The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1825-08-25 00:00:00

LITERART 01,RANINGS. Na XVII. INICDOTIII AND CIIIII•CTEtOF Ma. PITT •ND Mft. l Fui.—ln the flower of youth, when he was placed at the head of Administration, Mr. Pitt manifested none of the' c h a racteristic virtues or defects usually accompanying that period of life. Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden, could co c have exhibited more coldness, indifference, or apathy „ w eds women : a point of his character on which his e nemies dwelt with malignant though impotent satisfaction; while his friends laboured with equal pertinacity to repel the imputation. To him the Opposition applied, as had been done to his father, the description given of a Roman youth— " 311ulta tulit, fectique Puer ; sudavit et shit ; Abstinuit In order to justify him from such a supposed blank in his formation, his adherents whispered that he was no more chute than other men, though more decorous in his plea sures; and they asserted that he made frequent visits to a female of distinguished charms, who resided on the other fide of Westminster-bridge, but I never could learn from' sayof them her name or abo de. Pitt's apparent insensibility towards the other sex, and,his chastity, formed indeedoneof the subjects on which the minority exhausted their wit, or rather their malevolence, as if it had been necessary that the first Minister of George the Third should be, like the ' Chancellor of Charles the Second, " the greatest libertine in his dominions." I recollect, soon after Pitt became con timed in power, his detaining the House of Commons from the business of the day, during a short time, while he went up to the House - of (Lo rds; and as Mrs. 3;ddons was to perform the part of lielvidrea that evening, when Fox never failed, if possible, to attend in the orches tra at Drury-lane, the Opposition impatiently expected Pitts return, in order to propose an adjournment. As soon as the door opened and he made his appearance, one of titem, a man of a classic mind, exclaimed— " .I.en redi4et Virgo If, however, the Minister viewed women with indiff:- mace, he was no enemy to wine, nor to tit., social . con vi a vislity of the table. His constitution, in which latent and hereditary gout early displayed itself ; which disorder, heightened by political distress, domestic and foreign, car ried him off at forty-seven; always demanded the aid and stimulus of the grape. In the autumn of 1794, he hail indeed nearly fallen a %'ltlilll to one of those festive meetings, at which no severe renunciations were enjoined by the host, or practised by the guests. Returning by way of frolic, very late at night, on horseback, to il'imbledon, frota Addiscombe, the seat of Mr. Jenkinpon, near Croydon, where the party had dined, Lord Thurlow, then Chancellor, Pitt, and Dundas, found the turnpike gate situate between Tooting anti Smathant thrown open. Being elevated above their usual prudence, and having no servant near them, they passed through he gate at a brisk pace, without stopping to pay the toll; regardless of the remonstrances or threats of the turn pike man, who, running after them, and believing them to belong to some highwaymen, who hall recently committed depredations on that road, discharged the contents of his blunderbuss at their backs. Happily he did no injury. To this curious and narrow escape of the first Minister, which furnished matter of pleasantry, though perhaps not of re joicing, to the Opposition, allusion is made in the " rol had :” " How an he wander'd darkling o'er the plain, His reason lost in Jenkinson't champagne, A peasant's hand, but that just tate withstood, Had shed a Premier's for a robber's blood." Probably no men in high office, since Charles the Second's time, drank harder than Pitt's companions ; as in addition to the individuals already named, we should not omit the Duke of Rutland and Lord Gower, neither of whom pro feised orj practised mortification. Once, and once only, the House of Commons witnessed a deviation from strict sobriety in the first Minister and the Treasurer of the Navy, who having come down after a repast, not of a Pythagorean description, found themselves unable to manage the debate, or to reply to the arguments of the minority, with their accustomed ability. No liberal notice or advantage was, however, taken of this solitary act of indiscretion. The House broke up, and it sunk into oblivion. Fox never subjected himself, either in or out of office, to similar com ments. He was always fresh ; but the Treasury bench, under the coalition Ministry, bad not wanted some noble advocates for the quick circulation of the bottle. • Pitt, at his coming into office, was soon surrounded by a chosen phalanx of young men who participated in his tri umph, pressed near him on a day of expected debate, and onstituted the resource of his leisure hours. In general, the Duke de Montausier's observation to Louis the Fourteenth, when speaking of Versailles, " Vous ayes beau faire, Sire, vous n'en ferez jamais qu'un favori sans merite," might well apply them. With Fox's associates and comrades, Hare, Fitzpatrick, and Sheridan, they could sustain no competition for mental endowments. Lord Grenville, then Mr. ll'illiain Grenville, must not however be included in this remark. His near connexion with the first Minister, by consangunity, when added to his distinguished abilities, placed him on far higher ground. As little will the observation apply to Lord Motnington, since cleated Marquis iVellesiey ; to the present Earl of Harrowby, then Mr. Ryder; or to IVilberforce ; all three, men of undisputed talents. In sauvity of temper, magnanimity of disposition, and oblivion of injury or offence, Fox rose superior to Pitt. Even Dundas possessed far more liberality of charrcter, as be manifested on many occasions. 1 have heard Fox, after dealing out the severest insinuations or accusations against Lord North, when that Nobleman was at the head of the Treasury, towards the end of the American war ; on being convinced that he had exceeded the fair limits of Parliamentary attack, Or bad doiand into personal abuse, explain, retract, and apolo gise for his violence or indecorum. Mr. Pitt, though he randy committed such a breach of propriety, and was mere measured in his censure or condemnation, seldom, if ever, ' mode conceoaion. It 1a not easy to decide relative to their respective supe ticrity in eloquence. Fox's oratory was more impassioned : Pitt's could boast of greater correctness in diction. The former exhibited, while speaking, all the tribunitian rage; the latter displayed the consular dignity. But it must not be forgotten that the one commonly attacked, while the other generally defended ; and it is more easy to impugn or to censure, than to justify measures of State. Had they changed positions in the House, the character of their speeches would doubtless have taken a tinge, though it uould not have been radically altered, by such a variation in their political destiny. From Fox's fluest specimens of oratory, much, as it appeared to me, might have been taken away, without injuring the effect, or maiming the t.tnclusion. To Pitt's speeches nothing seemed wanting, yet was there no redundancy. He seemed, as by intuition, 1, hit the precise point, where, having attained his object, 4i far ita eloquence could effect it, he sat down. This dis t.octive and opposite characteristic of the two men arose, Tut) , at least, from an opinion or principle which Fox hail adopted. He calculated that one-third of his audience von always either absent, or at dinner, or asleep, and he therefore usually made a short resumption or epitome of Ibis argotileen, for the benefit of this part of the members. N) that, after speaking at great length, and sometimes ap parently Interning up, as if about to conclude ; whenever lie saw a considerable influx of attendance he began anew; re- Rsrilless of the impatience manifested on the part of those, w!toc e attention was already exhausted by long exertion. Pitt net er coutleseentlell to avail himself of such a practice, ornber lengthening his speeches, nor abbreviating them, from any consideration except the necessity of fully deve- Ill , is; his ideas. indeed, so well was the relative proper th 40 ( time generally taken up by the two peakers, kown 13 she old members, that they calculate s d, whenever Fox was three hours on his legs, Pitt replied in two. A vital defect in Pitt's composition as a man, must be fsimeed his want of economy : it was hereditary, coma t ;al, and in - urmountahle. The great Earl of Chatham, I • father, had to contend with the same deficiency ; and :vet sedetstaod, as Lord Holland had done, the art of •Toulating a fortune. But, the first Mr. Pitt, besides lucrative sinecure of the Privy Seal, which he held several years, enjoyed the estate of Burton Pynsent comity of Somerset, bequeathed to him by Sir Pynsent ; together with a pension of three thousand :nit, a year, bestowed on him by the crown. None of ;,:se Poasmtsions howev e r d e s ce nd e d t o hi s secon d son , l',•ve whole patrimonial inheritance amounted, I believe, tos rite thousand pounds ; and it n e ver received any no - tle augmentation, except a legacy of there thousand twult. leipteathell him in October, tin, by the Duke of! 4 z!stel. We may therefore be enabled, with these data, to form some ides of the elevation of Pitt's mind, his contempt of money, and his disregard of every selfish or in terested object ; when, on Sir Edward Walpole's decease in January, 1784, he disdained to take the clerkship of the Pelts in the Exchequer, though, as the head of that de partment, he might have conferred it on himself ; though Lord Thurlow pressed him not to reject such a fair occa sion of rendering himself independent ; and though every man in the kingdom must have approved the act, on an impartial survey of his situation. For he might not have retOned his official employments a single week. Perhaps it is to be regretted that he should have made such a sacri fice of private interest to glory: but it operated throughout his whole life, and even beyond the grave, by its effect on Parliament and on the nation. The salaries annexed to the place of First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, even though unaided by any private fortune, yet undoubtedly, with prudent management, might have been found adequate to Pitt's expenditure. But, unsupported, by economy, they proved wholly insufficient for the purpose. When he was appointed First Minister, his youngest sister, Lady Harriet Pitt, resided with him, and superintended hia establish ment in Downing -street. She possessed, in addition to other intellectual endowments, that quality which her fa ther and brother wanted • and so long as she personally controlled his domestic affairs, I have been assured that they were restrained within very reasonable limits. Un fortunately for him, in September, 1755, within two years after he came into power, Lady Harriet gave herhand to Mr. Elliot, who became Lord Elliot on his father's de mise; and subsequent to her marriage, Pitt's pecuniary concerns fell into the utmost disorder. Debts accumulated, and it was commonly asserted, that the collectors of the taxes found more difficulty in levying them from the Chan cellor of the Exchequer than from almost any other inha bitant of Westminster. Even tradesmen's bills were said to be frequently paid, not in money, but, by ordering new articles, and thus augmenting the pressure of the evil itself. It was hot till 1792, on the Earl of Guildford's decease, that Mr. Dundas having learnt the intelligence, and know lug his friend's disinteredness, hurried to St. James's, went into the closet, and asked of his Majesty the place of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, for Pitt ; which office the King immediately conferred on him, though it hail been previously intended by the Sovereign, as I know, for the late Duke of Dorset. Such was the superiority of the First Minister's mind, to every object of personal emolu ment or acquisition, that he disdained to ask any reward, even from the Prince whom ha had so long and so effica ciously served. For my knowledge of this curious and interesting fact, I am indebted to the Right Hon. William Dundas, nephew to the late Lord Melville, whose autho rity on such a point is superior to all contradiction. The salary, which in Mr. Pitt's person was rendered nominally three thousand five hundred pounds a year, might have formed a very handsome addition to his income : but, the necessary deductions of many kinds, to be made from that sum ; the expenses which he incurred in altering or embel lishing Widmer Castle ; and more than both, his facility or liberality in granting small pensions to invalided or ag e d artificers, of various descriptions, belonging to the Cinque Ports ; these combined causes r educed the real receipt be low half its ostensible amount. Yet when he went out of office in 1801, loaded with debts, he possessed no other inde pendent means of subsistence. It is indeed true, that as early as 1790, he had been elected Master of the Trinity House ; but I have always considered that appointment, though honourable, as unproductive of any pecuniary emo lument. IVlien we reflect on the circumstances here enu merated, we may regret, but we cannot wonder, that after holding the reins of Government almost his whole life; land conferring so many dignities, as well as offices, during a period of near nineteen years, he should die not only poor, but, oppressed under a burthen of debt. Yet must we distinguish between a sort of virtuous, or at least venial poverty, if I may so express myself, caused by want of ! economy, in a man who devoted his exertions to the public service ; and Fox's similar wants, produced by a rage for play, which not only reduced him from affluence to a state of dereliction, but finally compelled him to accept an eleemosynary contribution from his political and personal friends, in order to furnish him with the means of subsist ence. I t is unuecescary to contrast the two positions, or characters, which undoubtedly excite in our minds very opposite sensations, and awaken widely different degrees of moral censure or disapprobation. Pitt's great supericWity to his antagonist, and his conse quent Ministerial success, flowed principally from two causes. The first was his admirable judgment. That in telligence restrained his Parliamentary exertions during the American war, and induced him, while heaping accu sations on the Ministers, to spare the King. I {snow that he received a hint, soon after beginning to speak in the House of Commons, warning him to avoid that rock on which Fox hail split, and to be cautious how he mentioned or alluded to the Royal name. He did not despise the ad vice. The same superior intelligence impelled him, when Lord North was driven from power, to refuse office under an Administration, which he foresaw, from its component materials, could only be of short duration. It dictated to him to take the Chancellership of the Exchequer under Lord Shelburne ; but it equally suggested to him the im practicability of retaining the situation of First Minister when pressed by his Majesty in March, 1783, to assume that high office after the Earl of Shelburne's resignation. In renouncing a situation so flattering to his pride and his ambition, though it lay within his grasp, he exhibited, when not 2t, the deepest and calmest discernment; for if he hail yielded to the wishes of the Sovereign, it seems certain that he could not have retained himself in power against Fox and Lord North, who had not then committed any other act calculated to excite the public con demnstion, except the mere approximation of their respec tive Parliamentary adherents, and their own political union. Pitt, with consummate judgment, waited till the coalition had brou,glit forward the " East India Bill," and could no longer recede, in order to profit of their indiscre tion. He accepted in December the employment, which, nine months earlier, he hail wisely declined, exhibiting, on both occasions, dual ability ; but he never associated Lord Shelburne to his power, nor allowed him a place in the Cabinet. His whole conduct, whilst struggling against Fox's Majority in the House of Commons, dur ing successive months, formed the triumph of para mount capacity, over imprudence and rapacious precipita tion. If we were to pursue the comparison lower in Pitt's life, we should foce the same effects resulting from similar I causes, during the critical conflict between him and Fox, in the whiter of 1788, when the latter, instead of ad vising the Heir Apparent to accept the Regency under any conditions, however severe, nit which Parliament might think proper to confer it during the King's malady, laid claim to it as a matter of right. The Minister instantly perceived, and fastened like an eagle on his adversary s error, which, by producing delay, happily allowed time for his Majesty's recovery, and, of course, perpetuated the du ration of Pitt's power. The second point that gave him an ascendancy over Fox, arose from the the correctness of his deportment and regu larity of life. This circumstance, which, under Charles 11. woald have counted for little in the scale, operated with decisive effect under a Prince such as George 111. Nor did it produce less benefloial results with the people at large. Some internal guarantee, drawn from moral charac ter, high integrity, and indisputable rectitude of inten tion, seemed indeeed necessary, in order to justify to the nation the choice of the Sovereign, when incrusting to a young man, destitute of property, the finances and con cerns of an empire, reduced by a long and disastrous war to a state of great depression. Pitt had in fact no other stake to deposit as a security for his good conduct, unless we take into our calculation his possible reversion of the Earldom of Chatham. He had likewise to contend with another deficiency. During the whole course of the eighteenth century, and I believe I may say, since the accession of Elizabeth, lie is the only English first Minister who lived and died in a state of celibacy. He was not, therefore, attached to the commonwealth by those endearing ties which blend the statesman with the husband and the father, thus giving a species of compound pledge for his good conduct to the country. Even Fox, though lie remained long unmarried, yet finally entered into that state ; and he aspired to have done it much earlier in life, if his efforts for the purpose had not proved unsuccessful. During the earlier part of Hastings's trial, in 1787, he raised his eyes and hopes to the Duke of Newcastle's box, in Westminster Hall, where usuaUy sat Miss PULTENET, afterwards created by Pitt Countess of Bath in liar own tight, then justly esteemed one of the greatest beiresset` In the kingdom. After exhibiting his powers of oratity as a public man, in the manager's box below, he sometimes ascended, in his private capacity, to try the effect of hla eloquence under the cha racter of a lover. All his friends' aided a cause which, by ,rendering their chief independinit in bis fortune, would have healed the wounds inflicted by his early indiscretion. Gen. Fitzpatrick usually kept a place for him near the lady, ' and for some time the courtship assumed so auspicious an appearance, that I remember HARP, when speculating on the probable issue of the marriage, said, with admitable humour, that " they would inepitably be be Ns, with black manes and tails," alluding to the lady's fair complexion and red hnir, contrasted with Fox's dark hue. The affair nevertheless terminated, from whatever cause, with out success. Pitt, though, at different periods of his life, he distinguished certain ladies, some of whom I could Iname, by marks of great predilection ; and in one instance seemed even to meditate marriage, yet never persisted in the attempt ; but his name, descent, abilities, and private character, surmouted every impediment to his elevation. Fox could no more have been placed at the head of the Treasury, than Dean Swift mild have been made Arch bishop of Canterbury ; or than Lord Bolingbroke under Queen Anne, or the Duke of Wharton under George the First, could have filled the office of First Minister. He wanted, like them, an essential quality ; high moral cha racter. Of this deficiency he was, himself, sensible, and was said to have once expressed his conviction of it, in la conic, but forcible terms.—Sir N. IV. Wrazall's Historical, Memoirs of his own Times. TO A PAINTER. Best r f painters ! now dispense All thy tinted eloquen• • ; Master of the roseate art, Paint the mistress of my heart. Paint her, absent though she be, Paint. her alitescribed by me. Paint her it* in tresses flowing, Black as jet Its ringlets glowing ; If the pallet soar so high, Paint their huthid fragrancy. Let the colour smoothly show The gentle prominence of brow ; Smooth as ivory let it shine, Under locks of glossy twine. Now her eyebrows lengtli'ning bend, Neither sever them, nor blend; Imperceptible the space Of their meeting arches trace: Be the picture like the maid : Ifer dark eye-lids fringed with shade. Now the real Fiance inspire; Let it dart a liquid fire: Let her eyes reflect the day, Like Minetva's, ha:el-grey ; Like those of Venus swimming bright, Brimful of moisture ►nd of light. Now her faultless nose design, In its flawing aquiline : Let her lips seduce to bliss, Pouting to provoke the kiss. Now her polish'd chin express Rounded into prettiness; There let all the tiraces play, In that dimpled circle stray. For the rest, let drapery swim In lengthen'd folds o'er every limb; But, with flimsy texture, show. The shape, the skin, that partial glow. Enough—herself appears; 'tis done; The picture breathes ; the paint will speak anon. ELTON'S Specimens of the Classic Poets. - - ST. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL.. Yesterday, a Board of Governors was held at the above hospital, to transact the ordinary business of the establishment, but more par ticularly to investigate the conduct of the nurse Armstrong, be. longing to the hospital, towards a patient, named Daniel Taylor, who died from an injury in his hand, by being thrown from his ' I hone, and upon whom the Coroner's Inquest sat, on Saturday evening, at the Turf Tap, in Grosvenor-place, the proceedings ot , which were fully reported in our paper of Tuesday. At 12 o'clock' there were upwards of thirty governors present, and the Rev. M. 11 LTG tt Es was unanimously called to the Chair. The Rev. CHAIRMAN (after alluding to the object of their meeting, as far as regarded one of the nurses of the establishment, against whom some misconduct was alleged towards a man named Taylor, who died in the hospital) read a letter, which lie had re. ceived that morning, from Mr. Higgs, the Coroner, which that gentleman had written by the desire of the Jury who sat on the body of the deceased, wherein they express their unanimous opinion that grer.t blame was attributed to the nurse Armatong, and expressing their decided conviction that she ought no longer to remain in her situation. A Newspaper of Tuesday last containing the report of the Coroner's inquisition, was hem read, after which, Mr. Keats. the surgeon under whom the deceased man was placed when first brought into the hospital, was called in and ex amined—lle stated that he gave particular instructions to the nurse to keep the deceased man quiet. and by no means to permit him to leave his bed. However, to had contrived to leave the establish. ment uncured, at the instigation of a man who was a frequent vlsiter to him, and a woman named Taylor, who stated herself to be his wife. About a week after he was seen in the streets with his hand in a sling, and from his wrist to his shoulder his arm was dreadfully inflamed, and he was again admitted into the hospital. Mr. Keats said he had also given orders that his poultice should not be taken off till he (Mr. K ) gave such instructions. lle considered that if the Jury had returned a verdict against the woman Taylor, they would have done right; for. he had no doubt, had she not persuaded him to leave the hospital at the time, the fatal conse quences might not have ensued. The nurse, Armstrong, was then called in, and denied having made use of any harsh expreesions to the deceased, or to any other patient in the ward. She had certainly told the woman Taylor that she should not come into the hospital, for her having induced the patient to leave the establishment. The deceased was in the halm of taking the poultice from his hand to show the wound to the different persons that visited him. Jones, the beadle of St. George's, Hanover-square, was also ex amined, but he merely spoke to having heard the nurse and the woman Taylor quarrelling several times in the ward respecting her (Taylor) advising the patient to run away from the hospital. The CHAIRMAN said, that it was his opinion that before the Board could proceed any further, it would be necessary that they should have the depositions of the witnesses taken by the Coroner before them. _ In this the Meeting acquiesced, and the following resolution was agreed to:—" That two gentlemen should be appointed to coin municate with the Coroner, and to request a copy of the evidence, as it was the opinion of the Board that the verdict returned was not in accordance with the testimony that was produce.' before the Jury." The Inquiry then adjourned at two o'clock till a future day. The Bishop of Chester will hold a visitation in Liver pool on the Bth of next month, and on the following day he will administer the rite of confirmation. Lieutenant-General Sir 'grove Turner, K.C. and K.C.H., will embark forthwith, at Portsmouth, for Ber mutla, to assume the Government of that Colony. The Chester Assizes will commence this day before the Hon. Charles Warren, Chief Justice, and the lion. Thos. Jervis, his Majesty's other Justice ; John Daintry, Esq. of Rhode, High Sheriff. The number of prisoners is only twenty-one, whereas, at the Spring Assizes, it was thirty four. In conseqnence of the unprecedented had fishing at Greenland, oil and fins have advanced considerably, and much anxiety is manifested for intelligence from Davis' Straits. ' Yesterday morning, one of the Sydenham stages, passing the Mansion-house, overturned, owing to one of the fore wheels coming off. There were six outside passengers, one of whom, Mr. Graham, of Bridge -street, had the mis fortune to have his ankle-bone broken. He was taken into the Marshal's-room, aml had every attentton paid him pre vious to his being removed to his residence. Fortunately, none of the other passengers sustained any serious injury. Last week a young man, named Ellis Davey, of Win farthing, being at work in the harvest field, on resuming his jacket on leaving his work, found an impediment in getting one of his arms through, and examining the cause, discovered a snake four feet long, which had lodged in the sleeve, and came gliding out, to the astonishment of himself and his partners.—Bury Gazette. A little boy was drowned on Tuesday evening, while , bathing in the canal in St. James's Park. The inha bitants of Pimlico and that neighbourhood are already under great obligations to the Queen-square Magistrates, for having appointed two officers from that police esta blishment to attend in St. James sPark after dark. On Sunday evening week, a young man of - the name of William BiHinge, from Stockport, was committed to the lock-up, at Ashton-under-Line, for drunkenness, 8:c. He had only been a short time in confinement when he fas tened his handkerchief to the beam, and hung himself.', On the officer returning in the dark, and not knowing the melancholy circumstance, he addressed the suspended man on the impropriety of his conduct, and supposing him to be stubborn in not returning an answer to his advice, he gave him a push, which caused him to swing round as if to embrace the officer in the cold arms of death. Terror struck, he called for assistance, which was soon obtained, and the young man was cut down, but he was quite dead. —Liccrpoul Paper. LAW INTRI.Lra RATE. COURT OF CHANCERY, WEDNESDAY Aua.24. JUIR73INT. ZILPARTE RAYNER, IN THE HATTER OF 000DCHILD. The LORD CHANCELLOR observed, that in this case a petition had been presented by Joaeph Rayner in the matter of 800 child, a bankrupt, praying that a debt of 2,600/., which had been proved, I should be expunged; and that the sum of 2,200/. which had been I received, should be paid hack. His Lordship, after stating the particulars of the case, said he aas of opinion that there had been a right to prove; and he thought the order that 112.1 been formerly made ought to be reversed, except so far as it gave die assignees their costs out of the niece, and without any prejudice to the question whether Jackson's estate was entitled to call upon Rayner for any proportion of the sum of money paid out of the estate. The order should therefore be reversed. IN . VIIE MATTER OF THOMAS MANTELL, A 11•NIERUPT. The Lorin CHANCE L Loa said that there was a great hardship in the present case. The question was, whether a lady should or should not be allowed to prove a debt before a commission on two promissory notes; one for the sum of 1501. and the other for the sum of 1001. the notes promising to pay three months after notice. 'No notice wax given previous to the bankrupt 4. lie had con sulted the Lord Chief Justice and also Mr. Justice Bayley, and their opinions coincided with his own, in declaring that the lady court not prove the debt before the Commissioners. It had struck liimi however, that there was one consideration that might influence theopinion of both the Learned Judges; and he, therefore, pro posed;, before he altogether dismissed the lady, to mention this consideratSon to them. lie did not, however, hold out much hope to the lady ; but he would communicate with them, and make the result known if he should in any way alter his opinion. )XPARTL GELLER, IN THE MATTER OF HINDE. Upon this case, his LORDSHIP observed, it would be impossi ble to decide without having some inquiry, although he had la boured hard to form his opinion with respect tb it, without giving farther trouble. The question was, whether Geller and Co. were the creditors of Hind:!, or of Sill and Watson ; but it depended much on mercantile dealing!, with which he was not very conver sant. If he were to decide, he should say that they were the cre ditors of Messrs. Sill and Watson, but in this matter there were many circumstances to be attended to, and it was impossible to bring it within the simple rule of merchant and factor. lie thought that an issue should -be directed 'to try whether Geller was at the time of the bankruptcy a creditor of llinde, in any and what sum of money, with permission, however, to Sill and Watson to at tend the trial. Mr. AGAR asked whether his Lordship so decided on the former or on the supplementary petition. The Loan CHANCELLOR—I have read the supplementary peti. tion, but I cannot decide without a Jury. IN THE MATTER OF EASTMAN, A BANKRUPT. The LORD CHANCELLOR observed, that in this case there was a petition to expunge a claim made upon Eastman's estate, and another to have the benefit of the claim. It had been decided in many cases that if a person lets, grants, or demises his ship, he parts with possession of that ship, and had no lien upon her cargo ; ouch had been the decision of the Courts in every case es. cept the last, when a different opinion was given in the Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Justice Dallas thought the opinion expressed by the Judges of the Court of King's Bench was right t but the other three Judges considered it to be wrong. The circumstance had this tendency on the minds of the Judges of the King's Bench, that it determined them to reconsider their opinion if another case came before them. In this state of difference it was impossible for his Lordship to decide, and he would therefore make an offer to the parties either to leave the case to either of the Courts, when no doubt the opinion of the eight Judges would he taken, or, if the par. ties preferred it he would himself communicate with the Judges be. fore the Court met again. 31r. Anna.—We shall prefer having your Lordship's decision. The Loup CHANCELLOR.—Very well. I will take care that you shall have the opinion of nine Judges of some sort ur other. FSPARTE SILL AND WATSON IN THE MATTER OF HI N DE. ' His LORDSHIP observed, that as this subject was most com. plicated, and very difficult to understand, he wished it to stand over until the second day of next tern, when he might have the benefit of hearing the arguments of one Counsel on each side. He would then decide on the matter as well as he could. IN TIIE MATTER OF TOWNSEND, A BANKRUPT. Shortly before the rising of the Court, Alt. TowNsEstn ad. , dressed his Lordship, and said that he wished to submit a paper which he had received from the Enrolment Office. The Loan CHANCELLOR.-1 do not mean to offend you, Mr. Townsend, but on the contrary I mean you kindly, when I ad vise you to submit to the commission. His Loansure then most humanely endeavoured for come time to convince Mr. Townsend that the only way in which he could be heard in any Court, was to submit to the commission. Alr. TOWNSEND.—From your Lordship's observations, 1 de clare in open Court that I will submit to the commission. The LORD CHANCELLOR.—Then I Fill hear and decide upon I all your claims as soon as ever I return to town. NORTHERN CIRCUIT. LANCASHIRE ASSIZES, LAwcAsTss, Mown y, Au°. 22 CIVIL SIDE. Before Mr. Baron II ol.Loc I. LEWIS V. COOIL. Mr. VEWADT.ES opened the pleadings. and Mr. ScARLETT stated the nature of the action. It was briefly this The plaintiff; it appears, is the lessor of the Olympic Theatre, in Liverpool, who had let it to the defendant (John Cooke, the equestrian, for the use of his compay) at the rate of 6011!. per an. num. The term stipulated for the use thereof was sixteen weeks during the season, after the close of the theatre. The defendant bad paid all but the last fortnight's rent (75/.), which he refused to pay, and had left Liverpool without performing the last four.' teen days, not assigning any reason. The assignment between the parties, dated Sept. 13, 1323, was then put in and read. . A ;witness proved the defendant's hand-writing. Here Air. t. , ergeant Cnoss rose, and took an objection on the be half ot'the defendant, and said that the instrument put in was not good in law, it being on a twenty shilling agreement stamp, and loot on a five pound one, to cover the ad valorem duty, and that it being in the nature of lease to " set and let," it required the ad ditional sum, and under these circumstances the plaintiff must be " called." Mr. SCARLETT asked his Lordship if he thought the objection fatal ; and on his Lordship replying in the affirmative, the plain tiff was nansuitei. BADGER V. ROBERTS. This was the last cause tried. Mr. ScARLETT congratulated the Jury that they had been discharged in one day, which was unparalleled in the Lancaster Assizes. The Court rose at half-past eight o'clock. CRIMINAL. SIDE. Before Mr. Jumiee BAYLZY. POISONING. _ Robert Nuttall, aged 23, was capitally indicted for having killed and slain NVm. Lupton, at Caine. on the 2Gth March last. The Grand Jury ignored the bill, and the prisoner was tried on the Coroner's inquisition. Mr. ST.ARXIE stated the case to the Jury. This was a very new and peculiar case, and one worthy the best attention of the Jury. It would appear that a deleterious drug had been admi. nistered to the deceased, and the question for the Jury to decide would be, whether it was administered knowingly and wilfully, with a view to cause the death of the deceased. or whether it was administered from well-intended, though mistaken, notions of operating as a remedy for sonic disease. In whatever manner this case might end, he hoped it would prove a salutary lesson to those persons who meddled with the lives of their fellow creatures, without knowing any thing of medicine, and that it might teach them not to make wild and wicked experiments on the health of ' his Majesty's subjects, without making themselves liable to the severest punishment. l'irtn. Lupton, a child of six years old, and son of the deceased, was put into the witness-box. Before he was examined, he was asked what he knew relative to the obligations of an oath, anp ' having answered very satisfactorily, was sworn. The child then deposed, that he remembered when his father died ; it wns on a Sunday. The prisoner was in the house with his father. I was in a bed in my father's room, and could see clearly what was passing, I saw that Nuttall had a paper•and some pills with him ; the paper contained some white powder. 1 did not hear Nuttall say anything to my father ; but on the fol. lowing morning my father 'nixed the powders and took them in a cup. Cross-examined.--My mother told me the pills were made of ' arsenic. __ _ _ John Howarth examined.-1 know the prisoner, aril saw him at the fair of Caine on the Bth of March last, when he told me that Lupton was very ill, and troubled with worms, and that if he cured him he was to have Lis. for the job. Two druggists proved that a dsy or two before the death of the deceased, the prisoner bought of them two-penny worth of white mercury, which they told him was poison. The prisoner also bought some stnall quantity of jalap. Sarah Lupton, the wife of the deceased, proved that he had taken powders, which were given him by the prisoner; he be. came very ill after taking them, and died in the course of the same day. Mr. Petty, a surgeon, opened the body of the deceased, and found in the stomach et large quantity of brown liquid, weighing nearly a pound and a-half. The coat of the stomach was severely injured by it. Another surgeon, who analysed the liquit, discovered it to eon. tain a quar.tity arsenic. The stomach was in that state of inflam mation which usually follows the introduction of mineral and vege table poison into it. Dr. Laster was called. but not answering, Mr. Justice BAY LE Y observed, that in the absence of evidence of malice or culpable ignorance in the prisoner in the administra tion of this medicine, and also, without knowing minder what pre. else complaint time deceased laboured, the more proper course would be to acquit the ptisonae. The Jury then acquitted the prisoner., . JO" The Assizes closed here at half-past nine. d- RUBSE R V. Jolts Howard was capitally Indicted for having stolen from the person of John Barron, at New Charch, two post bills, for the pay ment of MIL and provincial Banknotes for WI. It appeared that the prowetutor had been a man in a small way a o l f iz b e i , t i si t n h e a ss a , a a m ni a l f tl w ma h t ia bg kagrerasiortotterdy;antdhartiehrseewveenratnicnetotmeahpaudbrleic , house on his way where he had the misfortune of meeting wit a ti p t k h j e a avprisonererhia hots, ce stolehcrs o h f i3 hi po ll Ir k P e Ot t. i boo lifetti , • , a l n li d e cpartii_sioegn_eritt,lcl.rtea: off The pocket-book was discovered about a fortnight after, but without any of the notes *bleb once rendered it so valuable. The prisoner declared hie innocence ; but the Jury convicted tha prisoner of stealing from the person, but not with force, thereby acqttitting, him of the capital charge. Mr. Justice BAYLEY sentenced him to transportatloa for life. ARSON. Grace Japer was capitally indicted for haying wilfully, mallet. nulllY, and feloniously, set fire to a barn or shippon belonging to Charles Davies. of Blackburne, on the 16th May last. Several witnesses deposed to having seen the prisoner neat the barn on the day charged in die indictment t but no proof was Wir ed that she hail any lire or light, or other materiel in her possession, although she had declared to some person on the road that eats would hum it. She was acquitted. fir. Justice BAYLEY intimated a hope to the Vane, that shit would take warni ng by t hi s acqu i ta l, an d not indu la stations o'' revenge, which eventually induced her to the communicate the of fence of which she was now so fortunately acquitted. POLICE. Mawstow House.—A man named Daniels was brolsikt Wen Alderman Titompsort, alto sat for the Lord Mayor, chaired *Ma having, in conjunction with other persons, robbed a poor old 11011;11a of four sovereigns and eight shillings. The old woman, who resides in Spita!fields, having with a left deal of industry and economy collected five pounds, with eat . which she was to pay her rent, which was just due, west is ding-lane, for the purpose of buying some cocoa nuts to mea at approaching fair; she carried her money in an old handkerchief, having tied up the gold in one corner of it, and the silver in another. There were in the shop to which she went, three or lour other persons, one of whom was the prisoner, who appeared to be making purchases. She put down eight shillings on the counter, to pay for what she asked for, but the silver was scarcely out of her hands, when it was conjured away, and neither she nor the ahopman, to whom she supposed she had given it, knew by what means it dis appeared. The prisoner and his companions differed in opinion upon the subject, some of them saying the shopman had taken up the money and others saying he had not. The old woman was all in confusion. She a second time untied her handkerchief to take Out more silver, but finding that she opened the corner whtne the gold was, she hastily knotted her sovereigns and opened 01,1 othir eni. When, however, she wit* preparing to go away wat her purchase, she found that the conjuror had been again at work, for although the knot was firm, and the handkerchief was whole. her four sovereigns were gone. The poor old woman, in describing her feelings at finding that she was robbed of all she hag on earth, cried bitterly I 'Ma so ' (minty declared, that had not the thieves been terrified she must to a short time have been without a rag to cover her. The manceuvres of the gang were, it seemed, observed by a per ion on the opposite side of the lane, and an officer was sent for. As soon as the thieves, who had a good deal of money about them, and were purchasing to supply their stalls in Bartholomew Fair, saw that the matter was not likely to drop, one of them, the sister of the prisoner, put the four sovereigns into the hands of the nisi woman. Alderman THOMPSON hoped that the evidence of the person who saw the transaction would enable him to commit the primer for so foul a robbery.—llaniels was then remanded. CAUTION.—MUTTON FOR THE LONDON MARKET. GUILDHALL, Aura ttsr 21.—A curious eapose came out at this Office this day, before Mr. Alderman C. SMITH. to theparticulars of which it may be proper to direct the public attention. A gentleman, whose name did not transpire, applied for the Magis trate's advice in what manner to proceed, in order to punish what he considered ta be the brutal conduct of a drover towards two sheep In Smithfield market. The gentleman stated that he saw the sheep on Monday afternoon, lying under the window of the Pitt's Head public-house, one of them already dead, and the other evidently dying. In these circumstances, finding there was no body there either to attempt to relieve them or take any caret), them, he had them both put into a hackney-coach, and taken bt the Green-yard, where the surviving one, after a little care and at tention, recovered wonderfully, and according to his judgment was now not only alive, but well. The drover applied to have them restored upan paying the Green-yard fees, but the question upou which he now wished the Magistrate's opinion was, whether the fellow was not amenable to the law, sod liable to be fined for his inhumanity, in letting the sheep remain in the market throughout the whole of Sunday night without any support or refreshment, and attempting, in their exhausted state, to drive them through the streets. The owner of the sheep, who was in attendance to obtain art onler far their restoration upon paying the tireen-yard fees, in reply to this statement said, the sheep had been treated in the same manner as all others that were brought to Smithfield market but they were in a most deplorable condition from the rot. They were two of a lot of four that he had purchased for four shillings each, merely for dogs -meat ; a large drove of them, al) equally diseased, had been sent up front Kent, and three hundred more, as he understood, were to be brought to market on Friday next. all similarly diseased with the rot. There were, he said, several thousands in the country that had been slightly affected during the last autumn and winter, and had been just kept on their legs by the late long-continued dry weather; but as it was found impossi ble to fatten them, and the rainy season was approaching, they would now be sent to the London market as fast as they could be got rid of. With 'regard to the two in question, they had been left as the gentleman described till a truck could be procured to convey them away, but on his return with it they were gone. To corroborate this statement, that the animals were suffering from disease and not ill-treatment, another drover, who had sold them to the former man, now stepped forward, and stated the con dition in which the Animals were. He had killed 20 from the same drove the day before, every one of which turned out to be dreadfully diseased in the liver from the rot. It would hare been of no use to attempt to fatten them in that condition, as all the food they took turned to water upon the stomach. Singularly enough, just at this period Mr. Martin, of Galway.' as if sympathetically, entered the office, and learning the nature of the business before the Magistrate, took up the Inquiry with all that zeal that usually characterises him in such cases ; but as in answer to all his interrogatories it did not appear that the drover had struck either of the sheep, or in any way ill-used them, the Hon. (lentleman was obliged to confess, although somewhat un willingly, that his Act would not reach the case, as It could not be said that the drover had " wantonly and cruelly beat, abused, or ill-treated" them. Mr. Alderman Salmi agreed in this opinion, and said that be had reason to know, of his own knowledge, that the defendant's statement was very true, that the diseased sheep were now gradu. ally being sent up to London to be disposed of for what they would fetch, at all prices, from 15s. downwards. It would be hard to prevent the unfortunate farmer from making the beet he could of his ill luck; indeed, as a Magistrate, he was not aware that he had an authority to interfere to prevent the animals front being sent to market. With regard to the drover, it dal not appear he could have done better than he had done, by placing the sheep out of the way of harm while he went for some conveyance to take them home as fast as possible. In answer to a question from the Alderman, the drover, who, , as already stated, had slaughtered '2O of these diseased sheep, said he purchased his lot of a Mr. Munn, a salesman, in Smithfield 3larket ; but from what part of Kent the sheep came, or wh♦ was the grazier that sent them to the London market, did not cone out. BOW -STREET, Auo. 24.—Edward Taylor, the young man who was remanded on Saturday last, for a theft committed In the Sablonniere Hotel, Leicester-fields, was brought up this day tot further examination. Pedro de Ayascimo, the gentleman from Mexico, whose pro. petty was stolen, attended, and repeated his former testimony. Mr. MIN SH t 7 LL, addressing hint, observed that he understo& he had expressed his dissatisfaction because his property had no; been returned to him without any further trouble on his part. He wished to inform him that, by the laws of England, which were framed so as best to secure the punishment of oftenders,the Magis trate was not empowered to take any such course. Several hotel-keerers attended upon this occasion, in order to see if they could identify the prisoner as concerned in the robberies committed upon their premises. Handbills were brought to the Mice, which hare been for some weeks past in circulation, detailin particulars of robberies made under circumstances or a precisely similar nature. The difficulty which occurred in Cl these cases was that of ides tifying the prisoner, as the thief had, by entering late at night. and departing early in the morning, afforded but link opportunity of observing him. The prisoner removed this difficulty himself. The landlord of the Bath Hotel stated that a young man had taken a bed at his house on the night of the 27th July. He departed in the morning, and a gentleman missed out of h:s bed-room his gold watch and seals, eight sovereigns, and a valuable shirt pin. The porter was asked if he tbonght he could recollect the stranger who slept there on the night in question ? He said he had seen hir but a short time. In the morning he got up at a quarter pas: five, and came down stairs. In the passage he called out for the waiter, and when the witness went to hint asked the price of h.s bed P Witness told hint half-a-crown. Prisoner—You said 3s. fah.; you know you did. Witness--Then that shows you are the man. The prisoner looked a good deal confused at having inadvertent:7 furnished this link in the chain of evidence against him. The Magistrate told him he had better hold his tongue. Two young women who have visited him in prison were brought to the office. One of them passed in the prison foe his wife; sir stated herself in the office to be his sister. Upon being ettemion" as to her mode of life, and where she lived, she hesitated for acme time, and would give no satisfactory answer. Iler companion laid that she lived at No. 23, Walnut Tree-walk, Lambeth, where they had the ground floor. An officer was immediately despatched with one of the young women to this house. In the mean time the prisoner was remanded. in had been rellow-apprentiees, but The prosecutor and prisoner m each other. their fortunes in after-lire were widely differ l t :i rt the T ho l' us i e ck o e f a M w r aa . Pitt,char charged iie w en it -doper, but the Mr. Pits established himself in alY7eg n etas th: : rt n i d oL rer ali' a te hd t po in ee p rt e ; y li t o o n, t o h r e n. amount of OIL Et only 111 days, wbsa and misery , jam Iris service, where lie remained d Mr. Pits missed his essh.box, containing the he absconded, an . • sum mentioned . The prisoner was apprehended on Friday after. noon last, at the Sun and Apple Tree, in White-hart-yard, hy c p e r m i Ter er las bec t, asmler.aPilreut'onelekililmid, when Cousens, whom he implored not to take him to Mr. Pite, "fo e" said he, '• if you do, I am a dead man." When he got to ]fr. Pite's, he fell upon his knees, and begged his furgivenees. He said, he lost the money soon after he took it. The prisoner was fully committed for trial. 'HATTON-GARDEN, Auciust 24.—Cleprkr Sterling was maim brought up, charged with 'tenting, oa the 14th of July last,* guy ! 1 41 t i . . I.* I k , 1 ..... i 1 f 1 ' : I\ 1 ( . 4 .;0 1, .1