The Sun. — London, England, 1861-08-17 00:00:00

71L 7 SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, honour to propose the toast of the evening—' The Health of Lord Brougham and Vaux, the President DUBLIN, FRIDAY. of the National Association for the Promotion of Yesterday ; after the delivery of Mr. Napier's ad- Social Science.' (Loud and reiterated cheering.) dress, the business of the association commenced in It would be great presumption in me to say aught the several departments. In the first, which is de- in reference to the subject of this toast, beyond voted to jurisprudence, the chair was taken by the that I feel highly honoured in having his lordship President, Mr. Napier. Judge Lynch, Vice-Presi- as my guest. The whole civilised world is aware dent, was also present. Mr. Heron, Q.C., and Mr. that his lordship is the greatest philanthropist of W. D. Ferguson, are the secretaries of this depart- the age, a most instructive author, a distinguished ment. Mr. Melville read the resolutions of the statesman and orator, and most profound scholar. Patent Law Committee as follows :-- We recognise in Lord Brougham the highest order e l . That all applications for grants of letters patent of human intellect. His name stands prominent in should be subject to a preliminary investigation before a the history of these realms for the last 50 years, sp ecial tribunal. 2. That such tribunal should have power to decide on the granting of patents, but it should be open and has become a household word from the palace to inventors to renew their application, notwithstanding to the cottage. (Loud cheers.) During a long life previous refusals. That the said tribunal should be formed he has advocated practical social science, and has by a permanent and salaried judge, assisted when necessary been the most ardent and active in advancing the by the advice of scientific assessors, and that its sittings condition of the human species. My lords and should be public. 4. That the same tribunal should have gentlemen, I give you ' Lord B roug h am an d V aux , exclusive juri s di c ti on t o t ry pa t ent senses, subject to a right - and may he long be spared to pursue his useful of appeal. 5. That the jurisdiction of such a tribunal should be extended t o th e t r i a l of all questions of copyright and r e - course, and to enjoy his well-ea rne d h onours an d gistrations of design. 6, That the scientific assessors for renown.' (The toast was received with warm and the trial of patent causes should be five in number, to be long-continued cheering.) ch.ien from a panel to be nominated by the Commissioners Lord BROUGUAM, who,„ on rising, was greeted of Patents, for the adjudication upon facts, when deemed with renewed applause, spoke as follows—lt would necessary by the judge, or demanded by either of the parties. be using words of course were I to say how heartily I feel grateful for the very kind and cordial recep of Exchequer Chamber, with a final appeal to the House of Lords. 8. That for the preliminary examination, the as- tion which you have given to the mention of my sessors, if the judge require their assistance, should be two name by his lordship. But I will add that I came in number, named by the Commissioners of Patents, from into this country with every prepossession in its the existing panel; the decision to rest with the judge. 9. That the committee approve the principl e o f com- favour—with a long and anxious desire to promote pelling patentees to grant licenses on terms t o b e fi xe d by by all the means i n m y powerhe different happinessdtheerentranksof of arbitration, or, in case the p ar ti es s h ou ld no t agree to Ireland, the consolidation of t such arbitration, then by the proposed tribunal, or by an Ireland, the union of the different parties and sects arbitrator or arbitrators appointed by the said tribunal, in Ireland—(cheers) —with which I consider her 10. That a report be drawn up in conformity with the re- good, her prosperity, and the Permanency of that solutions passed by this committee, and that the council, prosperityto all my prepossessions in favour of this be intimately bound up. (Cheers.) if such report be approved by them, be requested to allow it B • to be read at the meeting of the British Association to be u ' great and noble people, I confess that my expecta t with held at Manchester this year." tions have been surpassed . by what I have seen m y short visit—l may say of the few hours Mr. HERON, in the absence of Mr. Arthur Symonds, read a paper on " The Constitution of only. I . have seen the people here in their glory, Tribunals." The writer contended that the whole during because f in their freedom—(cheers) ; in the posses system of the administration of Justice in England, sion of f their rights, which other countries, un- Ireland, and Scotland ought to be consolidated. for sa t y hemselves, do not possess, and There should be only one profession of advocates h therefore P f I have seen the people in their and agents for the United Kingdom, and Parliament l . ory, or I have seen them loyal to their Sove reign,. should have attached to it a Minister and Commis- g well disposed to one another, and affectionate sioner of Justice. This paper elicited no discussion. and kind —graciously kind to their well-wishers of Mr. Whiteside, Q.C., M.P., then read a paper on the criminal law, in which he dwelt upon the all caste s an d o f all orders in society. Therefore I cruelty by which it was characterised down to the feel that all I h a d b e f ore dreamt, or rather conclu present generation, and traced the progress of its ded by what I h a d h ear d, o f t h e ki n d and affection mitigation by the labours of Bentham, Romilly, ate nature of the Irish people, has been surpassed Mackintosh, Brougham, and Peel. He gave a by what I have seen and f e lt s i nce my arr i va l history of recent commissions for the consolidation among them. (Cheers.) Now, I consider that the of the criminal law, alluding to his own labours, hospitality of the Lord Mayor, and the kind men andlVlre Napier. In the those of his colleague, tion of my name in connexion with the association course of an interesting address he strongly con- of which lam the head, are due to that association, demned the confiscation of property as a punish- to the great merits, the great usefulness, and the ment in cases of treason, as it caused the innocent great authority of that association, and not of any to suffer. Referring to a debate in the Lords, in individual of it. It is, indeed, a most happy cir which Lord Brougham was engaged, Mr. White- cutnstance that we are here to prosecute our in side said he was present, and was so deli g h te d w i t h quiries in the capital of this great country, into all a speech of Lord Brougham's that he was very near the questions, moral, political, social, and physical, misconducting himself in the gallery, on which of the people—to prosecute those inquiries undevi- Lord Brougham promptly remarked that it re- atingly, unmingled with any factious or sectarian minded him of a case when Mr. Fox was so excited principle, with the sole object of doing all we by a debate in the Lords that he spoke, and was in possibly can—little it may be, more we wish it danger of being committed, when Rogers said to were—but doing our best to promote the happiness him, " I wish you had spoken a great deal more, and prosperity of all ranks and classes in the com even though you were committed." munity. It is highly agreeable to me to have met The RECORDER of Birmingham addressed the at this table not merely so many of the people of meeting on the subject of the improvement of this country, but so many from England, from the criminal law. He referred to a case that occurred Scotland, and, indeed, from the Continent—for ex when Lord Brougham was Chancellor. A person ample, from our worthy friends and neighbours the found guilty of forgery was sentenced to death. The French (cheers), who are represented here most Recorder went to the Chancellor's private residence worthily by men of all parties—lmperialists, Or and entreated him to use his influence with the leanists, and Republicans, or what used to be Government to obtain a commutation of the sen- Republicans (laughter) ; but I believe Republican tence. " The case is so bad," said the Chancellor, ism is out of the question here, and is only mentioned " that if this criminal escapes death no man can ever elsewhere because the experience, I am sorry to again be hanged for forgery in England." " For say, of now nearly 70 years has shown that that very reason," replied Mr. Hill, "I am the more Republicanism tends, in the name of liberty urgent that he should escape." Lord Brougham and equality, to give the people very little went to a meeting of the Cabinet and succeeded ; liberty. (Laughter.) And though at first sight and no man suffered death for the crime of forgery it appeared to give them equality, it was an since, the capital punishment having been abolished equality which consisted in having all ranks and two years after. descriptions of persons r e d uce d t o a d ea d l eve l un d er The PRESIDENT expressed hi s concurrence i n t h e one individual whom I sh a ll no t name, b ecause he views put forth by Mr. Whiteside and Mr. Hill. A was very nearly connected with my excellent friend paper by Mr. Napier Higgins was th en rea d on and Sovereign the present E m p eror N apo l eon, having been his uncle. (L aug ht er. ) B ut that "'Tile Machinery of Legislation," aft er w hi c h t h e section adjourned. uncle of his was certainly w h a t I s h a ll no t d escr ib e more than by saying that h e was th e on l y person In the Department of Ed uca ti on , th e P res id ent, in the country, all the r e st en j o yi ng en ti re equa li ty, Sir J. G. Shaw Lefevere, was in the c h a i r, th e D ean cf the Chapel Royal and Mr. Waldron, M.P., being being on a dead level without any exception what- Vice-Presidents. There we re f our secre t ar i es perma- ever, I trust matters will b e b e tt er h ence f ort h i n nent—the Rev. G. D. Boyle, the Rev. S. Nash; for that great country. They have made great pro- Dublin, the Rev. Dr. Rees and Dr. Abraham. gress already ; they have still a good deal to make, and I wish them well th roug h it ; b u t o f thi s I am Miss Mary Carpenter, of Bristol, read a p a p er on " The Application of the Principles of Education to certain—that nothing whatever can interfere with Schools for the Lo w e r Cl asses. " or interrupt, or cast any s h a d ow o f d ou b t on our good feelings towards, and o ur earnes t w i s h es f or a This paper gave rise to some intere s ti ng discus sion, in which the followin g gen tl emen t oo k part :_ perpetual good understandin g w ith , our neares t neighbour, who, to speak m ercan til e l y, i s our b es t Professor Kavanagh (of the Cath o li c U n i vers it y ) , customer, as we also are her be s t cus t omers. (H ear, Sir Baldwin Leighton, M r . J. H aug ht on, an d t h e hear.) If peace wer e b ro k en, we s h ou ld b e t h e Rev. Nash Stephenson. first to suffer, and the people of F rance wou ld b e The Rev. ALEX. P OLLOCK , h on . secre t ary o f t h e the next to suffer. (H ear, h ear. ) Th erefore, if any Church Educatio n , rea d a paper on " T he Educa two peoples have an int eres t i n th e permanent pre tional Position of the Establi s h e d Ch urc h , i n Ire servation of peace, it is th ese two, b ecause in peace land," which he said was not only "di s t ress f u l , b ut they can be of more us e t o eac h ot h er, and in war wholly anomalous." He went at l eng th i nto t h e statistics of popular education, and co m p are d t h e they can be of more h arm t o eac h other, than any Church system with the National system. Thi s other countries in the w or ld. (L ou d c h eers.) I beg essay was the subject of a lengthened and animat e d your pardon for having di gresse d f rom what was debate, in which the chief parts were borne by P ro - my original . intention wh en I rose, o f expressing to you my hearty thank s f or th e manner i n which fessor K avanag h, f o rmerly Head Inspe c t or o f th e National B oar d , w h o a d voca t e d se p ara t e e d uca ti on; you have received the men ti on o f my name this evening, and in which y ou h ave rece i ve d t h e asso the Rev. A . D'O rsey, t h e R ev. W . Mg] wa i ne, Mr. Lefroy, M.P., the Rev. Mr. Frazer, from Scotland, ciation with which I am connected. (The noble Mr. A. M. Sullivan, Professor Gibson, of Belfast, lord resumed his seat amid loud and enthusiastic Mr. Whit es id e, M.P., the Rev. Dr. Willock, Mr. applause.) P. O'Brien, M.P., Mr. Henry Dennitt, the Rev. J. The day's proceedings were brought to a close hail, Commissioner of Education, the Rev. Profes- by a conversazione, given to the members by the sot Foley, Trinity College, Dublin ; the Rev. Dr. Royal Dublin Society. There was a brilliant and Quinn, Roman Catholic. This discussion, which numerous assemblage, numbering about 2,500 will he resumed to-day, is remarkoa, le for the fact persons. At half-past nine o'clock the Lord-Lieu so novel in Ireland, that on the most exciting sub- tenant, accompanied by Lord Brougham, the Lord ject that still divides our population extreme Justice of Appeal, and the Lord Mayor, arrived, and parties meet face to face, and speak their sentiments was received by Mr. Saunders, chairman of the freely with the most perfect good feeling, and with- Exhibition Committee, and the members of the out an offensive or even a discourteous word on Council of the society. Among those present were : either side, which shows one beneficial effect of the —The Right Hon. Joseph Napier, the Right Hon. Social Science Association. James 'Whiteside, M.P., Mr. Justice Hayes, Sir In the Department of Reformatories, over which John Shaw Lefevre, the Right Hon. the Attorney the Attorney-General presided, there was a large General,: the Solicitor-General, the Hon. Judge attendance of ladies and gentlemen. Papers were _Lynch, the H on . J u d ge B erw i c k , Lord Talbot de read by the Rev. J. Hunter Monaghan on ai abide, M r. Wil l i am N. Hancock, LL.D., Secre tary Soci a l S c i ence Association ; General Larcom, "P ro- M tcstant Reformatories," by the Rev. Mr. Fish, from General Yorkshire, on "The Disposal of Boys from Reforma- C ' B•, h ewral Colomb, o & c ., and the distinguished strangers tories," and by the Recorder of Birmingham , on have visited thi s c i ty for the purpose of taking • sent The Pre the part of his daughter, Miss Hill, on ' The following is sent Position of Mettray." A conversation followed address, delivered in abridgment of Mr. Napier's on the working of the Reformatory Act, in which Prudence yesterday i-- the Department of Juris- Judge Berwick, Mr. S. M. Greer, and the Rev. Mr. I) The limits of an opening address will not permit me to Fish took part. enlarge on the great theme of jurisprudence. M In the Department of Public Health, presided duty i s simply to clear the ground for the discussions') r w e hi s n h t over by Lord Talbot de Malahide, a paper was read are expected to take place in this section, a n d to prepare the by Dr. Moore, on infant mortality, in which he way for giving to the results to be of the law, at their p roper dwelt particularly on the pre v alent negle c t o f vac ci- effect in the systematic amendment since the subject aw t las.Ttwo ecu nation by parents among. the poorer classes in turies halfanda h attentionve elapsed of Lord Bacon. In succeeding times Hale Ireland. Mr. David Smith, Dr. Lank es t er , Dr. to engaged the and Prynne, Bentham and Mackintosh, Romilly and Makessey, and Dr. Lyons, spoke on this subject. Brougham, have kept on foot a standing protest against the Dr. Harken read a paper on births, deaths, and complexity, the incoherence, and the still graver defects of a diseases, urging the necessity of registration. system of laws which ought to be a model ofjurisprudence for In the sth Department, Social Economy, Judge the civilised world. Lord Bacon's elevated and comprehen sive mind sketched the o u tli ne of a great reform—the statute Longfield presided. Papers were rea d by M r . H. , law to be expurgated, classified, and consolidated ; the com- R. Reid on strikes, and by Dr. Hancock on bakers night- wor k . mon law to be digested an d me th o di se d ; a standing corn mission to be set up i n a id o f current le g islation. In later In the 6th Department, Trade and International times commissions for the purpose hav e been appo in ted, Law, Papers were read on gold discoveries, the but they have been used rather to stop some troublesome rights of aliens, weights and measures, &c. leak than for sufficient repair. Notwithstanding all that In the ev ening a distinguished assembly dined in has been done the weeds increase and multiply. When will the Oak the good work of clearance and cultivation be taken up with -re nal, Mansion-house, on the invitation of the Lord Mayo r . the spirit and in the wa which can ' y insure success ? The The ' guests numbered about including the Lora-Lieutenant 130, remedy which our president has so often and so ably advo- M. Gamier en b ant, M. , P anes,, rated was many years ago approved by the House of Corn one of the leading me of r m lB e 4 rs of the French I ro- mons. In the session of 1857 an address to the Queen was vision al Governm ent 3 ; M. Desmerest, an presented by the House, which l e d us t o expect t h at a de eminent M. Michel Chevalier, partment of administration for the affairs of public justice , s•l - yr of ~ i i i Fr -,-cr- 1 . the Ise a a :le e s would soon be constit u t e d. S uc h a department has become %- ,1 -171:"!ts • !)c-1 Ty•reons 1010:1,,,-, , isitt d this sit for the pric, , o,f• 0` tal.• a necessity, t.t. is now ge•terallv allowed that it is needful , :., , t 5,,,,, , i ,J SeiP nee te,,, : ,„ - - ' - ing 'to collect, register, a n d digest the results of experience as pert ii , , . srts', ~ .nd qiqo n ' • t he - rofessiona • 'airr to the workingof 11 eI• • I t (0 , •. he proposed department would of the 6 , 1163 01 p l and mercantile classes discharge these function, Deceets in the saw would thus of Dublin. The usual loyal touts having been pro- be disclosed, remedies . * ' would be discovered, obscurities aris es the Lord-Lieutenant having responded inn from imperfect legislation (which, under the present to the toast of ill - - ow . . Was warmly system, rather provoke satirical exposure than induce rem 1f a •or in rising to p r 0..., rose the dialcomment) might hereafter be noticed for the plain par received, the Lord -.- 3 pose of prompt amendment. It would be enabled at stated toast of the evening, said : ,--I have n ow the intervals to make a report t o th e Crown on the state of the law . "My Lords and Gent lemen as administered by the Courts, and lay the foundation for lii THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 17, 1861. such remedial measures as the Government would then feel it to be their duty to submit to Parliament. Remedies would thus be the more likely to be appropriate, to be prompt, and would be proposed with authority which might com mend them to notice and acceptance. Great injustice is often caused by the delay in amending defective legislation; and not less, perhaps, by leaving doubtful decisions of the Courts with just enough of authority to enable them to perplex or to mislead. The public may thus be long em barrassed by imperfect legislation or apocryphal decisions, which usurp the rightful authority of plain, positive law• Indeed, this opens a large question as to the reporting and the revision of judicial decisions, when regarded not simply as the adjustment of private controversy, but as they affect the general law and the interests of the community. It is a public necessity, I think, that the present system of irre sponsible reporting, and the reviewing of decisions which from the time when they are published have the sanction and force of positive law, should undergo a searching scru tiny. The clearance and consolidation of the statute law, the digesting and arranging of the dogmatic and judicial law, would naturally fall within the province, and come under the supervision, of this department ; but it may be considered, perhaps, as of more pressing importance to get the current legislation into approved working order. The Houses of Lords and Commons have provided by their standing orders that, in certain cases, bills intended to be referred to Parliament should, before they are introduced, be submitted to certain public departments. These depart ments may therefore report their views and make their sug gestions, which may assist though not control the Legisla ture. It seems, indeed, so obviously reasonable to ask and to accept advice from those who are peculiarly competent to give it, that the plan adopted in these cases might be ex tended by making the Department of Justice a consultative body to which a bill might at any time or any stage be re ferred, with a view to obtain the best advice. A settled use of language and a system in the structure of enactments would naturally result when the work of the draughtsman selected would be submitted to a standing supervision. This would facilitate construction, and would prepare for having the whole body of the law cleared at last of absurdity and confusion, and our jurisprudence might attain the consis tency and acquire the sanctions which, in this our day of peace and privilege ought to characterise the laws of a wise and understanding people. I feel myself justified, on the present occasion in pressing on your attention the import ance of having such a department as I have suggested. On the score of economy 1 would add that, if we calculate the expense of commissions for the last 30 years, and contrast this with what a department would have cost the country, and then consider what would have been the probable balance on the side of law amendment under a department instead of these commissions, we might find another illus tration of the wise maxim, that the best security for a wise economy is efficiency. It was with reference to Ireland that the late Sir Robert Peel advised that the affairs of public justice should be placed under an Imperial department. His policy was sound. For this I maintain, that until there be obtained for both countries the most complete community of rights and laws that is compatible with whatever is in delibly peculiar to each, the Union cannot be said to have realised its proper purpose. I have always advocated such assimilation. When a commission was issued in 1859, with a view to improve procedure in equity, under the sanction of the late Lord Chancellor Campbell, I urged (but without success) that Ireland should share in the benefit. Indeed, it was the deliberate opinion of influential members of the late Statute Law Commission that it was not practicable to have even the same criminal law for Ireland as for England. Mr. Whiteside, Mr. Justice Hayes, and myself thought otherwise. We had bills prepared in conformity with our view, and these were approved by the Cabinet in 1858 ; they were taken up by the succeeding Cabinet, and to a great extent, though not altogether, in the form which was chosen by us, they have now become Imperial law, and so far solved the problem of an assimilation which was sup posed to be impracticable. The question of procedure, how ever, is, I regret to say, still left open, even in the criminal law, and yet it is the most urgent question. We have assi milated our criminal law ; we hope to assimilate our proce dure. Why should there be a difference in our laws of pro perty ? Why should there be any conflict of commercial law ? 1 might lay bare many of the evils to be remedied that not only are against policy, but work injustice which they who suffer are left to deplore, but cannot (hope to re dress. A private member of Parliament may be instructed, a law officer of the Crown may be spoken to ; the matter ends in some official platitude from a Home Secretary or a pie -crust promise to a deputation. Patching or cobbling may in an extreme case be attempted, and the rent is made worse. Look at what we call our marriage law. You may search for it in the lumber-room among the rubbish of acts of Parliament—lrish, English, and Imperial. Thoughtful men ask themselves at last, Is marriage indeed to remain an institution of God, or has it become the creature and convention of human law? The relation of husband and wife is constituted— completely and irrevocably constituted by the free consent of parties competent to contract, and intending by such consent to constitute the relation. It has been said, but loosely said, by great authority, that so ciety is a party to the contract; it would ba more accurate to say that society may have an interest in its completion. In this day'of religious liberty parties competent to con tract and constitute a marriage ought tohave the free choice of having that marriage solemnised by such religious sanc tion as they may think fit to select andsuperadd. Marriage is publiei quid Divinijuris ; it is valid everywhere, if valid anywhere. Where the State moulds the laws of property for the convenience of the cornznunity, it may justly re quire —as a matter of sound policy—that every marriage which can claim to be recognised fur proprietary or other civil privileges shall have had such sanctions superaddel and publicly recorded in such form as the interest of society may demand for its common con venience. Nothing more than this should be required. But this, be it observed, would be a part of the law of pro perty; it leaves the law of marriage as God has left it— sacred and universal. In bringing reason and experience to bear upon the amendment of the law, the work of expur gaticn must be considerable. We have to get rid of restric tions which ought never to have been imposed, and which have aggravated the evils that they were intended to remove. Of this class are those which have professed to secure trustworthy evidence, and to prevent frauds and per juries, by excluding interested witnesses, and requiring, in certain cases, documentary evidence, executed with a pre scribed formality. Ought oral testimeny to be excludel in any case where it is the best that at the time of the inquiry can be produced ? Man indeed is both frail and fallible ; he may deceive and be deceived, but still it is a law of our nature to act on testimony which may be depreciated but not destroyed by out liability to deception. This considera tion has led to the removal of some arbitrary restrictions, ' which have been taken away by the statutes which were passed at the instance and with the aid of your noble presi dent. Although in both countries the parties in a civil suit are now competent and compellable to give evidence in that suit, in neither country can an accused man be examined as a witness on his own behalf in a criminal proceeding. He is indeed permitted to make a statement, but he cannot sustain it by his oath, nor submit it to the test of a cross examination, so that if it be true its value is unjustly de preciated. There is no case, lam confident, in which an innocent man is put on his trial in which ho does not feel the injustice of the existing law. There are cases in which no one but the accused could expose the falsity of the ac cusation, and there are cases also in which the accusation would not have been made, perhaps not even contemplated, but for the very rule which may screen it from exposure. The spirit of our constitution strives to protect the innocent rather than to clear the guilty. Such should be the effect of our law. I have glanced at the Statute of Frauds, under which oral testimony is excluded in cases where its admis • sion, as the best evidence at the time available, might help the search for truth. But observe how inconsistent, if not impolitic, are the provisions of this statute. Why should oral evidence of all the particulars be sufficient where the subject of the contract is of small value, or even where a sixpence has been paid to bind the bargain, or a fragment of the bulk has been accepted as a part of the whole ? by should an admission of the fact of such part pay ment, or part acceptance, be provable by oral testi mony ? Why should oral evidence be admissible when the written contract has been lost, though this may have occurred by mere negligence? Why should the re scinding of the contract be provable by oral testimony ? Or why should part performance make oral evidence sufficient to establish and enforce the contract in a court of equity ? How many honest contracts have been evaded by this arbi trary legislation ? It may be proper to protect, in certain cases, the weak against the strong; but when the parties deal on equal terms, why should they not have been left free to make their bargains in such form, and with such safeguards, as their own interests might require, or their own prudence might suggest ? If this simple and sound policy had been consistently adhered to, then the testimony of the parties would have been available according to their own free choice, according to its intrinsic value, and, what is of greater consequence, also according to , the general course of commercial law. If our tribunals are equal to the duty of sifting testimony, detecting falsehood, and discover ing truth, the sources of evidence should be freely opened. It is the prerogative of our moral nature, which it is no less our duty than our interest to cultivate, to enable us to weigh and to value testimony, subject (as it must ever be) to the manifold influences of interest and corruption. Let us be assured that our success depends, not on legislative restric tions, not on limited inquiry„ but on our metal culture, our general intelligence, our improved experience, a deeper in sight into human nature, a more extended acquaintance with social science. There are other subjects of interest on which I do not dwell, for obvious reasons. The bankruptcy law is still on crutches. I cannot be satisfied until 1 see an Imperial law of bankruptcy for the United Kingdom. The elaborate report which has been prepared by the committee to whom the patent law was referred I will not anticipate, nor shall 1 further refer to any topics on which I have en- largui in the address of 18.58. Thrro is a subject of grave importance which desezves a Bpecial netice—J. alimie to the quesii ,n of legal and equitable jurisdiction. The tendency of recent legislation hao been to remove the impediment which had made the courts of law and equity rather anta gonistic than ancillary to each other. The early history of our courts of equity shows that the courts of law had limited their own jurisdiction by a narrow and technical pro cedure which was inadequate to afford the judicial remedies that were required by the growing requirements of society. Why, it may well be °Ad, should not the resources of either be made available to both? An appropriate proce dure and a sufficient staff of officers are needed to give effect to equitable remedies, and it is by the amendment of the law of procedure that the courts of law have been in some degree enabled to deal with equitable questions ; but this is left in an unfinished state; the difference in the manner of relief has been overlooked by the Legislature. Every court of justice, whether it be a court of law or of equity, should be enabled to do complete justice between the same parties in respect of the same subject matter, either by the convenient interchange of powers and duties each with the other, or by enabling the same court to exercise the entire jurisdiction so far as is necessary, in the pending suit for the administration of complete justice. Our judicial system ought to be harmonious in itself. The suitor should never be subjected to the unjust penalty still imposed on a mere mistake of jurdisdiction, nor in the con tingency of an inquiry turning out abortive in consequence of the inability of the court to give remedial effect to its own decision. In one view this may be regarded as a question of procedure and the convenient division of judicial labour, but it involves the higher policy of restoring the unity ofjustice itself. The restitution of conjugal rights between law and equity may have a beneficial influence on legal education. This is too often confined to a spacial training in the mere fragment of a great profession, and the tendency of this pro fession to narrow the mind is almost proverbial. Limited culture in any form must tend to narrow the mind. We should not forget the " idols of the den." Clarendon has spoken of this, as exemplified in what he observed of the clerical profession; and Arnold, with his mild wisdom, has urged on the student of theology the vital importance of liberal and comprehensive study. Is it not worthy of social science to give a greater efficiency to our judicial system, to secure a greater reverence for the law itself, a higher posi tion for the legal profession? Public justice must have its ministers, and public policy requires that these should be men of refined feeling and cultivated minds. It is not enough to have a supply of rough-and-ready justice. However use ful this lower currency may be, we must seek to maintain a great and goodly system of jurisprudence,under which pub lic order, civil and religious freedom, protection of life and property may be adequately secured—a system which will nurture advocacy of the highest order, and encourage the learning, the wisdom, and the love ofjustice which are not less the ornament than the support of judicial authority. To place the law of the land before the people, as a great system of justice in which they have a real and abiding in terest, is worthy of our earnest and united efforts. Our juris prudence ought never to be separated from our social pro gress, nor from ourmoral advancement. " The human idea of justice," says Dr. Whewell, " is susceptible of many and large progressive steps, in the way of clearness, consistency, and comprehensiveness. In the moral history of man, this idea advances from the hard rigour of inflexible written law to the equitable estimation of the real circumstances of each case ; it advances also from the narrow law of a single com munity to a larger law, which includes and solves the con flict of such laws." But here I must halt. I have reached the extreme limits of my own department. I cannot now turn towards the venerable hall of justice where we assemble without being reminded that there I learnt to reverence the laws and the institutions of my country. I cannot forget the many years of kindly intercourse which I had with my brethren of the Bar, and with those venerable magistrates, since gathered to their everlasting rest, who have enriched our jurisprudence with the treasures of their sober wisdom, their exact learning, and their chastened experience. Their memorials have not perished with them ; they are bound up with the moral order of the world, for the jurisprudence of every ccuntry is connected with the great system of uni versal justice, whose seat is in the bosom of God. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LIVERPOOL, AUG. 16. CHARLTON V. PRESCOTT. The plaintiff in this cause was Ellen Charlton, a domestic servant, and the defendant was Peter Prescott, the stationmaster at the Oakes station, on the line between Turton and Bolton. The action was brought to recover damages from the defendant for a breach of promise to marry the plaintiff. Mr. Ernest Jones and Mr. Edwards appeared for the plaintiff; and Mr. Sowler, Q.C., for the defendant. Mr. Jones, in opening the case, said that at the time of the alleged breath of promise the plaintiff was a handloom weaver, and the defendant was the son of a farmer. At the time of the commence ment of the events which would be detailed to them the defendant was also a handloom weaver, but since then he had risen in the social scale, and he was now a stationmaster. The plaintiff and the defendant became acquainted about three months before Christmas, 1851, and a regular courtship commenced in the same year. They would see that, although the commencement of that courtship dated back to so very long a period, it did not terminate until a comparatively recent day. It appeared that they were publicly recognised among all the ac quaintances of their respective families as affianced. and as intending to become husband and wife ; and the defendant was on terms of such intimacy with the plaintiff's family as he could not have been if it were not for that intention. In fact, everything was done which would prove that such intended marriage was expected between the two. The de fendant gave the plaintiff his likeness; he sent her a lock of his hair; he actually reached the flights of symbol and of poetry, inasmuch as he presented the plaintiff with a bed quilt on which were em broidered the words " Ellen and Peter Prescott." He took some of her money —not at all in an un handsome manner, but she, having £2 upon her on one occasion when they were courting, asked him to take care of it for her. She forgot to ask him for it back, and he put it in the bank in his own name. He had been liberal in his presents to her; he was not at all a stingy individual to wards the plaintiff. He actually used to send her three penny pieces in letters, until they amounted to the number of 24, informing her that those pieces were to accumulate, and that she was not to part with them on any account until a sufficient sum was thus collected to buy the wedding ring. The learned counsel said he had already told them that the courtship commenced at Christmas, 1851, and they would find that it did not end until August, 1858, so that it was a long courtship, and it had not ripened into matrimony. As though he had a sort of presentiment of this on his mind, the defendant had actually made the plaintiff a present of a book entitled " Unripe Fruit"--a very suitable present from a person whose matrimonial love was so long in ripening as that of Peter Prescott. The learned counsel said he should be able to call several wit nesses to prove that. the defendant had made the plaintiff repeated offers of marriage. He had told a person named Mrs. Guest that he was the plain tiff's accepted suitor, and he asked that lady to cook the wedding dinner for them ; but, said the learned counsel, the wedding dinner for those two had yet to be conked. He told a Mrs. Grundy that he was going to marry her friend Ellen Charlton, and some little dispute took place between them as to when it should be. He was not in the position of being com pelled to resort to an implied promise for he would prove to them a positive promise, and show them from a number of letters that that promise was iterated, reiterated, and re-reiterated in the most enthusiastic language. So much was the matter agreed to be settled among the plaintiff's relatives that her father sold to the defendant for £5 an old watch which had been in the possession of the family for agreat number of years, and which was worth £9, but it was understood that the defendant would never let it go out of the family. The learned counsel then read a number of letters from the de fendant to the plaintiff breathing the strongest affection. They were written its the style of an illiterate man and were full of religious allusions. One of these letters is sufficient as a sample : "You May Read this Letter hopeing that the Letter you are Readine , was Writ in the spirrit,and ails with simplicity, hopeing that the Lore Jesus Christ may bless your soule. My Love if What I send you in this Envelope is Worth a Kiss Please to give me one the Next tim I corn over Livering this to You. "Together Let us sweetly Live "Together Let us die "And each a stary Crown revive "And rain above the skyes " Let Love inspire the whole Let peace Lova and Mercy join() "Let your Hart be filled with Love "Let Mercy and Love fill my Hart "Let Jesus inspire Your Breast "Jesus is a quiet Mind, Jesus is a gentle Mind, Jesus is a pataant Mind, Jesus is a Noble mind. "Yours truly PETER PRESCOTT. " Yours M erc if u ll L ove "PETER PRESCOTT My Love. "Miss Ellen Charlton, Astley." On the 15th of August,;lBs7, the defendant had married a young lady 22 years of age, named Alice Fairclough. The learned counsel urged that the plaintiff was greatly affected by the defendant's conduct towards her; she became very ill, and con tinued so for six months, after which she left her previous employment and became housekeeper to an old gentleman. In consequence of her straitened circumstances she had been unable to bring the action sooner, but her hien& had now enabled her to do so. The plaintiff's father, mother, and several other witnesses were called, but as Mr. Sowler stated, in reply to hi s l or d s hi p, that after the letters which had been re a d h e s h ould admit the promise, they were only exa m i ne d as and its effect up on the plaintiff, as stated by the learned couns e l. to the breach of the promise Mr. Sowler then addressed the court on behalf of the defendant, ur g i ng that it was a matter of regret tkat, cne of I - ler Maj;t9t•y's 3 tidges, the jury inf 13 , actl () I 139 " , 8 h e'7l:l i~ i ii7lJ t:o time occu pied with such a trivial and paltry case. The remark of the learned counsel on the other side about Peter having grown rich, reminded him of Peter Stock, in Loan of a Lover, and the song of Gertrude : " I've no money, so you see " Peter never thinks of me." Peter seemed to have been remarkably simple ; throughout the whole transaction. Peter had not kept copies of his love letters, so he did not, like his learned friend, enjoy the great privilege of being able to quote the absurd " poetry" and the letters ; but his learned friend, as his ingenuity and evident taste in matters of that kind had suggested to him, had favoured them with the most appropriate quo ; tations. He urged that the case looked amazingly like a speculative action, brought for the purpose of pocketing a certain amount of costs, and in conclu• sion said he should be doing wrong if he took up any more of their time with the case, for he felt that he had already occupied them too long with it. The learned Judge, in submitting the case to the jury, said he could not at all agree with the obser vation that hearing of the case was a waste of time— either of his time or the jury's. The young woman who brought the action was, no doubt, in a very humble class of life, but she was as much entitled to have compensation for a wrong done to her as any one of them, and his lordship thought it was a very ungracious observation made on the part of the man who had injured her to say that it was a loss of time to estimate calmly and dispassionately the loss he had inflicted upon her. His lordship would be very sorry indeed if the day should ever come when people of the class to which the plaintiff belonged should be less fairly, less tempe rately, and less patiently dealt with when they brought a case into the courts of justice than any other individual in the kingdom. Now, he was sure he should have concurrence in that observation. It had also been said that the case was amusing. Well, they would not quarrel with that. They sat there and heard a great many dull things, and it was not often that they had such an opportunity of having their labours lightened with a little amuse ment to make the time pass more pleasantly. Well, they had had their amusement, and the time had passed lightly in consequence; but having done that, let them forget the amusement and proceed to business. His lordship remarked that the loveletters, though they might appear ludicrous to them, un doubtedly portrayed that at the time they were written there was a very strong feeling of attach ment between the parties. The question therefore for the jury to consider was, whether the plaintiff had done anything to forfeit the affection of the defendant, and they had had no evidence of any thing of the kind. As far as they could see, there was not outward cause operating that would justify or excuse the defendant or mitigate his conduct. The learned counsel for the defendant had asked, was it not very hard that he should be put about now that he had made for himself a comfortable home and had a wife and child ? Why, that was the home which the plaintiff had lost ; that home had been made at the plaintiff's expense; it was that very home of which the plaintiff had been robbed. His lordship did not wish to say anything to induce them to give intemperate damages, but he made these observations because it had been sug gested that it was a trumpery case, and a case brought for costs; but it was for them to consider whether that was the case or not. They had heard the explanation which had been given by the other side foi? not bringing the action sooner—namely, that the poor girl was in a very humble position of life, and really had not the means at hand to com mence at once the action against the defendant. The jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict for the plaintiff—Damages, £5O. WIfITTAKER, ADMINISTRATRIX V. LEES AND OTIIEUS. This was an action for negligence to recover com pensation under the late Lord Campbell's Act for the death of the plaintiff's husband. Mr. Sergeant Wheeler and Mr. Torr were for the plaintiff, and Mr. Monk, Q.C., and Mr, Spinks'for the defendant. It appeared that the defendant was a coalpit owner near Oldham, and plaintiff's husband a work man who had been engaged to repair a waggon which was lying broken at the bottom of the colliery tramway. It appeared that the coal waggons were let down an incline by a rope attached to a fixed engine, and it was alleged the rope ought properly to run over five pulleys, and that a breaksman should ac company the waggons in order to stop them. The negligence alleged was that no breaksman was provided, and only one pulley, the others having been broken. On the 4th of April last, the plain tiff's husband, while on his way down the incline, was suddenly knocked down by the lashing of the rope which was thrown to one side by the sudden checking of the waggons by the fixed engine, the engineman stopping their velocity instead of a breaksman. The blow of the rope caused his death, and the plaintiff now sought compensation in da mages. The defence was that the plaintiff's hus band contributed by his own negligence to the ac cident, as he had disobeyed an express rule of the colliery, which prohibited workmen from being on the tramway while the tope was in motion. It was also objected that there was no evidence that five pulley wheels were necessary for the safe working of the tramway, as alleged by the plaintiff in her declaration, or that the defendants knew anything about the matter. His Lordship, being of this • opinion, nonsuited the plaintiff. _ _ _ In the Criminal Court a trial of a charge of rape occupied the morning. A number of small cases of an unimportant nature occupied the day. A _DISPUTED WILL. A disputed will case that has excited much curiosity and interest in the west of Scotland was last week disposed of after a trial of seven days by the Jury Ccurt at Edinburgh. The Lord Justice Clerk presided. The action was instituted by the relatives of the late Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Maclean against Major-General Maclean and others, his trustees and executors, for the purpose of reduc ing his will, on the ground that the testator was in a weak and facile state of mind, if not altogether unsound, at the date of its execution. The principal deed was executed in 1856, with codicils in 1858 and 1859, and the effect of the will if valid was to convey his whole estate, amounting to about £20,000, invested in Three per Cent. Consols, to trustees for the purpose of educating "poor and deserving" boys of tne name of Maclean. The relatives of the deceased were entirely passed over ; but there was a bequest of £5O per annum to his housekeeper, Mrs. Janet Macdonald or Crawford. Lieutenant-Colonel Maclean died in 1859, aged 80, at' Millport, Island of Cambrae, Firth of Clyde, where he had resided for the last years of his life. He was the son of a sheep farmer in the Island of Mull, and was the second of a family of 14, most of whom grew up. Ile entered on military service as a Volunteer in 1801, and soon afterwards joined the army, from which he sold out in 1847, having attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the 3d West India Regiment. Of his 43 years service 33 were spent in the East and West Indies and in Africa. The pursuers alleged that for some years prior to 1856 the deceased was insane or weak and facile in mind, his mental malady exhibiting itself in bodily illness, in delu sions, and in hatred of his relatives, to whom he had formerly shown warm affection, this hatred being fostered by his housekeeper, with whom they said he cohabited. The evidence, of which we give a brief abstract, presented some curious points. Mrs. Mary Macdonald, sister of pursuer, resid ing in Glasgow, deposed that the deceased in early lite was very kind to his relatives, and con tinued so till his return from Africa in 1843. His mind and temper by that time had become so much changed that " for all his money" witness could not put up with him. On his return from the West Indies, in 1848, his temper was quite wild when he got into a rage, so that he could scarcely speak, and witness was very glad when he left Glasgow. He abused his relatives and said every thing but what was good about them. He told people a story about his being fed by an eagle when a child, in which there was no truth. He was always scolding about money, and to every one he gave money to it was always the same way. He often spoke abusively of his sister, Mrs. Morrison, and her sons. He promised them many thousands, and put them away with nothing. Witness's son John was now dead. He married a Roman Catholic but there are some Roman Catholics "as good as us." (Laughter.) Mary Glass, innkeeper, Millport, thought there was a weakness in the mind of deceased. He used veryunbecoming language in the presence of women. He was much in the practice of speaking to chil dren, but not indecently. Children did not treat him respectfully; he was always a l aug hi ng stock to them ; they ran after him and made fun of him. By most people he was considered peculiar. He sometimes bawled and sometimes spoke low, shifted the subject of conversation rapidly, and began another story before he finished th e fi rst. Hi s con versation was sometimes sensible, but " when not sensible he spoke nonsense." He told witness re peatedly about being carried away by an eagle when three years old, and fed in the eagle's nest. He was often dirty in his talk —very dirty. His conduct was much spoken of by the girls, and he was like a laughing stock to them. Cross•examined—He was a sober-living man, taking no drink of any kind. He always went against the ministers, and sent them to the bad place. Never knew of his being in church except one . forenoon. Ile spoke against religion. He did not native in Heaven. The Lord ja-3tiec eicrk-- -Nor the other place, I suppose. (Latightcp) (L M Y r ught er .) d la. oun g —oh y ea ; h e sen t th e m i n i s t ers t h ere . ou David Goldie (gardener to the Dowager Countess of Glasgow) —Often met Colonel Maclean while at Millport. He was a little peculiar in his speaking —swearing. He often talked to the children and the girls in the street, making fin of them. He generally turned into obscene conversation when he had an opportunity. He was always a little of what we call " crackit." Had heard him swearing and damning somebody's eyes when there were no eyes to damn, unless he saw witness through the paling. (Laughter.) Once waited on him to ask him for a subscription for a church purpose. He gave them whisky and a song, but no subscription. (Laughter.) He said that all the parsons were rogues and vagabonds. Duncan M'Vean, gamekeeper, Cumbrae -ferry, thought deceased of a very peculiar turn of mind. He mumbled away about a good many things, and witness often could make no sense of them. He had seen him surrounded with children, making a noise and pulling at his coat-tails, while he " skelped" with his stick. Children would not so behave to a man in his senses. Always considered him " what we call crackit." Never knew him associate with the better classes in the island. Mrs. Simpson, formerly of Millport, said the boys treated the Colonel as a " daft" man. He generally went about speaking to himself, often in a loud and angry tone. Mrs. Crawford seemed to have the power of the purse, and to act as his wife. Colin Campbell, smith at Millport, said deceased spoke very loud to himself, and walked very quick. He told him, with apparent seriousness, that he had no relations living. Archibald Campbell, joiner,deposed that deceased was known as the " daft major;" that he went about mumbling to himself, and talked improper language to little girls. Miss Macdonald (now Mrs. Crawford) lived with him, and appeared to have complete command of him. Several former servants in the house were called to depose to statements made by the housekeeper to the affect that the relatives were to get none of the Colonel's money, and to speak to the control Mrs. Crawford exercised over him. Captain Maon, 9th Lancers, and formerly in the 86th with Colonel Maclean, spoke to various eccen tricities exhibited by the latter, and to his being considered as " cracked" by the officers. John Abercromby Maclean and John Maclean, nephews of deceased, described his demeanour to wards his relatives, of whom they said he spoke very abusively. The latter said that every time he saw him he had a rhyme against him. He told witness that his father used to go to an eagle's nest, and sew up a certain part of the young eagles, so that they could not eat nor perform other neces sary functions. (Loud laughter.) The old eagles would then bring muir-fowl to the nest, and as the young eagles could not eat them, he would take away these fowls, and undo what he had done. (Renewed laughter.) He said also that one of the eagles brought a child from Colonsay, but it was picked up by some men. It was called Son of the Eagle. He seemed quite serious when he told this story about the eagles. He said nothing about himself being in an eagle's nest. Dr. Macgowan, Millport, was examined at great length as to the state of health of the deceased for some years prior to his death. He attributed his impaired health to softening of the brain. The old man's talk was very obscene. He abused his nephew Ralph on one occasion, and said he had given him thousands of pounds which he had spent in debauchery. When he was in a great rage he could scarcely speak ; the effort was too violent. On one occasion he said doctors were a -- set of impostors, who made people worse than they were. Dr. Bucknill, F.R.C. P., London, Dr. Skae, Royal Edinburgh Asylum, and Dr. John Brown were called in, and great part of the previous evidence read to them. They were then examined hypo thetically as to the sanity or insanity of the deceased. Taking all the facts together, they bad no hesitation in pronouncing him insane from about 1853, if not from a prior date. The following evidence was then called for the defenders : Major-General Lowth served with deceased from 1832 to 1840, and considered him as sound-minded a man as ever lived. He was what he would call a rough diamond—not a polished man. He was very passionate, and quickly roused, and was in the habit of muttering to himself. He discharged his duties ably and well. Major-General Maclean knew the late Colonel Maclean from 1840 till his death. He thought him a man of vigorous intellect, and had no reason to doubt his sanity. He had a great deal of anecdote, though sometimes not the most refined. He had heard him speak of a story about an eagle's nest, and he had heard others do so. It was common in Mull to harry eagle's nests, and people used to tie up certain parts of the young eagles with a twofold object, one of which was to make them so heavy that they could not fly, and the other to prevent them from eating so much, so as to secure the food brought for their use by the eagle. Any of the old people in Mull must know that this was a common practice. Had heard him speak of Ralph and Donald Maclean, his nephews, and say that they had ill-requited him for what he had done for them. He got into a passion when any one mentioned his nephew Morrison, who had raised a lawsuit against him. Colonel Maclean always behaved like a gen• tleman when visiting witness, and was as coherent in his conversation the last time he saw him as in 1840. He had seen no appearance of familiarity between the Colonel and his housekeeper. He never heard him indulge in o'Jscene conversation. He liked a joke, and it was not always of the most re fined kind. Archibald Donald Maclean, a retired Deputy- Assistant Commissary-General, deponed that he knew Colonel Maclean, and considered him a shrewd, intelligent man, who was fond of telling Highland stories, and told them distinctly, though with a little colouring. He thought him perfectly able to man age his own affairs, and he was told by the Colonel in 1843 or 1844 that none of his relatives would be benefited by his means, as he had been disappointed in them. Rev. Alex. Marshall, minister of the parish of Cumbraes, deponed that he had often talked with Col. Maclean on the street, and he thought him of sound mind; that he had visited him when he was ill, and prayed with him at his own request ; that he was intelligent in his conversations, except when he spoke against parsons. (Laughter.) Wm. Thomson, advocate, deponed that he had been in the habit of living at Millport during the summer from 1814 to 1856, and he thought Colonel 1 1 / a clean to be peculiar and eccentric, but certainly not imbecile or insane. The Colonel spoke vehe mently, and told stories in a rather racy way, but used to finish them. Cross examined by Mr. Young—The Colonel's stories were rather broad and coarse, but never " blue." He swore very hard. I think he was per fectly able to make a will. Numerous other witnesses were called to prove Colonel Maclean's rational conversation, his regular habits, his jocular disposition, and even his thrft, Wm. Templeton, butcher, deponing that the Colonel made all his marketing, and never gkve thirteen pence for a shilling's worth. Rowland Hill Macdonald, Glasgow Post•office, deponed that the story told by Colonel Maclean about. a m'an harrying an eagle's nest by operating on the young birds was quite current and generally believed in Skye, and, being surprised that a man should be held to be mad for telling a story of that kind, he had written to the Lord Advocate offering to come forward as a witness. There was a tradi tion of a child having been carried from Skye to Mull by an eagle. Mr. Janet Macdonald, or Crawford, housekeeper to deceased, deposed that she had been in his service since 1852, and that the colonel was very regular and methodical in his ways. She never spoke to him about making a will, for she " durstna'." Witness was 17 when she entered his service. She was married to Donald Crawford in 1854. Her salary was £4O a year, but she got £2OO from him when she left in 1854 to go to Hamilton with her husband. She returned to him in the spring of 1855. She some time afterwards left him in conse quence of a quarrel, taking her husband with her, but she went back after he had written several times for her, saying that things were going to the duce. The colonel once told her he was to leave her £5O a-year, as he wished to keep her off the parish. He said that for the ingratitude of his relatives he would leave them nothing. Ralph Maclean and Morrison proposed to her to make out that the colonel was insane, and put him into an asylum and then divide the money. Witness never thought the colonel mad, though she may have called him " daft," that being a common word of hers. Several professional witnesses, who had conducted affairs for the deceased, were called to prove that they never imagined him to be insane ; and Dr. Douglas Maclagan, President of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, Dr. W. T. Gairdner, and Dr. Lowe, Saughton Asylum, gave their decided opinion that insanity was not proved by the evi dence, that all the symptoms re lied on might exist without implying insanity, and nothing more than eccentricity had been made out. A lengthened correspondence was put in with the view of proving that Colonel Maclean wa s di▪ ssatis fied and disappointed with the c onduct of hi▪ s rela tions, and had formed the design of disinheriti ng them. As early as 1826, distressed by the conduct of his brothers, he writes—". If I had anything, I have no one worthy to leave it to, fer it w ou ld only give them the means of increasing th e degrading , he conti nue d t o sng indulgence I want to p reve nt ;" and subsequ en t letters seem to indicate that , while he conti nue d t o remonstrate o o n u s t t r t a o t e brothers an d nephews, d threaten; and in 1844 he warns the latter that they would be again tak en on y for another year only. In 1839 h e sa s— ,, i fair g ame , having been a r a n c h cow andam fool all my life, that there is only mention and pay." Mr Young, advocate, addressedthe pursuers, and was followed by the Lord-Advocate for the defenders. _ _ . The Lord Justice-Clerk summed up, his charge being highly favourable to the defenders' case. The jury, amid mingled cheers and hisses, re turned a verdict for the pursuers. COUNTRY MARKETS. WAKEFIELD—Auo. 16. The demand for wheat was again dull. A few choice simples met a fair sale at prices generally lower than last week. Beans steady. Barley quiet. Oats and shelling were at late rates. LOUGHBOROUGH—AUG. 15. At this market to-day there was a fair average show of wheat; trade flat, at is reduction on recent prices to effect sales—white, 60s to 645; red, 505 to 58s per 36 stone. Barley quite as high as in the week previous, malting selling at 37s to 41s per qr., grinding 28s to 30s per 30 st. Oats a steady sale, and late values obtained. Beans were steady, at last week's rates. EXETER—AuG. 1G: Wheat, white.. 7s Od to7s 6d I Barley. 4s Od to 5 s Od Ditto new .7s Od to Os Od Oats 3s Oa to 3s 6d Flour, fine, 46s is —s; seconds, 42s to —s per sack. CATTLE. Fat beef,p score," lls to 12s0d Ewes, per lb 6), dto —d Pork carcases,do lls 6d to 12s Wethers, 7d to —d Lambs, per lb 8d to —d. Fat calves, do 6id to 0 . Rough fat, .31d per lb. DERBY SMITHFIELD—AuG. 14. A great number of fat beasts to-day, but the demand was flat. Sheep and lambs were both rather more plentiful, and both in request. The show of fat pigs was large, and the demand was slack, with a heavy sale. A poor supplY of calves. Beet bid to 7d Veal 6d to Gil Mutton .... 7d to 71d Pork 9d to 6ct Lamb Bd to —d Rough fat, 4s 3d per stone• Hides, 3d to 4id ; calf skins, 5d to 6d. BRISTOL SUGAR—AUG. 16. The market for raw sugars is - tolerably steady. Refined goods are not quite so free of sale, but prices are much the same. There have been a few sales of rum, with no altera tion to notice in price, COAL MARI Mims of Coal per Ton al d. ET—Aua. 16. the olose of the market Walls End. s. d. Acorn Close ..17 0 Byron — .17 0 South Kelloe Cassop l7 9 Brsddyll's Hetton 17 6 Hetton .. ... ...18 9 Eden 17 0 Heugh Hall 17 0 Haswell lB 9 Tunstall Be11. Keiper Grange.... ..17 3 Whitworth ....15 6 Ships at market, 67 sold, 43. Lambert's West Hart- ley 16 6 Camay and Duffryn Malting 24 0 Do. - Anthracite 21 6 Holywell 15 6 Tanfield Moor 12 9 Tanfield Moor Butes 12 9 Howard's West Hart- ley 16 6 South reareth .12 0 Wylam l5 0 Hartlepool West Hart— ley l5 9 .RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE WEEK. Miles Opened. Receipts. Railways. ___...,.....___. ~_.__.......,....__., 1861. 1860. 1861. 1860. £ £ Ballymena and Port Rush - - - - Belfast and N. Counties 136 136 2,494 2,359 ' Belfast and County Down 39 39 873 628 Birkd., Lane., &Ches. June - - - Blyth and Tyne 2O 20 1,904 1,805 Bristol and Exeter 125 125 8,076 7,374 Caledonian Cockermouth & Workington 84 84 - - Cork and Bandon 2O 20 370 319 Cork, Blackrock, & Passage 6l 61 345 339 Cork and Youghal 26 17 341 19 9 Cornwall 531 53/ 1,511 1,6 41 Deeside l7 17 455 429 Dublin & Belfast Junction 63 63 1,728 1,454 Dublin and Drogheda 63 63 2,004 2,016 Dub. &Wicklow(in.Kin,, ,, st ) 401 401 2,649 2,490 Dundalk and Enniskillen Dundee and Arbroath l7l 171 862 8 56 Dundee, Perth, & Aber. Jun 3l 31 1,234 1,10 4 East Anglian 674 674 918 1,040 E.Counties,Nrfk.,&E.Union 499 499 28,499 27,0'6 Edinburgh and Glasgow Edinburgh, Perth, & Dundee 78 78 4,782 4,938 Forth & Clyde Junction - - Furness Glasgow & South-Western 1831 1831 8,658 9,025 Great Northern 28.3 283 29,303 27,411 Great North of Scotland qt.Southn. & Westn.(lrind ) 329 229 8,635 8,647 Great Western 7451 751 54,065 53,32 2 Inverness & Aberdeen June 55 55 1,090 1,103 Irish South-Eastern 25 25 203 250 Lancashire & Yorkshire 3951 3951 41,922 42,939 Leominster and King - ton Limerick and Ennis. Limerick and Foynes 261 261 118 124 Llanelly 461 461 556 6 97 London & North-Western London and Blackwall 5l 51 1,929 1,824 London & South-Western Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast 2341 2234 27,649 22.355 London, Chatham, & Dover 721 294 2,650 675 Lond., Tilbury, & Southend 45 45 2,425 2,639 Man.,Sheffield,& Lincolnsh ' 2911 2911 15,716 14,648 Manch. S.Jun.& Altrincham 9 9 1,328 1,077 Maryport and Carlisle Midland (incl. N.-Western; 6144 6144 42,1,09 41,168 Midland GtWestn. of Irind 1924 1774 4,443 4,271 Monkland Monmouthsh. Rail. & Canal 44 44 2,082 2,490 Newcastle and Carlisle 7B 78 4,097 3,898 North British (incl. Selkirk • and Galashiels) North Devon N-Eastern(Bedale&Leybrn) 764 764 43,567 42,641 North London 9 9 2,828 2,592 North Staffordshire ' 246 233 8,720 9,221 Oswestry and Newton 3O - 590 - Rhymney l9i 104 676 (67 St. Helen's Canal & Railway 52 52 1,736 2,041 Scottish Central Scottish North-Eastern ll5 115 4,632 4,375 Shrewsbury & Birmingham - - - - Shrewsbury and Chester - - Shrewsbury & Hereford Shropshire Union 291 291 1,010 947 South Devon South-Eastern 306 306 27,286 28,839 South Wales l7ll 1711 7,554 8,170 S. Yorkshireand River Dun 118 118 _ - Stockton and Darlington Taff Vale 5l 54 4,606 5,115 Ulster Crlverstone and Lancaster Vale of Clwyd. Vale of Neath 35 35 1,810 1,713 Waterford and Kilkenny 3l 31 357 337 Waterford and Limerick West Cornwall 274 274 8,7 771 W. H artlepool H arbr. &Rail 39 39 4,96, 4,732 West Midland. - - - - W'haven,Cleator,&Egrmnt 7 7 400 460 Whitehaven Junction l2 12 681 '136 Whitehaven & Furness Jun 35 35 636 711 FOREIGN AND COLONIAL • Antwerp and Rotterdam 52 52 1,211 1,175 Austrian B2B 673 37,024 37,193 Belgian Eastern Junction 264 264 239 284 Buffalo and Lake Huron Detroit and Milwaukie lB5 185 2,145 2,000 Dutch Rhenish Eastern of France 1032 1006 51,811 51,487 East Indian - - Grand Trunk of Canada 970 970 14,472 11,193 Great Indian Peninsula 3504 277 5,656 3,033 Great Luxembourg l2B 128 3,341 2,816 Great Western of Canada 345 345 5,6!8 5 *B2 , Lyons and Geneva 142 142 6,053 5,844 Madrid, Saragossa &Alicant 301 284 14,245 13,713 Northern of Canada Northern of France 624 614 48,025 44,768 Norwegian Trunk 44 44 1,398 895 Paris, Lyons, & Mediterrn 879 840 88,137 74,748 Paris and Orleans 922 922 53,063 52,209 Pernambuco 364 - 653 - Royal Danish 69 69 675 647 Sambre and Meuse 6B 68 1,391 1,2: 8 South Austrian Southern of France 777 773 23,463 18,471 Welland West Flanders .. 75 75 1,059 901 W. and N.W. of France.... 742 730 , 44,115 40,819 TIIE MAILS. MAILS DUE.' Australia, Ceylon, and Mauritius (via South ampton) Do. Brazil and Cape Verds Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, &c. Cuba and Mexin Aug. 28. Canada, &c. (via L'derry) Aug. 21. Cape of Good Hope, &c. Sept. 1. China, Penang, and Singapore (via S'ampton) Aug. 18. Do (via Marseilles) Aug. 26. Gibraltar (via Southampton) .. .. Overdue. India(Calcutta), Ceylon, &c. (via Southampton) Aug. 18. Do. (via Marseilles) Aug. 26. India (Bombay), (via Southampton) .. Overdue. Do. (via Marseilles) Aug. 19. Lisbon .. .. Sept. 21. Malta, Egypt, and Aden (via Southampton) .. Overdue. Do. (via M arse ill es ) .. Aug. 19. Vigo, and Oporto .. United States, Calif orn i a , & c . • • • Au g . 21. Western Coast of Africa M a d e i ra , Teneriffe .• Sept. 10. West Indies and Pacific.,Carthagrena. Cuba , &C. Aug. 28. .• Sept. 21. • • • • .. Aug. 18. (via Marseilles) Sept. 12. .. Sept. 3. BIRTHS. HARDINGE.—On the 14th inst., at 36, South-street, Vis- countess Hardinge, of a daughter. PEEL.--On the 15th inst., at Toddington, the lion. Mrs. Frederick Peel, of a soli. REPTON.—Ontho 16th inst., at 29, Curzon- s t ree t , May fair, Lady Jane Repton, of a son. STAUNTON.—On the 15th inst., at 9, Strand, the wife of Mr. W. T. Staunton, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. BROWNS—CLUTTERBUCK.—On the 15th inst., at Wark worth, Northumberland, Major. General W. J. Browne, C. 8., of H.M.'s Indian Army, to Susan Harriet, third daughter of the late Major Clutterbuck, of Warkworth. EN-ILL—CROSWELL—On the 15th inst., at St. Mary's, Islington, David Ariel Evill, of Highbury, to Sarah Ann, the only daughter of Henry Croswell, Esq., of Islington. DEATHS. CLEVELAND.—On the 14th i ns t., a t G ravesen d , Ch ar l es A. Cleveland, Esq., R.N., late of H.M.S. Calypso. COULTIIIJILST.—On the 15th inst., at Gargrave, John N. Coulthurst, Esq., dep.-lieut. and magistrate for theWcst Riding of Yorkshire, aged 69. EAnNSIIAW.—On the 15th inst., at Farninp,:ham, Kent, Thomas Earnshaw, Esq., youngest son of the late Wm. Earnshaw, Esq., solicitor, of H.M.'s Cu s t oms , an d son in-law of the late Mr. Alderman Farebrother, aged 48. LINTON.—On the 15th inst., at Wallace Lodge, Upper Towing:, Currey, John Henry Linton, Esq., late of the London Stock Exchange. Rix.—On the 14th inst., at Great Alie-street,Whitechapel, Mr. Cecil Rix, eldest son of the late Cecil Rix, Esq., General Accountant of Excise, aged 61. YEELES.—On the 15th inst., at Bathford, near Bath, Har riette, relict of the late George Yeeles, Esq , aged 91. LONDON : Printed and published by ➢MURDO YOUNG, at No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TnE SuN OtEce, No. 112,Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, In the County of Mildleses Saturday, August 17, 1861. , w _ G an E Read (as. a retur Ct sione SAL: 1861, GOO Ti It And contz and] Tit earnE ANC the li lai and I R' Th that quad able this the 1 in ad an al Co . term prur Pres, Co. ; CO. ; Nisb the 1 iecei COnn/ Rural for lUiuz simi shat Lel Co eft, lis' a s