The Sun.
London, England, 1826-11-16 00:00:00

srmiT Or THE PrBLIC .101Y1t:NALS.

Amongst the variety of important subjects which press
for, the consideration of the newParliainent, it ought not
to be forgotten, that: a Coloir:k, called the Cape Of , Good
}lope, although it has ham the good fortune, to survive the
effects of that Government at the htad of Which was once
Lord .Cherles SAmerset, hays many grievous complaint's
unredressed, sod many inhabitants who ery aloud ?or ins..
ture. AT:. Bishop Burnett was one of these; his story is
known. to the whole kingdom. He has transmitted and
presented innumerable accusations to the King's Ministers,
againet Lord Charlee,Somerset-s-who is nom titter long
sielays, and much apparent :reluctance on his part, with-
eleawn from the Cape. 'A Commission of Inquiry was
sent out to the Cape, composed, as it appears, of Mr.
Bigge clever man certainly) and Major Colebraoke—
both appointed by Lord .13athurst, Lord Charles Somer.
set was likewise appointed &frier by Lord Bathurst, or by
the Cabinet, of which he, is a member. Theft two pro-
frees of the Colonial S'Acretary, therefore, ought to have
taken extraordinary. -iallos to exempt thethselves from every
possible suspicion, o meting with eerie an nodue fellow-feel-
ing for their In:ether protegt, as would lead rathrtr to their
stilling an inquiry into' his conduct thati tO their zealous
Proses:ll6o.n of it, end exhibit Leto to the world as screens
for g0i.1:4 rather than vindiceeds of innocence. The Re-
port tif these Gentlere.en Commissioners, we are bound
to say, whatever it ay have been their treatment of the
facts presented to them, does not deserve the least re-
proach from Lord Chocks Somerset for betraying a spirit
int observation upon those facts, in any degree adverse to
his Lord Ship. SO upon-those
the reverse, indeed, is the tone
predominating throughout their official statement, that
Mr. Burnett, one of the principal parties in whose allega-
tions against the ex-Governor the Commission of Inquiry
had originated, feels that he has himself much reirion to
complain of those Commissioners, for what he describes
to be the manifest and unbecoming partiellty of the report.
—lle hes just published a long pamphlet, detailing the
grounds of his charges against the Commissioners,_ and
stating, in confirmation of the views which had been form-
ed of their partiality, the suspicioes kindnesses interchan-
ged at the Cape between them and the personage into
whose Government it
.wes their duty to examine. We
recommend this parephletto the attentive perusal of those
who have read, and been influenced by, the report.—
Above all, we urge upon the infant Parliament, the ric-
ceesity of devoting their best consideration to the eases at
issue between the King's Colonial subjects and the, ex-
Ogvenior, of whom they so bitterly complain. A ques-
tion involving the supposed abuse of poWer, by a public
functionary remote from the tribunal to which he is by law
amenable, ought to command an early and effectual vigi-
lance on the part of the only national protector, especially
where the 'person charged with delinquency is supposed
to have the means of exercising -a vicious authority over
many Members of the Parliament itself, whose honour and
independence therefore, no less than its justice and hie.
inanity, are staked upon the honest entertainment of this
constitutional question, as well as on its satisfaCtory result.
es.
We hope that the Devonshire Magistrates, against
whose: decision a Inandantus was moved for on Tuesday,
will be able, when the mutter comes again before the
Court, to give. some" better reason for' withholding a pub-
bean's license than that which they ate said to have as-
. eigned—Viz. that his sign was gone to be repaired ! We
like it for granted that nothing so exceedingly absurd and
arbitrary as this can hate occurred even under the preeent
licensing system, frs,ught as it is with abuses and defects
which have on called for Parliamentary correction. As
the subject has been expressly reserved , for the present
Session of Parliament, and is now in, the hands of Mr.
Peel. and not in those of his colleague, the other Member
for Oxford, who has been facetiously called " the Solon
of Alehouses," we trust that a system,will soon be esta-
blished, which will put both the cenvenience of the public.,
and the rights and property of individuals", upon a very
different &rating to that upon whiCh they have hitherto
been. We are not ageinst public-houses being under a
due, and that a pretty tight, cmaroul. Tiny are, iu their
very nature, the ronts of much disorder and insubordina-
tion, apd!ere, in many instances, frequented by persons
who become more and more lawless and extravagant from
the fuel which is there added to the flame. But, on the
other hand, that a property of so much magnitude and im-
portance as that which is embarked in them, islo be'sub-
ject, even as to its existence or momentary destruction, to
the taprice of persons, who, when not tainted with cor.
euption (as many of theni have been, proved trebe), ere
too often alike ignorant mid arbitrary, is a state of things
which ought never. to have existed, and cannot now be
borne. There seem to its two remedies for the evils of
the present system—the one to abolish it altogether, leas.
ing the .trade in beer, Ike. as open as that of any other; or by
transferring the power of licensing to the Board of EXcise,
Which ie likely to exercise it More impartially and dispas-
sionately than its present possessors generally do, The
abolition of the system alto ether ether is by far the most desir-
Utile in theory : but *e doubt whether,in practice, it could
be altogether safely adopted; unless, indeed, it were ac-
companied by some such
.restrictions as these -wportien-
ing public-houses to the actual wants and population of
each neighbourhood, and prohibiting the sale of liquors in
any house not solely devoted to the. purpose. But no
alterations in the licensing system will ever be wholly
available, which do not effectually breakdown the brewer's
monopoly. This part of the evil is so well known that it
would be mielesa to enlarge liven it, The remedy is simple
and easy, if Parliament have but the courage and good
sense to. resort, to it. It is simply a legislative enactment,
making it highly penal in any perien carrying on, the trade
n. a common brewer, being, after a time to be limited (say,
for instance, five years), directly or indirectly interested,
either 44 owner, mortgagee, or otherwise, in any inn, vie-
walling-house, er alehouse. The last. ..number of the.
Edinburgh Review, in an article upon this subject, con-
tains several new and very striking remarks, to which we
would refer such of our readers as' are anxious to be bet-
ter acquainted with a matter of such general importance.
There is one view of the matter by which Ministers, in
the present state of the public finances especially, cannot
fail, we should think, to be influenced, viz. that there is no
part of our system which so keeps down and injures the
revenue as this; while the Minded interest we should
iniasine roust be aware, that few things would promotetheir object more than good beer, and a free trade in 4,-
4:bruins Ikea'''.
We see, by the last American Paper's, that an Associa-
tion has been formed at Charleston, for the purpose of
suppressing Duelling, and a' Committee appointed to draft
(as Jonathan says) a Memorial on the subject to the Le-
gislature.. This. practice, Whieh, at one time or another,
almost every .State has in vain emleavoured to suppress,
rail to prevail more in the. United States than even in
(Lee
or England. We are afraid, however, that no le-
gislative measure can ever put an end to it, Nations have
certain manners and customs which no laws can eradicate:
time and fashion alone can effect a change. Duelling,
:no
'
doubt, is a vestige of barbarism ; and, taken 46 a test of
right or wrong, is as absurd as the ancient mode of de-
riding quarrels by fire or water; , it is an evil which
•
will continue to prevail in all military govemnfrermit and
among nations jealous 0 I
• f their independence. we judge.
from appearances, it cannot be denied that it hair been
productive of great good • .
on
. it has tended to polish society ;
tind,in every country where it prevails, secret assassini
is almost unknown.
Prance or England, or America,
wes believe,'such a crime,
is .
arising from jealousy or revenge,
hardly ever heard of. Murdera,.no doubt, are committed
here occasionally from one or other of these motives, tilt
seldom or never when the parties mum equal terms; and
they are generally committed openly, It is only when a
_.,mss in thelower ranks of lifehes been cruelly d by
aomperior, and has uot, the means of redress, that he re
,tortato such an alternative. In States where duelling
(lota not prevail, the case is quite different: cowardice,
jeeloasy, and revenge, produce there a greater proportion

of deaths in One year Ain't are eituseA hereby duel* in ten.
In Naples, for instance, Where Conibits of this description
are inerorare than even suicides (the average of which is
about three in the year, or about one to inVenty in propor,
Lion to Paris), the crime of, assassination is sttld tti
to an alarming ext;ilr. If a natinn hah 1.6 ehtioite between
the two ci;ix, no one imitild hesitate for a remnent which
lid Otter, IN; 'attempt to check the 641 by i flkt iig ca-
pital ininlshinent on the surviVor, wh'cit every flag is con-
ducted a`cdording to 'establiiiltd rules, is so contrary to the
natural feelings tif Mankind, that no Jury would ever re-
turn a verdict of guilty. The moat that the law can do
is to institute a strict inquiry into the cause of the quarrel
and the conduct of the parties; and, if blame atteches to
the survivor, let him not eacape,with In trials
that have taken place; stitfitient attention has not always
been paid to the respective Situations otthe parties. The
man who knows his superiority in the use of arms—and
who, on that account, presumes to insult another, top°-
, yoke a quarrel—is a nuisance iii society; and, it he kill his
antagonist, ought to.he treated As a murderer. Such a
character iS so teptNive and dangerous, that but few would
sympao.ise with him. It is quite otherwise when the
parties are on equal terms, when the whole affair is con-
ducted honourably, and when some grievous injury has
been inflicted, for which the injured patty thinks the law
can afford no redress. It is to be regretted that cases of
this kind should occur, and that human lives 4hotild he lost
in consequence ; but We fear that, While the habits and
spirit of the people remain the same, no laws can put an
end to the practice.--Ibid.
If the decision with regard to the Corn Laws in Perlin-
ment were to depend on the oyinion4 pronounced at the
Meetings of the, people thtZughout the country, it might
be antielpitted without difficulty. With the single excep-
tion of. the Landowners and Leaseholders, all are agreed
,
tnat the interests of the country imperiously require a
,termination to the present syStem of restrictions bn the im-
portation of food, Yesterday there Was a Meetitig of the
' Borough of tiouthWai. i, Oil 016 anbjeet of the Corn Laws.
At this Nicetillg Mr. Calvert properly observed, that 'agri-
culture and manufactures were inseparably connected toge-
ther, and that the fall of the one necessarily led to the fall
of the other. He next observed, " that there was much
mistake, he was bound to say, upon the subject of the ad-
vantage of the agriculturists, in the Minds of those who
were supposed (hoWeVer erroneously) to have an interest
hostile to theirs." We suspect that the mistake is more
general on the side of the agriculturists themselves, who,
by their determined opposition to the repeal of their mo-
nopoly, evidently show that they deem it greatly condu-,
cive to their interest. Whatever cramps the industry of
the conntry, and impedes the accumulation of wealth,
must necessarily injure the value of landed property; and
nothing is so preposterous as the idea entertained by too
many of them, that the industry of the cowntry 'must not
stiffer by the system adopted in 1615, by which intercourse
between England and many large kingdoms is rendered
impossible from the inability of obtaining returns for our
goods. 13ut Mr. Calvert did not take the very best way
to convince the people of their mistake :
" lie would explain," he said, " to the Meeting bow the mat;
ter really stood :—The best land in this country, he would sup-
pose, was worth 50s. an acre ; the worst might be valued at ss.
an acre. Now, the average of all the acres would be about 301.
an acre. The average produce of the best land, per acre, was five
quarters of wheat, whereas the worst did not yield, perhaps, twice
as many bushels. Be would, however, say that the average pro-
duce of an acre was wheat that would yield three sacks of flour.
These three sacks, in the hands of a good baker, would give 250 ;
or, taking it at a snore reduced rate, he would say 240 quartern
loaves. Now, the reduction of id. on a quarter!' loaf, on 240
loaves, would be a reduction of lbs. per acre ; se that this would
bring the average value of an acre from 80e. to 20s. Thus the
reduction of three halfpence on. the quartern loaf, would be a
reduction of the whole rental of England ; and, when people
were paying Is. bd. for the quartern loaf, he believed they
were little aware, that the reduction of three halfpence amounted
to the whole agricultural rental of this country. lie stated thus
much, in order that the Meeting might he put in real post:coition
of the situation of the agricultural interest."

We do not exactly see what the proportion between
the value between the rental of the country and the price
of the quartern loaves has to do with the question. Rent,
as we all know, does influence the price of the loaf; but
the price of the loaf influences rent; and the landholders
contend for the monopoly, because they conceive it leads
to a higher average of prices than we should otherwise
have, and consequently is the cause of a rise of rents.—
When the. price of • food is high, the deductions front the
gross produce of the farm are necessarily high also, be.
cause the farmer raises the cost of his horses, the tvagee
of his labourers, the bills of his tradesmen, and every article
consumed by him, which is affected by the price of food.
His elucidation, as far as we can understand it, only shows
the ruinous process by, whieh the rise of price is obtained.
But. Mr. Calvert, in thus comparing together the rental of
the country and the gross produce, measured by quartern
loaves, and showing how small the proportion of the for-
mer to the letter, could not surely mean to say that a fall
in price of three halfpence the quartern loaf, would have
any sensible effect on the rental of the country.--Morning
Chronicle.

Thursday night, while an apprentice•of Mr. Turvey
Flower, jeweller, Essex-quay, Dublin, was engaged removing :tr-
acks of jewellery from the window, a man rushed into the ihop,
snatched up a box containing 270 gold rings, moat of them set in
Irish diamonds, pearls, garnets, &c. and instantly decamped with
it. The boy pursued him over Essex-bridge, but the fellow effect-
ed his escape. Several of the rings were picked ip near the bridge.
RUNNING MA TC IL---Thc match between Jackson
and Wantling of 300 yards for 1001., in which Wantling wall to
have given Jackson eight yards, and which was to have been run
at Croydon, is off; Bea Burns having forfeited the money down
on the part of Wantling.

THE RING.7-WARD AND CRAWLEY.---.The
third deposit for this grand affair, which is to come off on the 2d
of January, and which is to decide fur the present the question of
Jem Ward'sr title to the Championship, was made good on Tues.
day night, at Jack Randall's, the Hole in the Wall, Chancery-lane.
YOUNG GAS AND ROBINIfON.—The second de-
posit for this fight, which is to take place on the nth of January,
1821, was made good on Tuesday night, at the Sol's Arm; Wych-
street. This mill is to take place between London and Halifax..
A PRINTER'S FROLIC.----ATTIC WIT.--..At the
New Bailey Court House, Salford, on Thursday, Mr. William
Roden, formerly the foreman of a,newspaper office, in this town,
but lately an assistant on a London &today paper, was locked-up,
in default of finding sureties to answer, at the next sessions, to a
charge of which the following is the substance :—On Wednesday
evening, a respectable old lady, a widow, named Wolstenholme,
residing at the top of Brazeunose-street, had allowed her son to
lien a party of young people. Between eight and nine o'clock,
two young ladies stood with the front door ajar, in order to inhale
a little fresh air, when Mr. Roden and seven or eight jolly com-
panions, rushed into the house, and called fora crown bowl of
punch. The Inches told them that that was not a public-house,
and with some difficulty, got them to leave the house. Between
ten and eleven o'cloek, however, their valour, of impudence, hav-
ing received an additional reinforcement from the jolly God, they
went again to the house of Mrs. 'Wolatenholtne, and knocked and
kicked at the door. No one attending. to this vulgar summons,
they broke open the door„ and rushed In, demanding punch, and
-a share in the merriment that was going forward. Mrs. Walston
holme's son, and other young men, coming down stairs, strove to
put them out, when Roden said lie was a sheriff's officer, and had
a writ against one of them. " Where is it ?" said young Wolsten-
T'ohne: Roden then clenching his list, and striking him a heavy
win the face, said " there it is • and defend it if you can."
At iesigtlt, try the assi;tance of the watchman,' Mr, Roden was
crruzib.tne_th.e. New Bailey, and on the following morning, was
sg„ii.j4 Otegistrates. He cross-examined the witnesses
withoutfi effect, and then called a M. White to
prove that
wanted them to ienimitneil
stole his hat, and that he merely
diately sworn to, restoreaiit, it to hint. This Mr. 'White was imme-
he Was thereforet orie'erl7 one of the most active in the `row, and
to,
and ultimatelY keep' Mr. Roden courpany at the bar,
to find to answer for the offence at the see-'
sions, which not
locked up to their mgftati,;ntlo do, he and Mr. Roden were both
Mr. Townend conducted the case
for Mrs. Wohtenholine,
pritonersi
ariltoted that his client was determined
to indict the
names be ascertained.....JfimeAnto Gazette.t,heic companions,
could their
na