(From the John Bull Newspaper, of August 18th, 1833.)
“Sir John Campbell, the Solicitor-General, has ‘put his foot into it,’ as the old wives have it.
“It seems that Sir John—a most unpopular man at best—has been for some time getting out of the good graces of his supporters at Dudley, by having, upon every occasion, voted with Ministers, which, as Solicitor-General, appears to us to be nothing more than might be expected; not so, however, because he had publicly and repeatedly pledged himself to his constituents to do no such thing.
“Although Sir John—we speak advisedly—has not the remotest chance of being again returned for Dudley, he felt that he ought to do something to brush up his radical friends there, and accordingly decided upon attacking the characters of the Magistrates acting for the town and neighbourhood. As it turns out, nothing could have been more unjust, and as it will turn out, nothing so foolish.
“The population of the circle of four miles, of which Dudley is the central point, exceeds one hundred thousand; and if the purest integrity, patience of investigation, strict impartiality, and Christian lenity, are requisite for the Bench, these qualifications the Dudley Magistrates in an eminent degree possess.
“In making an enquiry of Lord Althorp whether Government intended to grant charters to the new boroughs, Sir John Campbell stated that no place more needed one than Dudley; ‘for,’ said he, ‘the people have no voice in the election of their Magistrates. Justice is not administered to the satisfaction of the public; serious discontent prevails there, and the Magistrates are such as in their absence I should not like to describe.’
“It is by no means difficult to point out the party to whom the administration of justice in Dudley is not satisfactory. Some time since, a considerable number of the friends and supporters of Sir John Campbell, who voted for him at the last election, were brought before the Magistrates, and convicted of using short weights and false measures, and accordingly fined for their rascality; others of Sir John’s supporters have been in ‘durance vile;’ and to these, and such as these, ‘justice is not satisfactorily administered;’ and amongst these ‘the most serious discontents prevail,’ but among none else.
“Sir John, not content, however, with denouncing the existing Magistracy of the town he represents, proceeds to observe, that there are several enlightened persons in Dudley who could, under a new charter, administer justice in a manner creditable to themselves and satisfactory to the public.
“Now let us look at some of Sir John Campbell’s objections to the present Magistrates. He objects to them because they are in trade—one being a banker, and the other two first-rate manufacturers in independent circumstances, and employing hundreds of hands. Sir John’s friends, with two or three exceptions, are retail tradesmen who, by their education and habits, are not qualified for the Bench, and who, through fear of offending their customers, would not be likely to give unprejudiced judgments.
“The next charge brought by Sir John Campbell against the Magistrates is somewhat comical; he not only charges them with being active partisans, but with being all on one side.