The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-25 00:00:00

Obvninitfll

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LONDON, MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1852.

Nearly 300,000/, after the payment of all the
expenses connected with the Great Industrial Exblbi-
tion, remained P 9 the surplus in the binds of the
Royal Commissioners. Nearly 300,0001. st?r-
hog ! And already it would seem almost eves, six-
pence of that magnificent sum bag b3en expndcd.
How this bas been accomplished, the nation will
doubtless wonder; but it will wonder still more when
it learns that it has been effected simply by the del:co
of purchasing a cluster of market gardens as the site
of a new National Gallery—this rather expensive site
being situated between Brompton and Kensington.
After this, JOHN BULL may well paraphrase what
has already been so delightfelly paraphrased by DICK
SWIYELLER. He may reasonably lament that he
""ever has a comfortable little surplus in his pocket
tell it is sure to be expended in the purchase of market
gardens! Here are three plums rolled away quietly
for the acquisition of a plot of cabbages end a cluster
of goose'cerry bushes. Not a hodfal of bricks, or
a trowelful of mortar h 24, up to this moment, b:an
secured for the construction of the projected galleries.
But then the site hrs been obtained. Yes ! and in
obtaining the site, the ration b had the in-
exprewsible honour of sharing from 200,000/.
to 300,000/. comfortably and cosily between the
hitherto lords paramount of the land and seig-
neurs of the soil, between Monsieur le Baron de
VILLARS, and my lord the Earl of HARRINGTON.
It is really to,be regretted, that the entire transaction
hes been closed so precipitately. For the use to which
the surplus was put, the Royal Commissioners must
have mown that, directly or indirectly, they were
responsible to the nation at Urge—responsible so far
that they were assuredly to be looked to in the mat-
ter, for something like a rational appropriation of an
'amount so enormous. Yet acting, of course, solely
upon their own judgment, it would now appear that
the whole sum has been squandered upon the one
~bject of securing ground for a building to be devoted
riot merely to the preservation of the pictorial trea-
sures of the nation, but also to the promotion generally
f
of artS)
commerce, and manufactures. The object
this
enterprise, is,
of course, we ac nit, at once,
noble enough in itself, and one which we should re-
joice to see kept in 'view more sedulously than it
has been hitherto by the Members
i hers cf the Imr
rial Government. We bear n
recollection with
unalloyed plealure, the half promise that a
structure of this kind
should be raiE2d in the
immediate vicinity of the Metropolis at the earliest
possible opportunity—an intimation n
given " 1 the
course of his speech at the last dinner ofßoyal
Academy R l
Academy by the Right Hon. Gentleman the CuaNie-
crttr.oa of the ExcnEousg. It is high time indeed
that England should have some edifice of the cha-
racter here implied, more suitable to the glory of the
Kingdom than the wretched monstrosity of a
building in Tral'algar• square—the structure doing
duty as a cruet-stand in presence of two durnl)-
svaiters by way of fountains. ..I..ny thing, We all
kanw, would be preferable to the continuance of the
tq'grace long felt in this direction—the disgrace of
tilthcidilr..; merely a portion of the national pictures
'litcorartng the walls of that odious urchiteatural abo-
Iliiris Lion. Anything would be welcome in fact that
up pared to be calculated to bring about the desired
04ange—anything but the wholesale disposal of the
:4)0,000/. surplus of the Exhibition for a group of
Iriarket gardens, agreeable by way of site, according
ti,) the opinion, or perhaps, we should say,
according
t. 4 the crotchet, of the Royal Commissioners.
Afosas, in the " Vicar of Wakefield," selling his
titther's colt for a gross of spectacles in abagreen cases '

—JACK, in the story of the Bean Stalk, parting with
his mother's cow for a handful of mottled beans—
afford us tolerable illustrations of the bargain re-
cently
made by the :Royal Commissioners in the pur-
chase of a few market gardens between Brompton
and Kensington in return for the sum total of
nearly 300,0001., the surplus of the Industrial Exhibition.
Spectacles are, of course, very good things in their
way, and especially we might presume them to be
useful to such a particularly short-sighted stripling
as the dupe of BALTHAZAR alias JENILINSON. Beans,
again, are capital eating no doubt when nicely pre-
pared and seasoned ala haricot. But surely it must,
on the!very face of it, be regarded as a rather remark-
able act of extravagance, the purchasing, for a sum
soonormous, a collection of potato patches like those
intended fur the site of our future National Gallery.
The bargain, however, bad though we cannot but
deem it, has been made—c' est un fait accompli—the
land is the nation's—the money is that belonging to
the Baron de VILLAits and to Lord HARRINGTON.
Forty-eight acres have been bought for 150,0001.—
twenty acres for GO,OOO/.—and smaller parcels of
land, at the rate of 4,0001. per acre, have teen ob-
tained in " hot haste" by the zeal of the Royal
Commissioners. There appears to be no help for
it—the ground referred to is now the property of
the country, and the House of Commons will conse-
quently be called upon to advance additional sums of
money for raising the superstructure. The " deed
being done," Parliament must make the best of it;
and we shall now, therefore, look forward with no
small solicitude to the course about to he adopted in
the matter by the lower breach of the Legislature.
At present, the few valuable paintings belonging to
the nation are scattered about in various directions—
some of them, and those not the least interesting,
being only accessible with some difficulty, and under
particular circumstances. There is the noble collec-
tion in Trafalgar-square—disgraced by being depo-
sited in one-half of that miserable edifice, the other
half of which is appropriated to the Royal Academy..
There is the collection, in some respects still more
choice, at the Dulwich Gallery, with those exquisite
Pouissuts and incomparable Muarr,Los. There are
the specimens of the English school in the curiosity-
rooms of what is known as Sir JOHN SOANE'S Mu-
seum—comprising, among other treasures, some of
the most masterly productions of HOGARTH. There
is the magnificent store of native works of art, now
decorating the apartments of Marlborough-house,
and renowned by the name of its public-spirited
founder as the VERNON Collection : and there are
other and smaller groups of paintings still more widely
distributed, and some of them, for that reason, almost
entirely overlooked. If these treasures of art could
by any possibility be collected together in a grand
central gallery, worthy of England and of berMetro-
polls, the citizens of London might not find such
ample reason to blush for our national want of taste
when visiting the gorgeous galleries of the Louvre,
and surveying the storied walls of the Luxembourg.
Under the particular circumstances of the occasion,
we must henceforth, therefore, look hopefully in this
matter to the munificence of the House of Commons—
a munificence more than ever requisite, now that the
whole of the surplus of the Exhibition has been ex-
pended in the purchrse of those unfortunate market-
gardens, now that the amount, nearly reaching the
splendid total of 300,0001., has been exhausted, now
that the country may be:said, in plein terms, to have
bought a " pig in a poke," at the precipitate recom-
mendeion of the Royrl. Commissioners.

interposed, so that it could scarcely be ob-
tained again without a Judge's order (procurable
only at a heavy expense),:or by payment of a fee to
the officer. The latter was the most usual course,
and constituted the reason why the full amount was
levied, and that on the most ;ndispensable articles--
so that application for their return and the accom-
panying fee might be secured to the bailiff. Hence •
forward the Court or a Judge may—on being satisfied
that reasonable efforts had been made to effect per-
sonal service, and either that the writ has come to the
knowledge of the defendant, or that he wilfully evades
service of the same, and has not appeared thereto—
order that the plaintiff be at liberty to proceed as if
personal service had been effected—subject to such
conditions us may be deemed expedient. All that
could be desired will thus be achieved, and the tedious,
vexatious, expensive, and utterly useless process
avoided.

The Common Law Prccedure Act—one of the
most important measures of legal reform ever intro-
duced to, or sanctioned by, the British Parliament—
has at length come into practical operation. The
dynasty of JOHN DOE and Ricu..tan ROE—time-hon-
oured potentates— is overthrown ; writs of distringas,
whether for the purpose of compslling en apper-ence,
or proceeding to outlawry, r-e, henceforward end for
ever, abolished ; and special demurrers and rules to
compute will be numbered with the past. We have
frequently expressed our opinion respecting this im-
portant measure. It is unquestionably a step in the
right direction, calculated materitlly to simplify the
proceedings in the Sup rior Courts. It does not,
however, go sufficiently far, and w 11 sc?rzely be
accepted by Legal Reforibers as a permanent settle-
ment of the question, or ri full satisfaction of the
general demand for cheap and speedy justice. The
end of the wedge !leg, however, been admitted, and
the power of future resistance to reasonable altera-
tions will be greatly reduced.
The statute, which contains no less than :2Zil sec
tions, exclusive of the schedules, is founded on the
report of the Common Law Commissioners, most of
whose recommendations have been adopted. It in-
troduces very important altelations in practice which
may lead to considerable expense and vexation, until
the new system is thoroughly understood, and the
opinions of the judges have ben taken on all doubt-
ful points which the ingenuity of counsel or solicitor
may discover. I'" objczt is unquestionably meri-
torious. It aims at the abolition of useless techni-
calities, and allowing the dtcision of the Cou:ts on
the merits of each action t 3 ba obtained so speedily as
may be consistent with a due regard to substantial
justice, end at a mclerate expense. The forms of
action are, however, still retained, although the neces-
sity for such a course was strongly devised by com-
petent judges. The plea 'bogs, t 3), are to be framed
in a formal manner, and forms are given in schedule
(B) as statements of causes of action which tray
serve as precedents in similar cases.

It might have been better had the parties Lan r'.
lowed to state their own CEV:3S in their ow a language.
We are aware of the high authority on which it was
considered that such a course would lead t usele:3
prolixity, end the intrcluction of unnecessrry mat-
hr. We ce-mot, however, help tb'•oking that a
plc in and simple story biiefly set.lng fot
the nature and eh-Tooter of the acts complained
of, rod an answer, either denying the fasts
or explaining them, would ha fe,. preferable to any
set forms, although the latter were free from all need-
less averments. The object of pleading is to enable
the presiding judge and the opposing party fully to
understand the ce3e set up, and the points relied on;
and it certeinly apFears that world be more fully ac-
complished, and the danger of "surprise" considerably
diminished, by the mode we have suggested. There
was, however, apprrc ntly too great a dread of the
assimilation of the prc.3eeding in Law and Equity,
and the ;asion of the several tribunals—a reform that
must eventur'!y be accomplished, to permit the adop-
tion of such a course.

The proceedings to outlawry against parties residing
abroad—the proclamations in the different Sheriffs'
Courts and other ridiculous formalities— were even
more vexatious and expensive, while they did not
ersure a knowledge by the derendant of ole nature of
the suit about to be instituted against him. In place
of the worse than useless forms, the obvious plan is
adopted of permitting the service of the writ in any part
of the world, and whether a British subject or a foreigner
and on obtaining the permission of the Court or
Judge, to proceed in the action in such manner, and
subject to such conditions, as may be directed. Dis-
tinct proof of the debt, either before a Jury or a writ
of inquiry, or before a Mister, is, however, indispen-
sable in the case of parties residing out of the juris-
diction, and the making of such proof is a condition
precedent to obtaining judgment. If, however, there
be a special endorsement on the wilt stating the par-
ticulate of the debt or liquidatad damages—which
special endorsement shall st-'id for particulars of
demand—final judgment may b 3 entered on default
of appearance by parties living in England. It is
essential that this provision should be universally
known,otherwise parties might unexpectedly find them-
selves precluded from offering any defence or opposition
to the demand. If the special endorsement be omitted
a declaration must be filed, and if not pleaded to with-
in eight days, judgment may be signed by default;
and execution issued for any sum not exceeding the
amount endorsed on 'he writ of summons, with inter-
est at the rate specified, if Pay ; and such sum as may
be fixed by the Masters for cc3ts, unless the plaintiff
claim more, in which case the coifs are to be taxed in
the ordinary way.

Our space will not permit reference to the other al-
terations effected by this statute. The rules relating
to pleading, &c., however, are more for the legtl
practitioner than for the community in general ; and
ignorance thereof cennot produce such formidable re-
sults as those respecting the writ of summons and
appearance, thereto above referred to.

The Duke of Newcri,la at oreaent surrounded
by a family circle at Clumber Nark, where his grace has se-
willed from Yorkshire.

The Marqu's of Abercorn has renewed his lease 01
the Earl of Chesterfield's splendid mansion, Chesterfield
Iloose, which expired on the ls; just-, for another flare;
years.

Lord r-id Lady Brough2m are entert lining a suc-
cession of 'i is'itors at Brougham 11911, Westmoreland. The
Hon Mrs. and Mi 9 Spalcung ;Dined their noble relatives
last week, from tawn. The nu);e3 rut learned lord, we be-
lieve, L, 9 postponed h;9 visit to los chateau on the frontier.]
of France anal Sardinir, un'l a.',:er the meeting of parliament.
Lord Mount Edgecumbe, who hrs 1.::3n alarmingly
ildisposad at Mount Edgecum m ed, and his kra-
br, has ra
Ehip i 9 considered to be progressing favourably.

- -
TIIE DUKE OF TEECEIRA.—His Excellency the
Duke of Terceira (upon a special mission from her Majesty
the Queen of Potaigni to the British C3V!) accompanied by
the bucheFs of Terceirr, aides-de-camp, and suite, arrived on
Saturday afternoon at /divan s Hotel from Portugel.
The beautiful msneion-house and demesne of Morne
Park, the residence of the late Vis2ouut Newry sid Morne,
have been taken, on a long le:se, by Mr. E. G. Hellewell,
late representative for Newry, who purposes residing there
with his accmnplished

PaisgioN.—Her Majesty has been pleased to grant
ayc Orly persion of 7.51. to Dr. Charles Ricnardson, "in con-
sideration of his services to literature as the author of a new
Dictionary of the English language."—lthencrum.

ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS.—It is reposed the,
early in the ensuing session of Parliament, a bill will be in-
troduced by the ministry, " for the purpose of restraining
Roman Catholic pliests at elections."
NEWS FROM THE DIGGINGS.—The San Francisco
has arrived from Sydney, whence she sailed the 27th of June,
with about 13,000 oz of gold, valued at 52,0001.

THE CHRISTMAS PANTOMIMES.—The gentlemen
who concc:t the "comic scenes" for these merry rinuals
have been great Ty peynlexed 0;1 year, es the "examiner of
plays" at the Lord Cof mberlain's office has cut out many of
their best jokes, and refused to license many capital scenes
on account of political or personal allusion.

THE CITY HOSPlCE.—YeAtordav morning, at holf-
past ten o'cicck, a considerable number of poor persons of
both sexes r.Fernbled in the dining-hall of the City Hospice
and Soup Kitchen, Victoria-street It was arranged that ell
those who attended prayers should be regaled on their return
with soup and bread, and the savoury etnell that irsuc 1 from
five or six large boilers afforded the visitors most satisfactory
prcof that in due time their piety would be rewarde3. Of
course the rule adopted was, no prayete, no soup, and conse-
quently the vi.it to the church avz.s a necessa,y prelini;orry
to the freedom of the kitchen. The female:, about 35 in
number, were sent to S. Michael's, Cornhill, and the males
were forme I into batches end directed t procec J, rider
proper superintendence, to the following plues of worship :
l'o St. ;:epulchte's n; St. Stephen',, Walbrool-, 2i ; St.
Vidast, Foster-lane, 14; St. Bartholomew-close,l6. Accom-
modation wt 9 not provided for a greater number, and there-
fore about 50 other persons who presented themselves were
not sent to mowing service; they were requested to return at
1"91f-past two o'clock, for the purl .re of attending af,ernoon
prayers, with a prom!se, of course, of getting their share of
the bread and soup.

THE CLARE-STREET NUISANCE.—AH adjoir tied
vestry meeting of the perish of St. Clement Danes has tpkr a
into consider ation the question of the removal of the obstructive
nu:sauce in Clare-street. The interest the subject had ex-
cited causel so Jirge an attendance that it Wes necessary to
remove from the v' 3try-room to the cour,honse. The
conduct of the paving-committee was very severely cen-
sured, and a series of resolutions were carrier, the
first of which charged the boerd with partirlity in their
proceedings; the second r. _derrn I the conduct of certain
members of the committee, in rr .;roltlng the street-keeper
from doing his duty; the alra deetnr I that the conduct of
certain members of the committee t ) a deputat4on of pa-
rishioner J bad been higtly ce-surable, end that one of those
members was unit to be agrin elec ,d; and the fourth was
to the effect that at the next c'eelon the committee
ought to be compc -3dof m' r who hai no pa- intorests
to promote, end who wor 'd trent the parislownera with
common eh Ility. Mr. 1.3103 r Idrest,ed the meeting in
defence of the paving eonatrqt )e and moved another resolu-
tlon, to the effec *hat it was their duty to ca ry out the Act
of Peril-men', end to pr. serve for the use of the public the
foot and carriage ways unimpeded. Mr. Jaquet pointed out
the roic:rhie's caused by the rot -'1• keeper., and stated that the
conduct of the police (at which the magistrates at Bow-
street had express( I thiaor am rti ha-I caused the misunder-
standings at the pacing b oare. e?ld that he had that
very day seen little cbildren elragg.d along the street to the
po'rce•office for trying t sell. a few or;on.- wbile the rerl
offenders the stall-keepers, were nnrnolests.d. Ater consi-
derable discr.sion, the vestry affirmed >ST Lewis'a resolution
by a maior:ty of IF. Thera is, therefore, now some probabi-
lity that the intolerable nuisance in question will be abated,
the decisive
,opinion of the parish having been thus pro-
nounced.

SUPPOSED CHILD MURDER.—On Friday morning
Thomas Mitchell discovered %itt,in the iron railings of li,
Weymouth-street, the late residence of the Duke of Ormond,
the naked and lifeless body of a newly born male infant. He
instantly informed police constable 48 D, who conveyed it to
the workhouse, where it awaits an inquest, previous to which
the coroner has ordered aa autopsy.

'We shall now briefly explain some of the provi-
sions of the Act, which it is essential should be gene-
rally known, although it would manifestly b 3 im-
possible t) enter int) all ita details within the space
allotted to a leading article in a public journal. The
writ of summons is, as heretofore, to be the first step
in every suit; but it is no longar necessary to sp3cify
the form or the cause of action therein, and it may be
served anywhere within the jurisdiction of court:, in
place of being limited to the county or bailiwick for
which it was issued. Concuwent wilts, too, may be
obtained for service within and without the juris-
diction, so that it will scarcely b possible for any
person whose locality is knows to evade the service of
process, and thus set his creditors at defiance, while
he is certain of obtaining fall notice of the proceed-
ings that may be instituted against him--a very
valuable improvement in every respect.
As we have already stated, writs of (Rafting.*
totally abolished. It is only surprising "'low long
these absurd prntices were tolerated. Tve object
for which they were sanctioned Wig; that or tenforc-
ing the appearance of a defendant, who could' not be
I:rsonally served with the 'as it of summons, but who
knew of the prcceedings, and kept out of the way to
avoid service, under the system now happily abro-
gated. When the various calls had been made, and
the judge satisfied of the lona Pule attempts to ef:ect
personal senice—in place of an appearance being at
once ent9rc3 for the defendant, the %tit was i,suel,
under which they were authorized to distrain c ga
hoods and chattels to the value of 403. This dis-
tress, although utterly useless to the plaintiff, was
generally presented in the most stringent and ye xa-
tious manner. It could not be sold, and, therefo re,
it signified nothing whether what was taken was of
the value of 403., or of ati single farthing. The full
value was, however, inv, triably taken. The Shelifi.
was bound to restore the article or articles seized, o•Al
an appearance being E ntered ; but although this
was the law, still ve,zatious impediments .wert!

DEATH FROM VIOLENCE AT GRAVESEND.--OD
Sattmlay an inquest was held before Mr. Hi!der, at the
Brewers' Arms, Gravesend, on the body of Robert 'Patrick
Ferguson, aged 15. Joseph R. Juk, 3 deposed that five or
six weeks ago he saw the dczeased rowing to the Amsterdena
public- house stairs, where deceased got out. He saw a water-
man, named Henry Simons, strike him with a heavy stick
across the arm and back three times. It wit about three feet
feet long, and three-quarters of an inch thick. Penick
Ferguson, father of the deceased, said the boy came home and
told him he had been beaten by Simons for taking his boat
to save some things from his (is itners's haat. Ho came
back the moment Simmons callsl out to him. Mr. Creak
said he found a contused wound on the back of the
dec?ased, about four inches square, which matter wes
formed. On the Bth inst. the patient was feverish from in-
flammation. The sore in the loins wee the u'timate cause of
death. A verdict of manslaughter was returned, and Simons
was committed to Dlaidstone for trial.
near the
otthtoem ino-
f
FALL OF TWO HOUSES AT BAYSWATER. —Yesterday
hinaobrint nngt sat
of an
S u t he r early
1 a Sutherland-place, cb?e, tHwaeyesnw3a Bayswater, 4 or'
, ea
wWheisothb or n e
turned• groouvte,two ebree t
ha teadr mo
we do
fablyi
oaf nnoefasrel
y 1 itkhee
wt hhaoni do (seri.
two houses which were in the c )urge of erection in that place.
The houses in question hal been " run up" by contract, and
had reached their fall height, but the roof had not yet been
put on, the scaffolding was consequently still standing. They
certa;rly were not built very substantially (as is the case to
a great extent in tb it neighbourhood), and it is sapposed
that the accident was caused by the great wet which has pre-
vailed lately, and has affected the foundations, which are laid
on a clay soil. The faTily in the adjoining house, which
belongs to the Rev. Dr. Mage ?, were very much alarmed by
the sudden crash and the shock which followed, hut fortu-
nately no personal injury was sustained. Had the accident
happened when the laby -ers were at work, some six or more
men would in ell human probability have been buried alive
iu the reins. The damage done is estimated at above 20W.,
and the remainder of one house, which still is standing, will
have to be taken down and re-built. We understand that
the houses belonged to Mr. Watts, chemist, of the Edgware-
road.

sides carriagesinficti
theng
FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT NORTHERN
RAILWAY.— On Saturday morning, between four and five
o'clock, a fatal accident happened to a porter, named John
Strong, on the Great Northern line. He was on duty at the
London terminus, and wag crosoing as the mail train came
passing over him, crushing his arms and head, be-
up, when he stumbled and was thrown down, three of the
other frightful injuries. He was removed with
all speed to
Royal Free Hospital, Gray's-inu-lane, where
he expired two hours After his admission.

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 25, 1852.