be•
carried no effeet ? ft would be in effect a misprision
of murder. Al) that is vulgarly set down to the ae-
comic of mercy ip the Crow] 'should, if worthy of
praise tor approval, be placed to the account of
Tustice.. The Crown? thigh corrects the too-heavy
sentence of the Criminal Court, reduces it to the
standard of Justice ; if it does more than this, it be,
trays the trust of the people. Mercy, as an antithe-
sis to Justice, is a good cheat to the understanding.
When jostiee deserves its name, mercy in the be-
fitting degree has wegfaletel the law; but our legis-
lators make the law according to the stage directions
for a scene of butchery in an old tragedy, "us 01004,9
as may be," and leave the correction of the excess
to the much lauded attribute of the Throne. Mercy
thus Nines remedy of the law, but not of justice.
The mercy shown by the Crown is the exact diffe-
rence between the law as it is, and o,e law as it ought
to be. There are cases of entire error in the adminiss
tration of the law, as well as of the excess of punish-
Itclearly is not mercy which relieves the prisoner
front t o iris ctigrr of the awarded wrong, but strict
justice. It is pot yf match s:oriseonence. to under-
stand that what is termed Mercy is, in all
cases
.where it is not perniciously exercised, fl..oyal
.Justice; for by this correct interpolation of expres-
siep, we get rid of the dangerous metaphor of
". the brigb4-st jewel," and it is readily perceived
that the obj( et tieing josti,se, it were %vise to .furnish
the regular machinery for earryir, it into effect.
Compassion is supposed to be a feeling all sutheient
in all Men, and we may safely leave the King to
04, unassisted even by a Mr. Peel; but justice is
riot an artis• of wre sentiment, and it will be ad-
mitted that the moat estiiiiss.ivs: aids are necessary to
it—such as, men practised in judgment icir, ;
pleaders to present or remove objections; publicity to
ensure 'care and rectitude. In the hue case of Hun.

tDo, ,s7hie:47 hits given occasion, through the able com-
mentary of Chi.pii.elf,,to these remarks, the law
said death, the whole •Ce tfpotired fOr-mercy ;
the man has antlered, a newspaper paragraA stating
that a bad case had been represented against fan hi

. -
the Home Secretary's Office, is the only assurance
,hteh #am hane community ,has of the fitness of his
. •
abitot:reo sienteinse. How much better, as the
Chmnu;c/e 4v,i.w, that apt ,Qpep court had taken
coon/0),o 9,1 li,ioeas? 1,1,0 tify setting its va4a f.,,n
them, satisfy the troq,luitry of ,ategropti4 011 the fol.
tence. As it is, we only know ihat rfp,rwAtapoN'
fatal to the prisoner were made, but we know npt
administered, they
t,pe
that he could not have rebutted them had they been
pybliphr ?referred, and where the opportunity of
'defence wad offered IP him. For our own parts, we
•'o347o4lceigniiii:aesCll44uCafttistl'let P.-01•Qt 01 'faii`ji4 eoi
nf 0 xtnise mercy
severity
in the iaw.: ho Pi, ins po : Isjielii.;i:rig*Kiwet,
Legislators would ibuci4i 12 FoR6
„teat; Oidy
,
are wont to do, the common melispw 41 Fzfrq-
Whenever it is understood that laws are rigidly to h 6
p,o.l),R,tjon, and that Clemency which is now left to
they will be framed in the spirit of
#!,;
substance.. • Kim", will be infused into their
~............—:_____ ,

At My ,Chsebmford W.iptex Assizes op Satur-
• • I
Jay nothing worthr Pi Alpy partticular notice r.ranspired.
MAYOR'S C0URT......CH.4404T V. ROSS.--
In this case, which produced seine amusement in Court,
the plaintiff sought to recover 101. from the barber and
perruquier of No. 39, Cornhill, Mr. Ross. The Jury re-
turned a verdict for the defendant.