The Sun.
London, England, 1818-09-25 00:00:00

COURT OF CONIMON COUNCIL.

Yesterday a Court of Common Council was
held at Guildhall, for the pnrpose of electing a
Common Pleader (Counsel) for the City, vacant
by the death of the late William Watson, Esti
and for the discussion of other miscellaneous bu-

SITU SS.

The Loan MAYOR declared a vacancy in the
office of Sword-bearer, by the decease of the late
William Cottrell, Elq ; awl after some discus-
sion, an especial Committee %vas appointed to
inquire into the nature and duties of that office,
aml to report the same to the Court.

LORD MAYOR'S DAY.

Mr. J. DAvitts moved the discussion on a Re-
port Of a: Committer, recommending th it when
the day for Swearing in the Sheriffs or Lord
N yor shoold happen to be Sunday, it should be
altered 'o the day before or the day after.
Mr. DIXON said, be might be deemed irreligious,
but there was more danger perhaps in those alio
Were righteous overmuch ; zeal blinded the under-
Standing. For his own part, he saw nothing
improper in administering the solemn and reli-
gions obligation of an oath to a Magistrate fin a
Sunday.
,Notliing'could be a more inipressive
le.sson to the young and rising generation than
to behold such a solemnity, and at the same time
it would stimulate theist to correctness of con-
duct and attention to their moral and religious
dtaies, through which alone they could hope to
attain similar honours at the hands of their fellow-
citizens.

DAviEs thought it bad been well known
that•he was not to be ridiculed out of tii, opinions,
01' out 01 any'tl►ing which he had to prup.,se to
that Court-. Gentlemen, he hoped, had lived long
enough to .knOw that much good had been clog►
by pet sons or religious sentiments. lie maintain-
ed that the 'Sabbath-day ought to he kept holy,
and he would ask it a religious observance of it
was'con'sistent with the great and tumultuous pro-
cession usual on the swearing in of every Lord
111.ayor The appointment of the Sabbatl►•day
for that purpose would have bee►i•purely acciden-
tal, and not at all in the contemplation of those
who trat»ed the Act that it should be so en►ploy-
ed. To !be simply swearing in of the Lord Mayor
he Tro.ild not object ; but who recollected its ever
taking place without the procession being attend-
en by disorderly persons % lie hoped that the
-Court would take care that the Lord Mayor
bhould he sworn in on some other day that► Sun-
day, and that they would not suffer religion to be
scoffed at.

Mr. DIXON said, the Judges thought no harm
in diwng together on the first Sunday of Trinity
Tetin. For his part, he ‘,00141 rather have the
dining p,or'ion of the civic ceremonies put
pff front
Sunday, anti he hoped that future Lord :\layors
and Sheriffs wold take care to postpone their en-
tertainments from Sunday till some other day in
the week.

Mr. Alderman COoDBEIIERII said, that. the Ma-
gistrates alluded to ►sere obliged to serve one year,
according to law ; and if they were sworn in oft
a Saturday or Monday, they would sere either a
day more or a day less than the complete year.—
Besides, before they could make any alteration in
tl►ese matters, they must have an act of the Legis-
lature. He had attended butt► the ceremony and
the entertainment given afterwards on many oc-
casions, and never witnessed any disorder, but
much of good fellowship, peace, and harmony.
Aldetmat► IVAITIIMAN said, that in delivering
an
.opinion respecting a question on eating and,
drinking, no man could be more at a loss than
be was, inasmuch as he had been but a short
time in a situation from which he could derive
much intormation on those topics which furnished
standine jests upon the Corporation. He cared
as little about those meetings as any man, but he
could not agree with the recoinn►endati'on of the
ComotiNee, which assumed that the Lord Mayor.
Judges, and other grave personages; could not
meet to swear in Sheriffs without committing
-some excess. .This practice was instituted in
times quite as religious as the present, and had
never been complained of till now. The Court.
ougl►t not to pass a vote of censure on itself, by
showing to the Corporation that it could not meet
without launching into excesses.
Mr. DIXON tl►en said, that, in order that this
question might die a natural death, he should
move that the report should lie on the table, which
was carried in the affirmative.

COMMON PLEADER,
Mr. DIXON said, that before they proceeded to
the election of a Common Pleader, he wished to
point out to the Court a difficul►y into which they
might get if a sufficient number of can:lidarcs were
not found qualified, so as to give the Court an
Qpportunity of selection in its choice of a person
to fill this -important ;Ace.

Mr. BROWN said, be had a petition to present
from a Barrister who was not a freeman ; he
therefore moved, that be should be admitted a
candidate on an understanding that, if chosen, he
should take out his freedom within one mouth
front the date of the election.
Alderman WArrnmAN thought the Court right
not to be swayed or biassed by attending to the
consideration of one. particular case.
Mr. Dixow said, that if the Candidates had
been aware that it was absolutely necessary that
Ciey should be freemen before proceeding to the
Election, they would have rendered themselves
Mr. HARVEY was of opinion, that the motion
could not be sustained, inasmuch as the Candi-
ciates cook! not have been ignorant that they
(Right to be freemen before proceeding to elec-
tion. The Court ought therefore to mioke its
choice instantly, as otherwise it would be casting
ti deep injury upon the professional character of
Cle Candidates who were eligible, if they sent
OCill back in order to get fitter persons.
The Court was then proceeding to the election,
t,licti it appearing that only two out of the five
Candidates were eligible,
Mr. JACKSON moved an adjournment, which,
after some time, was carried' on a division of 77
to G I.—ild4oorneti.

PROVINCIAL JOURNALS.

(Front The 'Plymouth Telegraph and Chronicle)
CAPITAL PUNISHMENTS. _

We know tiOtivitiisvitatfeelingsour Readers in
general contemplate the enormous frequency of
our capital punishments, and how little they ope-
ra,e in repressing the commission of ciimes
amongst our lower classes, but to its they appear
equally savage as those immolatiorts of human
victims of which we read in ancient story, and
equally inutile. Our altar of justice reeks with
the gore of execution atter execution, awl yet
crime is arrested not. A flood Of guilt is deluging
the land, notwithstanding the multiplied anti daily
multiplying number of these oblations, which,
though obviously vain, are still repeated, as if
there were an emulative contest betwixt instiee
and et ime, to wear out cacti other, or ultimately
obtain an odious mastery. Surely, under such
circumstances, it behoves ion- legislature to step
into the breach and y what may be effected by
proportioning punishments to crimes, and render-
tug the former more certain titan severe. Nay, it
should aspire to an lii‘dier 'object—the work of
reformation. To reboil' while it chastens, is as
congenial to justice as it is accordant with truth
and humanity. Beccat is, a writer well acquaint-
ed with the principles of human action, observes
that " the degree of a punishineut and the con-
sequences of a crime ought to he so contrived as
to have the greatest possible .effect on others, with
the least possible pain to the delitut.ent." In
what way ran this purpose be more nobly effected
than hy•striving to rend,r hint, whin unfortunately
infringes the law, a better memb-r of society than
he was helot c. Severity hardens where mercy
cures ; and if there be in Heaven " Fnore joy over
one sinner that repenteth, than user ilinetv and
nine just persons which need no repentance," the
en>ution is doubly required on earth, in which
here is no one who offendeth not, and for that
reason' alone all ought to be tender-hearted and
compassionate one towards the other.
3udge BlAckstone, in the four.h volume of his
inestimable CotOtentaries, expresSes himself with
force andelegance on the measure and 'effect of
British inflictions fur offence, which rte have not
-leisure -to quote at present, but to which 'we refer
our Headers, as embracing sentime-ts that can-
no! -he too deeply imprinted on the mind of the
legislator, of the philanthropist, and of the am
of -the vv-orld.

With such authorities in favour of our humble
opinions as lieeraria and Blackstone,. we might
hope that in ,hese three populous towns the sub-
ject will not be much longer, viewed widi indif-
ference, When it is considered that o! about
80001. per animal paid by the county of Devon,
for tees and expellees connected wiik offenders
of various descriptions, one-half at least is ap-
propriated to the parish of Stoke-Datuerel
independent of the two other'onus, the Clergy
and Magistrates of the port mug necessarily reel
sonic anxiety in favour of an amendment of our
criniinal. jurisprudence, and cannot suffer the
next Session of Parliament to elapse without a
representation of their sentimen's. A public
ex4mple of this nature is wanting to arouse the
kitigdotn, and whence can it einawlte with more
propriety than from the port of Plymouth, deeply
and vitally interested as it is in the question