The Express.
London, England, 1857-05-02 00:00:00

Mt AGED DECLAMED J.D.

This seas an adjourned dividend sitting in the matter of
John Peter M'ldurland Greig, cabinet-maker, of Bartletee-
buildings, llolburn, who we* the holder of sixteen shares
in the Royal Britirla Bank. A proof ram tendered
against the estate, of Mr. Harding, the manager of '
the bank, for a sum of 1,2001., beteg the amount of the all
of 75/. per share made on the 10th January hat, on the
shares held by the bankrupt, whose name had Leen placed
on the hat of contributories.

Mr. W. D. Lewis (of the Chancery bar), instructed by
Messrs. Amory, Travers, and Smith, appeared in support of
the proof; which was resisted by Mr. Aspland and Mr.
Weal, tor iho uoigneus of Greig, un the ground that tho hst
of contributories had not been legally settkJ, nor the cull
legally made.

His Honour now gave judgment. The ease, he observed,
had been very folly and ably discussed, as it deserved, for it
involved a question of the utmost importance—namely,
whether °relent might be made, and judiciel acts dune by the
chief clerks of the citoehancellors, in the absence of the
judger themselves, and whether the subsequent assent of tho
vice-chancellors, not even signified by their signature
was sufficient to give validity to such orders. Should this
doctrine be upheld, extremely cuischiesons consequences
would ensue. Two attempts had been made to prove this
claim ageing the elate, and two affidavits had been put for-
ward. Tho knit disclosed the real feet. of the cape; the
bitter was of • very different character. The first stated that
the bankrupt had Leer placed on the Hat of contributories
" by Clarks l'ugh, Erb the chief clerk to his Honour the
Vice-Chancellor Sir Richard Tories Kindersley." To this
the objection was taken !het the chief clerk had no
such authority ; and the rare turned entirely upon the ques-
tion whether the bankrupt's name was legally and rightly
put upon the lint of contributories. The prof was rejected.
Now It wee renewed; and a fresh affidavit had bean from to
merit the difficulty of We case. It now stood, after venous
alterations ,—" 'that the list of contributories of the
said Royal British Stank has been, from time to
time, steeled to pursuance of the provisions of the said acts."
list the. left the queetion where it wee, namely, whether the
bankrupt's Mole had been propoely placed on the lint; and
though it purported to have been impected and allowed by
the VionChaneeller, it appeared that ha never's', it till long
suer the order fur the cull was made. The affidavit recited
two orders of the Court of Cheneery, one of the 10th Jan-
uary directing the call of 7.1 f. per Ware to be made,—the
other of the 16th April hot, authorising Mr. Hurling
to prove against this estate; but on reference to
the original orders on the file of the Court
of Chancery ; it eppeereci that they wen both signed by
Mr. l'ugh, the chief clerk, and that they had undergone
various alterations such see the substitution of "It is
orderced," for " I do order." These orders had not the
signature of the Vice-Chancellor, nor even his initials.
Another document had been produced, whiclewes as follows
" I have inspected and allowed the foregoing hat of con-
tributories, as settled up to the lith day of Ikeember,lB46.
Rieherd Turin deindersley. 20th day of December, 1856."
But it tuned out that this wee not mgned on the day on
which it bore date, and, indeed, Lot until long letter. Re-
ference had been made in the argument to the Winding-up
Acts, the first of which (11 and 12 Vie., cap. 45) very dis-
tinctly prescribed the manner in which these lists of coot el-
butones were to be settled. The list was to be made out by
the official manager, and settled by the muter, after pre-
vious amine en the London Grcette and otherwise; nod
throughout thew clause, everything wee carefully
recputed to be dune by the mesterei, who had
original jurisdiction piece them for the perveee.
The legislature keel strictly pointed out the mode in which
this moat inipertmet judicial act was to be performed; for
nothing could Le I.llore am iota than placing a nan on a list
of contributories, whereby ho was subjected to the heaviest
liabilities, and hundreds had been plunged into poverty and
ruin. Surely such an act ought to be done by a competent
authority, and one that could exercise a judicial discretion.
But since the Winding-up Acts peered, the legislatum had
thought tit to aboliab the office of masters in chancery,
and to transfer their dative to the Master of the Rolle and
the Vice-Chancellum, which it wee thought would be to the
public advantage. The act making the change, known as
"The Master. Abolition AM," WIN the 15 and 16 Victoria,
e. 80. This act empowered the Master of the Rolle and the
Vice-Chaneellors to ait at chef...here, and directed that the
order." made" by them should be en dinardy "dawn up" by
their respective Merks—the one invoicing the exercise of a
judicial soled, the other being a mere matter of fowl. Then
power ssegiven to the Mater of the Roth. mid the V ice-Chan-
cellom to appoint two chief clerks each "fur the purpose of
assisting in the general business of each court, and the causes
and matters belonging thereto!' These were very general
words, but it weld not be held that they extended to the
exercise of the judicial authority ; fur that would be to give
to the chief clerim—penons without position or rank in the
profession—an authority beyond what hod been exercised by
the uneaten. The object clearly was, that these chief
elerka should be put he the place of the Oaks at the
masters, as the wire-chancellors were substitute's fur
the !nesters. The question inuuediately arise, could the
minter, before the paring of the 15th end 16th Vic., have
devolved the pee formence of judicial duties, upon his clerk l'
Was there any Menne° of a master being &Meet from the
melding of a het of contributories, devolving the duty °DIM
clerk, and eati.fying binned( with signing it after' and sign-
ing it with a wrong date, as had been done in thin case
Nu suth insfunee could be found; and had such a '
practice prevailed, it would have increased the out-
cry against those functionaries very much. Then the '
eumtion returned, whether, in a ease of them descrip-
tion, where the list had been settled by the chief clerk,
it could be said to bo legally and properly and rightly settled ;
for if this bankrupt's 11111110 was not legally put upon the
list ref centributories, of wens his estate would not be
liable for this cult. The court thought that it had not been
legally put there, and that the original defect could not
be cured by the subsespient alteration. an erasures
in the documents that had been put on tho tile. Thom were
but attempts to make that emcee, to be right which was in
its origin and substance clearly wrong. He was glad that
his upineen was eubject to a much higher authority—to the
best poesible authority on entailer of thie kind. The present
Lord J eerie e Turner ',WOW of the parties who framed the
chews of the Musters' Abolition Act; therefore he was better
able to decide than any one whet powers were in-
tended to be given these chief clerks—what was
meant by the words "msisting in the general Molinass of
each court, end in the muss and matterabrionging thereto."
Thin could not mean that the clerk was to sit for the judge,
and determine all mat ken judicial or otherwise, sultieet only
to the right of either party to call fee the presents of the
judge, if he thought fit. But it was said the practice of the
Court of Chancery had sanctioned this. If this
were a practice of any long !standing, he could
comprehend the argtunent ; but it had sprung up
within a few yaws ; the act had only been passed in 1852;
and five yeses wee hardly long enough to give auction to a
practice which gainmiel and contradicted the express enact-
ments of the statute. But no length of practice could just*
such a course. It Ins a principle of our law that the judi-
cial authority could not be delegated. It would be idie to
cite came for this; he had known of hundred@ in hie
experienee. A few years up, it was necessary
to obtain a !paced art of priliament tet en wee
the appointment of assistant judge., en the event of the di-
me. of the judge' the principle being that the iedtelal amp°.
city could not be delegated without capreme statutory provi-
sion. In this one judicial authority ww; ',lactated to an in-
dividual who we. not appointed by 0`.4 act, thee getting
rid, in a matter of meth vial importance to the
suitor an the settling of a ;tat of contributories,
of that check and contrek which the law meant
to give to the suitor- -eamuly, the judicial mind
of a person to the first re'ae of the profession, with all the
experience and learninr which belonged to those eminent
persons who reseeded .ste-.. the Courts of Equity. A parallel
Cairn might be euPP Aced in that court. The registrars were
eulenre..ed, by a Weise in the Bankruptcy Corneli-
a...ion 'ly
tete '.e.t for the comminionere, where necessary,
i• en, re•ei ....tempt to decide on a disputed adjudication, or
on Royal
•••• •e' cetitheate. Suppose that in the case of the
etriterth Bank, 'where the adjudication was
"'Put..el, Mr. Lewis being engaged as counsel,
it, and which was heard by Mr. Commissioner
Aroyd sad himeelf, they had thought fit not to attend,
rad to devolve the duty on the regiatrar, and he had given
, hit judgment on the care,—could that have been set right
afterwards by drawing up an order as if made by the court ?
Mr. Lewis would have been the first to say that
ouch an adjuditstion was worth nothing, because
the registrar had no power to make it ; and
the act 15 and 16 Viet., gave • no power to the
chief clerks of the vice-chancellors to make such orders
as the,* referred M in this nee. Then it was said that the
seal of the court, with the initials of the entering clerk, was
nineteen's; but no authority had been produced to show
this. In the Bankruptcy Act there were clauses directing
that a seal of the court should be previded that it ehould be
put on all proceedings, and that judicial notice should be
Wien of it. No such authority had been shown in
favour of the end of the Court of Chancery. Had these
orders had the signature, or even the initials of the Vice•
Chancellor, it would Lave made all the difference; but they
wen only signed by Mr. Pugh, the chief clerk, whichwonld
not suffice to authenticate them. Therefore, the party
elaimieg to prove had not established his title to do so he
had failed at the root ; he had failed because the bankrupt
was never legally put uyin the list of toetribeffories. The court
strongly held that opinion; but Mr. hewn took a very different
view, and he would have the opportunity of urgthg bd.
two judges, perhaps mere competent than any_
other persona
to deride a matter of this kind. Another objection to the
proof, rather anticipated by Mr. Lewis thia urged by Mr.
Aspland was, that this was sot • proofed& debt at all. Bat
that had bean determined by experts Nimbi:du, (2 Doom,
22, nig" 271.) Bs Val Weld Ida Lads-Judas

Bruce and Cranworth, that nothing could be more
unjoet ; but the 30th section of the 2n4 Winding-
up Act (12 and 13 Vsc.. es p. 10S) was etpress
hi its enactment; end thoh Mr. Roundell Buttner did the
beet he could with the word" is" in the clause (which rev,
" that whore say contributory of the company W • bankrupt
or ineolccut," the official innuagi r may prove Reaille. his
estate, and reeeive dividends " rateably with the other
wilerate avditors"), coetending that it could not have
reference to subsequent procceelinge, yet the court
could not get rat of then express words. Nothingp,
could be wnrc uuju.t, bmattee a claim of thu Lind swallowed
up the fond whhn ought to be and was intended to ha sppro-
priatrd to separate creditors, although the rompany had a
remedy against all the ....antral .ors. A. Knight Itrwe
bed said, nothing mull bo more contrary to the whole
tenor and spirit of the bankrupt Inn ; .4111 there was the
positive enactilient ; and this authority was moo that court,
which be depirted Pruitt—is, waiely not by an inferior court,
which could only y•l4 uoquieseence and defrretero to the
higher authority. On thu other Knead the pried taut he
rejected; thu question of coat* to abide the issue of the
opWas

THE POLICE COURTS.
THIS DAY.

WESTMINSTER.
SWINDLING TIMDENNEN.

•
John .!Proy and Jamas iSerley, two young fellows, were
charged with swindling shopkeepena. at Chelan, of various
utiles, and with being dnuak and disorderly.
Charles Tuckers, 202 B, raid that defendants and two others
had, during the previous cseumg, gone to a number
trade. man's shops at Chehalis, where eatables and drinioatis
were had, and haring disposed of thew, refusal to pay.
They got intoxicated at the expenee of the Moused victuallers
of the district, and then brawled about the King's-road, using
the mot disgusting Language.
The barman at toe White Hart, King's-road, proved that
defendants and their eoinfonions regaksi themselves at 'his
master's expense with a pent of ram, and then coolly WU-
' mated that they had no money.
They were committed fur fourteen days.
Jell" JLrny, a fellow of gigantic stature, was charged
with u offence, accompanied with au ae,,,0,1t.
?dr. Roth. pork-butcher, Strutten-greund, said that It
was a COMTholl trick amino dishonest fellows iu the neigh-
bourhood, when tradesmen had their shops full of customers
to step in, tube up some article, and swear they had paid
for it, when they generally escaped with their booty, ea
tradesmen did nut like the annoyance and hindrance of busi-
ness consequent upon detaining them. Ih-fenalent pnigised
this trick on the previous evening, and then brutally as-
saulted the alleymara.
Accused woo committed for air weeks in default of paying
a penalty of 60s.

SOUTHWARK. •
THE LATE SOCTIIN ELECTION AND SIR CHARLES
. . _

NAPIER'S CAMS.
On Monday, the 13th ultimo., John Syer, a man em-
ployed by Sir Charles Napier's committee on the day of
eleMion to look after the cube med to convey the electors to
the ling-parteur, was sumniontel by a cabman named
Wise, fur retailing and neglecting to pay him
16e. for two days work, be being hired by the defendant
at the Three Tome, nem the Town-hall. Mr. Combat after
hearing the evittenee at soeio length, ordinal the defendant to
pay the the. and costs. but gave him a week to pity
it an, at the same tie:, reconmienumg Syer to amply to Sir
Chariot Napiee's committee for the payment, and, if that
was not complied with, to summon the parties to the County
Court. There were also several other cadonen rimilarly
situated, and they were recommended to do the
same. To-day \Wade, the cabmen, attended before
Mr. Combo for the summit of the fine and costs
ordered tutee mod by Syer, when he wee tato-rued that neither
had Leen paid, and that Syer hod trio unable to get any
satisfaction new Sir Charkai Napier's elet thin committee.
Witte said it was very hard upon bite, as lie wits& poor hard-
working cabman, and wanted the money to support his
family. lie was employed constantly from Bin the morning
mall 4 in the aftoenoou, conveying voters to the pull, besides
rushing about with same of the committee, end be bad
actually paid the toll out of his pocket, and now ho could
not get the money for the day's work! lie woo positive that
if Sir Charles Napier was aormaMted with his case he would
sea him paid.
Mr. Combe told him ho wa satisfied that Sir Charles
Napier wished that every one employed at bin election should
be jutly dealt with, but be did not think the settlement of
such deism lay with him. The election ne,ont won the party
,
and he laid his accounts before the auditor to bo passed, and
SS $OOll SS that wu done all parties justly entitled to any-
thing would lie paid.
The careen mid he wanted the money, and he asked his
worship what he had better do wider the circumstances.
Syer was the man who engaged bin,, and lie was a poor
men. The committee, he thought, had acted diegracetully
towarda taut.

Mr. Combo recommended him to communicate with Syer,
and summon the parties to the county court; no doubt he
would be paid ovouttually.

THE LORD-LIEUTENANT OF INF.LAND AND THZ
Dr 1111 N PI/OTIIeTANT Protestant As-
-lotion of Dublin; in presenting a memorial to tie Earl of
Carlisle, felt itself at liberty to address the Lord Lieutenant
in the following language : " That your memorialists have
observed with weave pain and indignation that for a riles
of years past fautlefuleiss to protceaant principles has been
looked upon as unser thy the countenance et the executive
authorities, esp. tally in Inland, and that the profession of
principles avowedly hostile to thu British constitution has
been a more paslout to executive favour, as though it were
no longer politic or neessany to uph/ld the principles which
our beloved SeVerelgl3 is sworn to maintain, and by virtue or
which alone she: es eeepieo the throne of these realm.. That
the cunisquence of such conduct on the part of the state
authorities is now mode manifest in a 11104 painful Deemer.
That Oita., outrage, and boalisoness have become normal
in this country ; thu executive authority seems to have be-
eon's a died letter, while the lives of protest-
ant., are plated in jeupanly, liberty of conscience
outland, the laws violated, and truth dishonoured."
Lord Carlisle hie returned the foflowing reply :
Dublin Castle, April 17.—Sir,—I am directed by the Lord-
Lieutenant to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
14th inst., and its euelaure, and I ton desired by hie Ex-
cellency to acquaint you, for the infunuatiem of those gen-
tlemen who flamed •the memorial %Lich accomp enisd your
comatimication, that heretofore, while his Exellexery has
never rex-op:bud their assumption to the title of the Dublin
Protestant Aseuciausn, still, out of defertneo to the persoual
realm tability of the gentle:vett who compote that self-eon-
Initiated body, bet has Rlifeys bestowed such attention upon
their repreantotions az they oppcored to Lim to sail for. So
in fist' present instance hi, Exeulleacy will not fail to Leap
under his fixed conoideeration the trasint Sons whit h an the
immediate suliect of erumplaint. His Excellency now, how-
ever, redo, further heaved to stn's that as, fir the first time
within his nosillaXien, be has in the offieo which ha bolds
under her Majesty, in etelllllolt with his predecessors and
official colleagues, been imposed to remarks of a highly die-
respectful and disealeging charaeter from an Revelation of
pecans in no way authorised to addresa him in any collec-
tive I-tweedy, be must Intv.cforth decline to receive any fur-
ther addresses or ecaunannations from the body styling
itself the .11ubbn Protenen Assueitition.—l am, sir, your
obedient savant, Tuns, A. LAItVoM. W. R. Furlong, Esq.,
58, Mi•idlo Abbey-street."
SOI-DISANT SGRCEONB.—WC have but too often
Poi reason to complain of persons charged with offences at
our pollee courts FM:lg thenuelece out me surgeons or
n naiad atudenta. No such name as Joseph Langton, who
appeared at the Manakin-house on Wednesday, occurs et the
Medical Directory for the present year.—lffilcouf Times.
CHURCH or ENGLAND SUNDAY-SCHOOL leeTl-
eerr..—The leant'sl meeting of thie institute, designed to
promote the welfare of Sanday.schoolewas held on Thumbs,'
night at Exeter. Mill—the Bishop of Winchester in the chair.
The right rev. chairman, in udelresaing the meeting, said
that much ans yet to Le done before Sunday-schools no eons
welkin with the church could be put un a footing commen-
surate with the wants of the times. Ito extend into sta-
tistics, showing that no less than one-seventh of the
population woo to bo found in Sunday-schools in connec-
tion or divagvrrment with the Establiohed Church. Under
those circeuestancts, ho thought that an organisation ought
to be formed to watch over those seminaries and direct
them into a proper course, ao that a healthy religious
toeing might be diffused throughout the (-maitre. The
report read by the secretary stated that the funds had been
email in comparison with thu work to be dune, bet a gratify-
ing impruvement on loreviuus years. The totl receipts to
the 31st of Des ember last had been 2,952/. 128. I'd., and after
the payment of all expenses a balance era/. wan due to the
treasurer. The publications of the ,oeiety had been increasing
in popularity, and its ~genre indetviagable in attending nicer.
legs and delivering Icitures in London and the provinces.
The report wait adopted, end the officers end committee for
the ensuing year elected, on the motion of Anhdeacon
Wqrrnin, seconded by the Mahon of St. Aleph. Tnemoeting
sans oho addressed by the Rev. J. C. Miller, 1).D., rector of
St. Martin's, Birwingnani, and honorary tenon of Worcester;
the Rev. It. Itlaguire, M.A., incumbent elect of St. James's,
Clerkenwell, and other dergyrien end gentlemen interested
in Sunday School work.
ltalLirtY Iteeeters.—The traffic returns of rail-
ways in the United Kingdom, published for the week ending
April' 5, amounted to 145,903/., nail Inc the corresponding
week of 1866 to 437,3664, showing an increase of 8,627 L
The gross reetipte of the eight railways having their termini
in the metropolis amounted, for the week ending as above,
to 183,11831., and for the corresponding week of last year to
195,6411., showing a decree,* of 11,466/. The decrease on
the London and South-Western amounted to 16,2'221.; and
on the Loudon, Brighton, and South Coast to 2,7831. ; to-
gether, 19,0041. But hum this must be deducted the in-
crease on thu Eastern Counties of 2,3891. ; on the Great
Northern, of 679 f.; en the Great Western of I ,• on the
London and North-Western, of 1,5261. ; on the Londoeland
Blackwell, of 50/.; and on the South-Eastern, of SOIL ; to-
gether, 7,0391.; leaving the decrease 11,9661. The receipts
on the other lines in the United Kingdom amounted to
263,6491., and for the corresponding period of 1856 to
243,0161., showing an increase!' of 20,6431., in the
receipts of those lines. Deducting the apparent decrease
an the metropolitan Has in conaequence of the great need
review at the corresponding period of lest year, leaves the
total lamas. 8,6271., se semi:sussed with the conespoudias
west oflBlo.