The Sun. — London, England, 1829-01-27 00:00:00

1711 c o u-nt SPIRIONDON JOURNALS. Ifhe seittk 7 titiltpervaded the Dublin Meet ing of TiretitttyTart f =acted upon with a de gree of energf ;utl e consistency becoming the e ., great national Olieeillevalich calls for it, the Ca- tholic hate assumed not merely a new, but, in some respects, an awful form. It was proposed at that meeting, that the Catholic Association should lay aside its name, and other exclusive attributes, and that in correspondence with the character of the meeting, a large pro portion of Protestants, men of property and in fluence in Ireland, incorporating themselves with their Catholic brethren, and prosecuting, in firm alliance with them, the one paramount measure of their release from civil bondage, the conjoint body should adopt the tide of " Irish Associa tion," and present itself to the people of England as virtually representing the wishes of the , majority of Irishmen, Protestants and Catholics included. Such a formal coalition of the laity of both churches, would, it is plain, be a powerful instrument for advanc ing that cause which is now confessed to be a common one. The weakness of Ireland for the last half century has been the dis cord between her sects, fomented by laws whose avowed purpose was to make one the victim of another- The only occasion on which Protestant and Catholic, (the latter then compa ratively feeble and timorous) united, and spoke like a eines nation, was that of 1782. Mr. Grattan was the magician who then broke the spell of sectarian animosity. He taught die Pro testant to demand a free trade, and a free legis lature; he taught the Catholic to echo the pa triotic cry. England was engaged in a doubtful war—a war against the liberty of another branch of her empire : she gave way to the voice of the .4 universal Irish nation," and Ireland recovered her independence. The Protestant Aristocracy have recently, after many years of hesitation and experience, convinced themselves, that without conceding the claims of the Catholics to liberty, their own claims to property may soon be of little value. They and, that so long as the Catholics are fettered, they are likely them selves to be curtailed of their own enjoyments, —that their estates are threatening to become less productive, their influence as landlords already tottering, and a power created all around them, from which their lives may not long be se cure. If the Protestant aristocracy, therefore, are convinced that Catholic excitement and disaffec tion have begun to re-act upon themselves, and to visit them in their dearest interests, as a direct and increasing calamity, what step can be more natural or more lawful, than their combining with the Catholics,—the original, but no longer exclusive, sufferers from persecution,—to abolish that which, from a particular, has grown into a general grievance? It is said in our Dublin letters, that difficulties have occurred at the threshold of the projected alliance, which may retard or wholly disappoint it. If the Protestant and Catholic managers be as earnest in their pursuit of this common good, as their discourses would lead us to infer that they are agreed in principle upon its importance and urgency, we cannot anticipate any chance of fililure, or even of delay. This is no time for mutual jealousy, when the sole end of both parties is to extirpate from the Statute Book those laws of which jea lousy and foul suspicion have been from the first the odious characteristics. Let each yield a little, and all will be the gainers.—Times. The foolish agitators of Ireland have began to abuse the new Lord Lieutenant, raking it for granted, c priori, that his Grace must be op posed to the claims of the country. Of this in judicious conduct it is hardly possible to speak in terms sufficiently reproachful. None had a greater esteem for the late Viceroy than our selves, none more sincerely regretted his recall or departure. Perhaps if the Duke of North umberland himself were frankly to give his opi nion at this moment, he would wisti, as we do most sincerely, that the Marquis of Anglesea had never been recalled, or that he were replaced, but the Lord Lieutenancy being no longer occupied, it is certainly competent to any other nobleman, of high rank and character, to accept of it, with out thereby giving offence ; and it is unwise and unjust to anticipate a perverse line of politics from the Peer who consents to fill the vacant office, and to calumniate him forthwith for opi nions which he may not hold, and for a system of rule which he sway not adopt. For our own parts, we do not believe that the Duke of Wel lington would have an exalted ()ranee or Cum berland Lord Lieutenaut of Irelarl; and we I give his Grace full cm edit for the sentiment. Nei tiler is the Duke of Northumberland such a per son. And if he were even doubtful of the pro priety of making conceseioe to the Catholics, did his noble amid candid predecessor derive no ad vantage, imbibe no new light, acquire no fresh knowledge, from living among the brave and in jured people whom he was sent out to govern ? We repeat, therefore, and in the most positive terms, to the public, the assurance which we Nve in our paper of Saturday, that the Duke of orthumberland is even now anxious " for an early, judicious, and conciliatory arrangement of the Catholic question."—lizid. We were very much amused some time ago with an application from a foreign bookseller to an English author to furnish him with an ac count of England in about a sheet of letter press. Such an account would be about as in. etructire as a description of the world in three sheets. England is truly a country of anoma lies. A man may live half a century in Eng land, looking into every thing, and busying himself about every thing, and yet at the end of that time stumble on important discoveries as to practices of the existence of which he had not the slightest suspicion before. If an Eng- Lehman travelling in France or Italy were to be told that in his boasted country of law and li lserty a man may be thrown into prison, and kept in it term after term, without the possibility of obtaining a trial, because he could not raise a considerable sum of money demanded by the Clerk of the Peace as dues before trial, he would be flatly contradicted. Yet it appears from the report of a case at the Wiltshire Quarter Ses sions, reported in the Devizes Gazette, which our readers will find in another column, that be hire a defendant can be admitted to trial he must pay (lawn large sums to the Clerk of the Peace. In the pupa alluded to, the defendants were the clerk and servant of an attorney, who were i twice indicted—once for an assault on the pro eccutor and his daughter, and a second time for an assault on the prosecutor's wife. " The fees upon these two indictments amounted to 141. Is. 4d., which Mr. Svvayne, the Clerk, demand ed before he would allow the trial to come on." If twelve defendants are included in one indict ment, the Clerk of the Peace is allowed to de mand from each defendant as much as he could demand from one person if no others were in cluded in it. And by multiplying indictments, the fees on all of which must be paid by defend ants before trial, a rich man may keep a poor man in prison as long as he pleases. "As the practice had hitherto been (says Mr. Halcomb, Counsel for the defendants), any evil-disposed person had the power of milling a defendant by multiplying indictments against him ; and in the case of a poor man, it almost amounted to a denial of justice, to compel him to pay, before trial, the present laia4e amount of fees even upon one indictment. The Learned Counsel in stanced two cases ; one of which had occur red but the day previous, when a labourer was renzanded . to be imprisoned, and not take his trial till the next Sessions, because he could not pay the fres of the C'lei k of the Peace ; the other was that of a poor labourer, who was ac quitted of an assault at the last Marlborouph Sessions, but who, through his inability to pay the fees demanded, was about to be sent to prison ; to prevent which, the Learned Counsel felt it his duty •to re turn those fees which he had received for defending him." By a recent Act of Parlia ment, it is directed that all fees which were usually paid by a prisoner who should be ac quitted shall be paid by the county ; but in practice the payment of the fees is made a con dition precedent to trial. Well might Mr. Hid comb exclaim, " it was harsh beyond measure; it was a total denial of all justice, and had long been matter of surprise to many at the Bar-- that a man who, after going through the ordeal of a trial, might be found perfectly innocent of the ofrence laid to his charge, should be liable to be sent to prison, from Session to Session, until he paid fees, forsooth, " for recording his verdict, and entering the judgment of the Court against him." It had long been matter of sur prise to many at the Bar. What said the Ma gistrates ? The Chairman, we are told, after a short conference with the Bench, observed " that there was certainly great weight due to some of the observations of Mr. Halcomb ; but as the Court was taken by surprise," These atrocities have been going on daily for years before their eyes, but it was not convenient for them to see them ; and now they are taken by surprise when they are mentioned 1 The Clerk of the Peace observed with appa rent nonchalance, " the simple question was, whether the fees demanded were payable by the prosecutor or defendant." It was merely by accident, no doubt, that the defendants had been pitched on. It never occurred to a Clerk of the Peace, that if a prosecutor were to be asked for 141. ls. 4d. for fees, beforehand, his ardour might be so far cooled that he might pause before lugging out ; whereas the poor devil of a prisoner is a sure card, for he must be a strange fellow if he prefer being imprisoned from Session to Session rather than pay, if he have the money, to obtain a trial. The circum stance of being able to make each defendant pay the whole fees and charges for summoning a Jury, &c., whereas the prosecutor would only have to pay once for all what each defendant is made to pay, had no effect in determining the choice of the Clerk of the Peace I And how happens it that the Magistrates are blind to these things ? How happens it that they allow to the Clerk of the Peace the power of denying justice to all who are unable to pay heavy fees to him, and to keep them in prison from Session to Session ? Shall we attempt"to solve the enigma? The situation of Clerk of the Peace of a County is so lucrative, that it is deemed not beneath the acceptance of the first families of a county ; and when such an office falls in, it is generally be stowed by the Lord Lieutenant on a member of his own family. In the Register of Saturday last Mr. Cobbett mentions, to the honour of the late Lord Radnor, his gratuitous nomination to the office of a Deputy Clerk of the Peace on the death of his principal, as a piece of generosity unexampled in county animals : " Having got into digression," he says, " I will relate to you, my Lord Duke (of Wellington), and the public, an anecdote illustrative of the character of the Noble Lord (Radnor's) father. When he was Lord Lieutenant of the county of Berks, the Clerkship of the Peace of the county became vacant by the death of the gentleman who held it as a si necure, or once performed by deputy. The De. play reported the death to the Lord Lieutenant, and requested him to recommend him as the Deputy to the succeeding Clerk of the Peace. His Lord- Lhip desired him to send him a blank commission, which the Deputy did, and his Lordship filled the blank with the Deputy's own name, and sent it back to him, though here was a lucrative office, that he might have given to one of his own family, or to any friend, or friend's son, and though the Deputy was a perrou to whom, I believe, he had never spoken in his life, except, perhaps, in the character of a Magistrate. If, indeed, he had sought all Eng land through, he could not have found a man more worthy of his favour. This man was Mr. William Budd, to whom I have done myself the honour, and a real honour I deem it, to dedicate my book called the Woodlands.' But, my Lord Duke, where shall we look for another Lord Lieutenant to do an set like this, however worthy the object ? I think it my duty to record this act of the late Earl of Radnor, and especially as I know that it will be gratifying to the feelings of my excellent friend Mr. Budd." So much for the value of the office. The ChtZrman was taken by surprise. There seemed a great deal in the observations of Mr. Hol comb ; but then the income of the Clerk of the Peace might be affected by the removal of this abomination ; and we must -keep up the value of the office of Clerk of the Peace, who is as one of ourselves. One would have thought that the bare statement of such monstrous injustice as the remanding poor la bourers from session to session, because of their inability of paying the fees to allow them to be tried, coal not have been made to any company of English Gentlemen without calling forth a loud and indignant condemnation of the prac tice. 0 no ! They know better how to ma nage their feelings. They know when patience and good temper are becoming virtues f What! Be indignant at practices which, perhaps, en able the son or cousin of a Lord Lieutenant to give a grand entertainment to them—to keep a preserve, or whatever else may be desirable ! Mr. Holcomb deserves high commendation for his placing these abominations in such a manner before their Worships that they can no longer plead ignorance of them. We need not say that this is a service of danger to a Barrister, who, before entering on it, must have counted on the animosity of the Clerk of the Peace, generally a powerful man, and tho rest of the Magistrates. Barristers who attend sessions will occasionally relate to their iiiends anecdotes exhibaing Ma gistrates in a strange light ; but it is one thing to tell abuses to a friend under promise of secrecy, and another to drag them in all their ugliness before the public. Well may Magistrates con , spire to drjye Barristers from sessions ! They have good reason for so doing. They are wise lin their generation. Talk of Spain 1 Talk of Italy ! we defy any man to adduce an instance of such barefaced iniquity in any country of Europe, as that which is practised in the county of Sir Francis Burdett, and very likely in many others, with the connivance of the Magistracy.— Morning Chronicle. As the Meeting of Parliament approaches, the inhabitants of such of the parishes in the metropolis as labour under the infliction of a Select Vestry, are anxious to learn ‘vhat mea sures are in agitation to rid them of this dis temper. Hitherto the fault has been that each parish has wasted its resources in fruitless indi vidual efforts, when a united and simultaneous movement was the one thing needful. This, we fear, is still the error. If the money which has been expended in St. Martin, in Marylehone, in Covent-garden, St. Junes', Westminster, and St. Giles', had been put into one common purse, and dedicated.to one common object, " the long pull, the strong pull, and the pull altogether," must have accomplished that which has hitherto failed for want of it. If this has been the error, it is the part of wisdom to learn experience from the knowledge of it ; and, if this long-standing nuisance is to be abated, it must be by a speedy union of action among those who are affected by it. Mr. Hobhouse stands pledged to bring the subject before Parliament; but, to enable him to do so in a tangible shape, each palish should furnish him with its own case, and delegates should be appointed from each, to show the amount of combined evil, which loses half its force when presented only in an isolated form. We would strongly recommend, therefore, each parish to lose no time in laying the foundation of the combined movement we allude to, by put ting into a clear and business-like shape a con cise view of its own particular grievance. Let Mr. Hobhouse, or whoever else takes the matter in hand, be furnished with these statements without loss of tim e ; and le: the parties who furnish them be prepared to authenticate them before a Committee.—Morning Herald. One of the principal causes of the iniquity and oppression that prevail in the prisons of the me tropolis is the practice which allows gaolers to extort fees for the " accommodation" of pri soners. This practice sanctions the worst sort of rapacity, the plunder of captives. It steels the hearts of gaolers more than anything else, it makes them look upon those who are intrusted to their custody as beings handed over to their dens to .be fleeced and preyed upon by them in every pbs sible way. Even in Houses of Correctior, which are prisons not merely for safe custody, but for punishment, it appears that " accommo dation-money" is taken from those who can afford to give it, to purchase a relaxation of the severity of the law, so that in these places the greatest rogue is likely to be best off. The petty-larceny knave must bear the lash of justice with all its terrors, while the robber on a grander scale knows how to soften down her awful frown into something of more benignant expression. At the meeting of the Middlesex Magistrates the other day, the visiting Justices of the House of Correction reported that tw o culprits had effected their escape under circumstances calculated to throw blame on the gaoler and officers. The mode of escape, in fact, rendered the proceeding very suspicious, and some of the Magistrates re probated in strong terms the "gross negligence" which rested somewhere ; but Sir Jas. Williams said it had been more than hinted that superior acommodation was to be had for a consideration in the House of Correction. Nobody could say how far this disposition to accommodate might go. He wished this matter to be made a part of any inquiry that might take place upon the subject. Thus we see how much inquiry is still wanting into the state of prisons, notwithstand ing all that we have heard of late years of Par liamentary Inquiries, Committees of Prison Dis cipline, and Philanthropic Reforms, without any reference to the case in question, which we do not wish to prejudge, as it is now under offi cial investigation. We do not hesitate to say that gaolers who receive " accommodation money," to mitigate the terrors of punishment to criminals who can pay, will not find it diffi cult to accept a bribe to connive at their escape. But, whether we look at the system of our gaols for debtors or for criminals, all seems to move upon the p ivot of venality. Th e f ees i n the one place, and the aecommodation,money in the other, ale " part and parcel" of a system dis graceful to the country. Why s h ou ld a debtor be unable to procure even the convenience of a decent lodging within the prison to which the law sends him, unless he pays, under the name of a fee, to a gaoler ? Why should those debtms, who are so throughly insolvent that they cannot pay those fees, be left to the mncrcy of the turnkeys ?—nid. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. BOW-STREET. Yesterday a gentleman waited upon Sir R. BIRNIE, to give information of the following aggra vated highway robbery, accompanied with violence, which was perpetrated on Saturday evening last, between Woolwich and Deptford. The gentleman stated, that the person who bad been attacked and ill-treated was a Mr. Coulson, a pianoforte-maker, who resides at Brewer's-green, Westmiester. On the morning of Saturday he left home for Woolwich, on business, and at pine o'clock in the evening he went to the coach-office for the purpose of taking his passage to town, when he was informed that the last coach had just started, and was told to go by the lower road to the Black Hulse public-house, where the coach generally stop ped for a few minutes. Mr. Coulson followed the direction, but found, on arriving at the Black Horse, that the coach had just left, and that he could pro curs no other conveyance. Being an old man, and finding that be must walk to town, he naturally wished to be protected on the road, and asked if any of the police patrol were at hand, but was an swered in the negative. While Mr. Coulson was conversing with the people of the house, he ob served two countrymen and a tall man in top boots, who had the appearance of a servant out of place, drinking at the bar. They immediately proposed to accompany Mr. Coulson as far as Deptford, to which place they said they were proceeding.— They accordingly walked with him as far as the turnpike -gate between Woolwich and Deptford, when his three companions began to hustle each other, apparently in sport. Mr. Coulson observed to them that lie was an old man, and would take the middle of the road,, upon which the tall man went over to him and kept walking by his side, observing that he was a servant looking for a situation, which he shortly expected to obtain, in the house of a gen tleman in Bedford-equare. The other two men were a short distance behind, and on arriving at a gloomy part of the road, one of them rushed sud denly upon him and knocked him down. The three men then knelt upon him and beat him in a dreadful manner about the head and face, apparently with a view to render him insensible. They then robbed him of his watch and 11. 15s. in money. NT. Coal• son lay for a considerable time in a state of insensi bility, and then, with considerable difficulty, pro ceeded towards town. lie arrived at Westminster bridge in a weak and exhausted state, and made known to the watchman there the manner in which he had been robbed and ill-trated. Sir R. BiamE, after observing that the robbery appeared to have been one of a most aggravated description, asked if Mr. Coulson himself was not able to come forward and give hit evidence as to the above facts ? The gentleman observed that be had been so dreadfully ill-used as to render medical aid necessary. Sir R. BIRNIE immediately wrote to Mr. Day, of Whitehall, under whom the patrol stationed upon the road in question are appointed to act, in order that immediate steps may be taken to bring the of fenders to justice. MARLBOROUGH.STREET. CoN.—Yesterday /?ocrt Bevis, a respect able-looking young man, about seventeen years of age, was brought up from St. Giles's'wateh-house, charged with being found in the house of George Buckley, watchman of the parish of St. Martin-in the-Fields. Upon the parties being called, Mrs. Buckley came in, a remarkably pretty-looking female, about twenty years of age, having a child in her arms, accompanied by a whole host of _female friends, who seemed to frown defiance upon the husband. George Buckley, on advancing to the table, begged his Worship would listen to him, although he was hardly able to speak on account of the me lancholy tale which he had to relate. After making this exordium he was sworn, when he deposed that he was one of the patrol of St. Martin-in-the Fields, and about half-past six o'clock on Monday morning, on leaving duty, he returned to his lodgings in Sta cey-street, and into his room there are two entrances. On going up he knocked at the door, when he heard his wife, in a nhisper, say, " Get up and dress yourself;" but, hardly crediting his ears, listen e d again, when he heard her say, " Go out at the other door." On hearing this he repeated his knocks, when his wife said, " Who is there I"' He then desiNd her to open the door, and not to send the person out whom she had in the room until the door was opened, on which she, with great sang froid, inquired " which door would he have opened f" His wife at length opened one of the doors, but the prisoner had got out by the other before he entered ; but he was prepared with the evidence of a watch man whom he had called as a witness, who would prove that he saw the prisoner go into the yard un dressed, with his clothes wider his arm, and there dressed himself; and he was certain that the pri soner at the bar was in bed with his wife when he first knocked at the door, she being also undressed. Mrs. Buckley—l hope that you will put this vil lain upon his oath. Mr. Roil—He is sworn ; but what is the person charged ?—The prisoner said that he was a jeweller, and that the charge was false. Mr. Roil—Unless he committed an assault I can have nothing to do with this charge. You must go to your attorney if you think you are injured. Buckley—l wish, Sir, that you would divorce us. Mrs. Buckley—" May I be allowed to speak, Sir ?" which request being allowed, she stated that the young man kept company with her sister, who had brought him home upon Sunday night, and-- Buckley—l hope, your Worship, that you will separate us, for I will never live with her again. Mr. Roil—Nonsense; but stop and hear the ex planation which is about being stated. Ann Donovan, the wife's sister, deposed that she is living in the family of Mr. Keys, wine-mer chant, and that she had kept company with the young man for these two years, but he, not meeting the approbation of Buckley, had forbid him his house, and during the last fourteen months he had only been in the house once. On Sunday night sbe and the young man had been out together, when he hasl drank rather freely, and by the time they got to her sister's he was quite incapable of taking care of himself; and, it being a very inclement night, she asked her sister to let him sleep there, to which she consented; and this was the real fact of the case. Buckley—And they went to bed together. Mrs. Buckley—You are a liar for so saying. ROR—Well, you hear the explanation, which is a very fair statement, that he was so intoxicated that he could not more. Buckley—She shall have no more of my substance. Mr. Roe—Don't be a fool. Buckley—C•he shall not. Mr. Ron—Hold your tongue. Buckley—Will you hear what the watchman ob served ? Besides, I have been often told that such things_ took place when I was out on duty. Mr. Ron—There has been enough stated to satisfy you, if you have any sense, that nothing improper has taken place. Mrs. Buckley—The villain knows the charge is false; besides, I sat up all night. Mr. ROE—You may all go about your business. Buckley—Will you not divorce us, your worship ? Mr. Ron—l tell yea I have no power; if you are still dissatisfied you must go to your attorney. Buckley, declaring that he would certainly bring an action in the Sheriff's Court, left the office fol lowed by his wife and her friends, who succeeded in forcing him to take refuge in the public-house op posite. UNION-HALL. Yesterday a man named James Rabbeth, was brought. before Mr. HONE, charged with having fraudulently obtained possession of six cases of eggs, value 471. 195., the property of Francis Merlin, a trader between Gravelines and this country. The complainant had only arrived in town a few days ago with a cargo of eggs from France. Hay ing landed them, they were exposed for sale in the Borough-market, and on Friday afternoon the pri soner called at the store and bargained for six cases of them. He described himself a respectable trades man, and desired that the eggs should be sent to a house in Flint -street, Walworth, at the same time inviting the egg-merchant to accompany him to the " Cottage of Content," in order to obtain change of a 501. note to pay for and conclude the bargain. They then proceeded together to the above public house, and in the interim the six cases of eggs were conveyed to the prisoner's residence. The frenel;- man, perceiving a disinclination on the part of his customer to pay the money, and the latter endea vouring to leave the house without settling the ac count, a constable was sent for, into whose custody he was given, and the Magistrate having been made acquainted with the circumstances under which the eggs were obtained, immediately sent an officer to take possession of them. It was then discovered that the prisoner had taken the house in Flint-street merely as a depositary for goods obtained in arimi -lar manner to those belonging to the complainant; and a witness who lived next door to the prisoner, stated, that a variety of goods bad come there with in the last few days, which were removed soon after-; wards to some other house in the occupation of the prisoner and others, who were in league with him in carrying on such practices. Mr. HONE said, it was obvious the prisoner want ed to obtain the eggs without paying for them, and had adopted the scheme of inviting the com plainant away from the store, in order th• more easily to effect his purposes. The complainant being under the necessity of sailing that evening for Gravelines, the prisoner was remanded ou the charge until Friday next. The eggs were delivered up to the owner. The out-door thermometer, which was at 22 on Sunday evening, rose to 34 during the night; while the barometer, during the same period, sunk nearly a whole degree. - Nammaleek, one of the lately-discovered towns in the interior of Africa, is at the foot of a moun tain nearly perpendicular, and m thickly covered with every description of brushwood au to form a covert for thousands of hyenas, tiger cats, jackals, monkeys, &c. which are so rapacious ilia! the poor inhabitants are nearly destitute of animal food, being unable to keep a single bullock, sheep, or goat, from the ravages of these their eternal tormentors. SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. LIVERPOOL. SUNDAY, JANU ARY 25.—Wind water ten minutes past two.—Arrived the M‘Lel- Lin, , from Charleston ; Countess of Lonsdale, Marshall, from \Thiteharen ; Cumberland, Isle of Man. Sailed—The Henry Arnot, Stain, for Buenos Ayree ; Boyant, —, for Tampico; and Lady Cootc, for Faro. The James, of Peterhead, from Lisbon to Liverpool, all well, off N.W. LAW INTELLIGENCE. VICE•CHANCELLOR'S COURT, JAN. 26. KING V. TURNER. This case, the circumstances of which did not transpire, was put in his Honour's paper to be spoken to. The point was of a legal nature and of no public inte r est, but an oversight of Mr. Sugden's appeared to give considerable amusement to the Court. Mr. HottNE and Mr. PEMBERTON were heard on one side, and Mr. SUGDEN following, concurred in the argu ment of those learned gentlemen, and confidently stated that the law was quite clear. The VICE CHANCELLOR—Then Mr. Sugden is with you, Mr. Horne ? Mr. HORNE said, that the argument of his Learned Friend was certainly, to his surprise, on his side, but that his Learned Friend happened to be on the other side. (Great laughter.) Mr. SUGDEN, who, after consulting with his junior, Mr. Jacob, appeared not a little disconcerted, said that he found he had mistaken his side. What he had said, however, was said in all sincerity, and he never would, for any client, be he who he might, come into Court and argue against what he thought to be a settled rule of law. As learned persons, however, had differed on the present point, he hoped his Honour would decide it without reference to what had fallen from him. The VICE-CHANCELLOR promised he would do so, COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JAN. 26. COTTON V. JAMES. Mr. F. POLLOCK moved for a rule to show cense why a new trial shOuld not be had in this case, the particulars of which were reported on the 19th inst. The action was in trespass for the illegal seizure of the plaintiff's goods. The defendant had pleaded, that the plaintiff had been adjudged a bankrupt, and that the seizure was made under the authority of a warrant of the Commissioners of Bankrupt. The case went to the Jury under the directions of his Lordship, who left it to them to say what damages the plaintiff ought to receive. as a compensation in damages for the illegal seizure beyond 1031., the value of the goods. The Jury found a verdict for 4001. The Learned Counsel (Mr. Pollock) now sought to set aside the verdict, on two grounds,— first, that an act of bankruptcy had been established; and, secondly, that the damages were excessive, no special damage being proved. The COURT were of opinion that there was no ground for disturbing the verdict on the first point, but on the ground that the damages were excessive they granted a rule nisi for a new trial. SMITH V. THE COMMERCIAL DOCK COMPANY. Sir J. SCARLETT moved for a rule nisi to set aside the verdict obtained by the plaintiff, and enter a nonsuit. The action, which was tried at the late sittings at Guildhall, was to recover damages for negligence in the management of a vessel belonging to the plaintiff, after it had been brought into the Commercial Docks. At the suggestion of the Court, the parties agreed :o a special cave. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, JAR. 26. James Du Bois, who described himself as a seer chant, was opposed on his application to be dis charged by. Messrs. Rocher, Museller and Co. The insolvent, it appeared, commenced business in 1827, with 3001. worth of property. His debts now amounted to nearly 11,0001. He had speculated to a great amount in accommodation bills and Joint Stock Companies, and by the latter was a consider able loser. He had taken about 4,000/. in accom modation bills from a solicitor in Essex-street, and these bills they dishonoured. Several of those bills had been discounted by the opposing creditors. Mr. Rocher, one of the opposing creditors, stated that his firm had discounted several bills for the in solvent, and which had been principally accepted by the before-mentioned solicitor. The insolvent came to them in March last, and represented that he had a legacy of 1,000/. remaining in Messrs. Child's hands ; and they, on this representation, discounted nearly 6004 worth of bills. The insolvent had taken several hundred pounds' worth of wine, when the bills were discounted, in lieu of cash. The COURT, after ascertaining from the insolvent that the legacy he described to M. Rocher was solely his wife's property, said they considered that the facts were not sufficiently strong to warrant them in remanding the insolvent, and ordered him to be discharged. • BOARD OF EXCISE, JAN. 26. John Garvin and Thomas Kelly were charged with having on their premises a private still. From the statement of the officers, it appeared that on the 6th of December, they went to a small house, No. 13, Mill-yard, Whitechapel, occupied by the defendants, and they discovered a trap-door within the cupboard of a room on the ground floor, which communicated by a ladder with a dark cellar, in which they found a large still in full operation.-- Garvin admitted he was tenant of the house, but Kelly denied knowing any thing of the still. How ever, it was proved that Kelly slept in the room through which it was necessary to pass to get into the cellar. Neither of defendants appeared; but Garvin's wife attended to deny that her husband had any thing to do with the still. The COURT convicted the defendants in the miti gated penalty of 501. Thomas Kennedy was charged with being the pro prietor of two private stills. It appeared that the defendant, who is now in Whiteeross-street prison, was a very extensive dealer in this illicit traffic, having been twice con victed before. In support of these two informa tions, it was proved that on the Ist September, the officers went to the defendant's house, No. 4, Fins bury-market, and seized a still in full work, charged with spirits ; among the variety of articles seized, were a pair of milk pails and yoke, which had evi dently been used to carry spirits in, so that the per son carrying the spirits might pass for a milkman. After the seizure, it seemed that the defendant left the house, and went to live at No. 10, Hertford place, Shoreditch ; thither the officer went on the 25th of October, and found another still in full operation. The COURT said a check must be put to this traf fic, which was carried on chiefly by the Irish ; they were determined to inflict such penalties as would show that persons cannot be allowed to carry on these offences with impunity. The defendant was then fined the full penalty of 2001. John Haywood was charged with a similar offence. This defendant was proved to have carried on an illicit distillery at No. 13, Somerford-street, Beth nal-green. The COURT fined him .50/. On Sunday afternoon sliders and skaters were enabled to pursue their amusements on the Thames, on that part of the river just before arriving at Barnes, and near Chiswick. There is an island at such part of the Thames, nearly towards its centre; and on the creek thns formed the river bad frozen sufficiently to enable many persons to skate aad slide on it. Almost the whole of the river, thus far up, was frozen over ; but the sudden thaw of yesterday broke up the ice, and sent large masses floating. THE AMERICAN MILLWOOD. LFrom the Winchester ( Va.) Republican.] SWEARINGEN AND HIS PARAMOUR. We have verbally heard, throu g h various channels, in a manner which goes to render the fact very probable, that George Van Swearingen, who is charged with having murdered his w ife in Ailegliany county, Md. in September last, was recently taken near the Red River, in Ken tucky, together with Rachel Cunningham, his suspected partner in the crime. It is said they were apprehended by a tavern keeper (who is (also a post-master), at whose house they had passed the night. In an hour after their de parture, the mail arriving with Governor Kent's proclamation, describing Swearingen and his paramour, suspicion was directed towards them, and the post-master, collecting a few neighbours, went in pumuit, and overtook them in two or three hours. From another source, we have heard the fol lowing history of Rachel Cunningham, to whom Lillo's IVlillwood, in the tragedy of G eor ge Barnwell, cannot hold a candle. She was brought up at Bedford, Pa. where she was pro bably early initiated into the' corruptions of that (during the watering season) fashionable a nd licentious place. Of her early history, h o wever, we have heard nothing, except that her person was perfectly lovely, and that her countenance was a mirror in which each winning grace strove for pre-eminence. Possessing perhaps as great a share of personal beauty as was ever lavished ma a woman in the most wanton freaks of Nature's workmanship—rivalling, perhai?s, the fabled nymphs of Cyprus; she visited branklin County, Pa., where the first act of the drawa may be said to have opened. She there en hared the affec tions of a Mr. one of the most wealthy and hitherto respectable merchants of that county, and effected a separation between him self and wife. Stung at length with remorse, he summoned sufficient courage to break the s pell which bound him, and, by a successful stratagem, effected through the aid of o 4 of his clerks, he succeeded in exti icating himself. The scene now shifted to Pittsburg, where the heroine of the drama soon captivated a wealthy blacksmith, the proprietor also of an extensive livery-stable, whose infidelity threw his wife into a frenzy, and caused her in a moment of re venge and desperation to set fire to her husband's possessions, by which his extensive stables and forty horses were consumed. This effected the wife's desires, and the modern Millwood was again cast upon the world. The scene next shifts to Harrisburgh, the capital of Pennsylvania, where sh e soon f orme d an amour with Judge 1 7 —, a name foremost in the list of debauchees and profligates in that staid and exemplary state. The conseluence of which was another matrimonial separation. Her reason for leaving the Judge we do not remem ber, nor is it material. The fourth act finds her in Ilageritown, Md., where she speedily entrapped in her toils the Sheriff of the county, George Van Swearingen, who has frequently been heard to say, that he never knew or felt the raptures of love until he looked upon this syren, and that he never could gaze upon her without his whole frame being wrought up to the highest state of bewildering excitement. To her he sacrificed every thing-- fortune, honour, fame ; for her he became a felon, and for her he will probably die a felon's death. The fifth and last act is yet to be perforMed. The materials are at hand—the dungeon scene — the gallows—the executioner—the assembled multitude—the dying speech, and the slow but certain triumph of justice. LONDON MARKETS. PRICE OF BREAD. The highest price of Bread in the Metropolis Is 12d. foe the Mb. Loaf. There are others who sell from %d. to 13 d. below hat price. ?RICE OF SEEDS.-Jan. VI New English Red Clover Seed (per Cwt.) 40s. 50s. fine S(. flie. Old Ditto Ditto -e. .-s. fine -6. -0. New Foreign Ditt0.....--. 503. 60s fuse 655. 705. Old Ditto _ ... -30 s. 40s. fine 50s. 1156. New White Clover-- 4os. s(h. tine 803. 70s. Old Ditto Ditto 6od. 70s. fine 85s. 99'. New Trefoil . 148. 245. fine 30s. 345. Old Ditto ..... -s. -s. fine --s 40s. Rib Grass ----- _ 38s. 41s. fine -3. -a. English Carraway Seed- ---..... -s. 4 Is. 465. fine ...a. Foreign Ditto ........---..-----,----,......, -s. -*. ....g. tine +.4. Coriander.......---------.--... -s. 17s. fine -s. 19s. St. Foin . (per Quarter)--.-... .-S. -8. -s. tine -s. Rye Grass ,-------,.- lss. 40s. new --s. -s. Macey Ditto --___. 40s. 508. new --s. -6. Linseed, for feeding -- . -6. 388. fine.-s. 40s. Ditto, for crushing ---.. -8. 41s. 425. fine-s. Canary Seed, New _ -6. 455. fine -a. 48s. Ditto Old--.. --- ......6. -s. ...... fine •-.8. White Alustard Seed--(per Bushel)-.-.os. 6s. 7s. 6d. tine--a. Brown Ditto .. . --s. Bs. log. fin, _ s . Turnip Seeds, Rounds --s. ....-8. 19.5. tine --s. Green and lied Ditto --.-. . --s. 9s. 12s. tine -s. Tares, Old ---- --8. 345. 408. tine -s. Ditto New ----------- - -s. -s. fine 4-18. 48s. Raise Seed, English, fine (per Last) 301.:121....... Foreign 271. 298. PRICES OF HOPS.-Jan. 26. Kent Pockets Sussex Ditto -....- 3/. 18s. 41. 4s. to 41. Bs. Essex Ditto 44 10*. 5/. ss. to 61. Os. lariO,Ln Ditto, I'l ie .. 01. Os. St. o*. to 9/. Os. Seconds . 0/. Os. 61. Os. to 71. 10g. 3/. 16*. 41. 11 %. to 5/. 10s. 3/. 10*. 31. 16s. to 4/. Os. 41. 4*. 41. 16s. to 5/. s*. Kent kag:;.— Sussex Ditto Essex Ditto., WII IT ECHAVEL HAY M A ItKET.—Jan. xk Hay 455. Oil. to tils. Oil.. . lover 60s. LA!. to 105 s. Oct. .Straw aoo. 01. to :;tl. PRICE OF OIL. 10 0 I, ll3 ' ia i n ny s Be cm_ e q l o 6 i it i r: " --- :: -.. a - t the Mill, per Os. Refined - 7 14 1 19 : 0 Rape Cake, per ton 5 10 • -- PRICE OF POTATOES.--Jan, - Marsh Champions W. Os. to 41. Os. per ton. Kidneys v.v....A 01. Os. to 51. Os. ditto. Scotch 3/. ss. to 51. 10s. ditto. Oxnobles and Shams Si. 108. to 31. O. ditto. PRICES OF LEA'PHEII.. Per lb. d. to d. Per lb. d. to d. 8utt5......--50 to .5.51 b... 14) 20 Tanned Horsy tildes,. 16 19 Ditt0—...,..60 to 661 b.... 22 23 Sp=l'll Ditto ,22 26 Dressing Hides 14 1 7 Per dozen. Fine Couch I , lide3 17 21 Calf Skina-36 to 4l db. 19 26 Crop Hides, 35 to 40114 14f I 6 Ditto .......50 to 70th. 24 SO Ditt0.....---45 to 5011. Itik 19 Ditto 70 to 801 b. 22 25 Ditto ................. 19 21 Small Seals, Greenland 111 29 RAW HIDES. Per Stone. e. d. to g. d. Per Stone. a , d, toe. d• Sect Heiters& StcergB U 3 4 I Ordinary lIU 2 0 4 2 8 Market '7 0 each. BIRTHS. On the 211 instant, at Stratford-green, Essex, the lady of Wilson Jones, EN., of Gay equal; Denbigh shire. of a son. On the 19th instant, at Jamey, the lady of John God frey, Esq., of a son. On the 26th instant, the lady of Jelin J. Harrison, Esq. of King-street, Portman-square, of a son. On the 25th instant, at Williaft Rectory, the lady of the Rey. William Pyin, of a daughter. On the 81st instant, at the Paragon, Mrs. Frederick Almon, of siesta. MARRIED. On the 21st instant, the Rev. Henry V enn , D.A., F e l• perpetual inrato lw o o fp o r f yp t i e : n to 's d C au a g m h b t ridg ero e f , t r o d late Nick. Sykes, Esq., of Swanland. DIED. Shield, Esq., Composer to the King, and Master of his On the 25th inst., at his house in Earners-street, Wm. Majesty's Band of Musicians. He will be deeply regretted by all who had the happiness of knowing him--u be united the most admirable talents as a musician to the most estimable qualities as a man. • On the 25th instant, at his house in Newington.plaee • Surrey, after a long and severe illness,Vohn Bagwill, Esq. aged 78. On the 25th instant, at Clapham, aged 76, Mrs. Dennis, widow of the late Mr. Adam Dennis, of Clement's-lane, Lombard-street. On the 19th instant, at Pimlico, aged 15, William, sore of the late William Ozias Humphry, Esq., of the Privy Council-office. PalkTen and PUBLISHED by MURDO YOUNG, kt Fla Sol Orvlca, 112, &nuns, L014H41154