The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-10-06 00:00:00

THE NEW JURY ACT.

That part of Mr. Peel's New Jury Act which relates to
the qualifications of persons to serve on Juries, has given
rise to a diversity of opinion. The clause especially,
which applies to householders, has been taken in different
senses. some interpreting it to mean the qualification to
extend to those assessed to the amount of twenty pounds
per annum for house and land collectively, and others re-
stricting the qualification to those assessed to that amount
for their houses alone. These different expositions of the
law being embreced by certain of the Magistrates of the
iirest Riding of the county of York, one of them, the
Rev. B. Newton, who saw the Act in the latter sense,
proposed the question to the Under Secretary of State.
The following is a copy of the answer received, which
we have pleasure in laying before our readers, hoping
that it may tend to promote an uniformity in the returns
of jurors, which was the object of the application at the
Secretary of State's Offies.:—

(COPY.)
Whitehall, Sept. 12, 1825.
811,—In Mr. Ilobhouse'm absence I have to acknowledge the
Act
of your letter of the Bth haw. on the subject of the new Jury
Act.
I conceive you and your brother Magiatrates have taken a per-
fectly correct view of the qualification of a householder, via. that
he must be rated to the pour-rate at 20L a I ear as a householder, or
in other words,for Haute wily, and eat for his Land.
The words oh Act are certainly equivocal, but such were the
intentions of the Member who introducid the clause, and this con-
eXtuction is moreover inevitable from the context ; fur if a juror
were to be qualified. by being rated at 201. a.yesr ou any property
whatever, It would- be absurd lo require an assessment to the
1100. duty (which applies to the braise only) on the same value.
I have the Ptomain to be, Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant.
GEO. N. DAWSON.

Rer. 11. Newton.

We understand the deputation of merchants connected
with the Cape. of Good Hope merely left a statement of
the affair relative to the currency, and a Memorial, with
his Majesty's Min.7sters. The reply will not be announced
for some days.
• The packet ship New York, Capt. Bennett, which railed
on Saturday for New York, had 35 passengers, among
Mr. Owen, 9f New Lanark, accompanied by
...turning to his establishment at Harmony, and
members of the Italian Opera in London who have
,ged by Mr. Price, of the New York theatre.—
. Advertiser of Tuesday.
Co-ortitarive SYSTET4.-Mr. Owen, we have
stated, sailed on Saturday for his new establish-
- State of Indiana. It will be interesting to
our readers to learn from time to time the
progress of that gentleman's efforts to Julialize so-
ciety, as he expresses it. The State in which he has
commenced his fresh labours is a fine varied country,
rich soil, and well covered with excellent timber. To the
, State of Ohio, to the west that of Illinois.
States are favoured by nature, being si-
, mild climate, between the colds of the north
scorching heats of the south. fs'lsiva 9armony,
Mr. Owen's purchase, is cm des s of the
'• river is for some menthols The eear nevi-
,. up-its course for steam boats. It is only
from. the Min riser, standing in the centre of
thousand miles of good inland navigation.—
;n informed that upwards of one hundred
avigate constantly the water of the interior.
...,ove one thousand persons, from various parts of the
Union, hare already joined at Harmony; many of them
of considerable property. Such has been the good opinion
entertained of Mr. Owen's plan of association, that others
of a similar description are already forming in other places.
Adertiren

AN AMERICAN FLECTION.
There has been a strongly-contested election for Senators
in the new State of Alabama. The Boston Palladium says,
that " the election was marked with proceedings which
would have disgraced a horde of savages. Clubs, pistols,
knives and dirks were made free use of in support of the
hostile candidate,. Many persona were wounded, acme
mortally. The parties discarding the old appellations of
federalist and democrat, were known by thos‘, of radical
and administration parties. The Callao:ha Press, printed
after the election, gives us a sample of a contested election
in Alabamh.
On the 2il inst. sundry persons of the radical party, via ;
James Battle, George M. Rives, Thomas P. Lutnpkin,
Rock Parsons, and others, came to Mr. EiVing's tavern in
a hostile manner, swearing vengeance and death against
Mr. Jefferson Van Dyke and Mr. William Bower. These
latter gentlemen, at this time, were in an upper and retired
room, havite, been lately dressed of wounds which they
had received about an hour and a half before, in a conflict
which took,place between them and a nutnber oT radicals at
David White's tavern ; although they were at this latter
place beset by ari,overpowering force, they came off with-
out receiving any dangerous injury, having suffered, how-
ever, various contusions of the body, lacerations, wounds,
and bruises of the head, &c. from clubs, &c. The persons
above alluded to came to Mr. Ewing's tavern, broke into
the house, and violently entered an upper room, to which
Mr. Van Dyke had retired, and there assailed him with
clubs, knives, and dirks, and then left the house. Mr. Van
Dyke was severely and dangerously wounded, and also
Mr. Gayle, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Dallas county.
After the hostile party had retired, aid were expelled
from the house, a second attempt was made to enter by
Rock Parsons and others—they at length succeeded in
forcing open the door, when Dr. Walter 0. Bickly made
an attack with a club on Mr. Van Dyke, who was now'
faint and feeble with the loss of blood from numerous stabs
he had previously received. The interposition of friends,
however, arrested the progress of the affiay. and peace was
once more restored. The affair is to be settled by the Ju-
dicial Tribunal.