Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-01-30 00:00:00

ANTECEDENTS OP THE NEW SOLICITOR-GENERAL,

The grandfather of the Solicitor-General,.• says the
correspondent of a London paper, was a linen weaver,
and lived in a thatched cottage in a :village near
Wigan. He married one Sarah Fairclough, a Roman
Catholic; but, some short time after their marriage,
she embraced the Methodistic tenets, and entered,
along with her husband, into its communion. Old
Thomas was about the middle stature—a fine portly-
lookilig old man—a pattern of morality and upright-
ness. They had a large family, the youngest of whom
was the late Rev. ffilliam Atherton, father of the pre-
sent Solicitor General. He also followed the trade of.
hand-loom weaver. From the contracted circumstances
of his parents, his education was extremely limited, his
only acadetify being a night school in the village. He,
too, joined the Wesleyan, when about 'l7 or 18, and
subsequently became a local official among thebody, under
the superintendency of the late Rev. Thomas Wood.
In 1797, 'he entered the public minstry, in which
he continued to labour till the period of his death. He
was once President of the Conference. His rise, as a
preacher, may be said to have commenced from the
period of his being stationed in Glasgow, where he
availed himself of the privilege of attending the various
college lectures given in that city, and which gave the
impetus to his naturally strong mind. His toilet was
similar to that of the " Society of Friends," for one of
ewohuot me
articledd education otno
an
Methodism was highly useful and important to the
caries
he might i‘gvhast laiapvrelezatnadkehnis
ministry Among hisin
body." The present Solicitor-General was, while a
path, sent, to Kingswood School Academy, instituted
preachers'y the la late
sons. He
attorney. One of his fellow-students was ,the Rev.
Samuel Waddy, now president of the Wesleyan Pon-
lijeohrenmained
ference, and master of Wesley College, Sheffield,
Wesley,tefrere unihtile

LAW IN'TELUGENCE.

LIBEL ON LORD BR,OI7GHAM.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.-SkrtritpAy.

'eittings in Bailee, before Lord Chief Justice Cocantrnx,
Justices WIGATMANt CROMPTON, and BROUGHAM.)
Tun QUEEN 42. ATKINSON. ,

This was a rule Nisi for a'eriminal information for an
alleged libel on Lord Brougham, obtained last term by
Sir Fitzroy Kelly.
Sir Ft Kelly, Mr. Edwin James, Q.C., and Mr. Mel-
lish appeared on behalf of Lord Broughain. Mr. Ma-
caulay, Q.C., and Mr. T. Jonei appeared for Mr.
Atkinson.

Maxaulay said he appeared to show cause against •
this rule, which called upon the plaintiff; the proprietor
of the Wertmoreland Gazette,, to show cause Ivhy, a cri-
minal informatiefr should not be filed a.gainst him for
alleged libel on the noble and learned lord. The prin-
cipal libel complained of was, he believed, a communi-
cation inserted in the Westmoreland dazette of the 17th
September, 1859, in the form of a letter to the editor,
and signed " Just." The letter contained strictures
upon transactions relative to the exchange of lands known
as the Bewlah Castle Farm, for. the Hospital Farm, the
latter situate adjoining Brougham Hall, and near Pen-
rith. He (Mr. Macaulay) understood that ,the rule was
moved for on the ground that the article in question
imputed improper motives to Lord Brougham in regard
to the exchange, and that, hoviever much they might
have been open' to comment, Lord Brougham was a
stranger to them, and blame ought not to have been
imputed to' him. To make' the case clear, it would
be necessary -that he• (Mr. Macaulay) • should call
attention to , the :matters in detail. Mr. William
Brougham, brother of Lord Brougham, has of late yeari
purchased land in and about. Brongham-hall, for the
extension of the domain. About two hundred years ago
Brougham Castle was the residence of Anne, Countess
of Pembroke, who was also the owner of- Appleby.
Castle. In the reign of Charles. IL (the countess
foanded, endowed, and obtained a charter of incorpora-
tion for a charity known as the Mother and Sisters of
St. Ann of Appleby, consisting of a mother and' twelve.
poor sisters, and the Lind with which the charity was
endowed consisted in part of the hospital farm in ques-
,tion, which Mr. William Brougham desired to obtain.
The Bewlah Castle Parra was represented in the libel
as poor land, and that of the 'Hospital Farm as rich land.
The Hospital Farm was an ancient enclosure, valuable
from its picturesque character. It has on it an old
farm house, with avenues of limes, with valuable
building sites, and was situate within a mile and a half
of Penrith., It was said by, Mr. William Brougham
that the Hospital Farm was formerly the isroperty of his
ancestors, and for that reason he wanted to become
,the pOssessor of the estate. The estate was, within
300 yards of the walls of Brougham Hall, and it was
a most desirable acquisition for the owner of Brougham
.Hall, as' 'it would constitute ornamental land and
'park for- 'that domain. Lord Brougham some years
since applied to the Earl of Thanet, as heir of the
Countess Of •Pembroke and trustee of the charity, for
the purchase of this estate, but. it was"refused. For
some time past. Lord Brougham had been allowed to
use the walks and enjoy the ornamental' portions 'of
this land, and to facilitate it he had thrown. -an
ornamental bridge over a ravine... It was univer-
sally believed in 'Westmoreland that, though Mr.
Broughain wished to become the owner of, the
estate, that Lord Brougham wished to enjoy it, and that
the exchange was more an affair of Lord
_Brougham's
than his brother. In that state of affairs it appeared
that Admiral Elliott, land steward to Sir Richd. Lofton;
agTeed that he would facilitate' the possession of the
Hospital Farm by Mr. William Brougham by an
'exchange, and he suggested to that gentleman that
he should buy the Bewlah Castle estate, 'situate about
ten or twelve miles distant, and then advertised for
sale. To facilitate and legalise this transfer it was neces-
sary that an application should be made to the Charity
Commissioners. By the Charity Commissioners Act the
• commissioners had power 'to make the exchange, but
instead of it being carried out by that body, it was trans-
ferred ,to the Inclosu e Commissioners. The letter in
question entered af considerable length into these pro-
, ceedings—the Matter having excited great attention in
Westmoreland—and the learned counsel proceeded to
read the alleged libel in comparison with facts. -.There
was no desire to impute the slightest corruption, to Lord

Brougham
The Lord Chief Justice said the libel imputed
`! extraordinary blindness or a dull moral sense" to Lord
Brougham, who was, the champion of charities and the
founder of the Charity Commissioners Act, that he
should, in a matter where no private'interests were con-
cerned, apply to the, Inclosure Commissioners instead of
the Charity Commissioners.
Mr. Macaulay said it was nothing more than a dig-
nified rebuke.
The Lord Chief Justice said he, thought it contained
something more, viz., that he had committed not merely
a political ,or illegal wrong, but a moral wrong.
Upon this intimation of the unanimous opinion of the
bench,
Mr. Macaulay said it never was intended to impute
anything like corruption to Lord Brougham, and if the
article in question bore that construction, the defendant
was ready and willing to withdraw them,-
The apology was then accepted, and the rule was dis-
cl,,arged with costs.

UNFENCED MACHINERY.—THE DANGER OF CRINO-
LINE.—A girl narded Ann Watts was killed on Friday
morning at Sheffield. She had called to see her sister,
employed at Messrs. Guest's button factory, and was
standing near her bench, when her dress, largely, ex-
tended by crinoline, was caught by a small, drum. Being
-unable to tear her clothes from the drum, she was in a
moment drawn do*n and whirled round the shaft, which
is only 12 inches from the floor, her head and feet being
dashed against the floor and bench at every revolution.
She was extricated in a few moments, but died shortly

afterwards.
DUPLICATE TITLES IN THE BRITISH PEERAGE.—
There is a Duke of Devonshire and an Earl of Devon/
there 'is a Lord Hastings and a Marquis of Hastingt2,
there is a Lord Gifford and an Earl of Gifford, there is
a Lord Downe and a Lord Downes, there is an Earl of
Winton and a Marquis of' Winchester, there is a Lord.
Bruce' and Earl Bruce, a Lord Strafford and a Mar-
quis of Stafford, and 'Earl of Strafford and a Lord
Stafford (Viscount Enfield), an Earl Fortescue and a
Lord Fortescue (Viscount Ebrington), two Lords Ste-
wart, two Lords Stuart, a Lord Sudeley and a Lord
Sudley, a Duke' of Hamilton and a Lord Hamilton, an
Earl of Morton and a- Lord Moreton, a Lord Ponsonby
and a Lord Ponsonby of Imokilly, a Lord Forbes of
Scotland and 'a Viscount Forbes of Ireland, an Earl
Grey and a Lord Grey,'a Lord Monteagle and a Lord
Mounteagle, and until very recently there was a Lord
Holland as well as a Lord Lovell and Holland,' and an
Earl Talbot as well as a Lord Talbot de Malahide.
There is still a Lord Stanley of Biekerstaffe and a Lord
' Stanley of Alderley ; and if Mr. Scrope of Dantry should
succeed this year in establishing his' claim to that ancient
title, there will 'be' two` rival 'Earls of Wiltshire.—
Illustrited News: -

THE CIVIL SERVICE.—VACANCIES, APPOINTMENTS,
&c.—Foreign Depairtment-The post of chargé
d'affaires and consul-general to the republic of Guate-
mala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Salvador
has become vacant by the promotion of Mr. Wyke ; the
-vice-consulship at Mahon, Spain, has become vacant by
the death of Mr. R. A. Dalzell (salary £300) ; the Hon.
Henry Anson Cavendish has been appointed to a clerk-
ship, and passed examination. War office-Mr.t
Robert. Henry Byrne has been appointed to the
his
ex-
amination;rystore department, Woolwich, and passed_
Marsh, have been . p
Cranage, and James' urke
their examination.
to temporary clerkships, and passedreeis
writer, Indian cor-
India Office—
The
office
ofats) become vacant by the
Messrs.' Alexander ThomasChrisgtiep,afaothend
respondence
Hon.department,
aid C. Talbot has
store departinent of the India
carpapldoiCnt.eTdalibnostp;ectthoer
gee on.r
ai of -
stores at the military__
Bonner, retired (salary £1 200)
• General J. G., • •
Office, vice
l Post Office—Air. Charles Symonds Ralph has
Genera
been appointed to a clerkship at Ipswich, and passed his
examination. The Dockyards—Mr. R. P. Chaplin, .ac-.
promotion of the
beeenGn
countant at Portsmouth, has been transferred to Woolwich,
vice Mr. W. Penfbuld, superannuated ; Mr. G. E.
Gittens, first clerk in the accountant's office; Portsinoutb,-
las -been appointed accountant, vice Mr. Chaplin,
removed. Customs—Mr. G. B. Lefroy has been promoted
from fourth to third-class landing-waiter in London ;
Mr. John King, from fifth to fourth class, and Mr. K.
H. Gough, from the sixth to fifth class ; Mr. Charles
F. Cannon has been promoted from second to first-class
clerk in the examiner's office, London ; Mr. William
Pitcairn, from third to second' class clerk ; and Mr.
George Cook, from fourth to third class clerk in ditto.
Ireland—A stipendiary magistracy has become vacant
by the death of Mr. B. H. Holmes, resident magistrate,
Fermanagh.---,Civil Sert'ke Gazette,