The Sun. — London, England, 1827-06-22 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The subject brought before the House of Commons on Wednesday last by Mr. Warbur ton, in moving for papers connected with the establishment of the Royal College of Surgeons, was one of great importance to society. It ap pears that many complaints have from time to time, and are at this hour made by the proles lion generally, against the manner in which the extensive powers of those who direct the affairs of the above-mentioned College are administered. A petition upon this subject has been presented to the House cf Commons, bearing the signa= tures of profession a l men, and detailing at some length the various points of gievance. The governing body of the College, it seems is com posed of a President, Vice-Presidents, and a Courici). of 21 Members, 10 of which latter con teitutt at the same time the Court of Examiners for deciding on the qualifications of candidates to be admitted as practising members of the pro fession. The Council has the power of filling up all vacancies in its own body—that is to say, it is a self-perpetuating Council. It shares amongst its members all the offices of the in stitution, of which the greater portion are for life ; it appropriates the funds at its own plea -sure, communicating with no person out of floors, nor holding itself accountable to any ; it makes by-laws, which the whole profession must obey. These are enormous powers ; they draw after them a fearful moral responsibility, and entail on those who pervert or abuse them the just visitation of whatever censure, or what ever. restrictive authority, they may provoke.— Great stress has been laid by the authors of this - petition on the regulations which are referred to, as having proceeded from the Council in the year 1823. 1. It was enacted that, so far as London was concerned, no certificates of attend ance on anatomical or surgical lectures, or of the per; rmance_ of .dissections, should be received, except from physicians or surgeons of hospitals, or from persons teaching in a school acknow ledged by the medical establishment of an hos pital. This restriction, although since abolist e d ) is alluded to as evidence of the dispositio-a which for the most part governs an arbitraey and self elected body of men. 2. The Court refused to admit persons to examination, unless they had at tended the surgical practi.te of an hospital for one - year, in Lcindon, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, or Aberdeen, elthough many provincial hospitals in England contain a greatest number of patient: and therefore more ample opportunities for in struction than three out of the five of the above mend University hospitals. This rule has since been partially and incompletely modified, by re ceiving certificates from other schools of surgery, but requiring a previous attendance at one of the former five. 3. Besides which, two years' attendance i 9 called for at provin cial hospitals instead of one, and certi ficates of attendance at summer courses in London are excluded ; many members of the Council being, either in their own persons or through their connexions, interested in the winte r I course.. The petition contains many ; A b er t op i cs of complaint ;—as, that the examin:iion carried on by the Court is an insufficient trial of surgical skill and fitness, Goveniment requiring for army and navy surgeons, a more perfect; and entice] test : and that the subject of midwifery is excluded from the col lege examinatio-,10. The petition concludes with a prayer to the 'Rouse, that the members of the Col lege at 11 , :ege shell hare the power of annually elect ing the members of the Coueeil. There ma one question interwoven with the merits of the general subject, as treated by Mr. Peal and Mr. Warburton, "ibich is of a revolting, but highly important' tie ture,---nareetT, by what -4 proecesor bodies to be procured for dissection, through which only the scientific knowledge of anatomy can be ad .vanced or retained ? The real difficulties in this case are two-fold,—lst, that no human being eals di vest himself of something like horror at the notion of surrendering the remains of a friend or relative to the reckless point of the dissecting knife, and to the technical and heartless scrutiny of strangers. 2. That the enly subjects now available by law to the anatomist are the corpses of executed felons—a circumstance which, of course, must aggravate the repugnance of the general mass to see the remains of those who were dear to them exposed to a similar violatiOn, and which, by its en hancement of the difficulty of procuring bodies through any lawful means, throws the trade into 'the hands of a set of vagabonds, who are willing to run the gauntlet of general execration, or of legal prosecution, in the practice of stealing corpses from the grave. The vileness and atrocity by common consent attributed to the whole tribe of resurrection- men, is an additional obstacle in the way of such alterations, whether of law or custom, as might faci litate the supply of bodies. Mr. Peel's proposition of anatomizing the remains of convicted felons who •Io not live to be hanged, rather strengthens, in one cease, the objections we have been urging to the actual condition of thing, inasmuch as it tends to confirm the prejudice that disgrace attaches both to the surviving friends, and to the posthumous repu tation of an individual, whose body has bean dis 3ected. Surgeons ought to begin by subscribing an unanimous resolution, that they will one and all set the example of bequeathing their own corpses, and delivering those of their families, to certain hospi tals or schools, for dissection; in which case, we doubt not that before ten years had expired, anato- mical subjects might be had on easy terms. — Times. The allusion of Earl Grey, on Wednesday night, to the abominable law, under which all those who utter what has a tendency to bring either House of Parliament into contempt, may for a second offence be sent into banishment, will, we hope, serve to stimulate those on whom the duty devolves, to procure its repeal with as little delay as possible. kis true, that the law 15 so extravagantly unjust that it cannot in ordi nary times be carried into execution ; but the very living under it must have a pestiferous in fluence on the minds of the population. If the character of good government is, that the people derive their security from the law, and not from the discretion of the governors, what must that security be which is der ived from the non execution of the law ? We cannot help thinking that it required no great labour to prepare a pro per Bill for the repeal of the obnoxious law ; and that it would have been, upon the whole, pru dent in Ministers to have freed themselves from such taunts as that of Earl Grey, to which we have alluded.—With respect to bringing into contempt, it may be observed, that parties them selves are generally the authors of the contempt into which they may have fallen. If, for in stance, the proceedings of the Upper House be characterized by wisdom and prudence ; if they who take a prominent part in these proceedings display a strong zeal for the general welfare, and an exemption from grossly selfish motives, think ing only of the general interest, and ready, like that specimen of a truly Noble Peer, the Earl of Winchelsea, to sacrifice his own property for the general good, to trample it under foot, how, we ask, could a feeling of con tempt be excited against such a House, and i such virtuous Members of t ? Contempt must have a cause in the object of it. No man— for instance, not even a Bonapartist—would think of treating the Duke of 'Wellington, in his military capacity, with contempt, or the gallant armies which enabled him to earn his distinction. But the law cannot protect men against their own vices or wickednesses, which cause them to he held in contempt. If the Peers do or say what merits contempt (God forbid that we should attribute to them acts or sayings of such a character__we are merely making a supposition. for the sake of argument), how is it possible to prevent, in these days of tniversal publication, the existence of the feeling ? If, as several Peers hinted the other night, the publishers of newspapers, containing reports, of which the ten dency is to bring either the House of Parliament, or its individual Members, into contempt, this would be at once effecting a revolution in the established system of the country. nesides, if what we have stated be any thing near the truth —that men are the authors of the contempt with which they are treated—what an extensive field for interference would be opened ! The worst of the matter would be, that every Peer, in kind ness to his neighbour Peer, would be discover ing, even in those speeches which gave the ut most satisfation to the utterers, matter calculated to excite contempt, and would be for wreaking his vengeance on the unfortunate publisher of the report. Who knows if even Lord Londonderry and Lord Ellenborough would be safe from this impertinent friendship, and might not hear of the reports of some of their most brilliant efforts in the House branded as being calculated to excite contempt ? Law, then, cannot secure men from becoming objects of contempt. We may lament their Lordships have not that power over minds which they have over their fortunes ; but our lamentations will not alter the mature of things. We may lament that the Duke of Wellington is not held in such re gar d b y t h e pu bli c as a Politi cian, as his friends cciuld wish; but his Grace must trace the cause to ilinixelf and not to the people. A clever 'English traveller (Hogg), speaking of the Ita lians, said, he could not believe they were such rogues as they thought they were. We suspect most r:'eople are now inclined to believe that his ( .'"ace is not so cunning as he thought he was. He allowed himself to be too much elated by the success which attended his Amendment to the Spring-gun Bill, in order to make it include market gardeners, which Amendment, he afterwards admitted, when cross-questioned, he proposed with a view to ensure the loss of the Bill; and with the best disposition in the world to give an advantage, by similar means in the case of the Corn Bill, he has only earned the reputation of having been a tool in the hands of men more skilled than himself in similar stratagems, and disposed to avail themselves of his eagerness to act a slippery part, and his want of penetration to discover the foolish part he was acting, and the posi tion in which it would inevitably place him. As an instance of the impossibility of securing men against the feelings which their acts have a tendency to excite, we may notice the controversies in which we have been involved ourselves, by our disposition to place the conduct of the House of Lords in a favourable light. We admitted some time ago, as our readers may recollect, that their Lordships were evidently more ignorant than other people, but we contended that they were not worse in other reeepects. " The Members of the Upper House of Parliament," we said, " from the defectiveness of their education and the absence of motives for ap plication, may, generally speaking, be more ignorant with regard to politics and legislation, than men placed in circumstances which demand from them diligence and application; but it will hardly be con tended that they are also mere selfish than other people."—No w while our ad m i ss i on o f i ncapac i ty has been readily received, we find a great un willingness to receive the accompanying apology. An able contemporary, The Manchester Mercury, contends that they are more selfish-- 'We think that, speaking of them as a body, they are, and that the causes of their being so are obvious. They are 4707 a senarate vaw fr *isn g4i4-1- 1 5thirerractextensi;e privileges, pre sumed to be hereditarily endued with wisdom, and there fore specially and peculiarly appointed as Counsellors to the King. They are thus led to entertain very extravagant notions of their own importance, regarding their peculiar interests, opinions, and feelings, as infinitely beyond those of tlse rest of society, although it would be difficult to as sign any good reason why they should be so highly esti mated—why they should be rated at any scale above the numerical proportion which the nobility, as a class, may bear to the aggregate number of the community. Legis lators should have no interests apart from those of the communities for which they legislate. Our legislators, however, unfortunately have, and they take special care to legislate for their own advantage." Having demurred to our observation, our contem porary then proceeds to contrast the unwillingness of the landholders to consent to any measure from which they apprehend a fall of prices, with the rea diness with which the cotton-manufacturers agreed Lo the change from absolute prohibition of import duties, to a simple protecting duty of 10 p er cent. ad valorem. We trust our exertions, however un successful, to uphold the estimation of their Lord ships throughout the country, will be properly ap preciated. If a critical hour should conic, may it be held in remembrance when the word is banishment; for it is hard, at our years, to be compelled to seek a new home.—Morning Chronicle. Surely it would be better that public men should abstain from saying unseemly things of each other in Parliament, than that the Press, as the faithful organ of what passes there, should be made responsible for its very faithfulness.— The Press is at once the bugbear which seems to haunt, and the receptacle which seems to de light, all public men. To be noticed by it, and recorded in its pages is to most of them the very pabulum of life—while, on the other hand, it no sooner offends by its too scrupulous accuracy, than, like other faithless lovers, its warmest admirers become its most inveterate, unrelenting foes. There are two extraordinary facts con nected with this subject which few persons can have failed to observe—the one, that it is for its truth, not for its misrepresentation, that the Press is generally reprehended ; the other, that it is, for the most part, those who make the greatest fuss and parade about their attachment to it, and to all kinds of liberty, who are the . . first to arraign and bring it into jeopardy. As a proof of this, almost every political attack upon the liberty of the Press of late years has come from the Whig party—that very same party who, when it suits their pur pose, proclaim it as " the air we breathe, and without which we die !" We mean no offence to either House of Parliament when we say, that though the promulgation of their debates is still called, technically, a breach of privilege, the practice has become so sanctified by custom, and so manifestly beneficial in nearly every point of view, that it may, in fact, be considered as part and parcel of the Constitution, and what we apprehend no Legislator or Statesman would now take upon himself to advocate the suppres sion of. To be sure it may be very awkward to men of too ardent or too irritable minds, or to those who find it necessary to publish in another form the speeches which they did not make, that the daily press should give on the instant, to the world ~ words that burn" more intensely than the cooler judgment of the titterers would approve ; but surely it is for those who run into these extremes to check their own exube- ranee, and not to attempt to visit their own of fence as a fault of others. What, for instance, would have been gained by calling to the bar of the House of Peers the publishers of all the newspapers in London (for, as they agreed in their statements, no one in particular could, with justice, hare been singled out upon the occasion) for publishing Mr. Canning'; speech on Monday night ? Though in accuracies may, and, as reporters are now situated, must occur occasionally in giving the Parliamentary debates, the only wonder with half the world, we believe s is that they occur so seldom. Whenever they do occur, and are pointed out, they are readily arid anxiously set right. After this, surely, in the manly straight-forward language of Lord Ellen borough, " it would be not only harsh, but unjust; after Parliament have allowed the publicatioli of their proceedings, to bring to the bar an unfortunate individual, who had, ,Inere;y published that which had been uttered." The generality of those who condtict the Newspaper press are anxious to avoid every misrepresentation and inaccuracy. Now that the soi disant proclaimers of liberty are in power, we well know that the Press has every thing to fear. Of this we have had already sufficient indi cations; but we trust, that as long as the Press maintains a due regard for truth and integrity, it will find in public opinion that degree of support which will maintain it effectually against the at tacks both of its open enemies and its false friends,— Morning Herald. A Morning Paper has published some obser- vations upon the Bill now pending in Parlia ment, to amend the Laws of the Customs, tog.- ther with a recommendation to the President of the Board of Trade, that he should attend to the suggestions therein contained. We find that, in the opinion of the writer, " Me proposed alteration is gratuitous, and that it does not ap pear to have been solicited by any of the trading and manufacturing interests ; indeed, as far as can be ascertained within the short time which has been allowed, they were decidedly opposed to it." Let us examine the question. A num ber of articles, it appears, fir a century and a half have been subject to certain restrictions on their importation into this country, and, in the recent Act passed for the regulation of our com merce, it was deemed advisable to retain such restriction upon some of them, known as the enumerated articles. These restrictions are in effect as follow, viz. :—that they should not be imported unless " in British ships, or in ships of the country of which such goods were the produce --or in ships of the country from whence such goods are imported," —or, to place the matter in a still clearer light, it shall not be lawful for vessels belonging to the northern ports, to proceed to the Mediterranean, and bring from thence, for con sumption in this kingdom, any of the articles men tioned in this list. With regard to some of these goods, such as rosin, pitch, vinegar, sugar, pot ashes, arid salt, the Act is inoperative, as some of them have ceased to be imported in any quan tity from Europe, and others are not imported at all. It was, however, found, that the intention of the Act was evaded in some degree, as Swedish and other vessels had brought cargoes of wool, barilla, sumach, &c. articles of consider able hulk, though not included in the list. It was, therefore, deemed advisable to substitute the following 13 articles for those above stated, viz. : wool, shumac, madder, madder roots, barilla, brimstone, oak bark, cork, oranges, lemons, lin seed, rapeseed, and cloverseed, for those above mentioned. In mentioning what we have done re latively to the northern vessels having imported these articles, we would, by no means, have it sup posed that the instances have been many—on the contrary ; but the proposed measure will have the effect of removing the power now pos sessed by foreign nations to employ their ves sels in a trade that might be injurious to us, be fore it should have grown into sufficient magni tude to render its prohibition the just cause of com -liikiatt rirTiii.e - pdredTA - fart 8 - tift we thus deny to others. " But," says the writer referred to, " it is well known that the habitual course of trade in these thirteen articles (with the exception of oak bark) , is to import th e same i n British ships. Where, hen, the necessity for the alteration, affecting, as it would do, the enlightened principles upon which our Commercial Code has lately been revised ?" If this be a fact, the writer at once supplies an answer to his own assertions; for, if no portion of this trade is at present en joyed by foreigners, they can feel no regret at their exclusion from it; and, if we are already in the possession of it, surely it were somewhat like idle clamour to assail that person who should give rise to any measure, the ten dency of which would be to secure it to us. W e must not omit to notice that the oak bark mentioned in the above statement, as principally brought here in foreign vessels, is almost exclusively imported from the Netherlands, between which country and this kingdom no Treaty of Reciprocity exists, and all goods coming from thence are charged with an additional duty of one-fifth beyond that which would be payable were they imported from other places; so that, with regard to this article, the " enlightened principles" which command the admiration of this writer would, in no degree, be trenched upon. Nor can it, we think, be considered that undue restriction is placed upon these goods, when they may be imported in "British ships, in ships of the country of which such goods were the produce, and in ships of the country from whence such goods are imported." We subjoin a list of these articles, with the official value of the imports during the last three years. The amount is of that magnitude as to render it desirable that the carrying trade should be preserved to us, particularly when their bulky nature is considered.—New Timex. An ACCOUNT of the Ormuz. VALLJZ of the GOODS un• der mentioned import 1828. I Barilla Brimstone Bark of Oak Cork Lemons and Oranges 111 , dder & Maddes Roots Shumac Seed—Linseed Cloverseed Rapeseed `ed in the years 1824, 1825, and 1824. 1825. I 1826. 70,501 82,070 199,574 36,673 54,796 629,894 40,751 212,284 56,454 74,563 762,735 65,910 100,193 198,649 41,875 56,036 572,316 20,534 296,420 87,175 83,353 119,431 105,724 ',33,247 69,172 330,391 16,586 229,160 42,132 75,915 478,341 61,078 1,436,606 Wool FAMILY PROPENSITIES.--At the Petty Ses sion at Wellington, on the 16th inst., John Wilkins, of Chaffcoombe, was committed to Wilton House of Correc tion, for trial, for utterin. , base coin. He was tried and convicted of a similar offence at the Bridgewater Sessions, in July, 1821, and sentenced to twelve months' imprison ment. His daughter-in-law is now in the same prison, for uttering base coin in Taunton, on the 2d inst. The husband of this woman was discharged on the 16th ult., having been convicted of robbing a man of a gold ring, for which he was sentenced to seven months' hard labour. Two other sons are now in gaol at Dorchester, on a charge of horse-stealing; and his wife, some time since, was searched in Taunton, when a quantity of base coin, and several notes of the late insolvent firm of " Brickdals and Co." were found on her person.—Bath Paper. UNPARALLELED AUDACITY.--Though it is, or ought to be, known to all the world that to sound a horn, or any other musical instrument, in the parish of Marylebone, is an offence punishable by tine and imprison ment, the guard of a Dover coach, not having the fear of the law before his eyes, actually had the assirance, a few days since, to souad his key-bugle opposit e the Court house in Oxford-street, and that while the parocial Parlia ment was in high debate. No sooner did the sound reach their ears than consternation seized the whole Senate, numbers rushed to the windows, and half a doyen beadles were sent in pursuit of the offender, with orders to seize the coach, horses, guard, driver, and passengers; but the musical Jehu, getting scent of his pursuers, soon out stripped them all—the guard, in the mean while changing his tune, as he passed along, to that of “Tantarara, rogues all !" LAW OP LIBEL. VERDICT AGAINST THE EXAMINER IN THE CASE OF WILLIAM PARRY. (From the Examiner.) Our paper of this day contains the report of a trial which tarminated in a verdict against us, with an award of 50/. in damages to the plaintiff. This is the second lime the Examiner has been tanounced by a Jury guilty of a viva'ee and we think it necessary to go into some explanation of the circumstancee, because, however meri torious and honourable it is to suffer for speaking the truth (that is, writing a public libel) concerning profligate Princes and corrupt Governments, to be justly convicted of libelling the character of a private individual, is un doubtedly to incur a serious reproach. Our first conviction was in the case wherein Nicholas Bochsa was prosecutor, whose merits ate sufficiently noto rious to save us the trouble of a single word of explanation. The second is in an action wherein William Parry is plaintiff; and we shall be disappointed if, after the facts are known, the public feeling be not almost as decisive against the verdict in the latter case, as it confessedly has always been in the former. Mr. Serjeant Wrens (who conducted the defence in a masterly manner, and whose speech will long be remem bered by the numerous and delighted audience for its seal, its eloquence, its shrewdness, and its wit)—Mr. Wilde clearly and forcibly showed the Jury that the alleged libel was not the result of any private malice or personal dispute, but originated wholly in the defendant's indignation at the base and impudent calumnies contained in the slanderous book put forth in Parry's name. This our readers will perceive is a very important point, yet the Learned Judge was pleased to pass it over in a very remarkable manner. Some allowances may fairly be claimed for a writer who, in an honest sea/ to vindicate the characters of honourable and venerable men from the apersions of a dirty slanderer, goes beyond the boundaries of discretion in denouncing the con temptible creature who has provoked chastisement. I n this case it was a libeller who came into Court to complain of libel---a slanderer who sought reparation for having been slandered. Were the law consistent—did the principle obtain in all cases, that the plaintiff mug come into Court with " clean hands"—Parry must have been overthrown at the outset. This vulgar pretender to authorship had libelled a most honourable soldier and excellent man (Col. STA:es-tors) in the grossest way; he had taken a base advantage of his admission to the table ofa virtuous and venerable philoso pher (la REMY Bawriram) who was protected neither by his hospitality nor his silver hairs from the low attempts of this reprobate to ridicule and annoy him ;—and, indeed, there is hardly an individual named in the course of the book called the " Last Days of Lord Byron," who is not either abused or sneered at—except one, namely, the self-described honest, frank, gay, good-humoured, active, zealous, eminently skilful, Major Parry.° Now, how ever disagreeable the consequences in one respect, we shall always reflect with satisfaction on the part we took in ex posing the true character of the illiterate pretender who thus threw dirt upon respectable and worthy men ; and we cannot help feeling that the obvious honesty of the motive, and the admitted justice (in all the material points) of the castigation, should have been allowed to weigh against any imprudent looseness of ee:pression, which, after all, did not touch the general effect of the libel. Wes it praise worthy to denounce William Parry as the man we knew him to be, when he came forward in the mask of an author to ridicule and Blander such individuals as BINTHAM and STANITOPZ ? Is it the proper duty of a free Press to re probate persons who thrust themselves before the public falsely to villify good and great names? Is there any public spirit—is there any seal in behalf of truth and private cha racter, manifested by the Journalist who, surrounded as he is by the pitfalls and man-traps of the incomprehensible law of libel, with all the terrors of special pleadings before his eyes, yet boldly declares the truth concerning a slan derer, and tears off the borrowed mask from a despicable pretender ? Could these questions be put to the Jury in Parry's case, they would all answer in the affirmative. They would no doubt tell us moreover (like the Learned Judge) that they are earnest friends to the Liberty of the Press, and disposed to view even its faults with indalgence. But what says their verdict? Most happily, they thought proper to explain the grounds upon which they formed their decision: the reader will see in the report of the trial what those grounds were ; he will see that the statement of the Foremen im plies the conviction of the Jury, that all the definite charges ier the libel against Parry were proved, except perhaps the excess of ignorance; and that they gave him damages principally on a minor point, which the Judge himself (although decidedly opposed to the defendant) treated as immaterial ! In short, the verdict appears to amount to something_like this—",,Wt.laegg i v n Poler rwe give him, as a reparation for his injured character, 501. out of the defendant's pocket, because the latter has slipped into the libel the phrase—' not to say the worst of him,' and also because we do not think the plaintiff profoundly ignorant."t The gentlemen of the Jury will, we hope, pardon us for saying that their verdict is in itself absurd. If Parry was really libelled by the defendant if his character was unjustly blackened—they should have given him ten or twenty times the amount of compensation which they have actually awarded—they should hav e i n fli c t e d u p on hi s cruel assailant a far heavier punishments But if (as they plainly declare by their reported explanation of the verdict) they believed that the defendant had proved by evidence the serious charges lie had specified against the plaintiff, at his own risk and for the public good, where is the justice, where is the libe rality, of turning round upon the defendant upon a careless phrase of no calculable effect in the alleged libel, and— (forgetting the credit due to him for first asserting and afterwards establishing the truth, in spite of the at tendant danger)—condemning him in costs and damages, to the exoneration, if not the benefit, of an admitted de linquent? Was this an evidence of regard for the freedom of the Press? Was this a practical application of the poet's advice, which may he addressed with peculiar pro priety to Juries in relation to the Press— " Be to its faults a little blind : Be to its virtues ever kind." The charge of Chief Justice Beer was just such as the public expect on such occasions from that learned but not very equable person. His opening was ominous ;—ou r hearts sunk within us, when we heard his Lordship profess his great regard for the freedom of the press ; for we knew then what was coming. We were nevertheless amused for an instant by his ingenious admission, that he had not " obtained credit" for that regard. Poor man ! Accused of a cordial hatred of that which he tenderly loves! Sus pected of a wish to strangle the darling over whose safety he so anxiously watches ! It is indeed a melancholy case. We must beg the reader to examine for himself the sum ming-up of the Career Jusricz : to insert the notes we had made upon it would lengthen this article unreasonably. W e only call attention to the tender way in which the Learned Judge alluded to the charges (slander, for instance) of which the plaintiff had been proved guilty; to the generous and obliging manner in which he invented all possible excuses for the vicious acts committed by the plaintiff, and the surprising liberality with which he suggested the possibility of pelliations which the plaintiff had neglected (poor man !) to scpply. In some instances, indeed, the overflowing liberality of the Chief Justice led him to put upon proved facts a construction diametrically opposite to that formed by the ill natured common s e ns e ofmankind. He sug gested that Parry might, by the company of men so super i or t o hiruselfas Lord BYRON and Col. Sri. arnora—(sober men them selves, be it observed)—be tempted into unusual indulgence in liquor. Now the malicious world would lay jest the re verse, via. that the presence of his superiors would natu rally operate to restrain even a man who did not mind lotting in the company of his pot-house associates. The Cnexr-Jusricx observed also about the drunkenness, that several instances of intoxication were proved against Parry ; but he added, that probably Col. STANHOPE, himself a gentleman of refined taste, might speak too se verely of irregularities not commonly thought very flagrant. Now, what was the fact ? His habitual drunkenness during the voyage to Greece was sworn to by Robert Lay cock—his habitual drunkenness during his stay in Greece • In one of the editions of Shakspeare is an engraving (after Stothard) representing Antient Pistol cudgelled by Fluellen. Perhaps as humourous a subject might be found for that admirable artist's pencil in some of the situations attributed by the witnesses to our valiant Major ; for in stance, the lying asleep after a debaucla embracing the bottle, as described with significant gestures by the witness Zambelli ; or the elaborate shaving and dressing, while his men were proceeding to assault the Turkish brig. t The latter clause of the Foreman's statement was so obvious a misconception of the meaning of the paragraph in the Examiner, that we cannot believe he accurately spoke the sense of the Jury in that particular. Our para gragh calls Parry " exceedingly ignorant"—(not pro foundly)—clearly in reference to his pretensions as an author—not as respects his capacity as a shipwright or caulker, regarding which we neither had nor assumed any knowledge. Now if anything was clearly proved on the trial, it was the man's literary incapacity ; but the only of ignoranc e w hi c h cou ld have infl uence d t h e J ury ot f h a char g e a ‘i ard him a comp ensa ti on , would hav e b een i gnorance trade—with which we did not charge him. $ The fifty pounds, they must or ought to know, is in to Parry' s Att orn ey, w h ose extra costs w ill fae t swallow gve i i n t up. was stated by Colonel S., in *hose house Parrylired for some time; and, by way of corroboration, two instances of excessive and bestial inebriety, accompanied by circum stances which would actually be very striking in a picture, were proved by Zambei. Col. StAnnorit's evidence happened to be brought out in a peculiar manner by the Counsel on bot.% Bidet. Mr: Sergeant Wane, after many questions as to detail, put the matter broadly— " In short, Colonel Stanhope, was Parry a sober man, or was he a sot? " Witness.—He was a sot." And in the cross•examination— " Mr. Sergeant TADDY.—Pray, Colonel Stanhope, at whose table do you say the plaintiff was intoxicated ? • " Witness.--At every table : at Lord Byron's table, at my table, and at every place when he could get liquor." The CHixt JUGTICa too, observing on Parry's conduct in the affair of the Turkish brig, intimated, that.one ne glect of duty ought not to fix the character of cowardice on any man:—but his Lordship knows, that a single ne glect on the day of battle cost the unfortunate Byng his life, and that Lord Sackville was disgracefully driven from the service for one imputed fault on the field of Minden ; yet both these men had given repeated proofs of noble courage. Where, however, are William Parry's proofs ? We shall enumerate jive consequences resulting from this trial, the first of which we certainly contemplate with some indignation, mitigated, however, by the satisfaction we derive from the four latter : 1. A Journalist has been made to smart for having al lowed an incautious though immaterial phrase to slip into a paragraph containing a just and useful castigation of an impudent slanderer. 2. Chief Justice Biter's peculiar merits as a Judge hare been further illustrated. S. William Parry's character, before confined to the humble columns of this little newspaper, has been blitsoned forth in all the journals of the United Kingdom. 4. The name of the hireling has been given in evidence, who manufactured from Parry's scanty materials a sub stantial volume of slander, boasting, and baseness. 5. The mock protection held out by the law to the Press has been further exemplified. SALES OF ESTATES. Daring the last four days very extensive Sales of Estates hare taken place at Garraway's Coffee-house and the Auction Mart. The following is a detail of the more important lots, with the prices affixed at which they were knocked down : A Freehold Estate, comprising nearly the whole parish of Chearaley, between Theme and Aylesbury, Bucks, con sisting of four farms, with homesteads, cottages, gardens, orchard grounds, and arable and meadow land, in ail 740 acres, tithe free, and land tax redeemed, rental and value 1,1301. 2s. per annum ; together with the manor, fishery, &c., and right of presentation to the perpetual Curacy of Chearsley ; present Incumbent aged 60, the estate charge able with the annual stipend of 61. 13s. 4d. to the Incum bent of the living.—Knocked down in one lot for 31,9201. A Freehold Estate, comprising a Mansion-house, with offices, farm yard, agricultural buildings, and enclosures of meadow, arable, pasture, and wood land ; situate at Houghton Drayton, near Stockbridge, Hampshire; land tax redeemed-12,8001. The Copyhold Estates of the late Felix Vaughan, Esq., comprising sundry houses and tenements, coach-houses and stabling, in Tottenham-court-road, Windmill -street, Char lotte-street, Kirkman's-place, Percy -street, John-street, Beaumont-court, Tottenham-mews, Goodge-street, and Cleveland -street, in the ♦icinity of Tottenham-court road, of the estimated value of nearly 3,0001. per annum ; held under the Manor of Tottenham, at a fine certain of ISs. 4d. each house, upon death or alienation, clear of all heriots or other fine ; sold, in 51 lots, for 55,4901. This sale lasted two days. The fourth part or share in Whittleld's Taber nacle, and a fourth part or share in Percy Chapel, part of the same property, wail withdrawn—a circumstance which caused much disappointment among the numerous persons who attended the sale. Twenty public-houses, a part of the extensive property of Messrs. Starkey and Co., bankrupts, sold by order of the Assignees, and with the consent of the Mortgagees and Annuitants, were brought to the hammer on Tuesday and Wednesday by the auctioneer, who, in the course of his prefatory remarks, stated that the whole would be submitted for disposal without any reservation. Upwards of 400 licensed ♦ictuallers were present at this sale, of which the following is a correct detail :—The Horse Shoe, Tiehborne-street, Haymarket, sold for 1,0101. ; the Intrepid Fox, Wardomr-street, Soho, 6801. ; the Nag's Head, Marshall -street, Carnaby-market, 701. ; the Sun, corner of Angel-court and Great Windmill l!mt„.gazinarket,.,3oo/. ; the White Hart Little Wind-_ 660/.; the Luke's Head, Little Pulteney-street, -Golden square, with large yard and tenement therein, 6651. ; the Blue Posts, Brewer-street, with yard and tenement, 5951. ; the Crown, corner of James-street and Brewer-street, 9301.; the Monmouth Head, Hemming's-row, 6201. ; the White Lion, corner of James-street and Hart-street, Covent-garden, 1,2001. ; the Fortune of War and two houses adjoining, Giltspur-street, Snowhill, 1,7001. ; the Jolly Gardeners, Bo cheater-row, Westminster, and three houses adjoining, 6551.; the Three Compasses and two tenements, Wandsworth road, 9301. ; the King's Arms, Little St. James's-street, '770/. ; the Rose and Crown, Crown-street, Westminster, 465/. ; the Catherine Wheel, Groat Windmill-street, 4301.; the Fishmongers Arms, Duke's-place, Aldgate, 4701. ; the Plough, Duval's-lane, Hornsey-road, 1701. ; the whole of the above are leasehold, held for sundry terms at various rentals. The Anchor, Feathers -court, Drury-lane, freehold, sold for 600/. ; and the Three Tuns, Coleman street, freehold, produced 19101.—Total amount of the two days sale, 15,8701. A Freehold, and small part Copyhold, Estate, free from land tax, comprising part of the Manors, or reputed Manor, of Ashford, the Ashford Lodge, seated on a lawn, with pleasure grounds, coach-houses, stabling, out-buildings, farm-yard, gardens, &e. ; sundry farms, with farm-houses and agricultural buildings, cottages, orchards, lime-kiln, pasture, arable, meadow, and wood land, quarries of stone, • moiety of Steep Mill, a dwelling and out-buildings_in all 600 acres, situate in the parish of Steep and Froxfield, near Petersfield, Hampshire; timber to be taken at a valua tion. Present rental, subject to small deductions, 1,0451. 16e. a year. This extensive property was put up in one lot, and knocked down at 2.1,9001. The Freehold Rectorial Tithes in the parish of Steep, Hants, containing 2,600 acres, with the barn field, barn, &c.-8,5001. A Freehold, small part copyhold of inheritance, and leasehold under the Custom and Vicars of Hereford Cathe dral, situate in the parish of Brainton, near Hereford, com prising a cottage ones, dwelling-house, lawn, pleasure ground, farm houses, buildings, and 250 acres of meadow, pasture, wood, and orchard land, with cider mills and pre mises--11,8001. The Freehold and part Copyhold Falwell Lodge Estate, Twickenham, comprising a villa residence, with a lawn, pleasure grounds, dairy, numerous domestic offices, carriage houses, stabling, a farm yard, barns, buildings, &c. gardens, melon ground, and meadow land, in all 37 acres ; the copy hold part about eight acres, held of the Manor of Isleworth, Syon, at a quit rentnf ss. 7d., fine according to the custom of the Manor-6,9201. Sundry Inclotions of Freehold and Copybold Meadow and Arable Land, near the preceding lot, containing 44 acres --86601. A Freehold Estate, comprising two Farms in the parish of Ridge, Hertfordshire, containing 152 acres of pasture and meadow land, with farm-house to each, barns, stables, and requisite buildings, let on lease for 11 and 21 years, at rents amounting to 8371. a year ; three acres are leasehold for three lives, aged 44, 0, and 37, at five guineas a-year ; Land-tax redeemed, timber on the estate to be taken at a valuation—.old, in two lots, for S5OOl. It may be interesting to many persons, who are about to visit France to know, that in the Ducal Palace at Rouen, there is a piece of tapestry which is a very curious and authentic monument ; and refutes an important point in the History of Harold, son to Godwin, Earl of Kent, as related by Malmsbury and Matthew, Westminster. Those historians affirm, that Harold had no intention of going to Normandy (to make the celebrated contract with the Bastard), but that taking the air in a pleasure boat on the coast, he was driven thither by stress of weather. In this tapestry, which is supposed to have been wrought by order of Matilda, wife to the Emperor (it is at least of great antiquity,) Harold is represented as taking his departure from Edward the Confessor, and mounting his vessel with a great train, in execution of some commission. A fur ther a:•count of this tapestry may be seen, in the Histoire de l'Academie de -Literature. The Pope (Alexander IL ) pronounced Harold a perjured usurper, and sent William, who had appealed to the Pope, a consecrated banner, and u ring with one of St. Peter's hairs in it. By virtue of this hair, the succession (for a conquest of the people was not attempted) was conquered ! William declared at his coronation, that he claimed the crown, not jure Lelli (by right of war) but jure suecessionis (by right of succes sion). It was not a conquest of the country, or people, but only of the King, in the person of Harold ; a very im portant distinction, and which differs widely from the con quests of the Romans, who were conquerors of the country, and subjugated it furs belli. William acquired only the rights which his predecessors exercised.—Brighton Gaz. LAW INTELLIGENCE. HOUSE OP LOADS, .Iwss 21. THE LOVAT PEERAGE. Mr. ADAM stated he was now about to prove those • 'minis of the pedigree, which were left for consideration at the last hearing of this ease. Mr. Joan ANDIRSON, W.S. produced evidence to shew the extinction of all the issue of the last Lord Lovat ; and also produced documents to shew that Sir Simon Fraser, of Inverallochy, and Sir James Fraser, of Brea, were sons of the Bth Lord Lovat ; that Sir Simon was succeeded by his eon Simon, and that all the males of this line were ex tinct, the succession devolving to two heirg portioners (females)—also, that Sir James Fraser had two sons, James and David, and that all their male issue are extinct. Mrs. Alargaret Fraser, or Watson, the daughter of Lucretia Kennedy, etated, that Sir James Fraser, of Brea, was her great-great-great-grandfather. The witness proved all his male issue to be extinct. This finished the proceedings on the pedigree, chewing that the present Mr. Fraser, of Lovat, is the heir male of the body of Hugh, sth Lord Loyal, in which character he claims the title. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JUNE el. Mr. Justice BATLEY delivered his charge to the two Grand Juries for the different hundreds of the County of Middlesex, who were sworn in this morning. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, hint U. HAMMITT V. KENNIER. In this case, Mr. Sergeant ADAM moved to obtain a rule to show cause why it should not be referred to one of the Prothonotaries of this Court, why the plaintiff's attorney,* Mr. Baddeley, should not answer the matters contained in an affidavit imputing improper conduct to him, and why, during this time, all proceedings should not be stayed.--' This application was made on two affidavits, the one by the defendant, and the other by a person named Lewis Levy. la these affidavits, it was sworn that the defendant, having incurred a debt with Baddeley for costs, be had given two bills, one of which be had not paid when due. This bill, as Baddeley said, was paid into the hand , of Hammett, in whose name an action way brought to recover the amount. In this action, Bad deley was the attorney for the plaintiff, but the deponent+ stated that they verily believed the plaintiff, Hammett, ava+ only a fictitious person, and that Baddeley was himself the real plaintiff in the cause, the bill never having gone out of his hands, and when dishonoured was noted by his notary , and returned t 3 him. The affidavits went an to state, that Baddeley was in the habit of discounting small bills, which if not paid when due, actions were commenced on them, and the parties were run to an expence of 50 and sometimes 75 per cent. It was also sworn, that no bill of costs could ever be obtained when applied for, and that Baddeley had been heard to say that Kennier's small bills were as good as a premium to him. The CORD Cum , JUSTICE said, that if an attorney g ot bills into his possession for the purpose of discounting theta he was guilty of a gross abase of his office, and .f such charge could be proved against him, would be punished for it. The affidavits, however, upon which his Learned Brother (Adam) had moved, were not sufficiently strong for the Court to act upon . : they only stated what the deps nents had beard. The Court were also of opinion that an attorney should not be called upon to answer the matter► of an affidavit on any slight grounds : they therefore thought it would be better that the Learned Sergeant should pot his application in such a shape that it might be brought be fore one of the Prothonotariee. Mr. Sergeant ADAM said that was the precise object of his motion. Soon after twelve o'clock the Court rose, and the LOSE CIIEF JUSTICE went to Guildhall, where he commenced sitting at Nisi Priue. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. BOW-STREET.—A person who gave hie name and address, George Price, barrister, of the Middle 'Templet was brought up from St. Clement's watch-house, Wort Sir R. Blunts and Mr. Mixsnum. yesterday, upon tbo following charge. John Lawrence, a watchman of the Savoy precinct, stated, that as he was on duty at half-past one o'clock that morning, he observed thedefendant about to commit a com • He (the watchman) desired him to desist, and pointed out situated m on nuisance a the corner the shop door ton-st of a otm Wellington-street, in t b h o estr ake an rz more sultaible place ; but the defendant refused to" re move, and told the watchman, that " unless he aufftred him to remain where he was, he should insist upon hills (the watchman) taking him (the defendant) to the watch house; as the publicity or privacy of the place was a poi nt of law, and he MO determined to see the thing out." Under these circumstances he took defendant by the arm for the purpose of leading him further on, when the de fcadant seized him by the collar, and he then took him to the watch -house. In explanation the defendant stated to the Magistrate s , that he had the sanction of Messrs. C o l qu h oun and Sin clair, two Magistrates of the City of York, for whet . be was doing. Ei g ht een y ears ago th ese geat l emen b a d a dv ised him to choose the most public situations on such occasioTo when out at night, as a means of avoiding certain situp' eions which might attach to a man who went for the pur pose to a secluded spot. The Magistrates told the defendant that whatever might' be the opinion of the York Magistrates upon the subject, they could not suffer such conduct. They therefore called upon him to enter into his own recognizances to abstain from a repetition of the offence for the future. MEETINGS OF CREDITORS. LONDON DlARY.—SErtatnAr, JLW 113.—qAt the Court of Commissioners, Basinghall-street.) Tulin, T. S., Leyton, Essex lf COUNTRY DIARY..—MONDAY Jrnra Is Edwards, E., Cheltenham—lmperial hotel. Cheltenham 9 English. F.. Birmingham—Royal hotel, Birmingham I Fenwick, T., Gateshead—George, Newcastle lt Harlam, J., Bolton—Swan, Bolton 9 Harvey, T.,•Warwick—Swan. Warwick lO trendy, J., Blakeney. Glousestershire—Offloe of Mr. Wil hams, Bristol ings, J. Birmingham—Royal hotel, Birm h ingam' _ . B Rval .. _ ... 1 Jona Y MorlinD., Great YarmoisthLßlack Lion inn. Great Yet, 1 , mouth Pasheller and Co., Huntingdon—Fountain, Huntingdon Pickton, W., Liverpool—George, Liverpool Robinson, W., Salford—White's, Manchester .................. 10 Tilaton and Co., Mold—Black Lion, Mold rl INSOLVENTS APPLYING TO BE DISCRARGBD, Petitions to be heard at Portugal-street. lineolcce In n /holds, Jim; sts. AT NTax. Arnold, W., Southwark Hamilton, N. Southwark-bride Burnside, M.. Brixton road Cash. I. Shoreditch Harley, W., Li mehoute Collies. Gibson-street, Wa- Kerschner, G., Charter-house terloo-road street Cunningham. C. St. John-street Leech, W., Dean -street road Limbrick, J., Newport Dismore G. Woodstock Moor, T., G eorge -street , NOY. Dodd, W., Crescent-mews, Bur- lebone ton-crescent Zimmer, J., Fulham road Fielden, W.. Leads COUNTRY.—At th• Court-h. Ton o' Ouse at Hereford, I~*e e; a North J., Rou Hereford Stephens. W., Hereford Walker, H., Clifford Williams. A. Kinneraley Wilson, . 1., Clifford Bernd, 8., Kingsland - Booker, A. Hereford ETans, T. Rees Duke., Vtr., Middleton-on•the. Hill Gawler, Z., Hereford Harper, J.. Lerdeider Jackson, J., Roil BIRTHS. On the 19th inst., at Woodland-place, near Batb, the lady of Capt. G. Gosling, R.N., of a son. Yesterday, at the house of her father at Hackney, Airs• J. Weston, of a son. MIRRIED. 011 the 19th inst., by the Rev. Charles Yorke, Charles Wager Watson, only son of Sir Charles Watson, of Wrak ing Park, Cambridgeshire, to Jemima Charlotte, eldest daughter of the late Charles Garth Colleton, of Haines hill, Berkshire. On the 18th instant, at Weaterham, in Kent, John Mackie Leslie, EN., to Anna Sophia, daughter of Dr. Mackie, of Bath. On the 18th inst., at St. George's church, Dublin, E- Trevor, Esq., Royal Artillery, to Anne Catharine, second daughter of George Goulden, Esq., late of his Majesty's 32d Regiment. On the 20th inst., at St. Andrew's, Holborn, the Rev. E. D. Butts, of Glemsford, Suffolk, to Mary, the only daughter of the late J. Hill, Esq. of Walthamstow. On the 21st inst. at Hammersmith, the Rev. F. T. Atwood, M.A., Perpetual Curate of that place, to Lucy. youngest daughter of David Howard, Esq. late of Jewry street, London. DIED. On the 12th inst., 11. Singleton, Esq., late one of the Comtniss;oners of the Board of Works in Ireland. On the 18th inst., Mary, relict of R. Williams, Esq., of Weston Green, Surrey. PRINTED and PUBLISHED by M. YOUNG, at t Svx-OFFICE, No. 112, Strand.