The Sun. — London, England, 1827-06-28 00:00:00

~~ f ; ; :o profess the"opinions of the Confession of Augs burg, or of -I Calvin's Institutions, without great modifications. The subdivisions again are con stantly changing from the principles which were entertained by their respective founders • Soci nians, for instance, were at one time Superna turalists, and at another, Rationalists. The Uni tarians by no means agree among themselves, so that all who are included under that denomina tion could subscribe sincerely to the same creed. The Church of England has for centuries, it is true, retained the • same Articles, but the inter pretation of these Articles has been constantly varying. At one time Arminianism was heresy, at another Calvinism ; and at last, to end disputes it is an understood matter, that each man inter-j, prets the Articles in his own nay. When the; Bishop of Peterborough, who bears A strong, hatred to Calvinism,-framed a number ef Inter rogatories some years ago, after the inan-I nor of those of Chancery, with a view to; detect the meaning of the subscribers of Articles in his diocese, his conduct was exclaimed against, as savouring of persecution. It seems, indeed, rather singular, that such extraordinary hatred! should be shown to diversity of interpretation, by a man who has himself broached more new ; readings of the Sacred "Writings, and started more new hypotheses, than any man of his day. But, however that may be, it is clear that the liberty of examination and of interpretation allowed by Protestants, must necessarily lead to constant', diversity of judgments, and that no form of words that can possibly be devised, will secure identity of belief among the subscribers of Ar ticles. Hence the variety of interpretations which Protestant Clergymen have given even of the plainest pas,:sages in Scripture. A learned Cler gyman I nas reckoned eighty-five different expla nat=ions of that plain parable of the " Unjust , Steward," 'in St. Luke xvi, ; a nd one hundred. and fifty in Chap. iii. ver. 20. of the " Epistle to the Galatians." But how is it that Lord El-' don means to . get over the difficulty ?, We al low that Unitarian is as vague as Protestant, Pres byterian, Dissenter, or any other term applied to bodies of religionists. But does he mean that the' Unitarians ought to be made to give in a confession , of Faith, like that of Augsburg, in order that the exemption from the Marriage Act shall be confined to those who shall subscribe this creed ? But this would only give him a nominal 'assur ance that the exception benefited the 'particular opinions for which the Legislature intended it. In a Cou n t r y i n w hi c h no toleration is allowed for diversity of creeds, religious ceremonies may be prescribed by the Legislature, in order to give greater solemnity to the marriage obligation ; but in a country like England, where a liberal tole ration is allowed, where, on paying 6d. any man may teach what doctrines lie pleases, may, like the followers of Johanna Southcot, obtain a Shiloh from an old woman of eighty—there is 'obvious inconsistency in first letting teachers loose among the people, and then, after all sorts of opinions have been embraced; prescribing a religious ceremony adapted for a particular :Church, to all the numerous Dissidents, on an event which the Legislature cannot prevent with out involving society in confusion. The Legis lature may prescribe all manner of civil securi ties, with a view to guard against improper mar-. riages, and to preserve the evidence of the con tract ; but to be consistent with itself, it ought: either to decree uniforniity in religion, 'or to i leave the religious ceremony to be regulated by the respective Churches. By following out this! principle, Unitarians and all other Arians who object to the formula in the Book of Common[ Prayer, might be allowed the liberty for Which ; they contend withoutbeing tieddown to a creed on r which they might not all agree; or assenting to a defi nition, which could at most embrace a few points which all of them disbelieve, leaving the points on which they agreed uncertain. In Scotland, where! the old Law of Europe is still retained, and where, all that is requisite to constitute a marriage is the proof of:-the agreement of the parties, marriage is considered by all persons having the slightest pre tensions to respectability a religious ceremony, and , nine hundred and 'ninety-nine marriages out of aj thousand take place in the manner prescribed by the: respective Churches 'through the agency of a Cler gyman. The Legislature of this country, for the ! sake of facilitating the obtaining evidence of mar riage,l on whi c h so m uc h o f ten d epen d s , h as .ma d e l the Clergy the depositories of the registers. In France the registers are confided to Civilians. The Clergy, we, should suppose, are the best depositaries,. from their superior respectability. Indeed, in many; parts of the country it would not be safe to entrust. records of such importance to'any 'other individuals. But, in keeping this record, the Clergyman acts as much in a civil capacity as he does when he sits en the Bench as a Justice of Peace. We do not see how he can be degraded in recording the marriage: of a Jew, or even a Turk, if Turks were to be al- lowed to contract marriage here, than he would be . degraded by committing or convicting a Jew or Turk. There might be some reason for contending that the performing in his own church the marriage ceremony, - in cases where the parties are not of. US communion, is degrading him, but there 'can be none for imposing on him a dnty into which religion does not at all enter. The State has a right tothe services of all those who enjoy its protection, and if Clergymen are the individuals best qualified for the, perf ormance o f so use f u l a d uty as t h e k eep i ng Re gisters of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, they are not entitled to shrink from it. But Lord Eldon, who can see no degradation in a Clergyman perform ing in his own Church the ceremony of marriage in the case of members of a different communion, con siders the entering the Certificate of a Marriage per formed elsewhere in a Register' kept by; him for the ' public good, in the light of a degradation. By the' bye, his Lordship was rather out in his historical knowledge when he asserted, that " in the time of the Commonwealth, when men were married, as it was now proposed, before Justices of the Peace—a measure a thedopted for th Cle express purp ose o f d egra d-; g t gy — ergy. 'Nvere called i n to a id in and assist in their own degradation?' His Lordship ought to have known that Presbyteriani sm was es _. tablished throughout England in 1646, and that the ' -lnarriage to the J ust i ces of the law transferring Peace was first pasSed in 1653, so that th e i ntention was not and could not possibly be to degrade the Clergy of the Church of England (to whom he al- . ludes), who were not then established. We have not deemed it worth while to notice the many ab surdities with which his Lordship's speech abounds.. Morning Chronicle. Notwithstanding the astonishing " march of intellect," of which we hear so much, the art o writing with perspicuity seems not to be very well understood by some of our Cabinet Minis ters., There is an a ff ec t e d an d verboSe style,! called 14 some the diplomatic, very Much in vogue among our public functionaries, which is e minently calculated, to invol ve i n obscurity the si4lest propositions. The style has neither force, elegance, nor clearness; but there is a cer-, tain air of assumed importance and mock solena-I nity about it, which is a poor substitute for con cise and intelligible expression. The little mean-I lug which one has to extract from the redundant verbiage of this mode of Writilig) reminds us of Dr. Johnson's illustration of the "- guinea wrapped up in a ivoolpack." It was by indulging in this sort of affected and involved expression, 'iiiitead usin'tlie simplest and most obvious language; that Mr. HUskisson . cOnfounded his own meaning so, in his letter to the Duke of Wellington on the proposed Amendment in th e Corn Bill, that the latter was led into a miscon ception which has agitated the public mind, put both Honks of Parliament in unpleasant colli sion, betrayed Mr. Canning into an ebullition of ill-temper that will not be soon forgotten, and caused the loss of that Bill which Mr. HuskiSson • . was sti ailmous to nave carried. Certainly,the meaning . which the Duke of Wellington took from the letter is what any, man, who did not look for an occult sense would naturally have taken . froth •ft ; hilt We venture to say, th a t if the . Noble Duke had written to a plain .honest farmer on the subject, and wished to know; hiS opi nion as he did that of Mr. Huskisson, the fariner would hate written his opinion, though, perhaps, not very elegantly, yet with such natural simplicity, that it 'could lead to no mistake. 'lt is a stange sort of writing which requires a volume of epistles to ex plain the signification of a few lines. We wish those who call themselves Statesmen would get rid of this coxcombry of style. • There is nothing that indicates superiority of intellect more than a clear, unaffected, and • natural mode of communicating_ ideas. We think the late events will tend very much to put that laboured perplexity of language, of which we have been speaking, out of fashion.: The best reasoners are those who are always the clearest writers, for there is a natural connection between the strength of thought and perspicuity of expression. We wish our Mi nisters would bear this in mind, and endeavour to write intelligibly, unless when they intend not to be understood. It would also be well if Parliamentary Papers and RePorts were so drawn up as,to be free from the affected obscurities of language, which make. them, for the most part, at present, difficult to be translated into plain English.—Morning Herald. • The intelligence from Greece still continues very contradictory. Of late it has been very much to the disadvantage of the' Greeks—that is, provided the foreign newspapers tell us the truth. But it is so much. the custom, both of the Austrian and Greek Journals, to manufac ture lieS, that we hardly know what to believe of their contents. The Greek Journals, however, have,. for sometime past, been very quiet. There has been very little of the Greek rhodomontade, that we were so much _accustomed to about a year or two ago. This does not look well for what is called the Greek cause. But our opi nion has been all along that the Greeks are a very divided people, and that the various parts of Greece are influenced in a variety of ways by the great _Powers, who are looking on and watching the progress of the present contest be tween the Greeks and the Turks, with a view ofl turning the eventual issue to their own advan tage. There is Russia, Austria, France, Eng land, and the United States, all on the tip-toe of expectation, surveying Greece with a wistful eye, that would seem to say, on the part of every one of them :—" Greece, we should like you vastly well to belong to us ; if not abso lutely—yet virtually or conditionally. Your situation is extremely inviting—nay, command ing, both in a military and political, naval, or, commercial view. You Might as'well be a grand military and naval station, or an 'emporium of commerce for us ; your • local position being exactly between the three Continents of the old world, and also convenient for - commercial in tercourse with the new world." Were Greece. to fall into the hands of Russia, the 'whole Turkish Empire, Persia, and the British posses sions in the East Indies, would be overawed and placed in danger. By the occupation of Greece, Russia would lord it over the greatest part of the Mediterranean, where she has long been anxious to obtain a footing, and secure the out let of the Black Sea, which is surrounded by' Russian provinces, and conveniently situated for her trade from the Ukraine,, the Pruth, Danube, Dnieper or Boristhenes, the Crimea, the Sea of Azoph, Georgia,. Circassia, and the Caucasus, the rivers Don and Wolga. In poSsession of France, Greece would prove a check upon both the empires of Russia and Austria, as well as on England, command Egypt and Syria, the trade of the Levant, and more than balance the acqui sition of Malta, Gibraltar, and the lonian Islands by Great Britain. In the possession of England she would be a check against Russia and France, and form a barrier against any meditated subju gation of our ancient ally the Sultan ; and she would prove a safeguard to our possessions in the East Indies, and a bar to the future aggres sions of Russia against Persia. The possession of Greece in the hands of England. would prevent our formidable rivals and enemies, th e United States of America, from acquiring a footing in that . part of the world, which they have been longing after many years. And, lastly, Greece in the possession of the: United States, would enable that people to secure a direct empo rium of commerce with the•three Continents tit the old world. She would likewise enable the United States to keep England in check as far as maritime affairs are concerned. It is manifest that the United States Government has some views of that kind by keeping a naval force in those seas ostensibly for the protection of their commerce; but, having treated for an island in the Mediterranean before, they have probably further objects in view in that quarter. Austria would become a maritime power by the ac quisition of Greece, the vicinity of which country to Hungary and the Illyrian Provinces —Venice, Trieste, and the Adriatic, would give to the Em peror a decided preponderance in the south and east of Europe—a point which Prince Metternich seems not to have lost sight of. We have no doubt but, that all'• these Powers have their private views and designs to attend to in Greece, and that all those Powers we have named are at the present moment intriguing with the Greeks for the possession of the whole or parts of Greece. It is equally clear us that they are all of them likewise intriguing with the Turks; and those very intrigues, we think, prevent, in a great measure, the settlement of affairs between Turkey and Greece. The Turks are a shrewd people—much more so than is commonly supposed , by those who have never been amongst them. There can be no question that they perceive plainly enough the views of the different Powers, ,notwithstanding the veil which, under pretence of philanthropy and Christianity, is thrown over their measures; they, therefore, play with them in their negotiations accordingly. The Divan has constantly declined all the good offices' and apparent friendly, interference or mediations of the Christian States. ' They are for ever promising that they will do this, that, and the other; they every now and then name a time when their promises are to be put into exe cution; but, when the time arrives, they contrive, by some management, to put off the thing still fur ther. In fact, they have been playing this game of promising much and performing nothing for. the last one or two hundred years • secure that the mutual jealousies of the Christian Powers of each other form the best security of the Ottoman empire—that the Christians will never unite against them—and that, if Russia and Austria att ac k t h em, hi s M ost Chris tian :Majesty the King of France, and the Defender of the Faith, the King of England, will be sure to prevent the Mahometan crescent from being pulled down from the minarets, mosques, and palaces of Constantinople.—lbid. The report on the Dissenters' Marriage Bill is to be brought up in the Lords' to-night, when it will probably be withdrawn for the Session. We are members of the National Church, and sincere, though humble friends, 'of all that con tributes to her honour and well-being—and, if We, may use language which is more appropriate to her Ministers, we sincerely hope that no weapon fashioned against her will ever prosper. Thus professing our attachment to an, establish ment which, relatively speaking, may be: deno minated all but perfect, it may naturally be ex pected that we are not friendly to a, Bill which goes to operate so important a change in the tbrms and principles of the, marriage service. We must, however, premise, whatever credit we may obtain with the Freethinking Christians, that it is from no feeling of 'bigotry we are hostile ,to it. We are by.no means disposed to undervalue the tenderness of conscience in 'which it is • said to have originated ; on the contrary, we wish sincerely that such sen sibility was of more frequent occurrence. All we . ask is, that those who .feel it should, in common charity, allow for its influence on others as well as on themselves. Nothing is more common, than to hear Men, (ignorant men we admit) inveigh 'against the Church and its Ministers, because of their enforcement of certain rules, and their observance of certain forms, without considering that there does not exist in the Church or in any of its servants the power of altering one jot or tittle of those rules and forms; and that a Clergyman is no more to be blanied for acting in conformity with the let-, ter of the Ecclesiastical Law, than a Judge. for acting in conformity with the letter . Of the Civil Law. But, granting .that a Clergyman had such, a dispensing power, why should it be accounted more unnatural that he should insist on observ ina a form which he thought just, and equitable, and consonant to Scripture, than that a Unita -: rian or other sectary should insist on its viola tion ? While, however, we argue thus, we would not be understood as defending every part of the . Marriage Service. We arc, indeed, the more ready to allow, that it requires some amend ment, because such an admission has been, made by two of the most distinguish ed Ministers of the National Church ; but, not even their euthority,.which we acknowledge to. be high,•could prevail on us to concede an amend ment of so sweeping a nature, as proposes by Mr. Smith, which desecrates the Institution, and takes it out of the hands of. the Clergy altogether. It has been supposed, we believe by many who know no thing of the Institutions of Scotland, beyond some vague impressions derived from what they have heard of Gretna Green marriages, that that" country sup- : plies an example of what Mr. Smith's Bill aims at accomplishing, but nothing can be farther from the truth. No marriage can be regularly celebrated in Scotland but after banns duly proclaimed ; nor can any one but a Clergyman perform the ceremony.— In:respect of banns, indeed, the Scotch Church is more strict than the English, for it dispenses with them in no one case whatever ; and so scrupulous on this head were the early reformers, that there are instances on record of Clergymen having been deprived of their livings ' for marrying persons that had not been previously proclaimed. It is true the - civil law holds that certain de clarations of parties, accompanied by cohabita tion, may convey the same rights to their' off spring, as if the appointed ceremonies had been ob served ; but still these marriages are irregular, and liable to the censure of the ecclesiastical authorities: and in this view of the law of the Church the whole mass of the Scotch Dissenters concur. We have stated our opinion • that the service which is di rected s be used for marriage might be amended to suit certain cases, and we shall state how far we consider such an amendment might be car ried without impropriety. . We would still have the banns proclaimed, and the marriage performed as at present, but such, portions of the service as the parties to be married could not, from their peculiar religious tenets, conscientiously join in, we would allow the officiating clergyman to leave out, on a request being made to him to that effect. Farther than this we should not be disposed to go. It may be said that a. ciergyman,,notwithstandin g such a permission. might not see fit to comply with the request. - We g rant such a case might happen, but we do . not think it would be of frequent occur rence, and, if it were, we dO not think we should be entitled to compel a contrary conduct. We can see no reason why the conscience of a clergyman ought to be offended more than the conscience of a layman. —New Times. LAW INTELLIGENCE. NICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, Juxx HARRIS V. KEMBLE. Mr. Twiss applied to his Honour on behalf of the de fendant in this case, that the motion _for a rehearing might be advanced. The petitioner declared that he was consi derably embarrassed by the decision of his Honour's prede cessor, anti the numerous creditors claiming on the joint property were in a condition of uncertainty until the re hearing should take place. His HoNous observed, that, as soon as the further di rections were got through, it would then be the proper time for him to consider the question of rehearing.--Mo tion refused. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JENE 27. THE KING AGAINST RAM3DEN AND CLARKE. These defendants were brought up to receive the judg ment of the Court upon an indictment for a conspiracy en which they were found guilty at the sittings after last Easter Term, in London, before Lord Tenterden. The indictment charged the defendants, and others who were acquitted, with conspiring to defraud the creditors of Ramsden, by suing out a fraudulent commission of bank rupt against Rarnsden and Clarke ; and there was also a count charging them with conspiring to sue out a fraudu lent commission for the purpose of defrauding the creditors of Ra.msden. Mr. F. PoLLOCK and the CoMMON-SERGEANT, by leave of the Court, who had ordered the matter to stand over, were heard in behalf of the defendants, who applied for a new trial, on the ground that evidence had been improperly received. The 96th section of the last Bankrupt Act pro vides, that no commission of bankruptcy, adjudication, as signment, or certificate, should be received as evidence miess entered on record. The commission was not pro duced at the trial, nor was it enrolled, and, in consequence, the Attorney-General gave up the first count of the indict ment, and relied solely on the second, which charged the defendants with conspiring to sue out a commission ; and, to prove this conspiracy, he offered in evidence the assign ment by the Commissioners, which had been enrolled ; and Lord Tenterden, after argument, admitted it. Mr. POLLOCK, for Captain Rainsden, now contended, that the assignment, although enrolled, was not evidence ;. because the commission not having been enrolled, the officer . had no authority to enroll the assignment. The adjudica-: tion, and other proceedings under the bankruptcy were open to the same objection. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Mr. GURNEY, for the prosecution, contended, that the Act of Parliament pre-' vented the commission and assignment being evidence in case they were not enrolled, for the support of any pro ceeding founded upon the commission; but did not pre vent their being evidence on a charge like this of fraudu- . lently issuing the commission ; and compared it to the case' of a forged bill of exchange, written upon a wrong stamp, where the bill, notwithstanding the defect of the stamp, might be given in evidence against the person indicted for forging it. The Court deferred pronoun'cing their opinion. At the rising of the Court, Lord TENTERDEN said that the Court would proceed on the new trials to-morrow, after . the motions on the special paper on Friday ; and that on Saturday they would not take any Crown case, but proceed on the new trials. ROLL'S COURT, TUESDAY, JuxE 26. EMMANUEL V. CONSTABLE. This was a bill filed by the brother and residuary lega tee of a gentleman named Emmanuel, who died possessed of very considerable personal estate, which he bequeathed by will to several persona. Among the legacies, which were numerous, was one to Dr. Barry, of Paris, to whom the testator gave 2001. and his gold watch, seals, &e. "in testimony of the testator's esteem for his moral excellence, and professional attainments." Mr. Emmanuel bequeathed also a legacy of 2,0001. to the defendant Constable, who, in addition to his character of legatee, was also an attesting WiPlask of the ;OIL., sauLtbe ,ontY, gtollgh aITrYI imPintan question, in the case was,--how far his title to the legac was affected by the circumstance of his having attested th execution. of the will. . i Mr. Suonins having read an extract from the statute of, frauds (29 Charles 11. ch. 3.) whereby it is enacted, "that all devises of lands shall be in writing and signed by the i devisor, , and attested and subscribed in his presence by three or four credible witnesses," proceeded to argue, upon the authority of 25 Geo. 11., that the attestation by a legatee of any will or codicil, by which any legacy or other il benefit was given to himself, did, ipso facto, render such devise or bequest null and void, as far as the attesting wit- ness was concerned. The Learned Gentleman then observed, that it ,was a singular and anomalous fact, and only to be ac-; counted for by the attachment of the people of this countryi to feudal tenures and associations, that a man may .give ; away a million of money by. a mere unattested codicil,* whilst a cottage not worth 201. cannot be given without, an attestation of the will by three or four credible wit-; nesses. Mr. Sugde,n then read a case, in which it had been decided by 'Sir W. Grant, that the attestation of any will by a legatee did of . necessity void his legacy. Mr. Sugden added, that the question having afterwards gone to., the Ecclesiastical Court, at Doctors' Commons, they de-, tided against-the . judgment of Sir Wm. Grant, and this decision was subsequently confirmed by the Court of Delegates. Mr. PHILLIMORZ followed on the same side, and having used the same arguments as Mr. Sugden, expressed his astonishinent that a question of such importance should have remained hitherto undecided. The MASTER of the ROLLS said, that although a legacy of personal estate to a witness of a will conveying real estate was void, because a will giving a real estate requi red witnesses, yet he saw no reason why a legatee of per sonal property should he disentitled to his legacy, because he had witnessed the execution of a will bequeathing per.. sonal estate, as such will did not require in law any witness, at all. His Honour thought that the decision of the E c .... clesiastical Court, and that of the Court of Delegates, w as right. The authority of Sir Wm. Grant, which had been adduced upon the other side, was undoubtedly as great as authority could be; but his Honour felt himself obliged to dissent from the judgment of that Learned Judge. His Honour added, "I think this queStion ought to be carried .to the House of Lords. It is. one of the last importance, and should be definitively settled, upon one side or the other." * The affecting instance of a British soldier who, in the agony of death, indited, with the point of his sword, a nuncupative will upon the sands of Egypt, will here occur to the recollection of every reader. PREROGATIVE COURT, JUNE 27. COLLINS AGAINST ULMER. This was a suit to determine the validity of a will pro pounded by Mrs. Lydia Collins, the relict and executrix of Mr. Samuel Collins, which was opposed on the part of two nephews of the deceased, on the ground that the alleged testator was of unsound mind at the period of its execution. Sir Jon N Nicnom. considering the course which had been pursued in this case by the . nephews, .was bound, in pronouncing for the will, to condemn the opposing party in costs. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. GUILDHALL.—Mr. Ambridge, of Newgate-market, applied to Mr. Alderman HEYCATE, for a summons against Mr. Coillson, of the Theatre of Anatomy, in Aldersgate-• street, to shew cause why he detained.the carcase of a pig, which bad strayed into the avenue of the Theatre, and had been shot by some of the professional gentlemen. Mr. Coulson had alleged that the pig was mad, and imputed that malady to the animal having been hunted. Mr. Am bridge denied that the pig was mad, and said if Mr. Coulson [had given it a handful of corn, it would have eaten it. The truth, however, was, he said, the poor thing had got into a dangerous place. The ALDERMAN thought that Mr. Coulson acted under a fair and reasonable supposition that he had a right to; commit the act complained of, and therefore refused to grant the summons. BOW-STREET.—It niay be remembered that, about three months ago, a man named Thomas Ward Mills, who, at the time of his apprehension, was carrying on an, extensive business as a woollen-draper, at East Grinstead, was brought to this office charged with polygamy. He had, it appeared, married a young woman in Norfolk, at a very early age, and having lived with her for some years, during which she bore several children, 14 left her, and was not heard of by her or her friends for some years,' though diligent search was made for him in eve in ,the same county, by who also he had some and her he deserted in a similar manner. For this deser-I tion he was taken into custody by the parish officers, and committed to prison, from whence he made his escape. In 1824 he became acquainted with the family of Mr. Pock nell, the proprietor of the well-known oyster-rooms in Fleet-street and St. Martin's-lane ; and on the 13th of January, 1825, be was married to Miss Anne Pocknell, the sister of that gentleman. They went to East Grin-. stead, where the prisoner was carrying on a pros perous business, when Mr. Pocknell heard of his for, mer marriages ; and, having obtained the necessary proofs, he caused him to be apprehended. After two or 'three examinations at this office, he was committed to Netvgate for trial, upon the two charges, and indictments were preferred, and a true bill found upon each.. Miser Ann Pocknell was extremely reluctant to appear against him, and it being considered that a convistion upon the firs charge would fully answer the purposes of justice, she w 0 spared the painful necessity of attending at the Old Bailey. When the prisoner was brought up for trial, however, the second wife did not appear, and the prisoner: was acquitted but held to bail upon the second indictment, himself in' 1001. and four sureties in 251. each, to answer the charge at the next Sessions. He absconded from his bail, and re-; mained at large until Tuesday, when he was apprehended by Burchall, one of the conductors of patrol. Mr. Pocknell proved the identity of the prisoner, and some other formal proofs having been given, he was asked if he had any thing to say. The prisoner, who stood smiling at the bar during :the examination, requested Sir, R. Birnie to send him to New gate as speedily as possible. He was fully committed. MARLBOROUGH-STREET.— Charles Cole, coach-, man to Oswald Smith, Esq., of Manchester-square, John Chandler, coachman to George Smith, Bsq.,, of Harley= street, and James Price, footman to the latter gentleman; were charged with obstructing the way of the Nobility and Gentry who attended the public breakfast given on Satur.. day l as t at the Horticultural Gardens at Chiswick, and the first-named defendant was also charged with assaulting Plank, the chief officer of this office, who had the controul of the police on duty at the Gardens on this occasion. The charges were clearly proved against the defendants, anti Cole was fined 40s. for the obstruction, and held to bail for the assault. Chandler was also fined 40$. ; and Price; whose conduct was not so had as the others, was dis charged, on his expressing his regret for what he had done.' As far as we can judge from what we have seen of the conduct of officers on these occasions, we think them generally in the wrong. They have no system, and exert or suspend their authority with so little plan or reason, that nine times out of ten they create the disturbance of which they complain. The London police is the worst managed establishment that ever came under our notice. ARLBOROIJG H- STREET. —W. Nelson, coach .raan to Mr. Brougham, was charged with assaulting Bad-' lard, one of the officers. Ballard stated, that on Monday night, ho was on duty at the Admiralty, when the entertainment was given by the Duke and Duchess of Clarence, and his duty, was to keep a clear thoroughfare from Charing -cross to the Ad miralty. The defendant, however, broke out of the line, and on complainant's stopping him, he cut him across the shoulders in the most violent manner ; he then seized the whip and reins, and, in the course of the scuffle, the whip was broken. Previous to which, he had exhibited his staff, and gave the defendant his card. The defendant said that Ballard, without any provoca tion, caught hold of,the bridle of the horses and threw one of them down on his knees. He (defendant) then cut at the :horses, :and some ;of the blows might, accidentally, have touched the complainant. The complainant had no staff in his hand, nor did he state who he was until the oc currence was over. The footman, who was on the box, corroborated the coachman's statement. Collins, one of the constables of St. George's, stated that he saw the coachman strike Bal lard, but did not witness the beginning of the fracas. Dxxit observed, that if officers were not protected in the execution of their duty, there would be an end of a ll order ; it was impossible that so severe a cut could be received accidentally, and the defendant must find bail to answ er the charge at the Session. The Coachman said that be had applied for a warrant aga i n st the officer the day before, which had been refused biro, and be was required to take his muter out at one o'clock that day. The defendant, not being provided with bail, was locked up. In the mean while Mr. Dyer wrote note to Mr. Brongham, offering to liberate the coachman until the evening, rather than he should be incommoded; the note was delivered to the footman, and in about an hceßr afterwards Mr. Brougham came to the.office, and walking up to the table, addressed Mr. Dyer to the following effect: Mr. Dyer, I have just Come from the Court of King' Be coachman is detained, I wish to have oovnncec this extraordi nar y conduct—for n 4 a here on Tuesday f or a warran t a gainst an coachman n ; faon a r s ra I came onn dffil m officer, which ,was refused him. Mr. DYER—Mr. Brougham, I wrote a civil note to you ; offering to allow the coach Man to return home to fulfil his engagements with you, if it was necessary. He is detained for assaulting the officer. Mr. Brougham—Am I to come up from Cumberland or Westmoreland to have the case further inquired into?-4 Mr. DYER—You know you have no need to attend tiny. further here. Mr. 13rougham—,Have you any objection to issue a war: rant now against the officer ?—Mr. DYEa—Certainly, have. You may indict him, if you please, at the Sessionsi Mr.' Brougham—Why not ?—Mr. DYER-Because be is always in attendance. Mr. Brougham—lf a Justice of the Peace is applied to; he issues a warrant, why is he not to grant one on appli cation ?—Mr. DYER-There has been no application fol one.. • Mc., Brougham—Bail is offered for the coachman, will yoU take. it DYER—Certainly. Airs.canda Brougham—The lous proceedings , of these constables arti most Mr. Fitzpatrick here entered the office to take the bail, when Mr. Brougham stated his name to be Henry, and that he resided in Hill-street, Berkely-square. Mr. Brougham having entered into the nec,essary amouni of bail, had proceeded as far as the door, but returned, and inquired when his coachman made applicatiOn for the war 4 rant ?—Plant—He never made one. Mr. Brougham—He says he did.—Plant--This liap4 pened. after you had left the Duke of Clarence's house. Mr. Brougham—How do you know that ?—Plant---: Because I saw you walk out. Mr. Brougham—l know I did, but what has that to do with it? What . is my walking ont to do with you ? The coachman was here brought up, when the Learnec, Gentleman repeated his question as to when he applied for a warrant ?—Ballard-.-He never applied for one. The Coachman—l applied for one yesterday. Ballard—He came to the office yesterday, when I had the Court Guide in my hand looking for your address, and he said he came for a warrant : I then told him I was look. ing for his master's residence to have one for him. Mr. Brougham—Did he not come to complain agains4 you ?L--Ballard—He came, and I told him what I was going to do. Mr. Brougham to his coachman—Did you make any application for a warrant?--,Coachman---Yea. i ' Mr. Brougham—To whoin ?_--Coachman--To-To Mr: Conant. Mr. Brougham—Was it refused you ?-:-Coachman—Yesj. Mr. Brougham—That's quite enough. Ballard—When the officer told the coachman on Tues dax the case would not be heard then, he directed him to come on the following day. On his now attending he said he could not stop a quarter of an hour, and I there fore got a warrant, and said I would compel him to stop. Mr. Baou GIiAM-I have heard quite enough for myself. The Learned Gentleman then left the office with the coachman. LAMBETH-STREET.—Ann Solomons, the wife of hey Solomons, was yesterday brought up for a second exa mination. Mr. HUMPHRIES, the solicitor, attended on her behalf, and contended, that no evidence had been adduced suffi.. cient to convict her of having feloniously obtained the goods now in Court, amounting in value to more than 5,000/. ; he therefore hoped that the Court would no longer detain the prisoner in custody, nor hesitate to deliver up the property. Mr. War Arr, the sitting Magistrate, replied, that with regard to the property, not one article should be given up till Mr. Solomons _came and lawfully claimed it ; and he (the Magistrate) thought that the absconding of Solomons was a corroborative proof that the articles were obtained feloniously by him, and not by the prisoner at the bar, who, he desired, should be discharged forthwith. Mrs. Solomons has undergone a very material change in her appearance since her last examination. MILITARY DISCIPLINE. A considerable sensation has been produced in the minds of a great portion of the inhabitants of Sunderland by the reports that have lately been cir culated, in reference to the death of Joseph Peter kin, a private in the 95th regiment, who was alleged to have died in consequence of a certain punishment inflicted upon him by command of an officer of the held on the body of Peterkin, at the Magpie, in Church-street, Sunderland. Thomas Cartman was the first witness; he said he was a fir-cutter. On Sunday, the sth June, two days before Peterkin died, he visited him in the hospital at the barracks. Witness asked him hove he was, and he said he was a dying man; his right arm, which was rather swelled, was lying on the pillow, and his wrist appeared rather black. Wit ness asked him if he had been punished, but he merely shook his head and said nothing. Serjeant Smith was called in—He said, I was Serjeant-major at the time Peterkin was sentenced to three days' heavy drill, on the 21st of April, and pardoned. On the 2d of May he was again sen tenced to heavy drill for three days, but only two days' punishment were, carried into effect, .in conse quence of his complaining that he was unwell.— During the drills,. men were occasionally tied by the hands to a rail,, which. was about as high as a man could reach, without being lifted off his feet. That was during Major Tayl or ' s co mmand. I don't kno w when the Major came, but he was with us about a month, or five, weeks. Some of the men erdered.for heavy drill Were further punished by being so tied; they were so punished for different causes; Peter kin was tied up for refusing to cone to drill; he was not off the ground ; he .did not complain of the pu nishment, but laughed, and said he would rather be there than marching about; this was on the second morning : of his drill; he was up about three mi nutes. He had no handcuffs upon him; he was only tied up once; it was at twenty Minutes past six in the morning, and not in the afternoon.— After his hands were untied, he went to. his drill, and did not complain; I told him that would learn him to turn out to drill when he was ordered; and he laughed and said, " Never mind, I'd as lief be there as any where else ;" I asked him if he felt any injury or any harm by it, and he said " No f ' I did not see the rope 'break while I was there; I did not put handcuffs upon him for fear ho should make any resistance ; I did not say when the rope broke that I supposed he would be glad of that. t m h a e r k Mr. Hodson, surgeon to the 95th Regiment, was arms when them, in P an b d y out of bed till within a next examined ; he :said thatthteh,ewrists deceased nhoer c h eo o mf r bore e any o o H s o o f s ' p P i u ta ni l order to bleed him ; deceased never complained to other punishment; witness saw him twice a day; he was few days of his death, without witness' o a f bl b e e t i o ng g t e i t ed i : the slightest assist ance, s;blnivitin'tess".halids artorn t h ou gh be was extremely weak ; witness had never heard of the punishment of tying up. By a Juryman—lf I had, known that Sergeant Smith was acting upon the verbal orders of Majoi Taylor, to inflict such punishments, I should have felt it my duty to protest against it. By another Juryman —A punishment of that na tore, if inflicted to a great extent, might have a ten dency .to accelerate death; but I :do not think it was suficiently great. in this case to produce such an effect, . The nurse to the ilfospital said, the deceased had . ' no marks of violence upon his wrists. The Jury now expressed themselves satisfied withthe evidence they had heard, and returned a verdict' to the effect—" That the death of the deceased was caused . by the abscess for Med on the right lung, but that it had been accelerated by the punishment he had:received." It was incidentally remarked by Capt. Hall, that the, pun i s hment of tying up was resorted to in order to prevent the necessity of flogging; but he solemnly declared, that until yesterday morning, he was not aware that the deceased had been subjected to the punishment. On Saturday week his Majesty's yachti H er ald, Captain ASHTLEY, passed down thei river from Deptford, on her way to Portsmouth, there to receive for passage to Madras, S. R. LuemlNGTox, Esq., who has been appointed Governor of that Presidency.--Maidstone Journal. REMARKABLE CASE OF ENORMOUS. OBESITY. The following is an abstract of the history of a case of enormous obesity, which affords some cu rious and interesting physiological facts, and may serve to warn folks of the danger of excessive eat ing :—Krocker (of Berlin)—for that was the fel low's name—did not, like Bright, Ahrens, Clays and other truly great personages, signalize himself much in his youth, but was content to eat and drink the same quantity of food as his neighbours. About the age of thirty he began to give way to, a disposi tion to devour immense masses of meat, and the more he ate, the more his appetite increased, until his time was consumed in little else than eating a nd sleeping. His occupation was that of a butcher, and animal food was his favOurite repast, contrary to the usual habits of such people. Krocker, how ever, would devour from eight to ten pounds of tripe at a meal, or from six to seven pounds of beef and sausages. He continued in this way to stuff him . self, gradually becoming fatter, until it required six teen pounds of beef daily to satisfy his hunger For a bet lie has frequently devoured the boiled flesh of an entire calf- in a day, seasoned only with salt, iii the presence of many persons ; and on one occasion he declared himself ready to attack a second, but could get nobody to bet against him. He could not trust himself in the sausage manufactory, as be would eat the minced meat by the pound, spreading it over bread with as little ceremony as the people By way of breakfast, or supper, he n two to th ree d ozen o f th e p e tti' pigs; s t w o po e rue s al o dd f dtreeaal n e fe; and it appears, at last, to have puzzled his friends to know how to supply him. His usual drink was beer, of which he daily drank from two, until he w as at l as t o blige° and his power of loco: he continued to fee d n vv ti g in b u lk, hi s b rea thing l a t, y nh t b o ei three tosiome nlifn,dgqa graduallyiul dailyayr d t s i nhoi l iir n nsehc t rid h nei igaffiss:i to confine himself to his large chair and his bed Every now and then he was in great danger o f of' focation ; and it was on one of those occasions that Graefe, who has related the case in one of the recent numbers of his journal, was called to him. He found the -man stretched out upon a bad, coin' plaining of a very difficult respiration, to such ni g extent, as to express his fear of being- absolute!) , choaked. His lips were of a dull violet colour, hi' eyes appearing to start from his head, the conjunc• tival limng being of a bright red colour; the entire countenance was of a dark crimson; and the pulse was tremulous, irregular, and frequently intermit tent. He complained also of great palpitation of the heart : although from the immense projection of the abdomen, and the huge pendulous breasts, it wa s impossible to bring the hand upon the part of th e chest covering it. He could only speak at intervals ' and that with great difficulty. The abdomen pre truded so as to cover the upper half of the thighs' and on several parts of its immensely distended sur s ' face were round reddish spots, of about the fourth of an inch in diameter, hard and painful to the touch' somewhat resembling small lipoma or fatty tumour s ' Although the chamber in which he lay was kep t very clean, and his linen feequently changed, th e odour exhaled was exceedingly offensive, and r e : sembled much the smell of a dissecting room, 0 1 ' butcher's shop, on the evening of a hot (1 0 1' Krocker was five feet four inches high.; the circle' ference of his abdomen was five feet five inches ; th e of circumference of his thigh- two feet four inches ; the calf of his leg one foot seven inches; his breas t s measured one foot eight inches in circumference 11 . their bases, and were eight inches long,being almost e ii ", pendulous as those of the Hottentot worn en. His weig o at the time he was put under Graefe's care, 11 about 4001bs. But, immense as this weight It appear, other instances are on record of th o se 'fr iss ' I have exceeded it. The fat man of Leeu war d e n, Wl' was exhibited before the medic a l f acu lty of Lerd,e rl ; and taken about from place to place in Holland 1 0 boat as a show, weighed 593 pounds ; the wool whose history is given by Gunz, weighed _ pounds, Ahrens 400, and our countryman, Edec°' -- , ---ssssasessv-vm-seve-resers - ssecsasse..l.4usaa_s sa ransol— weighed 616 pounds. This patient, Krocker, was rescued from his mediate danger by copious and frequent bleedings, hi large doses of calomel, and the substitution of ft °, ing for his enormous stuffing. Purgative m edicia t i were frequently given, a strictly vegetable diet, vegetable acids were ordered ; and, in about fon, weeks, he was reduced to about 316 p oun d s . In t ll space of four months, during the h a lf o f w hi c h tilP" , he took large doses of iodine, with occasional Rar e tives, the iodine being fou n d very much to aceelet, absorption, he was reduced to ab ou t 267 p o nt' j and enjoyed good health, was 'active, cheerful, ° l ; je able to resum e hi s f ormer -b us i ness . A t t h e time tio, history of the case was conc l u d e d (A ugus t i d , 1826), he was reduced t o 200,ponnds his he' being good, and his appetite moderate.—lsasseet. MEETINGS OF CREDITORS. LONDON DlARlL—Fairwr, Commissioners,' Abrahams, M., Mamiell - Dick, Q. and 1., Finsbury- JriNE 29.--(Ai the Corir C lasinghall.street) Leigh, E. and E. Chidding" 11 stono . ............ ; . Lev' - td J .. reseph, Men, ...., :vin ant. 1 1 _ square ll street .. . ........ .. ...... -,••••„" 1 1 Dodd, 1., Norfolk-street, Pik e and CO., LonAbarci-"' 11 Middlesex-hospital ll Redpath, C., Greenwich ••• ji Greig, T., City-road l2 Rich, I. Lime - street ........• i Kendall, T.,' Paternoster- Smith, 1 3 ., Lambeth ........ 1 lOW ll Spooner, C., Chelsea ..... Kieran, T., Ireland ' '' 12 A f r al-street, r ital g O i ei ts t ß : j E t A . : I ?o 0 1 s i Gun-streetl t n:F G s i ), fields nice, E., Dxford-st.leet sedgwick,. e sti ,. so merbet• house symonds, T., u pton Tem ple, N., bre nacie.b.qual - on -rere Old-street.ro s e• Thompson j d Wettan, 1, 9 Leeds ... A, yi b ir e 'I Melbourne, Der" INSOLVENTS APPLYINI Petitions to be heard at Portug JULY 2, Bartlett, M., Newman-street Bowler, T., Tying Bracegirdle, J., Stepney Cleminson, J., Salford Hamilton, C., Great Preseot- street - Hodder, IL, Yeovil Hunt, J., York-street Leslie, J. Duke-street Madder, T., Field-plane , Lock's fields Johnson, Ft., Ratcliffe -highway Jones, A., New Cut m ariboro%squ are COUNTRY. ---At the Court-1 Teti . 11 ° 44 e* at Bristol , JulY at )'clOck. in 3 all, T., Cooksho lme farm. Stourton .; Jarritt, C•, Bath Cler- Jermao, T., S u tton-street, • Andrews, T., S T t . . , P s h t i . lip p an hil d ip hc an o d b, Jacob Be J nnett„ J., St . Phi l i p aid acob Brain, R., Bitton Bevan, G., Bristol Clarke, W., Westbury-upon. Trym Collings, J., Bristol Crisp, C., St. James Davis, S., Nottingham Davis, J., Bedminster Evans ' W " nri li t thurgh f ED i z ma a e ve r ; i r i s i e y :; ;3 TJ :l l3B . Ed : r Philip and Rochester, .J., Leonard, G., Bell-hill Manning. J., Clifton' Martin, J. St. Philip and Jaco Morgan T., Bristol Morris, 'E., Cardiff Osenham, J., St. Philip 3 ' la Jacob Phillips, S., Ross Bath Stone, G., Bedminster Waite, J., Bristol Webster, F., Bath Williams, T., Bristol Woodman, J., Wootton.und e( ' Edge Jaco Bristol Hooafield, Bristol Same day, t t C Barlow, J., Stockport Barrett, T., Edgley Bowden, J., Stodkp ort Cross, T., Nantwi c h Dale, J., Kinde r t on Dodd, —, Tattenhall Duke, T . , Chester Hall, J., Nant w i c h Hoskenhul, J., Nantwich Jones, J., Stockport Jones, E., Chester Lewis, E., Macclesfield 'heater, at Ten. Lloyd, —, Chester Mayhew, T. Macclesfield Orme, R., Chester Peacock, Ek, Manchester IRoylance, E, Stotip•rt Shaw, J., Congleton Sidbottom, S. Mottram in Lo ng dendale Whittell, C., Chester Williams, 1., Runcorn Woolley, E., Sutton • BIRTHS. . . On the 26th inst., . at Lyneham, • the seat of ,John teel, Esq., in Devonshire, Lady Elizabeth Bilked, °I. - son and heir. On the 26th inst. r in Sloane-street, the lady of the:Re"' Henry Clissold, of a son. MARRIED. At St. George's, the Rev. W. Green, of Iver,. Bu c { to Eleanor, youngest daughter of Wm. Harbing, &CI" - Eaton-street. DIED. h 0 I n Queen-square, Westminster, in th e 74th year of age, John Dorington, Esq., Clerk of the Fees Of 01 ' House of Commons. On the 26th inst., in Scotland-yard, George R,ichss t , youngest son of Mr. Robert Dalgleish. On the 25th inst., at Oxford, Henry, elde 8 " 11 Henry Perkins, Esq, --25% PRINTED and PUBLISHED by. M. YOUNG, a t &,e SUN-OFr No. 112, Strand.