The Sun.
London, England, 1829-02-23 00:00:00

GUILDHALL

On S tturday, a decent-looking youth, whose looks
bespoke extteme famine, was brought before Alderman
PERRINO, charged with having snatched, frosn the open
window of a pastry-cook's shop, a certain preparatian of
pastry, denominated a Coventry-cake.
The pastry-cook valued the Coventry-rake at three
half-pence ; and said the prisoner had given a very con-
tradictory account of himself; " otherwise," continued
the pastry-cook, " I should not have brought him before
your Worship."
" Oh, you have done perfectly right, Sir," said Alder-
man PEuuno3—" perfectly right ; and :low we will hear
what he has got to say." Then, addressinr, himself to the
prisoner, be demanded—" Pray, Sir, why did you steal
this gentleman's cake ?" Prisoner—l am a tailor, replied
the youth weeping, I come from Yotkshire, and have been
out of employment now nearly six weeks. I was famish-
ing, and was driven to steal the cake by hunger.
" Don't tell me, Sir," said Alderman PERRING" you
had no right to meddle with this gentleman's cakes ; and
as to. your being hungry, I dare say he would have cheer-
fully given you some, if you had asked him."
" I really am very sorry," said 'the pastry-cook, " to
give your Worship so much trouble about such a trifle;
and"—

" Not at all, Sir—not at all," said Alderman PttaniNc;

" I have no doubt this is not the first time he has been
guilty of those sort of offences; and it is quite right that
you should be protected in your business. Let the pri-
soner be committed, and this gentleman bound over to
prosecute."
And so the unwilling pastry-cook was bound over to
"prosecute the law with effect" against this hungry
three-halfpenny-cake-snatcher; and he was committed
to Newgate in due form ; there to be indicted, arraigned
and tried before the Judges of the land and a Jury of his
countrymen, for having snatched a three-half-penny cake.

OBLIGATION UPON THE PART OP
ALDERMEN TO RESIGN THE GOWN.

The proposition put by Mr. Pearson, at Bishops-
gee \Vnrd, at the last Aldermanic Election, that
every Alderman should, upon being incapacitated by
illness, or pecuniary decay, or other cause, retire
from the representation of his Ward, is hencefor-
ward to be made in every ward in the city of Lon-
don. The most experienced and intelligent mem-
bers of the Corporation consider it necessary to de-
mand a pledge to this effect from every Candidate
for the Gown, not only as a means of securing the
dignity of the Chief Magistracy, but of preventing,
in some measure, a very culpable system of jobbing,
which has been long carried on in the Court of Al-
dermen. Another principle will, we understand, be
acted upon in the City. No Alderman who has, or
shall have compounded with, or required time from
his creditors, will stand the smallest chance of being
elected to the Chair. It has been invariably found,
when any Alderman managed to surmount the em-
barrassments of his private station, and was permitted
to take the Chair, that he converted a great partof that
allowance which is given to support the splendour of
office into a fund for the discharge of preceding obliga-
tions. It is believed by the Corporation, that some
gentlemen have cleared off domestic ineumbrances
to the amount of 3,000/. or 4,000/., in the yeas
which was to have been distinguished by hospitality.
It is certainly more excusable in those who may be
called the" lame ducks" of the Court of Aldertien
to limit their public expences, than a, man whose
close-fisted economy we have witnessed, at the same
time that they were known to have made immense
fortunes is trade; but the public censure to which
the latter class are liable, and which it is said will

henceforward, if occasion be given, be visited upon
them, will no doubt have the effect of spoiling may
future calculations of the kind amongst them. It is
observed, with bitter regret, by several memberi of
the Court of Aldermen, that one of their body was
in prison for debt for thirty years, and that he was
exiled by his fellow-sufferers Alderman all the time.
This unfortunate example is considered one of the
great causes which led to the degenerate condition
of the Court, in which there are now candidates for
places which produce no more than 2001. or 3001. $
year. It has, and naturally enough too, led to the
practice Which has existed for some years, of occa-
sionally making the Mayoralty an object of interest
instead of honour. We understand that the Ho-
nourable Court intend take the matter in hand very
soon, and to adopt" such regulations as may prereet
any gentleman from speculating upon the gown as a
means of enabling him to pay a shilling in the pound
more to his creditors—regulations which will affect
those who have fallen into poverty, that inexpiable
offence, as well aS those who hare never been able
to rise out of it, and will for ever e;clude persons
who have the nominal compassion but the positive
contempt of their fello-citizens. his right to state,
that the proposition of Mr. Pearson was suggested
by the conduct of Sir Peter Laurie, who, upon
being made Alderman of Aldersgate Ward, volunta-
ril✓ declared that he considered it to be the duty of
every member of the Court of Aldermen, who should
be disqualified in the way alluded to above, to resign
his gown ; and that if he should himself, by any
casualty, be included in the number of defaulters,
his conduct should be influenced by that principle.

COUNTRY CORN MARKETS.

DURING LAST WEEK.

Wheat.

Oats.