The Sun. — London, England, 1829-09-18 00:00:00

7: 'ilty ld be void." In the sat stru 41 1 11..- .. a ikeswpr the Courts and Par liamesif,A,ll4 Yoystatshitd,. the advantage, because the intelpricangsti lerszis every thing. In vain the Legislator orders ad prescribes, if the Judge determines to give to his language not the ob vious meaning, but one agreeable to himself. On the whole, perhaps, we have gained by the vic tory of the Courts, though we owe to the ne cessity for evasion the quibbling which is part and parcel of an English Lawyer, the constant use of which incapacitates him from taking a straight forward view of any object. Mr. Tyrrell founds on the license taken by the Courts an argument against all written law. " It is," he says, " the great advantage of those parts of our laws which are to be found only in adjudged cases and text books, that they are not encum bered with nice distinctions respecting the meaning of words ; and the only questions which can arise upon them are those which involve the principles of the rules. . . • . • • There is no instance of any new law which has not occasioned litigation. The im perfections of language make it impossible to express rules in such clear and precise terms as to prevent any doubt respecting the construction of them, and no mind is capable of foreseeing all the consequences of any new rule, in every case which it ought to provide for: I therefore conceive that though a Digest were framed with the greatest care by those who are best qualified for such an undertaking, it would be followed by considerable litigation, until the sense of its expressions were established, and it would un settle many of our most clear and beneficial laws." But because the English Judges follow a vicious mode of interpretation, evading the spirit of the law where they can, and availing themselves of some point of secondary import ance to defeat a clearly expressed intention, it does not follow that, with a fair mode of inter pretation, the same litigation would arise. The litigation is caused by the knowledge that Judges are fond of loop-holes and quibbles. Let us suppose that the Ten Commandments were as a Statute, to be interpreted by English Judges— they would immediately set them aside by a con struction foreign from the real meaning. We would undertake to give a meaning to them quite different from the real, not more forced than the constructions put upon laws in our Courts. As it is, however, understood that t forced construction, however ingenious, will not avail us in the quarter in which the decision is to be given, all temptation to quibble is taken away. There is no doubt that language is imperfect, and that no man can express himself in such a manner that his meaning shall not occasionally be ambiguous ; but then let us not charge also to defects of language a vicious principle of inter pretation. We may remark, by the bye, that both Mr. Tyrrell and Mr. Humphreys speak of the practice of conveying real property by will as much more common than it used to be, which confirms an observation we made, some time ago, respecting the triumph of national feeling over fantastic notions:— " Do you approve of the Law of Primogeniture, or of equal partibility among all the children ?—As an abstract proposition, answered Mr. Humphreys, equal partihility; but with a great deal of doubt. The society, however, in this country is so peen riiarly cast, that I think it impracticable here. " Would you have the law of equal partibility with a power of making a will to provide for younger children 2-1 would say, upon the whole, e,vith our present mixed constitution (where the Aristocracy is sustained by large landed estates) primogenitui e with a power of making a will in fa• your of younger children; but I still speak with very great doubt. " Is not there this difference, that in the one ease the testamentary power Can only be exercised or the purpose of exclusion; whereas, in the other case, it can be exercised for the purpose of provi sion? My own experience leads me to think that t he vanity of making an heir is greatly diminishing, very much ; and that the pracice is very much con fined ,to the large landed proprietors. I see many ;more wills which provide for distribution among the Aiildren by selling the property than I did formerly. think there bas always been a struggle on the part of proprietors to possess the testamentary power as a natural attribute of ownership, and I do not think you would prevent the exercise of that power by making equal succession the law." It is the remark of a great philosopher, that the attachment to the soil is always a mark of low civilization. As men advance, they consi der n a nd, like every other property, only with reference las the benefit it yields. Primogeni ture originates; in tenures ; and as we recede from feudal barbanasn , it will become more and more repugnant to out' ft bits. A father can not support the idea of his younger children living destitute, that all may be taken by the eldest ; but, on the other hand, the constant di vision of estates of a moderate size, while the Aristocracy, who can quarter their children on the public, leave theirs to one son, opens up other important considerations.—/bid. Most persons, we believe, are beginning to be convinced of that which many never doubted— viz. that what has been styled the ReCiprocity System has not only totally failed, but is, in fact, bringing great distress, if not ruin, upon the country. For its failure one very plain reason may be assigned,—that there has been, in fact, no reciprocity in it ; for, while we have been libe rally reducing our duties, and opening our ports to the produce and the commerce of other coun tries, they (especially America), so far from bolding out to us reciprocal advantages, have been narrowing their accommodation, and, in fact, shutting us out, as far as possible, from every fair means of mutual intercourse. But even had this been otherwise, and had foreign coun tries done as much to meet our liberal views as they have done to thwart them, yet we are pre pared to contend that, as long as Great Britain has to raise her present enormous revenue, it is utterly impossible that she can relinquish any 01 the means of doing so, or compete on any appa rent system of reciprocity with comparatively un tased communities. Equally impossible is it that size can pay the interest of her enormous debt 'in a currency different from that in which nine-tenths of it was incurred. On these two points then hinge, we apprehend,nearly the whole of the difficulties under which our present agri cultural and commercial elasaes are now labour ing. At the end of 15 years pf peace, the country is actually involved in more disaster that; befell her during the most trying periods of the war, And why ? Because an age of theory has succeeded to one of practical knowledge, anti the nonsense of what is called politi cal economy has been allowed to subvert the plain dictates of common sense. And how are the evils which have thus overtaken us to be remedied, and their approaching consequences averted, but by retracing the steps of error, and returning to the path of truth ? Mr. Huskisson, the author of the Reciprocity System, is eve. dently preparing to give way ; and we shall not lie at all surprised in the next Session of Par liament :0 see the Right Hon, Cientleman him self fairly abandoning his past theories, as those which, in practice have been found unavailable. But this is not all ; an enlarged and secure paper currency must be added, to give free and unin terrupted range to the resources of the country, and, above all, to enable her to meet the existing weight of taxation. We say a secure paper currency, because it cannot be denied that great part of that with which the country has been inundated has presented any thing but security. By a secure currency we do not mean one con vertible at any moment into the precious metals— which, from the vast extent of the concerns of the country, we hold to be impossible—but a paper currency representing actual property, as opposed to the mere moonshine alone which so much of it has heretofore represented. Some thing of this kind must be resorted to, or the " Delenda est Carthago" may be realized sooner than we are any of us prepared to imagine.— Morning Herald. Hardly did the shooting season commence when we had the melancholy task of announcing, from various parts of tl►e country, the most serious accidents arising from the incautious or inexpert handling of fire-arms. It was only the other day we gave an account of the fate of a game keeper of Mr. Metchen, who caused his own death by taking hold of the muzzle of a gun to help one of the party over a hedge, when, by some accident, it went - off, and lodged the whole of the contents in his body. Since then we have reported two other cases of untimely death hap pening in a way precisely similar. Many persons are so devoid of care or reflection in the use of fire-arms that they seem to carry them for no other purpose than to inflict injury on themselves or their friends. What numbers of families does this culpable, we had almost said criminal, negli gence plunge in all the bitterness of bereave ment and affliction every year ! So many sports men fall by their own weapons, that the suicides of carelessness are almost as numerous as the suicides of crime. Many and dreadful accidents occur from sportsmen (if such they can be called) neglecting to draw the charges of their guns on returning home from shooting. Thought less persons are very apt to take them in their hands, and point them at others in the_way of frolic, without having previously ascertained whether they are loaded or not, a silly, and too often a fatal sort of sport. Many a friend and relation has, by this idle trick, been sent to an untimely grave ; many a joyous household has it, in the moment of festivity, consigned to anguish and mourning. If our earnest recommendation of extreme caution to those who handle fire arms, and particularly to those who are not very expert in the use of them, can be the means of saving a single life, we shall not have written in vain.—lbid. The news which was brought yesterday by the Brussels papers, though they neither inform us of the capture of Constantinople, or the conclu sion of peace between the belligerents, are never theless truly important, as unmasking the in tentions of Russia, and rendering it clear to all that she has no intention of giving up what she has acquired, but is, on the contrary, determined to maintain possession of her conquests against all corners. Another new levy has been ordered by the Emperor of three men out of every five hundred of nearly the whole population of the Russian empire, which, at the lowest calculation must acid to his military force at least 250,000 men. And what is the pretence for raising this additional force, now that his troops have pos session of the second city of the Turkish empire, and are ere now, in all probability, at the gates of Constantinople ? Why that it is "in con sequence of the obstinacy of the Sultan, in re jecting all t4e proposals for peace made to him at the commencement of hostilities, and several times since ! and that he (the Emperor Nicholas) is not able to see when the war will end !" Another reason is indeed added, by way of a make-weight that it is " necessary to make good the losses sus tained by the Russian army in the field ;" but according to all the bulletins which have been hitherto issued, the Russian army never lost, except on one or two occasions, above a few hundred men, and it is, in consequence, nothing short of a mockery to affirm that such a number as 240,000 should be required to make good the losses which it has sustained. The late Em- peror of France had not a much more numerous army when he invaded the Russian empire ; and unless the Emperor Nicholas be determined to maintain his ground in Turkey, no satisfactory reason can be assigned why he should resolve at once on converting his dominions into one great camp, and the flower of his subjects into soldiers. But this is the object at which the Court of St. Petersburgh has been aiming dur ing the last seventy years, and though there are some people who still believe, or affect to believe, in the moderation of the Emperor, we think it is really too much to expect that he will give up what his predecessors had so long—so artfully, and so perseveringly struggled to attain, and which he has now had the good fortune to accomplish ! And to this complexion has the moderation of the Emperor Nicholas come at last ! So we always said—so did Colonel Evans in his admirable treatise "On the Designs of Russia," and so did our evening cotemporary, The Sun tin which Paper, by the bye, there was an able aitirJe on the subject yesterday evening), and some others; but the Govern ment, and no inconsiderable portion of the pub lic, seem to have thought differently, and our reeble voice was drowned in the cry of modera tion and magnanimity ! The Emperor Nicholas talked very largely, indeed, before his armies had oassed the Balkan, of his possession of these virtuea ; but his last ordinance says nothing on the subject, and merely states that he wants 240,000 men, from 18 to 35 years of age, for purposes Of which every one knows that they are not required ! And thus, we fear, will have been frtistratt3d the great object for which the Duke of Wellington has been struggling since the commencement of the war,,rwe mean the preservation of peace—for this country has been distinctly pledged to maintain the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, and though we have seen with regret th Emperor Nicholas permitted by a policy which we ceunot yet well comprehend, to resume his rights as a bellig,!2rant in the Mediter ranean, after he had given a solemn assurance not to exercise any act of hostility in that quarter, it would be too much, we think, even for the most ardent admirers of Russia, and the greatest sticklers for peace, to dream that, under all the circumstances of the case, he would be allowed to settle himself quietly in Constantinople, with out even a broadside from a British man-of-war. Such a result cannot —must not ensue. The good faith of the country is pledged to a totally different course ; and if the policy of Mr. Pitt, that " they who maintained that the Tulip might be driven out of Europe without any danger to its relations or future peace, were not fit to be argued w►th," had been pursued frprrt the begin ning, the course alluded to, had not been neces sary. Moderation and credulity, however, have hitherto had the best of it, and we shall now see whether their anticipations will be realised.— Morning Advertiser. We this day announce the result of the long pending proceedings against Captain Dickenson, which, involving not only the professional repu tation of two distinguished officers of the British Navy, but the conduct of the Admiralty also in circumstances of considerable delicacy, have been watched with intense interest during their pro gress, by a people to whom nothing connected with this most important branch of the public service can ever be indifferent. We will not presume to rejudge the justice of the Court Mar tial. It has decided upon the conduct of the Officer, the charges against whom were directly submitted to its investigation, in a manner which will, we have no doubt, be highly satisfactory to the country. But the merit or demerit of Captain Dickenson—although this was the ostensible question before the Court, and the only one upon which it was called upon to pronounce an opinion— was not the only or even the most im portant question at issue in the proceedings. The collateral topics which relate to the conduct of Vice-Admiral Codrington, and to that of the Admiralty in compelling him to assume the character of a prosecutor, are of a still deeper interest ; and not having been placed within the scope of judicial animadversion, are still open to discussion without any infringement of thLit re spect to which the award of any competent tri bunal is always entitled. The duty of the Ad miralty, in the case of any accusation of im portance, whatever may be the circumstances that give rise to it, brought by a superior officer against his inferior, seems at the first viewsoplain and simple, that it could scarcely have been neces sary to offer an observation upon this part of the subject, had not the language of one who has attained to the high rank in the service held by Sir Edward Codrington tended to obscure and perplex it. He had charged an officer for merly under his command with negligence and inefficiency, in several instances, in the discharge of his duty. What were the courses which re mained open to the Admiralty after such charges had been made ? Would it have been con sistent with justice to the officer whom they affected, to have laid him silently on the shelf, to have placed between him and every field of gallant enterprise and honourable ambition, an invisible barrier, without hearing him in his own defence, or even apprising him of the accusations by the force of which he was to be condemned to languish through an inglorious and useless life of inactivity ? Would it, on the other hand, have been consistent with justice to the country, to have entrusted any important enterprise, involving its interests and its glory, to a man against whom such charges had been alleged by his former Commander, and never refuted ? To answer either of these questions in the affirmative is im possible. The only remaining course—that by which alone gross injustice to an individual, or a deep injury to the country, could be avoided —was to insist, as the Admiralty has very properly done, on a public investigation of the charges. Nor can there be any greater difficulty in forming a just estimate of the conduct of Sir Edward Codrington. He was in truth self-con demned from the beginning, independently alto gether of the truth or falsehood of his charges. if he believed the charges to be well founded, why were they so long suppressed ? Or what are we to think of the zeal of a British Admiral for the good of the service to which he belongs, or of Ins sense of what is due to the welfare and safety of the State, who, by his own acknowledgment, sup pressed a charge of negligence and incapacity, when he knew of no other consequence as the probable result of the concealment, than that the negligent and incapable Officer might one day at tain to the highest rank in the British Navy, and have the dearest interests of the nation committed to his prudence and skill—but who found con cealment to be no longer possible, when an inte rest so important was at stake as the due distri bution of Russian Orders ? We incline to think the commission of the King of England a higher honour than any decoration the Em peror of Russia can confer. But there is no accounting for tastes, that of Sir E. Codrington appears to differ from ours. There can scarcely, however, be two opinions as to the relative im portance of the due distribution of rank in the British Navy, and the due distribution of Mus covite ribbons, when both are considered with a view to their probable effects on the affairs of nations. And it is at least clear, therefore, that Sir E. Codrington must have been needlessly zealous in the one case, or inexcusably indiffe rent in the other. We are not anxious to re vive at the present moment the discussion of the merits of the battle of Nayarit). But it cannot have escaped observation, that the evidence given during this enquiry tends to confirm the sus picion which we always entertained, that this en gagement was not altogether unpremeditated and accidental.--Morning Post. A LAKE SERPENT.—The Welland Canal Intelligencer, published at St. Katharine's, Upper Canada, gives an account of some children, 12 and 14 years old, having seen an enormous water snake, of prodigious di mensions, near the mouth of the Ten Mile Creek. " Ac cording to their account, it must have been 20 or 30 feet in length, with a head 10 or 15 inches in diameter, and warts or bunches on it. On giving the alarm it immedi ately turned and disappeared. This, we believe, is not the first one of the kind that has been seeu in Lake On tario ; and from what we can learn, there can be no doubt of the existence of such monsters in our inland seas." Twenty or twenty-five years ago, quite a sensation was produced along the lake coast, between Ontario and the St. Lawrence, by an account of a wonderful lake serpent, which chased a boat on shore. The crew made regular certificates upon the subject; but the serpent has kept out of the way ever since ORIGIN OF THE WoRD "ROUND ROBIN." —As en much has been said, on Captain DicKENsoN's trial, relative to a " Round Robin," the following account of the origin of that term may not be uninteresting : " The round robin, without which the British sailors would be deprived of their right of petition, was first in vented in Athens, on the occasion of the conspiracy of ARISTOGITON and HERMODIUS against the tyranny of the PISI4TRATID/E. The Romans, in imitation of the Greeks, not to indicate tbpir preference to any either among their guests or friends, wrote their names in a circle in such a manner that it was impossible to say which was the first, second, or last, in their estimation. Thus , they e v i nce d an equality of regard to all , w ithout mor tifying any one by an invidious distinction of honour in favour. They generally wrote the names of their slaves in the compass of a round robin, that it might not appear to which they meant to give liberty, or who were their favourites. On the celebration of the Saturnalia, it was customary for the servants and slaves to ridicule the vices and imperfections of their masters through the medium of the round robin; and wp read CrcEap was once so offended and irritated at the cutting sarcasm and piquant satire with whi c h hi s slaves in this manner lashed his faults, that he was hur ried into an ungovernable rage of choleric passion," POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MANSION-HOUSE. SPLENDID PREPARATIONS FOR A WEDDING.—A jeweller, named Hill, who resides in Petticoat-lane, wat summoned before the LORD MAYOR, by an old lady named Sarah Flint, for having sold her a copper finger ring and a pair of copper ear-rings with drops, for gold. The old lady, who appeared to be on the more venerable side of seventy, and had a gay white satin bonnet over her silver hairs, and a pair of kid gloves half-way up her poor-puckered arms, stated that she had employed the jeweller to make her a gold ring with a diamond in the middle of it, and a pair of gold ear-rings, with beautiful diamonds to them. In a couple of days the jeweller brought them home, and they looked quite charming. In a few days, however, she found, upon looking at the ring, that it had lost all its beauty, and that the diamond looked like a dead haddock's eye.—(Laughter.)--She rubbed it and rubbed it, but it was all " her eye and Betty Martin ;" it grew more and more muddy, and the gold began to get green, so she took it to a pawnbroker, and asked what he would lend upon it ? " Lord !" said the pawnbroker, " why there's more copper in a fardin."—" Oh, dear !" said she, " and what will you lend on these here ear-rings ?""•-•" God bless your heart I" answered the pawnbroker, " why the whole on em a'nt worth sixpence ;" and so he wouldn't lend nothing by no means. Under these circumstances Mrs. Flint ap pealed to the Lord Mayor. His LORDSHIP looked at the bargain, and asked the old lady how much she gave for the lot ?—Mrs. Flint—" The moment he brought them home to me—and oh, my Lord, you can't think how beau tiful they shined—l handed him a golden sove reign."—(Laughter.) The LORD MAYOR—What I for diamonds and all ? Mrs. Flint—l am sure they're not diamonds; they're not worth the toss up of a mag." The LORD MAYOR—There seems to be a great deal of workmanship about them, whatever may be the value of the metal and the stones. Mrs. Flint—l han't nothing to do with that, my Lord. This here jeweller engaged to make them gold, and he has given me copper. I must have my money back. The jeweller said that the stones, which were not half so hard as Mrs. Flint's heart, cost more than the money he had received for the lot. He denied that the ring was copper, although he admitted that it was not the best gold.—(Laughter.) It was what was called forty-shilling gold; and he had had two hard days' work at the setting, &c. He asked whether any woman in her senses could have ex pected such articles as the old woman wanted for twenty shillings ? Mrs. Flint seemed not at all to relish the fright ful accusation of age, and said that the jeweller was an old something else, besides an old fool.-( Laughter.) The LORD MAYOR asked Mrs. Flint, who he found was unmarried, whether she had not some idea of changing her condition ?—She smiled, and played with a piece of paper before her. At length she said that the ring was for another person. Mr. Cope (the Marshal)----But the ear-rings are for herself, my Lord, for her ears have been newly bored.—(Loud laughter, in which Mrs. Flint joined.) The LORD MAYOR—I'd be glad to serve you, Mrs. Flint, I assure you, especially as you are about to begin life; but I don't think you have been wronged. The workmanship of these articles really appears to be worth nearly all the money you have given, and the best thing you can do is to rub them every day with a piece of flannel and whiting.— (Laughter.) Mrs. Flint (rubbing the ring with her flannel pet ticoat)—l'm blessed if I think it'll ever look a bit better.—(Loud laughter.) GUILDHALL Yesterday Mr. Lord, a wool-broker, applied to Mr. Alderman FAREBROTHER for a summons against Mr. Deputy Hughes, of Basinghall-street, for an assault. The complainant stated, that as he was standing in Basinghall-street that morning, the Deputy came up to him, and shaking his fist at him, threatened to break every bone in his body. Complainant was conversing with a Mr. Ferry, who immediately in terposed, and Mr. Hughes went away, .saying, " The moment I hear of you again, I will follow you." Complainant now only wished the Deputy to be bound not to commit such violence as he had done, and threatened to do. . Mr. Hughes (who is in the cloth trade) said he had received great provocation. Since the vast ca lamity which had befallen the woollen trade, the complainant had been walking about his neighbour hood daily, from morning to night, speaking ill of him ; and he had therefore given him notice that Morning, that if he did not leave off vilifying him he should chastise him. The complainant had, he believed, taken offence at a friend of his (the De puty) buying some wool through another broker, but that friend had not been controulled by him. Complainant had been saying for three weeks past that he would be revenged. Mr. Alderman FAREBROTIIER thought he had a right to bind each of them over, as each had threat ened the other, but for mere words he should only require personal recognizances . to keep the peace, and that would amount to nothing. He again ad vised them to allow their friends to settle their differences. Mr. Lord said the Deputy's friends had offered to apologize for him, but he was determined to bring an action for the assault, and wished the Deputy to be bound to keep the peace in the interim. . - Mr. Alderman FAREBROTIIER replied, that if he was determined to bring the action, it would be im proper to grant his application. He would not pre judice Mr. Hughes's case by leaving the jury to suppose that he, having thoroughly investigated the business, had formed an opinion on Mr. Hughes's conduct, and had held him to bail.. Complainant would take care to let the jury know what the Ma gistrate had done. He therefore dismissed the case. BOW-STREET. Yesterday Charles Stares, who stands charged with having fraudulently uttered a cheque upon the Petersfieldßank,was brought up for re-examination. Wore the case was gone into, Sir R. BIRNIE said, that in consequence of what the prisoner had stated at the last examination, that he had been re fused pen, ink, and paper by order of the Governor of the prison in which he was confined, he (Sir R. Birnie) had inquired into the circumstance, and felt happy in , stating, that the compl a i nt was ma d e with out any JuBt cause, and that, in fact, the statement was a pure invention of the prisoner. The Ma gistrate then read a letter addressed to Mr. Chesterton, the Governor of the House of Correction, Coldbath-fields, by Mr. Kilsby, Gover nor of the new prison, Clerkenwell, upon the sub ject of the complaint which the prisoner had made. The letter was as follows: , 6 Dear Sir,—Upon reading this evening the police re port contained in the Times of this day, I observed the statement of a complaint having been made by Charles Stares, of his not having been allowed the transmis his confineme n t was t h e H ouse o f C orrect i on. sion of letter s to his f riends, and stating erroneously that it my duty im me di a t e l y to appr i se you t h at t t i l o e"Pl p la t t,c i h s e o in n "kf er has been in my custody since Thursday last, and with respect to the matter of his complaint, that his stakment is a gross and palpable falsehood, for there is no restriction of the kind alluded to on the correspondence of prisoners under charge in this prison, unless by special order of the committing Magistrate; and in point of fact, upon the prisoner's applying to me for permission to send ou t some letters which he held in his band, I immediately gave him liberty to do so. .‘ I am at a loss to conceive the motive for such a wilful fabrication, as I am satisfied that he has not had the least cause of complaint since he has been in my custody. " I remain, dear Sir, your's obediently, " T. W. KILSBY." Sir R. BJRNIE observed, that this letter was quite satisfactory ; but had the inquiry which he made turned out otherwise, he should have felt it his duty to represent the conduct of the Governor to the Gaol Committee. Mr, Chesterton ; the new Governor of the House of Correction, felt very anxious that the matter should be fully explained, as it would appear from the report that he was the Governor alluded to. So far from withholding any proper accommodation to those committed to his charge, he had, from the time of his appointment, done every thing in his power to remove any cause of complaint amongst the prisoners in his custody. The prisoner, in explanation of what he had stated, denied tbat he had said he had been denied pen, ink, and paper. His complaint was, that a let ter, which he had given to one of the turnkeys to be delivered in Red Lion-square, was not forwarded for several hours after he had delivered it. Sir R. BIRNIE said he understood there were se veral cases of a similar description as that of the Petersfield Bank ready to be brought forward against the prisoner, and wished to know if any person pre sent was desirous of preferring a charge. An elderly gentleman then stepped forwhrd, and said his name was Miers, and that he resided in Greenwich Hospital. Having seen a report in the Times of the prisoner's examination, he came to town for the purpose of preferring a charge against him of a similar description to that with which he was already charged. Mr. Miers then stated, that he had been acquainted with the prisoner's family for several years. On the 17th of August last the prisoner came to his house and told him who he was, and upon stating his name witness knew him. In the course of conversation the prisoner said he was very awkwardly situated just then, having been disappointed in receiving a sum of money from a Colonel, a friend of his, who lived at Woolwich. The Colonel, he said, had gone to Ireland, and as he (the prisoner) had just ar rived in a steam-vessel from Ostend, and was in im mediate want of cash, the disappointment he had met with was the more embarrassing. He had sent on his luggage, he said, to London by steam, and having brought over some French silks with him as presents,he did not know what he should do to pay the Custom-house dues. He then asked him, wit ness, if he would be kind enough to assist him with a few pounds, adding that 5/. or 6!. would answer his present purpose. Witness agreed to lend him 5/., and the prisoner said he would give him a draught for the money upon the Bishop Waltham-bank, which he accordingly filled up, but requested that witness would not present it for payment until the following Friday. He then took his leave, and wit ness did not present the Cheque at Messrs. Barclay and Co.'s, where it was made payable, until the Saturday. The answer which lie then received was, that no orders had been left to honour the cheque; and, upon subsequent inquiry, he learned that the prisoner had no effects in the Bishop Waltham bank, and that he was entirely un known there. Witness received the same an swer on two subsequent applications, and he then wrote to the prisoner's brother, relating the manner in which he had been imposed upon. The brother who was a most respectable gentleman, wrote him a letter, saying that the prisoner was an idle spend thrift, and adopted all sorts of stratagems to raise money ; and, as he had already advanced several hundred pounds to take him out of difficulties, he was determined to do so no more, stating as a reason that he had a family of his own to look to. The witness added, that he had but little expectation of recovering his money; but, feeling how he had been used, lie came to town with a view to forward the ends of justice by stating what he knew of the pri soner. Sir R. BIRNIE, having consulted with Mr. HALLS, said, that although the prisoner had committed a very gross fraud, yet, as Mr. Miers had, in a great measure, advanced him the money upon the strength of the respectability of his family, the offence was r►ot of that description that an indictment for fraud could be founded upon it. Mr. J. M. Dodd, of Cecil-street in the Strand, then came forward, and stated that the prisoner, of whom he had had some previous knowledge, came to his counting-house on the 3d of August last, arid said he had occasion to go into the city, and asked him if he would have any objection to advance him 101. upon a cheque which he had upon a country bank, 'Witness replied that he could not do any such thing unless he knew that the cheque would be paid. He then told witness that he might, if he pleased, pay the cheque into Messrs. Couttts and Co., who were his ( witness's) bankers, and if it were paid by Monday (this happened on Saturday), witness might then have a cheque for the amount. The prisoner came again on the Monday, and as witness's clerks were very busy at the time, he told him to go himself into Coutts's, and inquire if the cheque had been paid. The pri soner accordingly went, and returned in about quar ter of an hour, saying that the cheque had been paid in, upon which he (witness) immediately drew a cheque upon Messrs. Coutts and Co. for the amount. and handed it to the prisoner.• Upon settling his banking book some days after, he found that the prisoner's cheque had never been paid in, and that he had been swindled out of 101. Mr. tIALLs observed that this certainly was a clear case of fraud. The prisoner's solicitor said he was taken by sur prise both with respect to this case and to that of Mr. Miers. He had been led to believe that there was no charge against the prisoner but the one upon which he was at first apprehended. Messrs. Coutts's cashier was then sent for, and upSti his arrival gave the necessary evidence. He re membered paying Mr. Dodd's cheque, but could not say to whom. He, however, knew the person of the prisoner. Sir R. BIRNIE—Do you recollect having received any cheque upon a country bank to meet that which you now hold ? Witness—Certainly not. Sir R. BIRNIE should commit the prisoner for trial upon the charge, as well as that of Mr. Dut ton's, who had taken the cheque upon the Peters field bank. The parties were accordingly bound over. Mr. Dutton, the shoemaker, of No. 6, St. Mar tin's-court, was then called forward, and repeated the ei idence which he had given upon the former examinations. The prisoner's solicitor hoped that this case would not be pressed against his client, as an offer had been made to pay the Petersfield bankers the amount of the cheque. Sir R. BIRNIE—Sir, you must not talk to me about compounding a felony. You have done as much for your client as co.uld have been reason ably expected of you, but I must do my duty also. Let Mr. Dutton and the rest of the witnesses be bound over. The prisoner was then fully committed to Tothill fields prison, for trial at the next Westminster Sessions. Mr. Thompson, the actor at the Haymarket Theatre, who is the author of a piece (in which he performs a principal character) called Nothing Su perfluous, waited upon Sir R. BIRNII3 to know if he could take any steps to compel Mr. of Drury-lane Theatre, to give him an account and share the profits of two dramatic pieces written by him (Mr. Thompson) and brought out through the medium of Mr. B-, the one at Drury-lane Theatre, and the other at the Surrey. Mr. Thomp son added, that the piece brought out at the latter theatre was named Jack Robinson, and that which came out at Drury-lane was named The Dumb Savoyard. Mr. Elliston had paid Mr. B- 50/. for the first piece, and he received from Mr. Price .54/. for the latter. Mr. B- had, contrary to the agreement which he had entered into with him (Mr. Thompson) refused to give him a farthing of the profits, although both pieces were entirely his own production. Sir R. BIRNSE observed, that such conduct on the part of Mr. B- was very shameful. lie had no right to profit by the labours of another, and take to himself not only the credit belonging to the un dertaking, but A - hat perhaps was more desirable, the profits also. " I am sorry," added Sir Richard, "that I cannot assist you, Mr. Thompson; but al though the transaction, as you state it, is both dis honest and dishonourable, it is not exactly of the character that would bring it within the scope of a Magistrate's duty; but have you applied to Mr. Price?" Mr. Thompson had done so, and learned from him the sum which he paid to Mr. B-- for the Dumb Savoyard. Mr. Price, however, with every dispo sition to befriend him, could not assist him in the re covery of his money. Sir R. BIRNIE—What does Mr. Elliston say ? Mr. Thompson—l have in my pocket a very kind letter from Mr. Elliston, saying that Jack Robinson had a great run at his theatre, and stating the price which he paid to Mr. B-- for it. Sir R. BIRNIE—I wish I could assist you, Mr. Thompson, with all my heart, but I really have not the power. Does Mr. B-- deny your claim ? Mr. Thompson—Oh, no; he acknowledges the debt, but says he has not, as yet, received the mo ney. Now I know that to be false, because I am assured, both by Mr. Price and Mr. Elliston, that he was paid by them. I gave the pieces to Mr. B--, because I knew his interest was much better than mine, and he undertook to get them out and share the profits with me. I then went to Paris, where I was quite delighted to learn that both my pieces had been so favourably received ; but be hold ! when I wished to touch the profits, I found them melt from my grasp like the golden fruit in the fable. Mr. HALLS said it was a most dishonourable ac tion on the part of Mr. 8., but he feared that a Ma gistrate could afford Mr. Thompson no relief. Sir R. BIRNIE—You must proceed, I am afraid, by civil action. " Then, I fear, I may go whistle for my money," said Mr. Thompson. Sir R. BIRNIE expressed his regret that Mr. Thompson had no better prospect of a successful issue to his suit. " It is the way of the world, Sir Richard," said Mr. Thompson. " Some men are made to prey upon the wits of others. Mr. B. has had the re putation of producing dramatic . pieces of his. own composing; but what is the fact? Why he has been wearing the laurels and pocketing the money of poor devils like myself.". " Such conduct, I must say," said Sir R. Iltirtig, " is most unprincipled." • • " There are two of ns who compose pieces for Drury-lane," said Mr. Thompson ; " one is .a knaVe and the other is a fool; from what you have heard, you will have no difficulty in fixing upon the first, and I am afraid that the fool's cap will fit myself." So saying, Mr. Thompson having thanked the Ma gistrates for their kind attention, bowed and with. drew. SECOND EDITION. SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock. THE LONDON GAZETTE OF THIS EVENING. Whitehall, Sept. 16, 1829. The King has been pleased to direct letters patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, conferring the honour of Knighthood upon the following Gentlemen, viz.—. John Hayes, Esq. Commodore in the East India Com pany's Marine Service. Robert Henry Cunlifle, Esq. Lieutenant-Colonel-Com mandant in the East India . Company's Service. Jeremiah Bryant, Esq. Lieutenant-Colonel in the East India Company's Service. BANKRUPTCIES ENLARGED. Nicholas Brown and Algernon Wallington, Aldersgate. street, coach-proprietors, from Aug. 18 to Sept. 22, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners. Thomas David Tilly, Shoreditch, baker, from Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, at ten, at the Court of Commissioners. BANKRUPTS. Edward Scammell, Warminster, Wiltshire, China mer chant, to surrender, Oct. 7,8, and 30, at eleven, at the Castle and Ball Inn, Bath. Holme, Frampton, and Loftus, New Inn, London ; Chapman, Warminster. William Henry Dore, Bath, brush-manufacturer, Oct. 1,2, and 30,. at the Commercial-rooms, Bristol. Brittan, Basinghall-street ; Bevan and Brittan, Bristol. George Bryson, Lad-lane, auctioneer, Sept. 25, at ten, Oct. 2, and 30, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners. Fisher, Walbrook-buildings. Peter Worsley, Heaton-Norris,-Lancashire, timber-mer chant, Oct. 7,8, and 30, at two, at the Star Inn, Man chester. Adlington, Gregory, and Faulkner, Bedford-row, London ; Edge, Manchester. Charles Oliver, Tottenham-court-road, (boot-maker, Sept. 22, at eleven, 28, at twelve, and Oct. 30, at ele ven, at the Court of Commissioners. Carter and Gre gory, Lord Mayor's Court-office, Royal Exchange. James Horton, Bolton• le-Moors, Lancashire, innkeeper, Oct. 1, at five, 2, and 30, at nine, at the Bridge Inn, Bolton-le-Moors. Hurd and Johnson, Temple; Pendle- Pendlebury, Bolton-le-Moors. John Gonge Chalk, Barking, Essex, butcher, Oct. 6, at three, 16, and 30, at two, at the Court of Commissioners. Stratton and Overton, Sboreditch. Thomas Pallard, Dock-head, Surrey, cheeaemonger, Sept. 25, at twelve, Oct. 2, at twelve, and 30, at eleven, at the Court of Commissioners. Howard, Norfolk-street, Strand. CERTI FICATES—Ocr. 9. S. 'l'. Harding, Tamworth, Warwickshire, banker-- A. Clarkson, Arbor-terrace, Commercial-road, ship-owner Portway Linsell, Sun-street, linen-draper.--• Christopher Hammond Wearing and William Green wood, St. Paul's Church-yard, London, merchants—. R. More, Dean-street, Shadwell, distiller—J. Hunter, inn. Barge-yard, Bucklersbury, merchant—J. Ponten, Strand? hat-maker—it. H. Brown, Regent-street, coach-master---. H. J. Stobbs, Newgate-street, warehousemen—R. Vinton, Union-street, Old Artillery-ground, tailor—R. Fitch, Sible Hedingham, Essex, miller—H. H. Sutton, Rutland-wharf, Upper Thames-street, coal-merchant. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. A. Ferguson and F. Martin, Wood-street, Cheaps:de, silk-manufacturers—S. Crabtree and J. Mason, Leeds, cloth-manufacturers—J. R. Stedman and I. H. R. Buxell, Cockhill, Ratcliff, coal-merchants—T. Rogers, J. Pawson, and G. Chappelo, Huddersfield, stone-masons--B. Terry and W. Heap, Halifax, Yorkshire, linen-drapers--D. Ar mitage and C. Mann, Manchester, woollen merchants. Among other contrivances to keep alive the attention of the people at Paris to teronautical expeditions it was lately proposed that a man and a horse should ascend, as the society of a man and a woman had lost its effect. A lady, hearing of the design, exclaimed with great interest, " Alas ! what will become of the poor horse ?" DELICATE WOR/cMANSHIP.7-7-NIT, PETER ATHERTON has manufactured scissors of'scr ininiitie a size that 26 pairs of them weigh no more, than, one grain.--- (We have in our possession at present a coltation • cherry stone which contains within it 144 silver :spoons,).,,Edia burgh Literary Gazette.. . EXTRAORDINARY ONION.-Mr.-POOMOREt of the Flying Horse Inn, New London-road, Sutton, has this week exhibited an onion,, the-largest we ever saw. It weighs one pound two ounces, and measures, in circum ference, fifteen inches and three quarters. The season has been, as we have noticed in a former paper, most pro pitious to the vegetable world.—Macclesfield Courier. BIRTHS. On the 16th inst. in Manchester-street, the lady of John Levien, Esq. of a son. . On the 15th inst. at Sandwell, the Countess of Dart mouth, of a daughter. On the 13th inst. at Bath, the lady of Major Tinlingt of a son. MARRIED. On the 15th inst., at Bath, Captain George Fryer, of the Madras army, to Sarah Moore, eldest daughter of the late Rev. Edw. Chapman Willoughby, of Apeley, Notts. On the 17th inst. at Wotton, Edward Kerrich, of Harlesten, Norfolk, E.q. to Mary Evelyn Susan, second daughter of the late R. Fuller, Esq. of the Rookery, near Dorking. On the 17th inst. at St. Mary's, Bryanstone-square , G. Gatty, Esq. to Frances, second daughter of the late IL J. Sayer, Esq. of the Charter-house. . , DIED. On the 15th inst. Charlotte Anne, second daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir J. Gore, K.C.8., aged 19. On the 15th inst. in Kirby-street, Hatton-garden, Dir. T. A. Harvey, aged 46. On the 16th inst. Mr. P. Wetten, of Bruton-streety in his 55th year. PRINTED AND PUBLISIIED EY MURDO YOUNG, +►T TIIE OFFICE, 11 7 STRAND, LONDON. i li