The Sun.
London, England, 1838-01-29 00:00:00

STATE OF THE THAMES•

On Saturday the navigation was entirely suspended, and
business, except at the coal wharfs, was at a stand-still. The
most alarming accident which has yet happened occurred on
Friday night, when a large field of ice was carried against
a coal ship off Deptford, and sunk her. She was laden with
not less than 300 tons of coals. The crew had scarcely time
to save themselves. The Dreadnought hospital-ship is still
ashore at Greenwich. On Saturday, about one o'clock, a
Torbay fishing smack, outside the tier, off Billingsgate, was
about to alter her position, when the ice dragged away her
mooring chain ; her ropes were also broken, and she drifted
up the river. The crew immediately cast out the anchor,
which stuck fast in a large sheet of ice, and the smack was
drifted against London-bridge ; the crash was a dreadful one,
and the masts were instantly carried Away.
Saturday afternoon, about half-past two o'clock, the atten-
tion of the people going over Waterloo-b:idge was directed
to the perilous situation of six men in a wher.7, who had put
off four hours previously. They made a great- .many ineffee.
tual attempts to break through the ice, and ultiWately they
got their boat on a block of ice, where they remained in a
most dangerous situation. A great number of persol:S as-
sembled at Hungerford-market Wharf, for the purpose of
throwing ont a line to them, but they were at too great
distance, and they drifted up the river. The men on the bat-
last-machines have been for the last four or five days in a
very distressed condition, all communication with the shore
being cut off. A coal-barge which had been drifted up and
down the river in the ice for ten hours, was at last made fast
to Southwark-bridge. The lightcrmen appeared quite ex-
hausted with hunger, fatigue, and cold, and being unable to
get ashore, victuals, beer, and liquor were lowered to them
from the bridge. In the evening a rope was made fast to the
barge, and a number of men on Bankside dragged her to a safe
berth. The men had been altogether sixteen hours on the
river. The Conservative, of Stockton, on her way to London,
lust her best bower anchor and chain of 85 fathoms on Thurs-
day, in Gravesend reach.
Above bridge, the Thames was, in many places, Hammer-
smith among others, completely frozen over, and thousands
were sliding, skating, and promenading over the ice. The
Harrimersmith-bridge Company have lost a good deal in the
way of tolls • instead of passing over the bridge, for which a
halfpenny toll is exacted, numbers passed over the ice. There
was a good sheet of ice off Lambeth, on which great numbers .
were amusing themselves. On Saturday, a large sheep, given
to the watermen by a gentleman, was roasted on the ice at
Chiswick, in a similar manner as the one at Hammersmith.
After it was done, plates and knives, and penny loaves, were
laid out, and numbers partook of the " river mutton."
The ice is stated by the watermen to be in some parts two
feet thick ; but this is not the case generally, since on a frac-
ture taking place yesterday near Kew-bridge, owing to the
prCssure of persons, upon the ice sinking it was found that it
was but five or six inches thick. It is intended this day,
should the frost continue, to have a sheep roasted whole on the
ice, near Barnes, and to have another roasted at Kew. Yes-
terday the men were raising the tent for that purpose, and to
which persons will be admitted upon the same conditions as
were adopted on a similar occasion on Saturday at Chiswick.
There will also be various other amusements, and the day it is
thought will be kept like a fair.

Mr. Charles Kean played Hamlet, for the 9th time,
on Friday, when her Majesty came purposely to see him, to
the best house ever in Drury-lane at the present prices.
There is no truth whatever in the statement that
horses are to be introduced in Richard the Third, at Drury-lane.
On Friday evening at Drury-lane Theatre, one of
the box-keepers in raising a scat to admit a party of ladies,
found a well filled purse on the floor. As soon as the con-
fusion arising from the crowded state of the theatre had sub-
sided, he male inquiry respecting the purse, and soon found
a lady who proved her claim to it by accurate description ;
and, in the warmth of her gratitude, on finding all right, she
presented the man with a Joe—that is to say, a four-penny
piece!! At this moment one of the party of ladies for whom he
had kept places fainted, and he immediately assisted her into
the lobby, and procured an orange to revive her. She did
revive, thanked him for his care and his orange, and gave him
—nothing I ! !
According to an article in the Ai/ger/lane Zeitung
the Grand Duke Alexander, eldest son of the Emperor of
Russia, will be betrothed, in the course of the ensuing sum-
mer, to a daughter of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-
Strelitz. In June or July, it is added, the Emperor intends
to have an interview at Treplitz with his allies, the Emperor of
Austria and the King of Prussia, on which occasion, it is
thought, the present condition of Spain will again be taken
into serious consideration.
The Landrath of the Pays de Vaud in Switzerland
have prohibited marriages between Protestants and Catholics.
The question was carried by 29 votes against 27. By the
terms of the Constitution of that Canton the Bishop has four
votes. On this occasion, therefore, it was his opinion that
turned the scale.
POST-OFFICE REFORMS.-At a general meeting of
the Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures, held at Edin-
burgh, on Wednesday, the 17th instant, Mr. Duncan Cowan
in the chair, it was stated by Mr. R. Cadell that on the sub-
ject of Post-office Reform a Committee had previously been
appointed, and by direction of the Chamber had presented a
memorial to the Loids of the Treasury and petitions to Parlia-
ment in favour of the plan recommended by Mr. Rowland Hill,
of an uniform rate of postage with stamped cevers. Mr.
Cadell stated that it appeared to be the intention of Govern-
ment to give a partial trial to the plan to the London twopenny
and threepenny posts, by making all 2d., and allowing parties
cithcr to make use of the stamped covers or not, as they pleased.
This seemed to him not onls not to be a trial of Mr. Hill's plan,
but quite the reverse ; because while the postage was above a
penny, and the use of the stamped covers opfonal, it would he
impossible to form any conception of !los advantage of Mr.
Hill's plan ; and therefore he submitted the propriety of pe-
titioning Parliament against any trial which did not fairly carry
out the principles maintained by Mr. Hill. Some discussion
ensued on this point, in which Sir J. Spittal, Mr. R. B.
Blytb, and some other members took part. Mr. Caclell's
motion was unanimously agreed to, and a petition which lie
had prepared on the subject read and approved of, and di-
rected to be sent to Mr. Wallace for presentation, —Scotsman.

MOH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW.
Mortaring ...... 9 minutes after 5 I Evening 29 minutes after 5

In a few Days.
ANATIONAL BANK the REMEDY for the
EVILS attendant upon our present System of PAPER
CURRENCY.
By SAMSON RICARDO, Esq.

THE NEW NOVEL.

it A

Now read in 3 vols. post Svo.,
F H A L L.
By ROBERT SULLIVAN.
Henry Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great:;farlborough-street.
To be had of all booksellers.

COMPANION To, LODGE'S PORTRAITS
NEW and CHEAPErt EDITION, with CONSMERABLE
ADDITIONS.
On tho First of February, with the Manze, Part bo loom-
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MEMOIRS OF THE BEAUTIES OF THE
COURT OF CHARLES 11.,
With an INTRODUCTORY VIEW of the STATE of
FEMALE SOCIETY, and its influence during that remakable
Reign.

By MRS. JAMESON,
Authoress of U Characteristics of Women," tze.
Comprising A SERIES OF TWENTY-ONE 'SPLENDID
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Charlotte.
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*„* Orders received by all Booksellers.

THE COLBURN FEBR
SUARY
NEW Ml NUMER BOF
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MAGAZINE AND HUMOU THLY
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EDITED BY THEODORE `BOOK, Esq.
The Gurney Papers. By the 1 The Phantom Ship. By Cap-
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tain Marryat.
The Diving Bell—Captain ?al- Reminiscences ; or, a Page from
coner's Adventures. the Book of Life.
Female Portrait Gariery, from The Manager's Note-book—Ma-
Sir Walter
~',cott. By Miss thews, Mrs. Abingdon.
Landon.
Trade-itional Confessions—The
Little Pernington in a Pucker. Pawnbroker.
By the Author of " Paul Pry." Tale of a Vulture. By Benson Hill.
Some, Passages in the life of Choice of a Bride, by Francis
Uajor Gahagan. GrEeme.
Conversazione, &e. &c.
Henry Colburn Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

The publication eg* TEN SUN NRWSPAPER commenced this day
at 10 minutes past Three a' Clock.

call upon the Cititens and the Common Council to stir in
this matter. If not, we promise them that the starving
poor shall have our best and incessant assistance in
abating this giant nuisance by other means. We tell
the Court of Aldermen there arc more eyes upon them
than they are aware of ; and if they refuse to put an
end to the system when they have it in their power,
the public and Parliament shall speedily be oljpd
upon to put an end to them,

The subject of the Police of the Metropolis is one
to which we hare frequently adverted, and is of the
greatest importance to the million and a half of people
inhabiting ;Lis overgrown City, and its suburbs. We
are glad to see the matter has been taken up by the
Edinburgh Review, in an able article in the Number
just published, which treats very fully of the present
state of the Police, and points out the defects in the
system which require reform. According to the Re-
viewer the defects of the present system of Metropo-
litan Police may be classed under the following heads:-
1!..t. Imperfect consolidation.
and to economy, in
se'42-edr.a lDieisspreegcatsr.d to public con::;,,„„,
3d. Improper admixture of executive and judicial duties in
the office of Magistrates.
4th. Want of a more extensive summary jurisdiction.
sth. Want of authorized informers, and of peculiar attention
to hindrance of crime.
6th. An erroneous system in regard to bail.
7th. Want of a public prosecutor.
Bth. The Grand Jury obstruction.
The evils of the separate jurisdiction possessed by
the City are very forcibly exposed. " The distinc-
tion," says the Reviewer, " is as absurd in principle as
if the City were allowed a Municipal Post-office, the
very essence of which department, like that of police,
consists in centralization. The City Police jurisdic-
tion, as respects crime; has not unaptly been compared
to the clergy reterves in Canada--not used by those
to whom it is appropriated, and injurious to the
neighbouring land-owners. So the City authority
for the Police is a desert in the way of improvement,
planted in the midst of the improved system, as if the
object had really been to prevent the complete success
of the improved system.' The state of the City Police
is, in fact, pretty much that of the metropolitan
parishes under the old system. The day constables
are a distinct body from the night watchmen, who act
exclusively within their own wards, and the duties of
both are very inefficiently performed. The day police,
it is said, are improved ; but we are inclined to think
that the City corps. is, upon the whole, one with which
the Central Commissioners would not be disposed to
march through Coventry.' A wish, it seems, was
lately expressed, by the citizens to have a sight of their
policemen, and an order for a muster in Guildhall was
made by the Corporation ; but we are told that this
order was considered rather too hazardous an experi-
ment to admit of a compliance." t The wards resisted
it ; they would not show up their men in Guildhall,
to show what sort of a regiment they were !"
The recommendations of the Edinburgh Review
appear to have been maturely considered, and are
supported by the opinions of experienced persons—.
such as Mr. TRAILL, Mr. BALLANTINE, and Mr.
HARDWICK (Police Magistrates) ; Mr. BUCKLE,
(Recorder of Worcester) ; Mr. WARD, (Inspector of
Prisons) ; and Mr. E. G. WAKEFIELD, who gave va-
luable evidence before the Parliamentary Committee.
Our space does not permit us at present to enter at
large upon the many questions discussed, but we can-
not omit quoting from the Review the following im-
portant remarks :

The real extent of crime in the metropolis is a most interest-
ing subject of inquiry, but there are, unfortunately, no statisti-
cal data by which it may be detp.mined with any sort of accu-
racy. The average number of offenders committed for trial at
the Central Court and Quarter Sessions, in London and Mid-
dlesex, in the last three years, has been 3,609 yearly ; but as this
does not comprise the summary commitments, it is no guide at
all. The number of prisoners (exclusive of debtors) confined
in the course of the year ending Michaelmas, 1836, in the seve-
ral metropolitan prisons, viz. : Coldbathfields, Clerkenwell, New-
gate, Giltspur-street Compter, the City Bridewell, the West-
minster Bridewell, Horsemonger-lane, Brixton, and the Bo-
rough Compter, appears to have been about 35,000, but from
this number a considerable deduction must be made, in re-
spect of the same prisoners recommitted within the year, and
for those removed, after committal or sentence, from one prison
to another. Allowing 10,000 on this account, there will remain
23,000 offenders detected in the year; and, taking the popu-
lation of the metropolis, in its widest sense, at 1,600,000, it ap-
pears that one in every 64 persons is to be set down as a crimi-
nal ! Nor is the prospect of improvement very hopeful, since it
seems that the number of boys under 16 committed to the six
first-mentioned prisons was, in 1833, 2,675; and in 1836 it had
increased to 3,132 ! That the habitual proportion of offenders
in the metropolis should even approximate to 1 in 64, is a
most painful consideration, and offers a wide field fcr the la-
bours of the jurist—tho political-economist—the philanthro-
pist—of everyman who has the head and the heart to do
good to his species. How often must it be reiterated, that
ignorance and poverty are the primary causes of delinquency?
How often repeated, that our system of secondary punish-
ments requires a thorough revision—that our prisons aro nur-
series of vice—hotbeds of crime? The description of the
metropolitan prisons, contained in the Second Report of
the Inspectors of the Home District, presents a deplorable
picture of the evils resulting from goal-association, and
strongly confirms the opinion of the indispensable necessity of
the individual separation of prisoners, previously urged by the
inspectors, advocated by this journal, and now, we rejoice to
say, officially recommended by the Secretary of State. If
the Magistrates should—as we confidently hope they will not
—neglect or refuse to introduce ameliorations which are called
for alike by good sense and humanity, it will become the duty
of the Government to compel them to adopt a right system of
prison management. A sound system of prison discipline is
an essential auxiliary to an effective police, and such a police
we by no means despair of seeing perfected in the metropolis,
'as well as extended to the rural districts. The country owes
much to Mr. Hawes for his zealous and well-timed exertions
in Parliament to this end. It is gratifying that these are sub-
jects which may be approached by Whigs and Tories %i ithout
party strife, and with a united effort for practical reform. Let
such persevere in their useful labours—in the amount of hu-
man suffering removed from present and future generations,
they will find their ample reward—they arc cultivating not a
(barren field of ephemeral gratification, but a soil capable of
,yielding abundant, and never failing, harvests of good I
We cannot conclude without a word upon a point inti-
mately connected with the preceding, and all other branches
ief criminal jurisprudence in these kingdoms, we mean the
necessity—growing every day more urgent—of some superin-
ttending authority, analogous to the Minister of Justice in
IFrance, whose exclusive attention shall be given to every do-
lpartment of the administration of the criminal law, and whose
lespecial province it shall be not only to watch over its execu-
tion, but to forward its reform. Every one who is at all aware
(of the multiplicity of business with which the Home Office
:has for some time past been pressed, will at once understand
how impossible it is for a Seel etary of State to go through his
;indispensable Parliamentary duties, and yet to devote adequate
lime to so important matters as those of Police, Prison Dis-
ipline, Transportation, Secondary and Capital Punishments.
We are far from insinuating any want of diligence in the
Noble Lord now at the head of the Home Department;—on
he contrary, it is surprising to us that he has found time to do
much as he has done in this respect; but practical mea-
ures of great moment ought not be postponed to topics of
more political interest perhaps, but of much more speculative
dvantage. Whilst a moderately. reforming Ministry is
engaged, night after night, in parrying the trusts of the Tories
on the one side, and the ultra- Reformers on the other, subjects
of the most grave and complicated nature are delegated, one
after another, to Parliamentary Committees, who examine
-witnesses, mako a report, and there it ends. A curious
and instructive return might be made of the lost labours of
Select Committees of both Houses for the last twenty years ;
nay, the time occupied by their inquiries has oftentimes been
worse than lost, for it has had the effect of shifting the respon-
sibility of organizing reforms from the only quarter capable of
pursuing them with effect, namely, the Government. Hence
a strong opinion is beginning to be entertained, that either a
regular Minister of Justice is required, or a Central Board,
acting (like the Poor Law Commissioners) in some degree
under the Secretary of State, but invested with sufficient
power for the regulation and management of the police, the
prisons, and all branches of the penal system, without the
necessity of constant reference to the Home Office. We ven-
ture to predict, that many years will not elapse before the
establishment of some such authority is found indispensable
and, although the present want of it ought not to be an ex-
cuse for any Member of the Legislature relaxing his indivi-
dual exertions for the good of society, the deficiency, until
supplied, cannot but impair the efficiency of the executive,
and operate injuriously to the public service.

The Paris Journals of Friday and Saturday have
all been received. France has declined granting a
subsidy to the Queen of Spain to carry on the war
against the Pretender--a determination which must
have a disastrous effect on the councils of the Spanish
Cabinet. The remains of the unfortunate British
Auxiliary Legion are in the course of transportation
from San Sebastian to England. Madrid Journals to

the 19th instant, inclusive, have been received, but
they contain no news of interest. The following ex-
tracts are from the French Journals :
We copy, says Le Commerce, the.following note without
remark, or without guaranteeing its authenticity:—" It seems
certain that the evacuation of Ancona was decided upon at the
time of the departure of the Count St. Aulaire from Vienna,
and this aecounts for some flattering expressions of tho Aus-
trian Qb.gyyl,-1 respecting the Frpn.-a,
A letter frnrn - - ~overtor." Le Europe.
.1, • ... we frontier says, that forty Carlist officers,
—L belonging to the expedition, deserted after passing the
Ebro. Among these officers there are twenty captains and
five colonels.

BAYONNE, JAN. 23.--We have vto hews from Llodio later
thin the 17th. It was thought that the Carlists were pr9_
paring to attack the Christinos, who are, it is reported;
fallen back to Villaeayo. Four of the Carliit battalions
under the Marquis de Bouvedn have arrived at CirdiA, tiy4
other battalions will follow them., but if the kli*iMt, of La Rl-
biro is on its guard, the Corlisttt Will not be able to effect the
passage. The prOvincee
weary of the war ; reports of sn
arrangement hayo l'sen in circulation for sots* days. Digcord
continues
b.;.) prevail among the tourist-410h of Don Carlos.
tiscayan awl Navavrote troops do not seem disposed to
undertake great operations.
Lottery from Old Castillo say, that Bassilio., Gordo is
closely followed on this side of Madrid, by the divisions of lili-
bari and Asperoz.—Constitutionncl.

ENCH FUFUNDS T—PARis, JAM. e 7.

Me per Cents., 109 f. 30c. 45c, SCo. 40e.
Four per Cents., 101 f. 450.
l'hree per Cents., 79f. Soc. 45c. 50c. 40c.
Bank Actions, 2,615 f.
Rente de Naples' sec Mc. 50c.
Boman Five per Cents., 101y4.
Spanish Actives, 2'l 191
Spanish Passives, 414%1u.
Belgian Bank, 1,49:if. 1,509 f. 1,40!1.
ilaytian Loan, 380 f. 332 f. 50c. 385 f.
EXCTIANGS ON LONDON.

Ole month, paper, —f. —c money, 251. 47%c
Three months, paper, 2b' 321,4 c. ; moncy, 251.
LAST PftlOES.
Five per Cents. 109 f. 40c.
Three per Cents., 79f. 40c.
Bank Actions, t,(115f.
flomans, 101%.
Belgian Bank, 1,495 f,
Spanish Actives, 11/..
Spanish Passives, 4%.
liarlan Loan, 3.951%

USSELS AND GERMAN PAPERS

BRUSSELS, JAN. 25.—The average prices of
Wheat and Rye, in the week ending 20th inst., were—
Wheat 16r33f., Rye 11.22 f. per hectolitre. Import duties
37.50 f., and 21.50 f. per 1,000 kilogrammes. A letter from
Namur says, we learn that his Majesty has just purchased the
estate of Castine, which belonged to tho Merode family, and
which, adjoining the estate of Ardenne, his Majesty already
possessed in the environs of Dinant. The revolutionary
Journals of Belgium themselves now unmask the plans of the
federation which have been formed there ; and they also
prove now necessary it was seriously to oppose everything that
might serve to realise such projects. In its minute of the 3rd
of this month, the Beige contains an article, headed Confede
ration Belge-Rhenane, the spirit and contents of which indi-
cate such a degree of imprudence as th• revolutionary Press
in Belgium has rarely equalled.—Prussian State Gazette.
BRUSSELS, JAN. M.—The official part of the Moniteur
Beige contains a comparative view of the indirect taxes in
1536 and 1837, which is very satisfactory. The amount is
1836 was 53,633,768 f. Estimate for 1837, 53,275,000 f.
Receipt for 1837, 56,130,871 f. The Excise fell short of the
estimates by 423,252 f. The actual result is an increase of
2,797,000 f. above the receipt of 1836, and of 3,152,871 above
the estimates.

FRONTIERS OF ITALY, JAN. 14. —A letter from Rome says
that Dr. Bunsen continued his endeavours to negotiate with
the Papal Government, but hitherto without success. He
made some proposals which the Holy See at first thought to
be in some measure acceptable, but afterwards noticed some
clauses which appeared to be objectionable. These proposals,
therefore, remained unanswered, and it is now felt that it will
be extremely difficult to come to an understanding about this
lamentable Cologne affair. Much as it is wished at Romo to
see the former friendly relations with Prussia restored, the
Pope does not feel himself authorized to sacrifice any part of
the rights of the Church, over which he is resolved to watch
vigilantly. It is well known that the doctrines of Hermes,
which were widely spread in the Rhenish provinces, must lead
to many differences among the Catholics, and that the spiritual
honour of the Papal See might be thereby impaired ; but this
very circumstance excites fears of making things worse than
they now are, and that concession will only increase the evil
which it is intended to remove.
BELGIAN 1' UNDS—.BausseLm, JAx. W.
Actual Debt, 23 per Cent.
Rothschild's Loan, 5 per Cent. lOl%
Loan of Thirty Millions 933k
Loan of City, 1832, 4 per Cent 9E3
Society of Commerce, 4 ,aper Cent
Bank of Belgium, bpitr Cent ll6
National Society
—l?russelt Papers. Jan. 26.
AUSTRIAN FUNDS.—Vsaxxs, Jar. 18.
Five per Cents. Metalliques
Foar per Cents.
Three per Cents.
lignk Shares
—Allgemeins Zeitung, Jan. :a.

VICE-CHANCERY.-(T HIS DAY.)

TIIR LEEDS CORPORATION CASE.

Mr. BETIILL in this case moved that the defendants might have further
time to enter their answer.

Mr. \\Timis* said a large portion of flute had been granted, and he
hoped the Court would not accede to any further 4-21ay,

The VICE-CHANCELLOR said he would recommend Mr. Walker to con.
sent to the application, and that centlemen havingdone so, the timo was
for a month.

tlltt,El44 e.
The argUmente ih this ease were then resumed, and were likely to
occupy the greater part of the day;

ROLLS' COURT.---(THIS DAY.)

WistitiLsri v. GArdißti-i--Atiot
Lord LANGDALE, in giving jUdgnient in this case; heard ill Michael-
mss Term last, said the case came on utioh exceptions to the Master's
Beeotti and the qUeetieti afgued Walt,iihethet the debts df Lady Mary
Kerr, which had been paid by her cosheirs out ef lief teal estate in scot-
land, ought to be repaid to them out of her personal estate, admitilis
tered in England P Lad; Mary Kerr And Lad? Essex Kerr were the co-
heiresses eft the Duke of Roxburgh, who Was eiltitled Id Certaitt real estates
In Scotland.. They were domiciled in England, contracted debts theft',
executed joint and several bonds for securing the payment of those
debts. In March, 1818, Lady Mary Kerr died intestate ; her sis-
ter, Lady Essex, was her heiress-at-law and administratrix. She en.
tered, as she was entitled to do, on the Scotch estates, but did not make
up her title to them according to the forms required by the law of Scot-
land. In 1810, Lady Essex Kerr executed a deed of disposition and a
will, by which she intended to dispose of the Scotch real estates which had
descended to her from Lady Mary, but as she had not made up her titleto
those estates, the same were after her death in September, 1819, claimed
by the co-heirs of Lady Mary, who finally established their title by a de-
cision of the House of Lords. Lady Mary and Lady Essex had personal
estates in England, and when Lady Essex died, there were joint and se-
veral bonds of Lady Mary, and Lady Essex, then remaining unpaid.
'I he will of Lady Essex was proved by the late Earl of Winchilsea, and
Sir Robert Williams Vaughan, Residuary Legatees, and they filed a Bill
against another Residuary Legatee, against the Attorney-General as re-
, specting charities, and against the eo-heirs of the establishment of the will
and the due administration of the estate of Lady Essex. During the pen-
dency of this suit, some of the bond creditors of Lady Mary and Lady Es-
sex commenced proceedings in Scotland, to recover payment of their dif-
mends, against the co-heirs of Lady Mary ; and the co-heirs filed their
bill in this Court against the executors of Lady Essex, who had pos-
sessed the personal estate of Lady Mary, praying for an aceount, and
for the due administration of the estate of the late Lady Essex Kerr,
and that a sufficient sum might be set apart for the purpose.' of dis-
charging the debts of Lady Mary and Lady Essex as were, by
the law of Scotland, of the nature of moveable debts, and pri-
marily chargeable as between real and personal representatives,
upon the personal estates, and for relieving the heirs, and that the heirs
might have the benefit of the suit instituted by the Earl of Winchelsea
and Sir Robert Williams Vaughan. The cause was heard in June,
1831, and a decree was then made directing a reference to the Master.
The Master, by his Report, found that by the law ofScotland there was a
distinction between heritable and moveable debts as the payment out of
the debtor's real and personal assets; and that by the law of Scotland any
creditors claiming moveable debts are paid out of the debtor's real es-
tate in Scotland, or by the heir or person entitled to such real estate, and
that the heirs or person entitled to such real estate, is entitled to be
repaid the amount, together with interest after the rate of 5 per cent.
from the time of such payment out of the personal estate, whereso-
ever situated, of such debtor, and notwithstanding the fact that
such debtor died domiciled in England. To this Report
exceptions were taken on the ground that sufficient evidence was not
given before the Master as to the law of Scotland. The ques-
tion arose on the fact that the debtor was not domiciled in
Scotland, but in England. By the law of England the personal
estate is the primary fund for the payment of all debts
contracted by the deceased person whose estate it was. By the
law of Scotland moveable debts are primarily chargeable on the
personal estate. The general rule was, that when a person domiciled
in one country, died possessed of property situate in another, the per-
sonal estate was to be applied, and administered according to the law
of the place of domicile, and the real estate was to be applied and ad-
ministered according to the law of the place where the real
estate was situated. By the law of Scotland there was a
distinction between heritable and moveable debts, and if the debtor
was domiciled in Scotland, any creditor claiming movable debts being
paid out of the debtors' real estate in Scotland, or, by the person or
heir entitled to the real estate, he is entitled to be repaid the amount
out of the personal estate. His Lordship, after going through the
authorities, said it slid not appear to him the evidence before the
Master was not sufficient to support the conclusion to which he had
arrived, and therefore the exception resist be overruled and the report
con firmed.

' 41Cir
• A
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