The Sun.
London, England, 1801-10-09 00:00:00

/id A ..VS Nif RUSE.

Tf r:ellowing circumstance, which materially
Zeds the Privileges of the Corporation of London,
;:ncl the Rights of the Citizens, occurred yesterday
before the Lotto MAYOR.

Mr. BOLT, of Thames-street, one of the princi-
pal Warehousemen in the:City of London, was
summoned, at the instance of three of the Fellow_
ship Porters, for having removed a quantity of
potatoes from one place to another, withourhaving,
in compliance with the customs of the City, em-
ployed either them or other of the ,Fellowship
Porters -in so dOilig. They insisted; that by the
custom of the City; confirmed by various Charters,
no persons but Fellowship Porters, appointed by the
'Corporation, had right to remove goods of any
kind within the jurisdiction of the City, under the
penalties contained in its bye-laws.
On the other hand, Mr. BOLT maintained, that
the Charters of the City authorized no such custom
as the one contended for by the Fellowship Porters ;
but that it was a privilege founded on an unjust
principle of monopoly. Besides, the custom, ad-
mitting its existence, could have no application
whatever to him; the goods he had removed were
not the property of. persons to whom he ailed as
agent, neithei had they been brought to market ;
they were his own private property, had been cul-
tivated on his own estate, conveyed in his own
barge, and landed on his own premises. Wishing,
for his convenience, to remove them, he had done
so, employing only his own servants, who were all
Freemen of the City. It was not the value of the
demand by the Fellowship Porters that induced him
to resist it ; his objc was to rescue himself and
his Fellow-citizens from an assumed and unfounded
claim, the basis of Vltieh was unjust extortion. He
declared it was one he should hold himself bound
not to submit to ;,and was ready to meet the Fellow-
ship Porters, where each party would have the ad-
vantage of an impartial Judge, and an intelligent
Jury:
The LORD MAYOR, with the utmost candour,
professed himself inadequate to the deterthination of
such a question. He could only reconynend an
appeal to tltat Tribunal which is deemed most adapt-
ed to its investigation.
Mr. BOLT said, if an Anion was brought against
him, -he shbold certainly defend it.
It was at length agreed, that .the respeetive Solici-
tors of the parties should meet and determine upon
the most eligible manner of bringing tile question to
an ultimate decision in a Court of Law.

A Pilot of the Trinity-House was summoned by
the Harbour-Master of the River Thames, for pre-
suming, in violation of the 29th Geo. 111. c. 69, to
moor a vessel contrary to the Harbour-Master's
direditons.

The fats Wa3 proved, and 'the Pilot alledged igno-
rance of the law as his excuse.

The LORD MAYOR was willing to overlook his
offence ; but he desired it to be perteftly understood,
that ignorance cf the law was an excuse he would
not in futuie admit. The Trinity-House Pilots
were bound to know a law which so materially
afekied them. If they were above attending to it,
and other complaints were made on the subjed, he
should try what could be effeded by enforcing the
provisions of the Ad.