The Express.
London, England, 1848-06-30 00:00:00

COURT OF EXCHEQUER.

Nisi POI., at Westminater.—Benire the Lord Chief Baron and a
genial Jury.
BOONEY C. PORDAT.—eOI.I'IOOIIT OP LA SONNAM-
ISULA."—This was an action on the cue, in which the
plaintiff was Mr. Boost!, musical publisher of Oxford-street,
and the defendant Mr. Funky, the musieseller.—Mr.
Bovill (with whnm were Mr. Webster and Mr. Henniker)
stated the case for the plaintiff, from which it appeared that
in the month of February, 1831, Signor Militia, the com-
poser, luesitnied the copytight of the opera of La Sonnam-
Lula" to the managers of the San Carlos Theatre at Milan,
and in the mouth of June following to Iticordi of Milan, the
publisher, by whom the copyright was subsequently assigned
to a publisher in Paris, and also to Mr. Boost y, the plaintiff
in the present action. The defendant, it was contended, had
infringed the copyright in two we).: first, by the publica-
tion of one of the favourite airs of the op, ra ender a different
name, but which the loomed counsel c intended was
identical with the original; and, secondly, by the
importation, in contravention of the Copyright Act,
of cheap copies of the entire opera, published at
Leipsig. The care was partly heard on Wednesday,
when a number of witnesses, Englishmen and foreigners,
were called in support of the plaintiff's case. It was shown
in the course of evidence that the copyright had been regis-
tered at Stationers'-hall; but the Attorney-General, with
whom was Mr. Crompton, raised a point for the deicndant
whether a foreigner could possess the copyright in this
country ; and nos having it consequently he could not assign
it. The ease was concluded yesterday.—The Chief Baron
was of opinion according to the evidence that the plaintiff
was not the proprietor of the open within the meaning of
the statute, and that there was no subsisting copyright in
England. Ultimately a verdict was taken by consent for
the plaintiff as to the infringement of the duct, and for the
defendant on the issue as to the infringement is the impor-
tation of the opera.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
Before Mr. Comma...loner Uotißairn.
EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDING lIY A ISANXRUPT.—In
the case of Edward John Jones, engineer, of Upper Char-
lotte-street, the commissioner said the bankrupt had taken
the extraordinary course of addressing to him a private letter
with the view of showing that he had moved in a respect.
able sphere, and mingled on terms of intimacy with indivi-
duals of rank and station. This was not only a breach of
etiquette, but of something much worse, and the babletupt,
if a person such as he pretended to be, ought to have known
that to address a letter to a judge pending legal proceedings
was a most irregular and improper course. The bankrupt,
who bad been formerly engag'd in business am a sculptor,
had come to this court on his own petition on the 11th of
March, not for the purpose of distributing any assets, but
solely to obtain protection. He now came up for his last
examination, prAlucing an account which was wholly guess
work:- This was no censure on the accountant, who could
only work on the materials placed before him. The bank-
rupt's accounts eommenc,d in October, 1b38; he was then an
engineer, having only commenced so sculptor in 1844. His
accounts during that period were taken at mcond-hand from
aMr Sampson, who had swept off all the bankrupt's
property under an execution. From 1843 downwards,
while carrying on the trade of sculptor, the only thing in
the shape of an account war a paper made out in October,
1817, from which it would appear that he had made a con-
siderable profit. How this had been expended it was im-
possible to tell ; and accordingly the accountant had been
compelled to put down a sum of above 3,0001. as " cash for
sundry disbursements during this period." If the court was
to take such an account as this it might be satisfied with
anything. Neither the court nor the creditors ought to be
satisfied with this account ; the examination must, there-
fore, be adjourned eine die, with liberty to the bankrupt to
some up whenever be was prepared with a true account,
however short, rendered by himself, and not made up for
him by somebody else.—Protection was granted for six
weeks.

Before Mr. Commissioner Shepherd.
THE. MERCHANT TRADERS' 51111-Lons AND INSURANCE
ASSOCIATION. --Some particulars of this unfortunate con-
cern were given in the Expr-ss on occasion of the first
meeting for the choice of assignees, about a month ago.
This was the day appointed for the last examination, but uo
accounts having been filed, and the parties, in fact, not
having surrendered, proclamation of outlawry was made
against Mr. E. G. Winthrop and Capt. Samuel Price, two
of the directors. The effect of this proceeding is to render
the parties liable under the compulsory clauses of the act.
Furber proofs of debt were taken to the amount of about
7,0001.