Star.
London, England, 1830-10-20 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE JOURNALS.

Canowict.E.---The Duke of N ellington may propose some slight
reform, but were he to attempt what might give the representation
the character of real, he would at present be foiled. We con-
sider every cabinet in this country to be trimly the essence of
the oligarchy ; and to suppose that a prime minister is disposed
to concede reform, is to suppose that the oligarchy arc ready to
cioncede it. Now, we hold that, before the oligarchy can be brought
to think of abandoning the command which they at present possess
of the of the industrious people of England, much more
formidabremhta
demonstrationsr must be made than have yet been made.
They will most assuredly strive to the last to retain their power. When,
however, the people show that they are in earnest about re.
form, prudential considerations may then dettrrnine them to give

way. 11, t. r.:tinly do nor behe.t rI vie t,i Ix y.t .11;:•
c:etnly tr. I,ltder it Itytebsilry ton then! to NII//rad.l. i‘ I: Lc
Wi 'Leal. the Puke oi ehottirl be a reformer
it used tarn.. 'env: ,:41.110 Win to be oat, to lira: m.
dueing rite rt•tiuts, a imps ion on the minds of the 011garel V. We
shall only dective eurseives it' we suppore the Aristocracy of this noun.
try will yiele, without a hard struggle, the power which they now pos.
seism, of put..iag their hands inua the pockets of others. It cannet be tea
efts: repezittl, that Aristocracy and plunder are syrionisvons; that
without the plunder of the people there could be tin Aristocracy, far the
etasatiou of she plant'. r would soon reduce their overgrown estates.
And, independently of the injustice of this system of carving estltert far
their younger children out of the property of the rest of the entimo.nity,
is is in other respects for Itse interest of a entuary that estates should he
as much divithd. as portaihic. - _

Cenlowicte. —We ear. 'ICC :it operation which will soot:
effect a disivelurttion on the part of the Aristocracy to encourage the
disfranchlw ment of the !wee...Moping boroughs. N c address ourselves
to sensible, clear.headed iworough preprietore„ like the Marquis o:
Hertford. The following arstar.ce will show the d..iger of pushing
disfranchisen:":at too fat t--!sere Alton, in Devon, ;re. formerly be.
longct o Lord Clinion, but now belongs to Lord Beverley. The quit-
Miran is Burgage-tenure.. There are at pru.eut old) two voters, and
the tier tietermined,at the last election...l throw off the Erverleyyoke ; and
accorl! ingly, though friends, they negcc!_iied to return Iwo gentlemen for
their own proti:. instead of that or Lis Lordship. The Porireeve is
Dr. lea ;e.:, of Plyo.outh ; hut be is merely returning officer, and has no
vote. 1)r. Blake, areompanita; by art attorney's clerk, set out last ge-
neral election fren. rvidouth,aad met the voters order a great tree, the
place usually closen for the purpose of electien. During the time tire
dace
rav re:tiVal,; the Ace,. of Parliament usually read on
such •tcca'io.w, one of the ewers headed in to him a card, eon.
mining the estate: of ter, ese,lidetes, proposed by himself and se.
vended by his ff :A. lie was told by the etenney'it clerk that (hie
was too early. Before the rcailing was completed, the voter on ti.e
ether side handed in a rani conrsponding with the former, and
he was inform,:! that 1'..: W2l. too late. The meeting broke
Ai. The Portreeve and assistants adjourned to a public-house in the
ntighbeerimod. red them and there tirade a return of Lord Loveine and
Air. Blacken, which a, ent signed by a sia;;le ire son having a vote.
Though tie Bort.uph was no duabt purchased by Lord Beverley, yet
the property is of course tin absolute, and, therefore, without supposing
that Parliament should determine that the Patmns may return at once
without the intervention of any machinery, we must presume dot clic.
tion will he set aside. But the object of oar noticing the case was to
wain the Proprietors of Pocket Boroughs of the danger to which they
are retro:sett, by excluding moneyed men from the Potwalioping B.
roughs. Lt is not their interest to add to tire 'waves of moneyed men
to attuupt to eye% their Boroughs. They :may be assurcii, that with
all their care, a holden key wiil often open the gates of dm:: fortresses
of the Aristocracy.

TlMEs—The l*tris papers arc chiefly tilled with discussions on the
recent attempt of the Ministers aid the Chamber of Deputies to intpl'.
came the King ;:, the responsibility of a law in:endcd to save Lk: • 2;..
Ministers front c... 0 tat pue'shment, should they be condom:A. The
people, whose hurc.^ generosity and magnanh...enne torbearanc; werc•sa
justly celebrated in the hour of victory, scent to lave been sized with a
Atrocious appetite :or blued lung after their passions might be expected
to be cooled. Tile walls of Paris are covered with the most atm-
cious incentives to tumult and vengeance at the idea of extend-
ing mercy to the prisoners, and there can be no doubt that
though their ;mil. had been less manifest, their condemnation
could not have :teen the less certain, front the influence of
these menaces on the fears of their judges. The petitions of tit:. wounded,
the speeches of pup: lam orators, the dramatic erect of a night sitt.ng, and
the popularity of Me King, seem all to go for nothing in arrestMg the
sanguinary fury of the lower orders. In the mean time, the t.han:Mr,
the Ministers, and the King, are selenudy pledged in the face of Europe
to save the culprits from the extreme rigour of the law ; and it they
yield to popular fury, in a point which so nearly concerns their heraur,
their feelings, and their principles, they can have ro security frit the un-
disturbed possession or exercise of power in other Instances. The
violent men who are labouring to whet the veh,:eanee. of the multitude
by appeals to their passions, and who are intimidatiog society by the
phantoms of a former revolution, ate quite aware of the formieia.
ble dilemma in which they have placed the Government. They
know that they are making it destructive to its character, firm.
ness, and consistency, to execute the criminals, and dangetous to its
existence to pardon them. While they strongly censure the Ministers
for endeavouring to shelter themselves behind the King's populatity in
recommending the new law, they plainly intimate that His Majesty
cannot with safety exercise in this case the prerogative of mercy. Tile
Ministers confess their defeat by attempting to retrace their steps.
They have announced that tie new project of law fur amending the cri-
minal code is to be allowed to take its due couse in parliamentary dis.
cuuion ; but they have done nothing more to allay the general ferment.
• They have not explained why they were so precipitate at one time, and
so slow row,—why they did not rather wait the result of the trial, and
a.ivise the King to exercise his prerogative of mercy, than interfere with
an existing impeachment and anticipate a capital conviction by an
abolition of Its corresponding punishment.

lIEIIALT).—It is certain that the Military Code requires revision as
Civil. We would submit to Government the propriety oisubstittiting
some other punishment for that of flogging. It savours too much of
torture to be suited to the habits of a civilised age, and it is also calcu-
lated to harden rather than improve the disposition of the ebrender, by
desuoying the sense of shame, and Inducing that recklessness of charac-
ter which is the natural consequences of hopeless degradation. It is not
surprising that some recent exhibitions of this species of military chas-
tisement have excited great disgust among the public, by whom it was
witnessed. We are aware that this mode of enforcing subordination in
the army isnot so much practised as it used to be, and wa have heard
that MI some regiMents it has been quite discontinued. We belied the
obedience of the soldier is quite as strict and as exemplary in those
regiments in which flogging is disused, as in those in which it
Is still considered essential to the preservation of sailitaty govern-
meet. Why then is not this cruel and degrading practice din.
pensed with altogether? The government of soldiers by mural infiu-
ease has been'too much neglected, and the infliction of bodily pain has
beew too generally applied to the correction of offences against the law
military, in preference to modes of punishment which, instead of de-
stroying the sense of shone, makes it subservient to the re haniation of
character. Schoolmasters had formerly fallen into the same error as
the military disciplinarians. As the latter think that military subonli.
nation would perish unless it was upheld by the terrorof the lash, so the
former thought the rules of grammar could never be impressed spun the
youthful memory without the magical influence of the rod ; and thus
Mars ought to be always painted brandishing a cat-o'-nine-tails,
and Minerva wielding a formidable handful of birch. It has, how.
ever, been at leniztn discovered, that the boys who arc most
flogged make the worst scholars, and we imagine it will be found to he
o its true that the men whose backs undergo similar eastittation make
:hc worst soltliirs. Letitia the discipline of the rod. and more of moral
government, is aew exercised in schools in general, and certainly the
interests of education have net suffered by the change aay more than
those of decency. It is true that, as long as the punishment of the lash
is used only in strict accordance with the rules of military law, and not
made subservient to a wanton atal cruel exercise cf authority, which, we
believe happens very rarely now-a-days, soldiers have no just c.se of
complai ai
nt on the score of being liable to this punishment, because they
enter the army with the knowledge of being subject, for certain offences
and breaches of duty, to this sort of chastisement; but if mill.
tary diseipline can be preserved, as we believe it can, without it,
public old, ion has some right to be listened to when pleading
for its abolition. it is certainly essential to the military
system that it should mould masses of men into mere machines. But,
while all self-will is destroyed, it is not necessaty that their feelings
should be also extinguished ; on the contrary, their feelings might be
usefully engaged on the side of their duty by such a system of rewards
and puoishments as would best preserve manliness of character, and
keep in a state of lively action the si ruse of honour and of shame. Some
commanding officers have practised such methods of preserving disci-
pline with great success, and have been enabled to dispense with flog-
ging altogether. We know that any great reforio.as well in military
as civil affairs, appears at felt difficult; but. convinced as we are that
the army can be preserved in the Iti;.,thest said nest effective state of su-
bordination by means less revolting to reason and humanity than the
punishment to' the cat-o'-niiie•tath, tr.: do crareit the Government to
turn their attention to this subject, aril make the government of the
army what the civilization of the a;:educiand.