The Sun. — London, England, 1829-11-26 00:00:00

the lender, the Finance Minister would repre sent the long term for which the annuity was to run, and the liberal income secured by it, while to the public he would describe the excess of the annuity above the common rate of interest, and the early period at which the burden imposed by it upon the nation would cease. The present condition of the country, however, is one which raises the nature of such a financial measure as this from a mere expedient for raising money into an important and disinterested accommoda tion to many classes of the people. Individuals not having families, and being desirous to hi e:ease their stock of actual comforts by an in crease of income, unattended with risk, have thus an opportunity of converting any portion of their capital, great or small, from a fund bearing only 3 or 4 per cent. interest, into an annuity, terminable either with their Hiles or otherwise, of 6,8, 10, or 12 per cent., according to age, or other circumstances. The act has been ar raigned as an invitation to selfishness, to sacrifice other interests to its own, as in the case of hus bands, parents, &c., buying annuities for them selves, and leaving their families destitute. But this is a foolish objection. The selfish man may find many ways of indulging his own tastes, and extending his enjoyments, at the expellee of those who have more sacred claims upon his so licitude. A heartless father, for instance, re quires no Annuity Act to induce or enable him to mortgage his estate ; and a good one will no more yield to that than to any other tempta tion. But with regard to the possible con sequences of this Act, so far as the public interests are concerned, we do not very clearly see our way. The operation of the Act, for example, appears to have no limit but the disposable capital of the country. The Com missioners for Reduction of the National Debt are empowered " to grant annuities accord ing to the tables, upon the transfer to the said commissioners of any Bank Annuities, or any Long Annuities, as the consideration of the same : payments may also be made in money, in lieu of transferring stock." Thus any person who thinks fit—and as many as think tit—may demand from the Commissioners ter minable annuities, to the extent of (for illustra tration sake) 10,000,0001. yearly, in exchange for an amount of capital which, by its transfer to the hands of the Commissioners, does not cover an interest of more than 4,000,0001. or 5,000,0001. The probability of such an im mense addition to the immediate burdens of the country, by a general eagerness to buy annuities from Government, is a different question, and one of which we cannot judge ; but suppose it to take place, what provision has been, or can be, made for it ? The difficulty of providing for tl:at peculiar pension list called the .‘ dead weight ; "— (and annuities under the present Act mean nothing more in their financial operation than so many pensions for life or years)—was the motive for trying that inconceivable experiment of a succes sion of loans, repayable by annuities for forty (odd) years—of which the utter failure was signalized a few months ago, by the refusal o f th i s Bank of England to grant any further loans in aid of it. The object of that experi ment was to diminish the actual pressure, by prolonging it ; and the end was thought to be of so much importance, as to justify its accom pliehment by a large attempt to borrow. Here the res-erse is the thing desired,—viz. the aggra vating the immediate pressure, by abridging its duration, woad the limits of the measure do not appear to have been fixed or . contemplated either by the Legislature or the Government, but left to the chapter of accidents, and the fluctuations o f /he monevemarket. A question arises, are the elainis upon the Commissioners likely to be ,so numerous as greatly to increase the present Alinual expenditure of the nation ? Such a question at least appears, from the official state ment " introductory to the tables," to suggest h.lf to every one who reads the statement. How it .may be in practice, they can perhaps tell bet tor about the Stock Exchange than in Down ing-street.—lbid. We call the attention of our readers to a letter from a Correspondent, on the subject of a late trial in the Court of King's Bench, regarding the sale of offices. Our Correspondent, as he states, communicated to us the particulars of the case several months ago, and the result has amply confirmed our anticipations with respect to the part which the Duke of Wellington would , There can, we fear, be little doubt that men in office contrive to make the most in hard cash of the patronage they possess ; and this case is only distinguished from many others by the unfortunate circumstance to the purchaser of his having been somewhat beyond the proper age. Our Correspondent states that he first ap plied to the Lords of the Treasury on the subject of the wrong done to his friend. " To this ap plication, however, be it frankly, although not offensively, stated, their Lordships evinced very much repugnance. I then wen, to the Duke of Wellington, reiterating to him the sentiments eons,eyed in my letter to the Treasury ; and to which t received an acknowledgment, which, al though brief, indicated a correct sense of public propriety and private justice and courtesy. A day after this I 'had the honour of their Lordships' acknowledgments. Merl ant sat." The Duke of Wellington, not satisfied with merely expres sing his sense of this transaction, has exerted himself to discover the " greater offender," and afforded to the unfortunate plaintiff' the, means to enable him to proceed in the business. This instance of an inflexible determinc,tion in the head of the Government to strike at peculation and venality, be the offenders who they may, is calculated to do more good than can well be ex pressed. It reads the powerful under him a les. eon, calculated to make a profound impression on them. Some of those who served with his Grace in the Peninsula, and who knew the ex tent of his services in purifying from the grossest corruption various branches of our service, ex pressed themselves with confidence on his accep tance of the Premiership—that with his strait forward way of proceeding, he would do much more to break up corrupt confederacies, and to purify the Administration of the country, than any of his predecessors had done. In the Ord ;lance he gave a sample of what lie could do ; and the instance above alluded to is, we believe, zany thing but a solitary proof of his determina tion to pursue the same resolute line of con duct in all the branches of the service.—Morn itig Chronicle. In the forthcoming number of the Edin huyet Review, with an early number of which we ha l ve been furnished, there is an article on the French Commercial System, containing much - iialusibleinformation on a subject of ge neral interest 'tit the present moment. What the French have ga‘iiied by that system, which is the admiration of a certain class of politicians among ourselves, may be seen in this article.— We wish we could say we sa w any prospect of an improvement in the state of opinion on com mercial subjects among our neighbours. How ever, a fair representation of the commercial and manufacturing state of France 11 - K.:" ; all events, serve as a beacon to ourselves to avoid the rocks on which the industry of that country has been shipwrecked. A correspondent, whose communication follows our City Article, is at pains to show that England ought to pursue the system which has produced in France the most un fortunate results. The Americans have been fools enough to endoavour, by what is called a protec tive system, to establish, under great disadvant ages, various branches of manufactures. This system has failed, and the American Govern ment has, we believe, shewn symptoms of a dis position to retrace its steps. On the other hand, the Government of this country has placed the American intercourse with our West India Colonies under restrictions which were calculated to favour the commerce of Canada with the West Indies. If things were left to themselves, there can be no doubt that the Americans, from proxi mity, and the easy access to their ports at all seasons, would supply the West Indies with lumber. Our correspondent, echoing the lan guage of a certain class of shipowners, says— capital has been expended on the faith of the continuance of the present laws interdicting the Americans from the West Indies, which will be lost if the Americans, who have great national advantages, be allowed to compete with the Ca nadians in the supply of the West Indies with lumber, &c. " The true policy of England," lie says, " is to make the interests, prosperity, and happiness of our Colonies, a primary and paramount consideration with her Government." The disputes of the philosophers used for the most part to be at an end, when they understood the terms of each other. The interest of our Colonies ! But have West India Planters no concern with our Colonies ? The British West Indies can only hope to thrive by cultivating as cheaply as their neighbours ; for they cannot limit, if they would, their growth to the English consumption, and the price which they obtain abroad for the sugar not consumed here must affect the prices in the home market. Whatever adds to the expence of the cultivation of sugar, is so much taken out of the pockets of the West Indian planters ; so that this pretty phrase of " interests of our Colonies," means neither more nor less than that the colonists of the West In dies shall be sacrificed to that portion of the London ship-owners who have embarked capital in the trade between Canada and the West In dies. The English of the matter is this— if a blunder be once committed, it must be persisted in to all eternity; if a hundred, or two hundred thousand pounds have been embarked in a ruinous speculation, that speculation should be continued at a loss of millions. But at all events, if general principles are to be abandoned, the West Indian interests, as being of longer standing, and of more consequence from their extent, are entitled to preference over interests of a day's standing, when a comparatively trifling outlay of capital is concerned. But to return to the article in the Edinburgh Review. The fol lowing particulars are eminently deserving of no tice :—The Irench, with every disadvantage, have been anxious to have no competitors in the manu facture of iron. " The excessively high duties (says the Reviewer) laid on the importation of fo reign iron into France, in 1814 and 1822, have, by reducing the imports from abroad, and raising the price of iron at home to a comparatively high level, attracted a great deal of capital to the iron trade, and occasioned its rapid extension." In 1818, the unwrought iron produced in France was estimated at 1,140,000 metrical quintals; it is now supposed to amount to 2,269,000 quin tals. There are still from 80 to 90,000 quin tals of foreign iron imported, the greater part of which pays a duty of 25 francs, from which it is obvious that the 2,269,000 quintals must be in creased in the same proportion to consumers, beyond the price at which it could be imported, making the cost of protection 1,621,5201. ster ling. But this is not all ;—nineteen out of twenty parts of the iron produced are prepared by wood, and the price of this important article has risen nearly a third, in a few years. But observe how one monopoly affects all branches of industry. "On M. Martin, an iron-founder at Rouen, being asked by the Commission to what he ascribed the high price of machinery in France compared with its price in England, he replied, I attribute this great price to this, that the fuel, the files, the steel, in short the whole materiel of the fabrication is three times dearer in France than in England.'" The French sugars have been protected also, and what is the consequence ? The French have stimulated the growth of sugar in the colonies by a discriminat ing duty of 50 francs the quintal, which has given them the monopoly of the home-market; that is, the French consumers pay 1,318,0001. sterling over and above what they would have to pay were the same duty laid on foreign sugar that is laid on sugar imported from the French colonies. But this is not all—the colonists have a draw back on the sugar exported from France, equi valent not only to the duty charged on them, but also to the computed difference between their natural cost and the cost of the sugars of Brazil and Cuba. The effect of all this is, that the price of sugar is so much raised to the French consumer, that " an Englishman consumes at an average about five times as much sugar as a Frenchman." The French have exerted them selves greatly to protect their cotton manufac ture, But then, as one manufacture depends on another, see how the monopoly of iron affects the monopoly of cotton. The Reviewer gives a statement, from the Committee of Manufac turers, of the expence of erecting and maintain ing a spinning-mill, wrought by a steam-engine of thirty-horse-power IN TRANCE. IN ENGLAND. Cost of a Steam-Engine con- Francs. Francs. strutted on the principle of those of Watt 55,000 35,000 Cost of the Machine and fit tings up 425,000 270,000 Placing the Machinery, &c 20,000 20,000 500,000 325,000 Interest, and wear and tear, rent, fuel, &c. are made to amount in France to 98,500 francs ; and in England to 51,000 francs. The Cotton Manufacturers say that the prohibition to import was valuable to them, when they were unable to supply the home demand ; but that now that they can do this, a re-action has taken place, and they are involved in difficulties, from which there is hardly any prospect of escaping. a The difficulties," say the Commission named by the Cotton Manufacturers, , 4 in which the Cotton Manufacturer is involved, is a fact unfortunately but too evident ; our workshops are shut, our goods are depreciated ; and should this state of things be prolonged, we see with anxiety not merely the speedy ruin of the heads of our esta blishments, but also the future ruin of eight hundred thousand workmen depending on the ma nufacture of cotton." The Reviewer has gone mi. nutely through the various branches of the French industry, and shewn in an unanswerable manner that they have suffered greatly by the absurd policy pursued by the Bourbon Government, the servile imitators of Bonaparte. He concludes with a tribute to Mr. Fitzgerald, for his enlightened and manly conduct in not allowing himself to be influenced by the groundless clamour raised against the new measures. " Let it not," he observes, "be said that the experience of England is inconsistent with that of France. We, no doubt, have been involved in serious difficulties; but so far from being caused, it is certain that they have been very materially mitigated by the advances w e have made towards a more liberal and enlight ened commercial system. In France, however, the case is far otherwise ; she has not suffered from the abuses of credit, and the explosion of an artificial paper system, resting on the most worthless foundations ; her commerce and in dustry have been ruined by efforts to foster them ; the 3 have been swathed and bandaged ; so fenced about and protected, that their natural power and vigour have been paralysed, and they are in consequence quite unable to withstand the competition of those who are placed in a state of comparative freedom." We certainly agree with the Reviewer, that the distress in this country has been chiefly confined to the weaving department, and that it has originated not in any falling off in the demand for manufactured goods, but in the substitution of power looms for hand looms—a distress which cannot be per manent.—lbid. It is not to be wondered at, that, in the pre sent depressed and extraordinary state of the country, both domestic and foreign, the minds of the reflecting portion of the community should be turned to the consideration of our financial condition, as regards the amount of taxation, the pressure of the debt, the increasing, or decreasing, wealth of the country, and other questions bearing more or less immediately on its present state aesd future welfare ; and we ac cordingly find, in two recent publications, some able discussion of these various points. The first is contained in the Introduction to Colonel Evans's recent publication " On the practica bility of Invading British India;" and the second in the last number of the Quarterly Re view. The object of Colonel Evans being to show, that if a war for maintenance of the na national honour or safety became necessary, we still possess the means of warring with any power which might challenge us to the combat, he has merely considered our financial condition as it respects the amount of revenue, and the pres sure of taxation—the former of which he con siders as evidence of a great increase of wealth— while he contends, on the other hand, that large as is the amount of the debt, and the amount of our annual expenditure in the different public departments, the pressure on the country is actually less now than it was upwards of a cen tury ago. " It is generally supposed," says he, " that the country is now more burdened with debt than it ever was before, since the origin of national loans. I venture to maintain the entire fallacy of that po sition, on the following grounds:— " Burdens of this nature, whether public or pri vate, can only be relatively estimated by comparison with the income of the debtor. " We will take four periods :—after the Succes sion War, 1716 ; conclusion of the American war, 1783; the commencement of the late wars, 1793; and the present time. " The average revenue of the first period (1716) may be put at 41,000,0001.; the annuity to the public creditor, payable out of it, being nearly 3f,000,000/. -" Average revenue of tile second period (1783), 12,000,0001. Annuity to public creditor, 9,000,0001. " Third period (1793). Revenue, 17,000,0001.; annuity to the public crediter, 10,000,000/. " Average revenue of recent years, .50,000,000/.; annuity to the public creditor, 28,000,000/. " It appears, then, that the annuity (or interest) to he deducted amounted, in the " First period, to nearly three-fourths of the income. " Second to three-fourths of the income. " Third —to two-thirds of the income. " Fourth to less than three-fifths of the income. " It is, therefore, manifest that the interest pay able to the public creditor borre a materially hea vier proportion to the revenue, in the three former periods, than in the fourth or present one. " Then, with respect to the surplus revenue, the surplus of the present time is about twenty fold greater than in the first-mentioned period—the po pulation having only trebled. (Average price of corn then about 405.) " The surplus now is about sevenfold greater than in 1783, and three times greater than in 1793; (the population not being increased in the same proportion, nor even doubled—having been, in 1793, 15,000,000.) " The greater the population, the greater the means of bearing or paying off incumbrances, un less when a population is labouring under a vicious system—under extraneous evils, as Ireland has been. " Finally, the population of the United King dom has trebled within about a century ; the reve nue has become twelve times more than it then was (1716); and the interest on the debt nine times greater, (28, 3f). It is therefore impossible to deny that the incumbrances are now proportionately less than they Men were. It is clear, also, from the same date, that the income of the state has been gaining upon the incumbrances during the past hun dred years." Our author (Colonel Evans) then goes on to state his opinion, in the same cheerful and san guine manner, that " even though no progress he made in paying off the debt, its pressure must become gradually lighter in proportion to the increasing introduction of the precious metals —to the increasing industry and wealth of all the civilized nations—the consequent necessity: of an increased circulating medium every where, and the high prices which must follow ;" but while ice subscribe in the fullest extent to the doctrine here broached, and are ready to allow that the pressure of our eight hundred millions, if the wealth of the country continue to increase, will be gradually less felt, because extended over a more numerous and wealthy population, we must enter our caveat against the doctrine, that the revenue of a country, as compared with its bur thens at different periods, is a just criterion of its present abilities and resources. A country may be over-taxed, as well as over. burthened with debt ; and though for a few years it may fail to exhibit any sensible effects of the drain, the fact is self-evident that the sources may be finally exhausted, and the revenue raised not from the annual accumula tions of the people's industry, but from the capital which they had previously accumulated ; and we fear much that the contributions to the revenue of this country have at length begun to take this direction. We willingly grant, how ever, along with Colonel Evans, that what may at present be styled the impoverished condition of the country, arises less from the absence of na tional wealth than from its unequal distribution —the positive poverty of some classes, and the enormous accumouleavtieorn, which vi isonlyfi,ealli t i remediable nomtheietiable others—a state of things, however, through the medium of a tax on property, and which, if it should not be remedied in that man ner, prognosticates, at no distant date, the ap. proach of a dreadful crisis. The article in the Quarterly Review has for its express object at) examination of our financial condition, and is mitten with great ability and moderation, as well as with much knowledge of the documents anti facts from which correct conclusions can be deduced. The writer surveys our financi.:l re sources under every possible point of view, and arrives at nearly the same consolatory conclusions as Colonel Evans, respecting the capabilities of the country. We must enter oar protest here, however, as in the case of the former writer, against the conclusion which is drawn from the increasing amount of the legacy and probate duty, of the increasing wealth of the coun try ; for besides the allowances and deduc tions subscribed to by the writer, we think it may not very unfairly be urged that much of the property which is thus assumed by him as a test of increasing wealth, is the produce of the war period—the increase of wealth dur ing which we do not deny, and not of those which have since elapsed. In a word, suppos ing the amount of the legacy and probate duty to be the proper test of our forward or retrograde position, we do not think that period has yet ar rived when it can be fairly assumed'as a proof. Should it continue to increase either in a pro portionate, or greater, ratio, than the increase of our population in future years, then indeed will it be proved that the present generation enter tained a false conception of its true position ; but these years have yet to elapse, and tile returns for them to be made : and until they have, it would assuredly be premature to draw any other con clusion from those which have passed and been made, than that the nation, as a whole, is more wealthy now, than it was, not five, or seven, or ten, but some twenty or thirty years ago. There are other points in the article in the Quarterly Review, on which we entertain doubts, which our limits will not permit us at present to discuss, but we cannot quit the subject without recom mending the article in question to the attention of those of our readers who take an interest in such matters. It is characterized throughout by much patient investigation, sound sense, and careful comparison of the various facts bearing upon our financial condition.—Morning Adver. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF CHANCERY, Nov. 25. FREEMAN V. FAIRLIE. Mr. SOLICITOR-GENERAL applied for a new trial of the issue which had been directed to the Court of Common Pleas, to ascertain the legitimacy of one of the parties, who claimed as next of kin of the in testate Oldham. The facts have been repeatedly stated, and were now again recapitulated by the Solicitor-General, who contended that the verdict of the Jury had been against the facts proved in the case, and the presumption arising from those facts The LORD CHANCELLOR said the case had now reduced itself to a more distinct and definite shape than it had ever before assumed. Upon the trial of a former issue it had been found that Thomas, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Oldham, was born be fore the celebration of a marriage between his father and mother in 1714. The direct inference from this was, that he was illegitimate. Since that trial it had been discovered that a marriage took place be tween the same parties in 1712, before the birth of the same Thomas; and if that could be substan• dated, he was legitimately born. The Jury, after considering the evidence in support of this view of the case, had found that the latter marriage did take place, and therefore that Thomas was a legitimate chili. His Lordship saw no reason for granting the new trial. The motion was therefore refused. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Nov. 15. Lord TENTERDEN took his seat this morning a few minutes after the other Learned Judges had ar rived. In the course of the morning his Lordship adverted to the numerous applications made in the course of the terni to restore to the paper the cases which had been struck out by order of the Learned Judges sitting in Banco under his Majesty's warrant in October last. His Lordship paid it appeared that several of the 'cases had been struck out by mistake. Those cases, therefore, might be restored to the paper. With respect to the others which had been struck out, by reason of the absence of the parties whose duty it was to be is attendance when the cases were called on, the Court was of opinion that they ought not to be restored to the paper, but their Lordships would allow them to . be re-entered, the effect of which would be that they would be placed at the bottom of the list of cases already entered. " At the same time," added his Lordship with great em phasis, " I wish it to be distinctly understood that this is the very last time, if my Learned Brothers concur in opinion with me on this subject, that in dulgence of this description shall be grimted. if parties will treat this high Court, and the Learned Judges acting under the authority of his Majesty's warrant with that indifference which they have hitherto done, this is the last time that I will accede to any application to restore to the paper cases which have been struck out under such circum stances." DICKINSON V. VALPY. In this case, which was left unfinished when we went to press yesterday, the Court, after hearing Ceunsel pro and con, said that they would take time to consider of their judgment. EX-PARTE THE LATE SHERIFFS OF MIDDLESEX. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved for a rule to show cause why the judgment and execution for 16,0001., in the cause of " Wilton v. Chambers," should not be set aside. The Learned Counsel stated that this application arose out of the bank ruptcy of Messrs. Chambers, the late bankers. The question which he was about to submit to their Lordships had been before this and another Court in a variety of shapes, but this was the first time that it had been submitted to the Court in the shape of an application to set aside the-judgrtint, and exe-N. cation issued at the suit of Mr. Wilton. The pfl sent application was made on behalf of Messrs. Fare brother and Winchester, the late Sheriffs of Mid dlesex, to whom a writ of fieri facial had been di rected, at the suit of Mr. Wilton. The affidavits stated that this Mr. Wilton was an attorney, who, after having resided at a variety of places, took the benefit of the Insolvent Debtors' Act. Soon after his discharge from prison he became acquainted with the elder Mr. Chambers, against whom a commis sion of bankrupt had been taken out. Mr. Chambers did not at first dispute the validity of the commission ; but having become acquainted with Mr. Wilton, he afterwards took proceedings with a view to get the commission superseded. It appeared that Mr. 'Wil ton having undertaken to do business for Mr. Cham bers, and make advances to him, the latter gave him a judgment, in debt, for 16,0001. without having previously received any bill of costs. Upon this judgment an execution was taken out, directed to the late Sheriffs of Middlesex, who made a seizure, but afterwards returned nulla bona to the writ. In the mean time, the assignees of Mr. Chambers brought an action of trespass against the Sheriffs and Mr. Wilton for taking the goods. In that tic ' tion, which was tried before Lord Tenterden some months back, one of the questions was, whether the judgment given by Mr. Chambers to Mr. Wilton was not a collusive and fraudulent judgment ; and the jury found that it was. Another question raised on the part of Mr. Chambers or Mr. Wilton was, whether there had been a sufficient act of bank ruptcy to sustain the commission against Messrs. Chambers, and also whether there was sufficient evidence of the trading. Upon these points a rule nisi to set aside the verdict for the plaintiffs (the assignees) had been obtained, and it now stood in the new trial paper for argument. The question as to the judgment being collusive had been tried in the-Court of Exchequer, in an action brought by Wilton against the Sheriffs for a false return, and in that action also the jury had found the judgment to be collusive. They had given a verdict for 401. but the plaintiff (Mr. Wilton) had taken out execu tion for 1,8351. The present application was made to set aside the execution, on the grounds of its having been obtained by fraud and collusion. The COURT granted a rule nisi. _ _ Lord TENTERDEN being still indisposed, left the Court at half-past three o'clock, after all the import ant motions had been disposed of. The other Judges sat till between five and six o'clock, to dis pose of the remaining business. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Nov. 25. WHITE V. THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM The COURT delivered their judgment in this case this morning. The facts have been already report ed : it will therefore only be necessary at present to state that this was a feigned issue from Chancery, to try whether or not the will of the late Mr. White was legally executed, It appeared that the will was drawn up in the testator's own handwriting, and signed by him. About five months before his death he called upon two of the subscribing witnesses, and got them to attest the will, but did not acquaint them at the time with the nature of the instrument which they so attested. In three months subse quently, he called upon the third witness, and in like manner got him to attest it, but informed him that it was his will which he was attesting. Their Lordships held that this was a sufficient compliance with the provisions of the statute of frauds. The object of the statute was to guard against the con veyance of property by virtue of instruments that were not really in accordance with the wishes of the party alleged to have disposed of it ; but here the testator had not only drawn up the will himself, but had sought out and gone to the witnesses for the purpose of procuring their attestation of it, which was very unlike the usual cases of fraud, in which the witnesses generally came or were brought to the testator. There had clearly been no fraud attempted to be practised here, and the will having been at tested by three subscribing witnesses, as required by the statute, although two of them were not informed at the time of the nature of the instrument which they were attesting, that was sufficient to give it validity. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, Nov. 25. Mr. John de la Mare was opposed by Mr. BARRY on behalf of Capt. Benjamin Laing ; Mr. NICHOLLS also opposed the insolvent on behalf of his (the insolvent's) wife and children, who were suing in Chancery by their next friend. It appeared from the insolvent's statement, that he had been an attorney, but for the last six years he had not practised as such. In 1817 he married one of the two daughters and co-heiresses of John Marlborough Churchill, Esq., ana by that marriage he received very considerable landed and funded pro- perty; previous to which he had very little property of his own. In 1820 his wife's sister died, and he then became possessed of her share also of funded and landed property. In the later end of 1823 an action was brought against him for criminal conver sation with the wife of Captain Laing, the opposing creditor, the damages being laid at 10,0001. He allowed judgment to go by default, contenting him self merely with employing Mr. Brougham and Mr. Cooper to attend when the writ of inquiry was exe cuted, and endeavour to lessen the amount of da mages. In the interim between the period of bring ing the action and the execution of the writ of in quiry, he assigned all his property by a deed to his father, in trust for the separate maintenance of his wife and children ; this deed he swore was merely a colourable transfer in order to prevent Captain Laing from levying an execution upon the property, when the verdict should be returned, but it was under stood that he was still to be as much the owner of the property as before the deed was, executed. In January, 1821, the action was tried, and the jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff for 2,0001. besides costs, which were 1521. About that time he separated from his wife and family, and when the action was tried he was at Paris, where he chiefly resided, only visiting London occasionally, until the - last two years, when he fixed his residence in London. While abroad he received remittances from his father out of the pro perty assigned to him, and his wife and children had also been supported by the same means. This deed of assignment, which was only intended to pro tect the the property from Captain Laing's execu tion, was afterwards put in force, and he could not prevail on his father to destroy it; he therefore levied on his tenants for rent to raise the question at law, and his wife and children, suing by their next friend, obtained an injunction to restrain him from receiving the rents. A hill in Chancery was then filed, and a receiver appointed, but in conse quence of the insolvent's not putting in an answer to the bill, he was pronounced in contempt, and had been committed to prison. Since his arrival in England he had endeavoured to negociate with Mr. Bostock, the solicitor of Captain Laing, and had offered, if Captain Laing would take out exe cution upon the property assigned under the deed, he would assist him ; but Captain Laing had never yet taken out execution, either against his person or property. Mr. Bostock had, in the course of the negociation, offered to take 500/. down and secu rity for 5001. more, payable in a given time, in satis faction of the judgment and costs; but the insol vent could not comply with those terms. Mr. BARRY said, this case was one of a most aggravated nature, and as the insolvent's conduct had been so aggravated, first in seducing the wife, and next in transferring his property to prevent the husband from enforcing the verdict, lie (Mr. Barry) hoped that the Court would visit the insolvent with a severe reprimand. Mr. COOKE, for the insolvent, was heard at some length, after which, Mr. Commissioner HARRIS said, if this were a recent transaction the Court would have felt it their duty to have passed a very heavy judgment upon the insolvent. But looking at the lapse of time, and taking the fact into consideration, that the par ties had been treating as to the mode of discharging the debt, the Court were inclined to give but a light judgment, -at the same time-making • it such a' one as to mark their sense of the impropriety of the insolvent's conduct. The Learned COMMISSIONER then ordered the insolvent to be remanded for a period of six calen dar months from the date of filing his petition. There was some years since a celebrated ra ver on the Turf, to whom his owner had given the clas sical name of .Alcides, which the jockeys converted into All-sides, the shape of the horse happening also very much to justify- the change. A ludicrous scene was exhibited yesterday af ternoon in front of the Horse Guards. It being the time appointed to relieve guard in the stone porches in front of the building, a Life-guardsman, mounted upon a remark• able fine horse, entered one of the porches, when it soon became apparent that the animal, however well bred, was most woefully deficient in politeness to the public, for no sooner had he advanced into the proper• position with his head towards the street, than he suddenly reared up, and wheeling round on his hind legs, presented, sans cere ntonie, his hind quarters to the passengers, his head being thrust in an opposite corner. In this situation he remained for some time immoveable, in spite of the efforts of the Guardsman to turn him about, who appeared much cha grined at the Quixotic figure which he cut before the pas sengers, many of whom could not restrain their risibility. After, many desperate efforts with spur and curb the rider succeeded in turning the obstinate aminal into his former position, but he only stood so for a moment, for on the keen air saluting his nose he again made another re volutionary movement, and stood in his favourite pos ture, and it being found impossible to stir him, he re mained in this position until the Life-guardsman was re lieved, when he apologised for the rudeness of his horse, by informing the public that it was Ili% first appearance before them in that situation. CURE FOR HYDROPHOBIA- Lieutenant Hardy in his' Travels in g el : ico," relates some extraordinary things, b (,/ -1 1 are not, therefore, to set them down asp -r4s romantic. When the kaffer Chief, epclked! in a recent wo r k on Southern Africa, rett r " e to the interior from a visit to Cape Town, all related that he had seen a waggon with an ° wings (his mode of describing a ship) 111 ° Ii° on the water, the recital was received in the jai too usual with travellers, and " That'a s lie r ' was tittered at once by twenty voices. So, per haps, will some say of Lieutenant Hardy's w: ders; but as the Kaffer spoke truth, which 'Hi ignorant hearers could not understand, a nd , s there are more things in heaven and ea rth tli, l our philosophy can find out, let us bel ieve Lieutenant, and encourage him to explore Wog countries for new wonders. Our author is _ na San Miguel de Horcasitas, where a P er l afflicted with hydrophobia " was tied up post with strong cords, and a priest was .) nistering the last offices of religi?rii•r, At the approach of a paroxysm the Liu tunate sufferer, with infuriated looks, fo , sired the Priest to get out of the visi , i, that he felt a desire to bite every body b e co.. I catch hold of. An old woman, who was Pr esei 'l said she would undertake his cure ; s k i there althcsit, there were none who believed it possible thlit_, could effect it, yet the hope that she mig ht dg r and the certainty of the patient's death if notbui ! were attempted, bore down all opposition , . o _, her services were accepted. She poured a Po" der into half a glass of water, mixed it well, an' in the intervals between the paroxysms she force the mixture down his throat. The effects w ed exactly such as she had predicted, namely, el he would instantly lose all power over his bot and mental faculties, and that a death-like st.uP s , would prevail, without any symptoms of and lui be tion, for either 24 or 48 hours, according 0,101 strength of his constitution ; that at the toy h i this period the effects of the mixture vccitisi arouse the patient, and its violent operation, ig emetic and cathartic, would last about 10 or minutes, after which he would be able In T o upon his legs, and would feel nothing hui debility which had been produced by ther e t f: bined effects of the disease and the medici'... She mentioned also that the fluid to he,.. di so b charged from the stomach would be as hlao ho charcoal, and offensive to the smell. All g o literally took place at the end of a bout, e hours; and the patient was liberated from of the most horrible deaths to which t norteo4 is subject. She had her own way of a ccono' d ing for the effects of this disease. She tenth it a local complaint attacking the mouth, 'V I ns by degrees it irritates and inflames; th is 7Peb y the virus, which is conveyed to the brio() means of the nerves, and is receive d , als : t huf the stomach with the saliva. The poiso n the tongue converts the whole of the matured in the mouth and at the roo t O t o s fluids of stomach into a poisonous bile, w hich, if i t , 1 , 0 not quickly removed, communicates with ift blood and shortly destroys life." The re le is as singular as the cure is extraordinary. give it as the Lieutenant received it : " METHOD OF CURING HYDROPHOBIA• e ft The person under the influence of this disli must be well secured, that he may do no migedo either to himself or others. Soak a rennet in alit minutes).m PW v e o r r i z e ed tht s tn a v a h wd a ae a n t a u st t i r i t mi b s l u e hc r ahs o a f bse w e lt e yd r obn ( ee f , o t r ain a d l : ll 2..f t h l the thumb and three-fingers. - Mix it & 13 1, - , s -n - 11 .1 and give it to the patient (that is, force it "‘"' The throat in an interval between the paroxysm s )' patient is then to be put into the sun if po ssible.g l i placed near the fire), and well warmed. Ifth ir on dose tranquillize him after a short interval , no L, is to be given, but, if he continues furious, anotP,: dose must be administered, which will infallibl quiet him. A profound sleep w ill succeed, whi t. ,°' which will last 24. or 48 hours (according to IT strength of the patient's constitution); at the alte; ration of which time he will be attacked with sef ..iit purging and vomiting, which will continue poison be entirely ejected. He will there be ' stored to his senses, will ask for food,, sad her fectly cured. There is an Indian living in Tal, tame, who is known to have an antidote to `lO poison, injected into the wound occasioned by t 0 bite of a mad dog, tta.; and it is therefore sulle"it to the savadilla, which will only cure the disell„g when it has been formed. Two thousand doi ni have been offered to him to disclose the secret,,o.' he has constantly refused to accede to the ter:is His charge is ten dollars for each patient, ma I m ke a s de a comfortable livelihood diligerainquiri inquiries swhi by the pineirlireit:4o, t pe n lr o id ra ia , t w es he a t n h t e id r o t t h e er h e ax %e g re f a a t i t l y ed i , ns b t u a t nc l c 0 could hey no one case where it had been unsuccessful." A murder was committed on Sunday t h - nt .o inst., at St. Pierre de Varengeville, i n the depar til L.,/ the Lower Seine, under th e f o ll ow i ng c i r curnst 3l 4 "" 1 , Two individuals of th e pl ace h a pp en i ng to q u ';ne ' d• struggle ensued, in which one was thrown to the! j far' They were separated by a friend,but the one virb ° Al ptter fered 'most in the fray ran home, and saying should' not end so, armed himself with a guy, be sirs!, turning, shot his antagonist in the breast, just 85 „ tt l > s. parting from a friend at hi s own d oor . Th e 1 031 , ° ' o f man, whose name w as T OO RAND , le s i nce del' wounds. The assassin is in custody. PAINTED AND PUSLISHRID BY IMMO Iro°lv.7:•''' TM Sim 112, Snitaxn, LIMO° BIRTHS. LesV l4 ' At Milton-upon-Thames, the lady of Lieut. G. -- of a son. At Madeira, the lady of W. Gordon, Esq. of a 01„ . of On the 23d inst. at Gilston-park, Berta, the WI 11. G. Ward, Esq. of a son. MARRIED. . S' On the 23d inst. at Effingham, Northumberland, if, Stephens, Esq. to Mary, eldest daughter of the lA te or Haggerston, Esq. and niece to Sir Caruaby Hagg ett' Bart. J. On the 21st inst. at Aberharesp, MontgomerY' ,ll ,' l l e i'a of J. Turner, Esq. of Pentre Seyler, to Anne, only " 11 the late G. Ross, Esq. of Llanachvdel. lED. 14 41 On the 17th inst. John D Norton, Esq. of ChipleY Somerset, 78. At Rose Cottage, Benjamin Raver, father to 11. t v. Ole of the Stock Exchange, who formerly belonged t° Press. P I On the 20th inst. Batty St. Leger, Esq. in the year of his age. ;e l °' On the 23d inst. at the Deal and Dumb Asylum , e road, Joseph Watson, Esq. LL. D. teacher of tb at blishinent, in his 64th year. On the 23d inst. in the 66th year of his 0g e '., 10 1 4 Thomas Kidder, of Wood-street, Clteapside, for 4 ° an inhabitant of the parish of St. Alban, Wood-streel of On the 22d inst. aged 75, l‘ir. Jainea Burro ° ' Broad-street-buildings, late of Houndsditch. d 03' 1 ' On tilt. 22d inst. at Montague -terrace, Mile-en aged 64, Clara, widow of the late Peter Clunn, 9 4 i0.0 On the 23d inst. in Lower Brook-street, the inf a° of Mr. George Seddon, aged six months. fs4' On the 23d inst. at the house of N. W. Peac h „I,o ° M.P. Saville-row, 11:rs. Atkyna, widow of the l at l, , Atkyns, Esq. o f Huntercombe Bowe, 13° 2 c : On the 25th inst. at B a tt ersea , Eli as Arnaud, P t- ' . an advanced age, long a resident of Portsmouth. On the 14th inst. at West Haddon, Northamp ton , Elizabeth, eldest (laughter of Mr. F. Bacon, of Is , ' „, aged 22. On the 23d inst. in James-street, Buckingliarag ate'. Wm. Tarte, aged 63. If