The Sun.
London, England, 1819-12-20 00:00:00

support of corruption.

Now pray, Sir, is not the fact that light anti
beat are excisable, sufficient to bring the case
home, to Parliamentary Eng-airy ? But if more
proof is wanted, behold it !

Passing up Grub street a few clays ago, I pick-
ed up a thing called an abnanaek, in which the
Stationers' Company-1 hate all Corporations,
except my own—boldly tyrannize over each distinct
part of the human body, and not content with
ruling man in the aggregate, decree what shall
govern the head, the loins, the feet, to oils, and
various other parts which I shall not particularly'

specify !
But this is not all;--they further decree, that
in December the Sun shall not rise until after 8,
nor shine after 4; telling us, very candidly in-
deed, just as the Chancellor talks of new taxes,
that we may expect frost, snow, and sleet, at va-
rious periods within the month !

You will ask, perhaps, what have Ministers to
do with this? Sir, these harsh decrees are issued
under Ministerial influence, and contribute to Ali
nisterial rapacity. They are stamped, Sir ! Then
what further proof is wanting? One word more,
Mr. Editor, to solve a difficulty in the new Meet-
ing Bill. You must know, Sir, that oh- the day of
the Westminster Meeting, whilst Sir FRANKY and
other Patriots were moving their jaws, jawing, as
it is more elegantly termed, for the public good,
not•fOr the good of the publicans, His Majesty's
Ministers kicked up a breeze from. the Eastward,
which blew -all their words down King-street—
down -King-street, Sir !—where Jacky Frost, •a
Government Spy, locked them up, without bail
or mainprize, until the next thaw.brings a Ha-
l9ea Verbos. Now, Sir, we have the authority of
Sir HUGH WILLOUGFIBY, who wintered in Green-
land, and also of Baron MUNCKHAUSEN, that words

spoken in frost are repeated when thawed, and as
triere -is no prbbability of a thaw before the Bill
passes, I wish to know whether these great Pa-
triots are to be tried for Libels, or prosecuted for
holding an unlawful Meeting when General Thaa
issues his Habeas ?—I merely ask, Sir, because
one of our party having alteady made a "Trifling
Mistake," which will, no doubt, be better ".cor-
rected" than even he has done, I am atraid of
committing another ; particularly if I shook! add
such additional warmth to my speeches, so as to
prevent their being frozen, thus falling upon
Scylla, when I am ttying to avoid Charybdis.

Your's,

Query-istily, or queerishly,

I. V. N.

FOR 11-1 E SUN.

THE BOROUGH OF GRANWOUNI).

MR. EDlTOR—li.is nut my present purposeto
discuss i the necessity.; orJheptopricty, Of crieKtl"-
ing the Representation in the House of Comhuri,Ls..
to manufacturing Towns ;—still less, to enter.
upon the general question of Reform. At another
time, I shall observe the inconsistency of conced-
ing partial and gradual Reform to the moderate
men who profess to desire nothing farther while
the concession would be used by the Radicals as
an engine for obtaining something beyond. At
another time, too, I may once more hint my suspi-
cion, thr'rt the Whigs and the Radicals hunt in
couples ; or, at least, that the former arc the
cat's-paw of the latter. At present, my business
is with Grant pound, and with Grampound only.
lam not prejudging the question. 1 adroit, as
fully as if it had been proved, every charge which
has been adduced against that Borough. . And,
When a case shall have been established, with all
the extreme accusation of its statement, I will
insist, that the Borough ought not to be. disfran-
chised. Let it be proved, it you please, that the
majority of the. Electors were corrupt,—or even
the whole.of them. Imagine a consentancity,
unanimity of corruption,, infecting the entire
body,—stiii I insist, that the borgage tenure
ought out to be.devested.
The Right of Election exists in tire Borough,
not in the Burgesses. They are the exercisers of
that tight, in die name and.heiralf of the Borough,
as is shewn by their majority deciding the Election.
If the Burg age-holding is by a reception into the
Corporate Body, that Body might not to be dis-
franchised for the fault of any, or all its mem-
bers.. The individuals may be removed, but the
Corporation should continue. If the Burgage-
holding is by descent, the heir ought, not to be
punished for the fault of the lite tenant. It it
be in fee—as we may term. its absolute holding—
surely there must be an heir, who ought not to
stiffer. You would not inflict, the uttaint,ice
punishment of high treason upon all footle pos-
terity, for the misdemeanour of a stranger an-

cestor, nor yet of their. own ?
I! is the place which is represented; not the 'man;
the groun4 ; not its occupier : therefore, the elec-
toral ft anchise is real, and not personal.
.1f then the man has committed a fault, let not
the place be punished :—if the occupier has vio-
lated the laws, let riot the ground be deprived rif
its right. Disfranchise, if you will, the convicted
Elector : treats hint as legally dead, for all elec-
toral purposes : let his franchise descend upon
the next heir, or be in abeyance during that heir's
nonage or of her incapacity :--expel the corrupt
corporator, and supply his place with an bonester
man :—purify the tainted part,, or the tainted.
whole :—but do not punish, whether at present or
in prospect, the innocent for the guilty, or with
the 'guilty.

Upon these principles, I sly, disfranchise the
corrupt Burgesses of Gratnpound, even to their
last man ; but preserve to the Borough of Gram-
pound, which neither did nor could commit an
offence.

FOR THE SUN.

BANISHMENT.

TENAX.

MR. EDITOR—I a late Protest it is said, that
" Banishment is unknown to the Law."

1 beg leave to dissent from this position.
Perpetual Banishment out of the Realm is men-
tioned by our early" writer on Criminal Law,
STAUNDFoRDE in his Pleas del Corone 1 1.6. b.

BeLKNAr was banished to Gascony in the time
of King Henry IV.
Such Rogues as were dangerous to the inferior
people were to be banished the -Realm by the Stalade
39th Eliz. c. 4.

Bishop ATTERBURY and other persons; were
banished the Realm by Statutes in the time of
King George I.

Transportation was brought Into general use
as a punishment in 1718, and has been sanctioned
by numerott, Statutes.
Temple, Dec. 1819. • * *

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOTTSE OF LORDS, DEC. 18.

•
The Royal Assent was given by Commission to
the Seizure of Arms Bill and the Malt Duty Bill.
the Commissioners were the Lord Chancellor
and Lords Shaftesbury and Bathurst.