The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-26 00:00:00

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, MAY 24.

THE MIDDLE LEVEL INtIN RATION.—The Court
of Queen's Bench delivered judgment yesterday
in the case Cox v. Wise. This was an action brought by
the plaintiff against the defendant, the Commissioner under
the Middle Level Drainage Act, I and 8 Geo. IV., to re-
cover damages sustained by the plaintiff by his land being
overflowed, owing to the but sting of the sluice on the river
Ouse, and which, it was alleged, was owing to the negli •
Bence of the defendant in the construction and maintenance
of such sluice.—Mr Justice Mellor was of opinion that it
never could have been intended by the Legislature that
the Commissioners appointed under the act, and whose ser-
vices were gratuitous, should be responsible for the negli-
gence of the contractors and servants they were compelled
to employ in the maintenance of the sluice and drainage
walls. The learned judge cited several cases, including a
recent decision of the Court of Common Pleas in the case
of Halliday and the Commissioners of St. Leonard, Shore-
ditch. The rule to set aside the verdict for the plaintiff,
and to enter it for the defendant,ought to be made absolute.
—Mr. Justice Blackburn was of a contrary opinion,holding
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(Sittings in Banco, before the Lord Chief Justice Cockburn,
Justices B'ack burn and Mellor.)
THE QVEEN V. TERNAN AND OTHERS.
This was a prosecution on behalf of the Federal Govern-
ment against Patrick 'Tertian and two others, and, in pur-
suance of a habeas corpus, the prisoners were brought up
before the full Court from Liverpool, on a charge of piracy,
alleged to have been committed by the prisoners and others
in seizing an American merchant vessel on he high seas.
:
Ile ship lay at Matamoras, laden with cotton, th and to
New York. In the Bay of Mexico the alleged pirates ma,:
on the crew, seized the ship, and took her to Belize, where
they abandoned her and sold the cargo. The three pri-
soners were apprehended at Liverpool, at the instance of the
master, and committed by Mr. Raffles, the stipendiary
magistrate. It appeared in evidence before the magistrate,
that the men had acted under the orders of a certain Major
Hogg, who appeared to act as an officer in the service of the
Confederate Government. The magistrate, doubting whe-
ther the case was piracy within the Act of 11 and 12 Vict.
c. 42, remanded the prisoners, to give them an opportunity
of applying to this court.
Last term Mr. Edward James, Q.C., obtained on their
behalf a rule nisi for a habeas corpus, with a view to their
discharge; and the rule (after argument by Mr. Lush,
Q.C., on behalf of the American Minister) was made
absolute.

The same counsel now appeared, and Mr. James rose
Erni informed the Court that the prisoners were present,
and moved that the return to the writ be read. It was
accordingly done by the Master of th 3 Crown Office.
It was then mutually agreed that the evidence available had
been given, and was before the Court. Mr James then
moved that the prisoners be discharged, on the ground that
this was not a ease within the treaty or the act.

Mr Lush, Q.C., addressed the Court against the prisoners'
discharge. He first contended that the warrant was good ;
but the main question was, that there was no obligation on
one State to deliver over the fugitive criminals of another,
nor was there legal power to do so. The criminal law of
both countries was the same.

The Lord Chief Justice was of opinion that the techni•
cal objections as to the warrant of the Secretary of State
not being based upon an original warrant, and the magis-
trate's warrant not showing upon its face that it was based
upon an information, were untenable. As to the prisoners
being protected by their acting as belligerents, he thought
that was a question for the magistrate or a jury; but,
at all events, a prima facie case had been made out,
and the magistrate was bound to commit. The real
question was as to the construction of the treaty and
act. In his judgment they were not meant to apply to
cases where one nation had exclusive jurisdiction, and if
this had been the intention of the framers of the treaty,
they could have inserted words for that purpose. Upon
the construction of the treaty, he was of opinion that the
prisoners ought to be delivered up to the American Go-
vernment; but as the majority of the court entertained a
different opinion, they would be discharged.
Justices Crompton, Blackburn, and Shea (the latter de-
livering a written judgment) agreed with the Lord Chief
Justice as to the minor and technical points ; but they all
agreeu that, in their judgment, the treaties and acts were
intended to apply only whore the demanding country had
exclusive jurisdiction.
The prisoners were immediately discharged, and in less
than half an hour afterwards they were seen walking up
the Strand showing leas concern than might have been
imagined for men who might be said to have just slipped
from the hands of the executioner.

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