The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-16 00:00:00

Walters, John Lovell, Richard Benfield, John Rees,
George Turner, otherwise called George Cole, Zepha-
niah Williams, Edmund Edmunds, Jenkin Morgan,
Solomon Britan, William Jones, James Aust, John
Rees, and David Jones, as such false traitors as last
aforesaid, on the said 4th day of November, in the year
aforesaid, with force and arms, at Newport aforesaid,
in the county aforesaid, together with a great multitude
of false traitors whose names are to the said jurors un-
known, to the number of 2,000 and more, armed and
arrayed in a warlike manner, that is to say, with guns,
pistols, pikes, swords, clubs, bludgeons, and other
weapons of offence, maliciously and traitorously did, in an
hostile manner and warlike array, march into and enter
the town of Newport, in the county aforesaid, and then and
there make a forcible and violent attack upon a certain
dwelling-house there situate, in a certain part of the said
town, in which said dwelling-house divers of the Magis-
trates and Justices of the Peace of our said Lady the
Queen, and divers of the soldiers and constables of our
said Lady the Queen were then and there assembled,
and then and there with great force and violence at-
tempted and endeavoured to break and enter, and did
then and there break and enter the said dwelling-house,
whilst the said Magistrates and Justices of the Peace
and the said soldiers and constables were therein as
aforesaid, and then and there with great force and vio-
lence attacked, and with the said guns and pistols then
and there loaded with gunpowder and bullets fired
upon the said Magistrates and Justices of the Peace,
and the said soldiers and constables, so being in the said
dwelling-house as aforesaid, and then and there wounded
and beat divers of the said Magistrates and Justices of
the Peace, and the said soldiers and constables, to wit,
at Newport aforesaid, in the county aforesaid ; and
further to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect their
most evil and wicked treason, and treasonable
conspiracy, imagination, invention, device, and in-
tention aforesaid, they, the said John Frost, Charles
Walters, John Lovell, Richard Benfield, John
Rees, George Turner, otherwise called George Cole,
Zephaniah Williams, Edmund Edmunds, Jenkin Mor-
gan, Solomon Britan, W illiam Jones, James Aust, John
Rees, and David Jones, as such false traitors as last
aforesaid, on the said 4th day of November, in the year
aforesaid, with force and arms, to wit at Newport afore-
said, in the county aforesaid, together with a great
number of false traitors, whose names are to the jurors
unknown, to the number of 2,000 and more, armed
and arrayed in warlike manner, that is to say with guns,
pistols, pikes, swords, clubs, bludgeons, and other offen-
sive weapons, maliciously and treacherously did ordain,
prepare, levy, and make public war against our said
Lady the Queen, within this realm, in contempt of our
said Lady the Queen and her laws, to the evil example
of all others, contrary to the duty of the allegiance of
them, the said John Frost, Charles Walters, John
Lovell, Richard Benfield, John Rees, George Turner,
otherwise called George Cole, Zephaniah 'Williams,
Edmund Edmunds, Jenkin Morgan, Solomon Britan,
William Jones, James Aust, John Rees, and David
Jones, against the form of the statute in such case
made and provided, and against the peace of our said
Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity."

MONMOUTH, SATURDAY.

We have not yet had time to revert to the appear-
ance, &c. of the prisoners when placed at the bar upon
a true bill for high treason being found against them.
From the evidence hitherto adduced, it would seem that
the object of the multitude had been, by force and vio-
lence, and intimidation, to take possession of the town,
as a prelude to their obtaining the command of the whole
nation, and becoming the rulers of thousands. Being,
however, foiled in their plans, and placed within the
walls of a prison, the parties so charged might well have
expected that they would have met with the sympathy
of their more fortunate fellows who were still at large,
and that those who had by their acts and by their
writings encouraged them in their mad attempts, would
have taken care to provide adequate means for their
defence, and to have cheered their drooping spirits
by the sight of a phalanx of professional talent
ready to render them every assistance which the
law would allow. They might have imagined on
their way from the gaol to the Court, and when
placed at that dread bar, dread indeed to all,
however innocent, they should have been greeted by
the friendly counsel of some well versed in legal so-
phistry, and anxious to tender their advice as to the
course they should pursue, for theirs was no common
case—not like the common felon having merely to
reply " not guilty" upon his pleading ; but they were
charged with higher crimes, and had many legal forms
to go through. They had to ask that counsel and
solicitor should be assigned them, to demand copies
of the indictments, a list of the witnesses to be brought
against them, and a copy of the jury panel ; and yet,
when the question was asked from the Bench, " Who
appears for the prisoners ?" a dead silence prevailed,
and no one answered. Surprise was on the counte-
nance of every hearer, but to my own feeling I confess
the scene was indeed most dreadful. Twelve men stood
at the bar charged with the highest crime known to
our law, and at such an awful crisis they appeared
to be deserted even by those who had defended them
in the first ordeal, when before the Magistrates. The
effect produced upon their minds must have been that
of astonishment and dismay ; they cast their eyes about
the Court, but no leader rose to help them. They
then were observed to be whispering together, as
men doubting how they were to act, and losing every
confidence which before had filled their minds, and
as they consulted together, the movement caused the
chains by which they were bound to loudly rattle, and
added greatly to the solemnity of the scene. Upon
their again turning and looking with anxious eyes around
the Court for some friend to answer for them, the effect
which had been produced upon them was evident, and a
feeling of pity stole into the hearts of those who were
witnesses of the appalling scene.
The Learned Judges appeared to be deeply sensible
of their state, and immediately said, that as the pri-
soners did not appear to be prepared to make the ap-
pointment, they might signify their wishes to the Clerk
of the Court at a future time. At length a Mr. Owen,
an attorney of this town, rose from his seat, and prof-
fered his assistance for one of the prisoners ; the others,
as if anxious to catch at any straw, instantly begged
Min to appear for them, and thus an apparent stranger
became suddenly, without preparation, the advecate of
men charged with high treason.
Mr. Geach, the attorney and step-son, of Frost, arrived
here on Thursday, and has since spent much of his time
daily at the gaol with the prisoners, preparing their de-
fence, which, we are informed, will in many instances
consist of an alibi, in support of which a large number
of witnesses will be called. The prisoners appear now
to feel fully the serious nature of the charges against
them. Frost. however, maintains considerable firmness,
and devotes a large portion of the day to the arrange-
ment of his defence in calm and perfectly businesslike
manner. As an instance of his firmness, it may be men-
tioned, that while all the other prisoners were loud in
their complaints and appeared to feel deeply upon being
manacled to be brought to the Court before the Judges,
Frost not only maintained his firmness and composure,
but presented his wrist to be handcuffed without making
a single observation.
Mr. Maule, the Solicitor to the Treasury, with the
other gentlemen on the part of the Crown, are busily
engaged in the preparations necessary for the prosecu-
tion, and will deliver a list of the witnesses against
them to the prisoners on Monday, before which time
it cannot possibly be got ready, filling as it does upwards
of 30 draught sheets of matter.
The Lord Chief Justice's charge has produced such an
effect here, that it has been deemed advisable to have
some thousand copies of it printed both in English and
Welch for circulation among the people of the hills
and disturbed districts, upon whom it is calculated that
it will produce a most wholesome effect, being, as it is,
so clear';;and lucid an exposition of the law and of the
dangerous and fatal consequences of joining illegal and
treasonable societies.

The Haberdashers' Company are the owners of a
large school-room in this town, and some time since
the authorities of Monmouth wrote to them request-
ing permission that the soldiers might occupy it during
the time of the Special Commission, but to their great
surprise and mortification they have received an answer
from the Company refusing their request, on the ground
that it was inconsistent with their duty as trustees of the
Company. The Duke of Beaufort has, however, very
handsomely offered the use of part of Troy-house, near
this town, for the soldiers, and consequently a consider-
able detachment will be stationed there, and will be suf-
ficiently near at hand should their services be required.

NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE REFORM DINNER.
—The third anniversary of the establishment of the
North Staffordshire Reform Association was celebrated
by a public dinner in the Assembly Rooms, at the Roe-
buck Hotel, Newcastle, on Thursday last. The at-
tendance was large and highly respectable, and included
most of the leading Reformers of the neighbourhood,
and many from a distance. Upwards of 200 persons
sat down to dinner in the Assembly Rooms, and several
parties who could not be accommodated in it dined in
adjacent apartments, and joined the company after the
cloth was drawn. Behind the Chairman's seat was an
effective transparent inscription, the words of which were
" Long live our beloved Queen Victoria." On the
right of the inscription was a large banner, ex-
hibiting, in large characters, the sentence " Advance-
ment to public offices the reward of merit." Opposite
to it was appropriately placed a corresponding banner,
bearing as a counterpart the words " Honour and ho-
nesty." Behind the Vice Chairman's seat was a large
silk flag, bearing the inscription, " Education, know-
ledge, and happiness to all." The words " Magna
Charta," formed of knots of ribbons, closely resembling
dahlias, appeared above the orchestra, The chair, as
,fiallnedd bywe Ceanplyt..
echo Alainthweareinpgi:
opi-
nion of all the company
B
i a. dNb.
ee been ann
Whitmoreap ce d , was
Hal
in saying that it was most
ably filled. Captain Powys officiated as Vice Presi-
dent. Amongst the company present were E. Buller,
E M.P., Hon. Col. Anson, ALp Hon. Sir E. Va-
vasour,sq”Sir C \Volsci
Bart., C. ey, Bart., G. Toilet, Esq.
R. E. Heathcote, Esq., and J. A. Wise, Esq,—
Staibrdshire Advertiser—[We regret that we have no
room at present to notice the speeches.)

THE SUN, LONDON. MONDAY, DECEMBER 16„1839.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

ROLLS' COURT, Dre. 14.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL V. THE IRONMONGERS' COMPANY.

JUDGMENT.
The MASTER of the ROLLS, in giving judgment in
this case (a short outline of which we gave in our
Evening Edition of Thursday last) observed that the
testator, Thos. Betton, by his will, gave the residue of
his estate to the Ironmongers' Company, in trust, to
apply a moiety of it to the redemption of British slaves
in Turkey or Barbary, one fourth of it to the purposes
of education, according to the doctrines of the Church
of England, in and near London, and the other fourth
part for the benefit of " necessitated decayed freemen of
the Company, their widows and children." The two last
fourth parts had been duly applied according to the will
of the testator from the time of his death. No objects
could be found for the application of the moiety directed
to be applied towards the redemption of British slaves in
Turkey or Barbary ; and the consequence was that the
Ironmongers' Company, like faithful trustees, had pre-
served the accumulated fund, which now amounted
to a very large sum, about 150,0001. The ostensible
object of the information was to have that accunnlated
fund administered under the direction of the Court.
When the case came before Sir John Leach he ap-
peared to have considered that when the testator di-
vided his residue into a moiety to be applied to one
purpose, a fourth part to be applied to another purpose,
and a remaining fourth to be applied to a third and distinct
purpose, that he intended each of these to be considered
as entirely separate. Taking that view of the case,
he considered the question as if it had relation only
to the first object—the redemption of British slaves—
and was therefore of opinion the Court had no ju-
risdiction or authority to dispose of the surplus to
charitable purposes. Some misgivings there must
have been in the mind of Sir John Leach, because
he expressed his willingness to afford the aid of the
Court in the formation of some scheme to be submitted
to Parliament. When the matter came before the
Court upon appeal, he disagreed with that opinion, and
made a declaration that the Court had jurisdiction to
apply those:funds cy-pres,:that it had jurisdiction to
apply the surplus income, and the accumulation as near
as might be to the intention of the testator, having re-
gard to the bequest touching British captives, which
was the first object, and also to the other charitable be-
quests in the will, combining them all in the conjunc-

tive. When the case came before the Rolls Court
again, the present Lord Chancellor, then Master of the
Rolls, having no jurisdiction to alter Lord Brougham's
order, did all that could be done on the occasion, and
made a verbal alteration in the order, directing the Mas-
ter to approve of a scheme for the application of the
fund, having regard, as near as might be, to the inten-
tion of the testator. When the matter came before the
Master he was very much perplexed by conflicting
claims and contentions as to what inquiries he
ought to make under the order of reference. How-
ever, the Master made his report, which proceeded
upon the hypothesis that if the order of reference bore
a certain construction, and if the case of the At-
torney-General v. Gibson, cited before him, were
applicable, then the accumulated fund ought to
be applied in favour of the trustees of the
Mico Charity. It was necessary that some con-
struction should be given to the order, and his Lord-
ship was of opinion the Master was bound to consider
whether there could be a cy-pres application for the
first purpose, before he proceeded to consider the pro-
priety of the application to the second purpose ; but he
was not bound to consider the cy-pres application pre-
cisely as be would have done had there been no other
purpose mentioned in the will. The cases in that respect
were entirely different. Where there was a fund to
be disposed of cy-pres, and the Court was bound to
dispose of it, for the sake of making a disposition, it
must act on the suggestions made before it, and how-
ever remote they might be, the Court would be astute
enough to make them more or less according to the
intention of the testator, rather than they should fail
altogether. He quite agreed with the argument of Sir
W. Follett, that if it had been in the contemplation of
the testator that the first object would fail, he would
have preferred the second and third objects mentioned
in his will. Then came the question with regard to the
claims of the trustees of the Mico Charity. He (the
Master of the Rolls) had certainly never heard a case
argued with refined ingenuity surpassing that which
bad been used in the present case, and the
claim had been put forward with a degree
of eloquence and feeling which certainly would
excite a strong disposition to do that which was
asked if it were consistent with the course of justice.
But matters of that sort were to be laid out of the
consideration of the Judge, who must look to general
rules under which the Court was bound to act.
It was purpinted to be made, not that there was an
analogy between the objects of the Mico charity, ac-
cording to its present constitution, and the objects in
view of the testator, but his Lordship could not
come to the conclusion that that would be a
cy-pres application. He was so perfectly aware
of the attention which the present Lord Chan-
cellor always gave to oases of this kind, that he had no
doubt the case of the " Attorney-General v. Gibson,"
received very serious attention on the part of his Lord-
ship ; and if this case had been at all similar to that,
he (the Master of the Rolls) would so far have distrus-
ted his own judgment as to have found it very difficult
to come to a different conclusion ; not that he thought
authorities binding in such cases, they only furnished
lights, and afforded examples which might be efficacious to
a certain extent. But the Mico charity, the single object
of which was the benefit of slaves, was extremely dif-
ferent from the object of the testator in this case : and
his Lordship was therefore of opinion that the scheme
of the Mico trustees could not he considered a scheme
for the cy-pres application of those funds. He was also
opinion that the scheme brought forward by the relators
must also be refused. Then came the remaining ques-
tion, whether the scheme of the defendants, the Iron-
mongers' Company, ought to be adopted or put under a
further course of investigation. With regard to that
a question was raised, namely, whether the last
purpose mentioned in the will was a charitable
purpose, which ought to be benefited by this surplus.
The testator stated " in consideration of the said Com-
pany's care and pains in the execution of this my will,
I give the remains unto 'necessitated decayed freemen
of the said Company, their widows and children, not
exceeding 101. a year to any family." It had been ar-
gued that that gift was to be considered as a remunera-
tion, or wages, for the trouble imposed on the Com-
pany. His Lordship was not of that opinion.
The testator appeared to have been closely
connected with the Company—he desired to be buried
in the burying-ground of the Company, and it was not less
a charity because the testator appeared to have had a
peculiar motive for directing his bounty to flow in that
direction. Thinking, therefore, the principle on which
the scheme of the defendants was proposed was a pro-
per principle for the Master to act on, the next question
was as to details. Of those he was ignorant, and con-
sequently thore must be a reference back to the Master,
to inquire into the scheme proposed by the Company.
Mr. TURNER, on behalf of the Seaman's Hospital
Society, applied for their costs. They had been
brought before the Court in consequence of having gone
in before the Master, under the advertisements issued by
I him for claimants.

Mr. PEMBERTON observed that the Master had taken
an erroneous view of the order of the Court directing
the reference. The whole of the char,ties in England,
Scotland, and Wales, would have gone in before the
Master under the advertisements, had not the relators
put a stop to it by presenting a petition to the Lord
Chancellor, who directed the Master to issue no further
ad vertisements.
The MASTER of the ROLLS—I think you are enti-
tled to the costs of the petition Mr. Turner—they must
be paid out of the fund. The Mico charity, I ara afraid,
has created the whole contest.
Mr. KINDERSLEY said that his clients (the Ironmon-
mongers' Company) did not wish to press for costs
against the Mico trustees, because! those costs, if or-
dered to be paid by the trustees, would have to come
out of a charity fund.
The MASTER of the ROLLS thought that was a very
honourable concession on the part of the Company.
A decree was then made, referring the case back to

the Master to examine into details, and to approve of a
proper scheme for the distribution of the funds, having
regard to the declaration of the Court. Cost of all par-
ties out of the fund.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Dec. 14.
(Sittings at Nisi Prius, in London, before Mr. Baron
ALDERSON and a Special Jury.)
ROBINSON V. THE GENERAL STEAM NAVIGATION
COMPANY.—This was an action by the plaintiff to re-
cover from the defendants compensation for injury and
damage sustained by means of alleged negligence and
unskilfulness.

Mr. Cresswell and Mr. Watson appeared for the
prosecution ; and Sir P. Pollock, Mr. Thesiger, and
Mr. Cleasley conducted the case for the defendants.
The trial occupied the whole of the day, but the facts
were confined within extraordinarily small limits.
It appeared from the testimony of a large number of
witnesses that on the night of the 12th of September,
between 11 and 12 o'clock, the Caledonia, London and
Hamburg steam vessel, was coming on the homeward-
bound voyage, when, about six miles from Harwich, she
came in collision with the collier brig White, belonging
to the plaintiff, the result of which was that the latter
had been put to the expense of about 901. for repairs,
in addition to the loss he had sustained in consequence
of her being laid up for 10 or 11 days, during which
such repairs were proceeding.
The evidence on the part of the plaintiff's case went
to attribute negligence and want of proper care by the
steam-boats' crew, whilst tho witnesses for the defence
cast the whole of the blame upon the master of the brig.
The former stated that the steam vessel had passed over
the hawser of a collier which was at anchor, and that in
consequence of neglectful looking out and bad steering
subsequently she had been run athwart the Nk hitc,
whilst the latter denied that they had done so, and said
that the collision had bee., caused by the helmsman of
the White having altered his course.