The Express.
London, England, 1850-02-21 00:00:00

CAPE OF 000 D HOPE.

We have letters and papers from Cape Town to the
23rd of December.

The case of " Letterstedt v. Morgan and others"
stood for trial on Friday, the 14th of December. The
defendants wire accused of having conspired to libel
the plaintiff. The Attorney-'3eneral and Mr. Ebden
appeared for the plaintiff ; Messrs. Brand (eon. and
jun.) and Mr. Watenneyer were present to watch
the proceedings for the defendants.
Mr. Ebien read the declaration, and said he wished
to h-ar the defendants' counsel read their own ez-

ceptions.
With the permission of the court the three counsel
for the defendants stated the reason why they de-
clined
the jur:sdiction of the court. Two of the
judges, they said, had " remised" by emitting extra-
judicial opinions on the question at issue, and the re-
maining judge could not act alone, two being a
quorum. The Chief Justice declared hat the time of
the court had been wasted; there was nothing in the
exceptions. Mr. Justice Menzies thought " there
was nothing out of the way in hearing the ingenious
statements of the three gentlemen." It was agreed
that the Attorney General should be heard in reply
next day.
On Saturday the counsel for the defendants for-
Maly tendered the following protest, which was
received by the Registrar :
As we consider that the mums of recitation, u alleged
in the libel of exceptions, are according to the laws of the
land, end that theectdegdes who ha+. been remised therein are
te incompent to ad udge on the same; and u the judges so
resumed have that they will sit and determine
thereon, we feel ourse:ves In duty bound, for the protection
of the rights of our clients, to protest against any farther
proceedings on the exceptions or action, until the superior
court, being her Majesty the Queen in council, shall have
determined on the application to be made on behalf of our
clients for relief in the Enmity. Cape Town, Dee. 15, 1849.
—C..3. BRAND, E. B. WAlllllllllllh, J. 11. BPIAND..

The Attorney-General was then heard, and the
judges gave their opinions at length. The Chief Jos-
um and Mr. Justice Menzies arrived at the condo-
sion that the exception was untenable. Mr. Justice
Musgrave held it to be valid, and left the bench.
The Chief Justice intimated that the cane would be
called the first on Monday.
On Monday, however, the Attorney-General inti-
mated that he was instructed by his client not to
proceed farther "at present." Thereupon the Chief
Justice declared the case postponed, adding that due
notice must be given before the prcceedings could be
resumed.

Mr. Fairbairn gave notice next day in the Anti-
Convict Association that at the next meeting he
would move the following resolution :
That the thanks of the people of the Cape of Good Hope,
and the gratitude of the present and succeeding generations,
are due te C. J. Brand, Esq., and to the junior csunsel,
E. B. Hateineyer, Esq., and J. Brand, Esq., and to the
attorneys in toe we of Letteretedt versus Morgan, Fair-
bairn, Sutherland, Van Rumen, Bergh, and others, mem-
bers of the Anti Convict Association, fur the magnanimity,
independence, prudence, and zeal displayed by them in
vindicating the pure administration of justice in this colony.
Mr. Merrington gave notice of the following reso-
lution :

That this !nesting has °hearted with grief and Indigna-
tion, in the governor's notification published in Lut Gazette,
the intend/is of Earl Gray to send " final insuuetions" re-
meeting the convicts by the Neptune only when he shall
have heard of the arrival of that vessel; and this muting,
conceiving that Earl Grey was bound by every principle of
Integrity and of statesmanship to forward that Instruction
immediately on the receipt of the petitions from the jabs-
hitants of this colony, regard hie failure to do so as an act
Of unjustifiable indiffuenee to the wounded feelings of the
colonists, and also as an act unbecoming the character of a
British statesman.

A vote of thanks to Mr. Adderley, " for his
generous, disinterested, and persevering efforts in
defence of their rights and liberties," had been pre.
viously passed by the meeting.
It is worthy of notioe, that the Attorney-General
felt himself called upon to declare in court that Mr.
Letterstedt, his client, was u hostile to the admission
of the convicts as any man in the colony. Indeed,
the only parties who pretend to be satisfied with the
course pursued by the governor are a few gentlemen
in Lower Albany, will are notoriously animated by
personal pique towards Mr. Fairbairn.