Court Of Aldermen.
The Times, 1824-10-27T00:00:00

Yesterday there was a Cotirt of Aldermen. The LoP.D tAYOR wished to call the attention of the Court to a matter which he conceived aifected the privi- leges of the city. Ile had imagined that tho proceedings of the Magistrates of Middlesex in the case of Mr. Faunt- leroy had been in conseqtience of some offence comriitted in Middlesex; but to his surprise, hc found by the coni- Iuitmnent. a copy of which he held in his hand, and -which be should request the Town Clcrk to read, that the com- mitment was for an offence in the city of London, and his case stood in thc calendar to be tried by a London Jurv. How far they had a right be would not say, but cei- tainily it was contray to courtesy. I-le had no recollection of any case since he iad been in the magistracy where such an occurrence had taken place - and he believed the city mnagistrates invariably sent all persons charged vith offences in Middlesex to the magistrates there; and in a recent case, a robbery of great extent-he meant Earl Cowvper's-al- though the whole was detected in the city, anid througlh the vigilance of thieir own ofricers, he hat sent the prisoners to the magistrates at llertfordl for investigation. The CoUrt would naturally feel, that, occupied as he constarAly was, it would be highly desirable for him to be relieved from trouble; but he conceived that the magistrates of the city ought not to shrink fromn sny trouble where the privileges of the city were concerned. He thlerefore felt it his duty to state the circumstance, and to leave it to the Couirt to act as they thought proper. The commitment was then read as follows:- " Police-office, Great Marlborough-streeL. "To -TrU r;EEPER OF lllS MAJESTY'S GAOL. OF NEWOATE, OR IIIS DEPUTY. L1isldlesex to wit,_}tecei7e into your custody thebo(ly of Henry Fauntlerov, bercwith sent you, brought before me, John Edwatd Conant, Esquire. one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace in and for the said county, by Samuel Plank, and charged before me the said Justice, UponI the oatlh of James Kirby and others, with felo- niouisly uttering and publishing as true, in (lic city of London, a certain false, forged, and conntei-'eited letter of attorney, for the sale of the sum of five hundred pounds interest or share in the Long Annuities. in the capital or joint stock of the Governor and Co0npany of the Bank of England, well knowirg the sanme to be false, forged, and counterfeited, with intent to defraud the said Governor and {Compony of the Bank of Eugland, against the peace and statute, &c. Him therefore safely vkeep in your said custody, until he shall be discharged by tste course of law, and for so doing this shall be your sufficienit warrant, iGiver, under rnv hanrTdiid seal this 21st day of October, 1824. (Signed) " J. E. CONANT." Sir JAMES SRAW said that lie did not know how far tlhe Midklesex magistrates had the right, but it appeared to him that it was highly improper, and that in cour- tesy it ought to have been sent to the city ma-istrates. As the inrdividual was about bein- tried, he thought it would( be better not to come to any im -mediate conclusion. but he should move that it be referred to a cotnmittee of privileges. Mr. Alderman Woon thought it highly imnproper: it had formerly been attempted, antl remnonqtratedl againse. At least,as a matter of courtesy they ought to lhave sent the ease to the city ; the city magistrates always did so with sespect to them, antI if in littie petty e-ses thiey did so. he really thought it wortlhy the consideration. of the Court. Sir J. PERRINCG concurred * and after some further cousi- deration,it was aereed to couner with the M11agistrate on the rota, antI Recorrier and Commnon Sergeant, at th. ensuing sessions. COURT OF AL.DERMEN.