The Sun.
London, England, 1829-07-29 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We publish some further particulars of the
three criminals who were executed at the Old
Bailey on Monday, and a sensible letter on the
subject of " happy," " blessed" wretches of the
same description, who undergo the sentence of
the law. We really hope that the good sensT
of the public till put an end to these follies,
and teach capital offenders that though they may,
through sincere repentance, hope for mercy
through the atonement of their Redeemer, yet
that persons of their past life and character are
not in a condition to exult and triumph ;
casting out of view their repeated crimes (for
few suffer for the first), to consider themselves
rather as martyrs in God's cause, than as con-
victs in that of the Devil. We would wish per-
sons engaged in guilty courses to consider what
sincere repentance is:—it is that contrition for
the past, and self-abhorrence for crimes com-
mitted, which would keep the criminal from
plunging into similar practices if he were turned
loose into the world again. How many of the
glorified saints who die by the halter have this
repentance it is not for us to say ; but any thing
short of it is no repentance at all. Can any
thing be so shocking as to see a wretch affecting
security with respect to his eternal salvation,
whilst he knows his guilt, and is practising a
sly, shifty equivocation, more knavish ten
times over, than a direct falsehood ? 1 here is

hardly any thing more detestable in the blas-
phemies of Taylor and Carlile than this. Do
we not pity those who expiate their crimes by
death ? it may be asked. Yes, sincerely ; and
we would, if possible, render their situation less
desperate, by taking away from it the deceptive
gloss which dazzles the world and deceives their
own hearts. But give us leave to say, that we
also pity those who, after having suffered egre-
gious wrong, are obliged, at fresh expense and
trouble, to prosecute legally those who inflict it ;
and then have for their reward the mortification
of seeing the wretched men whom they bring to
condign punishment considered as martyrs, and
themselves as persecutors. For our own parts,
we think that a man who, under all the diffi-
culties of a legal process, brings a criminal to
justice, does his country a more essential service
than one who kills twenty of the enemy's forces
in the field, or on the main deck.—Times.

TO THE EDITOR OF TIIE TIMES.

Sir,--In your paper of this day is an account of

the execution of three men at the Old Bailey, to
which I beg to call your particular attention. In
that account all the three prisoners are represented
as stating themselves to be perfectly hsppy, and
quite confident in the efficacy of their repentance to
ensure their forgiveness in the eyes of God. I can-
not but suppose that you, Mr. Editor, as well 54
every thinking person, must be fully aware of the
dreadful consequences of such representations.

The salutary terror of punishment is thereby so

far lessened, as to become of very little avail indeed.
Not only are these people convinced that, if I may
be allowed the expression, the gallows is but a step-
ping-stone to heaven, but their imaginations are
pleased at the thought of enjoying, at least for a
tine, a sort of posthumous fame. A melancholy

nstance of the truth of this occurred in the case of

William Vial!, which appeared in the Times of the
22d inst. This young man had attempted to mur-
der his fellow-apprentice, apparently without any
reason whatever. It was evident that he had been

in the habit of attending executions, or at least of
reading descriptions of them ; yet so little terror had
they produced upon him, that in his box was found
a paper in his own handwriting, giving a description
of his own execution, and representing his own body
upon the gibbet, with the surrounding multitude.
Now, Sir, if the end of punishment be the preven-
tion of crime, by striking terror into the minds of
the worthless and profligate, I cannot but think that
this important object is but little advanced by the
kind of publication to which I have alluded. While
every criminal is painted in the colours of a martyr,
we cannot be surprised that their fate should be con-
templated, especially by the lower orders, rather
with pity than with horror. And when we hear
men, upon the brink of eternity, declaring the most
presumptuous confidence in the efficacy of their re•
pentance, we can hardly doubt but that the convic-
lion which it must bring to the minds of the vulgar
is, that however bad a man's life may have been,
however dreadful his crimes, he needs but a few
days' prayer and repentance—if repentance it can
be called—to assure him of forgiveness and eternal
happiness. I need not, I am confident, point out
to you how little advisable it is that such a convic-
tion should be produced in the mind of any man
whatever.—l have the honour to be, Sir, your obe,
dient servant,
London, July 29. M. C.
A report of a case of crim. con. at the Sheriff;
Court, yesterday, will be found in another co-
lump. Heavy damages were given. Modes
and fashions are certainly changing. Spanish
jealousy was at one time proverbial., and now a
Spanish husband is the least jealous of all hus-
bands. The Italians were formerly so jealous,
that they never suffered their wives to leave their
homes, except either in their own company or
that of a trusty friend. In process of time that
trusty friend became, under the title Cavalier
Servante or Cecisbeo, the authorised lover of
the wife, by whom he is chosen and dismissed at
will. Those who pretend to an acquaintance
with fashionable life in England maintain, that,
with respect to crim. con. a groat change has
taken place within the last fifteen years. At one
time nothing was so .rare as crim, cons. in tlio
middle ranks. In this country there is a con-
stant pressure from beneath, and of late years,
the people who figure in crim. cons. in on,
Courts are chiefly Shopkeepers, half-pay Okp,..
tains, Farmers, and occcasionally C.;gytnen,
The moment persons of this rank began to figult,
in Courts of Justice, the higher ranks be,ntne
disgusted with the remedy ; and if we uo cor-
rectly informed, a man of fashion, even if in-

jured in a tender point, would be considered as
lowering himself by an exhibition in a Court of
Law. Human nature is, always the same, anti
it may be taken fa; granted, that in a given,
number of fashionable people, there are as tm,,n)
aberrations now as fifteen years ago. ThQ
ference is in the way of thinking. A 5 it is
since the Continent was opened to our fashion-
able people that the change has taken place, 'er-
haps the prevailing ways of thinking at Flo-
rence, Rome, Naples, aTe. may have ;not been
without its influence on our Atistocracv.—
Morning Chronicle.

A great deal of ridicule has occasionally been
cast on those who have expressed sanguine hopes
of the future intellectual elevation of our species.
We think the ridicule misplaced, and that a
compariscna of the present state of this country
with the state only fifty years back, will afford a
sufficient justification of those who indulge in
bright hopes of the future. Jean Jacques Rous-
seau, in a letter to Mirvbeau the elder, who had
been expressing himself warmly as to the future
improvement of the world, ridicules the credulity
of the Abhe de St. Pierre, for " maintaining
that human reason was advancing constantly
t )v:ards perfection, as each age adds its intelli-
gence to that of preceding4l:;es.:- -He did not see
that the human understanding has" -always the
same measure, and that a very narrow that

it loses in one way as much as it gains in another,
and that prejudices always reviving, take from us
as much acquired knowledge, as cultivated reason
can replace.' If this proposition of Rousseau's
were true, there would be no difference in point
of knowledge between the people of England and
the people ofs Loo Choo. But when we com-
pare together aSbarbarous and a civilized nation,
we at once see the utter falsity of the allegation.
When we look about us in this great metropolis,
in which is contained a population of nearly a
million and a half—one equal to that of many a
large region—we perceive great order and regu-
larity, and a disposition in all whom we meet to
concur in promoting the happiness of each other.
We leave our houses with the most per-
fect confidence that we shall find every thing safe
when we return—that no aggression will be com-
mitted against us in the course of our pro-
gress. This perfect subjection of a large popu-
lation to the principle of order, is already a vast
improvement. If a crowd of people happen to
be assembled, any man who shall submit to
them a proposition to violate the public peace,
or to commit impropriety in general, would be
scouted by the audience, some of whom would pro-
bably be heard expressing themselves in the lan-
guage of good sense and propriety on the sub-
ject. You fall in with a Meeting of Journey.
men Weavers or Journeymen Tailors discussing
their grievances, and though it is probable that
the views of the speakers will generally be partial,
yet we do not believe we are going too far when
we assert, that there will be found nearly as
much ability as in an equal number of the higher
ranks, and no greater deviation from correct rea-
soning. If the weaver or tailor blunders about
the cause of the distress he is suffering, so does
the country gentleman. Take a hundred Me-
chanics and a hundred Peers (the Commoners
in Parliament are the elite of their order), and
as many of the former will be found able to
speak fluently on any given subject as of the
latter. This could not have been said of
the mechanics even thirty years ago.
When, therefore, we speculate on the prc-
spects of society we should take the progress al-
ready made by the people as a guarantee of the
progress they will make hereafter. Frederick of
Prussia was a correct observer of mankind and
had great experience. In a letter from him to
lYsliembert, in 1770, he grapples with this
question of the capability of improving our
species, and it may not be amiss to contrast the
description he gives of any supposed nation of
ten millions, with, what would be applicable to
such a nation now. " Let us take," says lie,
" any monarchy you please; let us suppose that
it contains ten millions of inhabitants ; from these
ten millions let us discount first the labourers,
the manufacturers, the artisans, the soldiers, and
there will remain about fifty thousand persons,
men and women ; from these let us discount '
twenty-five thousand for the feminine sex, the
rest will compose the nobility and gentry and
the respectable citizens; of these let us examine
how many will be incapable of application, how
many imbecile, how many pusillanimous, how
many dissipated, and from this calculation it
will result that out of what is called a civilized
nation of nearly ten millions of inhabitants, you
will hardly find a thousansl well-informed persons,
and even among them what inequality with re-
spect to genius ! Let us suppose it possible
that these thousand philosophers were all free
from prejudices, what effects would their lessons
produce on the public? If eighf-tenths of the
nation toiling for their subsistence never read—
if another tenth are incapable of application from
frivolity, or dissipation, or imbecility, it 1-w:tilts
that the small share of good sense of which our
species is capable can only reside in a very small
fraction of a nation ; that the remainder are not
susceptible of it, and that the greater number will
always be dupes. These considerations lead me
then to believe that credulity, superstition, and
timidity of mind, will always prevail with the
public—that the number of philosophers will be
small in all ages, and that one superstition or
other will always subjugate the universe. Moral
and physical imperfection is the character of the
globe that we inhabit ; it is lost time to under-
take to enlighten it, and the attempt is often
dangerous for those who make it. We must be
sontented with being wise for ourselves, if we
can, and abandon the vulgar to error, endeavour-
ing.at the same time so turn them from crimes
Oriels trouble the order o(uociety." The falsity
of ts'sese gloomy views of the old King is best
demonsSrated by comparing any cinsntry now
with his e,stimate. In consequence of the pro-
digious imrovements made in inachiaery, and
even in agnesnture, property has become exten-
sively distributed, And the number of men who
have leisure to read mid to think, and whose ex-
ample is extensively 0, is prodigiously in-
creased. But we have not .assw space to pursue
the subject to its conclusion. Wes shall resume

The rumours of a change in the Cabinet, to
which we alluded a few days ago, are still indus-
triously circulated by the persons who are vio-
lently opposed to the Duke of Wellington ; nay
one of our contemporaries has gone so far as to
l-ay beiore his readers the names p( Ow distin-
guished persons whoare likely to form the Whig
and Tory Cabinets, in case the present apositae
one should be dissolved ! In reply to these ru-
moors, we have only to state, that although the
Duka of Wellington be desirous of effecting a
recont&ation with th 3 Afernber: of the Pro-
testant ports?, it cannot be expecteml that his
Grace woulA consent to any arrangement at the
expellee either of his reputation as a Minister,
or of his honour as a goldier and a gentleman.
Of course we do not for a 4noment suppose that
slue Protestant Tor:es would suhmit any propo-
sition to which the Duke of Wellington could
not honourably accede; but as those persous who
pretend to speak officially the sentiments of
Tories have been dealing in obscure hints for
sorin time past, we deem it right to remind them
of the extreme improbability of any unfair pro-
position being listened to by the noble indivi-
dual at the head of his Maie;ty's Government.
That some writers, in tits e.ss of their pa-
triotistii, Would rejoice to witness tt4 4.e,Frture
of the Duke of Wei:.ington and Mr. Peel 4'.0
office, we can well belicy.? ; but we really cannot
imagine why the total dist:4,l6on of the present
Government is " a consuntmaiion devoutly to
be wished ;" nor can we conceive Li/ yvhat spe-
cies of legerdemain a Cabinet which sys 4 9nce
supported as a model of political excellence, has
been converted into an unholy cabal, a gang
of greedy tax-eaters, or a drum-head Court
Martial ! It is true his Majesty's Ministers
have unfortunately abandoned their long-che-
rished opinions upon the merits of the Catholic
Question ; but does- that circumstance qtforsl
;any argument- agaius&-the abilities or the honesty
.of the individuals concerned? Does the mere
fact of a change of opinion, upon a single poli-
tics, question, justify any person in denouncing
aa ideots and traitors those Ministers whom he

formerly supported as enlightened Statesmen and
honourable patriots? We say decidedly, it-iloes
not. It is ridiculous—nay, it is more than ridi-
culous—it is an act of the grossest injustice, to
make the conduct of the Duke of Wellington
on the Catholic Question a ground of opposi-
tion against his proceedings upon any other
question of foreign or domestic policy. As well
might it be said, that because a man is lame of
his right leg, his intellects must of necessity be
defective. We freely confess that such a revo-

lution of sentiment as that which we have re-
cently witnessed on the Catholic Question is
generally to be regretted; but we never can, and
never will, agree to the absurd proposition re-
cently advanced, that when a man changes his
opinion on a single political question, he neces-
sarily forfeits the reputation for talent or in-
tegrity which he may have previously enjoyed.
The argumentunz ad hommem, though not
always a fair, is at all times a most effective
weapon of attack; and in the present instance
we feel that we can apply it with infinite ad-
vantage. One of our contemporaries—the most
violent of the Ultra-Oppositionists—has re-
cently declared his adherence to the cause of Par-
liamentary Reform. " Events change opinions"
(says he), " and we now openly profess ourselves
to be Parliamentary Reformers. For the first
time in our lives we make this important con-
fession, and we do it under those feelings of
conviction which speak to the heart, and tell
us that such a change is indispensible." Far
be it from us to doubt the honour of our
contemporary in this act of " apostacy ;"—we
wish not to be guilty of such intolerance ; all we
ask is that he will extend to his former friends
the same liberal consideration which he claims
for himself. Convert the cause of Reform into
the Catholic Question, and what difference is

here between his conduct and the conduct of

those whom he now denounces as profligate and
unprincipled turncoats ? Not at all. In con•
fessing his adherence to the cause of Reform, he

has attended to the march of events ; Ministers
have done the same in granting emancipation to
the Roman Catholics ; and if his rule against a
change of political opinions stand good, l►e him-
self deserves all those opprobrious epithets, as
an apostate, which he. has so unsparingly applied
to the Duke of Wellington and his colleagues.
We have made these observations for the benefit
of those persons who pique themselves on the
violence of their opposition to the present Ad-
ministration. We are not amongst the number
of those who delight in meddling with the opi-
nions of their neighbours ; but we must tell our
contemporaries that their character, as men of
principle and integrity, will gain little by the
course which they are now pursuing.—Morning
Post.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF CHANCERY, JULY 28.
EX-PARTE CANE, IN RE KEEL, A BANKRUPT.

The LORD CHANCELLOR, after hearing the argu-
ments of Counsel, gave judgment in this case, which
was an appeal front a decision of the Master of the
Rolls, on a petition for setting aside the commission
of bankrupt, and which had been dismissed by that
Judge. His Lordship said, that considering the in-
timation which had been made by the bankrupt to
one of his creditors before the commission was sued
out, and the affidavits filed on the part of the bank-
rupt, he was of opinion that there was room for sus-
pecting the commission had been the result of collu-
sion. At the same time the facts disclosed were by
no means Co clear as to warrant the Court in com-
ing to a conclusion. He therefore gave leave to
have the validity of the commission tried in an action
at law, and limited the petitioner to declare his in-
tention before the next petition day.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JULY 28.
MIDDLETON AND ANOTHER V. FROST.
This was an action on a bond which the defend.
ant had entered into as surety for a person named
Thomas Squire, one of the collectors of the assessed
taxes for the Second division of East Brixton. The
sum sought to be recovered was between 9001. and
1,0001., the amount of a deficiency in Squire's ac-
counts'. After some evidence had been gone into,
verdict was taken for the plaintiffs, subject to a
referetlm