The Sun. — London, England, 1827-06-21 00:00:00

on the other hand, an equally binding duty to insert the defence,in reply to the accusation—to comment, as we do now, on both, and let the public judge. If Lord C. Somerset be an innocent man in his offi cial conduct as Governor of this Colony, so unfor tunate a being surely never existed ; for none that we have heard of, in ancient or modern times, ap pears to have so completely estranged and disgusted the people who were subject to his administration. —Tnzes. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir—Without presuming• to dispute the pretensions made by Englishmen collectively, and emphatically by the Editors of their Newspapers, to a peculiarly strong sen.e of justice, I must be permitted to say that in the proceedings against Lord C. Somerset I can see few marks of this na tional characteristic. He has quitted his government to meet his accusers; he has pleaded " not guilty" to each and every charge preferred against him ; he has invoked a trial, and pledged himself to establish his innocence : yet, in the Parliament of his native country, though he has many to revile him, no man has been found manfully to assume the office of a public accuser. He stands before the only tribunal competent to condemn or to acquit him ; and is encountered, not by direct and specific charges, but by general sarcasm and reproach. If this be justice, it is, certainly not that form of justice which, in the land of my nativity,—a land second to none in the science of jurispru dence,—l was taught to revere. " But there is the tribunal of the publie before which he is cited, with the Editor of the Times for his accuser ! There, an impeachment is preferred, to which his Lordship cannot object as too general or indistinct. Why then does he not plead his cause before this august court, in answer t this eager prosecutor ?" Again, I take the liberty to say, that if this mode of citation and trial be English justice, I am happy to have studied in another school than that of England. I claim nothing for his Lordship on the ground of personal rank: provide a fair field for the contest, and if he declines it on any ground whatever, I, at least, will not be among his supporters. But is it fair to summon him to this contro versy in your columns? With what inequality must he engage in such an encounter ? You attack hint in the pursuit of your daily avocations ; he is daily called to se vere labours, which leave him no leisure for pursuing the debate with you. It is your privilege to produce your charges at moments selected by yourself; he would have to wait your permission before his defence could be heard. You have but to make an accusation, in one sentence of -which you may bring the integrity of a long life into ques fon ; it is his office :to produse a refutation, which, from the necessity of the ease, must occupy a space tenfold or a thousand fold more extensive. Five - minutes careless reading will convey to the minds of your readers, statements the answers to which would exact from them years of la borious study. I repeat it, then, that in declining to en gage in this controversy through the medium of your jour nal, his Lordship is governed, not by choice merely, but by an uncontronlable necessity. This morning you impute to him, with reference to Mr. Buisinne, conduct the most cruel, oppressive, and unjust. I know that case intimately ; and I scruple not to say that your representation of it is utterly untrue—the more un true, because there is just so much mixture of truth as renders it impossible to oppose the charge by one unquali fied denial. Without the fear of contradiction when the day of inquiry shall arrive, I assert, that if Lord Charles Somerset erred respecting Mr. Buissinne, his error con sisted merely in undue tenderness to him, and in unmerited ielicacy to his brother-in-law, Colonel Bird. Ycu will reply, why not verify this assertion by evi dence ? I answer, that the real narrative could not be told with truth and accuracy, unless I were to take posses sion of the whole of your four-and-twenty columns. You would not grant me the opportunity of making such a de fence, and if you would, your readers would look out for some other amusement at their breakfast-tables. Again, then, I ask—is it consistent with any principles of justice and fair-dealing, that any man should be placed in such a jeopardy as this ? He is called upon for his de fence before the tribunal of the public, by an anonymous ac user, without any power of being heard in his defence. Before that tribunal where he courts inquiry, and which alone is competent to decide, he can find no accuser. If this be the justice of England, I shall the leas regret that I have no claim to the title of Englishman. I have the honour to be, Sir, your very humble serva n t, June 18. A COLONIST of the Cape of Good Hope. To speak much, or at least to speak in a par ticuliti• tone, of a part of the proceedings which occurred in the House of Lords last night, might place us in the invidious character of tale bearers between the two Houses. If the debates of one House be seen by the other, it is through an unaccredited medium ; and it is better, there fore, to appear not to notice that which cannot be known with legal accuracy. The two Houses of Parliament communicate sufficiently with each other, and a relation sufficiently close is main tained between them by their acts : an attention to words would be endless and unsatisfactory. , --- Certain unpleasant reflections are said to be oast on the Members of one House by a leading Member in another ; it was denied, on the part of the colleagues of that Member that the words were used. After this, to advise the party sup posed to have offended to be more cautious; of his expressions in future, or to wish that others should so advise him, would be a gratuitous and unprovoked offence : it would be carrying a direct cctnmunication from House to House, for the pur pose of exciting ill blood. There is one principle of our Constitution, as well as a maxim of common sense, which we hope is always duly present to 'the minds of Noble Lords, and that is, that though they are not chosen by the people like the Commons, yet it is only for the people, and not for themselves, that they exist as a pavileged body. It is conti nually thrown in the teeth of Sovereigns, that they exist only for the public good—that Kings are made for the people, not the people for Kings; but it is less frequently repeated, though the truth is equally clear, that the people are not made for Lords, be Lords for the people. No man ought to forget ;himself in any station.—lbid. Though from the absence of Ministers from the House of Lords on Tuesday night, a sun wen t clown on the wrath which the account of the proceedings in the House of Commons on Monday 11 .;slit naturally excited in many Peers, there was no l a ck of heat last night in that au gust Assembly. The Earl of Winchelsea, the g-reat Champion of - 9ur Protestant Constitution, who has shone with ecial lustre in Theology and Political Economy, advanced with his cha racteristic warmth and energy to the relief of the Duke of Wellington. We cannot help congra tulating the Noble Duke on his good fortune in obtaining the high approbation of so excellent a judge of desert as his Lordship ; for if, from the proceedings in the House of Commons on Monday night, and more especially the letters and clause of his Grace's manufacture, some persons might have begun to have their mis givings with respect to the Duke, when they find that lie stands higher than ever in the opi nion of one so well entitled to be heard on such a theme as Lord Winchelsea, their misgivings must instantly give place to a firm belief in the capacity and political discernment of the distin guished subject of his patronage. Who will pot sympathi.se with his Lordship when he declares, that the high character of public men, of those who had contributed to ennoble their country, in particular the character of that illustrious and dis tinguishedindividualwhosegenius, and valour, and military skill had placed this country on an un rivalled eminence, had been basely traduced, whether the blow were struck by the • • • highest or the lowest, that blow would be met by the just indignation of every high-minded and honourable man in the nation ?" No, no, God forbid that we should, after this, ever doubt the political discernment of the Noble Duke, or even so much as hint that the clause submitted by him to Mr. Huskisson was not dictated by ab solute wisdom. We wonder it did not occur to Mr. Peel to take this high ground ; and we must lament, in common with all admirers of his Grace, the, he should have so pathetically depre cated the throwing ridicule on his Grace ; for this amounts to a confession that his Grace could he hurt by ridicule—that his conduct was open to ridicule. It is in this way that men are so often injured by their pretended friends. One friend in the House of Commons bore testimony to his Grace's honesty at the expence of his capa city ; another bore testimony of his simplicity ; and another lamented that so good a man had fallen into bad hands. But Lord Winchelsea took high ground, very high ground indeed, and all that we lament is,that his Grace was not in his place to enjoy the triumph. But passing from the Noble Duke to other matters, we may observe that, after the significant hints thrown out by their Lordships, as to the impropriety of questioning the motives of Noble Lords, we feel ourselves called on to sub scribe to the position laid down by Lord Winchel sea, that their Lordships " had voted as they had done, because they conceived it was for the public benefit." "No man (as he truly added) had a right to say otherwise"—it was well he did not also add, or "to think otherwise." We are ready to admit, without hesitation, that his Lordship's position is true in part : that their Lordships conceived that part of the public, at all events, would benefit by the measure—namely, that important part which they themselves form. We are not less disposed to believe in this than in the sincerity of the generous declaration of his Lordship " that he came into the House ready to sacrifice every shilling of his pro perty, and trample under foot every thing he pos sessed, rather than sacrifice one particle of that honourable feeling he hoped he possessed." It is astonishing, after so many declarations of a similar import, the world should be so disposed to doubt the disinterestedness of their Lordships. But thus it is always with exalted virtue. There is not a newspaper which does not abound with invita tions from men of learning and science, who gene rously offer their gratuitous services to the af flicted; and yet there are persons who doubt the existence of such high disinterestedness as that to which Lord Winchelsea lays claim. Earl Grey does not, we believe, lay claim to the generosity of Lord Winchelsea ; but, on the contrary, so far from being ready to sacrifice his property, he expressed a determination to sacrifice those who attempted to invade it. Last night his Lordship warmly retorted on Mr. Canning. He complained of " the charac ter of the House having been more severely vilified than he ever before recollected it to have been vilified by a person holding the situation of a Mini ster of State, using terms and expressions, first ap plied to individuals, and next, to all those who sup ported certain measures, tending to excite hatred throughout the country against the character and proceedings of Parliament, and used also when, un der the law as it now stood, and as it had been made by those who now used these terms, a second offence might send these persons into banishment." Their Lordships are all of a sudden become great sticklers for decorum. How long is it since Mini sters, and Mr. Canning in particular, were assailed in the coarsest manner by their Lordships ?—Morn ing Chronicle. If the term " King's Counsel" really meant a " Counsellor of the King," and that the man who was honoured with a silk gown actually and necessarily assumed with it the management of all the King's causes, whether public or private, we could see some good reason why persons who may not be in high favour at Court should be precluded from such distinction ; but as it is perfectly well known in practice, that the term is, generally speaking, a mere honorary distinc tion, and that the King and his Ministers are no more compelled or expected to take their law from every silk gown, than his Majesty is obliged to buy his tea of every one who calls himself his grocer, we wish that the good old practice in this respect had never been departed from, of letting professional eminence alone be the pass port to this distinction, regardless of what a man's political opinions are or may have been. This has been the case in our own time with some of the most eminent men at the Bar—as Lord Erskine, Sir Samuel Romilly, and Sir Arthur Piggott, who all became King's Counsel, notwithstanding their being opposed, and that in periods of strong party excitement, to the politics of the King's Government. Mr. Denman, with great good taste, repudiated the idea of his exclusion from this step in his profession being attributable to any quarter but the Administration ; an idea which, could it admit of any doubt, would be set at rest by Mr. Brougham's patent of precedence, who, if mere pro fessional or political conduct could form the test, has said and done quite as much or more than Mr. Denman, to place himself within the ban which the latter imagines is applied to him. It would seem, therefore, that the only difference between the two in this respect is, that the one is of a more pliable and accommodating nature, and knows how to seize what the lawyers call the locus penitenlice, than the other. There is only one respect in which this affair concerns the public, and it is this, that if it goes forth to the profession, that an advocate's having fearlessly performed what he deems to be his pro fessional duty, shuts him out from its honours and advantages, fewer men will be found with courage and self-denial enough to perform the one at the hazard of losing the other. Lawyers, it must be confessed, have tendency enough to sycophancy and subserviency as it is ; and any principle which tends to break down what share of independence there may be remaining ought to be deprecated by all who wish to see freedom of thought, of speech, and of action, secured in a quarter on which the liberty and property of so many of us must necessarily, in no small degree, depend. If honours can only be ac quired at the price of independence, we should say there is no price at which a high-minded man can be justified in bartering it.—Morning Herald. A proposal was made by Mr. Peel last night, on the occasion of Mr. Warburton's moving for certain Returns to the College of Surgeons, which we should be disposed to entertain with more hesitation than most of those made by that Right Hon. Gentleman. Alluding to the diffi culties that Surgeons had in procuring dead bodies, Mr. Peel proposed that the bodies of all persons who died while under sentence for cler• gyable felonies should be given for dissection. — The Right Hon. Gentleman appeared to think that this would be a very great improvement in our Criminal Law. We think, on the contrary, it would be the introduction into our criminal law of a principle of great injustice. We are aware that many are disposed to look on the profession of a resurrection man, if not quite reputable, at least extremely useful, and de serving of all the protection that can be fairly extended to it ; and we have heard_ such persons talk very affectingly of the interests of science, and how much they suffered from the vulgar prejudices of those who would insist on the bones of their kindred being allowed to repose in peace. We, on the contrary, consider the powerful outgoings of affection which calt survive the death of their object, and attach themselves even to its moul dering remains, to be, perhaps, more than any other feelings calculated to humanise the man who possesses them, and, so far from wishing to uproot, we would rather cherish and strengthen them. There, in the first place, is the defect of any such measure as that suggested by Mr. Peel. Such a regulation might, perhaps, work a little on the malefactor ; but how would it operate, un less to harrow up the best affections of his sur viving relatives, who must be presumed to be in nocent, and might be respectable ? But this is not the worst of it. There are some crimes so revolting, that even death seems an insufficient punishment to outraged humanity. In such ag gravated cases, we have no resource, but to involve the relations of the criminal in his punishment, and thus, if possible, to extend his sufferings beyond himself. But all punishment short of death, must be supposed to be meted to the crime ; it is the fault of the judge, if it be not. With what show of justice, then, are we to inflict on the relations, who hare paid the required penalty, that suffering which is only justifiable on the principle that the utmost the law can inflict on the criminal himself is inadequate to his crime. Take the case of a man imprisoned. The utmost limit of such a mode of punishment is to continue it during the natural life of the criminal. He, then, that dies in prison, whe ther in a year or a month, has paid the utmost that the law has a right to demand. If the law required more it might have got it; imprisonment for life is not our ultimum suppliciuni. Again, the punish ments for clergyable felonies are variable; yet to each of these, it is proposed to add a penalty, which admits of no variation, but is the same for the light est as for the most aggravated, and that penalty hitherto associated with none, but erimes of the most revolting character.—New Times. GRAND DINNER TO MR. BROUGHAM AT LIVERPOOL. (CONCLUDED PROM OUR PAYER OF YESTERDAY.) The next toast given was— " A full, free, and fair representation of the people in the Commons House of Parliament." Which was drunk with three times three cheers and much applause. Mr. BROUGHAM then rose and begged to be allowed to propose a toast, which, he was sure, they must all have been impatient at not having heard already. He meant the health of their worthy Chairman. He had often heard it said, that as good wine needs no bush, proverbially, so a good toast neads no preface ; and he was sure the com pany would agree with him that there never was a toast to which a preface was less needed than the one he had just mentioned. They would recollect that their worthy Chairman had told them he was inexperienced in the duties of his present station, and had thrown himself upon their indulgence for pardon of his defects, and for their assist ance in supplying what in him should be found wanting. For this service, all they could be entitled to claim—for the office was very much in the nature of a sinecure, that is to say, in the enjoyment of it with no duty to perform, theugh it was true that it was also free from any emolu ments,—all their reward—their whole salary for this sine cure, was the gratification which they should feel in testi fying to the worthy Chairman their cordial satisfaction with the very efficient manner in which he presided over that day's entertainment, and their high respect and esteem for his general character. —( Applause. ) " Our worthy Chairman, F. Jordan, Esq."—Three times three. The CHAIRMAN rose and said he was just going to say that he was born a Whig—(laughter)—he was born, as they were well aware, in the sister island, and he was near committing that blunder. However he could say truly and correctly he had been bred a Whig almost from his birth, and he gloried in the title.—(Applause.)—To many of the gentlemen who now surrounded him, he was very little known, except by name ; but to those friends of his, of whom there were many present, who had known him for a period of nearly thirty years, he appealed, whether in the whole course of that period, he had ever swerved from his principles, or committed a single act to sully the name of Whigs, or to tarnish the honour of his country.—(Ap plause.)—For the period which he had named he had lived in this good old town of Liverpool. On his first arrival here, discord prevailed ; the Whigs were few in number, while their adversaries the Tories were numerous and do mineering ; but among that few were to be found the names of Roscoe, and of Currie, of Rathbone and of Shepherd, of Earle and of Birch;—men qualified to keep alive the sacred flame of liberty and transmit it pure and untainted to their successors, of whom he was proud to see so many living proofs here to-day. Guided by such men, the cause had held its course steady and undeviating, and they were now assembled to celebrate its triumph in the presence of the Champion of the order.—(Great applause.) —They must, however, never forget that they owed that triumph to the spreading of education among the people, and it should be their glorious task to diffuse that bles sing through every grade of society. The Tories of the present day, he was happy to say, differed materially from those of a former period to which he had already alluded. education Th e stamp of ZYSaTsy among v had ts set w bg i n n w u t pa i upon i o tlN: ;m ae .. able candour and high and liberal feeling, and sorry he was not to see a greater sprinkling of them among the company assembled on the present occasion; for, as had been shown lately by a most enlightened senator (Sir J. Mackintosh) the difference between the two parties at the present day was much smaller than either of them, generally speaking, imagined, and he therefore hoped soon soon to see a union of their ranks.—(Applause.)—He thanked the company for the honour they had been pleased to pay him, and as it had never before fallen to his lot to address a company in his present capacity, except at his own table, and felt conscious of his incapacity, he once more requested that any deficiency on his part might be laid to the account of his inexperience.—(Applause.) " His Majesty's Ministers, and may their measures con tinue to entitle them to the confidence of the nation."— (Applause.) " The cause of civil and religious liberty all over the world."—Three times three and great applause. " Our able representative, the Right Hon. Wm. Hos kisson, and sound principles of Free Trade." Three times three and much applause. The CHAIRMAN then said he had now to propose the health of a gentleman who he was sorry to say was not in Liverpool at present, having gone to London on business of importance relating to this port. The gentleman to whom he alluded was a striking instance of modesty, allied to dis tinguished merit and ability, and by his excellent tempering of zeal and firmness with discretion in the discharge of his magisterial duties, was entitled to rank with the most dis tinguished of his predecessors. 6 ' The Worshipful the Mayor, and Town and Trade of Liverpool."—(Three times three, and long-continued ap plause.) Song, by Mr. Ryley, the author of " The Itinerant," composed for the occasion of this day's festivity. " Lord Holland and Lord John Russell, and the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts."—Three times three and great applause. " The Lord Lieutenant of the county." The CHAIRMAN said he had next to propose the health of a staunch Whig, " The Earl of Sefton, and may the house of Molyneux ever follow his example."—Great applause. Air.—" Home ! Sweet Home !" Mr. Buono tram said the Chairman had again given him leave to trespass on the indulgence of the company for one moment, and it would certainly require no longer to give a toast which demanded little comment. He greatly pitied a large part of the company who, from being seated under the gallery, were not able to see half the grace and beauty that adorned this assembly. He and those about him hap pily were so situated as to enjoy the sight of about three fourths, while some ingenious friends of his had contrived so to place themselves as to command a sort of corner view of the four-fourths, the whole constituent beauty of that fair assemblage. It was impossible, however, for any one who could see even but one-tenth part of it, to refuse him their attention for a moment, for the purpose of enabling them to toast the fair part of the community of the town of Li verpool, who had shed so honourable a distinction over that happy meeting, in gracing it with the honour of their presence and protection. He called upon the company to join him in a bumper to " the Ladies of Liverpool."— (Long continued applause.) - - The CHAIRMAN said he need scarcely recall to the re collection of the company the business of the 18th of June, —the commemoration of the Battle of Waterloo,—that battle which he could safely say, from his reeollection of the day when the account of it arrived and the effects it produced, added at least 20 per cent. in value to the capital of the country. He would therefore give— " The health of the Duke of Wellington, and the Heroes of Waterloo." Mixed applause, hisses, and hooting ; the disapprobation evidently preponderating. The band began to play " Britons strike Home," hut the sound of the instruments was quickly overpowered by the increased tumult of disapprobation. A pause at length occurred, when one of the Company rose up and gave— " The Heroes of Waterloo," which was followed by several rounds of enthusiastic cheering. Air—" Britons strike Home." Comic Song.---" The Battle of Waterloo," by Mr. Reilly. The CHatastax then gave.— t, The Vice-Presidents :—Mr. William Wallace Currie and Mr. Hardman Earle." Three times' three and much applause. Mr. W. W. Cum:tax and Mr. H. Emma respectively returned thanks. The latter said that having disposed of the subject which was the cause of his rising to address the meeting, he would beg leave to give a toast arising from a recent event which had caused a very considerable sensation in the commercial world, and threatened the most serious evil to the country at large, he meant the late decision of the House of Lords upon the Corn Bill,—a decision which, it could not be denied, had given great dissatisfaction to the country. Undoubtedly their Lordships had a right to make that decision ; but there was as little question that it had been brought about by a union of faction and self-in terest, and that it was marked by gross and selfish indiffer ence to the wants of the people, and by the greatest igno rance of the real interests of the country. He concluded by proposing :.—" The 122 virtuous and patriotic Peers who voted in the minority against the Amendment moved by the Duke of Wellington upon the Corn Bill.".—(lm mense cheering and applause.) The CHAIRMAN next gave— " The Duke of Sussex, and the London University, and may the system of Education keep pace with the improved spirit of the age, and be extended to all classes of the Com munity." Mr. BROUGHAM shortly returned thanks, and paid a high and well-merited compliment to the Duke of Sussex. He then proceeded to advert to the notice which had been taken of the House of Lords. Humbly venturing, he said, to differ with their Lordships as to the vote upon that parti cular question, he yet viewed with much satisfaction the increased activity to business which had been manifest in that Noble Assembly during the present Session. He never remembered so regular and so full an attendance of their Lordships ; they met as regularly as did the Commons ; which was not so before, and they had in consequence be came quite as busy and as factious, and had taken not merely one, but nearly all the leaves out of their book.—(Much laughter. )—He was glad of this, because a continued regu larity of attention to public business on their parts, meeting daily, numerously, and in open house, with the press to watch and report their proceedings, would tend more than any thing that he knew of to restore the true and proper balance of the Constitution. " Our venerable and enlightened townsman, William RosCoe, Esq." Mr. W. Roscox, jun. returned thanks for his respected father, whose ill health prevented him from attending the Meeting. " The memory of our townsman, the late Mr. Rushton." Mr. E. RUSHTON returned thanks. " Our respected townsman, Thomas Booth, Esq." Mr. H. BOOTY returned thanks. Mr. 13aouctum then rose to propose the Liberty of the Press, and took the opportunity of stating that he had been erroneously reported to have said, that in speaking of Mr. Hume's motion for the repeal of a tax imposed upon pamphlets by one •of the Acts commonly called the Six Acts, that he saw no harm in the Act which made trans portation the punishment for a second conviction of libel.— He never could have said so, inasmuch as he had been pre paring, and was in hopes of effecting his objeet, to try to promote the repeal of that very Act, and indeed he knew and no one could know it better than he did, through his professional connections, that that Act had a most mis chievous effect upon a portion of the public press, by its operating in deterring persons from embarking their capi tal in some newspaper concerns. What he had said on the occasion to which he alluded was, that he was asto nished to see that gentleman take up a trifling matter,which in comparison was not worth three straws, instead of attacking the Act which made it punishable by banish ment to be twice convicted of libel. He concluded by giving, " The Liberty of the Press," which was drunk with three times three. Mr. W. W. CURRIE gave " The health of Mr. Rush ton and success to him in the legal profession upon which he is about to enter." Mr. E. RUSHTON returned thanks, and said that he should never want a stimulus to exertion so long as he retained the recollection of the highly honourble recep tion which had been given to the distinguished ornament of that profession whom they had the pleasure of seeing among them that day. He concluded with proposing a sentiment which he had heard often hinted at but not as yet openly pronounced !—" May our distinguished guest, if he should be again defeated in the contest for West moreland, become a candidate for the representation of this town—and may he be returned as the colleague of the Right Hon. Gentleman who has liberalized the commerce of the country." Mr. BaououAm said he felt honoured by the compli ment just paid him, but he must at once repudiate the offer to become a candidate for Liverpool, lest he should be charged with infidelity to his affianced bride of Westmore land, or suspected by his friend Mr. Crump of bigamous inclinations, which would no less subject him to the cen sure of his friends at Appleby. But although he could not become a candidate, if they felt inclined at any time to make any demand upon his services, as they got matters over here before they began in Westmaree,should have no objection to come over and lend them a helping hand for some other friend.—(Applause.) The following toasts were afterwards given " Our best allies, the liberal spirits of Europe, and may the victims of despotism ever find an asylum in this country." " Catholic Emancipation." " George Williams, Esq. and the reform of all County Abuses." " Thomas Wyberg, Esq. . and the independent Free holders of Westmoreland." " The Rev. W. Shepherd."—" Sir F. Burdett." " Joseph Birch, Esq. and the Electors of Nottingham." " The Hon. E. G. Stanley and John Wood, Esq. and the Electors of Preston." " The Towns of Manchester and Birmingham, and may they soon enjoy a share in the representation of the people." " Prissperity to Ireland." " LordCocbrane, and success to the cause of the Greeks." " The United States of America, and may our friendly relations with that country be perpetual." " The Independent States of South America." " The Lancashire Witches." Mr. Baon6it4in retired about a quarter-past twelve, and was soon aftetwards followed by the Chairman and a number of other Gentlemen. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Jim! 520. The Court was occupied nearly the whole day on the new trial paper. None of the eases were of the least public interest. At the close of the day Mr. BROUGHAM presented him self at the Bar, and took his rank, having been granted a patent of precedency. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, JUNE *O. (MADDOX V. TRICE. This was an action for work and labour, brought by Miss Margaretta Graddon, the celebrated vocalist and actress, late of Drury-lane Theatre, against Mr. Price, the lessee of that establishment, to recover the sum of 201. the amount of two weeks' salary. Mr. Serjeant Wunn (with whom was Mr. HUTCHIX.- sox) stated the case. The action wat brought by the young lady whom he represented, to recover the sum of 20/. from Mr. Stephen Price, the present lessee of Drury-lane Theatre. Miss Graddon was originally engaged in 1824 by Mr. Elliston, for three years, at a rising salary of 81., 91., and 101. per week. In 1826, Mr. Elliston having left the establishment, Miss Graddon's services were con tinued by the present management, at a salary of 101. per week. She was under age when she entered into the con tract with Mr. Elliston, but had arrived of age prior to the time when the cause of the present action arose, and that was the reason she appeared as plaintiff on the present re cord. Mr. Price, the Learned Counsel understood, resisted the payment of the present demand, on the ground that the plaintiff had entered into a contract by deed with Mr. Ellis ton, by which she consented to have deducted from her salary certain fines, in case of her violating the rules of the Theatre, The defendant contended that she had subjected herself, by the rules of the Theatre, to a fine of SU, and be had set off that sum against her claim for service. During the season of 1825 Miss Graddon perfermed with very great success the part of Catherine, in " The Siege of Belgrade," and in 1826, without any cause being assigned, the part was taken from her and given to Mrs. Geesin. Miss Graddon never complained of the unhandsome treatment she had experienced, but continued to play such parts as were allotted to her till December, 1826, when " The Siege of Belgrade" was announced in the bills to be per formed, and Mrs. Geesin was advertised to perform Ca therine, the part she had played in the piece during the whole of that season. In the course of the day before the piece was to he performed, Mr. Wallack, the Manager, sent for Miss Graddon, and informed her that she was required •to play the part of Catherine instead of Mrs. Geesin, who, from some cause or other, could not perform the part. She went home, and finding that she could not play the part at so short a notice, sent a message to the theatre, declining it. The Management thought proper to inflict a fine of thi r ty pounds on Mi ss Gr a ddon for not performing the character in question. The Learned Counsel was confident that such a set off could not be justly or legally made against the claim of this young lady. Mr. Edward G r addon deposed—l am the father of Mar egi7hetteenGraddon, ago ; she performed at Drury-lane theatree plaintiff ; she arrived at age ab ou t in 1826 ; I attended her to the theatre every night, with only one exception, during the whole period of her per formance at that theatre ; she continued to perform up to the 27th of December, 1826 ; her salary was 101. a week ; she was not paid for two of the last weeks of her performing. Cross-examined.—She had entered into a contract with Mr. Elliston for three years, to receive the first year, 81.; the second year, 9/. ; and the last year, 101. per week. It was admitted, on the part of the defendant, that 10/. a week was a reasonable salary for the plaintiff, and this closed the case for the young lady. Mr. Sergeant Ana Ms addressed the Jury on the part of the defendant. The manager of tho theatre had been so harassed by the caprice of the female performers, that it bad become necessary to teach them that they were bound to respect the customs and usages of the theatre. The plaintiff was admitted on all bands to be a most delightful singer ; her voice and person were quite enchanting ; he had witnessed her performance, and had been delighted be yond measure ; but the lady had exhibited very different airs behind the curtain from those she exhibited in front of it.—(Laughter. )—She was not always when behind the cur tain, the same charming, delightful, lovely, bewitching, provoking little creature.—(lmmense laughter.)—She had been assigned the part of Catherine, in " The Siege of Belgrade ;" hut, from her waywardness and obstinacy, he believed that she would make a better representative of Catherine, in " Taming of the Shrew." She refused to play the part, without assigning any cause, and Mr. Wal lack was compelled to apologize for her absence. The Learned Counsel produced a printed paper, which he should put in evidence, which contained the rules and re gulations of the Theatre Royal, Drury-lane, the ninth clause of which lie would read :—" If any performer re fuse to study, rehearse, or play any prologue, epilogue, or part in play, farce, or opera, or to dance a hornpipe, or go in a procession, ballet, &c., when required to do so by the Manager, they shall forfeit the sum of thirty pounds, and also nine nights' salary." LORD Crime Jo - mom—lf one of the principal per formers in comedy or tragedy were to refuse to dance a hornpipe, it appears that he would be subject to a fine of thirty pounds, and the loss of nine nights' salary. Mr. Sergeant ADAMS continued,—He most certainly would. In the present case, Miss Graddon took offence because Mrs. Geesin had obtained the part of Catherine. It would be found that the plaintiff had repeatedly violated the internal regulations of the Theatre, and that she had been fined during Mr Elliston's management. The Stage manager, Mr. Wallack, had no ordinary difficulties to con tend with, to keep the Ladies of the Theatre in order, who sometimes were envious and quarrelsome, because the trowsers of one were shorter and exposed more of the ancle than another'e. It was necessary for the preservation of rule and good order in the Theatre that the regulations, which were notorious to every actor and actress on the boards, should be enforced strictly. Mr. Wallack examined.—l have been Stage-Manager of Drury-lane Theatre since 1825 ; a bill similar to the one produced has been constantly stuck up in the Treasury, for the inspection of every person connected with the theatre, ever .ince I was a boy ten years of age ; I can't say this is the identical bill. Mr. Wallack's examination resumed—On the 1 7th of December last the " Siege of Belgrade" was announced for performance. Mrs. Geesin had played the part of Ca therine during that season; and in consequence of indis position on the part of Mrs. Geesin, Miss Graddon was directed by me to play the part. She rehearsed, on the 6th December, the greater part ; and not being perfect, she did not rehearse the whole, but said she would go home and study the part. On the following day she sent word she could not play the part. Miss Graddon had been fined the previous season, and the fine was stopped out of her salary. I apologised to the audience for Miss Graddon's absence, and Miss Ellen Tree played the part. Cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant WILDE—I did not wish to annoy Miss Graddon, by requesting her to play the part; I put it to her as plesantly as possible. Mr. Sergeant WILDE—Yon put it to her as pleasantly as possible, I have no doubt.—(Loud laughter, occasioned by the quaintness of the delivery of the Learned Counsel.) Mr. Wallack's cross-examination continued—Miss Grad don had not performed the character for a year; I have often played a character at a short notice, which has been taken from me, and been played by another ; it is the uni versal custom to take a character from one performer and give it to another, and afterwards give it back to the former. Re-examined by Mr. Serjeant ADAMS—I think Miss Graddon had reasonable notice to recover the part ; she was a tolerably good study; she left the Theatre, express ing her intention to study the part, and she made no ob jection to it till the next day, when her brother brought a message from her ; I have been fined for violating the rules of the Theatre; the printed regulations produced are known to every person belonging to the Theatre.--[The printed paper was put in.] Mr. Dunn called—l pay the salaries, and have been in the habit of deducting the fines ; I deducted a fine from Miss Graddon's salary the season before ; parties under parole as well es written contracts, who were engaged in the theatre, down to the carpenter, submitted to pay the fines ; the three weeks' salary claimed by Miss Graddon were due on the 9th, 16th, and 23d December last ; she had a week's salary after that, and I believe she did not object to the stoppage of the SOI. fine till afterwards; the sum of 10/. was sent to Miss Graddon, beside her week's salary, with a letter (produced), stating that at the end of the season, the other 20/. would probably be remitted. Cross-examined—Miss Graddon sent every Saturday for her salary during the three weeks it was stopped. Mr. Sergeant Witant addressed the Jury for the plaintiff, and contended that his client had been treated with great harshness and injustice. She had not a reasonable time allowed her to prepare for sustaining the character ; and when she declined playing it, which she must have done at the risk of ruining her reputation, she was mulcted of the very moderate sum of SOL by the very liberal and kind Managers of Drury-lane Theatre. He called upon the Jury to give the plaintiff, who had nothing to depend upon but her salary, the full amount which she had claimed. Mr. Sergeant Anams observed, that Mr. Dunn had re quested him to explain that by two years he meant two seasons. The LOAD CHIEr-JUSTICE proceeded to sum up the ease, and said, that if it was the notorious usage of the Theatre to fine those who violated the printed rules which had been produced—though he thought there was very slight evidence to prove that Miss Graddose had ever seen them—he was of opinion she was liable to have the fine deducted from her salary. His Lordship said, that he had not had the pleasure of seeing the young lady perform, his time had been so much occupied by hie legal avocations ; but his curiosity had been so much excited, that he should do himself the pleasure of witnessing her performance when she again appeared on the boards. The Jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff-201. The Court was excessively crowded during the trial. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. LAMBETH-STREET.--A TURTHIR DISCOVIRY or PROPRATY.—Yesterday, Anne, wife of Ikey Solomons, was brought up in custody of Skillern and Gooding, two conductors of the Bow-street patrol, charged on suspicion, with having in her possession, goods to a considerable amount Which had been stolen. Oa the apprehension of her husband, the property found hi his temporary lodgings, at Islington, exceeded in value 2,0001., but that produced in the present instance was nearly double in amount. When placed at the bar, Mrs • Solomon:, who was aided with the professional advice of Mr. Humphries, appeared much agitated and dejected, and during the examination the tears rapidly chased each other down her cheeks. The preliminary evidence was to the following p ur p or t : goinghou the rounds with hi s p ar ty, h e per ceived of Isaac:, alias th e y S o l omon:, i n Bell-la n e , l 1 a se Richard Skillern s t a t e d, t h at he was a conductor of the B ow-stree t patrol. On Tuesday night, at half-p as t t en o'clock, a e l , vh the Wentworth-street, a cart d r aw n u p a t t h e d oor ; from it two men were employed in unloading mahogany furniture, and removing it into the house, he asked the carter where he had brought it from, and he replied, " What is that to you ?" The lateness of the hour, and his anxiety for concealment, excited his (Skillern's) suspicion, and he then told the carter that he would take both him and the things into custody. Mrs. Solomons, the prisoner, then came out and said, that she had had it for years in her possession ; he told her he must a pprehend her and the two men, and send the furniture to the Green Yard, as he suspected it was stcien, and he afterwards informed the car ter, that if he did not conduct him to the house where it was brought from, he would lock him up. He replied that h e did not know the name of the street, but that he would be able to point it out to him. He, Skillern, then, having first left two of his men in charge of Mrs. S., whom, as an indulgence, he did not remove, as she had a large family, and a sick child, accompanied the carter to a house in Henry-street, Bedford-square, Commercial-road, and rapped at it. The door was opened, and suspecting, from what he had heard, that he might be able to catch Solo mon., he at once rushed up stairs. The bed-room door was open, and the bed appeared as if it had been hastily risen from. On examining it, he found underneath the pillow the large horse-pistol he then produced, which was well primed, and loaded with ball ; beside the bed there was also a sword-cane, and in other parts of the apart ment all the property which was then produced, the greater part of which, if not the entire, he was convinced was stolen. Two of Gooding's party were left in charge of the house, and the property was afterwards removed. Mr. HUMMI.IIIO asked if bail would be accepted for the prisoner's future appearance, if so. he was prepared with securities to any amount. Mr. WYATT was aware that if bail even to the amount of 50,0001. was demanded, it would be presented, but be would not, however, take it; to do so would be a crime against society, and as a late occurrence (we believe he meant the escape of Solomons), defeat the ends of justice. Mrs. Solomon* was hand e d over t o th e k eep i ng of the gaoler, which terminates the business for the present. THAMES OFFICE.—An intelligent-looking, welt clad Hibernian, who said his name was Edmund O'Hal loran, and that he was a schoolmaster, came to request the advice of the Magistrate under peculiar circumstancee• He said, that, some months since, he and Norah, his wife, arrived in London from Ireland, and took lodgings in the house of a black man named Wiggins, at Wapping, where he carried on the business of a barber. At the end of solve months Norah proved t o b e pregnant , an d as t h e t i me o f her accouchement approached she began to lose her apps' tite, and one day she expressed the greatest possible fang for black potatoes. He (O'Halloran) therefore went among the Irish shipping, and procured a few black potatne* which, after Norah had partaken of, she a pp e ared much more cheerful, and, shortly after, Norah be came the mother of a black child ; and when b e asked Norah the cause, she and Wiggins said it $ Ol6 in consequence of her having eaten the black P ° ' tatoes. If that were the cause, he imagined that a little ablution would remove it, and accordingly tried the effec t : of soap and water, but in vain ; he rubbed and scrubbe d until the cries of the little urchin rang through and through the house, and, by the intercession of Norah and Wiggle , * he was induced to desist. Suspicion then began to haun t his mind, and the surprise of his neighbours at seeing the child increased it. He communicated it to Norah ; sh e still persisted that there was no cause, nor could she COo" ceive any to which the unusual colour of the child could b e attributed, except the black potatoes. Mr. BALLANTINE here interrupted O'Halloran in hi e narrative by observing, that perhaps all his suspicions we re , groundless, and his mind was only agitated by ill-dispose" persons. - O'Halloran replied that it was quite the contrary, for no t a shadow of doubt remained of Norah's guilt ; for, on en: minin g th e h ea d o f it, i ns t ea d of the flaxen down of Iri' infants, it had the little curly woolly hair of the M o orit tribe, and was a ver it a bl e m i n i ature of Wiggins, the bla ck barber; even Norah did not deny the unhallowed familiB - of the Moor, and was oppressed with shame, gu ilt ' and angui s h ; nor cou ld s h e be preva i le d upon to su ckle th e hideous testimony of her faithlessness. He immecliate l t left the house, and the neighbours feeling an indignation at the conduct of the black, threatened to demolish his house• s He now entreat e d th e advice of the Worthy Magistrate w hat course he should p ursue to obtain satisfaction. Mr. BALLauxim expr esse d th e greatest sym pathy for his situation, and regretted that he could not assist him. Poor O'Halloran, on leaving the Office burst into tears, and sobbed most piteously. EAST RETFORD. This place, whose representative profligacy 15 now under the consideration of Parliament, is $ town in Nottinghamshire, situate on the river Idle, and is seven miles from Tuzford, and 0 01 hundred and forty-five from London. It con" tamed at the last census, 421 h ouses , an d 1,9 4 ' 1 inhabitants ; and has a good market for bops , corn, malt, and provisions. It first sent Mow bers to Parliament in the 9th Edw. II.; but never returned any after, till the 13th Queen Elizabeth, when it was again summoned, though the right was questioned. The Corporation consists of twelve Aldermen, from wh o m the Senior Bailiff must be annually chosen, and th e Junior Bailiff from among the freemen, who 15 also an Alderman during his rear of office' Committees of the House of Commons have been occupied eight or nine times within the, last century, and the Court o f Ki ng 's Benc h as often, in determining what constitutes freeman of this notable borough ; a poi° which remains just as open to litigation now O it ever has been. It h a s n o t, for instance, as Ye t been decided whether the son of a freeman born out of the borough had an equal claim to be ad' mitted with one born in the borough, nor wile' ther the apprentice of a journeyman shoemaker (which description of persons forms a majority of the electors) has the same right to his freedom as the apprentice to a master. This borough was generally supposed to have been under the influence of the Newcastle family. Three Noble Dukes of that name having been successively its High Steward. But the worthy electors have gen erally preferred a full purse to empty honour, an d pa tron whenever regularly flown in the face o f their whenever it has been most their interest so to ci°; The price of each man's vote has generally bee!, known to be forty guineas, though in 1820 rose to one hundred and fifty. However, these golden realities must now resolve themselves int o dreams ; and the worthy Crispins of East Ret:, ford, instead of manufacturin g Legislators, mt' stick to their lasts, and be contented with more moderate gains, and those more honestly ac! quired. HEN-PECKING.—Fair and gentle readers, ye whose smiles are to us worth a ll e l se b enea th th e sun, u4', us candidly, did you think or dream that in Persia ther e existed such a pastime as—Hen-pecking? Why, it 1 0 flourished all over the East time immemorial. Then thit oh ! only think of some unfortunate polygamist b e ing dal' pecked by five—ten—twenty—forty Hens ! Curtain l ee ' tures too, in that country, must be severe indeed,—foli o ing each other in constant succession, every night a fret female professor at him with a discourse, probably, 0 ° " same endles s th eme ! I n thi s l ess un h a ppy l an d, the 0 1 , „. 1. ried man, we can su pp ose , ma y ge t inured—h ar deneu:„ bomb-proof. There, yonder, in the eastern clime, ,'",„ land of the rose and the nightingale, the polyga m i s t shuts an eye all night long, so endlessly bewildered with some new variety of the same torment. A wan of one wife merely—such is the constitution of the droll, the ear—absolutely cannot hear her voice in all aboYu rpes s hour or two at most,—it seems to degenerate by deg l y d into an unintelligible hum, not even unpleasant, scime t e 'i, t like the swarming of bees ; and in the very acme 0 ' " b e e eastern clime, the land of the rose and nighting ale , 11 ° 1 1 anger, just as she sits up in bed in a towering passion , e monogamist is stretched in a snoring sl ee p. B u t in t he begs 1 '1 his pardon, the bulbul, the poor Persian ha nds over, night after n i g ht, to a tormentor armed w i t h a tongu e sharp in novelty, of which cus t om h a s not taken off th, e edge, and th a t cu t s lik e a k n if e t h at never h as been UAW! shaves close as a razor that is used perhaps only otl a-month, and then carefully laid by after a few strops o 0 packwood.—Blackwood's Magasins. BIRTHS. On the 19th inst., in Lower Seymour-street, Pori' dmaaung _ huiteer.are , the lady of Lieut.-C o l one l Clayton, o f Same d a y, Mrs. Frederiek Maroon, of the Paragon, ° a daughter. MARRIED. Yesterday, at St. George's, Hanover-square, Sir 0 1 '; ander Campbell, Bart., to Miss Malcolm, eldest Baugh"' of Major-Gen. Sir J. Malcolm, G.C.B. Yesterday, at Croydon, R. M. Bonnor, Esq., son of Bonnor, Esq. of Bryny Gwalle, Denbighshire, to Ann a Maria, daughter of M. Harrison, Esq. DIED. On Tuesday, at Gadesbridge, Herts, Anne, the wife d Sir Astley Cooper, Bart, aged 58. On the 18th inst., at Greenwich, in his 30th year, O r ' H. Harford. t he Yesterday, at the Rectory, West Hackney, aged 65, Rev. George Paroissien, M.A., rector of that parish, a n 36 years curate of Hackney. On the 7th inst.. at Paris, aged 17, James Law, secon d son of th e R ev . Thomas Jones, A.M., of Enfield, and ° Whitehall Chapel. On the I2th inst., at Ordnance-place, Chatham, Ricbarcl Newnham, Eaq., late of Basinghall-street, ., i n the V tb year of his age • On the 19 th of October, 1626, at Nusseeraba4, greatly respected, Lieut. R. Nelson, of the 56th Regiment Bengal N a tive Infantry, youngest so n o f th e l a t e Robert Nelac ni Esq., formerly of his Majesty's D oc k-y ar 6, ,at Deptford, and nephew to R. A. Nelson, Esq., late Secretary, Na " Board. t"); PRINTID arid PUJILIIIHID by M. YOUNG, at the SVN-OFFICS, No. Ile, Strand.