The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-20 00:00:00

MOTU*. 4

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1844.

Abuses, which are offensive to the feelings and
opinions, and even hostile to the rights and liberties of
the great bulk of a community, may, occasionally,
maintain themselves for lengthened periods of time,
against all calculation of the probability of their ex-
tinction, founded on their intolerable and vexatious
character. Long prescription may give to them a
species of sacredness in the eyes of some ; others may
be deterred by a sickly dread of innovation, under
any circumstances, from attempting their remedy or
their removal. A still larger class will apathetically
endure the very evils which they denounce, rather
than put themselves forward in the business of
achieving their own object, on the principle that
" that which is everybody's business is not theirs." But
after making every allowance for the influence of these
unworthy considerations, in general cases, we cannot
repress our astonishment that the Game-laws, on their
present footing, should have been so long tolerated
and administered in a free country like our own.
Where institutions have been so long established,
which distinctly ascertain and solemnly guarantee the
inviolability of personal rights and property, in almost
every other case, it is a social anomaly of the most
extraordinary kind that a whole code of class legisla-
tion, of the most selfish, insolent, and tyrannous na-
ture, should not merely be tolerated on our Statute-
book, but notoriously and daily administered, with
all its frightful penalties—its utter recklessness of
the suffering and privation they inflict—and its dis-
gusting appreciation of brute natures over human na-
ture. Every week seems really to surpass its prede-
cessor in the contributions which it brings with it
towards an appalling history of the oppressions per-
petrated under the authority of these game-lords'
enactments, and the stupidity with which game-lords'
magistrates, at county sessions, whenever there is a
discretion to be exercised between decreeing a nominal
or a severe fine, a brief or a longer term of imprison-
ment under them, doggedly enforce the heavier sen-
tence. In this way the Game-•laws, and those who are
charged with their administration, fill the gaols with
exasperated prisoners, increase the county rates with
the expenses of the innumerable prosecutions they
encourage by their wholesale commitments, and
allow themselves to be made the blind instruments of
fomenting that vindictive hatred for the owners of pro-
perty in general, of that which comprises game pre-
serves in particular, that is the deplorable but not un•
natural result of such treatment as offenders receive
at their magisterial hands, if they have trespassed
against the Game-laws.

We have, of late, had too frequent and too recent
occasion to advert to enormities perpetrated under
their sanction, of a far graver kind, to offer
any comment on a case which appeared in
our paper of yesterday, as extracted from
the Somerset County Gazette. Nevertheless, it is
too Characteristic and consistent not to be noted as
an admirable illustration of the notions which' Somer-
setshire ALIASES: gravely entertain of proportion, in
estimating the amount of crime and awarding punish..
ment. At the Keynsham Petty Sessions a young
ruffian was tried for hurling a st, nt a female,
which had so severely injured her that she was still
wider medical treatment, and not permitted to attend.