The Sun.
London, England, 1827-09-28 00:00:00

they unnecessary expesw on the public. Nothing
is more usual than to see 'persons who had never
before been within the precincts of a prison, put
to the bar on some insignificant charge,—such
as stealing two rows of pins, one pewter pint, one
pair of stockings, one night-cap, or one canvas
sack. In each of these cases there is a regular
array of witnesses, with the prosecutor in .the
van, the police-officer in the rear, and aq of them
ready to demand their expenees the very instant
the• trial is over,:---no matter whether a convic,
tion takes place or not. It must be quite ob-
vious that without interfering with the liberty of
the subject, some plan might be devised for giv,
ing to the Magistrates a summary jurisdiction,
which would enable them to decide at once
either upon an acquittal or conviction in such
paltry cases, and act accordingly if a plan of
that kind were adopted, no inconsiderable share
of the public money would be saved—guiltless
individuals would not be immured for weeks to-
gether in the cells of Newgate and persons
making their first essay in delinquency, would
riot leave that prison professed adepts in crime.
We are aware, however, of the difficulties which
our system of jurisprudence presents at first view
to any final decision by the Magistrates in cases
of a felonious nature, no matter how trifling the
charge may be. But in our opinion those dif-
ficulties,are by no means insuperable ; and Bow-
street might, in numberless instances, be substi-
tuted for the Old Bailey as a fit and proper tri-
bunal. We would recommend the. subject to
Mr. Peel, as worthy his earnest consideration
in the arduous and useful task he has undertaken
—a task which we trust he will not fail to come
plete.—Morning Herald.
The Courier, in commenting on the proceed-
ings at the East • India House on Wednesday
last, where 20,0001. were voted to the family of
the Marquis of Hastings, observes—" Mr.
Hume thought the motion was not touched in
terms sufficiently laudatory of the deceased Mar-
quis, and declared, that if he were the present
Marquis, rather than accept a grant so uncere-
moniously bestowed, he would starve. The Hon.
Member, of course, knowS best what ought to
be done on such occasions ; but remembering
how marvellously on the alert he was to receive
certain sums from the Greek Deputies, we
should not have expected him to be so nice
where money was concerned." We wish there
were more public men against whom no other
charge could be brought than an anxiety to re-
ceive their own money. We should imagine
that enough has already been said on this sub-
ject. But with respect to Mr. Hume's conduct
on Wednesday, it lies, in our opinion, open to
a very different objection to that which is im-
plied in the 'observation of the Courier. We
have no wish to undervalue the services of the
Marquis of_Hastings ; but of all public men, the
Governor-General of India has least cause to
complain of the inadequacy of his reward. It is
in fact a very lucrative office, and it is under-

stood that he who fills it for a very few years
only, can hardly fail to save a considerable sum.
The Marquis of Wellesley is not understood to
be a very rigid economist, but even he came
home with money in his pocket from India. If
the Marquis of Hastings had not been improvi-
dent, no one would have thought of proposing
an additional 20,0001. to him on account of his

services having been inadequately rewarded.—
What, then, is this grant saying to the world,
but this—if a man conducts himself with pro-
priety, and discharges all his obligations, he will
be punished for so doing by receiving less than
one who acts in a manner the reverse of this. It
is so pleasant a thing to spend money, that it is
by no means necessary to have the guarantee of
the East India Company or Mr. Hume against
the consequences of improvidence, to induce any
one to yield to the indulgence. We have no
wish to say any thing on this subject; and had
it not been for the sneer of the Courier, we
should have let the matter rest where it was.
We candidly confess, however, that it gave us no
small chagrin, to find 'a man like Mr. Hume
sanctioning so unjustifiable a principle, and
thereby weakening the force of the opposition
which he may liereafler be called on to give to
lavish grants of public money.—Morning
Chro;zicle.

The speech of Mr. Sheil, at the Catholic As-
sociation, on Saturday last, inserted in the
Chronicle of yesterday, contains much 'that is
well deserving of attention. " A wise General
(he,observes), who, to accommodate hiS
is advised to delay an engagement with an
enemy, will consider how far that delay will
weaken the confidence of his own troops, and
may have the effect of.dissolving and disbanding
those levies which it was difficult to bring, and
is not easy to keep together. This illustration
will present the policy on which we have acted
in a proper light, and will show, that when our
own measures were apparently rash and ill-ad-
vised, they were dictated by substantially solid
. considerations, whizh were not present to the
.minds of those -.silo were disposed to censure us
for precipitate folly and presumptuous indiscre-
tion. The Irish Catholics must be attended to
as well as the Protestants of England. By con-
sulting the proud prejudices and lofty caprices
of the latter, the energies and enthusiasm of the
,former body may be gradually suspended ; and
.by a system of perpetual subsenlency to circum-
Atances, the moral power which arises from the
.ardour and confederacy of an immense and vehe-
. ment population may be dissipated and wasted
away. And he observes, that between. 1821
and the formation of the Catholic Association,
the country abandoned itself to a degrading and
unwholesome tranquillity, and the question re-
ceded in England, and fell back from the gene-
ral notice, while in Ireland the spirit and clergy
of the people underwent a total relaxation. If
the tranquillity produced by a resignation of a
eople to oppression, and the indulgence of a
hope to overcome, by their political baseness and
.subserviency, the objections to them on the score
of religion, were desirable, then the efforts of the
Catholic Association might be deemed reprehen-
sible. But who would wish to purchase tranquil-
lity at the expence of the moral debaseMent of a
whole people ? The tranquillity of the slave who
fawns on the master who flogs him, is of all states of
things the most revolting. If it be desirable, for
the sake of England as well as Ireland, that reli-
gion should not form a ground for dooming six
millions of men to the condition of degraded
Wives, then we must approve of the means
adopted to excite that spirit which is best. calcu-
lated
.to put an end to the system of religious
exclusion. Now if the English are haughty and
prejudiced, to fawn on them, and exhibit the re-
signation
of
slaves
insensible, of their degradation, '
is of all War the least likely to remove their pre-
judices.
struggling -vv:th man, or a body of men, may tire of
refractory opponent ; but who
oppressors becoming impatient, so
long as the
oppressed do not lose patience ?
There is a pretty general understanding among
men, to allow to others the undisturbefrezercise