The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-11 00:00:00

TILE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVEININO, JULY 11, 1863.

LAW INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

COURT OF CHANCERY.
(Before Vice• Chancellor Stuart.)
THE COUNTESS DE LA SETTA V. LORD VERNON.

This case has recently been heard in private, and in con-
sequence of the reference to the proceedings having been
made in the newspapers, called forth from the Vice-Chan-
cellor some very strong observations, the result of which
was that the case was ordered to be proceeded with in the
usual public manner, and this morning it stood on the
paper to be mentioned on motion or adjourned summons.

_
On the case being called on,
Mr. Maline said he had made certain suggestions to the
other side, and he would therefore ask that the motion
should stand over to a future day.
The Vice-Chancellor—Mr. Bacon is not present; some-
thing else has occurred.
Mr. Malins—l am not aware of anything.
The Vice-Chancellor—Oh, yes; something else has oc-
curred. Let the matter be mentioned when Mr. Bacon
comes into court.

Mr. Malins—l hope there is nothing that affects me,

The Vice-Chancellor—Oh, no; but wait till Mr. Bacon
comes in-

The arguments in the next case, Cooper v. Gostling, were
then proceeded with.
On Mr. Bacon entering the court; his lordship stopped
the learned gentleman who was then addressing him.
The Vice-Chancellor (with great warmth)—Mr. Bacon,
you are counsel for Lord Vernon, are you not? I have
received a letter purporting to have come from Lord
Vernon ; it is dated from Brookes's Club, and
signed " Vernon," which, if not a forgery, as its
contents rather tend to show, is as gross a con-
tempt of court as ever was committed, and as gross an
insult to myself personally as ever was .ftered. I don't
know Lord Vernon. I have never seen him to my know-
ledge, and I must say when I read the beg,nning and end,
I thought it might have been written by him, but as it
commenced, " My dear Vice Chancellor," I must say I had
very great doubt about the matter. My object in addressing
you is to ask whether it is a genuine letter from Lord Ver-
non ; because if it is a forgery I shall deliver it to you, but
it, on the other hand, it should be a genuine letter, I ehall
deliver it into the hands of Mr. Mains.

His Honour then handed a letter over to Mr. Bacon,
the solicitor to Lord Vernon (who was sitting in front of
the learne4 counsel, and immediately bentath the Vice-
Chancellor), on looking at the letter, said it was a forgery.
The Vice-Chancellor—You can state that on your oath.

Lord Ve non's solicitor—Yes, your Honour.
The Vice-Chancellor—lt is a part of a scheme I can
easily understand. No person, especially a peer, could
write such a letter to any Judge, and no man could fcrge
the name of another without a malevolent feeling.
Mr. Bacon was about to read the letter aloud, when

The Vice- Chancellor interposed, by saying--No, Mr.
Bacon, I will not allow it to be read. I never could believe
that a peer could address a letter to me beginning my dear
Vice-Chancellor. I cannot but again say it is one of the
greatest contempts and insults that has ever been offered to
a judge.
Mr. Malins—May I not see the letter ?
The Vice-Chancellor—No, Lord Vernon's name has
been forged, and my intention in giving it to Mr. Bacon is
to enable his lordship to take such steps as he may think
proper. If I had thought it a genuine communication I
should have delivered it to you (Mr. Mains) and also have
ordered Lord Vernon to have attended the court, and then
I would have committed him for contempt. As it is a
forgery, 1 merely place it in his hancs in order that he
may take whatever steps he pleases.
Mr. Gray then proceeded with his arguments in the case
of Cooper v. Gostling.

public exposure, some money to which this lady, merely
upon her private right, could not be entitled.

Mr. Malins—l deny that this is such a case.
The Vice Chancellor—l do not say that it was with
that view, but the course that your client instructed you
to take when he desired you to oppose the case being heard
in private has exactly that appearance. There is not
anything here to distinguish it from any case of infants.
In all branches of the court the same course is taken.
The Master of the Rolls took the same course the other
day. Whenever there is an attempt, by exposure and
publicity, to extort money to which there is not a very good
right in any other way, there is one course taken. In a case
before the Master of the Rolls there was an opposition to its
being heard in private. Why ? Either for a malevolent pur-
pose to give pain to somebody, or in the hope that that
person, to escape the pain to be expected from a public
hearing, would submit to what was asked. And after all,
what would the pubic hearing of this cas 3 have amounted
to ? I was apprehensive that it might have ended in a
disclosure of something extraordinary. Any man who
looked on this case would see that it was a case eminently
fit to be dealt with in the ordinary way, and according to
the ordinary course ; and what I regret is that there should
have been any such exhibition as has taken place, in conEe-
quence of going out of the ordinary course ou this occasion.

Mr. Malins—This bill is not one of the class described
by your Honour. It is not filed to extort money. It is a
very proper suit, and it was inevitable. As your Honour
seems rather, from the tone of your observations, to blame
the course I have taken—

The Vice• Chancellor—l do not blame you at all ; you
were instructed.

Mr. Malins—That being the case, your Honour will
allow me to say this. I was instructed by a firm who, I
believe, are as respectable as any gentlemen in the profes-
sion—Messrs. Pritchard and Collette—

The Vice-Chancellor—l know them to be so. I have
known them for years.

Mr. Malins—And as incapable of taking advantage of
any circumstance of that kind for extorting money from
a client as any professional men with whom I have ever
come in contact. I had no instructions to act, and I
have no desire to act, in such a spirit. I trust your honour
will distinctly understand from me, as a member of the pro-
fession, stating the instructions I received from Mr. Col-
lette, that neither do I know by what means those publica-
tions took place, nor does Dr. Collette, and that therefore
the publications are not connected with me or with,
The Vioe-Chancellor—lt is quite plain what was the ob-
ject of the publication. The object either was a pecuniary
purpose or a malevolent purpose—either to extort money
from Lord Vernon or to give pain.
Mr. Malins—l believe I may state to your honour that
the publication has not been connected with the countess or
anybody connected with her. Nobody in London knows her
but Mr. Collette and her French agent, who is here. I
have never seen the lady myself, but my friend Mr
Stevens has. It is not from anybody connected with her
that the publication took place.
The Vice-Chancellor—l think that every consideration
is due to the mother's situation, and when, in consideration
of that, I suggested the other day that money should be
advanced to the mother, I found no unwillingness to do it.
I think, Mr. Malins, you cannot say there was any unwil-
lingness on the part of the other side to do :all that hu-
manity and justice required.
Mr. Malins—l am bound to say that they showed a great
unwillingness, and that if it had not been for your honour's
intimation, we should not have got a penny. I got it from
your honour, and not from them.
The Vice-Chancellor—l am sorry to hear that.
Mr. Collette—There is not the slightest doubt about it.
Mr. Malins —I gave them the opportunity when the
motion was first made. I told my friend, "I do not desire
to menticn this case, only let the poor lady have a
little money to go on with;" and the reply I received was,
"Not a farthing."
The Vice-Chancellor—lt is a very pith: case now. All
the apprehension that injury would result from a public
hearing has gone by, and it reduces itself to this : That
this lady being entitled under a trust deed to a provision of
a very large amount, she must have her rights respected
and protected by the court. Her infant children have
also a right ; and in the order that was made it seemed
to me that the purposes of justice and humanity and
everything were answered.
Mr. Malins—The case is ordered to come on on Saturday,
and I shall ask that it may be heard in public; and my
application will be to increase the lady's allowance from
£4OO to £7OO a year, because the deed provioes that the
maximum amount to the children shall be £lOO a year each.
The Vice-Chancellor—That will be discussed on Satur-
day, and in public.
Mr. Malins—Certainly.
The Vice-Chancellor—lt is a pity that the public should
not have the full benefit of the case.
Mr. Malins—l have had two cases in private before your
honour lately. One was a case of a celebrated singer; that
was immediately published in a well-known London paper,
how nobody knows.
The Vice-Chancellor—The awful mystery, if it were not
too contemptible to be worth investigation, an investiga-
tion would very soon disclose. I deprecate all investi-
gation upon such subjects.
Mr. Russell—l understand that the case is to be in the
paper to-morrow.
The Vice• Chancellor—lts dignity and importance require
that.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.—This Day.

THE RIOT AT CREMORNE GARDENS.

The further hearing of witnesses in this casew as resumed
this morning. The court was crowded to excess.

The several defendants, Reginald Herbert, John Bir-
kett, Joseph Edward Saville, Robert Shawcross, Charles
M'Dougall, and Charles Mott, were charged in a great
number of counts with riot, and creating a breach of the
peace at Cremorne-gardens.
The whole of the day, up to the hour of our going to
press, was occupiad in the examination of witnesses for the
defence. The evidence given was in effect that the whole
of defendants were well conducted persons, and not given
to intoxication, and wholly incapable of acting as the
police had stated.
At half-past two .o'clock the Assistant-Judge com-
menced summing up the voluminous evidence in this
affair, so the verdict will not be returned before a late hour
this evening,

POLICE. INTELLIGENCE—This Day.