The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-02 00:00:00

THE SOCIETY OF ARTS.

Tho council of this society has at present under its
consideration a very important proposition maths to it by
Mr. Harry Chester, and which contemplates the affilia-
tion of the literary and scientific institutions, the me-
chanics' institute:, and other similar bodies throughout
the country. Since the close ot the Great Exhibition
the society, which contributed so largely to the realisa-
tion of that display, has greatly strengthened its popu-
larity and means of usefulness. Every week large acces-
sions are made to the number-of its members, while the
series of lectures delivered on the suggestion ot his Royal
Highness Prince Albert have proved eminently success-
ful. These are still in progress every Wednesday even-
ing, and draw crowded audiences. The extensive range
of subjects treated unfits them for being made the mate-
rials for a newspaper report, but the council has under-
taken the publication of them in a separate form, and as
the lecturers are men of the highest eminence in their
respective departments, there cannot be a doubt that
their treatises will receive a wide circulation and be
highly appreciated. From those which have already
been delivered, we are disposed to think that this course
of lectures will be found in no respect inferior, either in
interest or value, to the long-promised and long-delayed
jury reports, the formal character of which, combined
with other circumstances, places them at a disadvantage
in many respects when compared with productions
the authors of which were in a freer and less em-
barrassed position to write as they thought. The names
of Dr. Whowell, Sir Henry De la Beche, Professor Oxen,
Mr. Jacob Bell, Dr. Playfair, Dr. Lindley, Professor
Solly, Professor Willis, Mr. Ulashier, Mr. lionise:lan.
and Dr. Boyle are sufficient guarantees of themselves for
the manner in which their respective tasks have been
performed, and the subjects still to be treated before all
the sections of the Great Exhibition have been reviewed,
will no doubt be confided to equally competent and able
hands. Under such circumstances, and seeing the use-
fulness of the society and its vigour daily extended, it
occurred to Mr. Harry Chester to lay before the council
his proposition. He points out in his letttr that the
gaur(saptice,esutt
literary and scientific institutions which now exist in
almost every town throughout the country are at present
for the most part in a languishing condition, that they
are
organized system, common good, end that they have no connexion with the
isolated and possess no weans of co-operation for the
nce and art. To
infuse new life )'ets of literature, sci( ,
hrael
onbs.zociati?ns which pur.suo under national
into these local bodies, and to found a well-
' Ityl e may be
cheaply and t"
( questions apart atm whereby. industrial know , g
Mr. Chester aimsconvenientlyat.
t diffused, are the cretins w'bilcii
from Re points
which might with.
points out the socialm.aTfuciaa
row:amended by him
machinery at commandP 1 ted, and
he gives examples inwhich
ttilleoroughly venti a
association
y developed has been at-
tended with beneficial results. The council of tho so-
ciety seems disposed to act upon his estiOn, and
thee© cannot be a doubt that if
partiall Principle of
by the measureugg adopted
a character of greater practical utility is imported to the
local institutions, a public good of no mail importance U
will have been achieved. While the fit, -r
L the Crystal

Palace remains doubtful, and the Royal Commission
shows no sign of returning energy, the Society of Arts,
by carefully sustaining the organization of the Exhibi-
tion, and by fostering the impulse which it gave to in-
dustrial knowledge. may quietly take possession of a
field of usefulness for which its popular constitution and
its independence of government control admirably adapt
it. In all that relates to the progress of the arts, facili-
ties of communication between kindred institutions must
be extremely desirable, and the benefits to be derived
by following up the scheme now contemplated will be
better understood when it is remembered how little in-
formation on industrial subjects had been popularized
even in England before the great display in Hyde-park.
and how vast an extension it received from that remark-
able event.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

HOUSE OP LORDS, March 1.

Their Lordships sat today, at twelve o'clock, and,
after disposing -of some appeals, adjourned until
Thursday, when the new Lord Chancellor (Baron St
Leonarn'o) will take the oaths and preside for the first
time en the Woolsack,

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, March 1.
(thfore Mr.
wommisviioner EVANS.)
IN RE J. VEVERS.
Vie bankrupt was a warehouseman, of Ne. 7, Iron-
monger.lane. This was an adjourned examination
meeting.
Mr. Lloyd opposed for the assignees ; Mr. Link.
Mr. LLOYD said there were several thousand pounds
of debts and no assets. lie examined the bankrupt
and several
veral witnesses with respect to certain pledging
alaar ppntiother transactions, and the Court ordered an ad-
journment bankrupt's examination to the Bth
of
IN RE SARAH AND NICHOLAS I. ISHERWOOD.
Aril. of the
The bankrupts were house decorators, of Ludgate-
hill. Their anfentints extend from October 1, 1848,
to November 140851, and contain the following
items :—Craditors, 3,4691.; ditto secured 7531., hold-
ing property valued at 9501.; property 6261.; draw-
ings by Mrs. bber wood 8131. ; by N. I. Isherwood
764/. ; deficiency`, at commencement 851.
This was an examination meeting.
Mr. REED, for the assignees, said Mrs. Isherwood
was an elderly lady,
and he acquitted her of blame.
The accounts had been improperly kept, but he did
not think
any benefit would arise from an ad-
journment.
Mr. LAwamicE, for the bankrupts, said the busi-
ness, an old established one, had been worn out by
time.

His HONOUR passed the bankrupts' examination.
IN RE COULTHRED AND DYER.
The bankrupts were white lead makers, of Lom-
bard-street, Union-street, Borough.
This was a certificate meeting. Mr. Moss, from
the office of Messrs. Wilkinson and Gurney, ap-
peared for the assignee ;
Mr. Lloyd for the bank.
rupts.
Mr. Moss said the bankrupts had commenced with
a capital of 1,1811., and their debts were now 1,806/. ;
their assets about 7201. The creditors thought that
want of prudence on the part of the bankrupts, who
were both young men, was their only fault, and they
bad no objection to their receiving immediate cer-
tificates.
The COMMISSIONER said it was not necessary that
Mr. Lloyd should address the Court. The bank-
rupts would receive immediate certificates of the
second elms.

INSOLVENT DELITOI?S' COURT, March 1.
(Before Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS.)

IN RE JOHN CHAPPELL AND WILLIAM NASD.

These insolvents, who were partners as cab pro•
prietorP, were opposed by Mr. Sargood, and supported
by Mr. Duncan.
The complaint was that the insolvents had parted
with property to a person named Hubbard within.
three months of their application under the Protection
AcF. It appeared that in July last a mortgage with
a bill of sale annexed was given to Hubbard, and no
delivery of chattels made. The first instalment was
due in December, and on default Hubbard had taken
possession of the property. The question was.,
whether the insolvents bad " charged or parted with
their property" within three months of the petition so
as to preclude them from having a day named for the
final order. The charge on the property was made
beyond the three months, but the property bad, as it
was alleged, been " parted" with within the three
months of the petition.
Mr. Commissioner Panairs said the question was
an important one, and he would consult the other
Cotntnissioners.—Adjourned to Monday.

IN RE WILLTAM ROGER PULESTON.

The question in this case was, whether the insol-
vent, a young man who applied under the Protection
Act had incurred debts without reasonable or pro-
bable expectations of payment. lie had a fortune of
10,0001. when he came of age. He had spent his
money, he said, " foolishly," and now owed various
debts. Ile had been in the army.
Mr. Dow3E was heard on the part of the insolvent,
who was not opposed by his creditor=. The insolvent
was stated to be the son of Sir R. Puleston, Bart.
Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS was of opinion that
debts bad been incurred without reasonable expecta-
tion of payment ; but under all the circumstances he
in a month.
might apply

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
MIDLAND ClRCUlT.—Liuceln, March 1.
(Before the Lord Chief Justice Jsavis and
.a Com-
ilacoau yleaayr, s QO.fC age,., for the defendant.
Com-
mon Jury.)
STANDALOPT V. CODDINOTON.
This was an action for a breach of promise of
marriage.
Mr. Humfrey, Q.C., and Mr. Flowers appeared for
The plaintiff, Miss Agenora Standaloft, is a lady's
tmhaeipdl;aianbtoiffut;
forty-two
Ay-.w in the service of
Mrs. Benson, of Utterby, In this county, and has
been so for a great many years. The defendant, who
is about the same age, was formerly coachman in the
same family ; and in the year 1837, when be left
that service and went to London, was engaged to be
married to the plaintiff. The defendant upon going,
to London, went into the service of General Fuller-'
ton, and so remained until the autumn of 1847, when
he took a public-house in East-street, Msnehester-
square, and was married to a young woman in the
same station of life, and without money. nom the
year 1837 the plaintiff and defendant bad never met;
but a correspondsnee
was kept up between them
until March, 1846. A few of the defendant's letter,
were read in evidence, dated at considerabl-, intervals,
in which the defendant frequently assured the plain-
tiff that he had no notion of marrying any one else;
nor did it appear that he had, for the last of those
letters was in March, 1846, and his acquaintance
with his present wife did not begin till the early part
of the year 1847. In November of that year the
marriage took place, end this action was not com-
menced until the month of January in the pre-
sent year
Mr. MACAULAY, on the part of the defendant, ad-
mitted that a promise was proved, but contended that
this was the attorney's action, brought for the sake of
getting costs, and that the smallest amount of damages
would meet the justice of the case. The plaintiff
was a highly respectable and excellent young woman,
whose merits he was instructed to admit to the fullest
extent; but it was idle to suppose that she bad suf-
fered uny grievous disappointment from the conduct
of the defendant, who had heard nothing of the plain-
tiff since 1846, and had been led to suppose that the
engagement fornerly subsisting between them had,
by a sort of tacit consent, come to an end. He had
now a wife and family to support, and his ruin would
be the consequeeree if' by the verdict of the jury he
should be called ,Von to serious amount of
pay any
damages.

The jury retired for a short time, and returned
with a verdict for the plaintiff—Damagea, 40s.
(Before a Special Jury.)
PRICKER V. WATKINBO2I.
This was an action of libel.
Mr. Hutnfrey, Q.O ~Mr. Macaulay, Q.C., and Mr.
W. H. Adams were counsel for the plaintiff; Mr.
Sergeant Miller for the defendant.
The plaintiff is one of the coroners for Lincoln-.
shire, and also
editor and proprietor of the Boston
Herald; the defendant is the proprietor and editor of
the Lincolnshire, Boston, and Spalding Free Press,
and the action was brought to recover compensation
in damages for the injury which the plaintiff alleged
himself to
have sustained by the publication in the
last-mentioned newspaper of the 2d of December,
1851,
Coroner.-...0n
of the following paragraph :—"A Pugilistic
Wednesday evening a pugilistic coroner
paid a visit to his freehold, the Wrangle Old Haws
(?), and
village swains are served by insinuating fellows.
ramous in love and war, our hero held an inquebs
the village was terrified to hear how quiet
over a body before it was cold, and summed np, 27_
singing ' My pretty Jane.' But walls have earn, rind
so have doraesticp, and a certain comely cook,etold
what what she had seen of the Bloomer costume to
_t:
ii; t got
master when he came borne, and so the pugilist
repreat
kicks instead of halfpence, and beat
without any of E. L.'s one-and- Billy (not
The Wranglers say that our Tommy b
The deceleration. ex-
Danit.l) 1,—....., by chalks."
to the pia intiff
plaincd this cotnpolition as imputing
lady who lived
that he had wooed Mrs. Swaine'dathe Wrangle Old
with her husband at a place celled the
between
Haws, with a view to an illicit intercourse sixpenpayatCshampa gne.
i the plaintiff cha-
racterised ; and the Learned Counsel
racterised the libel as a
abuse of the liberty of the
press.cidled to prove that
Two or three witnesses NY.erethe
sense imputed to it
they understood the libel in
Plaintiff himself was not
by the declaration ; but the
3-examination that
called ; and it was elicited 'Oil cros
the plaintiff had frequently
disgraceful and aboinioiable
denounced the defendant's
paper, and expressed his
determination to put it down ,

on account of the scurrilous personal attacks which
it made upon himself and others. It also appeared
that on one occasion the plaintiff, being a member of
the Boston tow❑ council, had threatened to pull the
nose of another member, and that upon proceeding to
enforce the threat, some blows had passed between
him and his antagonist.

Mr. Sergeant ricli7.LEit, in addressing the jury for
the defendant, said that the indignant and vitupera-
tive languagein which the plaintiff's case had been
opened must have been borrowed from the memorable
account of the fierce contest between the rival editors
of the Eatanswilll Gazette and Eatanswill Inde•
pendent in " Pickwick ;" and he quoted the racy
abuse of those far-famed worthies as illustrative of
the apparent character of editorial squabbles in Lin-
lolnshire. The Learned Counsel characterised the

libel as a trumpery squib, which could not possibly
injure the character of any one, and urged that its
meaning was very ambiguous, but that at all events
it was absurd to suppose that it intended to convey
my serious imputation of any kind. Whether the
plaintiff bad sustained any damage the jury could
pretty well infer from the fact that he had not dared
to get into the witness,-box.
The Learned JUDGE briefly summed up, and
The jury having retired for short time, found a
verdict for the plaintiff—Damages, 5/.
On the Civil side two special jury causes and one
road indictment remain to be tried. _ _

Mr. Justice Mauls has been engaged in trying
prisoners.

WESTERN CIRCUIT, Winchester. March 1.

The commission was opened here on Saturday by
Mr. Justice Erie and Mr. Justice Talfourd,

Their Lordships attended Divine service yesterday
at the Cathedral, and at eleven o'clock this morning
they commenced the business of the assize?, Mr.
Justice Talfourd presiding in the Crown Court, and
Mr. Justice Erle sitting at Nisi Prins.
Tnere are upwards of 100 prisoners in the calendar ;
some of the offences are of a very serious character;
at the same time it is right to state that' there are
vast number of persons charged with most trifling
yffences:
In his' charge to the grand jury, the Learned
JUDGE congratulated them upon the state of the calen-
dar,, and spoke in high terms of the great efficiency of
the constabulary force of the county, under the able
superintendence of Captain Harris.
The cause list bag only seven cases in it, one of
which is to be tried by a special jnry.
Nothing has occurred in the Crown Court to call
for notice.

NISI PRIUS COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice
ERLE.)
SARGENT V. ZIMMERMAN AND ANOTHER.

Mr. Butt and Mr. Karalake were counsel for the
plaintiff; and Mr. Crowder and Mr. Maynard for the
defendants.

This was an interpleader issue to try the right of
property in three race-horses which had belonged to
Mr. Massingberd, of Eaton-place, the entertainer of
Kossuth. The horses had been seized in December
by the Sheriff of Hants, under an execution which
had been issued against the goods of Mr. Massingberd
It the instance of the defendants, who are jewellers
in London. The writ was delivered to the sheriff on
the sth of December, and an agent of Mr. Massing.
herd's had agreed to sell the horses a day before. The
question was whether the• sale had been completed
before the writ was delivered to the sheriff.

The jury returned a verdict for the defendants.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—Oxford, Feb. 28.

The commission was opened here this afternoon by
\lr. Justice Wightman. The Learned Judges will
attend divine service to-morrow, and on Monday
morning, at ten o'clock, the business will begin.
There are-but three venires returned to the clerk of
assize, and it is said all of these have been settled,
and that consequently there will be no civil business
for trial. The calendar contains the names of 47 pri-
soners, of whom 6 are charged with burglary, 1 with
murder, 6 with cutting and wounding, 5 with assault
and robbery, 1 with bestiality, 1 with horse stealing,
2 with arson, 1 with concealing the birth of a child,
1 with perjury, 1 with obtaining goods by false pre-
tences, 1 with uttering countertest coin, 1 with con-
spiracy to defraud, and the rest with common lar•
cenies.

It is thought that the murder case will occupy a
great deal of time, as the evidence is circumstantial,
and 48 witnesses will have to be examined. Though
it is thought that the evidence is pretty conclusive,
yet there is a saying here that in Oxfordshire murder
is not hanging.