The National Register. — London, England, 1819-05-24 00:00:00

MAY 24. original reaoliatiosis; upon which it most intolerable hubbub took Witte. Cries of pArtiality,"" unfair," were echoed through the room. The Chairman was !molly railed aims In divide the meeting to ascertain nn which side the miijority This was refused, and the finis:, having increased, the Chairman left the mom r on which Mr. %Venter pro posed that Nlajor Cartwright should take tht Chair. This motion, which was seconded by Mr. Karsiiii, wars curried tii) the few per.mis who remained in the rimier. A vote of censure was then passed by tile small Assembly u inn the former Chairman, for not havitig obPted the wishes of the meeting, in dividing the room, and it was declared taat the amendment bad been carried by a vast majority After thanks had been voted to Major Casio right for his impartial conduct io the Chair, the sneering peaceably soparated. ABSTRACT OF THE NEW INSOLVENT BILL. The new Insolvent Debtors' Bill authorises his Majesty to appoint three Barristers, of six years' standing at the least, to be Commiaeloners for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors. It is to be a Court of Record. The Commissioners are to appoint a Chief Clerk, four Assistant Clerks, and a provisional Assignee; they shall have power to compel the attendance of wit neeees. the re duction of books, papers, and wri ;ngs, and of committing for contempt ; as well as of fining their °faeces for negligence or de lot. The said Commissioners, Chief Clerk and other officers to take no fee, money, gratuity or reward from any minor; nor shall any part of the proceedings be liable to stamp or other du.y whatever. Any person in custody for debt for fourteen days, may apply for their discharge. The petition to contain a schedule of their debts, as well as of all the effects, real and personal, in possession, reversion or expectancy ; and of all debts ow tne to them. In case any person shall have been in custody en Trieste pro cess for nine months, without claiming the benefit of this Act— or shell have been charged in execution upon a judgment—it shall he lawful for any one creditor to the amount of pounds, o: for any two to the summit of , to apply by petition to the said Court, and such prisoner shall be compelled to sur. ' render his or her property for the benefit of all the creditors ; anti the same forms and conditions shall be observed its in the case of a voluntary ap plication for relief. In case any person shall refuse so deliver su:li schedule of their effects, &ce the Court shall be empowered to imprison them in the common gaol or house of correction. o:ere to be kept to herd labour, until he shall submit himself to the said' Court. All the estate of a prisoner, real, as well frreliold and copylsold, as customary. and all personal effects and debts, except wearing apparel. bedding, kr. shall be vested in the Plosieional Assignee, an allowance to b: made by such Assignee for the support and maintenance of the prisoner. Notice of the petitions being filed to be inserted in the London Gazette, and two other Newspapers, and shall appoint a day fur the creditors to appear before one of the said Commissioners. within one calendar month, to prove their respective debts, and so cluxsie an As Ltnee or Assignees ; and there is a provisren Ibe veryfying the debts of creditors at a distance., or abroad. T: Assignee or Asrignees, chosen by the majority in value of the creditors. shall keep books of assets received, to which all the creditors shall have free access. The Commissioners to be authorised to compel witnesses to attend to prove or disprove debts, and examine them on oath, and allow or disallow ; claims not satisfactorily proved, an appeal to be from the decision of one Commissioner to the Court, winch shall finally determine the same. And in case a creditor shall neglect to prove his debt, he shall ever be debarred from recover. Mg the same. The one Commissioner who shall have to examine the schedule, and the truth of the statements therein, as well as the manner in w'lich the debts were contracted, and if the debtor shall have put hie creditor, to unnecessary exposer by vexatious or frivolous definer, &e. such Commissioner shall report the same to the The Provisional Assignees shall make over to the Assignees chosen by the creditors all the estate and effmts of the prisoner. The A isignees appointed by the creditors to be authorised to sue fur, and recover the debts, &c. And there is a clause to oblige the debtor to execute discharges, &c. They shall make sale of all the effects upon true notice in the Gazette and two Newspapers, &c. ; and the Assignee , . at the end of three months, shalt make a just dividend of all the funds that shall have come into their has Mortgages made prior to the tiling of the schedule not to be subject to the Assignees. Where debtors are tenants on estates for life, with power to grant leases, the saute power to be transferred to the Assignees. Assignees to be allowed to compound with the debtors of the prisoner, with the consent of the creditors. In case Assignees shall not discharge the trust, tne Court shall arrest and commit them to gaol, without bait or mainprize, until they account for the proceeds of tl.e estate. On the final examination of a prisoner. creditors whose debts have been allowed may put questions to loin touching the matters in his petition, and such other matters as the Court shall judge to be fit and limper to inquire into. If the prisoner shall answer satisfactorily, the Court shall order hi- discharge at the end of six months from the date of the commitment. If the opposition shall be deemed frivolous and vexatious, costs to be granted to him. But if it shall appear that the prisoner has contracted any of his debts fraudulently, without having any reasonable wino bable expectation of paying the same, the Court shall extend the tirm of confinement from six months to a period not exceedingthre• years ; and in case the prisoner shall have put any of his creditors to unnecessary expence by vexatious or frivolous dcfince to any action, when his confinement may be extended to any period not exceeding twelve months; or if he sludl have fraudulently and wilfully omitted in his schedule cfferu to the amount of 20f. then he shall not be discharged under a period not exceeding nine months. There are provisions fur examinations at the Quarter Sessions of Counties and Ridings in furtherance of this Act; the Magis• trues to remit the proceedings to the Court. The Court, upon application by three-fourths of the creditors in number and value, may order the immediate discharge of the pr:soncr from custody, provided that such prisoner shall not have contracted any of the debts fraudulently. On the discharge of a prisoner, judgment shah be entered up in one of the superior Coto ts—and in case his debts shall not exceed 5001. then the judgment shall be entered up fur a less sum, if a petition to that effsct shall be presented to the Court by three fourths in number and value of the creditors. Prisoners who shall take a false oath to incur the penalties of ptr y. n case any person discharged shall some into the possession of any Stock in the Public Funds, which the judgment entered up could not touch, the Assignees may apply to the Count, setting forth the case, and the Court may remand the debtor to custody, in the actual gaol, not rules or liberties, until he shall surrender such Finuls. None hut Attomies or Solicitors in the superior Courts, to be allowed to act in this Court. The sum of three slid:logs. and no more, to he paid for the insertion of notices in newpai era. The names of all petsous THE NATIONAL REGISTER. charted to bo inserted in the London Gazette. This set to con tinue nll in the ycur but it mAy ba sepealctl or altered at any time. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, WESTMINSTER, MONDAY. MAY 17. At the Sitting of the Court, Mr. Hunt appeared. anti moved for a Rule to whew cause why the Master should not review his taxation of costs, in a cause wherein Mr. Hunt had suffered judgment by default, and a writ of inquiry was executed against him at Winchester. The ground of his application was, first, that the Master had allowed 501. for witnesses; 161. for Counsel ; and lastly, that he had only struck off from an extortionate bill of 304 i. the sum of 17b/. leaving him to pay 178/. The Court asked what ground he had to object to the allow ance. Mr. Hunt said, he did not complain of the Master; but the misreoresentation of a Country Attorney, by whom the action against him had been brought. He then handed in a long &Si lken, by which it appeared that he had been sued for breach of covenant with respect to a farm, of which he was tenant, and in the proceedings against him the attorney had introduced impro per charges to the Master. Ile therefore contended that the taxa tion ought to be reviewed. The Court observed, that the affidavit contained much irrele vant matter, and therefore directed Mr. Hunt to reform it, con• fining the contents to the taxation of coats. He accordingly took nothing by his motion, but withdrew his application in order to amend the affidavit. CONSPIRACY TO MACE A BANKRUPT. The King v. Firth, Tate, Bodges, Brooks. Taylor, Lane, Fi gure, Sherwood. Shaw, and Brman. Mr. GURNEY moved for the judgment of the Court on these defendants, who were convicted at the Sittings after last Teemeat Guildhall, upon an indictment charging them with Conspiracy to defraud the Creditors of ore Jahr. Stnith. et Huddersfield, and elsewhere, by making Lim a Bankrupt. and inducing bins to sanction a vast number of fictitious promissory nicees, fee notes given by him for value received. The seven first-mentioned defendants appeared in Court, but of the remaining three, Shaw, who had suffered judgment to go by default. hail absconded ; and Sherwood and Hessen did cwt appear. The latter were called upon their txognizariers to save their bail, but did not answer. The Learned Judge then proceeded to read his notes of the trial, which have already been puhlished in our Journal. The Court sentenced themes :V...0 ea Ends to 18 months ; Ta'e and Hedges to 13 months ; Vigor* to 12 months ; arid Law. Brooks, and Taylor to 9 months im prisonment in Coltffiatii.fields Prison. Wnroceanee, MAY 19. 7HE KING V. TM: BIRMINGHAM CANAL. NAVIGATION COMPANY. The Court was called ueon to decide whether an order of the Quarter Stneions, which mode the Proprietors of the Birmingham Canals liable to pay parish rates in respect of that prop erty, was to be suceined. The Proprietors claimed exemption from rates upon the conetruction of the Art; of Parliament for msking and managing the said Canals. The Judges were unanimously of opinion that the Proprietors had no just claim to exemption. The parish had a vested right to rates, which could not be taken from theta. 'the order of the Sessions was affirmed. MERCANTILE CONSPIRACY. Mr. Gurney moved for a rule to sheer cause shy an Attorney, who came forward as a volunteer in the matter of Kinnear, Woolf, Levy, and others, convicted some time since of conspi racy, should not produce Edwards and Jones, who made false affidavits in the above prosecution ; and why he should not an swer the matter contained in affidavits charging him specifically with having prepared affidavitc for two persons not in existence. Mr. Justice Bayley asked if they had applied to the Attorney to know who the persons were. Mr. Gurney answered is the negative, but observed, that the affidavits not only stated where they lived, but the numbers of the houses. Mr. Justice Bayley said, the Attorney might have been leo pmed on. The Chief Justice recommended Mr. Gurney to extuhine Crossley's case before he pressed his motion on the Court. Mr. Gurney consequently did not take a Rule-. Mr. Mills, the prosecutor of an indictment against Mr. Brice, an Attorney at Bristol, for perjury, appeared in Coutt to move fora new trial. Mr. Brice was acquitted by the Jury, there being no evidence to support the charge. Mr. Mills endeavoured to prove that the proceedings were irregular. and that the Chief Justice had given a misdirection to the Jury ; but, unable to make any impression on the Court, which was rising to go to the Exchequer, he was ordered to address them ..g do on Friday. FRLDAY, MAY 21. This day Mr. M - arten moved to make the Rule, which he lately ()humeri, to shew cause why an Into, niation, in the natured Quo Warrant°, should not lie exhibited against Mr. John Nleeres, the Mayor of Peterstield, ab sclute. Mr. Scarlett and Mr. Marryat shewed cause against the Mile ; but the Court made the Itide absolute. 1%1 ERCA TIC li CONSPIRACY. THE ICING V. K I NEA R, woo LIE, AND LEVY. Mr. Gurney obtained a rule to chew cause why an Attorney, who hail prepared the false affidavits of Jones and Edwards, introduced in behalf of the defeoslants, when brought up for judgment, should not produce the said persons, or answer the matter contained in an affi davit charging him with making the affidavits of pur suits not iii existence. The Attorney will shew cause against the rule on BANK OP ENGL•N D.— SATI7RDA Y MAY 22. Mr. Daasis re renewed a motion which he bad made in the last year, on behalf of a proprietor of Batik Stock, for a mandonwe calling on the Ban:c Directors to lay before the proprietors at their next general meeting, an accoura of the clutrAeb and expences tor the manegemeid of the Com pany's unfair., and a staterarat of their present finances.— i he learned counsel stated, that the affidavits mi which he grounded his present mutton neer free from the exceptions urged against him on the former occasion,—nainels , that the applicant had not called on the Bank Directors to ren der the account required ; fur that previous to the present application such a requisition had been made, and compli ance unused. The Court, after having heard Mr. Denman in siippoit of his motion, tt ere of opiniuu ihi y had no authority to inter fere un the present Occasion by granting the manr!anniv, the Bank of Engl.•:el heing • trading company; and if they were to entetteke in this husineu, the ( ourt of King's Bench would be called on to become aaditon to all trading corn pa- I 67 ides in England, when any of the partners iamb companiet happened to he dist-stalled with the proceedings or the ma• lingers of their concerns. The only course lobe punned in this rase was to take the sense of the general hotly of pro prietors, who were alone competent to settle the dispute. -- As matter of partnetship, the Colin of Chancery was the only tribunal to which a damnified partner could resort fu► redrew—Rule 'eroded. WRIT or LZWA RI V ICI AS. Mr. F. Pollock applied to the Court on behalf of Mose ley Woolfe, for • tole to show cause why two writs of leuari facias which hail /teen issued against the property ui Mr. Moseley Woolle should nut he set aside. He made this oPPlicaliall ou 1011.14*i111, which stated, that all tho' property of Mr. Woolfe in London and kliildkies had been taken moiler these writs. He, Mr. Pollock, had searched the books with the ntmost care, and could find hot one case which at all Ise construed into au $O- ' thority for this proceeding; that was a cave reported in Shower, 100, ender the title of the King and Webb ; in Sir J. Jones, p. 184, lender the title of the King and Wade ; and in Skinner's Abridgement in p. ander the same title : and this was a case of levy under a teutert facies, in whir is the party really interested, nearly the person to whom the property taken belonged, did not object to the pro ceeding. This case occurred 140 years ago, and bail never been acted on since ; and lie trusted all the King's subjects were not to be bound by such an authority as this, unsupported by any other. The Chief Jartice.—How unsupported, Mr. Pollock ? it is the daily practice, that the King may take body, laud, and goods. ;oh. Pollock.—My Lord, I can find no such authority. Mr. Justice Bayley.--1 will tell yoo one, Mr. Potluck. Baron Gilbert says, " there is • writ called a (sag use, I•y which the Crown may take body, land, and goods." 1 be lieve that is the writ of extent. _ _ Mr. Polio( k.—Yes, my Lord; but I can find no case in which a defendant having been sentenced to line and im prisonment, a writ of !enema facias iasuril immediately to enforce payment of the tine. If these writs were allowed, liere would be a plureeding on the part of a subject which inlet ferell with the exercise of Site prerogative of mercy uu the pit of the Clown. The Crown ought see gnu.' ground to remit the fine altogether At some !Wino prim'', and to pardon the defendant. 'file Chief Justice said, the present appliention cons planted of no particular act. but grounded itself on the legality- of the proceeding of the law. Court metre-- Wined lio doubt. if any fact should arise out 411 injurious to Mr. Woolle, the present decision of the Court would not shut hiin out from his future remedy. It bad been said, that the authority tbr this proceeding was out to be receive.' because it occurred under the reign of the house of Stuart; he could recognize no such ductrine. Thla would be to unsettle and discredit ull the decisions of tlsw Judges of those days, a most extraordinary proposition. Liu, the question did net rest on thus authority ; by Ike cummon law, the King could take body, lands, andgooth, and there was 11011011 W he might do so in this cascade°. 1:11e rest of the Court agreed iu this opinion, aaJ OteS application vtas refused, COURT OF CHANCERY, SATURDAY, SIAT•SIL THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL- OX THE RELATION or HODGES V. JOHNUOX AND THE CITY 01 LOwDoN. Mr. WITRERRI.L stated, that lie was now to 116(14 for an injunction). at the instance of his Mojesty's Atteiney Gene ial, against the defendants, to restrain them from email tin; certain nuisances on the Irmoits of the Thames, at liid• bank-row. '1 be case was yesterday before !be Vice- Chancellor, but, without healing the merits of the case, his honour refused it, as an ex-perle application. The Vice•Clianerllor heel contended, that more mischief wog occasioned by ex-parte hearings than by any *More tier. The practice of this Corot was, however, quite ditereet from what was Staled elsewhere. The merits of the twee were shortly these the front of Milbank-row these was a kind of curve, formirog a bay of 30 or 40 fret deep. On the right hand side of this there was a row of houses; and by this street there was an approach to the Prililleo tiory. The Mayor and Corporation of London were Shit conservators of the river Thames ; and they. along wilts Mr. Johnson, a builder, and Earl Grosvenor, were about to build a bank there. and to erect wharfs. The Attur ney•Generil opposed this bring dune : firs!, on the groused of the city having no right to do so and secondly, from the soil not belonging to any of the parties. 'floe hay was formed by the end of the street and the remaies of Lord Glosvenot's old garden wall t and the current iu the mid dle of the river being there very airong, d afforded a comfortable shelter to lightermen and boats in goring up and down the river in stormy weather. This alteration would now tend to deprive theta of that shelter, whirls was so ugreeable, and the pleee beisome a rrceptarle for night soil. The plaintiff was, therefore quite justified ih coming forward; fur while the col pormi4/II of London were cuts atorsof the river, to prevent iiiiisaucer, they ought fir lie restrained from lecsiving niuney for melt property isa was not their ow u. An was presented against I iem last year, and a tine boil was found by the huddle sea grand jury, on which the work was stopped ; but it had been began again in the last month, and was now earning on with increased energy. N,diee of trial was giv en,au,d the case would be tried beton° the Lout Chief Justice Abbott on the 31st inst.,.hut iu use WiSAIS tone all the mis chief might be acconoplislied. The Lone CHANCELLOR said , thst this war a motion which he lilt to be of the first public importance. fie agreed with the ViCe-CIIASICeIIOr, that tench mischief arose from rx-parte hearings ; but then this Court was to judge whether more mischief was rot occasioned by re. 'levying the injunction. The Attorney-General had, on the part of the clown, a tight to ace that no nuisance was made to the public injury. There were few cases of a similar nature ever heard in this Court, as many of them had been taken to the Court of Exchequer, and seine by Himself a ben lie was Attorney-General. He knew the spot where the pretended in , pioveinent was going on, and He was astonished why the Vice-Chancellor should has e refused the injunction. lie locked on the case as of the greatest public impel itnee ; avid viewing it in that befit, lie without a int ment'a hew &Non , granted the injo.actioa.