The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-25 00:00:00

allow him to give any fortune to his daughter, but
that whatever wealth he might have at bis death
would be divided equally amongst his three children,
of whom the plaintiff was one. The defendant at
once replied that he did not want his money—that he
wanted nothing but his daughter, and his suit was
then approved of by Mr. Wilson. lie was•at once
regarded by the family and their acquaintances as
Miss Wilson's suitor ; and shortly atterwards Mr.
Douglas returned to Ireland, for the purpose, as he
stated, of putting his house in repair and furnishing
it in order to be prepared to receive his wife, and he
invited Mr. Wilson and his eldest daughter, and an
intimate friend, Mr. Parker and his daughter, to pay
him a visit. They accepted the invitation, and spent
several days with Mr. Douglas. Immediately on the
defendant's arrival in this country he wrote two
letters, one to Mr. King and the other to Miss Wilson,
and then commenced a correspondence which it
would be his duty to lay before them. The letters
were as follow :

"Mountain Lodge, Keady, county Armagh,
July 15, 1847 .
. . _

"My dearest Maria,—l arrived safe home last night,
and lose not a moment in writing to my pet, and, as
I expected, I have room enough in the house, as my
aunt, who I left here, has left for her OVI n house, taking
with her the most of all the furniture, so that I am now
sole master of nearly an empty house. However, on the
who's, I am glad she is gone, as when you come home
you will meet with no opposition in your housekeeping;
and if you had seen the place you would have said I was
in great need of a wife, and such a one as my little pet
will make. And now, my dearest Maria, let me ask how
you are, and how you are getting on since I left? Keep
up your spirits, as I will soon re:urn again to enjoy that
society in which alone I can be happy. I spoke to Capt.
Thompson about your father and sister coming over on
Saturday, and he promised me he would make them as
comfortable as possible. He thinks it better for them
to remain on board all night. I slept the whole way
over that night, and had very pleasant dreams, in which
my own pretty Poll' was always present. ite me a
long letter by return of post, and give my kind love to
mother and sister, and may God Almighty bless and pro-
tect you, is the sincere prayer of your ever faithful and
devotedly attached

" JOHN DOUGLAS."
By those letters it would be seen that the defendan t
looked upon this lady as his affianced bride—that he
had left her bearing with him her warm and first affec-
tions, and left her filled with all the hopes and expec-
tations which a young woman ought to cherish, placed
in such circumstances, and. with such prospects before
her. Counsel here read some further letters of a
similar tendency, and continued:—ln pursuance of the
defendant's invitation Mr. Wilson and his friends paid
him a visit, and were introduced to the Rev. Mr.
Donaldson, who was rector of the parish in which Mr.
Douglas resided. They were consulted as to the
choice of furniture, and went to Armagh to select it.
Mr. Wilson, although not in circumstances to give
the defendant a fortune with his daughter, thought it
right to make them a present. Accordingly, he
chose a handsome piano for his daughter, the price of
which was 45/. ; it was not delivered until after Mr.
Wilson returned to Manchester, but the bill was sent
to him by the defendant, and he remitted a 501. note
to pay that of 451. The jury would be surprised
that Mr. Douglas retained the piano and the 501.
being now married to another lady, who was now en-
joying the piano which had been purchased for the
plaintiff by her father. As Mr. Wilson was leaving
Ireland the defendant commissioned him to purchase
suitable paper for his house ; the paper was pur-
chased and sent over to him, but never paid for. The
following is the last letter written by the defendant :
" Mountain Lodge, Oct. 22, 1847.
"My dearest Maria,—l am this day favoured with
your letter, and I am sorry to hear that your father and
family arc plunged into such a situation, and I do sin-
cerely sympathise with you all in the very distressing
state you aro placed in. I had a letter from Mr. King
the other day in which he mentions he has been robbed
and swindled out of all his money by your father under
the pretence of friendship, which I was very sorry to
hear. In reply to him reading either Miss Bellhouse's
letters or yours I utterly deny. I showed him Mr.Bell-
house's letter to me, which was all he saw of them, and
while I was writing to you your letter was lying on the
table, and he snatched it up and read part of it. Dearest
Maria, under these circumstances, and you now knowing
I can't marry without getting money, I see no chance at
all of our wedding coming off, and which I do most sin-
cerely regret on your account as well as my own ; but
circumstances over which I have no control forbids it
now. I write this hurriedly to say I am leaving home
for the south, on a visit to some friends, where I will be
obliged to stay for some time, so that I will be deprived
of your correspondence for some time. Wishing you,
my dearest Maria, every happiness, and a speedy release
from all your trouble,
" Believe me, dearest Maria, yours very faithfully,
"JOSH DOUGLAS."

The father of the plaintiff and other witnesses were
then examined, after which Mr. M'Donogh addressed
the jury for the defendant.
The CHIEF BARON then addressed the jury. He
said that from the course which the case had taken it
was unnecessary for him to trouble them with more
than a very few observations. No doubt could pos-
sibly exist of the promise of marriage—no doubt could
exist that that promise had been violated—none that
the plaintiff was entitled to damages by their verdict.
The simple and only question for their determination
was what damages she ought to 'gat. For the pur-
pose of arriving at that conclusion they would have to
take into account the circumstances under which the
engagement was made, the circumstances and condi-
tion in life of the plaintiff, and the circumstances of
the defendant. His Lordship concluded by telling
the jury that they were called upon to give compen-
sation, not merely for the loss of a suitable settlement
in life, but also for those blighted hopes and wounded
affections which were a legitimate foundation for
damages in such a case as the present.
The jury retired, and returned after about half an
hour's absence, with a verdict for the plaintiff of 8001.

BANKRUPT LAW CONSOLIDA

TION BILL.
OBJECT OF THE BILL.

I.- ON THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE LAW CF BANK

RUPTCY IN THE FORM OF A CODE.
The advantages of a methodical arrangement of the
various provisions on one of the moat extensive and im-
portant branches of the law, involving the administration
by the Court of Bankruptcy in London only in the
course of a year of more property than in all the other
Courts of Common Law, must be readily admitted by all.
Next in importance to having a good code of law on
any subject is the facility by which persons who are to
be affected by the law may acquaint themselves of its

various provisions.
For this purpose nothing can be more effective than
an analytical arrangement under appropriate heads.
All the witnesses examined on this point by the Select
Committee of the House of Lords agree that the pro-
posed digest will be a valuable addition to the statute
law.
IL—OF THE AMENDMENTS OF THE LAW OF BANK.

RV PTCY.
let. In the constitution of the court :
Having a chief commissioner, and promotion thereto
according to merit.
The necessity and importance of a chief judicialofficer
is recognised in all our courts; and in no case will the
advantage be more felt than in the appointment of a
chief commissioner in the Court of Bankruptcy. It is
very essential to have a chief commissioner conversant
with the working in detail of the whole system of the
court, and with whom the different commissioners and
other officers, both in London and in the country, may
have free communication on any matters of practice and
other matters connected with the administrative part of
the system. It will be the duty of the chief commissioner
to consider from time to time the necessary
rules to be made for regulating the practice of the
court, the duties to be performed by the different offices,
and the forms of proceedings, and to secure a unifor-
mity in the practice and proceedings in all the courts;
and this last will be more particularly requisite under the
proposed new procedure to obtain adjudication of bank-
ruptcy by petition. There are many matters also which
must be done by some one commissioner, and these will
be performed more satisfactorily to the public by a chief
commissioner. See articles 6, 59, 61, 70, 83, 132, 143,
277, and 289 to 294.
It is good policy too, with regard to the efficient dis-
charge of judicial duties, to have a chiefahip to which all
may naturally aspire. It will be for the House of Com-
mons to say what additional remuneration should be
given to the chief commissioner in order to secure the
above ends, and to make the office an object of proper
ambition.
2d. In the jurisdiction-
-Ist. Abolishing the fiat, and originating the bank-
ruptcy in the Court of Bankruptcy by petition direct to
the Court;
2d. Extending the jurisdiction of the primary tribunals
to all matters in bankruptcy subject to appeal;
3d. Making a category of mercantile offences;
4th. Providing for expense of prosecutions ordered by
the Court, where there are no funds under the bank-
ruptcy.
3d. Supplying more efficient tests of the ability of a
trader to meet his engagements, and, in the event of his
not standing the test, giving creditors thereupon the
power of securing a rateable distribution of his estate
and effects by a bankruptcy:-
Ist. Trader debtor's summons is made more efficacious
by making it obligatory upon the debtor to satisfy
sthef
Court, by an affidavit of merits, stating the.gFound
upono
defence, that there is reasonable cause for relying
a defence upon the merits to the demand
and on failing to do this, if be do not p!sy oa
bond r compoun
withd
for the debt within a certain time, or give
sureties to pay such sum as shall be recovered, he may
be made a bankrupt.
It is not intended that the Court of Bankruptcy
e
should try the question betwethnthe credit andthe
trader debtor summoned, wh
e er deb
it or n debt.
This would not be practicable, but
it s nothing more
than reasonable that the debtor should satisfy the Court
ibia he has reasonoble cause for relying upon a defence
upon the merits, and not merely (as at present) be allowed
to swear that he believes he has a good defence ; and if
he cannot so satisfy the Court, the creditor wil be en-
titled to security for his debt, or the trader, failing in
this, may be made bankrupt.
See the Articles on thin, 122 to 130.
_ _

2d. The levy under an execution against the goods of
a trader is a pretty sure test of his inability to meet his
engagements.
Upon this it should be observed, that aq the law UM