The Sun.
London, England, 1825-12-06 00:00:00

HIGH COURT OF ADMIRALTY, DEC. 6.

There were several trifling yes of salvage beard to-day, of
no general interest.

GENOA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES.

Dr. PHILLIMORE in this case appeared for his Excellency '1
Count Ludolf, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary from the King of the Two Sicilies in the Court of his
Britannic Majesty. The present proceeding arose out of a
mpnition taken out some time ago against the Governor of
Chelsea Hospital, and others, respecting some unclaimed
prize-money that had been paid into their department. There
had been, at various times, several Acts of Parliament passed
authorizing the Ambassador for the time being of the King of
the Two Sicilies to receive, monies due from this country in the
nature of prize shares, or allotments to Sicilian subjects, who
should appear to have been, in conjunction with any land or
naval force of Great Britain, captors of prize or booty from the
enemy. The preamble of the 47th Geo. 111. cap. 47, recited
that whereas certain ships and vessels, the property of the King
of the Sicilies, had acted with the armaments of His Britannic
Majesty in the c ,pture of Genoa, Savona, and Spezzia, it was
deemed advisable •n pay over the alloted shares of such captors
as were Sicilian subjects to the Prince Castelcicala, or to the
Sicilian Ambassador for the time being, for the purposes be-
fore mentioned. Another Act of Parliament (4th George IV.)
had since passed, confirming this statute. The transaction im-
mediately in question in this case took place in 1814, when
Genoa, Savona, and Spezzia, submitted to a joint expedition of
sea and land forces of Great Britain (the former being com-
manded by Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth, and the latter
by Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck, G. C. B.)
and sea and land forces of the King of the- Two Sici-
lies.. Distribution took place, under a prize grant from
His. Majesty, five or six years ago ; and several shares
were afterwards paid as unclaimeii.shares into Chelsea Hospital.
These had been claimed ,by Gount Ludolf; and all such
monies had been received by him with the exception only of
1,291/., entered in the hooks of the Hospital as on account of
the late Sir Robert Hall, who was a Captain in his Majesty's
navy, and also a Major in the Sicilian service. The prize agents,
in making out their lists, returned him, as entitled among the
British captors, as Captain Hall, R. N., and in that capacity
he had actually drawn his share while living. But they also
returned him as Major General Hall, in the service of his Ma-
jesty the King of the Two Sicilies; and it was in that capacity
that the unclaimed share was set out as due to him ; and being
so set out in the book containing the names of the Sicilian cap=
tors, the Learned Counsel contended for the right of Count
Ludolf thereto, according to the express provisions of the Act
of Paeliament ; and they prayed that the Count's monition
might go out against the Hospital to require such share to be
paid over to his Excellency accordingly.
Dr. LUSIIINGTON followed on the same side. He contend-
ed that the objects of the Acts which had been referred to were,
to save to the captors in a joint expedition the inconvenience and
hardship of being obliged to apply for this prize-money in coun-
tries of which they were not natives, and wherein they might have
no agent or any convenient means to prosecute their claims.;
and to separate and divide, therefore, the allotments of prize
to the British forces employed, and the forces of the ally, or'
other foreign power that had co-operated with them in the cap-
ture
wherein the prize-booty was captured. But, they never
were meant to touch the principle of distribution to be observ-
ed by such an ally or foreign state to its own subjects. That',
was a matter which must follow of course the local customs or
laws-of such state, and matters with which Great Britain could
have no pretence of interfering. The Learned Counsel, in an
able speech, enforced this reasoning by ,putting a variety of
analogous cases, wherein, he said, it would be monstrous to
suppose that any thing so unjust to any Government could be
insisted on by another in amity with it, as such a direction as
to the mode and form in which it should decree distribution
among its own subjects to take place.
'The KING's ADVOCATE, for the Crown, expressed his
anxiety that the question should be ultimately decided by this
Court; but he contended, that it was eot yet in a proper state
for any such decision. It was clear that in making out the
prize lists, an error had been committed : for the name of Capt.
Hall had been twice returned a' entitled to a share. Now it
was contrary to all equity or common sense that he should take
both as a Sicilian Major-General, and a British Post Captain
of the Navy. He could only take as one or the other. From
some cases which had occurred, which the Court would re-
member, and which were thought at the time of great indivi-
dual hardship, bet not of strict law, it was even possible that
this gentleman's representatives would only be enabled to claim
as in his lower rank, because that was his rank in our service ;
and in that rank he had already received his share. Now if
there was such an error, it might be proper to apply for a new
warrant of distribution ; for he (the King's Advocate) denied
the doctrine of his learned friend's, that the distribution
already made mustenecessarily be final, even if it had been ac-
companied with crying injustice or signal error: because, at
they said, the warrant required distribution to be made, and
All claims to be put in within six months. Neither could' he
)low that the books of Chelsea Hospital were necessarily such
"huthority as must establish the true description of the character
Sir Robert Hall's unclaimed share.
Dr. ARNOLD, on the same behalf, contended that Count
Ludolf, on his own shewing, claimed for the Sicilian Crown
only through the individual character of Sir Robert Hall's
share ; lint the Acts of Parliament referred to clearly empow-
Ared him to claim only the general allotments of prize as to
the Sicilian forces employed in conjoint expeditions with ours,
and not the shares of any individuals in the circumstances of
this of Captain Hall's. The Learned Counsel for the Admi-
ralty then argued that this monition ought not to be enforced.
Dr. JENNER, for the Representatives of the late Sir Robert
-Hall, stated, that when he first came into Court to-day, he meant
to claim for his parties only the difference between the inferior
share (about 5001.) which Sir Robert had already received as a
Captain in the British navy, and the full share now appear-
ing to be due to him in that capacity. But after hearing the
arguments of his Learned Friends, he (Dr. Jenner) should now
most unquestionably contend, that his parties were entitled to
the full unclaimed share assigned to him, in the books of Chel-
sea Hospital, as a Sicilian Major-General, deducting there-
from the amount of prize already received by him as a Captain
in our navy; that is, that the representatives of Sir Robert
might claim the larger, instead of the smaller share.
Lord STOWELL, after noticing the'delicate and difficult na-
ture of this case, and the careful consideration which all its
points would require, expressed his astonishment, that after
sitting so many days this term, with no business before him,
so:weighty a question should have been brought on exactly on
the last day of the Court's sitting this term. His Lordship
then added, he would give notice when he was prepared to pro-
nounce his judgment on the matter.