The Express.
London, England, 1849-04-30 00:00:00

By a transfer of the business to Chancery, the fees, and
stamp ditties in respect of fete, would thenceforward go to
the public account, and the following officen would be dis-
pissed with (subject, of tonne, toitheir right to lite compels-
setion, in ease they might not be appointed to offices in
Chancery)

Bak:las or
Estimated
Emoluments.
F B. ca.

TM mewl
Ine Meek ..--
plo 31.1.11•11 d0W4341 - 1,300 o
Swift= owl Wees, gm 760
Ms eeSsisairs le Welt be tresekrred
Mir Is Obssee7.)
ibmwsislesilag=4.
I WWI/
lesewheryesd clerk of the writs 930 0 0
leir 200 o 0
Amesaftsll4mersl sad Ws desks Alai* 461 3 1

:61 -0

£1,711 3
For want of returns, the amount of the emoluments of
rams paid by fees at present receivable, are stated from
general reputation, and, as is believed, under the mark. The
elect amount may be ascertained by the returns famished
by them officers to the Treasury, pursuant to the set 6 and
7 Viet. e. 66, se. 13 and 14. By a lets retarn to the Mouse
of Otnasoes„ the gems inmate of the above dithers is
10,4411. 2s. 10d.; bat it will be found that in this the officers
have included the 'mount of compensation to which they
are for life entitled, in cones queues of the Lininution of fees
ocessiemed by the 6 and 7 Vei. e. 65, which was calm aced oft
the average et the (tee received by cash for the seven years
previous to November, 1842, and which included the great
temporary additions mused by the proceedings for the re-
covery of tithe composition. Thus the income of the Se-
condary is returned as 3.6691. 17e. 4d.
The fees payable in Chancery for the same quantum of
business would realise to the consolidated fund a much larger
amount than the corresponding free in the Exchequer—the
office fees being in many instances much higher in the
former court, e. g. a common order of two sheets in the Er.
chequer caste 3e. ld. (4 (feo. 4, cap 70, table 4.) In Chan-
coy 124. 6d. (general order, 25th January, 18n), although
owing to the difference of practice, the expense to suitors it
nearly the same in both courts. The present chief remern-
i bruiser and his examiner might be transferred to Chanter,
the former as a fifth master, at hie present salary (20001.)
with a right to succeed, on a vacancy occurring amongst the
present maters.
The fiscal and »venue duties at present performed by the
chief remembrancer, might easily be transferred to and
transomed by the master, at the law side of the court, who
has scarcely any duty to perform beyond a general super-
intendence over the other officers.
The Court of Chancery, with the addition of a fifth muter,
could with its present machinery, beyond doubt, transact the
whole aquity business of Ireland. There is no smear of
Internessia the Court of Chancery, or the Rolls Court. The
Master of the Rolls eanoluded his business on the 13th of
March last; the Lord Chancellor, with an unusually heavy
list, about two days later—and Lithos omits should continue
their sittings for even near the periods during which the
Eighth Equity judges sit, there can be no doubt but that the
entire equity baiter could be by them efficiently discharged
without the necessity of mewing a vice-chancellor, and if so,
an addition of at least 6,0001. a year would result to the
revenue.
The present staff of Chancery (with the addition of a few
copying clerks, who would be remunerated by the iscressed
fees on the additional business) is unquestionably adequate
to transact the entire Widnes, including the proposed addi-
tion.
Suppose, however, it should turn out that an additional
' Equity Judge would be required, the expense thereby to be
entailed would be
£ s. d.
♦ Ifienthaneellor (salary and jurisdiction similar to that
of the Master of the Rolls) 3,969 4 7
An additiooal Registrar. (the Exchequer Registtar to be
the Ara, and the future vstroesge of this and the other
elbow to be vested in the Vies-Cbancelice l,OlO 0 0
Crier and Train-beam l4O 0 0
A Clerk in Court (sates as Rolle Court, and an Exchequer
officer might receive the first appointment
£3,709 4 7
Thus, even creating an additional judge, the change could
be effected without lots to the consolidated fund.
Jidda, a Vice-Chanoellor might be selected from the Barons
of the Exuer, end that vacanerfilled up by a transfer
or one judge from the Common Pleas—for the business of
which three judges would seem sufficient ; and a Queen's
Counsel might be selected to sot, as is frequently the case, as
Judge of Amine.

SCOTLAND.
MURDERS IN THE NORTH.
The ancient Court of Justiciary, Aberdeen, under
Lords Moncrieff and Mackenzie, was engaged on Wednes-
day with a trial for murder.
Tn prisoner, James Burnett, aged 63, is a crofter and
farm servant. He rented a small pees of ground at a place
dolled Shalimar, about 36 miles northward of Aberdeen.
For the lest six years he had hired himself to work on
a faro, about half a mile from his croft, and was the
only man-servant in the kitchen. He had eight children
by his deceased wife, all of whom were grown up and
in employment, one of the daughters being engaged
in atteudieg her mother and loping the cottage. Bar-
nett was in the practice of frequently visiting his wife
and daughter in the evenings after the work of the day
was over, and oftesionally on Sunday; but had not slept at
home for nearly two pars. About five years ego his de-
ceased wits lied a paralytic stroke, which to a crest extent
her of the use of one side of her body, but she was
=fitTolove about a little, yet could never be trusted out of
sight alone. About the end of October last, prisoner said to
lib; wife that he would get a laxative powder for her, which
would ease a - which she complained of in her breast, and
take off the ma width lay on her stomach and made her
Re poneni from Dr. Won three powders, containing
lire Considered
and 2 grains of colonath in each,
was aoneldoed by the doctor suitable foe
Ins nos es described by the prisoner to him. The prisoner
en the nine day that he had the medicine employed a car-
rier women to buy for him 3d. worth of arsenic and a New
Tenement, when she went to Fraserburgh, and stated
that it was for the purpose of poisoning rate, which
annoyed him in his bedroom. The arsenic was obtained—
sa ones of white arsenic—on the Sonday, and on the Wed-
model following he told his wife that he would give her
that night something to do her good. On leaving the house,
after paying a visit to ft in the evening, he told his daughter
to have a cup of Bose jelly or sugar ready for him to mix
the powders with, sad also not to sit out at bed waiting for
him if he were late in getting to the cottage. Re returned
to the cottage about 10 o'clock, and said he meth give his
wife the medicine himself, end at night, bonne he should
not have time to attend to ft in the morning. The
sugar and jelly were provide& and when alone with his
wife in the kitchen bed, lie mixed what he called
Dr. Wood's powder, end gave it to her while she
was in bed. He told his dare who then en-
tered the apartment, that he would that night with
his wife, lest she should seed any iltan co under the
endings. The daughter then went tobed, and understood
that her father went lab her mother's bed, but without taking
aft his clothes. In about a quarter of an hour the daughter
heard her mother, as she thought, vomiting, or sick, and ran
to the kitchen in her night clothes. There she found her
mother very sick, retching over the front of the bed, and
her father stamen with his hands resting on each other be-
hiad his back, and with his back towards the low smoulder-
ing Ike. The daughter assisted the mother, who was dread-
fully sick, but the prisoner appeared very allow, and co-
, oared over the matter vomited with mho. He afterwards
got the daughter to sweep awe all this matter, and it
turned out also Smiths cup in whkh whet hecalled tbimedi-
eine had been given was broken by himself. He offered
drily to go for a doctor, when his wits said—" I have done
with doctors ; lem poisoned, I au poisoned! and the Lord
reward them on earth who have done it." At five o'clock,
a.m., the woman died. The prisoner then went to the farm
and roamed his work as usual, but early in the day re-
turned to the cottage, and gave orders for the funeral to take
place next day. This was done, end for a time
all was quiet. Bat within a week it was ru-
moured that the prisoner was about to be mar-
ried to an of the female servants of the farm
where he was a labourer, and on the banns being
I=2 strong esspicious were excited, and he was appre-
-1"
The body was then disinterred, and on exhumation
was fond to contain a large quantity of arsenic-20 grains
being found in the stomach alone. The three powders ob.
tined from Dr. Wood, it also appeared, had never been
given to the deceased. The charge of murder was then
preferred, sad in the evidence it also risme ont that
the prisoner had been cohabiting with the female
servant referred to ' . that he had offered to ran away
with her ; and, on getting a refusal, he requested her to
leave service and go to her mother's until his wife
should lie, as the old woman was now so infirm that she
soli not be expected to live long. With this the girl con-
sented, and was at home when the prisoner's wife died. The
, when at the bar, displayed the utmost Jodie-
=7; end at the close of the trial, when the jury returned
a nudist et 'silty, not a muscle of his face moved. Lord
3thnothale then put on the black cap and prenonced oa-
tens of death in a most earner: address, oring, with the
sennthease of Lord Mosselelt that the prisoner should be
hung ea Toothy, the 21ni of May next. T 4 prisoner re-
eslwf hie antenes with the one stolid indifference that had
alinaellethlid his whole esnenst, and when going do on the
desk preened that he was innocent. He has hitherto
Mese a good character. It is 26 years sine there was an
anseatimi la Aberdeen; then it was that of a woman for pl-
aning her hasbend