The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-11-28 00:00:00

IRISH COURT OF EXCHEQUER.

CURIOUS ELECTIONEERING CASE.
The Lord Chief Baron and Baron Pennefather sat during
the day..

Parsons v. Kirk.
This case was called on for judgment. It had come be-
fore the court upon a demurrer to the plaintiff's declaration.
The plaintiff, an elector of Newry, presented a petition to
parliament shortly after the last election for that borough,
praying that Mr. William Kirk, who had been declared
elected, should be unseated on the ground of bribery and
treating, and alleging that his return had been effected
by undue means. Subsequently an agreement was en-
tered into between the parties to withdraw the petition,
on the terms of Mr. Kirk paying all the costs which
had been incurred by the petitioners. The petition was
accordingly withdrawn ; but Mr. Kirk, as it was stated,
refused when called upon to carry out the agreement, alleg-
ing that it was illegal and contrary to public policy, and
that the petitioners concealed from him a material fact—
namely, that they had been advised by their leading counsel
that the petition, so far as the allegation of bribery was con-
cerned, would fail. The plaintiffs then instituted an action
to recover from Mr. Kirk the amount of the costs and ex-
penses incurred by them in presenting and preparing to pro-
secute the petition. Their declaration was demurred to, and
the demurrer was sustained by Messrs. Fitzgibbon, Q.O ,
and Blair, who contended that the agreement was illegal
and contrary to public policy, inasmuch as the public were
interested in election petitions, and that it was illegal to
withdraw them from money.
Messrs. Joy. Q.C., and Vance supported the declaration,
and argued that under recent acts the defendants were at
liberty to withdraw a petition without the consent of the
committee of the house, and that in this instauce the petition
'was not withdrawn for money, but simply upon the stipntat-
ion that all reasonable and legal expenses should be dis-
charged by Mr. Kirk.
. _

The
Chicf Baron gave judgment, allowing the demurrer
on the grounds stated by the defendant's counsel.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, SATURDAY.
CONVICTS AT HOIVIE.—It is said there is no longer
a question that Clare Island, on the coast of Mayo,
has been taken for a convict depot. Clare Island
formerly was the patrimony of the O'Malleys, and
Sir Samuel O'Malley last held it, until within this
year, !I believe, when it passed from his hand to
the Law Life Insurance Company, of London, to
whom it was mortgaged some years ago by the
inheritor. There is only one landing place on the
island, the coast of which, indeed, can hardly be
approached, except in calm weather. It will, there-
fore, afford ample means for securing the persons
of the convicts sent thither. The island is about
twelve miles westwards of the harbour of Westport,
in the Atlantic, and in the days of " Good Queen
Bess" was a place of note. It was then the strong-
hold of an Irish Chieftainess, who paid a visit to
the powerful Queen of England, as history records,
and was received by her as a sovereign princess at
her then Palace at Greenwich, now the Royal Hos-
pital. This Irish Queen was named Grauna Uaile,
which, in the vernacular, means Grace O'Malley.
The good old gentleman was given to practices
which would now, perhaps, be stigmatised as piracy,
but in those clays morality was; not so tight-laced.
There is still an old fastness on the island, some-
times used as a prison, so that its new denizens will
not be the only ones who were kept there in durance.
Before the famine the inhabitants numbered four
to five thousand ; at present I believe the number
is very limited, and these probably the insurance
company will remove. On the northern shore there
is a light-house.
SAVINGS' BANKS.—Thero is said to be a heavy run
on the Abbey-street saving bank; why, I have not
learned, for there is every reason, as well from the
high character as business habits of the directors
and manager to class it as A 1.
ROBINSON V. MACDOUGALL.—The Irish Chancellor
has just given judgment in a case which excited
much local interest. The family of a Mr. Robinson,
a manufacturer residing in Dublin took proceedings
against the firm of Macdougall and Perrin, Irish
solicitors, for certain sums of money which they
had received as solicitors for Mr. Robinson, who is
dead, and which they retained without any just
right. Mr. Macdougall has recently had an ap-
pointment in the Dublin courts bestowed on him,
and hence the especial interest the case was sur-
rounded with. Mr. Macdougall had been many
years the solicitor of Mr. Robinson, who was
occasionally subject to aberrations of intellect.
During this connection several sales of property,
real and personal, had taken place, and these it
was alleged had been made at a disadvantage for
Mr. Robinson's interests, by Mr. Macdougall's
advice, who on one occasion had procured his
signature to a deed when he was positively insane.
It was admitted that when those sales were made
Mr. Robinson was in want of money for the pur-
poses of his business, and the defence was
that Mr. Macdougall acted bona fide, that he
was not benefited in any way by those sales,
over and above his costs, and that Mr. Robinson
when he signed the particular deed was in one of
his lucid intervals. The Lord Chancellor on Fri-
day gave judgement for Mr. Macdougall, whose
coun sell said he was instructed not to ask fo
costs.

Mr. Thomas MacNally, brother of the solicitor
of that name, killed on the occasion of the late
accident on the Great Southern and Western Rail-
way, applied on Saturday to be admitted an attor-
ney, he having already practised at the bar as a
lawyer. The grounds of the application were, that
he knew the business in his brother's office, that
he knew also morth of an attorney,
and that his application was in the interest of his
brother's .clients, and his brother's children, The
Law Society, a body of attorneys, were heard by the
Attorney-General against the application, but the
Court applied to the Exchequer, and granted the
application. • - - •

Mr. E. B. Roche, ALP., a very extensive landed
proprietor in Cork county, and a practical agricul-
turist, has been growing flax largely for the last
few years, and has now succeeded in establishing a
company, to spin and and manufacture flax. This
is the way to make Ireland prosperous.
THE CHIEF SECRETARY IN BELFAST.-Sir John
Young still continues his progress in the northern
emporium. On Thursday he visited the .harbour
and lough, being accomponied by the Provost of
Trinity College, the city members, and the leading
inhabitants of the town. He afterwards partook of
a dejeuner, at which John Harrison, Esq., the chair-
man of the harbour commissioners, presided, when
after the usual loyal toasts were drunk, that of Sir
John Young, and " prosperity to • Ireland," was
given and responded to. Sir John spoke in high
terms of Lord Aberdeen, under whom he had taken
office, and said that no government ever received
so much support from the masses of the people, as
the present. •He said, however, that as he bad not
come to Belfast in a public capacity, gentlemen
need not be disappointed at receiving no informa-•
tion concerning ministerial intentions. Sir John's
remaining observations were in allusion to the in-,

creasing prosperity of Belfast, and a few other
toasts having been drunk, the company separated.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.—At a meeting in
the Scotch Church, Mary's Abbey, on Thursday;
£2,000 was subscribed to the church and manse!
Fund of the community.

THE MUNICIPAL ELEeTtoNs.—The following has
been the general results of these events :—Alder-
men—Messrs. Hudson, Gresham, Campbell, Hoyte,
Farrell, and Reynolds. Town Councillors—Messrs.

Vance, Hutton, Kelly, Classon, Tilsworth, Jame-
son, Boyce, Barlow, Fry, Wharton, Lambert, Wau-
chob, D'Arcy, O'Neill, and Taggart.
Mit. GEORGE DARLING.—This gentleman, who is
one of the most notorious characters in our city,
has been fully committed to take his trial; on the
charge to which I have already alluded, of fraudu-
lently- obtaining money from the mistress of the
convict Kirwan.

INCUMBERED ESTATES COURT.—The Earl of Ban-
try's propery, in Limerick and Cork, was sold
yesterday, and realised over £BO,OOO, averaging
above twenty years' purchase.
FARMING STOCK PRICES.—At the annual fair of
Summerhill, county Meath, bullocks brought from
£l3 to £l7; milch cows, ditto ; fat sheep, from
42s to 48s ; and pigs 465.
INJURY TO A ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL.—The
Roman Catholic church of St. Vincent, Cork, has
been nearly destroyed, its roof having been com-
pletely torn off by a gale of wind.