The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-09-09 00:00:00

.
-take.-their siesta; • rise about tour or Jive
o'clock, bathe, and the ladies take their evening's
ride in carriages, or phaetons driven by a postillion,
while the men assemble in groups oo the -bridges
which are mostly furnished with seats. On visiting
them in the evening, you are presented with candied
sweetmeats of an excellent quality, fine cool water.
.beetle, and cheroots. There are no places of pub-
lic amusement. excepting a billiard-room and cock-
pit; the latter is chiefly frequented by the lower
class of natives, who are extravagantly fond of this
dtversion ; the heels of the feathered biped are
armed with a flit curved steel spur, something re•
sembling a penknife, but longer, and afford but
little sport, as a very few blows generally ends the
contest by severing • limb. On the festivals.
which are numerous, the streets are filled with voina
pany, who frequently dance on the green plat b.-
fore the churchea ; Chinese comedies are also per-
formed, amid a number of stalls, ornamented with
variegated paper and foil, itre open for vending
vweeasnaita and other refreshments. Tne women in
general are pretty petite figures; hut chastity does
not appear to be held in great estimation by them. li
Madera frequently occur, and at this period
there were upwards of 3,000 pris tilers in the gaol.,
and a considerable portion of them for homicide;
no lets than three murders were committed in one
day when the fleet was paid previous to its departure
for Europe, and during the feast of St. Sebastian
(the tutelar Saint of Manilla) an officer in the
army in a fit of jealousy stubbed his wife with his
sword, while in the act of handing him some bee- '
tle acre-s the table. lie immediately leaped out
of the window, and took sanctuary. The Viceroy, '
however, insisted on hits being delivered to the
civil authorities ; this the priests elide-wowed to
evade, but on being threatened with a guard to take
him by fence, lie was surrendered to justice. as
they were well aware the threat would be promptly
executed. for a short time previous, • French
priest who acted as tutor to the children of the
Viceroy, having by some means given umbrage to
the Spanish priesthood, suddenly disappeared, and
after a fruitless search, the Viceroy suspected his
being in the power of the Inquisition, arid sent
one of his Aide-de-Camps with a party of troops
to that prioon, to briiig him dead or alive, by which
means the unfortunate Frenchman was reward
front captivity. I cannot say much of the Criniiii•l
Laws cr vigilance ef the Police. Banditti are both
numerous and daring, and frequently make noc-
turnal attacks on the houses of opulent iudividuals;
they once even attacked the factory of the Philip-
pine Company. amid carried off an immense booty at
noonday, which had rendered the Pullet at little
more active. and numbers were taken. In their
attacks, murder almost always takes place. I
was iiifornied by a respectable inhabitant, that
they attempted the house of a young officer of the
cavalry. w:ur was an excellent swordsman, and
placing his back egotist the wall, resolutely de-
fended himself against 14 or 16 men, nod laid se-
veral dead at his feet ; the remainder took to flight,
carrying away the arms of those *flu had fallen in
the contest, and this gallant young man Eras ac-
tually confined for some time on the charge of
murder. - I

OXFORD ASSIZES.

THE REV. THOMA VRIPPS v. CHARLES ROBERT
HEN DERSON.
On Friday evening last, a writ of inquiry in re-
plevin came out to be executed of the Town Hall,
Oxford, before Mr. Cooper, the Under• Sheriff, in
which the "%natal*, a clergyman, and master of the
free grammar school at %Vane), sought to recover
damages against the Defendant, who is a gentle-
man residing et Mount House, near %%Tinley.
Mr. CROSs and Mr. EDEN conducted the Plain-
tiff's case.
It appeared that on the ed of July, 1819, the
Plaintiff was applied to by Mr. Leake, an Attor-
ney, at IVitney, on behalf of the Defendant, for
payment of ell. outing it was the amount of a
rent•charge pvyaltle out of the free school. The
Plaintiff immediately musts ered this application by
stating, that lie would take the earliest opportunity
of communicating it to the governors and visitors of
the school.and of taking their directions on the sub-
ject. On the sth of July the Plaintiff consulted one
of the visitor*, and was directed by his► to call on
the Defendant, to ask him under what authority
he made the demand. and haw it became payable. '
The Plaintiff accordingly addressed a letter to Mr.
Leake the smite day, requesting hives to inform burn
hots the rent-charge was payable, but without re.
ceiving any answer or any fainter communication
either front the Defendant or his Attorney, the
Defendant, Charles Leake, his Attorney, Ed li
-
lento'', clerk to Leake, accompanied by the con-
stable of the parish, the Sheriff's Officer, and
Isis follower, entered the Plaintiff's house on the
7th of July, with a distress of 21/., being the ar-
rears of the pretended rent charge, and after going
unnecessarily into several rooms (although it was in
evidence that the goods in the first MOW they en.
tered were much more than sufficient in value to
answer the 211. and expenses) and conducting
themselves in a very improper manner towards the
Plaintiff and his family, they departed, leaving a
man in possession of the Plaintiff's goods. The
Plaintiff went to Oxford the next day and re-
plevied, and thereupon declared in the action, and
the Defendant finding that the distress had been
illegally made, suffered judgment by default ; and
after Serjeant Peake had addrea•cd the Jury fur the
Defendant (without, calling a single witness,
although several had been sulqicaneed, and were in
attendance), the Under Sheriff summed tip in it
most impartial manner. and the Jury returned a
verdict for the.Plaintitt with 101. damages.
On Saturday morning the Special Jury cause,
Sieve's v. Staveley, came on before Mr. Justice
RICHARDSON.
Mr. TAUNTON stated. that the action was brought
by the Plaintiff, a •t respectable young Lady,
for the breach of ■ promise of marriage, made to
her by the Defendant, and rasher fur the purpose
of vindicating her character than of obtaining a
pecuniary compensation; that an arratigrinent had
been made, equally h nameable to both p tines, and
lie was therefote happy to say Iliad it could be uu.
necessary for him to occupy the time of the Court
and the Jury by 'fueling into any further statement
of the circumstances of the cave.
Mr. JZILVIS said •that he thought it right to