The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-22 00:00:00

COMMON CO UNCIL.

A Court of Common Council was yesterday held at Guildhall.
CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION.
Mr. PAVE at said, that before he moved a question of privi-
lege, he could not help adverting to an extraordinary report
which appeared in some of the public papers, relative to a certain
legal Gentleman, high in office under the Magistracy of the
City, who had ventured, on a solemn charge to a prisoner under
sentence of death, so far to go out of the record as to panegyrize
a certain society, pretending to be a Constitutional Society, but
which appeared to be calculated to undermine the liberty of the
Press, and through that, the dearest Constitutional rights of the
people. He hoped this statement had been made in error, as he
should be induced to think that the individual so offending de-
served to be superannuated.
CONDUCT OF ALDERMAN BRIDGES.
Mr. FAVELL then complained that the Committee of City
lands had suspended the carrying into effect the Resolution of
that Court of the 10th ult. ordering the Resolution of July last
respecting Alderman Bridges assembling a military force to be
written under the statue of Alderman Beckford, merely be-
catise a Gentleman had given notice of a motion to rescind that
order. He now moved that the Ccrinnittee should be ordered
to proceed forthwith to put that order into execution.
After a debate of some length, in which an amendment was
proposed, the motion was carried by a majority of 50 to 36.
SPECIAL JURIES.
The Report of the Committee of general purposes on the
state of the list of persons entitled to serve on Special Juries,
Was brought up. It stated that the names of many persons were
on the list who were described as qualified, but who were in fact
incompetent lo serve ; and that the list was extremely defective
in the names of those who were really qualified.
Mr. Sheriff WAITIIMAN moved that precepts should be
issued, directing the Common Councilmen of the several wards
to make returns of the names of persons in their respective dis-
tricts qualified to serve on Special Juries. He cautioned them
that none were so entitled who were not Merchants; and that
the master struck out the names of all persons who were not so
designated. After some discussion on this subject, Mr. Sheriff
NVitithman's Motion was agreed to.

LAw ASSOCIATION.—The friends and sup-
porters of this laudable Institution held their An-
niversary Festival yesterday evening at the Free-
mason's Tavern, Great Queen-street, when a
sumptuous dinner was provided for nearly 300
persons, who sat down about six o'clock, Sir
JAMES GRAHAM, Bart. M. P., in the Chair,
supported by several of the Nobility and Gentry
and most of the leading Members of the Law.

ATTEMPT TO MURDER G EN% EDEN.—YeSterd ay
the General attended at Marlborough-street Of-
fice, and stated the outrageous conduct of W. Pad-
more, as has been already described. It appeared
that the prisoner had lived several years as servant
with the General, but being much addicted to
drunkenness was at Length discharged for that
vice. Ile had for some time proved a greit an-
noyance by calling in an inebriated state at the
General's house, and acting in the rudest manner.
On committing, the outrage on, the General, he
accused him of having seduced his wife, which
accusation the General most solemnly protested
to be utterly unfounded. The prisoner declined
saying any thing for the present. The General,
together with his nephew and others, were bound
over to prosecute the prisoner at the next Old
Bailey Sessions.

The dangerof imitating .the gold sovereign with
a mixture of platina and copper is so obvious, that
tradesmen ought to be guarded against the fraud.
it cannot be detected by the scales, as platina,
though so cheap, is heavier than gold ; but a
counterfeit composed, of such a proportion of
patina as will give it weight, cannot be made to
ring when thrown on a table-or counter.

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FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 1821

TilE LONDON J 0 UUNALS.

DAILY EXTRACTS FROM _THE MORNING PAPERS

Jude 22.
[MORNING rosT.]
The Bills brought in by Sir. J. Mackintosh,
and passed by the House of Commons, to abolish
the penalty of death in cases of robbery in
Dwelling-houses and on .Navigable Rivers, and
to substitttte transportation, imprisonment, -and
hard labour iny its:stead, were thrown out last
night on the second reading in the Lords, by a
majority of '27 to 17. They were opposed by the
Lord Chancellor and Lord Sidmouth, who con-
tended that capital punishments increased, instead
of impairing the 'efficacy of., the law; whilst the
Marquess of. ,Lansdown contenit 'directly the
reverse. The' Bills willr however, be again
brought in next Session, at so early a period as
to enable their Lordships to enter into that full in-
vestigation of the subject, which alone can jus-
tify so important an, alteration in our. Criminal
Code.

[TILE TI M ES.]
The papers and letters supplied by yesterday's
mail from Spain, bringing dates to the Bth inst.
contain nothing to justify the desponding tone
which pervades some of the recent letters from
Paris, concerning the state of that country. They
are unusually barren indeed in intelligence of an
eventful nature, which is, perhaps, the best cri-
terion of tranquillity. Merino, we learn from
one of the letters, is reduced to the last extre-
mity, and sheltering himself among the mounr
tains with a few followers, in the constant dread
of apprehension. The sentence on General Elio
is not yet executed ; but it seems certain to be
carried into effect, though there exists in Spain a
lake party who would save him, or commute it
for a milder punishment. Two memorials were
presented on his behalf in the sitting of the Cortes
of the sth, but that assembly would not allow
discussion on them, and passed to the order of
the day. Justice has at length overtaken one of
the agents in the massacre at Cadiz..

[MORNING CHRONICLE.]
The'Debates in the House of Commons, last
night, were extremely interesting. The length
of our Parliamentary,Report will not allow us to
indulge in any remarks at this time. We shall
merely observe, with respect to the motion of
Lord William Bentincli, that not a single argu-
ment worthy of a moment's attention was offered
in justification of the conduct of • Sir William
A'Court.

[BRITISH enEss.]
The Bills for mitigating the punishment de-
nounced by the existing laws against Robbery in
Dwelling-houses and upon navigable. Canals were
debated last night in the _House of Lords, upon
the motion of the Marquess of Lansdown, and in
a division finally rejected. The numbers were,
for the Bills 17, against them 27. These Bills were
the result of much earnest solicitude and anxious
inquiry on the part of Sir James Mackintosh,and
in the principles and details of the measures a
majority of the House of Commons concurred,
but the Lord Chancellor last night opposed
them so vigorously in the House of Lords, that
their Lordships thought it safer to refuse them
their sanction. It is, we think, much to be la-
mented that maxims of policy founded upon long
and painful experience- should, in the minds of
such men as the Lord Chancellor; silence the
claims of humanity and mercy ; but the principle
of the Learned Lord is, that mercy to the crimi-
nals is the severest cruelty to society ; and, al-
though we certainly desire to see much of the se
verity of our Penal Code relaxed, we do not he-
sitate to say, that, in matters of such a nature, no
change ought to be too readily admitted, in oppo-
sition to the opinion of Lord Eldon.

[NEW TIMES.]
The accounts from Spain continue to be of the
most painful character. It is lamentable to think,
that with the awful lesson of the French Revolu-
tion.so immediately before them, nations should
he found servilely to copy all the follies, all the
crimes, and all the horrors of that fatal epoch.
Gen. Elio, an officer of great merit and loyalty, has
been condemned,without the pretence or shadow of
law, t o be strangled: and it is to be feared that Fer-
dinand VII. will have the baseness to sacrifice this
faithful subject to the fury of the reliels. This is
indeed the great misery of Spain; that whilst a
set of frantic democrats, on the one side, are
driving the country to anarchy, the King has
not the spirit to resist their infamous atrocities,
and to call on the loyal part of the nation for
support. Judging from the experience of all
former ages, it is to be feared that this wretch-
ed Prince will himself add to the number of
victims which have been offered up in our time
at the shrine of popular delusion. The wife
of General Elio presented a Memorial, to the
Cortes, but those wretches passed to the Order
of the Day ! Meanwhile the Members of the
prevailing faction quarrel more bitterly among
themselves than with their opponents. Such
was exactly the case in France when Manuel
was denounced by recite, and Danton by
Robespierre. The Minister of the Interior is'
attacked by his brother Liberales for not hav-
ing suppressed the hostile movements against
the existing order of things ; and his defence is
twofold. First he says that the Cortes do not
allow him money enough to gain partisans ; and
secondly—what is well deserving of notice—
" that the public spirit is entirely hostile to the
system which the Liberales are striving to sup-
port." In the country parts of Spain insurrec-
tion and civil war are daily spread. The militia
of Castile are marched into Catalonia, and the