The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-21 00:00:00

THE PRESTON STRIKE.

PRESTON, March 20.—Speculation was rife on Satur-
day night with respect to the movements of the borough
magistrates, who were sitting for some hours with closed
doors. The meeting did not take place in the Town-
hall, where the petty sessions are held, but in the adja-
cent council-chamber ; and it was observed that during
the proceedings a number of recently arrived immigrants
were brought up is a cab and ushered into the presence
of the bench. As yet nothing definite has transpired,
but it is currently reported, and generally believed, that
the conference had reference to the contemplated appre-
hension of some of the operatives' leaders for conspiracy,
in removing hands imported by the Masters' Association.
The income of the power loom weavers yesterday
amounted to about 2,100/., the chief subscriptions being
as follow :—Blackburn, 6601. ; Stockport, 255/. ; Pres-
ton, about 170/. ; Over Darwen, 1241. ; Ashton-under-
line, 1201. ; Hyde, 116/. ; Oldham, 100/. ; Church
Parish, 561. ; Staleybridge, 531.; Accrington, 311. ; Bol-
ton, 301. ; Burnley, 28/. ; Heywood, 261.
Owing to the inclemency of the weather the camp
meeting at Droylsden yesterday was not so largely
attended as had been anticipated. Mr. Luke Wood, of
Stockport, presided, and addresses were delivered by
Messrs. Walton, Brocklehurst, Gritnshaw, Smith,
Cowell, Aitkin (of Ashton under-Lyne), and Graham (of
Gorton-hall). The following resolution was passed :
" The people of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire,
in public meeting assembled, hereby declare their unalter-
able resolve never to cease agitation until a full, fair, and
unconditional 10 per cent. be conceded to the factory ope-
ratives of Preston ; and this meeting pledges itself to ren-
der all the assistance in its power, pecuniary or otherwise,
until success crowns their efforts."

This morning an innkeeper at the outskirts of the town
offered the use of a field adjacent to his house for a meet-
ing. Several thousands had assembled at noon, when
Mr. Cowell announced, that "in consequence of the
pressure from without," the innkeeper had been reluc-
tantly compelled to revoke his offer, and the meeting could
not be held there. Mr. Cowell added—" It will be high

time for us, when we resume work, to look to our own
interests, and not be beholden to those men who own all
the property, and who deny us the right to meet for the
discussion of our grievances. I hope the working classes
will take a hint from these things, and hereafter provide
a meeting place of their own." In dismissing the peo-
ple, Mr. Cowell said, " I hope you will, each and all,
mind what you say and what you do, for the police
are out in plain clothes to entrap those who are
not on their guard. I understlnd, also, that the
authorities are trying to get up some charge of con-
spiracy against myself and a few others. Well, they
may do so ; I don't say that they cannot do it. But
they can't imprison us before next August, and by that
time, I hope, we shall have our 10 per cent. and be
peaceably at work. Let us go quietly on, as we have
done hitherto, and you may depend upon it we shall be
able to live as long as the manufacturers can afford to
let their machinery stand."
The crowd then diapered.

[BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.]
PRESTON, MONDAY EVENING:—CoweII, Grimshaw, and
Waddington, leaders of the strike, have just been appre-
hended. The charge against them is not yet known, but
it is supposed to be for conspiracy.
The people at present are not aware of their arrest.

DEATH IN NEWGATE.—Mr. Frederick de Molyns,
formerly a member of Parliament for the county of
Kerry, and nephew of an Irish peer, died suddenly in
Newgate on Friday night last. It will be recollected
that he was committed to that prison by the Lord
Mayor from the Mansion-house, on the charge of having
uttered a forged power of attorney, and obtaining
thereon the amount of 1,5001. stock, &c., in the Bank
of England, belonging to a person of the name of Simp-
son. Mrs. Lucy De Molyns, his wife, was likewise
arrested, and committed on the same charge, but, pro-
viding the necessary bail for her appearance at the next
Central Criminal Court sessions, she was liberated. Mr.
De Molyns was unable to procure the extent of bail de-
manded (4,0001.), and was in consequence conveyed to
Newgate. An inquest was held on Saturday afternoon
by Mr. Payne, the coroner, on the body of the deceased,
when a verdict of "Natural death" was recorded.
FAILURE.--The failure was announced yesterday of
Messrs. Benjamin Elkin and Sons, a very old and re-
spectable mercantile firm, chiefly engaged with the West
Indies and Australia. Their liabilities amount to
140,0001., and the disaster is the result of large advances
to correspondents in Demerara, Jamaica, &c., and not
of any losses in their Australian business, which is un-
derstood to have been good. The nominal assets are
ample, taking the debts due to the house at their full
amount ; but it is feared that the value of these is very
doubtful, and that the ultimate settlement will therefo:re
prove unfavourable.

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LAW INTELLIGENCE, March 20.

EQUITY COURTS.
(Before Vice Chancellor Kinderaley.)

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY V. THE OXFORD,

WORCESTER, AND WOLVERHAMPTON RAILWAY COMPANY.

Upon the 4th of August, 1845, an act of Parliament
passed whereby the shareholders of the Oxford, Worces-
ter, and Wolverhampton Railway Company were incor-
porated for the purpose of constructing a railway from
the city of Oxford to the town of Wolverhampton. The
proposed railway was to be a continuation of the Great
Western line, the proprietors of which were to be at
liberty to take shares in it to the extent of 750,000/.
which was a moiety of the entire capital—and the en-
gineer for the time being of the Great Western Railway
was to superintend its construction. The line was to be
constructed on the broad guage principle, except in two
particular portions of it, viz., where it was to meet the
Birmingham and Gloucester and the Grand Junction
Railways. The defendants, however, commenced
making their line throughout upon the narrow guage,
upon which this suit was instituted, and, in addi-
tion, an information filed against them to compel them
to adhere strictly to their act. This was a motion to
amend the bill by making the Attorney-General a plain-
tiff in the suit, in order that the public interest might be
protected.
The Solicitor-General and Mr. G. L. Russell supported
the motion.

Mr. Bolt, Q.C., and Mr. Jessell, on the other side,
contended that the public interest was sufficiently
protected by the surveillance which the Board of Trade
exercised over the line in the course of its construction.

The Vice-Chancellor said that this application was
in fact to decide whether or not the Attorney-General
was a party necessary to the cause ; that was to
say, whetter a decree made while he was not a
party would be made in the absence of any one who
ought to be represented. As to the nature of the
decree which might be made, he could and ought
not to say a word ; the question, therefore, resolved
itself into this, how far would any decree made in the
present state of the suit, by affecting the public interest,
require that the public should be represented before the
court. Now upon referring to the Act of Parliament
giving the Board of Trade the right of disallowing the
opening of a line, it appeared to him that, so far as the
court was at present informed, the public was sufficiently
protected. Whilst, therefore, his Honour decided that,
in file present position of the matter, the motion was
not to be granted, he reserved to himself the right of di-
recting the Attorney-General to be made a party, if,
upon the hearing of the cause, he should have reason to
believe that the interest of the public required that that
officer should be a plaintiff.
The motion being, for the present, not acceded to, the
Solicitor-General proceeded to open the case upon its
merits in moving the court for a decree.
The opening was not concluded when his Honour
rose.

(Before Vice-Chancellor Sir John Stuart.)
TOMKINS V. LANG.

Mr. Waley appeared in support of a petition in this
suit, stating that in the administration of the testator's
estate two sums of money had been carried to the sepa-
rate account of two legatees, who had been convicted of
felony, and had been transported, and whose interests
had therefore been forfeited to the Crown, and praying
that these sums might be paid out to such persons as
the Crown should by sign manual appoint.
Mr. Wickens, on behalf of the Crown consented, and
The Vice-Chancellor made the order as prayed.