The Press. — London, England, 1856-12-06 00:00:00

DECEMBER 6, 1856.1 form return; and on Friday, January the lflth, the sixth form return, when the whole school will have assembled. dant. MR. TOWN•COUNCILLOR ATKINSON has, this week, been unanimously elected Lord Mayor of Dublin. BARON RICHARDS has ceased to be Commissioner of) the Encumbered Estates Court by order of royal warrant__ THE MURDER OF Mn. LITTLE yet remains buried in mystery. Vague rumours abound, but it is really felt that the police are at fault,. Sustlanb. THE EXHIBITION of the Asssociation for promoting the application of Art to Manufactures is to be opened in the National Galleries, Edinburgh, on the 15th December. This is the first exhibition of the kind ever held in Scotland. Its speciality con sists in its exclusive devotion to those branches of manufacture, in which, no matter what may be the material, the design of the artist, and the mecha nical execution thereof, more or less predominate, and constitute the chief feature. The exhibition will be sufficiently extensive to indicate the progress that has been made in several of the most important branches of art-manufacture, as indicated by the workmanship of the leading houses in each. THE LEITH AND STETTIN STEAMER BOSUN, which sailed from Stettin on the Bth ult., and has not since been heard of, undoubtedly foundered at sea in the tremendous gale of the 12th. One of her boats has been washed ashore on the Hamburg Coast. THE ERECTION OF A. MONUMENT CO the memory of Sir William Wallace, was considered at a meeting at Edinburgh last week. The Lord Provost, Pro fessor Blackie, and several influential gentlemen were present, but no definite result followed. The subscription has generally failed. M. Kossura delivered an address, last week, at Edinburgh, on the prospects of Italy. M. Kossuth repeated almost verbatim his lecture lately delivered at Manchester, concluding with a few remarks upon the charge made against him of a desire to involve Great Britain in continental wars, and to induce the British nation to assume the character of a knight errant of European liberty. He most solemnly denied that such was his intention, but added with reference to Hungary and Poland : It may again happen that one word on the part of Great Britain might decide the fate of these nations to the last. ing advantage of liberty, aq it could have decided it in 1549. May that word neither be withheld in due season, nor be different from the generous aspirations of the British people; and when the oppressed nations are re stored to their birthright of freedom, may none of them have reason to feel anything for your noble country but the same gratitude and veneration which I entertain. Cabal anb tilitarrr ttttiligtatt. THE ATTENTION Of the General Commander-in-Chief, his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, and the authorities at the Horse Guards, having for some time past been directed to the manner in which staff app o i n t men t s i n th e arm y are ma d e , it is in contemplation to make an entire change in the system hitherto - adopted. With this view it has been proposed that before any officer is appointed to the staff he shall undergo a proper course of instruction, under officers of great experience, in the several duties he will be called upon to perform. In order that none but really efficient officers may be selected for the appointnients it is suggested that the general officers at each of the half•yearly inspections be directed to call upon the commanding officers of regiments to bring forward the name of any officer under his command who may have given proofs of superiority in his profes-ion over the other officers in the regiment . Should the General Commanding-in- Chief deem the officer (after a preliminary examina tion) so brought forward to his notice a fit candidate for astaff appointment, his name will be placed on the list, and, as vacancies occur, the senior officer on the list will undergo a course of instruction, at the public expense, to qualify him for the staff. The establishment f or i ns t ruc ti on i s p ro p ose d t o b e limited to about fifty officers, and every facility will be given to the candidates for acquiring a perfect knowledge of their duties, without any expense to themselves. A properly qualified general officer of great experience would be appointed to examine the whole of the officers in the establishment periodi cally, when the most efficient officer would be selected, and appointed to the first vacant staff appointment. THE DEATH OF REAR-ADMIRAL BEECHEY, Captain Sir James Clarke Ross obtains his flag. .1 he Marquis of Townshend obtains his flag, though upon the reserved list. By these pronioti9ll4 14 good- THE PRESS. service pension and aide-de-campship to the Queen becomes vacant. A NEW CAVALRY COLLEGE, under the patronage of Viscount Combermere, General Sir James Sleigh, General Sir Willoughby Cotton, Lieute nant-General Sir De Lacy Evans, M.P., Lieu tenant-General Sir James Thackwell, Lieutenant- General Sir L. Maxwell Wallace, Major-General Sir L. B. Lovell, Major-General the Earl of Cardi gan, Colonel Lord George Paget, Viscount Ranelagh, and other distinguished military men, is to be opened at Roehampton on the Ist of February next. Cap tain Wallace Barrow, late of the 17th Lancers, is to be the reddent commandant. Yat anb Volta. THE GREAT SWYNFEN CASE Was resumed on Monday by Mr. Kennedy, who at the outset applied for leave to file an additional affidavit of Mr. Simp son, the plaintiff's attorney, in answer to some state menta made in the affidavit of Sir F. Thesiger. The court refused the application, upon the ground that it had been made too late. Mr. KENNEDY submitted that as this was an issue out of the Court of Chancery, therefore the Court of Chancery alone had power to deal with the case, for the act of 8 and 9 Victoria made no alteration in the matter. In reference to the affidavits, he submitted that it was plain that one party had spoken the truth and that the other had not:— He trusted that he should be able to show that his client had spoken the truth, and that ou the other aide facts had been deposed to which were not true. Mrs. Swynfen deposed that on the Saturday the 1,0001. a year had been distinctly offered to her, and that she had posi tively refused it. On the other side it was said that the offer was not then made to her, but the matter was only talked about as a thing likely. It was also said that counsel had authority fr)m the plaintiff's attorney for what was done. It was likewise sought to repudiate the charge which imputed to them a foul and criminal malpractice, that they made an improper use of the judge's name to intimidate Mrs. Swynfen, and, if that were true, they were guilty of s foul conspiracy. They met that charge by ex pressly denying it in so many words. Mrs. Swynfen had no remedy against her attorney because Sir F. Thesiger had acted on his own responsibility, and she had no remedy against Sir F. Thesiger because he was irresponsible at law. The whole thing was a contemptible juggle. Mr. Justice CRESSWELL remarked that the learned counsel did no,. seem to have acquired a more tem perate style of argument since their last meeting. Mr. KENNEDY said that it would be seen whether they did not deserve what he had said of them. He contended that they did upon their own showing. Sir F. Thesiger having first tried to bully the client, afterwards bullied the attorney, and subsequently entered into the arrangement on his own responsi bility. When Sir Frederic met Sir Henry Durrant outside the court, he falsely stated that he had en tered into the arrangement by his authority. Had he behaved even like a gentleman ? Mr. Justice CRESSWEL. suggested that the learned counsel had better confine himself to arguments likely to influence the court. Mr. KENNEDY then shortly concluded his argu ment : He relied upon three distinct grounds, either of which was sufficient for his purpose. He contended that this order was a nullity, first, because this court had no juris- diction at all, the judge's order for settlement having been made in an issue sent from a court of equity ; secondly, that counsel had no power to bind Mrs. Swynfen by the contract that had been entered into ; thirdly, he said that the contract was illegal, having been brought about by a foul and criminal malpractice, that the order having no basis to stand upon was utterly void, a nullity in law, and a nullity in every respect but one, alas, that it would leave an indelible stain on the administration of justice in this country. Mr: COLE followed on the same side. Mr. WHATELY then addressed the court in support of the rule : The first question was, what authority counsel had in cases of this kind, and that was an important question which had not been well defined by anything that had taken place hitherto. Counsel had most important into• rests intrusted to them, but he denied that they were to be considered as mere delegates, or as one case said, •` slaves of the parties." They were bound to act for their clients, and if their clients would not consent to do what was best for their interests, the counsel might say that they must get some one else to conduct the case. The learned gentleman then went through the affi davits, the substance of which has been already before the public, and he contended that, upon the statements in those affidavits, the settlement was one that was proper to be made, and that Sir Frederic had authority to make it. Even in all the malignity which had been displayed in this case, it was not suggested that the settlement had been entered into from improper motives, or even to suit any personal convenience. He also submitted that it did not appear upon the affidavits that Mrs. Swynfen had at once, and in a positive manner, repudiated the ar rangement which had been entered into, and which 1161 it was necessary she should have done before at* could ask the court to discharge this rule. The court at this period adjourned. On Tuesday the case was resumed and concluded. Mr. NV/LATELY continued his argument, and took up seriatim ihe objections of the opposite bill. An objection bad been taken by the counsel on the other side that these proceedings had been brought in the wrong court. In the present instauca a juror bad been withdrawn by consent, and then both sides had agreed to an order of nisi pries : It had been made a rule of this court by consent, and then they turned round and said that, nothwithstanding that, the rule of court was a mere nullity as there was no valid order of nisi prin.. There was no precedent nor authority by which they could support such a proceeding. It had been also contended that a proper deed had not been tendered to Mrs. Swynfen for her signature. He should contend that it was a proper deed, but Mrs. Swynfen was not in a position to make that objection, because both she herself and her attorney had sworn that she would not have executed any deed at all. Mr. KENNEDY admitted that that objection must be abandoned. Mr. Justice CaEsswzm: I suppose you have au thority from your client to do to? Mr. WHATELY supposed so : Another objection had been taken—namely, that the order at nisi prius was vague. That order set out the agreement between the parties, and he was rather sun prised at any objection being taken to it ; considering the very eminent person who had drawn it up. There was a clause which referred any dispute regarding the terms of that agreement to Sir F. Thesiger and the Attorney- General, which was now objected to. What could be more reasonable than that the persons who drew up the terms should settle any dispute which might arise with regard to those terms ? Mr. Simpson, it was maintained, had no authority for compromising the case. On the other hand, there was the affidavit of Sir F. Thesiger, supported by those of Mr. Alexander, Mr. Whitmore, and Mr. Gray. Mr. Cole, who was said to have been with Mr. Simpson at the time, might have come forward and denied the authority ; but he had not done so. In some cases the court would doubtless consider whether or not the counsel had authority, but as a general rule that authority would be inferred. In the present case it appeared to be irresistible that the counsel had authority from Mr. Simpson. It was also stated that the plaintiff had never assented to nor ratified the compromise. So the lady said, and it might be true ; but that was not sufficient. She ought to have expressed at once her dissent, instead of which her attorney some time after wrote a letter saying that he had not received any instruc tions to object to the compromise. It had been con tended that when a serious question of law was at issue the court would not proceed by summary pro cess, but would leave the party to his remedy. It was a mere question whether the affidavits on the part of the defendant were true, which could not be doubted, considering the gentlemen who had made them. He therefore should submit that this rule ought to be made absolute. Mr. KEATING followed : The first question was whether counsel in a cause had general power and authority not incident to and resulting from their immediate and particular instructions; and, secondly, what was the extent of that power and authority. He contended that the arrangement made in this cause was within the plain, well known, and recognised power and authority of counsel in their character of counsel as instructed by the attorney in the suit. He contended that the arrangement made by Mrs. Swynfen's counsel was in cident to the powers of counsel, whether the client was in court or not, and did not require the special assent of the client. He should regard it as an insult to Sir F. Thesiger to stand up and vindicate his characterfrom the aspersions cast upon him. It would never occur to him, either in that court or elsewhere, to vindicate the character of a man who was an ornament to the bar and the Senate, who had reached a somewhat advanced period of life without the smallest stain upon his character, and whose honour and integrity as a man and a gentleman had never been impeached. Such observations as had been made upon Sir F. Thesiger by a gentleman at the bar were with out precedent, and he trusted they would not serve as an example for any future exhibition. As to the evidence in disproof of Mr. Simpson's state ment, it was overwhelming. Mr. Simpson would lead the court to suppose that from the arrival of the telegraphic message at one o'clock on Sunday afternoon until the termi nation of the cause he bad never consented to the agree ment, and had had nothing to do with the arrangement, except to object to it. The evidence in disproof of the statement was not that of Sir F. Thesiger alone. Mr. Simpson told Mr. Whitmore also, a junior counsel in the cause, that circumstances had occurred to render it ex- tremely desirable that an arrangement should be made. Mr. Alexander and Mr. Gray, who were also engaged in the cause as counsel, swore that they !Idly believed that Sir F. Thesiger was acting by the authority of Mr. Simp son, who was present in court. Could the court believe, in the teeth of this evidence, that the statement of Mr. Simpson could possibly be true? Then let their lord• ships look to the position of the third parties in this arrangement. What was it to him, as counsel for the defendant, what arrangement they might make among themselves, when he saw the counsel and the attorney to gether arranging the basis of an agreement ? The dissent • I I A