The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-04 00:00:00

right, a tradesman may be subjected to every out-
rage short of personal violence in his own shop. The
entire space devoted to the public may be occupied
by loungers not intending to make any purchase, to
the serious detriment of his business ; his female rela-
tives or assistants may be insulted by objectionable
looks or addresses ; or, as he himself truly says, " ex-
posed to the machinations of an avowed seducer,
without any redress or means of getting rid of the
offender." Surely a matter affecting such important
topics should not be permitted to rest on the decision
of a single judge, from whom there should be no
appeal, or what almost amounts to the same thing,
who is alone to decide whether he has been wrong in
his former decision—a point which very few will be
willing to admit—and if by a possibility a second
hearing should be sanctioned, it must be before the
same person, with all his former prejudices.
One of the chief and most glaring defects, there-
fore, of the new Act is the part which relates to new
trials. Formerly, if any party, plaintiff or defendant,
thought the judge wrong in the law he laid down, or
that the state of facts did not warrant his application
thereof, or if he should be dissatisfied with the ver•
diet of the jury, as being given contrary to the weight
of evidence, or as having been in any degree influenced
by the improper admission or rejection of evidence,
he might apply fur a new trial, or perhaps to have
the judgment entered in his favour, to the full court,
who, if a fair case was made out, permitted a solemn
argument to take place, at which the law
was settled ; if his objection was a legal one,
and was taken in the proper form, and was
what is termed placed upon the record, he might,
if dissatisfied with the decision of the full
court, further appeal to the Exchequer-chamber,
and ultimately to the highest tribunal in the king-
dom—the House of Peers. This he might do in any
case, however trivial or unimportant, if he conceived
himself to be right and was sustained by competent
legal authority. It might perhaps be right that this
unlimited power should not be given in every instance,
but it should never be withheld where the party was
willing to give sufficient security for the debt.
and costs, if the judgment should ultimately be un-
favourable to him. Such an appeal is allowed in
every case from the decisions of Assistant-Barristers
in Ireland, whose powers are very analagous to those
of the Judges in the New County Courts, upon such
security being given, or the amount lodged in court,
and a new hearing takes place before the next going
judge of assize. A similar power should be given
upon like terms in this country also.
Disputed questions of facts should invariably be
submitted to a jury if either party object to
the judge's decision. In Mr. CLARK'S case
the question chiefly turned on whether gross
violence had been used, or only such gentle
force as was necessary to compel the intruder
to quit the shop. The defendant desires the
opinion of a jury on a question in which he feels his
character at stake. It is refused, and thus one
of the first privileges of a free-born Briton, that
he never should be deemed guilty until found
to be so by the verdict of his peers, is
set aside. True it is he might have obtained
a jury previous to the first hearing, by serving
certain notices and depositing certain money ; but
a person may not be aware that the judgment will
turn on such a fact, and if he disputes that fact, and
is satisfied to pay the costs of the first hearing, and
to find adequate security for obeying the final
judgment, he should be permitted to do so ex debit()
justilia, as a matter of mere right.

A letter from Berne of the 27th ult. says—
" Three facts of a certain significance have just
taken place here. I have informed you that the
Governments of the primitive cantons were thinking
of convoking their landsgemeindes, in order to con-
sult them on the situation created by the decisions of
the Diet. The landsgemeinde of Schwyz, the largest
of the primitive cantons, yesterday, in fact, sanc-
tioned the resolutions of the Government, tending to
declare that this canton would not withdraw from the
Sonderbund, and would not expel the Jesuits. This
decision was come to by about 7,000 votes against
360 on the opposi.e side. It is right to add that all
means, likely to influence a population and intimi-
date the wavering, were employed to bring about this
result, which might perhaps have been different, had
the vote taken place under the superintendence and
protection of the federal commissioners delegated
by the Diet. This circumstance, besides, allows
it to be foreseen of what a description will be
the analogous meetings which are to take place
on Sunday next, October 3, in the cantons of Uri,
Unterwald and Zug. However, in the last the Li-
berals, although in the minority, are preparing to
make a demonstration of their respect for the deci-
sions of the Diet. The second important fact is, that
the first deputy of Friburg at the Diet, the avoyer
Fournier, the living incarnation of Jesuitism, has, it
is said, given in his resignation of deputy and until-
cillor of state, probably because the majority of his
colleagues differed from him in opinion. The third
fact which I have to point out to your notice is not
less characteristic. You are aware that at Berne the
Conservatives, united to the old aristocracy, had
gained a certain preponderance in the elections ; not-
withstanding their efforts, the Liberal party, united
to the Radicals, yesterday gained a nomination in
the Grand Council, which fact gives the most formal
contradiction to our reactionary party, who pretended
that the energetic conduct of the Diet had weakened
the Liberal party in the canton of Berne, and para-
lysed its influence in the capital. The Liberal can-
didate was M. Haliwyl, a descendant of one of the
heroes of the battle of Morat ; his opponent was M.
d'Effinger, formerly bailli of Berthoud."

Aletter from Naples, of the 25th ult., says " that the
insurrection in Puglia has assumed a very serious
aspect. At Messina the Government has arrested
M. GRANO, one of the most respectable persons of the
city by his birth and talents. At Melazzo, M.
PIRAINO, one of the richest men of the country, has
also been arrested. Persons who live in the neigh-
bourhood of the Chateau of St. Elmo assert that for
some days past they have heard fusilades, which
leads to a supposition that executions have taken
place in that fortress. General STATELLA, who has
the command of the troops sent to Calabria, has just
represented to the KING that in all the places through
which he has passed he found the people very de-
voted to his MAJESTY, but deeply irritated against the
abuses of the authorities, and particularly the gen-
darmerie. He has denounced M. SALSANO, one of
the principal officers of that force, as having beet'
gu,lty of great cruelty. This officer has been sus-
pended, and is to be brought to trial. The KING,
by a telegraphic dispatch, has suspended the execu-
tion of several persons who had fallen into the hands
of the royal troops, and revoked the institution of
courts-martial. The KING is constantly engaged in
conferences with the Minister PIETRACATELLA, and
it is believed that the object of them is the promul-
gation of useful reforms."
A letter from Rome of the 23d says—

" The Prince de Canino, Charles Bonaparte, who is
a soldier of the Civic Guard, was yesterday placed
under arrest. He had just arrived from Venice, from
which he had been expelled for his speech in the sci-
entific eongress, and escorted to the frontier of the
process is Austrianee nn
edertaegdo ownistb t
blet is
now thought
that Papal
his States
arrest b
here
igoing b
which
bn
heas ttooeic a the
leventseaegof part.th
You
e 7t ha nadreßth aware
on the evenings of those days manifestations were
made before the houses of the foreign ambassadors,
and that they were followed by tumultuous and
almost seditious assemblages round the house of the
.Jesuits. The affairs of Naples appear to be taking
immortal
reformer turn favourable to the policy of the
reformer Pius IX. The King's troops have been
beaten by the Reformers in the province of Cambo
Basso, in Calabria. The number of killed and
wounded on the royal side is estimated at 200.
Yesterday Count Pietro Ferretti, brother of the
Cardinal Secretary of State, set out for Naples. He will
inform the King that the Holy Father proposes to
abolish in several cases the punishment of death.
Cardinal Serra Cassano, Archbishop of Capua, has
arrived at Rome, and it is believed that he has re-
quested the Pope to give him an apostolic letter re-
commending obedience to the people of the Two
Sicilies. It is asserted that the Sovereign Pontiff
replied that he was willing to do this if the King of
Naples would grant a complete amnesty, and adopt
the reforms which the Pope is introducing into his
warmss or s
o r joi
and discussions,psarnit
principle
held
ianlneia
opacfasornmtt particular
sutdthleoaerrraytoi
pro-
prietyltaly.one
own States. The Roman Club gave yesterday a
n
There
in honour of Mamiani, who was amnestied.
between
re
fe
and probability of a war on the affairs of
n
and
ci Professorpeace
.0 r o
Theli defended
Pope
yesterday the
which he conferred the Cardinal's hat on thei ;1 I
prelates MM. Giraud and Dupont. We are expectingrec
here daily M. Pacheco. the Spanish Ambassador, to
put an end, to the differences between Rome and
Madrid. 1% e are assured that in the first consistory
it was proposed to appoint thirty bishops for Spain."
It was rumoured that Cardinal FEURETTI had ex-