The Sun.
London, England, 1827-04-14 00:00:00

THE MIDDLESEX MAGISTRATES.

On Thursday a most numerous meeting of the
Magistrates of Middlesex took place at the Sessions-
house, Clerkenwell-green. Upwards of 50 of them
were crowded into a small room, in which they have
of late years been in the habit of transacting the
county business; F. Coss; Esq. in the Chair.
The greatest interest had been excited by the two
questions, of which notice had been given, viz. the
consideration of the expediency of erecting a i'matic
asylum, and the proposition for admitting the public
to the Court upon all occasions of interest to the
county. It was evident, from the conduct of se-
veral of the Magistrates, that the publication of
what took place upon the occasion of the last meet-
ing, caused no very pleasant sensation among them.
Lord Robert Seymour's motion (that relating to the
lunatic asylum) stood first on the list, but—
Mr. CitAmßEßs, of Union-hall, who had given
notice of the second motion, requested that his Lord-
ship would waive that which had precedence on the
paper, in consideration of the importance of throw-
ing open the door upon the occasion. To this sug-
gestion Lord Robert Seymour immediately assent-
ed; but Sir G. Farrant
and others opposed it, and
the first motion was immediately proceeded with.
Lord R. SEYMOUR stated, that the necessity
which existed for a county lunatic asylum had al-
ready been sufficiently well known; the arguments
in favour of an establishment of this kind were long
before the public, and the weakness of those who
opposed it had been, every body knew, adequately
exposed.
be inserted in
Lordshipilis
ai the
then moved, that advertise-
ments Papers, stating that the
Magistrates would, on the next Court-day, take
into consideration the expediency of erecting a
lunatic asylum.
The Hon. Mr. BOUVERIE seconded the motion.
The Very Rev. the DEAN of CARList.r. rose to
present a memorial relative to the proposition just
made. It was from the parish of St. George, and
in favour of the erection of a lunatic asylum. The
facts it stated were of the most revolting kind. A
deputation from the parish of St. George had visi-
ted Warburton's asylum to ascertain how the pauper
lunatics were treated, and they found that some of
the unfortunate inmates were manacled at four
o'clock on Saturday afternoon, and remained in that
horrid condition until lon \ •
day mornin„
ir (Strong
expressions of horror and indi,nation.) They also
learned that the treatment of the' 'mot. creatures in
other respects was corresponding with the tortures
thus inflicted. They
were lawashed with
mops. Mr. Warburton was questioned
qtliesi)tio'ned upon the
truth of those representations : but he decided that
he was not at all aware of the existence of such a
practice in his establishment. The superintendent
(Mr. Jennings), however,
upon being confronted
with the lunatics, admitted there was foundation
for the report. It would be difficult to describe the
effect of this statement upon the majority of the
gentlemen in the assembly.
Sir GEORGE FARRANT moved, that as a memo-
rial had been presented from the parish of St.

Mr. JESSOP supported Sir George Farrant's pro-
position.
Sir G. FARRANT said, that as the worthy Alder-
man (Sir P. Laurie) had the advantage of coming
from the east, he no doubt had an extensive know-
ledge, a sort of intelligence possessed by the citizens
of London alone, which enabled him to judge of the
merits of what he had never seen—(Laughter ; in
which Sir P. Laurie joined.)
A Magistrate observed, that a late visit to Oxford
by a worthy civic brother, proved the truth of the
compliment.—(A laugh.)
It was then agreed to Lhat the former memorials
should not be read.

Lord ROBERT SEYMouit's motion was then agreed
to unanimously.

PUBLICITY OF PROCEEDINGS.

Mr. CHAMBERS then rose to bring forward his
motion. He had received information strongly con-
firmatory of all he had stated upon the necessity of
admitting the inhabitants to the discussions. Colonel
Wood had declared that the ancient mode of trans-
acting businesS was in open Court ; and that it was
only when it was considered necessary to sit upon
private Committees the Magistrates retired to the
private room ; he knew this from others, as well as
from the high authority of Colonel Wood, only the
oldest Magistrates of the county declared that this
was the practice, and that if any part of the business
remained to be transacted after dinner, the Chairman
locked the door and put the key in his pocket, to
prevent any person from leaving the room until the
whole of the business should be at an end. If there
was no other reason for wishing for the admission of
the public, the observations of the Dean of Carlisle
furnished a sufficient argument.
Mr. CONST said that he should give no opinion
upon the merits of the question, but he must say
that the custom was, and he had.been for many years
a magistrate, to transact the county business in the
private room.
Colonel WooD was most decidedly in favour of
Mr. Chambers' motion. He supported it not as a
new measure, but as the renewal of the old and most
beneficial one.

A MAGISTRATE said, that the object of the motion
appeared to be to gather together the reporters of
the newspapers, in order to favour some particular
members, by improving their speeches, and making
language classical, which betrayed a contempt for all
the concords.—(Laughter.)

Sir PETEIt LAURIU said, that the question was
not whether what took place before the Magistrates
should be reported or not, but whether those who
paid 50,000/. a-year for rates should be acquainted
with the manner in which their money was disposed
of. A great deal might be said about the integrity
of the gentlemen in the Commission, but he still
really thought that the public ought not to be satis-
fied with a private arrangement in which their pro-
perty was concerned.

A voice from the corner of the room—" Why,
there are extracts published, which put the public
in possession of all they want to know."
Sir PETER LAURIE said, that it was well known
to be an easy matter to give extracts which repre-
sented or rather coloured a statement much higher
than it really was.—(Hear, hear.)—He would he
glad to know in what Court in this country, public
business was transacted with closed doors c'

A INIAGISTRATF.-" The Court of Aldermen."—
(Loud laughter.)

Sir P. LAURIE was glad to have the opportunity
of alluding to the practice of that Court, of which
he was a member; the discussions were certainly
held with closed doors, but then those discussions
did not comprehend the grand point—the finances
of the city.—(Hear, hear.)—The Court which had
the power of disposing of the fund was an open
Court, and it was his most anxious wish that the
Court of Aldermen was equally improved.—(A
laugh.)—One of the arguments used on a former oc-
casion against the proposition was, that the ambition
of the members to appear in print was so great that
there would be no such thing as checking the ten-
dency to eloquence, and that the consequence would
be the delay and confusion of the public business.
Now, experience proved the reverse; it was well
known that in places where the public were admit-
ted, speakers were very cautious of the quality of
their effusion, but when there was no danger of pub-
licity, a sort of gossiping took place, by which busi-
ness was altogether suspended.
Mr. CoNsT declared that the press had grown to a
frightful height. It, in fact, ruled every thing.
This sentiment the worthy Chairman repeated seve-
ral times during the discussion.
Sir G. FARRANT rose amidst profound silence, and
when a speech was expected, merely said, " I move
the previous question," and sat down.

Mr. Sergeant PELL was in considerable difficulty
as to the conduct he should pursue. lie admitted
that immense advantages arose from the publication
of what took place on occasions on which the public
money was disposed of, but he often thought that
discussions came forward in which ex-parte state-
ments were made of a prejudicia! nature, and which
the parties had no opportunity of denying or re-
fitting.

The Dean of CARLISLE was most certainly of
opinion that the business ought to be conducted in
open Court, and if the motion were amended in such
a manner as to allude solely to the peculiar matters
of the county, he should vote for the motion. There
were questions, decidedly, which it would not be
proper to discuss with open doors. These matters
could be settled in the private room.
It was decided that an amendment could not be
adopted, except with the approbation of the mover
of the previous question.
Sir GEORGE FAIRRANT would not withdraw his
amendment.

Mr. BRISCOE was quite delighted to find that
several converts of great importance had been made
since last the question was discussed. The more
the rates, and the payers of rates, were considered,
the more every one was convinced of the propriety
of allowing the public to be acquainted with the pro-
ceedings of the Court.—(Hear, hear.)
The question was then put, and the amendment
Was carried, there being about 26 hands held up for
it, and 18 or 19 against it. The original motion
was of course lost, but the question has gained
ground considerably since the last Court-day. It is
remarkable that most of the paid Magistrates voted
against the admission of the public!, but spoke not
a word. We recollect that one of the arguments
used on a former occasion against the motion was,
that it would be inconvenient to retire to a cold
Court to which the public might be admitted. God
knows, it would have been merciful to have removed
to any place where pure air could be breathed. Many
of the elder Magistrates were obliged to stagger out
of the room half suffocated. Before the business
was concluded all 'were exhausted.

On Thursday morning, the area gate of No. 10,
Parkysquare, was forced open, and a quantity of clothes
were stolen from the house, belonging to a servant who is
left in charge of it.