The Sun.
London, England, 1823-02-04 00:00:00

THE KING r. WILLIAM FOX.

The So LICITO tt-GE NERAL moved for the judgment of the
Court on this defendant. When called, he did not appear ;
and on an affidavit that he had been duly served with notice,
his recognizances were estreated.

• • THE KING V. JOAN IRVING.
The indictment was read against the defendant, who was
convicted of bargaining for the sale of a place in the Excise.
The facts of this case have been already before the public.
The affidavit of facts of the prosecutor, Ashburn, was here
read by the Officer of the Court.
An affidavit of the defendant was nest put in, setting forth
that the deponent supported himself by the sale of tea and. to-
bacco at Bethnal Green ; that the prosecutor applied to the
deponent, offering 901. to procure him the situation of waiter
in the Excise Office, and . that deponent referred him to a
person named Gootlhall, who had undertaken to procure the
place in question; that the deponent signed a promissary
note for the 901. paid by Ashburn to,Goodall, but did not par-
ticipate in the profits of the transaction ; that being threatened
to be arrested by. Mr. Ashburn, he gave him, Ashburn, house-
hold goods of the value of 10/. ; that deponent is very poor,
and has no means to support himself, orhis wife and family,
who must go to the parish, if he is sent to prison.
The ATTonarsv-GENERAL spoke in aggravation.
Mr. ADOLPIItts, jun. addressed the Court in mitigation,
and submitted that the defendant's sole object, in being con.
nected with the Goodhalls in this transaction, was With a view
of obtaining by this means payment of moneys, which
Goodlialls, die other defendants, owed him. The defendant
gave up the bed on which he slept to satisfy the promissory note
given to Ashburn. Under these circumstances the Learned
Gentleman submitted the defendant had done all in his power
to indemnify the party alledged to have been defrauded, and
there being no direct evidence of the defendant's being a party
to the fraud, he trusted the Court would award a very slight
punishment, as being all that was required to satisfy the rigour
of the law.

The Bench having conferred for some minutes,
Mr. Justice BAYLEY passed the sentence of the Court on the
defendant, who, be observed, had been convicted of an indict.
ment at the suit of the Attorney. General. It appeared that
John Compton Ashburn 'very indiscreetly advertised for an
appointment which defendant came forward to procure; it was
a very serious offence under an Act of Parliament. The Le-
gislature thought very wisely, that a man who offered a bribe to
obtain' a situation, would have recourse to dishonest means to
reimburse himself, The defendant had applied to the Good.
halls himself for a Government situation, and was disappoint-
ed, before he introduced Ashburn to Goodhall, whom defend.
ant represented as holding a situation in the Treasury, which
was false. he defendant represented his having a family ;he
ought therefore to have avoided bringing them into distress.—
The Court viewed the pecuniary circumstances of the defendant
fi nso as not to pass any e; but sentenced him to six months'
irnprirnment in the House of Correction.
TiIE.ICING V. FROST. _ _

The defendant appeared on the floor to receive judgment for
the .publication of several libels on Mr. Protheroe, an Attorney
of Newport in the county of Monmouth. The defendant was
found guilty before Baron Garrow, at the Monmouth Amite&
After the affidavit of the prosecutor had been read, the Court
found the jury waiting to try causes at Nisi Prins, and the
defendant was committed to the custody of the Marshal of the
King's Bench, to be brought up on Tuesday week.
• At one o'clock the Court rose, and the fiord Chief Justice
held a sitting at Nisi Prins.

cLr.mrwri v. WALYER.

This was an action on the case for infringing the copyright
of the air " rive Henri Quaf?r," with variations, composed
by Mr. F. Ealkbrenner, and by him sold to the Rlaintitis,
who are eminent dealers in musical instruments and publica-
tions.
It appeared from the evidence of Mr. Kalkbrenner himself,
that in June or July, 181.1, just at the time when the Al.
lied Sovereigns ' visited London, he sold m the plaintiff the
copyright of the work in question, with that of one or two
other airs, for 30k which he received. On his return to Paris,

he sold the copyright of the same work there, excepting
England and Germany, to M. Playcl; and it was duly register.
ed as his property according to the law of France. The air
continued on sale by Messrs. Clementi, but no assignment in
writing (which under the statute of Ann is essential to pass
copyright) was made to them till Jan. 24, Ife2. In the mean
time, the work was sold openly in Paris, and Mr. Walker being
there with his son, in 1817, purchased a copy, and republished
it at his shop in Soho-square, where it has been sold since the
regular assignment to the plaintiff at half the price which he
demanded of his customers. •

The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, for the defendant, argued that
he had a right to import and to publish the air, notwithstand-
ing any contract made for the eof its copyright by its author
in England. The poeins of Moore and Lord llyron were sold
freely on the Continent at very reduced prices; it was always
understood that a work published in one country might freely
he sold in all others ; and an author could not take away, by
any private contract which he might make with an individual,
this right of importation, which belonged to.a.
The Lonr CHIEF JUSTICE gave no opinion on the point of
law, but suggested that, as it was of importance to musical pro-
fessors, it should be brought before the Court for more solemn
decision.
A verdict was accordingly taken for the plaintiff--Damages
25., subject to the opinion of the Court on a special case.
DAyISOX V. JONES.

This was an action of debt against the Marshalof the King's
Bench prison, to recover 671., for which a person named fio.
tham,waadctained in his etkotly in execution, at the suit of the-
plaintiff.
It was'proved that Mr. Botham was lodging at Clapham,
when allowed the rules of the Kmg'S Bench Prison.
Mr, GunNEY, for the Marshal, offered no defence, but said
that the Marshal was quite ignorant of the liberty taken by his,
prisoner, who was now safely confined within the walls.
The Jury found a verdict for the amount of the debt, and
one shilling damages.

ROBBERY.—We understand that it has within
these few days been discovered that the coins
deposited in the founlation-stone of the new
church now building atStand, have been stolen.
The robbery has been effected, it is said, by chi-
selling an aperture in the side of the stone suffi-
ciently large to admit of the case which held the
coins being extracted; which having been done,
another'stone had been so ingeniously fitted into
the aperture, that until just recently the theft
has not been detected.---(Manchester Guardian.)