The Sun.
London, England, 1831-01-19 00:00:00

COUNSEL AND CLIENTS.

A paragraph under the h ad of " COutml and Clients''
appeared in the Observer on Sunday last, which Was co-
pied on the followirg day into the Morning Chronicle
retleoting so deeply ott the character of a gentleman at thr-
Chancery Bar, that we felt h to be our duty to inquire
into the truth of the statements, aLA i 7 e have collected
materials 441 rich enable us to expose the maliciona abrader,
and to spew that Sir WILLIAM HORNE is still, netwitf►-
standing this very et atuiton's attack, to be considered one
of the most talented, most indepenciea, and mist honour-
able men, as well as most zealous advocates the British
Barr He is a Liberal, nor has the liberty of the Vets a
stronger supporter than it has in him, though on this oc-
casion it has been made the vehicle of a serious attack on
his character.

After an harangue upon the prevailing in pie of Reform,
(Reiorrn it the Law), the paragraph goes on untie
" The instance of professional immorality which we hate to
record (although unfortunately„ not new in the class), is yet,
however, so distant in its circuirnVirqes,,, and leaves our cenclu-
sion so palpable and so tangible, that vztli 11101 best accomplish
our purpose by stating it as it occurred, withOM further corn.
meat or introduction. A gentleman, having causes ?rfrolying
property to a large amount pending in appeal before the Sctiyy
Council, retained an eminent pleader of the Chancery Bar with
a very liberal' fee, which was afterwards increased by a refresher
of an equally liberal sum. The cause, after various delays' stood
fixed for Monday last, On Friday, the solicitor proceeded to the
Learned Gentleman's chambers to annotifiCe this fact, and re-
ceived from his clerk the astounding and tintteleatne intelli-
gence that his master could not attend, as he ivaS retained in
the argument on the Theatikal Patents. At such a crisis,
remonstrance or complaint was alike Vain. The Practice of the
Privy Council admits of no applications for postponement
on the ground of the absence of an Advocate, end late on
Saturday night a brief was delivered to another Counsel.
That Counsel, on Monday, per:brined his duty with his ac.
customed lealj and with as close an apparent knowledge
of the bearings of the case as the brief interval of examina-
tion would allow, but the client lost his cause. It is not im-
probable that, under such circumstatitesi he attaches too much
importance to the absence of his favourite advocate. It is na-
tural he should do so. But how stands the case wit!! r"spect to
that Learned Gentleman ? Was he retained in the cause for
which he deserted his post at the Privy Council, long prior to
this occurrence / No. for the question out of which the patent
case arose was agitated within the last fortnight, and he had re-
ceived his fees in the others for months. Was he tempted, then,
to forsake his duty by avarice ? It mar be 50 j but the fees in
the first case were large and liberal, the trouble nothing, and
advice not required. Did he regulate his conduct b, the prac-
tee of the Bar ? No. It is an invariable practice to attenl tV
priority in the cases, or to offer a return of the fees. This piti:
ful consolation, although it would have been spurned, was not li
oft', r.io, and the next day the gentleman whose case had Deen
neglected read in the newspapers of the morning that the other
cause had not been heard, but was post,.oned till the following
day. This, then, is a specimen of the workings of the system.—
This is the cour:e of professional integrity which Sir William
Horne, his Majesty's Solicitor-General can, under its Influence,
Icing himself to sanction by his practice."
Now conies the truth—the solicitor (Mr. Markland of
the Temple) in two West India causes (Pennant, appel-
lants, and Simpson and others, respondent., and Dixon
and others, appellants, and Simpson and others, re-
spondents) left on the 27th of April, 1830, with the
Solicitor-General's clerk a special retainer (two guinea.)
for the Solicitor-General to appear on behalf of the re-
spondents. The solicitor subsequently wished to lodge a
general retainer (five guineas), and, contrary to custom,
the clerk took three guineas, allowing the former two
guineas to go to make up the five. On the 16th of October
for perusing and settling the papers (in one of the causes)
the Solicitor-General received five guineas, and five
guineas more for consultation with two junior barristers;
and on the 4th of November similar sums, in the other
cause, for ditto. On the 10th of December briefs in
each cause were left, with a fee in each, of 15 guineas
—no consultation, and the clerk was told they would
be in the paper at the Cockpit immediately after-
wards. Those are by the scale of fees, the very
lowest in each, on every occasion, that could be paid
or received in such cases ; nor does more than one instance
happen, in at least a hundred, in which such briefs are
delivered without a consultation and consultation fee. A
single farthing as refresher never was paid. The case
stood by appointment in the paper (the first and second)
on the 3d of January, during the whole of which day the
Solicitor-General was in attendance, but the first case in
the paper having occupied the whole day, the second did
not come on. The Court adjourned without fixing its
' next day of sitting (for there are not regular sittings at
the Cockpit as in the other Courts), and the Solicitor-Ge-
neral never heard one syllable respecting the causes afterwards
until he was accosted on Tuesday the 11th by one of the
Counsel who had been engaged on the opposite side, whom
he met accidentally, with this salutation, " Well, we easily
knocked off your trumpery case ;" and finding that this
alluded to one of the cases in question, the Solicitor-Ge-
neral expressed his utter astonishment that it should have
come on at that time, and without his knowing of it, he
not having had the slightest idea it was then to have been
heard. On Saturd'ny afternoon preceding, however,
(not Friday), the Solicitor called at the Solicitor-Gene-
ral's chambers merely •to say (knowing, as he did, the
Solicitor-General was with his family at his seat in Herr-
' fordshire—it being the vacation) that the Master of the
Rolls had appointed the following Monday to hear those
cases, and as lie knew it would not be possible for the So-
licitor-General to attend, and as the other side had em-
ployed Mr. Pemberton as their leading Counsel, he thought
it right that he should employ a leader also, therefore lie
intended to give Mr. Serjeant Spankie a brief. The Soli-
citor-General's clerk thought this so very unimportant
that he did not even mention the circumstance to his master
on his return to town on Monday morning.
It ought to be added that when the Master of the Rolls
converted his Court into a morning Court, the Solicitor..
General, actuated by the most liberal motives, finding
that, consistently with his duty to his clients elsewhere, he
could not attend that Court, returned all the briefs he had
had in that Court for the preceding twelve months, with
every shilling of fees attached to them, amounting in the
whole to many many hundreds of pounds.
We close our statement by the following verbatim copy
of a note sent to the Solicitor-General by the solicitor in
the causes, without the former having had any communi-
cation whatever with the latter:—

" Temple, Jan. 17, 1831.
this moment been informed that a para-
graph appeared in the Observer newspaper of yesterday,
containing some remarks, in which your name is intro-
duced, and which, it is supposed, can refer only to cir-
cumstances connected with the appeal cases, in which
Mr. Simpson and others are respondents, I beg distinctly
to say that I have not only NOT been instrumental in the
insertion of any such paragraph, but that I was ignorant
until this moment of its having been written.
" I have the honour to be, Sir,
" Your most obedient and faithful servant,
"J. H. MARKLAND.
" The Solicitor- General, &c. &c. &c."

THE FUNDS.-(THIS DAY.)

CITY, TWELVE 0' CLOCK.

We have no arrivals of consequence, with the excep-
tion of the Hamburg mail, which brings accounts from
Warsaw to the 7th, but there is no new feature from that
quarter. From Posen, to the 7th January, it is stated
that the merchants of Moscow have placed the sum of
18,000,000 silver rubles at th 6 Emperor's disposal, and
an offer has been made by the inhabitants of Courland of
12,000 sledges, to convey the troops to their different
destinations.

From Warsaw it is stated that the Russian army ex-
periences more difficulties than was at first imagined, and
that they will not be ready to take the field for these two
months. The Dictator wishes to act on the defensive, but
the general voice of the people is for an invasion of the
Lithuanian territory, by which they hope to rally the
people and the army in the cause of Poland.
LIVERPOOL, JA N. 17.—The sales in British Plantation
Sugar amount to SOO hhds. this week at steady prices,
but in other kinds nothing has been done. The demand
for Cotton this week has been limittd in consequence of
holders pressing their stocks on the Market, prices have
suffered a further decline of id. per lb. The demand for
Pine Timber from the country has been this week very
considerable, and the prices of last week have been fully
maintained.

TUE FUNDS.

Consols opened at the same price they left off yesterday,
82 :11- for the account, and for rent time 82 with
little doing. In the Foreign Market the prices may be
quoted as yesterday.

ENGLISH
Bank Stock, :MI!!! `..?
India Stock,
3 per Cent. Cons. 81
Do. for Account, 82%
Ditto Reduced, 815

FUNDS.
3!4. per Cent. 90.-‘
Ditto, Sew 9014
4 per Cent. 1626, D) ?b
India Bonds, 12 14
Exchequer Binh. 31 33

HALF-PAST OIVE O'eLOCK.

Every thing is very dull and void of interest in the City.
The Funds have also become heavy since the early part of
the morning, when they were S2i ; since which they
have been done at sellers, and are now 821-
-

There is no feature in the Foreign -market wort'h obser-
vation, and the prices continue nearly the same as yesterday.
We are informed that the p:ivate letters from Paris are
pacific ; for the maintenance of peace in Europe the great
Powers are making every effort.
THREE 0' CLOCK.

Consols are quoted at 821-
FOUR O'CLOCK.—CLOSING PRICES.

Consols
--
Ditto for Account 82k-
Brazilian Bonds 54i
Buenos Ayres
Chilian Ditto —
Columbian, 1524

Danish
Greek, 1825 2S
Mexican, 1825
Peruvian
Russian 9ll
Spanish l6fi

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE-(THIS DAY )

FROM LLOYD'S.

DEAL, JAN. 15.—Wind S.S.W.—Arrived his Ne-
therland Majesty's brige'of war Echo, and remains, bound
on a ernite in the Channel.
ponwfovin, JAN. 18.—Wind S.E.—Arrived his
Majesty's ship Pperow, from a ernize.
FALMOUTH, ind S.S.E. to E.S.E.—Ar-
rived the Spey, Purse, from Ilichebucto.
finislef., JAN. 'S.—Arrived the Fly, Sampson, float

St. AnderG.
LIVERPOUL, g. I7.—Arrived off Port, the Chandler.
Price, from New Orleafta ; Java, Jeffemon, from ditto and
New York; Commerce, Evans, from Seville; Sr. Kath.,-
rine, Pre),,olls, from St. Ander° ; and Tiphys, Burnell,

from Palernia;
JAN, Js.—Arrived off porfr the Minerva,
Metcalf, from Bombay and St. Helena.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.-(THIS DAY.)

COURT OF KING'S BENCH.

The Court this morning proceeded with the per,mptniy
prpgr, No case worth reporting occurred.

BAIL COtr AI.

Mr. Jostler hues PARKE, after bearing ju,tification of
bail, took motions.
Mr. KELLY said he had an application of rather a
novel character to make. It was for the Court to order
deed of partnership entered into between two attornies
to be given top for the purpose of being cancelled.
Mr. Justice JAMES PARKE—The Court can interfere
between attornits and their clients, or between attornies
and their clerks, but I never recollect that it ever inter-
fered in paltnership affairs.
Mr. KELLY was aware of the novelty of the application,
but still hoped that tinder the peculiar circumstances of
this case, it would en the present occasion interpose its
authority. The gentleman on whose behalf .be moved,
had heed induced by his now partner to join him in his
busines,, for which he paid down a strii of money. It
was agreed that he was not to take any active part, but
was to share in the profitt. Accordingly every half year,
for a certain period, there was a statement of profits made
up and shared between the partners. Suspicion, how-
ever, arising in hie client's mind that al/ was not right, he
examined into the business and accounts, when he dis-
covered that there had been no profits at all, and that the
accounts bad all been fictitious from beginning- to end.
In fact, so negligent had the party been that he had not
even taken out a certificate for his (Mr. Kelly's) client.
Mr. Jusice JAMES PARKE—It is possible, Mr. Kelly,
that this may be a most ungrateful application.
Mr. KELLY could assure his Lordship that it was oue
of great hardship.
Mr. Justice JAMES PARKE—WeII, at all events, it is a
novel one, and as I do not wish (sitting in this Court) to
establish a precedent, I must refuse the rule, and you had
better mention the case to a full Court.

Mr. KELLY said he would follow his Lordship's advice.