Star. — London, England, 1802-12-01 00:00:00

NiIUeIICA INTELLIGENCE. FALMOUTH, NOV. aB. The Swedifh brig Hazard, Captain L INDTS LOT, arrived here lal night much damaged, having been obliged to throw part of her cargo overboard; b e is laden with wheat, from Petei !burgh, bound to Lisbon : alto arrived the brig Gertrude, Capt. CODY, from Southampton, witli timber, bricks, for this port ; and the floop Penryn, Captain DUNSTER, from Dartmouth. Sailed the fhip Lady Andover, Capt. HADroN, fcr London; !hip John, Capt. TRE L UDDR A, for N a ples; brig Reliance, Capt. M.Caurnv, for Carthagena ; Swedifh brig Phoebe, Capt. CLAM, for London ; the brig Active, Capt. PIDGEON, for London; the Danifh brig Emanuel, Capt. BRIEN'S, for St. Thomas's; the brig Prineeffa, Captain Ltorzsv, with naval flores, from the Baltic, for Rourdeaux ; the floop Endeavour, Capt. Munoz, for Penzance ; the floop Harriot and John, Capt. Bunt, for Shoreham ; the (loop Louifa, Capt. . Boom, for Chichefter ; and the brig Brothers, Capt. Pu cK E y, for London.—Wind North. PLYMOUTH, NOVEMBER 29. This afternoon failed his Majefty's !hip Ace- MENE, of 32 guns, for Chatham, having on board a number of marines belonging to that divifion. —Came in the Friends, GOODWILL, of Haftings, laden with 146 calks fpirits, 126 bags fait, and a (mall quantity of tobacco, from Alderney, cap tured by his Majefty's lhip ATALANTE, of t 8 guns, Capt. MAPEFIELD, laft Thurfday, off Port land.—The Providence !loop, of this port, which was loft on Thurfday evening laft, of Yalm, is gone to pieces ; of the four of the crew who were drowned, only one has yet been picked up—two of them have left wives and families to deplore their unhappy fate. On Saturday laft came in the Demarara Packet, of Rotterdam, with a cargo of fundries and paffen gers, for the fettlements of Demarara, Iffequibo, Berbice, and Surinam : the failed with the unfor tunate Dutch Eaft Indianian, the Vryheid, with Soo Dutch troops, loft off Hythe laft Monday in a violent gale of wind, when all perilhed but 18 perfons. The Demarara Packet foitunately bore away for this port, and arrived cafe here ; the fail. ed again this morning. Letters from the lisNows, of 74 guns, dated Gibraltar, the 18th inil. (late, that the and five other 'hips of the line were to be viitualled and gored for fix months, and were to go to Malta.— Came in from a cruize againft the Smugglers, the Itswataut brig, Captain Issas. In the hurricane of latt Friday, a trawl-boat, with five Mermen on board, returning from trawl ing, belonging to Mr. MAust.ssto, Pilot to the Hon. Eaft India Company at this port, was (truck with fo heavy a fea off Stoke's Bay, that the foun dered, and unfortunately every foul perithed. PORTSMOUTH, NOVEMBER 30. This day failed the Ant cutter), SINGER puffer, and the Nelfon, DONALD, both for Havre. Came into harbour the GALATEA frigate.—The !hip Peggy, Car. THOS. FOTHERLEY, will fail the fiat fair wind for Sheernefs.—The fhip Columbus, Fouts, will fail the firft fair wind for London, having repaired her fails and other damages : this is the Slip that lately arrived from the Weft Indies —pot in here in diftrefs. FROM I.l.OYD's LIST. NAT Nov. 30.--Sailed the Topase frigate to the weftward. --Wind E. N. E. GRAVESS ND, Nov. pos.-PAW by the Severn, man of war, Barbadoes; swift, Webfter, from Hamburgh; Boreal, Patron, and Theodofta, —, from Peteriburgh ; Nancy and Lage, from Guyon ; Commerce, Brandford, from Ovor te; ltein Deer, —, from Amfterdam ; Vrow Fanny, ham Embdcn ; Five Brothers, from Dkppe; Wnli3rn tad John, Chater, and Norfolk, Scott, from Riga..--Sailed the Mariner, Chiven, for Nevis ; and Sarah, Smith, for Dieppe. Mum tn—At Dartmouth, Waibington, Licidle, from New York. -At Margaretta, Lord Sheffield, Cruise, from London, Squad to Trinidad--At Cork, Fame, Cummings, from Que bec; and Marian, —, from Bilboa—At Dublin, SomerTet, 14 , .ithadbo, from Leghorn—At Belfalt, Ann, Garnock, from Lunen—At Havre, John, Chater, from Surinam—At Bilbao, Efpelijo, from London—At Barcelona, Jane, Taylor, trotn Shetiand--At Barbadoes, Barbarities. Kerilake, from Li- m --At Baltimore, Sufan and Patty, Eldred, from London New Orleans, General Wallington, Davis, from Livcr- DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZE MONEY. The Sole*, for taking the Antra Harman, will be paid on Ike nth inft. at No. 23, Surrey-ftreet, Strand. Is a heavy gale of wind oo Saturday fenn;ght, feveral reffels were driven from their moorings in Dublin Bay and Poolbeg ; One of them ftranded, and two of them were cat away on Hl* North Bull; one veiTel coal-laden, and other a brig from 'won, bound to Liverpool, with a cargo of wheat. On the night of the 17th uk. a veffel was wrecked at the Red krand, about three miles from the town of Clonakiky, in Ire and every foul on board perifhed. It appears from part ber (tern which came on Clore, that the was the Mary, of opool She an, loaded with butter and calf &ins, and molt !Lc butter caks were marked H. F. S. and were probably :noel! by Harvey and Riker, of Limerick. Some of the bo f the crew were walked on (bore near Rofs Carbery, as err alto the colours of the =7th regi , ;em of foot; there are "i'etured to have been old colours of the regiment, which ndi ng romLimerick,wh e r c t h e 17t h are now quartered, En^ , aril. The ,, .. ( "Mei Div, from Petertbur g h f ur L on d on , i s on Blom , ususiand. • • 114 Diana, Couts, from Pete:burgh to I.ondoa, is loft on c mat o f N orway. T ile Maria, Iti,:bards, from Limerick for London, is loft o Cork, and all the crew. I he Adive,Oc Nichols, from Wyborgh for Yarmouth, is cciot on kland. LAW .INTELLIGP.N'CE: _... TO THE EDITOR Op THE STAR. _ - - Craven-ftreet, Nov. 30, 1802. SlR—Having obferved in your Paper an erro neous flatement of the manner in which a caufe I between Lord Sr. VINCENT and Lord NELSON was difpofed of, in the Court of Common Pleas, on Thurfday l a ft, we h ope to b e excufed if we take the liberty of correcting the millake your Law Reporter has been led into. The Judges were equally divided in opinion • in confequence of whi c h no j u d gment cou l d be given, unlefs at the requeft of one party or the other. But it is the common pradice in filch cafes, in order to Cave the expence of a new trial, for the Plaintiff to pray the judgment of the Court againit himiclf, to the end that an appeal to a fuperior Court may be profecuted. This was what took place on the above occafion. Judgment was pro nounced againft Lord NELSON Iwo forma only ; and the point of Law will be brought before the Court of King's Bench by writ of error, and de cided on the fame faets, without any variation, which were found by the Jury in the Court of C:,m mcn Pleas. As we are fatisfied it will be your with to re move a miaaken notion refpthing an affair of great intereti to the higher ranks of our Naval Officers, and which may have fpread as far as the extentive circulation of your Paper, we than not further apologife for troubling you with this letter, And remain,' Sir, Your molt obedient Servants, BOOTH AND HASLBWOOD. SERJEANTS-INN HALL, TUESDAY, NOV. 30. ARGUMENT BEFORE THE TWELVE JUDGES RESPECT- INC NASTERIT AND M4FARLNE. This evening the cafe of Eafterby and M.Far lane, the two men conviEted at the Admiralty Sef lion of having procured to be funk the (hip Ad venture, of which they were owners, with intent to defraud the Underwriters, was argued at Ser jeant's Inn Hall before the Twelve Judges. This argument feemed to intereft the public attention in an uncommon degree. There fcarcely ever was a greater run after a new play. The doors were befet a confiderable while before fix, and the Hall was filled the inftant they were open ed.—From the exceffive heat and preffure few were able to remain long ; but a conftant fucceffion fop plied their places, and at eight o'clock there were almoft as many without the doors as had fucceed ed in fqueezing themfelves in. A few Initiates after fix, Mr. MARRYOT began an able fpeech for the Crown, which lafted near two hours. He argued againft the abjeaionstaken at the trial of Eafterby and M•Farlane, by. Mr. ERIKIIII and Mr. Serjeant Barr,and contended, that the in diament and conviction were good, and that the Court of Admiralty, before whom they were tried, was the proper junfdiaion for the trial of fuch of fence. As to the firft objeaion taken by Mr.Erficine on the part of Eafterby, namely, that he could not be indiaed as owner of the (hip Adventure, be canfe, by the (hip's regifter, .M.Farlane, and not Eafterby, appeared the Owner—He had looked into all the cafes in the books, refpeEting the con ftruaion of Lord Liverpoei's Ads, which requir ed a regifter properly indorfed, to transfer proper ty in (hips at fea ; but he could not find any cafe where a real Owner could ever clear himfelf of all liability or refponfibility on that ground. Eaftetby had aced in different inftances as the owner. In a paper, figned by his own hand (ap pointing Read a fupercargo) he declares, that he, in conjunaion with M‘Farlane, were fole proprie tors and owners of the (hip, as well as cargo, and he paid mone to the crew as an owner of the veffel. There was al to a notice of abandonment to the Un derwriters in the fame capacity after the fhip had been funk at Brighton. If then he could now juftify his milifeeds, and efcape from puniihment, on the plea that he was not the legal owner (although he had aaed as owner) any man acing as a contlable, or other officer, might alto, if ever he should be call e d to account for mifcrndua in his office, endeavour to prove, that though lie aaed in that capacity, he had not been legally appointed. Such a plea as this has hardly been heard of, and yet it is very like the objeaion taken in the prefent cafe. He thought the reafoning on the cafe of the King againft Halfton, tried before Mr. Juftice BULLER, and ruled by all the Judges, bore very ftrongly on the prefent cafe. That was an indi&ment for forg ing a paper, purporting to be a promiffory note, with intent to defraud, &c. The objeaion was, that it was not on ftainped paper, and therefore not transferable. I: was, however, overruled by all the Judges, who were of opinion that it was merely a dtevenue Law which required the (lamp, but that it by no means altered the crime of forgery, and therefore the man received judgment and was executed. So in the prefent cafe it appeared to him, that Lord Li verpool's Aft, made for the intereft of (hipping, (by regulating the ceremonies requifite in a tranf ter of a ve(rel) by no means bore upon or weak ened the previous Aft, which made this crime felony. _ _ _ On the fecond point, as to the jurifdidion, he was alfo of opinion that they had been rightly tried by the Admiralty Court, whether they, were to be confidered as principals, or as acceffaries before the fad. He contended, firft, that they muff be confidered as principals, for the words of the Statute on which they had been indided, de r clared, " not only the fo burning, calling away, or deftroying veffels, but the procuring it to be done, to be felony." It was to be obferved, that in this cafe, Eaaerby and M'Farlane had not been tried as accelLaries on land, to a crime committed at fea, thcl were tried as principal felons, on the words of the Statute " for procuring the faid of fence to be committed." The cafe of Coomes, re ported by Leech, which Mr. Erfkine had confef fed feemed againa him, he thought was very lirong with repeet to the jurifdidion : there a man had fired a gun on land into a boat which was at fea, and killed a man. The drawing the tr%ger (which was the adt) was done on land, but the mortal ftroke and death took place at fea. The man was tried at the Admiralty serious, and all', the Judges were of opinion; that it was right. He proceeded to comment on the words of the A. of Parliament, by which Eafterby and M'Farlane had been tried, with great minutenefs, contend ing that it made the procurers not acceffaries but principals, and that they thould therefore be tried by the jurifdiaion within which the offence was committed. If two men thould league to rob Mr. Child's houfe, at Temple Bar, and one fhould remain ofthe watchjin the Strand,he would,doubt lefs, be a principal, and might be tried in London. If a man fent an edit( to murder another, he was a principal, though not prefent. The Judges had decided that a man (hooting frohr land, another who was at.fea, was guilty of murder on the high feas, within the jurifdiaion of the Admiralty.— Suppofe that the prifoners had employed fume kind of flow fire which would confume the fhip, after the had been a certain number of days at fea, there amid be no doubt that they would have been guilty on the high feas, within the jurifiliaion of the Admiralty; and he contended it made no difference whether the means ufed were animate or inanimate. In this cafe, the original caufe of the lots of the chip was in the procuring by Eafterby and M'Farlane, and when the Legiflature direeted this penal ftatute ag . ainft thofe who were mofi likely to commit that crime, namely, the Owners of the 'hip, the Cap tain, Matter, and Mariners, it could have hardly been fuppofed to contemplate the Owner's being actually on board the fhip (which is a cafe that does not often happen) ; they only conlidered the temptations and facilities they had for effeding filch a deftruaion of the fhip ; and, to prevent the com Mr. ERSKINE then repeated with great force the arguments which he had already urged in the Ex chequer Chamber, in fupport of the objeetions he took at the trial. He confidered the Regifter, by which M'Farlane appeared to be the owner, as a complete stood to any . •tempt to prove Eafterby an owner. As for the paper ligned by Eafterby, defcribing himfelf as owner, in conjundion with M'Farlane, he confidered that as very flight evi dence in itfelf; for as the object of the paper was merely to appoint afirpercargo, it was of no conk quence who was the owner ofthe fhip for that pur pole, and therefore words Of mere/in-Ake mutt be fuppofed to be put down with little delibera tion. The objea of the Statute, which was the proteition of the Underwriters, h ad no application to Eafterby's cafe ; for, as owner of thefhit, he never could have recovered a farthing from the Underwriters, but would have been Opted by this regifter. Therefore it appeared that he could not have defrauded them as owner _ty . the 'hip, and in no other capacity could he be indieted on the (a cute, not being captain, mailer, or mariner; and as the as does not (peak of the owner of the goat, he confidered this point fo irrefitlible, that he thould almoft conceive himfelf juftified in not ar guing the other ; but, however, as he had taken the (Nation, he would fupport it. On the next point, the jurifdietion of the Court, Mr. ERSKINK obferved, that before the Ilatute of Henry VIII. the Court of Admiralty had no au thority in the Criminal Law of the country. But Lord Hale, (peaking in the time of Charles 11. re marks, that the crime of piracy was not now tria ble at common law, nor offences on land triable by the Court of Admiralty. This clearly (hewed his opinion of the feparation of the jurifdietions at that period. By the ancient laws, if a perfon mortally wounded in one county, died in ano ther, the murder could not be tried. This was a ftrong illuftration of the obftinate adherence of the law to local and feudal diftinaions. If fuch was the cafe when the jurifdiEtion in both counties was of the fame nature, and the places only (eparated by a ftream or a bridge, how much more thong mutt not the argument be when the jurifdietions are to. tally of a different nature, and cannot be aflimi lated ? With regard to the word procurer in the Aft of Parliament alluded to, he contended, that it meant merely aced :try. Meaning fo in the fir{( Aft, it was not altered by any future ena&ment. Some ftrefs had been laid on the diftinCtion between the power of trial in the Admiralty, and Courts at Common Law. By the Alt of Geo. 11. when the fatal ftroke was given on fhore, and the wound ed perfon afterwards dies at fea, the murder is tried at common law. One would naturally ex peet that the converfe of this c..fe would hold, and that if a perfon wounded at fea thould die on (bore, the murderer would be tried before the Court of Admiralty. It, however, was not fo. He would not attempt to explain the reafon of this differ ence. The makers of laws could not take every thing into their confideration. It was not his bu fin& to reconcile this anomaly by abftrad philofo phic realoning ; he would rather fay.with the Poet, Why has not man a microfcopie eye ? For this plain reafon, man is not a fly. With regard to the argument, that it could not be the intention of the Legiflature to allow offences of this kind to efcape, he fully admitted its force. He was confident the Legiflature had no fuch in tention ; but their Lordfhips would not take that into their view. They muff give their decifion on the fair conaruaion of the face of the ftatute.— They muff abide by the letter of the law. It was to be regretted that A.fts of Parliament had tome times been brought forward by ignorant men, un acquainted with the laws of their country. He deplored as much as any man that offences of the kind under confederation fhouldbe committed with impunity : but it was for the Legiflature to pre vent filch occurrences in future. Their Lordfhips, he was convinced, would decide according to the law, and though he knew that decifion would ac quit the Ptifoners, he was confident that it would only imprefs the People of England with a Rill higher refpea for the wifdom of thofe inftitutions, by which their lives and property are proteaed. Inftitutions which have given to their country a longer civilesiftence than ever was enjoyed by any other nation, and which he hoped they would con tinue to fupport and hand down unimpaired to the Wed pofterity. Mr. Serjeant BEST, Counfellor for M'Farlane, followed, and replied, in a very able Speech, to the arguments of Mr. MARRYAT. He contended that the diftinaion endeavoured to be fet up between a procurer and acceffary had nothing either of rea foo or juttice 4u it. Cdr. Mums had awed, - - - that the word us ought to be !truck out of the pre amble of the Aft, and concerning fubftituted for it; but the follnwink claufes of the At contained no thing to fupport him in that opinion, nor would the alteration afford him any ad••antage. The word Iforefaid, his Learned Friend had contended, referred to the crimes i • but it was evident, that it referred'only to the defcription of the cliarafter f the perfons before mentioned. Their Lordihips, he mutt remind his Learned Friend, were not called upon to determine what the law ought to be, but to declare what it is. After a variety of arguments on points of this kind, he concluded by thanking their Lordlhips for the painful attention they had given to this cafe. Here the arguments clofed, and this important queftion is now left for the decifion of the Judges. million of this crime, declared, that all fuch fe lonies as therein mentioned, which fhould be com. mitted on the high feas, fhould be tried at the Admiralty Court, and thofe which !honld be com mitted on land, according to the common law. Mr. MARRYAT argued this point at confiderable length, and with great learning and ability, and concluded his argument with contending, that if they fhould not be confidered as principals, but merely as acrfaries kforethejafi, even in that cafe they were properly tried at the Admiralty Selllons. Mr. Etscras made a moll admirable reply: he began with great fenfibility and folemnity, by la menting that he had again to argue before their Lordilups, that the enormous crime of which his client had been found guilty, was out of the reach of the law as it now Rands. It was, however, one , of the moll important advantages of a free country, that the lives, liberties, and properties of the fub jed depended on clear, fixed, and unambiguous rules. If then it should be found, that the parti cular crime of this particular defendant did not fall within any of thofe rules which the Legifla ture has laid down in the penal code,. the Judges of the land cannot alter the law, they can only declare it as it (lands. He trufted that public indignation at the enormity of this offence, woold fubmit to thd decifion of the law. H e hoped that the na tional charseter would not be Rained by a thirft after the life of any man; however black his crimes. The cafe of Baiewell, the Bank Clerk, found guilty of Healing fome cancelled notes off the file, was further argued by Mr. GILES for the profecu don. The Court did not give any opinion; and adjourned at eleven o'clock. CITY Busiims.—Yeiterday a Court of Alder men was held at Guildhall, at which were prefent 15 Aldermen and the Sheriffs ; and on account of its being the firlt in the new Mayoralty, his Lord (hip addreffed the Court in a limn fpeech, which concluded by expreffing a hope, that with the all Rance of his brethren, the Aldermen, he thould go through his Mayoralty with a becoming fpirit, and would fupport the honour and dignity of that high and important office to which his fellow.citi zens had railed him, The Court ordered a divi dend of at per cent. Orphan's Stock, to begin paying off on the tub of next month. The Court ordered the eleaion of a new Sealer of Leather for Leadenhall-market, on the next Court of Al dermen, in the room of Mr. Woolley, elated at the bit Court, deceafed. The Court, after order ing feveral bills to be paid, adjourned at four o'clock. WHITE HARE. -It having been confidently af. firmed by feveral perfons, that a white hare bad been feen on or near Crowborough Common, near Lewes, the tit ult. was the day appointed for the deilruaion of the poor innocent animal, when, it is faid, upwards of one hundred perfons affembled, with the Rotherfield hounds, all cock and hoop, to witnefs the death of fuch an extraordinary hare. She was loon found, and flailed (white fure enough), and after an excellent chace of upwards of an hour, running nearly the whole time in full view of dogs, horfes, and men, the was killed on the Common, near the Beacon ; when behold, upon examination, it appeared, that poor puts had been in the hands of tome wicied wag, who had cropped one of her ears, and, with great dexterity * aaually painted her completely white!! ! A very alarming accident by fire had nearly occurred on Saturday morning laft, in the houte of Mrs. Joitti sow, in Margaret-fireet, Cavendith fquare. A fervant-maid inadvertently placed si candle near the window-curtains, which catching fire, the poor girl fcreamed out, and Mrs. J. run ning from an adjoining apartment, with admira ble compofure pulled down the curtains, and roll ing them in the carpet, happily fucceeded in extin guifhing the flames, though not without her face and hands being fomewhat fcorched. Yefferday, a foreign failor, who was convicted at the Old Bailey Seffions, for wilful and corrupt perjury, stood on the pillory on Tower-hill. He is alfo to be confined in Newgate fix months, at the expiration of which, to be tranfported beyond the leas, for the term of (even years. He appeared fo wretched, that the populace made a (mall col lection for him. FORGERY.—A circumaance of this nature, in which the charaaers of perfons of Tome refpeetabi lity are implicated, was yeaerday invefligated from which it appears, that Tome time fince a letter was fent from Scotland, addreffed to a Mr. games London, containing 8001. in Bank Notes and Bills. This letter was (luck up at the Poll-Office ; and by Tome miflake afterwards, tent to a Mr. John (bearing the fame name), then, and now, a prifoner in the King's Bench. who converted two Notes, of the value of zoo). each, to his own ufe, which, it teems, he had en. dorfed, and which his wife, and another perfon, well known upon the town, and who, is alfo in cuftody, negotiated. In the poffeffion of the Lady was found a quantity of the molt expenfive articles of wearing apparel and lace, Tome of which coil three guineas per yard. The Magiarates, at. tended by the neceffary Officers belonging to Union Hall, have been to the King's Bench pri. fon, to take the neceffary, information ; and the Marfbal has a detainer. , againfb Mr. for the offence. The . outies Ant Widsro another examitiatisah t - b.: 1 4 - ".**i • 1 .41; • - ‘Z.