The Sun. — London, England, 1850-12-20 00:00:00

BANK RET URNS. (From. the London Gazette of Tuesday.) An Account, pursuant to the Act seventh and eighth Victoria, cap. 32, of the Average Amount of Bank Notes of the several Banks of Issue in England and Wales. in Circulation during the Week ending Satur day, the 7th day of December, 1850: Average PRIVATE BANKS. Amount. Andover Bank, Andover—Heath and Co. Ashford Bank, Ashford--Jemmitt and Pomfret 10.301 Aylshstn bank, Aylshsm—R. and G Copeman 5,191 Aylesbury Old Bank, Aylesbury—Bickford and Hunt Bath** Bank and Baldook and Biggleswads Bank, Baldock—Wells, Hogg, and Lindsell 21,998 3arnstapie Bank, Barnstaple—Harskall and Ce 10,767 Basingstoke and Odihare Bank, Basingstoke— Seymour, Lamb, and Co ...... . ..... . 14,968 Bedford Bank, Bedford—T. Barnard . . 28,928 Bedford and Bedfordshire Bans, Bedford — Trapp, Halfhead, and Co. as. iley Bank, Bewdley—Nichols, Baker, and 11,738 (",ran; Bieester and Oxfordshire Bank and Oxford Bark, Bicester—Tubb and Co. .. 'Birmingham Bank, Birmingham—Attvroz ls, Spooner, awl Co B:rmingham and Warwickshire Bank, Birming ham —J. L. Monett, and Sons.. Blandford Bank, Blandford—Bastard ana Oak 6.874 Boston Bank, Boston—Garfit and Co . 57.497 Boston clank, Boston—Gee and Co 15.582 Bridgv iter Bank, Bridgwater—J. &J. Sealey 5,024 Bristol Bank, Bristol—Miles, HarFord, and Cr. 34,651 Brassie) , and Bridgnorth, and Bridgnorth and Broseley Bank, Broseley—Messrs. Pritchard 21,754 Buckingham Bank, Buckingham Bartlett, Parrott, and Co. Bury and Suffolk Bank, Sudbury Bank, Stow- Market Bank, Bury—Oakes, Bevan, and Co. Banbury Bank, Banbury—Gillett and Tawney. Banbury Old Bank, Banbury—Messrs. Cobb Bati - . City Bank, Bath—Nloger and Son Bedfordshire Leighton Buzzard Bank, Leighton Buzzard—Bassett and Grant Birmingham Bank, Birmingham—Taylor and Lloyds Bradford Old Bank, Bradford, Yorkshire—H A. and W. M. Harris and Co Brecon Old Bank, Brecon—Wilkins and Co Brighton Union Bank, Brighton:—llall, West, and Borrer Burlington and Driffield Bank, Burlington— Harding, Smith, and Co .. Bury St. ,Edmunds Bank, Bury St. Edmunds— J. Worlledge and Co. Bromsgrove Bank and Stourbridge and Broms grove Bank, Bromsgrove—Rufford, Biggs, and Co. Cambridge Bank, Cambridge—Mortlock and Sons 22,593 18,052 60.M1 25,583 3.518 31,024 28,474 12,533 63,444 23,824 10,688 1,65 Cambridge and Cambridgeshire Bank, Cam bridge—Messrs. Forsters Canterbury Bank, Canterbury--Hammond and Co. ..•. Carmarthen Bank, Carmarthen—Morris and 10,999 35,144 Sons Chertsey Bank, Chertsey—Messrs. La Coste Colchester Bank, Colchester—Round, Green, and Co. Colchester and Essex Bank, Witham and Essex Bank, and Hadleigh Bank, Suffolk, Colchester Bawtree, and Co Cornish Bank, Truro—Tweedy and Co .„....... Coventry Bank, Coventry—Little and Wood- 28.90' 18,889 2,185 14,218 26,672 35,576 cock City Bank, Exeter—Milford and Co "raven Bank, Settle—Birkbecks and Co. Christchurch Bank, Christchurch—Tice, Welsh, and Co Cardiff' Bank, Cardiff—Towgood and -Co Chepstow Old Bank, Chepstow Blink, Men mouth Old Bank, Monmcuth Bank, Brecon Bank, and Ross and Herefordshire Bank, Chepstow—Broma.ge, Snead, and Co. Derby Bank, Derby—lielsrs. Evans Derby Bank, Derby—Smith and Co. Derby Old Bank and Scarsdale and High Peak Bank, Derby—Crompton, Newton, and Co Devizes and Wiltshire Bank, Devize3—Hughes, Locke, and Co Diss Bank, Diss—Oakes, Fincham, and Co Doncaster Bank, Doncaster —Leatham, Tew. an .l Co. Doncaster Bank and Retford Bank, Doncaster— Cooke and Co 57,254 Darlington Bank, Durham Bank, and Stockton on-Tees Bank, Darlington—Backhouse, &Co 69,009 Devonport Bank, Devon port—Hodge and Nor man •• .• 6,050 16,250 67,639 6,446 8,336 9.002 32,515 22,12 7,915 9,741 Dorchester Old Bank and Dorsetshire Bank, Dorchester—Williams and Co. East Cornwall Bank, Liskeard—Robins, Foster, and Co. East Riding Bank, Beverley—Bower, Hall. and Co. EsseX Bank and Bishops Stortford Bank, Chelrasford—Sparrow, and C 0.... 38,270 Exeter Bank, Exeter—Sanders and Co 23,579 Fakenham Bank, Fakenham—Gurneys, Birk beck, and Co. Farringdon Bank awl Bank of \Vantage, Far ringdon—Barnes and Medley 5,210 Farnham Bank, Farnham—Messrs. Knight 13.027 Faversham Bank, Faversham—Hilton and Co 4,747 Godalming Bank, Godalming—Mellersh and Keen • Grantham Bank, Grantham —Kewney and King Guildford Bank, Guildford—Messrs. Hayden.. 6.53.5 Grantham Bank, Grantham—Hardy and Co 21,105 Hastings Old Bank, Hastings—Smith, Hilder, and Co. 29,380 Hereford City and County Bank, Hereford— Mrstthews and Co. Her Cord and Ware Bank. Hertford—S. Adams __ and Co 17,553 Hull Bank and Kingston-upon-Hull Bank, Hull ' • —Smith, Brothers, and Co. :Huntingdon Town and County Bank, Hunting don—Rust and Veasey Harwich Bank, Harwich—Cox, Cobbold, and Co 4,450 'Tercel Hempstead Bank, Hemel Hempstead— Smith, ar,d Whittingstall Honiton T;ank, Honiton—Flood and Co. Her t fo r?,shire, Hitchen Bank, Hitchen—Sharples and Co. • 29,179 liere f .ord, Ross, and Arehenfield Bank, and Ross a' id A rchenfield Bank, Hereford-=Morgan, Hoskins, and Co 17.365 Ipswich Bank, Ipswich—Bacon and Co. Ipswich and Needham Market Bank, Suffolk, lladleigh Bank, Manningtree and Mistley Bank, and Woodbridge Bank, Ipswich— Alexanders and Co. * Kentish Bank, Maidstone—Meicer, Randall, and Mercer Kington and Radnorshire Bank, Kington—J Davies and Co Knighton Bank Knighton—J. Davies and Co, Knaresborough Old Bank and Ripon Old Bank, Knare.sborough—Terry and Co Kendal Bank, Kendal—Wakefield, Crewdson, alai Co. Kettering Bank, Kettering—Got(:. and Sons... Lane End Staffordshire Bank, Lane End—C Harvey and Son Leeds Bank, Leeds—Beckett and Co Leeds Union Bank, Leeds—W. Williams, Brown, and C )....„. Leek and Staffordshire Bank, and Leek and Congletort Bank,Leek—Fowler,Gannt, andeo. Lei , tester 'dank, Leicester —Pagets and Kirby._ I..ewes Old Bank, Lewes—Molineux and Co Lichfie',(l Bank, Lichfield—Palmer and Green Lineo'm Bank. Lincoln—Smith and Co Larapeter Bank and Llandilo Bank, Llando very—David Jones and Co. Loughbwough Bank, Loughborough—Middle tons. and Cradock Lymir.gton Bank, Lymington—C. and S. St Tim-be Lyre Regis and Lincolnshire Bank, Lynn Regis —Gurneys and Co. Lynn Regis and Norfolk Bank, Lynn Regis— Jarvis and Co. ' Macclesfield Bank, Macclesfield—Brooklenurst and Co Manningtree Bank, Manningtree—Nunn and Co Marlborough Bank, Marlborough - and Wilts Old Bank, Marlborough Old Bank, Marl borough Old Bank and Hungerford Bank, and' Hungerford Bank, Marlborough —Tanner awl Pinckney Ma-l'oorough and North Wiltshire New Bank, Marlborough—Ward, Merriman, and Hillier Merionethshire Bank, Dolgelly—Jones and Williams iners' Bank, Truro—Willyarn s and C 0.,.., ..,. Monmouthshire Agricultural and Commercial Bank, Abergavenny—Baileys and Co Monmouth Old Bank, Monmouth Bank, Brecon Bank, Chepstow Bank, Chepstow Old Bank, and Ross and Herefordshire Bank, Monmouth —Bromage and Snead. Monmonthshire Newport Old Bank, Newport —W. Williams and Sons Newark Bank, Newark—Godfreys and Hutton Newark and Sleaford Bank, and Sleaford and N and e wark. Bank, Sleaford—Haudley, P eacoc k , q. .. . .... Newbury 8ank,........ —Bunny and Slocock. Newmarket Bank N e w mar ket—Eaton, Ham mond, and Son ........ Norfolk and Suffolk Bank, Dias T Dy50n........................... and ..................... Norwich Crown Bank, Norwich—llarveys a d Hud50n5..................................... . ..... n Norwich and Norfolk Bank, Norwich —G neys and Birkbeck Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Bank, Not.. tingham—Hart, Fellows, and Co ... 8,591 Nuneaton Bank, Nuneaton—Craddock and Co Naval Bank, Plymouth—Harris, Mudge, and Co New Serum Bank, Sarum Everett, turd Co • 9 744 Nottingham Bank, Nottingham—Smith and Ca 25,113 Oswestry Bank and Oswestry Old Bank, Os westry-,,Croxon and Co - 14,410 Oxford Bank, Oxford—J. and R. M0rre11....... 5,623 Oxford Old Bank, Oxford—Robinson, Parsons, and C 0..... Old Bank Tonbridge, Tonbridge and Tonbridgps Wells Old Bank, Tonbridge and Tonbridge Wells and Sevenoaks Bank, Tonbridge-- Beeehing and Sons... Oxfordshire Witney Bank, Witney—Clinek and Co .4... 4 ' 8,047 93.374 4,720 59,30 14,419 20,211 9,375 19,05 33,057 7,407 5,165 53,166 36,33 26.804 29.136 13.578 73,372 19,11 6,305 3,767 33,272 11,420 15.274 3;968 8,120 1,575 6.422 10,772 24,030 13,744 7.789 22,392 40.511 21,222 16,633 43,500 61,720 3,723 21,718 9,674 TIIR SUN, Avege Pease s Old Bank, Hull, the Hull Old Bank a nd Amount Beverley Bank, Hull—Pease and Co Penzance Bank, Penzance—i3atten and Co Peterborough Bank and Oundle Bank, Peter- boroughl—MAssrs. Yorke Peterborough Bank, Peterborough—Simpson . _ and White ,.. Pemorokeshire Bank, Haverfordwest—J. and W. Walters Penzance Union Bank, Falmouth Bank, and Truro Bank, Penzance—Rickets, Enthoven and Co Reading Bank, Reading—Simonds and Co Reading Bank, Reading—Stephens,Blandy, and Co Richmond Bank, Richmond—Maxwell and Co Ringwood and Poole Bank, and Town and County of Poole Bank, Ringwood-. Ledgard and Sons Rochdale Bank, Rochdale—Clement, Royds and Co Rochester, Chatham, and Strood Bank Roches- ter—Day and Nicholson Royston Bank, Royston—Fordham and Sons Rugby Bank, Rugby—Butlin and Son Rye Bank, Rye—Pomfret and Co. Reigate and Darking Bank, and . Reigate, Croy don, and Darking Bank, Reigate—Nash and Co . . Ross Old Bank, Herefordshire, Ross—Pritchard 37,674 11,418 7.070 11,030 23,516 26,010 5,371 and Alla?..ay Saffron Walden and North Essex Bank, Saffron Walden—Messrs. Gibson Salop Bank, Shrewsbury—Burton, Lloyd, and Co Scarborough Old Bank, Scarborough—Woodall and Co Shrewsbury Old Bank, and Shrewsbury and Ludlow Bank, Shrewsbury—Rocke, Eytons, and Co Sittingbourne and Milton Bank, Sittingbourne —Valiance and Son Southampton Town and County Bank, South ampton—Maddison and Pearce Southwell Bank, Suuthwell—Wylde and Co Salisbury Bank, Salisbury—Messrs. Brodie Shaftesbury Bank, Shaftesbury— Brodie and 8,867 6,200 6,902 8,735 10,880 14,439 4,447 25,368 11,370 22,393 29,614 2,440 11,363 11,755 King - •••• Southampton and Hampshire Bank, Southamp ton—Atherly and Fall Stone Bank, Stone—W. Moore Stourbridge Bank, Stourbridge Rufford, Wragg, and Co Stafford Old Bank, Stafford—Stevenson and Co 10,544 Stamford and Rutland Bank, Stamford—Eaton, Cayley, and Co. .„ Stourbridge Old Bank, Stourbridge—Bate and Robins . 17,907 Shrewsbury and Welshpool Bank, Shrewsbury —Beck, Downward, and Co. 20,832 St. Alban's and Herta Bank, St. Alban's—Gib- 3,100 1,162 son and Stuart Taunton Bank, Taunton—Messrs. Badcock 20,632 Tavistock Bank, Tavistock—Gill, Rundle, and . . Co Thornbury Bank, Thornbury—Rolph, Yates, and Parslow Tiverton and Devonshire Bank, Tiverton—Duns- 8,910 6,33 ford and Dame.. Thrapston and Kettering Bank, Northampton shire, Thrapston—Yorke and Eland 10,613 Tring Bank and Chesham Bank, Tring—But cher and Son Towcester Old Bank, Towcester—J. and S _ _ 7,358 Percival Union Bank, Cornwall, Helston—Vivian and Co. 9,354 Uxbridge Old Bank, Uxbridge—Hull, Smith, and Co. Wallingford Bank, Wallingford—Allnatt &Co 6,045 Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, Warwick— Greenway and Co. Wellington Somerset Bank, Wellington—Fox Brothers West Riding Bank, Wakefield, and Pontefract Bank, Wakefield—Leatham, Tew, and Co Whitby Old Bank, Whitby—Simpson, Chap man, and Co Winchester, Alresford, and Alton Bank, Win chester—Bulpett and Co. Winchester and Hampshire Baak, Winchester —Wickham and Co Weymouth Old Bank and Dorchester BazA, Weymouth—Elliott and Pearse Wirkesworth and Ashbourne Derbyshire Bank, 9,03 Wirkesworth—Arkwright and Co. Wisbech and Lincolnshire Bank, Wisbech— Gunny and Co. WiveliscGmbe Bank, Wiveliscombe—P. and W Hancock .. Wolverhampton Bank, Wolverhampton—Good ricke and Holyoake. Worcester Bank, Worcester—Farley, Lavender, and Co. Worcester Old Bank and Tewkesbury Old Bank, Worcester—Berwick, Lechmere, and Co Worcestershire Bank, Kidderminster—Farley and Turner Walsall Old Bank, Walsall—Charles Foster and Song Warminster and Wiltshire Bank, Warminster— Everett and Co. Wolverhampton Messrs. Fryer Yarmouth and Suffolk Bank, and Halesworth and Suffolk Bank, Yarmouth—Gurney. Birkbeck, and Co. Yarmouth, Norfolk, and Suffolk Bank, Great Yarmouth—Sir E. K. Lacon, Bart., and Co Yeovil Old Bank, Yeovil—E. and J. Batten York Bank. York—Swann, Clough, and Co Bank, 19,587 38,179 Wolverhampton— 13,469 19,839 4,503 14,032 29,165 40,615 5,475 11,480 7,540 66,208 11,325 1,085 13,056 11,223 39 759 9,799 41,152 JOINT-STOCK BANKS. Bank of Westmoreland, Kendal ----- 8,420 Barnsley Banking Company, Barnsley Bradford Banking Company, Bradford 51,312 Bilston District Banking Company, Wolver hampton Bank of Whitehaven, Whitehaven Bradford Commercial Banking Company, Brad ford Burton, Uttoxeter, and Staffordshire Union Banking Company, Burton-upon -Trent Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Banking Company, Chesterfield Cumberland Union Banking Company, Work ington . .., 29,826 Cheltenham and Gloucestershire Banking Com pany, Cheltenham Coventry and Warwickshire Banking Company Coventry Coventry Union Banking Company, Coventry 9,433 County of Gloucester Banking Company, Chel tenham Carlisle and Cumberland Banking Company Carlisle Carlisle City and District Bank, Carlisle 17,381 Dudley and West Bromwich Banking Company, Dudley Derby and Derbyshire Banking Company, Derby 17,667 Darlington District Joint-Stock Banking Com pany, Darlington 14,864 East of England Bank, Norwich Gloucestershire Banking Company, Gloucester. 125,870 Halifax Joint-Stock Bank, Halifax Huddersfield Banking Company, Huddersfield 33,107 Hull Banking Company, Hull 22,813 Halifax Commercial Banking Company, Ha lifax Halifax and Huddersfield Union Banking Com pany, Halifax Helston Banking Company, Helston 1,419 Herefordshire Banking Company, Hereford 17,495 Knaresborough and Claro Banking Company, Knaresborough 26,472 Kingsbridge Joint-Stock Bank, Kingsbridge 2,452 Lancaster Banking Company, Lancaster 48,391 Leeds Banking Company, Leeds Leicestershire Bankin g Company, Leicester Lincoln and Lindsey B anking ' Company, Lincoln 46,663 Leamington Priors and Warwickshire Banking Company, Leamington Priors Ludlow and Tenbury Bank, Ludlow 9,114 Moore and Robinson's Nottinghamshire Bank ing Company, Nottingham 28,986 Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Banking Company, Nottingham Newcastle, Shields, and Sunderland Union Joint- 1,268 Stock Banking Company, Newcastle National Provincial Bank of England, Birming ham, Head-office, 112, Bishopsgate-street, London North Wilts Banking Company, Melksham 38,531 Northamptonshire Union Bank, Northampton 57,454 Northamptonshire Banking Company, North ampton North and South Wales Bank, Liverpool 25,640 Pares's Leicestershire Banking Company, Lei cester Saddleworth Banking Company, Saddleworth 2,393 Sheffield Banking Company, Sheffield 35,894 Stamford, Spalding, and Boston Banking Com pany, 52,531 Stamford. Stuckey's Banking Company, Bristol Somerset shire Bank, and Somersetshire Bank, Lang port Shropshire Banking Company, Shiffnall Stourbridge and Kidderminster Banking Com pany, Stourbridge Sheffield and Hallamshire Banking Company, Sheffield Sheffield and Rotherham Joint-Stock Banking Company, Sholliold Swaledale and Wensleydale Banking Company, Richmond ..., Storey and Thomas's Banking Company "Shaftesbury Sheffield and Retferd Bank, Sheffield ... Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Banking Com pany, Wolverhampton 33,133 Wakefield and Bar usley Union Bank, Wakefield 12,415 Whitehaven Joint-Stock Banking Company, nitehaven Warwick and LeumiLgtan Banking Company, Warwick West of England kali South Wales District Bank. Bristol • . Wilts and Dor se t B an k ing Company, Salisbury 63,64271,638 West Riding Union Banking Company, Hud dersfield Whitchurch and Ellesmere Banking Company, 30,871 Whitchurch .... ........... . ........................ 3,459 Worcester City and County Banking Company, Worcester , ..................... 4 , 36 8 York Union Banking Company, York ............ 67,740 ,o s rof .. 4 . 183 :21,655 York City and County Banking Company, York 87,870 Bank Returns. Yorkshire Br . kpinzgAsCoNommsrienetyguisLtoraseeej Inland Revenue, LONDON, COUNTY COURTS .. (From the Blackburn Standard.) We mentioned in our last that an order had been issued from the Treasury directing a large reduction in the fees in those courts, and a general expectation prevailed that some public notice would be taken by the Judge of the circumstance. This proved to be correct, for, on taking his seat, his Honour addressed the Court as follows : Since the last sitting of the Court, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has sent for my infor mation and guidance a copy of an order which, by the County Court Extension Act, he was authorised, with the consent of the Lords of the Treasury, to make, al tering the fees to be taken in County Courts. It is diffi cult to suppose that it could have been the real inten tion of the Legislature that the expense of a County Court summons should be greater than that of a Queen's Bench writ; yet such was the legal effect of the last statute with .regard to demands approaching fifty pounds•, the former statute having directed that a pay ment should be made by every plaintiff for a sum ex ceeding forty shillings, of one shilling in the pound of his demand, towards a fund for providing court-houses and offices, and paying the principal and interest of moneys borrowed fur that purpose, and the new Act having declared that the two Acts should be construed as one Act. Some representations were made by the traders of this town, and of Preston and other places, through their representatives in Par liament to the Government upon the subject, and the consequence is that the Secretary of State has, by this new order, directed , that the payment to this fund shall in no case exceeding 201. be greater than thirteen shillings and fuurpeuce; and in cases under that amount shall be reduced from a shilling to eight pence in the pound. Considering how great a discou ragement so large a payment was to parties suing for demands exceeding twenty pounds, one may be more surprised that there were any such suits brought in County Courts, than that their number should be small; there have, however, been some in almost every part of this circuit. The order directs that those parties who have paid more tban twenty shillings to this fund in any case shall nave the surplus returned to them upon application at the clerk's office. The scale of costs under the former Act contained a multiplicity of small charges, and it left room for much difference of opinion as to the amounts properly charge able; so that the sums actually charged varied, not merely between circuit and circuit, but even between the different courts in the same circuit. The only mode by which the majority of the parties could pay was by instalments, and it became necessary for the plaintiffs to inquire from time to time whether the instalments had been paid; to answer such inquiries the clerk had to search the books, and for this search the scale allowed him a fee. This fee was loudly complained of, as if it were charged in every instance, though that was very far from being the case, for many of the clerks charged nothing for searches. Those clerks who were liberal in this respect were confounded with those who were, I will not say rapacious, for they took only what the law awarded, and many of them were miserably paid, but less liberal. The new order removes all cause of com plaint by the suitors on this score, for it directs the clerk to give notice, by a prepaid post etter, of every payment made into court. And as it reduces the number of charges and regulates most of them by a per-tentage on the amount sued for, there will be less, if any, room for differences of charge between one court and another throughout the realm. I apprehend, too, that this mode of charging by a per-centage will be considered more just in itself, and therefore more satisfactory to the par ties who have to pay. The satisfaction given by its application to the duties of customs led, in the last ses sion, to its extension to the duties of stamps, and may be expected to lead to its general application throughout our taxation. The effect of the new order will be that the summons will cost less than it did before, whilst the hearing will cost rather more. And upon t he whole the expense of litigating small demands will be diminished. In an ad dress which I made in this court upon the passing of the Extension Act, explaining its provisions, I remarked that the County Courts were not merely self-supporting, but were contributing a large sum to the public treasury; and I ventured to say I thought it a mean thing for the Government of a great country to be receiving any part of its revenue from the pockets of suitors of County Courts, most of whom were humble, and many necessi tous. In the formation of a new scale I think the Se cretary of State has endeavoured to make them merely self-supporting, without returning a surplus to the Go vernment: his men cf business seem to have taken ears to be on the right side, sad I still expect a surplus. It was no part of the duty of the Secretary of State to abo lish the general fund payment, or the payment exacted for the judge, though the judges are no longer paid by fee:., but by salaries; these are questions for the conside ration of the legislator. I may be excused for saying I can see no reason. if it be proper that the judges of the high courts should be paid their salaries, and have court rooms provided for them at the expense of the public, and not from the pockets of their suitors, who are com paratively rich, why the salaries of the judges of the County Courts and the court-rooms should not be paid and provided at the expense of the public, and not from the pockets of their suitors, who are comparatively poor. If a man have the misfortune to be robbed we do not charge him a per-centage upon the value of the goods stolen, when he comes to prosecute the thief, nor do we fix the amount of that per-centage, so as just to pay the judges, gaolers, and rural police: so far from it, we con sider that he does the State a service by prosecuting, and we pay him the coats of the prosecution. Whilst e acknowl« dge that criminal courts are established, and ought to be maintained for the benefit and a: the expense of society at large, can we say that civil courts are not established. and ought not to be maintained in the saws manner? Does the legal fiction by which prosecutions for wrongs committei, are said to be carried on in the name of the Queen, whilst suits for rights withheld are c aried on in the name of the party, make a real differ ence? Are not civil courts established not so much for the benefit of the few who have the misfortune to require them in their own cases, as fur the many who by reason of their existence, example, and sAlutary action, have no need to apply to thew? If so, ought not these payments by individual suitors for judges' salaries and court-houses to be abolished? The other fees exigible on civil process would be enough to discourage wanton litigation. The man indeed who will not do his neighbour right until he be made to do so by due course of law, has no right to complain if he be made to pay the reasonable costs of the proceedings; and by this argument the high costa of the superior courts are sometimes attempted to be justified by those who are forgetful of the fact that the people who rt quire the coercion of the law are al most always reckless men in embarrassed circumstances, little able to pay the plaintiff his debt, quite unable to pay debt and costs too; so that the payment of the costs in practice falls upon the plaintiffs in most cases in the high courts, and frequently, though not so often, in the County Courts also. We know that up to the end of 1849 one million two hundred and fifty-two thousand and seventeen actions were brought in the County Courts: we do not know how many debts during that time were paid from a con sciousness that if not paid actions might have been brought in the County Court for them; nor how many persons have been restrained from imprudently con tracting debt 4. I fancy I can discover the efficacy of the courts in this respect, especially is regard to young men. By a return recently published, it appears that the number of plaints throughout the realm was, in _ - . 1847 429,215—in this circuit 1848 427,611 do. 1849 395,191 do. The sums sued for were in 1848 sti 1,346,802—in this circuit X 16,333 1849 The number of plaints will be smaller this year, partly because the times are better for the - Working classes, and partly because some of the courts have been to some ex tent paralysed by the abridgment of our power to im prison. I cannot but think that if due consideration had been given to the fact that people are not imprisoned by County Courts for mere indebtedness, but only for fraud, or for that wilful nonpayment, being able to pay, which amounts to misconduct deserving punishment; and that ascertained by a trial before the judge in open court, the imprisonment of such offenders in Houses of Correetion woald not have been objected to. The imprisonments in this circuit were surprisingly few; but being chiefly in the House ( f Correction. were exemplary, and proba bly, on that account, were fe w. Though the actirns during the three ycars were 15,787, the actual imprison ments were only MI; and of these a considerable number were for a day or two only, the parties being let go on payment of the debt, or part of it. The most anxious part of the duty of the judge is the hearing these applications for commitment; that this duty has not been harshly performed in this circuit is proved by the fact that there were only 209 actual im prisonments, though the judge made 627 orders for commitment. The memorial of the Preston traders to the Secretary of State, before alluded to, prayed also for the restora tion of the right of the creditor to imprison his debtor upon mesne process. I have not heard that the Secre tary of State gave them any hopes that this part of their prayer would be granted. The common gaol of this great county being situated within this circuit, I have had to hear the cases of about fifteen hundred insolvent debtors confined in Lancaster Castle; and I am free to own that the present system of insolvency law does give creditors great reason to complain. I think, however, that the remedy is not to be found in any arbitrary power of imprisonment of the debtor at the mere will and pleasure of the creditor; but that imprisonment should be awarded by the impartial judgment of a com petent court, after hearing both parties, or after giving both parties the opportunity of being heard; and when once the sentence was passed, there should b- no power of discharge without payment of the debt, and perhaps not even ou payment of the debt. It would be an irksome duty, arid I know no court on which it could so well be thrown as the County Court of the domicile of the party. Some of the traders' memorials pilsyed for the aboli tion of our system of payments by instalments, or the restriction of it to debts under 20!. I take leave to say that we might as well shut up the County Courts at once as give up the payment by. instalments; the class of persons with whom we chiefly have to do can only pay out of their future earnings. They are, now that wages are high and employment plentiful, gradually rubbing off the debts they contracted during the bad times. Shopkeepers who have debts so contracted, must be con tent to have them so discharged. I concur in the opinion lately expressed by Mr. Jones, the judge of the Garner vonstiiro circuit, who said, "As to the propriety-of the application of the system of paymeneby instalments to sums above 201., some of the judges of the * County Courtin seem inclined to draw a strict line in this respect; but ,after having giTen the subject much consideration, I FRIDAY EVENING, must decline to do so. A man who owes 50/. may re quire time to pay it quite as much as one who owes 20/. A clerk may need a system of instalments ..,uito to the time his salary is paid, as much - as a labourer; the only different is that h itL.—periodicul receipts are larger, but so also may be his debts." A return shows that the greatest number of actions was in the Clerkenwell Circuit, Nu. 42, viz., 14,355: the smallest in the Dorsetshire Circuit, No. 56, viz , 3 ,283. The total money received in all the Courts during the year 14149 was 780,6841. 9s. 3d.: the amount received in this circuit was 11,9801. 16s. Bd. The greatest amount ofsums seed for was in the Wes tminster Circuit, No. 45, viz., 38,541: the smallest in the Nottingham Circuit, No. 18, viz., 10,6841. The judge of the Gloucester Circuit is returned as having sat the greatest number of days, viz., 213: pos. sibly be may not have sat so many different days, but may have held that number of courts,- holding two of the smaller ones in one day. The judge of this circuit sat 183 different days; only one other judge is returned as having sat so often. The judge of the Lambeth Circuit is returned as having sat the fewest days, viz., 67. In two circuits, Manchester and Whitechapel, there were no jury trials; in four other circuits there were altogether thirteen jury trials; but the party demanding the jury did nut get the verdict in any of them. In the adjoining circuit of West Lancashire, No. 5, there was only one jury trial, and the party who de manded it did not obtain a verdict. In this circuit there were ten; the party demanding the jury obtained the verdict in four of them. Throughout the kingdom the parties demanding juries did not obtain verdicts in half the cases. The fewness of the cases in which juries are asked for shows that great confidence is reposed in the judges; and the fewness of the instances in which those who de mand juries obtain verdicts shows that they are ae manded for some cause which is not the justice of the case of the party making the demand. I incline to think that in this circuit they have been asked for more from ignorance than from any other causes. The cases have been generally those where the demand was for un liquidated damages, for which this is a popular mcde of trial, and one in favour with judges, for it relieves them from a troublesome responsibility. The juries consist, not of twelve, but of five persons; and it seems to me that the responsibility is more felt by being less divided; and that the verdicts have been as satisfactory and as much in accordance with the sum mings up of the judge as are the verdicts given at the assizes. The Law Times expresses some surprise that the term should have passed over without a single appeal from a County Court, and infers from thence that the decisions have been more satisfactory than was expected by the London lawyers: there has hitherto been little seed sown, and not time enough for the crop to ripen. The gross reeeipts of eighty-one clerks are returned as under 501 each; three of the gentlemen who act as clerks within this circuit are included in this number; every one of them pays more to his writing clerk than the gross receipts from his office; and yet every one of them attends in person at every court, and maintains a constant supervision of the proceedings of his office. I do not believe that those zealous advocates for economy in public expenditure, Sir Joshua Walmsley or Mr. Cob den, when they were in trade, ever payed the clerks in their countin g -h ouses so poorly as some of the county clerks are paid; or the porters in their warehouses so poorly as some of the high bailiffs. The whole receipts of five of the clerks did not amount to 201. each. In ten of the courts the clerks' receipts were between one and two thousand pounds each, and one court above two thou sand; but upon these courts the Government places its paw, puts the clerks upon salaries of five hundred a year, and takes the surplus. I hear little complaint of this, but surely out of that surplus something might have been allowed to those poor clerks who at the end of each year have been left to calculate their loss and reflect upon their usefulness. Some savers of sixpences have indeed suggested that these courts should be sup pressed; they would, however, find upon inquiry that some of the smallest receipts have been in the largest districts, where the population is spare, and where great inconvenience would be occasioned to the inhabitants by the distances they would be compelled to travel for the trial, and still more for the payment of their small in stalments. It is the boast of the courts that they bring justice home to the doors of the people throughout the length and breadth of the land; that boast would be vain if a po , r man could not walk from his home in the morning, have his cause tried, and walk home again at night; this he can now generally do, but he could not if those courts were suppressed. I say generally, for I have sometimes hadto sit until late hours at night, and have been made to know and feel that the Ten Hours Act does not extend to county judges. These returns are important, not merely as showing the great amount of business done in the County Courts, but as showing how great must have been the practical denial of justice under the system which these courts have superseded; and because they will set men a thinking whether advantage cannot be taken of them in other matters than fifty pound causes; these are subjects to which time will not permit me to advert to-day, but which we may consider upon some future occasion. FRANCE. The - Chambre du Conseil of the tribunal of the Seine on Wednesday decreed that Allais, the police agent of the Assembly, shall be tried by the Tribunal of Correctional Police for having made what the law calls a calumnious denunciation, in connexion with the alleged Bonapartist plot, for the assassination of General Changarnier and the President of the As3em bly. Tile trial will probably commence on the 24th. SPAIN. Madrid journals of the 13th have arrived. The Minis►er of Finance was to bring forward the Budget on the following day. Cabrera, Elio, Gomez, and other Carlist chiefs, are endeavouring to organize an insurrection in Catalonia. The Ministerial journals state the expenditures for 1851 were to be reduced to 1,050 millions of reals ; that ih 1.50 millions less than in 1850. Persons, how ever, believe that the reduction will only figure in the ordinary budget, and that the 150 millions will be transferred to the extraordinary budget. MADRID Bot.ss, Drs 13.—The Three per Cents. were done at 34 15-16 for time ; the Four per Cents. at 12i ; the Five per Cents. at 12i ; the Debt without Interest at 3; ; and the Coupons at 7. GERMANY. Hesse-Cassel will be represented at Dresden by M. Hassenpflug ; the change in the person of the Austrian representative has been already stated ; Count Buol-Schauenstein, who is substituted for M. Werner, is a relative of Baron Meyendorf, the Rus sian Ambassador in Vienna. Count Alvensleben is the Prussian Envoy; M. Von der Pfordten will re• present Bavaria ; M. Von Neurath is mentioned for Wurtemberg, but is not yet formally appointed; M. Von Manteuffel and Prince Schwarzenberg will be present only at the first stage of the proceedings. TURKEY. We have received Constantinople journals to the 4tb. They announce that the Sultan continued to take an active part in the administration of public a ff a irs. They contain nothing to confirm the al leged discovery of a plot for his assassination. The last accounts from Aleppo are to the 23d ult. Tranquillity was perfectly established ; the dis turbances which h a d b een apprehended at Antab,o k e nßr place.; ejik,and other parts of Syria, had n the principal chiefs of the insur rection had been arre s t e d an d sent to Constanti nople. The Journal de C ons t an ti nop l e states t h at t ta e there was no truth in the repOrt that Omer Pacha had been defeated in Bosnia by the insur gents, and compelled to take refuge in the Austrian territory. He, on the contrary, had defeated the rebels wherever he had met with them. The same journal announces that the commission formed of Frenchmen and Turks for the revision of the export and import tariffs between France and Turkey had entirely terminated its labours, and that a new tariff will shortly come into operation. It complains that the branch of the Bank of France at Marseilles had refused to discount the bills drawn by the Bank of Constantinople on its agents. The cholera had broken out at Mecca, and had committed great ravages. The King of Greece having conferred crosses of the Order of the Saviour on the Grand Vizier and other high functionaries, the Sultan had sent thnNichan Iltihar in brilliants to all the Greek Ministers, to the King's aide-de-camp, and other persons. GREECE. Athens journals of the Bth have arrived. The Senate presented an address to the Queen in reply to the speech from the throne. The Courrier complains that the Chamber of Deputies in its sit ting of the 24 had declared valid 25 elections without the slightest• examination, although some of them were notoriously illegal, and in others the deputies had not attained the age required by law. ITALY. We learn fratu the Risorgimento of Turin of the 14th that the editor of the journal of the Papal party, La Carnpana, was condemned on the 11th by the Court of Appeal to a year's imprisonment and 2,000". fine for three articles, constituting an offence against the tiered person of the King, the jury having been unanimous in its verdict of guilty. POST-OFFICE NOTICE. ESTABLISHMENT OF STEAM COMMUNICA- `PION WITH BRAZIL Her Majesty's Government have concluded a contract with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company for the conveyance, by steam-packets, of the mails between this country and The - first packet under this contract will leave Southampton on the 9th January nexr, after the arrival at that place of the day mail from London, and the ser vice will thenceforward be c,ntinued by packets sailing from Southampton monthly and calling at Lisbon, Ma deira, Teneritie, St. Vincent (Cape de Verdi), Pernam buco, and Bahia, on the route to Rio de Janeiro. A branch steam-packet will proceed, on the arrival at Rio Janeiro of the packet from England, to Monte Video and Buenos Ayres. The mails for Brazil and the other places mentioned will be made up iu Loden on the morning of the 9th of each cuot,th, exc• pt when the 9th happen, to fall on a Sunda), when the mails will be made up and dispatched from London on the morn❑g of the following day. DECEMBER 2O, 1850. As the new line of packets established between this country and the Cape of Good Hope, as a ell as thf-se .packets, will touch at the Cape de Verd Islsnds, the letters and newspapers for those islands will be for warded by either lice of packets, according to the time such letters, &c., may be posted. The rates of pstage upon letters and newspapers forwarded by these packets will be the same as are at present chargeable to the respective places, viz.:— Rio de Janeiro, letters not exceeding hall an ounce, 21. 91; newspapers, free. Teneriffe, letters not exceeding half an ounce, ls. 10i.; newspapers, 2d. . - Bahia, letters not exceeding half an ounce, 2s. 9d.; newspapers, free. LitibOn, letters not exceeding half an ounce, Is. 9d. newspapers, 2d. Vincont (Cape de Verds), letters not exceeding half an ounce, Is. 10d.; newspapers, 2d. Monte Video, letters not exceeding half an ounce, 2s. 7d.) newspapers, free. Madeira, letters not exceeding half an ounce, Is. 10d.; newspapers, 2d. Pein - ambuco, letters not exceeding half an ounce, 2s, 9d.; newspapers, free. Buenos Ayres. letters not exceeding half an ounce, 2s. 7d ; newspapers, free. _ Postmasters will bear in mind that letters, &c., in tended to be transmitted by the Brazil packets must in future be sent to London instead of to Falmouth as heretofore. LAW NOTICES. QUEEN'S BENCH. Sittings appointA to be held in Middlesex and Lon don, before the Right Hon. JOHN Lord CAMPBELL, Lord CIAO Justice of her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench, in and after Hilary Term, 1851. Middlesex—ln Tern. First Sitting—Monday, January 13, and following days, at eleven o'clock. Second Sitting—Thursday, January 16, and subse quent days, at eleven o'clock. Third Sitting—Wednesday, January 29, at half-past nine o'clock precisely, tor undefended causes only. Sitting after term, Saturday, February 1, at half-past nine o'clock. London—ln Term. Sitting at ten o'clock, Thursday, January 30, for un defended causes and such causes as are tried in Middle sex after term, with judgment of the term. After term, Monday, February 3, to adjourn. A list of causes will be printed immediately, but on the uncontradicted statement on either side that a cause is too long to be tried in term, it wilt be withdrawn from such list, and a small number of completed and new causes will be put into the list day by day in their usual order. N.B. The hours of attendance at the Marshal's office of this court will in future be from eleven till five dur ing term and sittings, instead of from eleven to two and six to eight. EXCHEQUER OF PLEAS. Sittings in Nisi Prins in Middlesex and London, be fore the Right Hon. Sir FREDERICK POLLOCK, Knight, Lord Chief Baron of her Majesty's Court of Exohequer, in and after Hilary Term, 1851. IN TERN. IN MIDDLESEX. IN LONDON. Ist Sitting. Mon., Jan. 13 Ist Sitting ... Sat., Jan. 18 2d Sitting „ „20 2d Sitting ... „ „25 3d Sitting ... „ „ 27 AFTER `TERM. Saturday., Feb. 1 I Monday (to adjourn only) Feb. 3. The Court will sit in Middlesex, at Nisi Prius in term, by adjournment from day to day, until the causes entered for the respective Middlesex Sittings are dis posed of. - The Court will sit during and after term at ten o'clock. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. Dec. 19. (Nisi Prius Sittings for Middlesex, bef ire Lord Cbiel Justice JERVIS and a Special Jury.) COLLIN/ V. LORD ALBERT CONYINGHAM. _ This was an action against the defendant, as managing committeeman of a proposed company, entitled the Dover and Deal Railway and Cinque Ports Coast Junction Company, to recover 110 L, which had been paid by the plaintiff, who is M.P. for Warwick, upon shares allotted to him in the company, Of which he had been a provi sional committeeman. Mr. Crowder, Mr. Sergeant Byles, and Mr. Ball were counsel for the plaintiff ; and the Solicitor-General and Mr. T. Jones fur the defendant. The company was projected by two solicitors named Hook and Thompson, and was provisionally registered on the 3d of Oct - iber, 1845. On the 24th of October it was resolved that the company should be considered as established from the 3d of October. The defendant (now Londesborough) became a member of the previ sional committee, and attended their meetings for the first time on the Ist of November. At that meeting the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting of the 94th October were read over and confirmed, and the defendant and other gentlemen were appointed a committee of management. At a subsequent meeting the defendant and other gentlemen were appointed a deputation to wait on the directors of the South-Eastern Railway Company; and at another meeting, a few days later, It was resolved that shares should be forthwith allotted. On 24th January, 1846, a report of the negotiation with the South-Eastern Railway Company was read, and the secretary was directed to send the following circular to the allottet4:— " Dover and Deal Railway, 7, Coleman-street, January 21, 1850. " Sir,—la forwarding you the accompanying letter of allotment the directors desire to explain that they have delayed issuing any shares until the standing orders of b ith Roust-s of Parliament had been complied with, and certain arrangements entered into with the South- Eastern Railway CumpAny had been brought to a con clusion. The directors have now the greatest satisfaction in stating that arrangements with the South-Eastern Rail way Company have been concluded, and they are fully justified in asserting that the company will be placed in such a position as to ensure its proprietary against loss, &c., in the event of the parsing of the, Bill. Shares in the South-Eastern Railway will ba allotted to the pro prietors in lieu of stock in this company. " The directors, in making this announcement, feel that the affairs of the company, as now settled, are on such a basis as to secure important advantages to its proprietors, and to warrant the directors in proceeding to Parliarn ,, nt with the undertaking, with every expec tation of success. " In th• event of the Act not being obtained the direc tors undertake to return the whole of the deposits with out deductions. "By order, "G. T. THOMPSON, Joint Solicitors." The defendant attended several other meetings of the committee during the progress of the Bill, which passed the Standing Orders Committee, but was thrown out by the House of Commons. The plaintiff had a hundred shares allotted to him, in February, 1846, and paid 210/. upon them, but never executed the Parliamentary con tract; 100/. was returned to him after the project was abandoned. After the plaintiff had commenced his action for the balance, the affairs of the company were placed under the direction of the Court of Chancery, under the Winding-up Act, and the Master placed the plaintiff's name on the list of eontributories. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE directed the jury that, in accordance with recently decided cases, the plaintiff was entitled to recover, and, accordingly, they returned a verdict for the plaintiff—Damages, 110/. COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Dec. 19. ;Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Guildhall, before the LORD CHIEF BARON and a Special Jury.) BIRCHALL AND ♦NOTHER V. GENERAL STEAD[ NAVIGA- TION COMPANY. This was an action to recover damages for an alleged breach of contract. Mr. Crowder, Mr. H. Hill, and Mr. Unthank appeared for the plaintiffs, and Sir F. Thesiger and Mr. Knowles for the company. Mr. CROWDER, in stating the case to the jury, said the plaintiffs, Messrs. Birch%ll, were wool merchants at Leeds, and they brought this action to recover 5781. 13s. id., being the balance of the amount of value of 42 bales o wool which the General Steam Navigation Com pany had agreed to convey to Hull, but which were de. stroyed by fire in consequence of not performing their contract. It appeared that on the 17th of September, 1849, a sale of wool took place at the Hall of Commerce, at which a broker named Buckler purchased 42 bales for the plaintiffs, for 7261. 12g. 7d. The conditions of the sale were, that the goods should be paid for at the end of fourteen days from the time of purchase ; three days' " grace," however, were allowed beyond the fourteen days by the proprietors of the warehouses or docks where the goods were deposited, and if they were not conveyed away by the expiration of that period, all risk, as well as charge for rent, fell upon the buyer. When the wool was purchased it was lying in the warehouse of Messrs. Gooch and Consent, ac 65, London-wall. The fourteen days and the three days' grace expired on the 4th of October, and on that day Buckler went to the office of the Steam Navigation Company, and made arrangements for the conveyance of the wool. He gave the delivery order to a person in the office, who undertook to dispatch the goods on the following day by one of the company's boats. That promise was, however, not kept. On the night of the 6th of October a dreadful fire took place in London-wall, destroying property to the value of more than 170,0001., and among other premises, those of Messrs. Gooch and Comma. The wool was burnt in the flames, with the exception of a small quantity, which was deducted as salvage from the original cost. The Learned Counsel contended that undor these circumstances the defendants ought to bear the loss, as the goods would not have been destroyed had they fulfilled their contract to re move them from the warehouse at the time specified. The CHIEF BARON wished to know whether the Learned Counsel could refer to any authorities, es this appeared to him to be an action of a very novel character. Mr. CROWDER replied that he was not prepared with any particular authoriqe-, but he apprehended there was a good ground of action. The CHIEF BARON said he knew no one instance in which a loss of this description had been recovered under such a contract. Could it be said if a man was injured by another, and prevented attending the death bed of a relative, who, in consequence, cuts him out of his will with a shilling, that the individual so injured could recover the loss he had sustained ? The fire by which the property was destroyed was not an ordi- . nary, natural, or. legitimate consequence of the breach of contract, and therefor- the deem - 14145, in his opinion, could not be held respons , ble for the loss. Several witnesses were cailed, who proved the facts detailed above. Sir FREDERICK► THESIGER was about to address the jury, yvtiti The CHIRP BARON told the jury he wasp of opinion that, under th,e contract, the plaintiffs could only recover nominal damages, as the lo,s sustained arose from a purely accide,:tal circumstance, which no party could reasonably anticipate or foresee. There wig simply a breach of contract in not retaoving the goods at the specified time, and under the circumstances he should direct them to find a verdiat for the plaintiffs with the nominal damages of - - I'he jury accordingly returned a verdict for the plain tiffs—Damages h. Mr. CROWDER tendered a bill of exceptions to the Learned Judge's summing up. His LORDSHIP refused to certify for costs, observing that he would not encourage speculative actions in the superior courts. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. NORTH I:, RN RC U IT. York, Dec. 18. (Before Mr. Baron MARTIN.) James Cratty, William Higgins, Michael Cantwell, and Edward Hogan, were indicted tor the wilful murder of James Reodes, at Leeds, on the 16th November. Mr. Hall, Mr. Overend, and Mr. Hardy were for the prosecution. Mr. Dearsley defended Cantwell; Mr. Digby Seymour appeared (or Cratty and Higgins. The fourth prisoner was undefended. It appeared that on Saturday evening, the 16th of No vember, there was a disturbance between the Irish and the English living in that quarter of Leeds were the station of the Leeds and Selby Railway is situated. The deceased was seen to leave the Greyhound Inn with his son, a boy ten years old, and as he was pros - eding down Shannon-street, opposite the Horse and Jockey Inn, where a large mob then were in an excited state, three or four men rushed at the deceased, Higgins and Cratty being two of them, when one of them struck him with a brick on the side of the head, which caused the injuries from which he died three days after wards. According to the evidence of the little boy, and one of the witnesses for the prosecution, who saw the blow struck, and who went immediately to the assistance of Rhodes, no other blow was struck but that from the brick; but a young woman named Mary Ann Ward said that she had seen the prisoner Cantwell strike the deceased with a poker, and saw another man jump upon him while he was on the ground. There was considerable discrepancy in the statements of the wit nesses as to the part taken by the several prisoners in the disturbance; and it was conceded by the prosecution that the prisoners had entertained no ill-will towards the deceased, and had attacked him o❑ the supposition that he was ore of the adverse party. After the trial had lasted several hours, it was arranged by counsel, with the approbation of the Judge, that Cratty and Hig gins should plead guilty to a charge of manslaughter; that Cantwell and Hogan should he acquitted; and that the whole of the prisoners, with several other Irishmen, should plead guilty to another indictment for a riot. George Houlton was indicted for having, on the night of the 20th Oct., at Thoragurnbald, iu the East Riding, feloniously set fire to a stack of wheat and a stack of straw, the property of Henry Cautley. Mr. Dearsley was for the prosecution. The prisoner, a gentlemanly looking man, &gut 43, by profession a surgeon, conducted his own defence. The evidence against the prisoner was entirely cir cumstantial, and the counsel for the prosecution sug gested that probably the jury, when they heard the case, would be obliged to acquit the prisoner on the ground of insanity. Before the fire, the prisoner was seen on a road near the house of the prosecutor, and was heard to say, " I will put the farmers to rights; you old Burnham, I'll put you right." It was proved that he must have loitered some hours on the road to Hull about the time of the fire; and when he was appre hended he had some matches in his pocket. The pri soner had gone into a cottage and killed a cat and three kittens. He placed the cat in a hamper, and put the three dead kittens in a row, and then walked away. In cross-examining one of the witnesses, which he did with remarkable acuteness and composure, he asked, had the witness heard him whistle anything like this (putting his finger in his mouth and making the court ring), or like this (whistling with considerable correctness a military tattoo, to the astonishment of a crowded court)? Tiie prisoner then addressed the jury. He said—" I hope, gentlemen of the jury, that you will make allow ance for me under the painful circumstances in which "I stand. I hope that your passage through life has been smooth. When I see you, my Lord, sitting there, I see your's has been fortunate. As for mine it has been chequered by many misfortunes, so that I might say with the Ghost in Hamlet— I could a tale unfold, Whose lightest word would harrow up the soul, And make your hair to stand on end Like quills upon the fretful porcupine!' Clouds of darkness have hung over me, and if a gleam of sunshine came it soon passed away. My life has been a romance, and perhaps it may some day appear as such. But, gentlemen of the jury (continued the prisoner, bursting into tears), I feel a great difficulty in making an extemporaneous address to you, although I have been a public speaker both on and off the stage; but I appeal to you to give me that fair trial that every Englishman' is entitled to." The prisoner then asked for a copy of the plan, and inviting the attention of the Learned Judge to it, process:led to trace upon it his perambulations on the night of the fire. He asked, was it extraordinary that he should have been out that night, not at an unreasonable hoar, when he belonged to a pro fession in which a man was liable to be called up by every old woman whose great toe ached? And here the prisoner said he would take the point that he was nut George Houlton, as people supposed, and under which ❑ame he had been indtctrd. G-orge Houlton was his half-brother, and his (the prisoner's) right name was Julien Marie Gravick. Again, it was said that he was excited when he was seen on the road. The truth was, tha he had just heard a report that his father, who lived at a short distance. was in a d)ing state. lie was hur rying to see him, and therefore appeared perhaps agi. tated, but he hoped not excited. The priattner then pro ceeded to say that when in Hungary he had brcome acquainted with the habits of the gipsies, and then began to state with great particularity his proceedings respect ing an old teapot, a German pipe, and some stones, which he said he had disposed of, so as to put the gipsies off the scent. An observation which I made befire the magistrate (he continued), has been brought up as evi dence of my guilt. I said that the fire was a glorious sight—and it was a glorious sight. The brraking out of the lurid cloud and the body of flame in the light while a cloud was passing over the moon was a most striking scene. It was grand; I never saw anything equal to it except the burning of a man-of-war in Russia, which was set on fire for the purpose of being painted. Mr. Baron MARTIN here interposed, and after confe rence with Mr. llearsley, and consultation with Mr. Jus tice Pattesou, his Lordship directed an acquittal on the ground that there was not sufficient evidence to prove that the prisoner was the author of the fire. The prisoner was then arraigned on another charge of arson, and the jury found that he was not in a fit state of mind to take his trial, and the Learned Judge said that he should be dealt with according to 39 and 40 George 111., c. 94, sec. 2. The prisoner exclaimed, " That imputation upon me is worse than the crime of which I have been acquitted." He was then removed. - - POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MARLBOROUGH-STREET. Joseph Hewett was brought before Mr. Bingham, charged with having created a disturbance at N 0.33, Hill -street, the residence of the Earl of Stamford, and also with having attempted to force open the door of the carriage for the purpose of serving the Countess of Stamford with a subpoena. The Earl of Stamford stated that about three o'clock that day, as the carriage was at the door of his resi dence, the defendant and another person came forward and attempted forcibly to open the carriage door. The defendant had a writ or a subpoena in his hand. He in terposed and pushed him back. The carriage drove off, and he walked towards Piccadilly followed by the defen dant. Meeting with a police-constable near the Bur lington. arcade he gave him into custody. A footman corroborated this statement, and was cer tain that the defendant laid his hand on bis Lordship's shoulder. Police-constable Petch, C 136, said, when he took the defendant into custody, the defendant said he had only acted according to his instructions. Mr. BINGHAM asked the defendant what he had to say? Defendant—l bad a subpona to serve on the Countess, and I only endeavoured to serve it when I saw her Ladyship in the carriage. Mr. BixaHAM—Oat of what court was the subparia? Defendant—l don't know; I was only acting under in structions. Mr. BINGHAM—Who gave you those instructions? Defendant —Mr. Holt, solicitor, of Chatham-place. He will be here directly. Mr. BINGHAM—Did Mr. llolt give you instructions to open the carriage door against the will of parties inside? Defendant—l did not open the door; they were too quick for me. In a short time Mr. Holt entered the court and an nounced himself. Be said the defendant had been em ployed by him to serve a subpoena on the Countess of Stamford from the Court of Chancery, to give evidence in a matter to which he would not then further allude. Mr. BINGHAM asked if the Court had given no special directions abuut the time and place when the subpasua should be served? Mr. Holt said there, were no directions beyond that it should be served within a month. Lord Stamford said this was not correct. Mr. Holt said his messenger had acted only with that seal with which persons in his situation would act when they had a party to servo who was reluctant to be served.. Mr. BINGHAM said he did not think Mr. Holt would say that it was a proper way to serve a subpoena to lay hold of his Lordship's shoulder, and to endeavour to force open the carriage-door. Arr. Holt had no wish to resort to such proceedin,s, but her Ladyship had already refused to at'end to one subpoena that had been served on her. Mr. BINGHAM asked if throwing the subpoena into the carriage would not have sufficed? Mr. Holt said it would. lie very much regretted the matter having been attended with unpleasant circum stances to his Lordship. Lord S t amford was sorry he had not horsewhipped both the men. Mr.. BINGHAM considered that the case was one which did not require, under the circumstances, to be dealt with v ery severely. He thought his Lordship would be satis fied with the explanation that had been offered, and he should, therefore, only require the defendant to enter into his own recognizance, without lees, to keep the peace for three months. Mr. Holt asked Lord Stamford if he would accept service on behalf of his lady, and that would (nd all further annoyance? Lord Stamford replied—Decidedly not. WORSHIP-STREET. John Schroeder, a .4,3 di - I It ••.Ig<?d tn.n of re.pectable appearaiice, who statiA hullseit to be a boot naseult c .: turer, New-si.reet, Stliney, was chatreed before .00. Harrintnil, ueder,the following ,'is . raceful circumstanc es: Police -constable Taylor. R 334, stated that for some time past repeated complaints having been lodged at the etstiote house respecting the disgusting practices of well-dressed man, who was in the habit of waylayi n g the wives and daughters of rt,pectable rsons residing in the neighbourhood o f Bow, and subje r cting the best grass acts of outrage, he was directed to use his efforts for the detection of the deliequent, and labi le .0 occupied about one o'clock that day, his attention Whese attracted to the prisoner, who was loitering abut e t i d, corner of a lane leadin to the Roman-road at arid He placed himself under cover at a short distance , - d after a brief interval two young girls, whom ba t the spot p. eviously seen proceeding in the direction of where the prisoner was standing, hastily returned.; great terror and agitation, and communieated in 13 _, such particulars that he immediately accompanied t to the place, where he found the accused l e aningeg li ! s s his drr b s e some wooden palings, with the lower part of in a very disordered state, and he intimated rne t die . must take him into custody. The prisoner, who to Old For played considerable excitement, begged that be e l° 0 spare hi m th e di sgrace atten di ng a pu bli c e xposure y il ° l . such a charge, as he was a married man, and r d ways held a respectable position in society. but be no direct answer to the accusation, and was aeon' conveyed to the station-house. s idieg Two respectable and modest-looking with • their parents at Old Ford, were then extbointii,if and proved that while passing down the lane en,.leod way to school at the time in question, the prison e ' d denly advanced into the middle of the pathweh 'Theo). liberately exposed himself immediately in front ' A t te j n e and both the witnesses added that he had c° ''' ac r himself in a similar manner towards them on sw vious occasions. si roo t, Ott being called upon for his defence girls. re . the Fri g aft , r some hesitation, declared that he was untorlUna area afflicted with extreme deafness , and that he 13 ,1; 1 0. heard a single word that hail been alleged a. ei"'" he p The constable engaged in the case said that t iwi r di goner could only have been very recently atteea e e ase of the infirmity of which h e com pl a i n ed, se his 6 1 %04 hearing appeared wholly unimpaired at the time '' s tssl addr,ssi , d him, and when the charge was ente red eg him at the station-hous e . re.‘ The evidence of the wit n e sses w as, howeve r '- - ' t ee o r ne te d , ste over in a loud tone of vo i ce by Mr. Elurlst seco,cl clerk; in reply t o w hi c h th e prisoner p 0. 0 1 his innocence, and m en t e ned the names of lootted highly respectable pers ons w h o were closely ch er _ -re. with him by the times of relationship incapable o f such .Ur di 4iece ful conduct as had been imputed ei hint. oelo a Mr. flasiseux said that he c,:nsidered the ne n b• been clesrly established, and or d er ed the prison s rogue e,temitted for the full ter m o f th ree montba, e s 8 and vagabond, to the House of Correction. • SOUTHWARK. Catherine Callaghan, old l Irish w° o° ' If ' s ; at b on r o (til u eh g sit h : t owy b before at an nx r . A t ixgh ' B ui br e ei e ta k io e on t; nm e e h ta r h a r he y n g iN e n d ge w, w_ t i ; t h ec a t o., e E n r I h e t e r i ife Mrs. Mary Pollard stared that she was the °. edi t mau great exhibition number of oof wax - works figur e in h n tthheeNreowoul end 03 " of Manning, the murderer, and his wife. On the Pr e- o tbet aternoon, the defendant, accompanied by t w° - and females younger than herself, visited the exhibili°%, to on walking round the room, when they came O PP ° A .: I fad the figures of Manning and his wife, they Bl it " - it s ivat stop,shameful and in a loud t 'lie of voice exclaimed that ete of the owner to place one of tbe " elar,FY„ si re tween two murderers. The defendant and P e l t i rsa friends became so clamo - ous on the subjeet w t o h u id t ts s i t a e t i ; a a t length found necessary to request they to any admonition, and not annoy the company, but they refused ol d her self prominent in the affair, exclaimed that 6be h p s oall ni not leave the room until she had smashed Ibe logo. and the defendant, vrho rend ere bo old h re the obnoxious figures. She then pulled offone -e 40 04 and was in the act of carryin out her threat by B h ", at. at Manning ' s figure, g when the WW I 11 bi n et a blow tends in the room to describe the exhibition ealibfiger° bt e i _ eroe if arm at the moment, and by that means saved from being destroyed. The defendant, were tabnnoees 0-% foiled in the attempt, then threw thefilelloigngt?essuri: Manning but in this wilful act she also prove „ a ria cesaful. As it was evident the defendant was isw-ooisP under the influence of liquor, she was, after sign e t , oar ante, expelled from the exhibition, and given !„cliely t9d y. The complainant a dd e d that she bad 0° '" a ,e t e e Lion to press any charge a gainst tbe defendant' i n ber figures of the two me t prominent charadehiloofea' exhibition a were saved from destruction, and . 1 , 6 "„ e tid °ll. ant) had suffered a night's incareeration in . house for her extraordinary c onduct o n the eees it . i b i n bitil Mr. A'BEciierr said that the owner of th e ! %one t) ' was wrong in permitting a person under the Me re air liquor to enter a room in which wax works ire played, and which were so easily d es troyed. door ' 1 " Mrs. Potter said that she attended se th e d bet money-taker, and that when the defendant 11/3 , 0 tha t friends presented themselves, she did not pa ne : be liela they were inebriated ; but so on bad reason t° 0 00 otherwise, from the language used, sad the di ir sP ogsre 4 shown by the defendant to damage the W° which were so offensive to her sight. . / a fee The defendant begged to be allowed i () ; P i e .; words before she quitted the bar; and bev' f ''' "" mission, she then explained that what had exci m a tthevt.;„ r oioe . indignation was, on bekilding Father them ost a` 9 ' o - 0 3 a ti good man, placed between two of murderers; and that, in the heiht of pasiOnsh/ eith er insult on religion, she scarcely knew w hat 9-6 said or did on the occasion. A'BECLETT Ipiof „a r 4 to M be r. acli Father Matthew, o f reePon tbs wislied it to be thought that it was out attack () id oofr his character that she made the two wax figures on each side of him. He sh future to discharge her, and would recommend her in beware oF getting into a similar dilemmas. Mae The dwanchnt said she snould attend to tu s ! fro o trate's advice, the defe daahnhtotitgihn b a eoc r to foo o r having suffered a night's s e P 9"ll° od her family, on account of what had happened; eO4l big made a curtsey, she q iitted the cour t wit h fj th e d - o' her friends, who seemed very much interes.te proceedings. MA RK RAILWAY SHARE MAR.l4—°' # 6 , (10 ' BRISTOL Dec. 19. af.r. ~.• -..../ SToot EXCHANGE.—The market was very act" 'IP. and remains firm, with a conside able business d0i°13 .... ' areio transactions were as follow: - Bristol and Exeter, 7° Western, 78—Ditto, 17/. Shares, 3 15-16 die. Li yh j a) i s ,$. Div:. 19. We ° itoolidoawy:,—anßdirpkreincheseanda,v Lancashire,improved.niers _.. 8 0 , 0 1 Srocx ExcrtAnox.—The share market was B.), 221. Shares, 6% dis.—Caledonian, ,10%Ct1e5t,..,9101 Yorkshire, Consolidated, Holyhead, Preference, guaranteed 5 1 :, per cent-, 11 4 0 0 Lancashire, 13—Great Northern, 171Lancaelr6 dis! anThd eChtreanshsiarect(ltseTlllllo4 58 3 / 4 —Ditto, Fifths, 7 1-1 127 1 ,i ' Leeds and Thirak, 15—London and North- Westera,.l6 p.' Ditto, New Quarters, 44. p. -Ditto, Fifths, 5 , 3 ;ft0 , 175 Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire,7s4---- dio. ference, 10 3 4—Midland, 48% —Ditto, Halves, l'i'' IPI North British, 9A, --Reading, Guildford, and Reigste'oed St. Helen's (Railway and Canal), Preference, gag ll ) 3 44 1 1 t, lEspaneharrsdot:Cp2ersnn4h—ti.ra,eDndlutt4Den—hioovßSnehhr(,reeßn2wias3s?-4aryy:_odaanrinekdd: Newcastle, r nw n a l cl i ss) n , Preference (unpaid up), 3 5-16 die—York but there EXCHABNGIRIC.SI—The n, 9 ,t . 50 act rr il h e e t / A 4 l: there was no important alteration in prices. .."'" 9d. u% .... act o io x n f s or r d e , p w or o te re d es w te err,ea—Oxford, Staffordshire, 84 ~..5 .. ..0fii l and Birmingham (A) Staffordshire, 3' die. A --------• , 51A Wdi°3l.v—erDhaitilltoPrll3s,26o.4ll6.";°°gl SEABOUNE MAILS .siteli het nt - When made up in Front If,. de e. PLACES. General Post-office Por t dw- ........,..," Africa (West coast).. ....• b b y y British Britisb packet).. ..... America (via N. York London. Pam seeool •• • 1411. January 3 .. • • I DS , 9 America (via Boston ~ pec. e ....*: December 20 LIT'"-- America (by United Brazil States packet) .. • • M •SouthainP I.„,te l''''' 4 6 Belgium . , • • • • 1,,T I D a y . • .. •• ; poyer :: pec. , I• ;} December 20 i IbrjiivveerrP°°Pl .8 :• I Mrirc. Buenos Ayres .. .. 31 9th of the month Soathatill,;.loo.,o California(viaChagres)M 17th of month 6 " tba rth 9 5 0 piyeri e,..._• • Dec . _ o p • • • • .. 311th of the month SeuthitoW:. Dec.! Cape of Good Hope N January 14 Central America .. 31 ld & 17th of month so So u u t ttr op P . t t. : L 'l ;e • . 1. 60, ; ii : it Channel. Isles l: • • .. N Mon ., Wed , & Fri. 31 17th of the mouth SouthamPt. reeicep .... M . & N Twice daily . lll H roe a ll m laari b id u td rgh .... ...... M .. 5, .. Nii N TTwwueeidscndeesady..&ils:F.sr:aidtua.l.r: Loud on ~.. 5 : 1 0 . % is Honduras .. .. . N 17th of the Mont . ! i S i ° o t l y til h a e rn 'ea P :• • • i c li ee ice :r India (via Southamp.) M 20th of the month SouthanaP... An......J India ( via Marseilles) N 7 th& 24th of month Dover Pwweeerusstt lin.ddire.s. Zceii Madeira • . .. .. N -- - 2$ Mediterranean (via South Pt' Dec. Southampton) .. M 20th of the month ,Sou - 3 51 editerrsnean (via • I 1 1 1n• Marseilles) . - .. N 7th& 24 th ofmonth Dover Mediterranean • (by ...• French packet via 5 Marseilles) .. •• 31 2d of the --- Js l/ ' 26 Mexico . • • • • Peninsular seutliaoP: Dee. 0 SouhaMp. ___. 2 • • • • 31 7th,l7th,27thofmo southaT l t t : ot io' c. 20 Havanna & Nassau) 51 2d of seutils wi 5 3 31 1 1 1177tthh of the the month t. J sn. 00 the month ..., Herist e the month soutiom rot.o fil N signifies that the by the night—and M by I2d of the month •• malls are sent front the morning --lisps SoUthitrriPt• 11°1'5.40 1 the General roo--- itch. Irv, IS n v TO 7_, The Duke of R o d A nd we are " I L' j f er curr in the enjoyment o f exce ll e nt heal iiIRTILS lis tliel°,,,, OF A 80N. On thelth p i i n g s o t t . : a ß t er b t l . r Ltapn:Paddocks, su i° ' sti'' of Sir Robert On the leth inst . the wife of R hfus6 l.3ve ' Touriu, county of Waterford. Richard Tw i t :lßV!: op A DA VG H T 0 0,• . ni uel Ll' . ' LAO/ On the 14th inst.. in the Strand, Mrs' ,-°.. str eet, t he On the lith inst., in Lower Broo,' Wodehouse --- - —- CO T° l lei M A RR lED. On the 18th inst , at St. George's, lianover-squgrtiot 1: Pantry. ethys Perry , of the 31st Regiment of a r ci t . r „ Bs tain f' to Ida Sophia, eldest daughter ot ' r Parlby, 11°3 , 41 Navy. • DIED Esoq.not,fheßlia3n!hdfoirndsit.boartsTetosrhqiurea.y, aged 31, Fracci i sElliti : On the 15th inst., at Becding Priory , agg d 4 Anna Matilda, wife of the Rev. W. P•. 1 ulton- pci' e , rathAolfo, ON On the 17th inst., aged 71, Thomas J. '• Bedford-place, Russell• square, and Althorni, s ' se d o. years Assistant Tithe Commiisioner._ _, e . o f 'l l3° ' On the 14th inst , at Edinburgh, Margaret% If"' - Ogilvy, E N ., o f c' orr • - - -;' pi _,..., unony. .- -" ' 010 6 1 L .Idon . Print - id aid 1561ii1ied301.0P,P2,.C.: P i l i Sussed► of No. ' l 2, Strand, Printhr,'af ' ?lie Six ' tr`""-'OOO - in the Precinct of the Savoy, is the Middlesex, Friday, December 20, Isso. 1 L )lel t ef t. de' ;,1 . t t St h e ° ft 1 s / FU 1, * ot 1. ti t' e e )t tit, ttl t? r , ll . 1 1 ar t , Da .1. et? cu I Old a~n/It DT . i ch _ s , l 14 ot 'Ankh 1.24 4151 t eas .vxE , on tlig4, It „. The ” f4ll r rolicutc VOT. m teg pi