The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-08-07 00:00:00

SOUTHAMPTON, AuGus: 5.

The major port of the 20th dragoons embarked
en board the transports yesterday, and the remain-
eler are going on board a.t this moment. It is ex-
refled, that they will sail this evening, or to-mor-
to-% morning at furthest. Their destination is still
i;aknown. One report is, that they are going to
j'a;is the other pare of the regiment at Gibraltar ;
hut this I do not believe; for two-thirds of them ate
raw recruits.
A young Iran, servant to Captain GA R AT. of
the Itoya/ Navy, attempted drowning himself last
night. by precipitating himself twice into the water.
from a boat : he was fortunately prevented—and,
to avoid a repetition, he was very properly put in
the Cage, until he recovered his reason, which, it
was supposed. drink had deprived him of.
sat down to write, the transports have
sa:!e.l, and, it is generally believed, their destina-
ti)n is Cork, to join the troops under Sir Davin

Every thing here is as quiet as you can conceive.

DOVER, AucrsT 5.

Every thing still remains quiet on the opposite
sh..e. The wind has blown very strong all night
at S.W. and row blows very fresh at which
is ,!ttc.^.lyagaiast the French coming out, and at the
same time prevents our cruisers front approaching
tear to V•eir roast. We see, however, 'elm'sl of
them standing on and off, and keeping a watchful
eye on the movements of the enemy, in case the wind
should get round to the east, and give him an op-
portunity of coining out. I had yesterday a very
dear and distind view of Calais harbour, which ex-
hibits also a forest of masts. Whether they are in-
tended as a reinforcement to those at Boulogne, rr
are meant to commence their operations immediately
from that quarter, time will discover. The increase
0: numbers in that place has certainly been very con-
siderable of late.

The Right Hon. William Pitt, Lord Warden of
the Cinque Ports, it expeCied here in the course of
the present week. It is thought by many, that du-
ring his stay at Waliner, the plan for a new harbour
viii be finally settled. It is, I understand, intend-
ed to be adopted on a very extensive scale—to go
up a valley on the East side of the town to the very
end of it, which is upwards of a mile in length.
Tie entrance, or mouth of it, will, I am told, be
exaCtfy in the spot where the original harbour was
two hundred years ago. It is proposed to have wet
and dry docks for the accommodation and repair of
such of our navy as may he wanted in this part of
the Channel, and must also prove a very safe asylum
for our merchant ships in the winter months. The
espenee, I have heard, is estimated at an immense
snm if the plan is carried into cffal, it cannot fail of
making Dover one of the most important towns in the
Kingdom. At present it is suffering most cruelly by
the war, several hundreds of brave, hardy, indus-
trious men being actually out of bread.

CRICKET MATCH.

On Monday sennight the following Mreh of
Cr:cket was !slaved on Bromley Common, hr eleven
Gentlemen of /Yromley, against eleven of Woolwich
and Beckenham, for 201. a side;

131011111.41% WOOLWICN AND ItCKIFIrIIAM-
AIL Burgess Mr. Wa&J
Mr. /Wing Mr. Want
Mr A yling Mr. Sunman
Mr. Lucas Mr. Ford
Mr. Latter Mr. Woo 4
Mr. Snesd Mr. North
Mr. Nora Mr. Nicholson
Ni•. Davis Mr. Lund
r Locus Mr. Brown
Mr. Chapman Mr. Abram
Mr. Chapman Mr. cans.
1 This was tl,e second day's sport, the former ha,'
been played at Woolwich, when the Bromley- Gen-
tlemen had the advantage. The Woolwich ( ;c.tlr-
men were considered on Monday the most success-
ful f and it is intended to be decided on a ftsture
cLv at Blackheath. The match had excited s,
much interest, that all the inhabitants of the stir-
re inding country attended, who expressed the high-
est approbation at the excellence of the sport.
On

. Sunday morning, Captain of the For-
farshire Militia, and Dr. M'A-, of the 71A
regiment, met in the Links of St. Fergus. near Pe-
tetlie.td, to decide an affair of honour. Upon ar-
riving at the ground, however, the becnruls inter-
fered, and the business was amicably adjn ord. The
quarrel originated in the ball-room the preeedin:
teeming.

... . . .
idly INTELLItANCE.
COURT OF CITANCFRY—TvesOat, At/COST 6.
DC rrA RCIN r. EARL MA LCORIRERn and OTHERS.
In this case, a great part of which we mentioned
in our paper of yesterday, Mr. Psoor, at the slt-
ting of the Court, recommenced his arguments on
the part of the Defendants.
l'he Loon CHA portt.ine asked, how he could re
cognise the superior of the Benedietine monks in the
north and south provinces of England ?
Mr. Floor thought his Lordship could recognise
them de pet° though not &jure. The only thing
necessary here was, to ascertain the persons to
whom the legacies were left, and then they undoubt-
edly must take them, unless they laboured under
some civil disability. Ile then instanced the case of
a French bishop coming over here, when these dig-
nitaries of the church were abolished by the National
Convention, who would, he said, be undoubtedly
entitled to take a legacy in this country, demised to
him by his title of bishop.
The LORD CA ANCELLOR said he would acknow-
ledge that ; but if the French Bishop was to come
over here, and claim a legacy kft to him by U.* de-
nomination of Catholic Archbishop of York, he could
I note take it according to law. His Lordship con-
eeived that the words in the will, to the Superior,
and the denomination establishment, went greatly
against the Defendants
Mr. PICOT submitted, that by Superior nothing
could be meant, but a sentleman whom a number
of persons had permitted to superintend their con-
, dun. Tnis,gentleman, by courtesy, retained the
empty name of Superior, to which formerly, on the
Continent, lie by law was entitled. And as to the
Court not being able to recognise them in the North
and South Provinces, he said, he could say no
more than that it was a notorious tat that they ex-
isted here, and, he believed, with the knowledge
and wader the proteCtion of government.
The Lotto CHANCEL Loa said, if the report had
stated that such an order existed in the province of
York or Canterbury, he then would have under-
stood it ; but it did not tell him what the North and
South Provinces were, or that the Benedieline
Monks had come over from France ; neither of
which points he could know by any other means.
Mr. Ptoor continued, and said, that the ergo-
men, had taken a very curious turn ; he was aston-
ished it could be for a moment supported, that per-
sons could not take legacies here, on account of the
laws of another country—when, if they resided in
that country, they would not be disabled, as the
establishments of Foreigners were not abolished,
but only ordered to continue as seculars. Formerly,
he said, Norman Monks could take legacies here ;
to support which assertion, he quoted the opinion of
Justice Blackstone—he also quoted the case of Sir
Lawrence Anderton, whose eldest son went to the
Continent, and became a Monk. On the death of
Sir Lawrence, his second son took possession of the
properly—but, being afterwards convislted of trea-
sou, sod his property taken by the Crown, the
Mnek carne over, and claimed the estate, alleging
that his brother had no right to it ; on a full hearing
of the cause, he took his estate, as what had passed
in another country, namely, his becoming a Monk,
could not be lega:ly proved here. He also cited the
case of the King o Lady Portington, where it was
held by the Court of King's Bench, that money
left for the good of 'he testator's soul, and acknow-
ledged by toe legatee not to belong to her, but to
God and his Saint., was a good et. The Learned
Gentleman concluded, by saying, he would not go
into any of the other exceptions, wail he knew
whether his Learned Friends at the opposite side
meant to argue them.
Mr. Serjeant l'a est ea apprehended, that the only
question was, whether this description was sufficient
to give the legacies to the person meant by the tes-
tator? He then cited several cases to prove that it
was not illegal to be a Monk, and also to prove,
that if a bequest be made to any person for a corpo-
ration, which is not by law allowed, yet, though
that person could not take it for the corporation, he
could take it as an individual : he, on the
thought that this was only a circuitous manner of
describing their persons, and not meaning any thing
ditailowed by law; he therefore submitted that the
Court should confirm the report.
Mr. Ilene, on the same side, contended, that
there was no law, statute or common, which extir-
parted the order of monks from this country.—
The statutes of Henry the Eighth, of pious memo-
ry, had not gone so tar; that good King had only
stripped them of the property they had acquired,
because they did not make a thrifty use of it, but
made no statute to expel the orders, or prevent
them from acquiring property ; and it would be
found, he said, that there were several religious
hnuses, and persons holding considerable properties,
down to the reign of George the First, when there
was a statute made, divesting them of all their pro-
, perry which they had acquired, but not driving them
out of the country ; so that, if they could live on
the air, there was nothing to prevent their remain-
ing, and acquiring more. Th.t argument had been
strongly urged by his Learned Friends, at the same
side with him, that these superiors could exist in
this couniry de
.fafio ; but he contended, that they
could exist de jure, as there was no law or statute in
the boiks to drive them away. He then referred
to the rules of St. Bennet, and the decree of the
Council of ['rent, which had been quoted by Mt.
Rom ILLY ; and contended, that they were nut con-
sidered by any Catliblic order, as in the slightest
degree binding in temporal concerns. He could
nut, therefore, see any reason, unless the Court
would rely on these musty rules, why the excep-
tions should not be over-1111-d.

Mr. R ()situ. v. in redly, admitted that these su•
periors were objets of charity, and had been perse-
sectsted in a great degree ; but, he did not think that
any reason why his client was not to come into a
Court of Justice to look for this part of his property,
when he bad lost almost all the rest by the same
means that these monks had lost theirs. He then
referred to the circumstance of the master's report.
ing the evidence of the Defendants, and not of the
Plaintiff; which, its i!self, was sufficient to invalidate
the wlaule report. His Learned Friend, Mr. HALL,
he thought, had met the question with a (treater de.
tree of courage than either of his coadjutor;, by
.ra-ing the existing rights that monks and nuns had,
of being as bodies in England ; but he thought

•
that Learned Centieman would be very much
surprised, if he found his Chambers in the Temple
surrounded with ',lack and white friars and nuns,
of all denominations, claiming their original
rights ; he declared it was with him a very doubtful
case, whether the Learned Gentleman, by the ar-
guments he had just then urged, bad not incurred
the penalties of a premuffire. It had been stated, he
said, by Mr. PIGIOT, as a reason why foreign snooks
could formerly bring an action here, that the law
did not admit evidence to be given of what passed
in another country ; this was an argument against
himself; as it could not now be proved that these
legatees were superiors of these religious orders in
another country. He then supposed a case of a
legacy being left to the Grand Almoner for the time
being, of King James, or Kiv Chad,' 111. in
which case, though the person might have been
well known, yet it was absurd to suppose that the
law would recognise him as such; horn all these
considerations, he submitted that the exceptions
must be allowed.

The LORD CHANCELLOR said, he should go
through all the exceptions, before he would deliver
his opinion on any of them.
Mr. Rota liar then read another of the exceptions
to a part of the Master's report, which stated, that
there was a Sufic 'mess of the English Benediaine
Nuns of Cambray, now living with others in Com-
munity, in England, and capable of receiving a le-
gacy. He said, the decree of the National Assem-
bly abolished all orders as regulars ; and there could
be no pretence to say, chat they now existed, as there
was no such person as a secular nun.
Mr. Picor, on the other side, submitted, that
Mary Blaid, who was found by the Master to be
Superioress of the BenediSine Nuns of Cambay,
and, living there, was undoubtedly entitled. This
point was discussed for a considerable time, in the
course of which it was argued, on the part of the
Plaintiff, that the decree of the National Conven-
tion abolished the Order before the death of the
Testatrix, and as warmly urged on the part of the
Defendant, that the Order was only abolished as
regular's', and that foreign nuns were allowed to live
together, and did so for a considerable time after
the decree. There were several other exceptions;
but being of the same nature as those we have men-
tioned, they were not argued.
The LORD CHANCIII.I.,,R dein-red the further
consideration until Thursday next.

BLAIR r. JAMES.
This bill was filed to recover mortgaged estates,
on paying the sum borrowed, and interest. The
bill states!, that the ancestor of the Plaintiff, being
possessed of certain copyhold estates, mortgaged
them to George Williams for a sum of 4001. and
that the present Defendant came into possession
from Mr. Williams; the bill therefore prays that the
Plaintiff shall have his estate on payment of 4091,
and interest. To this bill the Defendant had put in
a plea, which stated that he had, not knowing the
Plaintiff had any right or claim, purchased the
lands from Williams for. a valuable consideration,
namely, 4001. of which 3501. was paid by giving up
a mortgage he had from Williams on the estate, and
the remaining 501. was made up by interest and
money.
Mr. Rotatxxv, on the part of the Plaintiff. ola-
jefled to the plea, as it did not set forth
how much ready money was paid, and only said that
the mortgage fur 3501. was given up. and the re-
maining 50!. made up in interest and rminey.
The ATEORNRY GENERAL argued in favour of
the plea; but the Court was of edinion, that, strictly
speaking, it could not stand, but 'gave the D. fend.
ant liberty to amend it, or let it stand fur aillwer,
with liberty to except.