The Sun. — London, England, 1824-06-09 00:00:00

INDIA. THE BAR. RECORDER'S COURT-BOMBAY, TUESDAY, OCT. 7, 1823. The RECORDER observed,• that he had now to advert to a very serious subject, and one which he was bound to take notice of not only in order to vindicate the authority and dignity of the Court, but as necessary to the due administra tion o:' justice. It was in regard to a Memorial, which had been presented to the Court by the Gentlemen of the Bart He would state the circumstances. On the 10th of last month he was sitting in Court with Mr. Meriton, when the Memorial was handed up to him by Mr. Irwin, in the name of himself and the rest of the Bar. On that day all the Bar, he believed, were present, with the exception of Mr. Le Messurier. But, although he was not present, his name was subscribed to the Memorial. lir. LE illEssuninß rose, and acknowledged the sigiature to be his. The RECORDER.—This document, which was called a Me morial, contained certainly, -to say no more of it, matter of the most offensive description, alleging, •in all and every page of it, that certain rules were not warranted by the barter.; and that the practice of the Court, in certain particul&rs, was warranted by neither the one nor the other. It was the bar who had put into his hands that Memorial, so libelous as he said it was, and as he should chew by anti bye, that if it had been published, or circulated by any gentleman not a Barrister, the Court would have been called upon to punish him, not by going be fore a Grand Jury, or before a Petty Jury, but summarily and, both by fine and imprisonment. That Memorial .had been handed up by the Gentlemen of the Bar, whose duty and whose interest it was to pay respect to the -Court; for they ought to know that their own characters rose wrth that of the Gourt. It was by the Gentlemen of the Bar that that Memorial had been put into his hands, as the President of the Court. In the beginning it claimed a privi lege as belonging to the Bar which he- was not before aware of : nor was there ir► fact any such privilege. It stated, that it was competent to the Gentlemen of the Bar forsooth to bring to the notice of the Court. 31r. :ADVOCATE GENERAL here interposed, and stated that, as' far as concerned himself, and he believed, he might add the rest of the Bar, they had no desire or intention that the Memo rial should be publicly read, nor was it presented with that view. Mr. IRwIN observed- that he had it -in commission from the Bar to communicate-to the Court, that the Memorial was pre-' sented merely for the private consideration of the members of - the Court, and that the Bar never contemplated any publication of it, or a public reading of it in open Court. The RECORDEIL—Then Mr. Irwin had thought himself justified in putting -into his hands. as-the President -of the Court, a paper which he acknowledged to be unfit to be read -in Court. The Gentlemen of the Bar had considered it com - petent for them to present to the private consideration of the Court what they acknoWledged to be unfit tobe read in public. They would presume to insult the Court with— Mr. ADVOCATE-GENERAL here again Interposed, and de dared that he and the rest of - the Gentlemen of the-Bar had to disavow any consciousness of the Memorial being an insult, or in any way improper, and that they had not the smallest ob jection whatever to its ,being all openly read in Court, if that -.was his Lordship's wish. They merely meant to say, that such public reading was not their wish or intention. The RECORDER.—In the first instance, the Memorial claim ed a privilege, that it was competent to them, as Banisters of your Hon. Court, •to bring to its notice any existing; variance . between the rules and the practice, and between the rules and -the charter 4 and to tell the Court that such rules and practice -were illegal. He never dreamt th, t t there was any such privi dege existing in the Bar. This was a new doctrine to him. lie knew of no such privilege in the Bar; nor would the Court al . low of their questioning the course the Court adopted in ad. ministering justice. Would it have been fitting to have pre sented to the Court of King's Bench such a Memorial as this ? The Court here were the sole Judges of their own conduct. They alone had the power of judging whether they -were acting . according to the Charter or not—it was . matter in their discretion, and in their's alone.— ' There wax here no power under heaven that had a right to find • fault with the proceedings of the Court. If the Court did not act in conformity with the Charter, the only remedy was an 'impeachment in the House of - Commons. 'They were not to - be told by any set of men, and far less by persons of the Bar, - that they were not actingin conformity with the Charter. He would call, the attention of the Court to another passage. It -- went on to say—but he would first.state what was the mode of application which he had pointed out. In the memorial it was -said, that a representation from the Bar would be heard by the Court either on a deputation from the Bar personally or in the shave of a written Memorial. • Ile had said, that if the Bar hadany application to make to the favour of the Court, they ewoald be willing to listen to it. In consequence of what had _fallen from Mr. Irwin, when lie presented the Memorial, it might be ceneelacal that it had been presented by the Bar at .his (the Recorder's) desire. In that they were wholly mistaken. Upon some Gentlemen getting up. one after the other . - Mr. Alderman Meriton— Yes, my Lord, three Gentlemen. RECORDER.—Upon three Gentlemen - - getting up, one after the other, to object to the course in which the Court was .-carrying on • its business, he had told them that it was _impossible to suffer the business of the Court to be interrupted, day after day, in that manner. If the Gentlemen of the Bar head any tiling to ask from the favour of the Court, if there .were any particular rules, or any parts of the practice of the Court, winch were prejudicial to the interests of the Bar, and the - Bar chose to make an application to the favour of the ourt, .the Court would attend to tile propositions of the Bar, if they could do so consistently with the right of the public. The Court .would suffer neither the bar, nor any other persons, to arraign -their conduct and to say it was not legal, or that the rules which had been framed by other Recorders, were inconsistent with the rules of the Charter of the Court. The Memorial went on ato state with regard to the small Cause Court, in the concluding paragraph, that that Court appears to your Memorialists to have a tendency jto create conf us i on an d i rregu l ar i ty i n t h e adminis tration of justice, by referring each case to the discretion of the Judge, and to a.judgment to be given upon the individual cir cumstances of each case, rather than to one to be pronounced i.pon known and established authorities and decided cases; and in as much also as it appears to have a tendency to subvert those principles. of law on which alon e your Memorialists are prepared to conduct their practice, and in general to depreciate the character of the Honourable C ourt. This was the character given by the Gentlemen of the bar of those rules which had been adopted by Sir Wen. Syer, the first Recorder of the Court in 1799, which had been sent home, and sanctioned' by his 'Majesty in Council,—which had been after ,wards recognized and acted upon by every succee di ng Re corder, and to which the former barristers of the Court had ne ver thought of raising objections. Mr. ADVOCATE-GENERAL here intimated a different im pression. -The RECORDER knew of no such representation ever having been made. -If the allusion in the Memorial meant to refer to a Memorial sent home to the King in Council by an individual on the subject, he had this to say that he had certainly heard of such a thing ; but he could tell the Gentlemen of the Bar that it had not met with any consideration, and ,that an answer had never been returned. Mr. ADVOCATE-GENERAL observed, that he was not al lading to that Memorial, but to his leaving heard that some doubts had always existed on the subject. The . RECORDER. Of that Court, and those rules, Which had been framed by Sir William Sver, the first Re .corder," had been sancttoned by his Majesty in Coun cils had been adopted and acted upon by every suc ceeding Recorder, and never before objected 'to by Coon- Messurier, forsooth, and by Mr. Cleland, . Party, and Mr. Irwin, and Mr. Norton, had thought lit to state that they had' a tendency to . create c ' and irregularity in the administration of Justice. Mr. Norton, after a few weeks residenecrieei;n:cetheiland, and - with the very limited knowledge and cap , oiehhe could acuire in that time, brolt , in upon then,. with a'An'ew loilt and discovered,that what had .bent acted upon by all the magistrates of the ;ourt from its first establishment, anti had bcur adopted by the first and till su l ;s Nu all ent -Recorders,. was Wrong. After twenty-five days practice, lie took upon himself to say, that those rules were warranted, neither by law, nor by the Charter, and that they tended to create confusion and irregularity, and'to subvert the principles of law. But this was not the most offensive part of the Memorial, although what he had now stated was mostlibel loos. The Court would not allow any part of • its Jurisdic tion to be attacked :—and that for very potent reasons, not merely to maintain the authority and - dignity of the Court, but as necessary for the administration of Justice. What would the public think of a Court; which they heard the Bar had de clared to• be illegal ? A Suitor comes into the Small Causes Court;—lie learns, that those to whom he is accustomed to look for advice had unanimously declared the Court to be illegal in its very foundation,—would he be inclined to submit with deference to the Court and be satisfied with its judgments ? It would be necessary for the Ccurt to resort to brute force, when it was requisite to enforce its orders. But this was riot the most offensive part of the libel. They had ventured to assert, that the practice of the Court was not in conformity with the rules of the small cause Court, or the Charter of Justice. Your Memorialists beg to submit that, in some ether particulars, connected with the practice of the small cause Court, their interests are still more prejudiced, in regard to which, neither the rules of the small cause Court, as at present framed, nor the Charter of Justice, according to the best construction they are capable of making, afford any autho rity or explanation. And then it went on. And in allusion to those particulars your Memorialists scrupulously confine themselves to such facts, as they are acquainted with their own knowledge, and which they believe to be incontestable. It appears to your Memorialists, from the repeated instances in which those Courts have been held in private, for the exami. nation and punishment of alleged offences, in respect to matters proceeding under the jurisdiction of this Court. li e asserted that the allegation was utterly unfounded, that small cause Courts were held in private for the examination and punishment of alleged offences., It was the Judges of that Court (Recorder's Court) sitting in Chambers : and not the small cause Court. It was the Court sitting in Chamber, as they had a right to do and as necessary for justice, and as he might have done by himself. But that the small Cause Court had ever sat privately was unfounded. „That it was held with. out any rules made for such purpose or any public notice given, his friends, who were sitting with him knew to be utterly un founded. Jut he should not condescend to explain, or answer, any more of the charges against the Court. It was what was due to others, as well as to the Court that he should not. The Court were satisfied that they had done their duty and it was a sufficient satisfaction to them to be conscious, that they had done their duty. The Memorial went on to say, that both the manner and time of holding such Courts depend altogether upon the casual discretion of your Honourable Court.' There were other un founded allegations which he would not read, because it was not incumbent upon him to read a libel. There was a charge of examining the parties viva core. That the partieshad ever been examined viva voce was unfound ed. That the plaintiff was examined, under particular circum stances, was certainly true and it was grounded on a rule of Court, under which it was done: and he had before shown on what clause of the Charter the rule was founded. The parties mean both plaintiff and defendant, and that the parties had been examined had not b een t h e f act. T he plaintiff had been examined, and that was under a rule of the small Cause Court, -which rule was sanctioned by a clause of the Charter. As to the Petition Court, which formed the subject of another part of the Memorial, he would only say that Petitions might be heard in chambers when he pleased, and that he should continue to hear them in chambers whenever he pleased. The Memorial concluded stating your ..ilemorirlists beg leave respectfully to submit to the consideration of youf Hon. Court, that such a course of proceedings calculated to introduce irre gularity, confusion, and discretionary principles into the ad- ; ministration of Justice, through the medium of your Hon. -Court. So that these gentlemen ventured to say that it was through the medium of the Cons t, and they accuse the Court of introducing irregularity, confusion, and discretionary ;principles into the administration of justice. And the humble requests of these persons is, that the institution of the small cause Court, and all the rules upon which its proceedings are founded, as far as such rules and proceedings are at variance with the course of proceedings laid down in the Charter, may be abolished and vacated." But lie should not state the insinuations, which were meant to be conveyed by the prayer of the Memorial ; nor the implications, which those sentences conveyed. Ile would now call upon the gentlemen of the bar to st a te, wh a t excuse or urology they had to offer for having presented a Memorial containing aspersions so libellous and unfounded, and for having put such a Memorial into his hands, as the President of the Court. _ _ Mr: lawn; rose in answertOTiaordships call, to state on behalf of the Bar, those sentiments on the subject of the Me'- morial, which he believed they entertained in common with himself, but should he omit to state any thing material to be mentioned, he would claim for each of his Learned Friends to • speak for himself to that charge, which effected them all indi vidually. He would first advert to the commencing pazagraph of the Memorial, upon which his Lordship had observed that it claimed a right hitherto unknown to hts Lordship for the Barristeis to bring to the notice of the Court any rule of Court, or practice of the same, which was at variance with the charter. To this he had to say, that he had frequently known Bar risters of that Court, in cases when the interests of a client in a suit were affected by any ru l e or rules to shew to the Court, in what respect such rules were contrary to the Charter —he had known that principle admitted by the Court, and be then said that it was scarcely to he supposed that that right, which they, the Bar, claimed on behalf of others, should not be available in their own case, and when their own interests were affected—it was in fact contrary to human nature that they should not insist upon it. He was bound in duty to himself and his Learned Friends, to say t ha t t h at memor i a l I read and extracted in parts as it had . been by hi s L or d s hi p, might assume a very offensive and libellous aspect; but he would have it all taken together and as a whole, and not to be judged of by insulated paragraphs whsse meaning and effect was dependent on the context of the whole memorial. He had now to express his sincere regret that any thing they (the Bar) might have said or done should have produced on the minds of the Court, an impression so very unfavourable to them and so foreign to their intentions; and, as Ins Lordship had pro- nounced the memorial to be libellous and aspersive to sub mit to the decision of the Court, and to express a hearty sorrow that such was dig Court's opinion of it. Put he must distinctly, on behalf of his Learned Friends and himself, say, that they had not the most remote intention of giving the slightest offence, or of .offering either openly or covertly, any disrespect to the Court. They (the Bar) wished to draw his Lordship's attention to circumstances which effected them as Barristers, and to grievances, which required redress. They resorted to the only mode -which was open to them to obtain it; for that very course of a memorial had been pointed. , out to them by his Lordship, when he refused to hear objec tions, made on one or two occasions, to the proceedings of the Court. But he was not so lost to all sense of duty and pro priety—he was not so mad, as to put his name to such a memo rial, if he had thought that he was thereby conveying an insult to the Court, or degrading its character in the eyes of the public. 'What object could any of them (the Bar) possibly have in so doing? they could gain nothing by it either from the Court or the public. The public never were appealed to in the moat indirect shape. Surely it must have been some proof to their Lordships that they had acted bona fide, and with the purest intentions, when no circulation whatever had been made by them of the representation they had made; but, that one single paper, which had.been presented to the private consideration of the Members of the Court, was all that had transpired on the subject. Their (the Bar's) sole object had been redress, in case their representations were well founded; and they never could have ixiagined that nay application for it made to a com petent tribunal, would be deemed libellous. He confessed, that they (the Bar) had no very confident expectation of_a favourable result in all respects, at leasi in his Lordship's judgment; but still they conceived that they were proceeding in a direct course to obtain that redress which, if not had here, might be granted by an ulterior tribunal. He would beg to say a few words here, upon the institution of the small cause Court at this Presidency. _ the Acts of the 7th and of the 39th and 40th of his late Majesty— The RECORDER here recommended to Mr. Irwin not to pursue that course.' Mr. IRwns--Then he should not so—and he should not en ter into the particulars of the memorial, because he was of opi nion that the present occasion did not call for it. But he would rqer to the whole memorial before the Court to vindicate them (the Bar ) from the imputation of any libellous or disrespectful intention in presenting it. His Lordship had adverted to some statements in the memorial, as unfounded in fact ; if they were so, he was sincerely sorry that they had been inserted in it. But he declared solemnly there was no statement in the memo rial which he did not in his conscience believe to be true; some as of h is own particular knowledge ; and others, as from the hest information he possessed, and the best means he had of obtaining it. small Cause Court hod b een d rawn up b y Sir Wm. Syer, His Lord s hip had st a t e d th a t th e r ules of the had been sent home, and had obtained the sanction of his Majesty in Council—Now he solemnly declared that that was the first time that he had ever heard that fact from any authority. He had anxiously endeavoured an d inquired after information as to that important fact, -but had never been able to learn that the rules had been sent home, or that the sanction required, was obtained. The -RECORDER remarked, that it was required by the Charter, that all the rules of that C ourt s h ou l d be sanctioned by his Majesty in Council, and he, therefore, presumed that they had been so sanctioned, Mr. lii.-wibr..:—Surely, on a point of such vital importanceai that, which had been the subject of doubt and enquiry ever since he came to Bombay, was it not going too far to say, that because the Charter required such sanction, it had been there fore obtained, or that, because it was required to be done, it must necessarily have been 'done. That sanction, if clearly established, would have precluded them (the Bar) from at all questioning the legelity and validity of the small Cause Court proceedings,and would have deprived them at once of thatground of complaint in the'.mernorial. His Lordship might be in pos session of fuller and more correct information on that point than they were, but, as the result of their enquiries had left the. fact undecided, they might be justified in assuming that it was not proved, and that the rules of the small cause Court never had obtained the sanctions reqUired by the charter. Ile skould conclude, what he had to say, by again disclaiming most so lemnly any intention of disrespect to the Court, or to any of its members, and by appealing to the memorial itself, and.to it fair and dispassionate cons id erat i on o f i ts contents, to 'free them (the Bar) from that' charge which was now made against them. The RECORDER addressed Mr. Advocate-General, and asked whether he Witt - led to say any thing ? Mr. Anvocoor E - GENERAL.—IIe had but a very few words to say, Mr. Irwin having fully and sufficiently expressed his feelings. But hie Lordship had alluded to some of the state ments in that memorial, which he had taken down as being tthey w e unfounded, ere and,de emed et iibeuu perhaps, o it might be on that very ac c o u nt th a t s. He would therefore, if his Lord ship would allow hiln, adv er t t o t h ose statements, to the facts on which the Bar had, in their minds, conceived they were founded. First, as to the courts being sometimes held privately. There was one case of a man, having been committed for a contempt of Court, in reference to some proceedings of his, as a clerk in the office of the small-cause Court, and which proceedings were the subject of many private examinations by the Court. The Court, too, which committed him was held privately ; nor did he believe any one yet knew what the nature of this con tempt. That, therefore, appeared to them (the Bar) as one instance of a private C ourt . The REconnrit—That, Sir, was an inquiry in private chambers into the conduct of that person, and nor a Court which was held. ADvottTE-GENEitee—But, as he believed, a con tempt could be committed only against a Court of Record, and a Court of Record alone could commit for a contempt, they (the Bar) had, of course, conceived that those private sittings were Courts. The REcortuEtr—Did lie mean to say that only Courts of Record could commit for contempt ? Mr. ADVOCATE-GENERAD—He should say so. The itmconnEtt—Did he mean to say that he (the Re corder) could not commit a man who insulted him, for in stance, ie his own private chamber? (pointing to it). Mr. ADVOCATE-GENERAL. —He(the Adv.-Gen.) spoke off hand, certainly, and from mere recollection, and perhaps he might be exemplifying prodigious ignorance ; but he would venture to submit that neither his Lordship, nor a Judge of the Court of King's Bench, could commit a man as for contempt committed against him in his private chamber. Another point was as to Courts held without any rule for that purpose and without public notice. Now the regular day fixed for Courts for small causes, by the rules promulgated, was every Saturday. But the days had been repeatedly changed; although he could say for himself, and, he believed, for the rest of the Bar, that they had had no no ti ce o f t h e new appo i nte d d ays; nor hadi any rule, lie believed, been as yet made on the subject. lie be lieved, indeed, that Saturday was almost the only day on which those Courts were now never held. Ire knew not what other authority settled the day from time to time but his Lordship's discretion. The Itexontern.—lf he (the Advocate-General) had had no notice of the Court days it was his own fault, for he might have known by enquiring of the officer, and if he had attended in Court he would have heard the officer ad journ the Court to the next day, or on which it was to be held. Ile had altered the regular day from Saturday to Tues day, for the facilities of business, although the alteration was not yet made a rule. The other days were merely adjournment days. Mr. Alderman MERITON—IIe had always heard the officer adjourn the Court when lie was present to the next Court day. And he had never known of any Court having been held during his time to sit, to which lie had not been summoned. 31 r. ADVOCATE-GEterten—Perhaps the statement then was too broad, in saying e eenerally, that Courts were held with out public notice; and he was very sorry that it should not have been qualified by reference to the kind of notice given, .namely, that by the officer of adjournment, and by the sum mons of the Aldermen. He would wish this qualification should be inserted in the Memorial. He could safely say that no 'such notice had ever come to their (the Bar's) knowledge. But, in truth, whatever might have been stated erroneously, or whatever expression might in its nature be considered offen sive to the Court, the Bar would be glad to expunge, or amend, or vary, in any way the Court might be pleased . to suggest. The only other topic to which his Lordship had pointed as unfounded, referred to the examination of the parties Viva Voce upon oath. The R eCOILDER.—By the term parties any one would sup pose that both plaintiff and defendant were meant, but the plaintiff only was ever examined. Mr. ADVOCATE-GENERAL._H e (the Advocate-General) was not aware himself of any distinction which his Lordship drew, between party plaintiff and party defendant. He had thought, however, that both parties had been examined, and he was the more induced to think so, from his Lordship having de- claret' he had authority to examine the plaintiff. But, in fact, he believed that he could refer to notes taken upon the only two occasions that he ever attended a small Cause Court, by which it would appear that both parties had been occasionally examined. . • The RECORDER:—When, pray, had lie ever known, a de fendant examined ? He had a right to examine the plaintiff, when the defendant did not appear, both by the rules and the Charter ; but lie never, that lie recollected, examined the-de fendant. Mr. ADVOCATE-GENERAL—He could not say that he could find i n tim charter any such authority for examin ing the plaintiff. But as to the instances he had spoken of, he had not seen his notes since they were taken, which was now two or three, months ago, and he could not et absolutely sure :—but, speaking from recollection, he could refer to a case, in which his Lordship entered into a long exa mination of a defendant, as to a claim of set-off, and proposed. an arbitration to bins, to which he finally assented, and it was then intimated that such reference would be made obligatory by a rule of Court. The Ruconmen.—Was that an examination ?—asking a party to refer his cause. Mr. ADVOCATE-GENERAL—He could only say that it was an examination upon oath, and referred to the caefits of his claims. He had now offered all that he had to say upon the subject, except that he disclaimed all intentions of conveying any disre spect to the members of the Court. Indeed, it was their (the Bar's) object to make an appeal to higher authorities on the subject of these Courts ; but he had conceived and had express ed such opinion, that it would be the more respectful to address their Lordships in the first instance. Referring to the impres sion taken up by the Court, lie would wish to express for him self and his brethren their regret that they had done thus much to occasion it; but he confessed, that he was not in the least aware that such an interpretation could be fairly put upon that appeal. Mr. PARRY, on a reference made to hhn by the Recorder, declared that the sentiments which had keen expressed by Mr. Irwin and by Mr. Advocate- General, were so perfectly in ac cordance with his own, that he had nothing further to add than that, if that memorial were to be considered either libellous or disrespectful, the object with which he had signed it would be entirely defeated. Mr. LE MEssußfEn and Mr. CLEreewn declined occupy ing the time of the Court, as all that they had to offer had been already so fully expressed. The RECORDER then conferred with the other Members of the Court, and after a few seconds said, that the Court had con sidered the memorial e and the imputations which they contained, and which nothing on the part of the Bar had removed. It would hav e b een culpable in any man to have presented such a memorial. It was far more culpable in the Gentlemen of the Bar: The Gentlemen of the Bar ought to have known better. They. ought to have known better than to have stated matters, taking the chance of their being true, not knowing wh et her they were facts or not. It appeare ed that Mr. Advocate-General admitted hiniself to be wrong in one or two instances. It was unnecessary for him to go again into the matters of the Memorial. All these gentle men had presumed to state that they had seen what they had t d h e e cl s a e r n ed te , n a c i e sd of t oti e hlalledouit: pwtoash, that they should be suspended.im as the President of th e C ourt. On account of th e insult which had been offered to the C our t, or in the words of the Charter, removed from their situation of Barristers in the Court for the space of six calendar months, and that in the mean time the Attornies should practice as Ad vocates, as well as Attornies, We beg to point attention to the foregoing proceedings which have recently taken plac&in the Recorder's Court. Vire men tioned in our last that we expected to be able to lay before the public a copy of the Memorial presented on a former occasion. The observatien was made from a presumption that the Me morial did not contain any matter which might be construed into a libel.'rhe Court has however considered part of the Document to be libellous, we therefore give to the public such parts only a were read, and formed the subject matter of dis cassion in the C0urt.........(1icm&ay GaZelte.) PUGI S M. THE FIGHT BETWEEN SPRING AND LANGAN. Nothing has occurred in the Ring for many years, not even the fight between Randall and Turner, that ex cited so much interest as this affliir between the Champion of the Fist and Langan. Since the first battle fought by these heroes all the tap-rooms in London, and even places of better resort, have been familiar with their names, and this second trial for victory gave birth to as many hopes and fears, as any man of moderate propensities in the way of fame need desire to be con. nected with his history. Biographical sketches are useless. Every hotly knows, or at least ought to know, that Toni Spring is the Champion of England, a title transmitted to him by Cribb. The casuists in milling may have some scruples as to the legality of his succes sion. At all events he' does not hold the place by right of con quest; but as Cribb thought proper to cover him with all his own laurels, it is right that he sheuld wear them as long as he can. Langan determined to transplant them to his own brows. Ile made one attempt anti failed, but the prize was too glorious la be given up without a second. The colonists of St. Giles's, " those bowers of innocence and ease," never closed an eye on Saturday night, or if they did, it was only to dream of Langan. Wagers of all sorts and sizes, from one pound to fifty, from a pot of heavy to a rump and dozen; flew round at the usual places of resort, but though Spring's admirers were MI of confidence, they seemed rather ally of backing him at the high odds that imply a certainty of success. Early on Monday morning the road to Winchester began to exhibit an appearance of business. The usual vehicles, though not in such numbers as when die scene of action is nearer to town, were driving along in all directions towards the ground. The taverns ar.l public houses along the road had received some intimation of the event, anti were prepared as usual with a great quantity of second-hand eat. ables, bad liquors, and high prices. In consequence of the disappointment at Warwick, even those in the secret of the ring were apprehensive that no fight would take place. As much as twenty-five pounds to ten were offered in some instances on Sunday, that it would be no go. This• gloomy impression was on the minds of many of the fight-going people so late as one o'clock on Monday ; hut just about that time, when it was 'supposed that Langan could not be up from Leamington soon enough to prepare for the contest, a barouche and four drove into Chichester with Langan, Tom Belcher, and other friends. As it was IVhit Monday, when the different clubs, as they are called, exhibit themselves in their finery, the farming labourers crowded all parts of the road, with bunches of ribbons in their hats. and seemed rather amazed at the unexpected in- , trusion of so many suspicious looking characters upon their amusements. At five o'clock Chichester presented a scene of bustle which the inhabitants say was not equalled even at any election within their memory. It had never before, at least not for many years, been the scene of pugilistic warfare, except perhaps trifles un worthy of history, and the novelty of the attraction did not lose its effects. The inhabitants, men, women, children, servants and all, seemed to have quite deserted the interior of their dwel lings, and taken post either at the windows or before the doors. It was a matter of some risk and difficulty to gain admittance into the Swan, the head Inn, around which the crowd was prin cipally collected, expecting the arrival of the combatants or their friends. It being fair-time, and a large p ar ty o f t h e marine artillery h a vi ng jus t arr i ve d in town, these circumstan ces tended to confuse more what was before sufficiently con founded. The balcony that was along the whole front of the Swan was crowded with Officers and Corinthians enjoying the scene below. —A few minutes after seven, Spring, appearing rather in calm than high spirits, made his apearance in an open bavouche.— Ile was received with three cheers by the crowds who sur rounded the doors, among whom was a great number of the 98th regiment of foot, a party of whom are quartered in the town The great object of inquiry now was the immediate scene of action. Pierce Egan had been commissioned by the Corn enander-in-Chief to make a movement on Winchester as early as Saturday, for the purpose of selecting a proper situation.__ He fulfilled the important trust committed to his charge with .the ability of an experienced tactician, and pitched upon a spot called Birdhambridge, every way adapted to the purpose, and about three miles from Chichester. The landlord of the Swan had contract e d f or t h e erection of a stage of sufficient solidity to prevent accidents, of 24 feet hat towards evening it was near l y and the men we re set to work 1 square and six feet high, according to the terms ate articles. hupe n sum s o ag ea r r e l ;dollen Monday completed. O t i l l . a , completed. Th. visitors to witness these preparations were' numerous, and the whole of the arrangements were such as to reflect credit on the taste for pugilistic architecture a those who got them up. Langan and his friends put up at the Dolphin, and Spring at the Swan. Th e i nqu i r i es a f ter b oth were numerous, and continued to a late hour. Spring took a promenade about eleven, just to breathe a little fresh air before retiring to his pillow. • Langan, having been fatigued after an uninterrupted journey of nearly two hundred miles, sought the arms of 1 elfropay at an earlier hour. His attendants reported him well and in high spirits, fully prepared for the conflict, and confi dent of success. A circumstance that took place soon after Langan's arrival gave an air of chivalry to the business, which seldom occurs to grace such achievements as this. A lady of some distinction, the bride of an Irish gentleman, had arrived in town, without any previous knowledge of what was in preparation. U_pon in quiry it was found t h at a countryman was to enter the lists to contend for the Championship, and she immediately sent to in quire under what colours he meant to fight, expressing her de sire to present him with a green /ogle. Langan sent a courteous message, saying, that he wished to exhibit no colours that would give the slightest intimation of party feeling; that his only object was to be imperial as a pugilist, and that lie would fight in black, the colour he had worn on his first appearance in the London Ring, and he was accordingly furnished with an article to his own taste. • The Theatre was opened at night, for the general benefit of' the corps. There was an overflowing house; and some good sport took place. TUESDAY.—At so early an hour as eight o'clock, vast num bers of people of all classes began to repair to the scene of ac tion, on foot, on horseback, in chaise., carts, barouches, and every species of vehicle that has been sent out of Long-acre for the last half century. On arriving on the field it was found that a ground of quarrel existed, which it was apprehended, for some time, would prove fatal to the expected amuse ments of the day. It arose from this circumstance. The landlord of the Swan had promised to give 140/. to be divided 1 among the combatants, on the condition of being allowed 'to receive the money arising from the waggons and stands Ithat surrounded the ring. He accordingly stationed his receivers at the gate leading into the ground and at the dif ferent waggons. The fighting men, however, who are in th e habit of convert i ng ex hibi t i ons of this kind to their own pro fit, opposed the arrangement with the conclusive argument of a few knock-down blows to the money-takers, who soon relinquished their pecuniary concerns and retired from business in disgust. The landlord, who had given a checque for the 1501. hurried back to Chichester with the disastrous intelligence, i threatened to stop p a y men t o f th e checque, to call for the nter ference of a Magistrate, and thus to put an end to all further proceedings. Fortunately, however, the Commander-in-Chief soon arrived, and by his interference, joined to that of others whose support of the Ring gave them influence, all existing difficulties were got rid of. The men were to be on the ground between twelve and one, and as the hour approached it was a matter of great difficulty to make way along the road, so great were the crowds. What we seldom witnessed upon such an occasion, there were many well-dressed females upon the scene of'action, and some calcu lated so boldly on their strength of nerve as to take a seat in the waggons. A sovereign was the price demanded and freely paid for places in the best stand, and nothing less than five shillings would be accepted for any seat. A few minutes before one o'clock the ring was completely formed, and every thing placed in the best order. The Com mander.in-Chief then made his appearance; and in a short address to the spectators, requested that whatever might take place they would not call either foul or fair, but leave the mat ter to the decision of the umpires. This intimation was re ceived with applause, and the Commander was warmly greeted from all parts of the ring. The silence of expectation now that the ring was formed, and that the guardians of good order began to smack their whips, succeeded to the contused uproar of Corinthians, flash_ men, bullies, and pickpockets; of the l a tt er , h owever, t h e number was small, the distance being too great from Town. Cries of " Here comes Spring !" " There comes Langan !" drew all eyes occasionally to every point of the ring; when lo ! in the midst of his Staff appeared Spring. Ile ascended the steps with great agility, and instantly hi s cas t or was se en cleaving the buxom air." He was attended by Cribb and Painter. Langan soon followed, in the care of Neil and. Toni Belcher, and up went his beaver in similar style. People may talk of Olympus and its game& Upon this occasion it was only Primrose-Hill compared to Birdhambridge. There could not have been less than between twelve and fbur teen thousand persons present. The umpires, and the gentlemen who held the watch, were placed on a small platform at one corner of the stage. Both men looked well. Even betting that Spring would win it in an hour, and two and three to one on the result. On mounting the platform, Langan's traps were soon off, and as Spring was rather slow. in unbuttoning, his an t agonist seated himself at one , corner of the stage, sucking an orange with great composure. As soon as Spring was in readitle 9g , ' Langan opened the waistband of his smanclothes to shew he was not b e lt e d, an d S pr i ng followed the example. lig men immediately shook hands and took their position, Langer having previously won t h e toss. F or a few minutes not a sl'e tator round the stage breathed more than was absolutely nee-7, 1 sary to preserve life, and every tongu e w as as s il ent a s i f it , been dried and s a lt e d for six months. Rourn 1. The men took a steady view of each other, as r' to see the quantity o f strengt h an d muscle that each had to c on , tend against. It was a moment of anxiety in the ring. Lar,oa 0 , made play f or it moment, and then hit o u t right and left, without prod uc i ng effect. Spring returned i n similar style, bul more effectively. They closed, and after a struggle for the f 3; separated again, wh en Spring with great quickness put in t , ' ° severe blows right and left on Langan's head. A second Clog; and a lon g s t rugg l e fo r t h e f al l , both went down, Langan.un d e r, most. Both shewed some fine science in the round. 2. Langan shewed first blood ; but, except by the =Fir': who were close to the stage, it was - hardly perceptible. Lankal a as in the fir s t roun d, put i n t h e left ineffectually, and recOve d a slight body bl ow . L angan i mmediately closed. He seeme. from the outset to rest his hdpes of victory on wrestling. long struggle for the throw, and Spring under. 3. This round was commenced with great caution on bo th shies, and was a fi ne di sp l ay of defensive warfare. LanganP``t in a blow that told slightly on Spring's nose, but the debt wo'' instantly paid oil' with inter es t, a c l ose an d L angan un d er. ' 4. Spring bleeding a littl e at t h e nose. Langan made a Jel Aerate hit, ri g ht an d l e f t , b ut di d not produce all the misciv e he intended. They closed, and there was something appallia, in the str ugg l e . I t was doubtful for a moment whether one (4 the other wo u ld not b e dashed from the stage and the contest. brought perhaps to a fatal close; it ended, however, more Pr' tunately ; both down, f in d S pr i ng un d er, after a heavy b. Spring, thou g h one o f t h e stea di est fighters in the rig' seemed a little irritated after the last round, and let fly at gan's head. An attempt to return on the part of Langan s'O' stopped in fi ne sty l e. C ounter hits in the face. The Wren closed, and s e p arat i ng soon again Langan was hit down, an' t his distresses here commenced. • 6. Langan received some severe punishment in this roto' l about the head, a part to which Spring directed particular at' ten tion. 7. Spring, encouraged by success, was not dilatory in going to work as b e f ore . H e hi t h is antagonist on the right and le side of the head, when Langan hit short and got to the railing. —Spring repeated his blow on the ear, jobbed his man mos t piteodsly about the nose, and got away with a laugh from lounge that Langan made at his wind. Counter hits, but with little effect on Langan's part, who towards the close of the round received two blows that brought him down quite feeble , ' Cries of "All is over!" 8. After some sparring Langan put in a ,hit that told on Spring's left eye, and slightly altered the colour. Langan went down exhausted. 9. Langan struck out in his favourite style with the left, A plan of attack that was unsuccessful from first to last. Auer some slight punishment he went down without a blow. 10. Spring stopped, and got away with great dexterity. Langan also chewed some science, but received a facer that made him look very serious. He closed however with bold ness. In the struggle Spring was thrown. Langan's friends A little encouraged. 11. Both appeared somewhat feeble, but Spring rather frsch the heat of the day than the puni s h ment h e rece i ved. A struggl° at the rails, and Cagan nearly going over. 12. Langan made an effort to put in a blow right and left , but Spring's great science and steadiness rendered all his ef forts ineffectual ; a close, and both down, Langan under. 13. Both made play, but little mischief was done; Langah thrown. 14. A close ; in which, after some severe fibbing, Langur' dropt on his knee, and as he was going down received a facer ' that produced some Murmurs from part of the ring. 15. After some counter hits both went down. 16. Langan made an ineffectual attempt to bit a body blow; went in and with a cross buttock threw Spring in a masterly stile. Spring's- friends rather melancholy. 17. Langan hit short with right and. left, and was returned upon on the bridge of the nose, and slightly on the head. A close ; Langan under. 18 Spring's left hand seem e d qu it e on t h e peace establish ment. A close, and some fibbing, in which Langan had much the worst of it. He was thrown from Spring's arms with grew; violence, and came t o th e b oar d s as su dd en l y as if he h a been shot. 19. Langan put in two blows right and left, one of which reached its destination, and produced visible effects on Spring's face. , A close, both down, and Langan under. 20. Langan very feeble.--" He'll not fight a quarter of au hour more," was the whisper round the ring. A close, in which Spring again threw his man with great violence. 21. Spring's left eye, from the effects of a former round. looked a little the worse for the wear. Little business done la this round. A close and Langan under. hard 2. st l r .a u n g g g a le n aLaitnheptitltdiln. dite,alnegftanineirbeeb,,tuditslelyve.reAly,ealonsde,wailjt down much distressed. 23. The men suddenly closed, and separated again. Spring measured his antagonist for a Moment, anti put in a tremendoo facer that brought him to the boards. —All is over, was the word. 24. Spring put in another facer, which was returned slightly by Langan. After some sparing Langan was hit down by A blow on the side of the head. 25. some counter hits not very effective. A close in which Langan received a severe fall. 26. Langan attempted to - Put in a blow on Spring's bead and went down from distress. 27. After some ineffectual attempts at punishment both went down. Langan going fast. 20. Spring got away from a body blow aimed at the mark bl Langan. A close ; Langan under. 29. Good fighting on both sides ; some heavy hits exchangfd. Langan's bottom began to excite surprise. A close, in which Langan received a severe fall ; Spring on him. 30. Langan was much punished in this round; but still, after a close in which he was thrown, put on a look of gaiety while on his second's knee that excited the admiration of the Ring. 31. Spring hit out with the right and left, which told on Lan-. gan's body and head. Spring got away in fine style from hie• opponent's left hand, who w e nt d own qu i te b ew ild ere d . 32. Spring, in retiring, came violently with his back against the railing. Some hitting in favour of Spring. A close, in which Langan came down with his head against the edge of the stage. 33. A close, and after a slight struggle Langan was eased down by his antagonist.—(Applause.) 34. Langan received such punishment in this round that it was thought he could not come to time. 35. Langan piping and quite at sea. Ile still went in as game as ever, but was soon down from a severe blow in the face and body.—" It's all up !" was the cry. 36; Spring put in two blows, similar to the former, from the effects of which Langan went down suddenly. Twenty to one on Spring. 37. Langan went in game, and was agai n hit d own; Cribb dancing from the certainty f victory. 38. Langan went down withare a blow. 39. Langan down as before, but still not broken in Keep the brandy cold ! said he to his second. 40. After some feeble attempts at hitting, Langan dropt down without a blow. 41. Langan again down, when Spring tapped him on the shoulder with great kindness.—(Applause.) 42. Langan seemed to recover a little, but the game was up• Both his ey es were qu i te i nso l vent hi s nose as leaky as a funnel, and every feature frightfully disfigured. A close, Langan under. 43. and 44. Langan down. 45. Langan's spirit still bore him up. He hit out at Spring, and it was yet thought possible that he might get second wind. 46. and 47. Langan dreadfully punished. " You'll be bon bend for this," cried Josh. Hudson to Belcher. A close, Lan gan down._ 48 and 49. Langan came to the scratch as undismayed as in the first round. He hit out short with the right and left, and succeeded in planting a slight body blow. " Hc's no:hing else but a trump," was the ejaculation of the Fancy. 50. An exchange of hits right and left. L angan w ill b ea t him yet," cried some from the ring. Both down. Langan under. 51. Langan in retiring came violently with the back of his head, against the railing. Some struggling in a close and Langan thrown. 52. Spring received a touch under the left eye, which he returned with interest on Langan's olfactory organ. Langan slipped down. 53. Langan put in his left ineffectually, but was more suc cessful with the right on Spring's face, who liquidated the debt, and Langan went down. 54. Spring put in a facer; a close, in which Langan, by II dexterous twist threw Spring a severe fall. From this to the 77th round Langan had not the slightest chance: ho only rose to be hit down again, or to slip down with out a blow ; b ut to the very last he shewed pluck of the first order. Give it up, Jack," says Cribb, at the close of the last round, " You are a game fellow. Give it up. So help me God, yott cannot win." Langan, though nearly insensible, reluctantly gave'up the contest, and Spring was declared the conqueror. The battle commenced three minutes after one, and lasted until nine minutes before three, being an hour and 43 minutes. No man ever displayed more pluck than Langan, but he had no chance from the beginning. From the fourteenth or fifteenth round, any person with the superior size, weight, experience, and science of Spring, but with more intrepidity in following up his advantage, must have settled the business in a short time. But Spring is a cautious fighter,, and never for a me. A, 1 t;. ~rl IBC an th \NI d e re! Po I , ', iui 411 n a T%,1