The Sun.
London, England, 1827-11-28 00:00:00

properly placed at the head) hastened to obtain
from the King those testimonials of the ,Royal
approbation of the achievement performed by
the gallant Axlmiral. Codrington and the br4ve
Officers kif his Fleet. The notification of these
honours was sent in the proper and usual cause
from the Admiralty to the Office k){* the Secre-
tary for the Home Department, in order to its
insertion in the Gazettt% So far there was not
the slightest degree of irregularity. It was
the immediate business of the Home Se-
cretary to communicate to the Prime Mini-
ster what was about to be done, and to re-
ceive his approbation, before the final and
irrevocable act of publication had taken
place. This duty, however, was not performed.
The Marquis of Lansdowne was not in town ;
and the Under Secretary, instead of sending to
the Noble Marquis, iimnediately on receiving
the notification, transmitted it to the Gazette
Office for publication. Nothing can exceed the
embarrassment which this precipitation on the
part of the Under Secretary-for the Home De-
partment has occasioned among the Members of
Administration, many of whom, as we have be-
fore statM, and as we now confidently teport,
were not by any means prepared to approve of
Admiral Codriugton's conduct, arising from
their own imbecility; although they may now
think that the most convenient mode to extricate
themselves from the very disagreeable dilemma
in which they are placed is to abstain from any
direct censure of that Officer. The incident is
certainly not very creditable to the discipline of
the Official Departments under the present Ad-
ministration. It is quite different from every
thing witnessed in the same particular Office,
when filled by more discreet and able States-
men ; and we hope it will at least have the good
effect of teaching certain persons a lesson of
which they are evidently Much in need ; that
other and higher qualities are necessary to render
men useful or even harmless Subalterns of Ad-
ministration than those of idle bustle, or thought-
less promptitude,. regardless of all the indispens-
able rules of official discretion.—Morning Post.

We call the attention of our readers to a let-
ter in another column, detailing the result of an
application to the Home -Secretary, on the sub-
ject of the conduct of the Magistrates of Bristol,
who have, it seems, assumed. the power of ex-
cluding the public from their proceedings, even
in cases of final. adjudication. The instance spe-
cified, where the sentence, had it been carried into
execution, would have been one of extraordinary
severity—namely, consigning a than to serve on
the coast of Africa for five years—is certainly one
which forcibly shows the very unconstitutional
nature ofthe power assumed by the Bristol Ma-
gistracy. There may be stages of criminal pro-
cedure, where, for the sake of the ends of justice,
secresy may be at times deemed necessary, but in
no case of final adjudication ought the public
.to be . excluded. Publicity of procedure forms
the only security against oppression ; and it is
the boast of this country that the Courts.are open
to all. ;The public have, therefore, a strong in-
terest in checking every attempt to administer jus-
tice in secret. Publicity is, essential to the due ad-
ministration ofjustice, and indeed the highest tri-
bunals are always °pee • but.it is of infinitely more
importance that the inferior Courts, such as Ma-
gistrates Of Boroughs, &c. be Open, than the
supreme Courts, because the Judges of the for-
mer are men of education and distinction, who
are under the constant inspection of an en-
lightened Bar ; but the latter are generally low-
bred men, with little knowledge, and moreover
with all the purse-proud consequence, and over-
hearingnese of disposition, which persons who
have raised themselves to opulence from low
beginnings Usually possess. The public, we
repeat, have a strong interest in checking all at-
tempts on the part of Magistrates, and espe-
cially inferior Magistrates, to decide finally in
private. The public have an interest ! But
who is there to attend to the public interest ?
Mr:A-alai-id, the gentleman who applies to the
HOnie Secretary, is but an individual witnessing
a bad pradtice—there is no reason why he or
any other individual, who do not suffer per-
sonally from the violation of law, should put
themselves to the expellee of prosecuting the
Magistrates. • , It is by union that men are
Strong ; but., it would seem that, under the
boasted Constitution of England, the struggle
against combinations of wrong-doers devolves on
individuals. If Magistrates, therefore, take' the
precaution of violating the law only in the cases of
poor men, who cannot- challenge them, from ina-
bility to bear the charges of a prosecution in
the Supreme 'Courts, and steer clear of rich men,
they may be said to be safe. No one represents
the.public. There is no public officer, whose
function it is to interfere in behalf of the public
when they are injured by violations of law. The
Home Secretary considers the superintendence
of the Magistracy to form no part of his duty.
There is, in fact, no representative of the public.
The principle would seem to be, that as the pub-
lic is composed of individuals, every wrong must
affect some individual ; and if he is unable to do
himself justice, there is no great harm done :
for justice ought to aid only the powerful, leav-
ing the poor to their fate. The besetting sin of
the English Judicial System is, that it surrounds
those with protection who are already too
strong, and leaves unprotected those who most
require the protection of law—namely, the weak.
Every thing with us favours Aristocracy, and an
Aristocracy of the basest kind—that of wealth.
In former days, the Courts were instruments in
the hands of the King, for destroying or weaken-
ing the power of the Landholders; but since the.
Aristocracy defeated the Stuarts, and secured the
ascendancy at the Revolution, the Courts use all
their influence to strengthen that branch of their
power, which they derive from uniting territorial
influence with the administration of justice.
The dog soon finds out who has the rule in the
kitchen. Hence it may truly be said that the
people are abandoned to a set of men who know
no law hut their own discretion : who use their
power for the basest of purposes, that of tyran-
nising Over the poor in their neighbourhoods,
and jobbing (witness the use that has been made
of the power to license public houses), and who
make it even their boast that Magistrates ought
to know nothing of law. It is vain, however, we
fear, to expect a remedy. The same men who
would starve the people for the. sake of their
corn monopoly, will exclude them from the be-
nefits of a regular administration of justice.
When money and acres constitute the qualifica-
tion for deciding between than and man, we can
only console ourselves for . the national disgrace,
by exclaiming with the virtuous Chancellor De
Hopital—

cemnsc esses
. . • • nuns turpis et infimus ordo,
Temporibus postquam c pit ir( sc
Omnibus, et pueris, passim pr)obimigu ueu tati
Qui viz prima tenent elementA doeente magistro ;
Qui tardi atquehebetes• be"e Plena dummodo zona•
Morning Chronicle,
'rile contemporary who so unjustly attacked
Admiial Codrington continues to pour out his