The Sun.
London, England, 1827-11-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOUANALS.

The public is shocked at the frequency of
great crimes, the facility
with which they are
committed, and the impunity which but too fre7
quently follows. To the burglary committed on
the premises of Messrs. Johnson and Grimaldi,
by the side of the most public street iii London,
is to be added the robbery of the Warwick Mail,
of Bank notes to the amount of upwards of
twenty thousand pounds, and the reward of the
robbers by 'a compromise with the robbed.
There is also the escape of They Solomons,
which took place but a short time ago, and was
evidently the effect of bribery. These things
could not occur if the police were not in a most
wretched state ; and we hear, in all quarters,
complaints upon this fruitful topic, either that
the morals of the King's subjects are corrupted,
their property plundered, or their safety endan
pre& The present Noble Secretary of State
is, we understand, engaged in the preparation of
a plan for the improvement of this most defective
state of!the police. He will have manydifficul-
ties to encounternay, even many interests to
oppose ; for, melancholy as it may seem, there
must be those who have an interest in the foster-
ing of crime: yet we do hope that his Lordship
will persevere. The task of his predecessor in
ameliorating the method of striking juries was
comparatively an easy one :—he had only honest
men and a perverted practice to deal with, and
the advantage derived from his labours can affect
but few. The' improvement of the police, by
which every man's home will be rendered more
secure, will be an operation of greater magnitude,
and will confer proportionate honour. on him by
whom it shall be executed.---Times.

We have lust had the opportunity of looking
into a sensible pamphlet, on a question Of gene-
ral interest to the nation : we mean the effects cif
the licensing system, of the extraordinary powers
with which magistrates are invested under it, and
dale extent to which those powers are too fre-
quently abused. The charge or speech of Chief
Justice Best to the Grand Jury of Somersetshire,
in Atignst last, has served the author as a text
for his observations, in the course of which, al-
thoughlte vainly strives to exonerate the public
brewers from some of the blame which attaches
to them, he certainly makes out a more plausible
case for them, and a more exclusively bad one
Istai7ioi
tam: against theee ni
.leacegexiisvi
magistrates,
itii:e:lia)rweosio)stifaotinhnses country, than aMst
of his readers would be disposedotilootb
oetfsot
eunbjea ct anticipate.it
is true enough that the brewer,' by his influence
prefe-
rence for houses which are his own property, and
for victuallers who are his own creatures, to
which they would not be' entitled on any fir
views of public accommodation or of equal jus-
tice ; but who is there that, enjoying such an
influence with men in power, would not employ
it for bis'own 'personal advantage, if the law
were such as to place'the interests of strangers
.a the mercy ' o him and his friends, those
strangers being also his rivals? Again, if
the magistrate be of the seine class of society (and
it so happens, for the most part) with the great
brewers,---,if, moreover,' as very often happens[
he be a near connexion or relative, or intimate
companion of tbe brewer,—we do not, indeed,
say that he will behave like a man of peifect and
exemplary honesty by listening to the representa-
tions of the brewers more"favourably than to
those of the unsupported and uncapitalled vic-
tualler, but we are bound to say, that by the in-
dulgence of such a partiality, he will act as most
'nen do act. If, then, from this collusion, or,
to use a less invidious phrase, this 'neighbourly
feeling, between the brewer and the magistrate,
there results a practical monopoly against both
the trading competitor and the public consumer,
-se must look for a remedy somewhat deeper
than in the persons of the two classes-of delin7
rents, and somewhat less visionary than in their
reform. The fault lies in the law. It is the
law, which, in its relation to the modern habits
of the people and to the actual state of trade,
places too large a temptation before the brewer,
and clothes the magistrate with an arbitrary
power over property of twenty times the compa-
rative amount of that which was subjected to his
discretion when he was first made the arbiter of
licences. Of late years only; that is, within the
last 30 or 40 years, has the connexion between
brewer and victualler assumed its present form.
Within the same period, or perhaps not quite so
late, has the publican become a personage of
such bustling and profitable commerce, and
sunk such considerable fortunes as we sec
every. day, in the house and business of
which almost the whole value depends on
the continuance of his licence. Many thou-
sand pounds are vested by the modern
victualler in a concern -Which his predecessor
of half a century back would have carried on
upon one-tenth .of the scale. Property, there-
,i.biorde,s,ofismieufcthby largerla
sw to amountthe w aill an at
i, d
the magistrate ; while the magnitude of the stake
pelaeralsi eurr el) oe 1-*
induces competitors for preference' unknown
iheipcial;r:iesshae
parish, are
t al
sreetaa least,
former times, and administers temptations to the
honour of the magistrate to which it ought not
to be subjected. A remedy is, it appears, iu
opinions, a
hrcieos
11P:1:poi lairceerPtsli
o°wl.ol with the
each
exhibits on the face of it a great and, sensible
centemplation,apsta
Byof
tyh their
iu
)1 on I'l t7o 111-c omfe thet
teseLs,s, ceolile:rege
certified
clergymen, parish
clauses
officers,
friofeearsbylanni7a
onstitu
:iary check upon the existing ,power the ma-
gistrates. It is proposed that no ' victua er slis4
be licensed' who doesnot
. produce before the
inagistrates, on. licensing day, a certificate frotn
the above parochial authorities,
recommending
!lot only him for his character, bUt his house for
its fitness .of position and accommodation, as
proper,to have a licence conferred upon them.
l'his, we think, if accompanied by some mea-
,ures of detail, and if further fortified by a pro-
vision, that after any publican shall have held his
licence for one year, he shall not be deprived of
it without the intervention of a' juq, may 1)!-.,
Anne some guarantee for justice to the victualer,
And au good order to the community.
flie subject, however, cannot be too well cons!•
dared, until an entire and judicious change, has
; been fulfilled.—lbid.

In our observations in the Chronicle of yes-
erday respecting Police Officers, and the objec-
tionable manner in which they were paid, we
~xpressly guarded against the supposition that
~,e conceived meritorious servants of the public
)ught not to be adequately remunerated. We
',lamed not the Police Officers, but the corrupt-
lig system under which their interests were
,laced in direct opposition to those of the public.
\To man who bestows a moment's consideration.,
ol the subject CM] suppose that, in an expensive
~
, of ability and expe:
l a sufficient reward foe'
lie services
rwleeintrOtyposl! s like • London the sum of five-and-
Ot . an . officer
1 ;eltee. A Justice .of Peace may :go Qa vverb
i'lling! a-week
is

,
•- :

, •

.44

,

well without brai.:if.4, wi►th the assizAance of a,
Clerk, who points out to him the Statutes ap-.
plicable to the case before him,• and secures him
against the danger of acting on a Statute which
0
has been repealed. The Courts have expressly •
declared, again and again, that if corruption
cannot be proved, they will protect- him. If he
cau do without brains he can do without law ;

for •we have heard it stated as the opinion of a

Reverent' Magistrate, that a Justice-has nothing
to do with law. But an officer must have a
head. There are no manuals fOr officers like

those for Justices, by turning up the index of
which he can find a clue to the unravelling of a

knotty case. He is thrown constantly on the
resources of his own mind, with no other aid
than that with which previous experience
has furnished him. The presence of mind,
acuteness, and courage necessary to the composi-
tion of a good officer, are by no means common ;
and where these qualities have been shown they
ought to be properly remunerated. We under-
stand the officers
.candidly allow that they see
many crimes committed which they do not no-
tice, because the salary they receive is only a sort
of retaining fee, which does not relieve them
from the necessity of gaining their livelihood by

their services to individuals, and because, if they

interfere, the consequence is an attendance for
five or six days perhaps at the Old Bailey, for
an allowance of 3s. (id. a day—a sum utterly in-
adequate to procure them common refreshments
in the public-houses where they are forced to re-
main till their presence is required. They ap-
peal to any one who knows what house-rents
and taxes are in the neighbourhoods where, for
the public convenience, they are forced to reside,
whether it is possible to live without their being
indemnified by those who requiie their services.
The Americans go to work very differently in
the case of their public servants. The late Mr.
Birkbeck, in his Notes on a Journey in 'Lime-
The Custom-house officer was
rica, ol:seyves,
a gentlemanly youth, without a shade of the dis-
a„areeable character which prevails among his
European brethren. He staid with us several
dais, and was succeeded by a second of the
same respectable stamp. These officers of reve-
nue are better paid here than with us ; and are
considered as respectable persons employed in
honourable service, which they have no tempta-
tion to abuse. :They receive about 2501. sterling
per annum ; and one with a competent salary per-
forms with fidelity the part of three in England,
who are employed as checks upon each other."
The Americans know that men like Police
officers and Custom-house officers, must be paid
either in meal or malt ; and that if they are not
enabled to subsist directly, they will contrive to
subsist indirectly. They pay men in lower situa-
tions well, because they have not, like men in
exalted stations, ,the applause of the world and
the gratifications of an honourable ambition to
compensate them for their labours.. They pay
those who fill exalted offices poorly, because a
higher motive than that of pecuniary reward
ought to actuate such inen A distinguished
Statesman or a Judge can afford to be poor,
and would be in some measure 'disgraced by
- wealth. He has already a higher distinction
than wealth can 'give : and a virtuous frugality
confers a higher lustre on him than the vulgar
splendour which wealth can procure. But in
England the reverse of all this takes'place. The
high in station in Church and State, those who
are like lights set on a hill, share among them-
selves enormous sums of money. They plainly
show, by their conduct, that gross .and material
advantages are in their estimation „the, only ob-
jects worthy of 'regard. :Their example of
course influences all beneath them.. When the
man at the bottom of the scale sees that his su-
perior grasps at every thing within his reach, and
measures every thing by its worth in money, it
would be strange indeed were he, who has none
of the gratifications derivable from fame or am-
bition, to act on purer principles.—Hence the ra-
pacity which runs through all classes in England.
The hypocrisy of the rich.does not deceive the poor,
they can play the hypocrite in turn. They see
as well as their betters that the acquisition of
money is the sum and substance of the national
morality, and the goodness of the mode of ac-
quisition is measured by its safety.. Hence the
more instruction is diffused in England the
greater will be the corruption, because the pro- ,
fligacy and want of principle of the higher orders
will be made manifest to a greater number, whom
the example will corrupt ; and, if knowledge ha
power, extended knowledge will give increased '
power to gratify increased desires. Parliament
is the Sovereign in England, and this Sovereignty
is bought and sold like cattle in a market.
Money then determines that which determines
every thing else. There are at this time as is
well-known to Bankers and other sufferers from
them, men of education and large property in
this very town of London, who notoriously live
by plunder. There are large capitalists in this
line, and we have heard them named. It
is a
safe business ; for though they share largely in
the plunder of Bankers' parcels, &c., they are too
skilful to allow themselves to be reached. These
capitalists will, no doubt, in due time become
purchasers of Boroughs as well 'as gamblers, and
thus tho thieves will be duly represented in the
Legislature, and become a recognized body.
Our ancient nobility (though nearly all extinct
now) were plunderers on the highway (for rob-
bery was honourable in the middle ages) ; so
that this mode of obtaining distinction will be
nothing new, but merely a modification of the
old practice, suitable to an intellectual age.—
Morning Chronicle.
The vulgar and ignorant Evening Ministerial
Journal (Courier), which, in its present disre-
putable and degraded state is so indefatigable in
its effiarts to be noticed by us, displays every day
more and more the extreme desperation of its
case. Perhaps we ought to apologise to our
readers for intruding upon their attention arty
thing emanating from so low and contemptible a
source : but still we deem it not improbable that
a specimen of the expedients to which our liberal
linisterial cotemporary is reduced to resort,
may prove not altogether unacceptable to the
public. With his accustomed candour, he affects
to discover a contradiction in the language em-
ployed by us at different times in speaking of
the honours conferred on Admiral Sir Edward
Codrington : and nothing, we are sure, e4ll show
more clearly how admirably qualified our verita-
ble opponent is to judge of the consistency of
others than the instance of self contradiction.
which he alleges against us upon this subject
On Friday last we declared our opinion, that
the Illustriees Lord High Admiral was not to
blame for the confusion and embarrassment
which existed among our Ministers. On Wed-
nesday we were enabled to confirm the statement
of Friday, by l •
art% before our readers
an accurate account of
the whole transaction.—
This account, which appeared in our columns ex-
elusively, none of the m•lnisteria., Journals have
ent u red, or will venture, tocontradiet, in the most

MN

r
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1111

minute particular. It ascribed the entire blame of the
rash proceeding to the irregularity, precipitation,
and defective discipline which have of late pre-
vailed in the office of Secretary of State for the
Home Department ; the previous proceeding on
the part of the Lord High Admiral being no-
thing more than what his zeal fbr the glory of
the profession, of which he is so properly placed
at the head, had naturally prompted him to ; and
totally unconnected with the original error of
Ministers, which led our brave Officers into the
commission of an act which it was found and
felt impossible to justify. Now, certainly there
can at present be no contradiction between these
two articles. But, perhaps, our contemporary
is prepared to enter " upon a nice metaphysical
discussion," with a view to establish the perso-
nal identity of his Royal Highness the Lord
High Admiral and the 'Under Secretary of the
Home Department. When he has completed
this task, he will, in his wisdom, be at liberty to
charge us with inconsistency upon thegrounds he
alleges.—Morning Post.
The system of body-stealing is become so pre-
valent, not only in London, but in every place
in Great Britain where there are Schools of
Anatomy, that we think the Legislature are
loudly called on to adopt some measures not
only to protect more eactually our church-yards,
but to provide bodies for the use of students.
Unless some more ample provision of this kind
be made, one of three consequences must be the
result—either this church-yard robbery must con-
tinue, or medical students must study anatomy
in foreign countries, or the art of surgery decline
in this country. It no doubt is a painful re-
flection to many, that the (lead bodies of their
friends should be carried from their graves, ex-
posed to the gaze of hundreds, and cut up into a
thousand pieces ; but there is no real evil in all
this. The ancient Romans—and the practice
still exists among many Eastern nations—expos-
ed the bodies of their dead relatives cm funeral
piles, and consumed them by fire. Other na-
tions cast their dead into rivers, or expose them
to be devoured ; and it is the lot of every sailor
who dies at sea, whether fighting in his country's
cause, or carried off by the diseases of the cli-
mate, to undergo the same fate. Yet none of
these look forward with any more horror to such a
grave than the man whose body is to moulder
quietly into crust in a church-yard. It is the custom
of the country alone which makes many so anxious
about the remains of their friends. All must one
day say "to corruption, thou art my father ; to
the worm, thou art my mother and my sister."
Without a proper knowledge of the human
frame, many must live in torment for years, or be
disfigured for life, or die a premature death ; and
though this knowledge may be acquired only by
a practical study of anatomy, the state of our
laws at present is such, that, if they are obeyed,
not more than one body can be procured for per-
haps ten thousand students. The bodies of
murderers alone are given for dissection. On
looking at the returns executions at Newgate,
it will 'be found that two a-year are beyond the
average ; and, besides, these take place often be-
tween the courses of Lectures, and consequently
are of no use except to a few individuals. We
have been attracted to this subject by the re-
Aated accounts lately received of numerous de-
predations in church-yards, and by the wonder-
ful success 'of the thieves. This, of course, will
continue so long as .there'iS such a demand, and
such a high price paid. It is, in fact, quite like
smuggling in thiespectl-that, while so high a
premium is obtained- by every -successful adven-
ture, there will always. be found men sufficiently
daring •- to .` undertake -the enterprises, and
sufficieptly active to elude the most severe
laws. It is of no use, therefore, to attempt
to put, down the practice; and, if it. were
tieable, the evil to the. community would be
incalculable. The superior excellence of French
surgeons in general is no doubt owing to the fa-
cilities afforded in France to the study of ana-
tomy ; and if the present system be continued
much longer in England, their superiority to the
English Will become every day greater. The
Legislature, therefore, in justice to our own
countrymen, and ih duty to the living, ought to
take the subject into consideration. No doubt
objections might be started to almost every plan
for altering the system. We can see none, how-
ever, so little objectionable as that of allowing the
bodies of all persons publicly executed to be
given for dissection, as well as the bodies of all
convicted of felony, who die either in prison, or
when undergoing their, sentence in the hulks.
The only evil by adopting such a plan would fall
on the friends of the deceased ; but this is only
imaginary, and indeed we believe that few fami-
lies would be at all anxious about the disposal
of the remains of a relative, who, by his profli- '
gaey and utter disregard of their feelings . and
honour, bad entailed ori them such a lasting and
grievous stain. But the matter resolves itself
into this—bodies-to a certain amount must and
will be procured in one way or another ; and
ought the Legislature to consult more the feelings
of the virtuous, or the feelings of those—or of
the relatives of those,,--who outrage all laws, hu-
man and divine ? This plan, if carried into effect
would not probably be a sufficient remedy ; but
other means, on a similar principle, we think
might be resorted to, which would make up the
deficiency.—Morning Herald,
.•

We have not for some time taken any notice
of the institution designated as the " London
U4iversity," because the subscriptions for its
erection and endowment being filled, praise, had
we felt inclined to bestow it, was unnecessary,
and blame would have proved useless. Whether
it be a thing to be desired or deprecated, its pro-
gress is now so decided that its completion is
matter of moral certainty. Some of the argu-
ments which have not unfrequently been urged
against the plan have been met, and, we think it
but fair to say, with plausibility. It has been
said that it does not include any provision for the
religious instruction of the students, and this has
been the strong point on which its opponents
have chiefly insisted. f this it has been an-
swered, that it is not the intention of the new
University to educate men for the Holy Ministry
—that there are already ample means provided
for that purpose at Oxford and Cambridge—that
if the Committee had contemplated such a step,
they had no power of giving effect to their
t wishes—and that it would have interfered with
' their original plan, which was to include the sons
of Dissenters as well as of members of the
Established Church. For the purity of their
intentions, the advocates of the University
moreover appeal to the appointments of teachers
already made, and particularly to the fact of
the Professor of Latin, Mr. Williams, being. a
Clergyman of the Established Church. This,
as we have said, constitutes a plausible answer
to those who charge the new University with ir!
religion. There is,
however, a charge to which
the whole scheme lies open, and which, if its
patrons are honest,
they will not hesitate to avow

—we mean Dissenterism. It is true Mr. Wil-
liams is a member of the Church of England ;
but unless we are misinformed, the whole ef his
coadjutors .are Dissenters. -Not only are the
Professors Dissenters, but even the adjuncts are
so ; and the Committee, it does not require to
he stated, are in the same predicament. A Cor-
respondent in an Evening Contemporary ex•
pressed a wish, a few days ago, that the Institu-
tion should be watched, but to what purpose, we
cannot very easily perceive. That which has
grown to maturity under opposition, is not likely
to yield to any plan of surveillance. It is evi-
dent that if the Church be not content to
sit still and behold the great mass of the
youth of London drawn away from her
tenets, she must exert herself to avert such
an evil, by other means than watching and prayer.
The new Institution must be met in a more pal-
pable and earthly way, by an opposition of a more
obvious character. Attempts have been made to
write it down, and they have failed ; it remains
now to be seen if the mischief which it might oc-
casion may not be neutralised. We wish not to
be understood as meaning any thing disrespectful
to the Dissenters. They rank among their num-
bers many good and many learned individuals ;
and it is most reasonable that they should have
as ample means of education for their children as
individuals of the Established Church. This
is desirable, indeed, even for the sake of the
latter ; for nothing seems so likely to bring
Dissenters back to her bosom, nothing so
well fitted to shew them the unreasonableness
of separating from her on points " of doubtful
disputation," as the enlargement of understand-
ing, which may be naturally expected from
extended knowledge. We grant, therefore, the
just right of the Dissenters to a separate school
of the highest learning, so long as their honest
scruples keep them from taking advantage of
those that are already provided, but if it be con-
sidered of importance that they should have that
advantage in London, we think it equally hn-
portant that the adherents of the Established
Church in London should have a Seminary,
where they also can c,,.iscientiously educate their
offspring. While only the Disserters are pro-
vided with a school, there is great reason to fear
that many of the sons of the Church may be
induced to take advantage of it, without very
carefully attending to its manifest deficiency in so
far as they are concerned. And this we think
the more likely to happen, because Dissenterism
is not ostensibly held forth in the new University
—although it must be obvious to the most inat-
tentive that Dissenterism called it into being,
and will continue to be its nursing mother. We
have observed a paragraph in an Evening Paper,
which states that the heads of a plan for a Lon-
don University, in which the defects of the pre-
sent will be supplied, are at present in private
circulation. We have not seen these heads, and
cannot therefore speak of them ; but, if they are
correctly described., they involve an application
to Government for the endowment of the Uni-
versity proposed. Now we • very much suspect,
that if the execution of such a plan depend on a
public grant, we have but little chance of seeing
it completed. It must be apparent at a glance,
that in the present state of things a grant of
money for any purpose of which the necessity is
not very pressing indeed, is not very likely to be
made ; and it is very easy to anticipate the op-
position which would not fail to be mustered up
against it by the enemies of the Church in.
and out of Parliament. Nor do we see the
slightest reason for such an application. Is it to be
supposed that in London and 'Westminster there
are not friends enough.. of the Established Church
to raise as large a sum as has been already raised
by the Dissenters in those cities ? Three
hundred thousand pounds, if we recollect right,
,is ths-suax. that _lass been, raised by the patrons
Of - the new'llniCersity.- -.One hiindied pounds
each, from 3,000 individuals, will make up the
sum required for an ample and efficient antidote
to the dissidence it tends to • generate.. We
should also earnestly recommend the immediate
foundation of a Committee of the Bench of
Bishops, to whom the Church, in such a case,
naturally look up, as her leaders and instructors.
There are, in that venerable body, men, not. less
distinguished for their piety than for their exten-
sive learning, and who, apart from their high
honours, are better qualified to superintend the
erection of a great school, such as that which is
now building, than any, or than all, the per-
sonages who have promoted it.—New Times.
e very generally find that those who.are the
most clamorous for liberty are the least disposed
to allow it to others. An evening contemporary
of yesterday furnishes a very fair exemplification
of this. We made yesterday a few observations
on the New London University, as it is called,
certainly not in the spirit of hostility. We ad-
mitted that the charge of irreligion, which had
been brought against it—the only charge of im-
portance—had been plausibly met by reference
to the fact that one of the masters was a clergy-
man of the Church of England. It appears,
that among the number there is another clergy-
man of the same church. We give to the Uni-
versity all the advantage derivable from that cir-
cumstance. We have not watched its opera-
tions, nor are we even acquainted with the
names of all the gentlemen who have received
appointments under it. When we said we be-
lieved them to be Dissenters, we guarded the
expression by adding "if we are not misin-
formed." It appears we have been so, since
they are not all Dissenters. The mistake of
our informant probably took its rise frOm the cir-
cumstance of their being mostly from the North.
Mr. Pattison is said to be from Glasgow, Dr.
Turner from Edinburgh ; the same, we suppose,
who figured in the oil and coal gas controversy
a few years ago. Mr. M'Culloch, ancien
is -rap-
porteur of the Scotsman, also from the North
Country. Mr. Homer, the Secretary, is, we
believe, an Edinburgh Writer to the Signet.
Dr. Cox, the Librarian, is not indeed Scotch,
but he is not the more Episcopalonitvhhaotialac-s
ac-
count. Of the Committee, the leading man—
he with whom the plan originated, and
principally contributed to its success, we mean
Mr. Campbell—is an old Glasgow man. The
personage next in consequence on the Commit-
tee is Mr. Joseph Hume. Of this gentleman's
religious principles, since we will not praise
them,
we shall say nothing, on the old principle,
de mortzus nil nisi bonum. We dare say he is
ready to refer their orthodoxy, as he proffered to
refer the accuracy of his accounts with the Greeks,
to any two honourable inch to decide upon. It
was, we have no doubt, the connexion which
seemed necessarily to exist between the birth-place
and education of these gentlemen which induced
our informant to conclude that they were Dissen-
ters, and led to the statement which our contem-
politely styles cc a vulgar misrepresen-
_ Vulgar it may be to speak not approv-
ptotinagrilaoyrn:;n a subject which our contemporary has
taken under his especial protection ; but the
charge of misrepresentation we must deny; for,