The Sun.
London, England, 1840-01-27 00:00:00

give- a prisoner an advantage-or not ; they were bound to con-
-strue it -literally! The,copt of the indictment was furnished
' the prisoner in order that he might know how to plead.
The lists of the Jury in order that he might exercise
his right of challenge; and the list of witnesses that
he might cross-examine them. All these objects might be
attained if the documents were served at different times, but
the Act said it must be delivered at the same time, and they
were bound to object. If in the list of witnesses there should
be any misdescription of the person or place of residence of
one of the witnesses, although the person might know well
who the witness was, there could be no doubt he
would, in consequence, be entitled to make his objection.
There were many cases in which great injustice might result
' from the enactment—take the case in which a witness on the
part of the prisoner stated some fact which a person in
Court could contradict—he could not be examined. Many
similar cases might be put, in which justice might
be defeated, but while it was the law of the land,
the Court was bound to construe it literally, and had
no right to ask whether the prisoner derived greater benefit by
non-complying with it than by its exact observance. So far
from Sir Robert Peel's Act raising any doubt on the question,
he must confess he thought it settled it beyond all doubt. The
Legislature must have supposed the list of the jurors and
witnesses, with the copy of the indictment under the Statute of
Anne, must be delivered at the same time. It was unnecessary
he should revert again to the distinction between the statute of
Anne and that of William ; he quite agreed with what fell from
one of their Lordships, that although the word trial occurred .
in two sections, it might mean arraignment in the one and
trial in the other. The Act must be construed in its gram-
matical sense, and surely if language had any meaning at all,
there could be no doubt of that. If the word with werealtered to
" at " as had been suggested, and "before the time " to " before
trial," if the words were altered, their Lordships might, no
doubt give it a different meaning, but they could not do that,
but were bound to take the Act as it stood. If, when Sir R.
Peel's Act was framed there had been any doubt as to the con-
struction of the Statute of Anne, nothing would have been
more easy than to have removed it for the future.
And why, then, did it say, " With the 'copy of the
indictment ? The 72nd section of that Act repealed so
much of the statute of Anne as related to delivering
the list of jurors, but the enactments relating to witnesses
remained as before. If, then, there were any doubt about the
list of witnesses, why, in 1825, were the words again repeated
—that the lists should be delivered at the same time, which
should be ten days before trial? That such bad been the law there
was no direct decision, because it had never been questioned.
He thought it unnecessary to refer to cases on the point, but
as his friend had referred to the recent Statute respecting
Wills, he would mention the case which had led to the
alteration ; the enactment now being that the witnesses
should be present at the same time. (The Learnnd Gen-
tleman then referred to a case in 2 Atkins, page 176. )
Sir William Follett then adverted to many well known cases, in
which it would not be allowed to supply the strict requisitions of
an Act by an equivalent, even though it might be thought more ,
favourable. The object of the cases which had been cited by
his Learned Friend ( Sir F. Pollc ek) had been to show this ; and
they showed it to be so clear, that furt'ier reference was unneces-
sary. They proved that the Act having been substantially complied
with was no answer to its not having been literally complied
with. And, surely, if this had been held in civil cases it was
still more binding in cases affecting life and death. Now as to
pleading waving the question—nobody would contend that a
statutory protection could be lost to a prisoner by his
oversight or omission—and certainly their Lordships
could not hold it to be law. Suppose an objection
to the lists of witnesses—could it be urged before the first wit-
nesses were called ? Could it be urged before pleading ? Cer-
tainly
not. For the plea might be guilty, and in that case what
would he have to do with the witnesses ?
• Three o'clock having struck,
Lord DENMAN rose, and the moment Sir William had closed
the sentence he was uttering, bowed, and intimated that the
Court must adjourn till ten to-morrow.

BA KRUPTCY COMMISSION.
(From a Correspondent of the Morning Post.)
We trust that the Bankruptcy Commission which is
now sitting will take notice of this great defect, and
remedy it if they can. As there is no jurisdiction in
bankruptcy over the principal representative of an as-
signee, it for.ows that, on his death (especially applicable
to official assignees), with balances of money in his
hands, there must be a separate Chancery suit in the
case or every bankruptcy in which he is an assignee.
This state of the law, particularly since the introduction
of official assignees, should be no longer suffered to exist ;
but the jurisdiction of the Court should be extended.
When an assignee is accountable, so should his execu-
tors or administrators be ; and the power of the Court
should be made comprehensive enough to deal fully
with all questions within its present range, notwith-
standing the death of the party who ought to account.
The official assignees ought not to be necessary parties
to suits in equity, actions at law, or bankrupt petitions ;
and, as they are held to be analogous in every respect to
receivers, they ought not, as they now are (which is
pre-supposing something wrong), to be appointed in the
first instance to every bankruptcy. Except in cases of
idiocy and lunacy, a receiver is never appointed in Equity
without a bill filed, and misconduct on the part of a
trustee or executor proved. This was the doctrine of
Lords Hardwick, Kenyon, and Eldon—of Sir William
Grant and Sir John Leach ; but in the Court of Bank.
ruptcy, which professes to go by Chancery rules, a re-
ceiver is thus appointed at once, without any applica-
tion, often without a wish, and oftener still without any
necessity for one. The exorbitant charges for inserting
advertisements in bankruptcy in the London Gazette
ought also to be severely commented on and reduced
to the insolvent. scale.

HOW TO ESTABLISH AN ANTI.

CORN-LAW ASSOCIATION.

(From the Anti• Corn-law Circular.)
Whenever three persons, who are in favour of un-
taxed bread, meet together, no matter where—in a
private party, at the news-room, at the funeral of a
neighbour, or at the church or chapel door (no place
can be too sacred for such a holy object),l et them
gree to meet again, and each to bring one or more
friends. At their meeting, let them resolve themselves
into an Anti-Corn-law Association, and appoint a
chairman and secretary. Their first step must be to
write to the secretary of the Anti-Corn-law League,
Newales-buildings, Manchester, for a copy of the rules
of the association, and such other papers, &c., as are
useful in the outset, and which will be promptly and
gladly forwarded. Let the names of the chairman and"
secretary be forwarded to the League. The -Associa-
tion should also subscribe for one or more copies
of the Circular. But the most important thing
to be now attended to, is the procuring nu-
merously signed petitions to Parliament against the
Corn-law. This must be the first and principal labour
of every Anti-Corn-Law Association. A word of ad-
vice to all. Let the object of every association be de-
clared to be for total and immediate repeal, and let no
discussion on this point afterwards interrupt the labotirs
of the body. There will be persons who will find fault
and say this is an extreme course. We have tried the
experiment for a year, and can vouch for it, that there
is no safety but in the true principle, and that men
who truckle to expedients are not worth having as col-
leagues in so great a labour. Finally, let not our friends
be daunted by the smallness of their numbers. The
Manchester Anti-Corn-Law Association was begun less
than two years since by seven persons, two of them
bankers' clerks and another a printer ; it has grown to
the Anti Corn-Law League !—and we call attention to
our list of generous supporters in another column.
Verily, truth is groat ! it will prevail!

IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.—At the last meet-
ing of the Asiatic Society several letters were read from Major
Rawlinson dated from Persia, giving an account of his success
in deciphering the inscriptions of Bisitoon. The result of his
researches promises the most authentic history of the Persian
Empire from the time of Cambyses to the end of the reign of
Darius, concurring most satisfactorily with the genealogies
riven by Herodotus, though differing in many of the historical
details. Some of the inscriptions are greatly defaced, but
hopes are entertained that altogether these discoveries will
form the most important contributions to oriental history ever
made.

SUDDEN DEATH WHILE FOLLOWING THE
HOUNDS.—On Saturday evening an inquest was held before
Mr. Waklev, M.P., and a respectable Jury, at the Green Man
Inn, on the Uxbridge-road, Ealing, on the body of Mr. John
Tnfeny, aged fifty-nine years, whose death occurred under the
following singular circumstances :—lt appeared from the ei•i-
denee of the witnesses, that on Friday afternoon her Majesty's
hourds met at Hates. In pursuit of the stag, the pack, fol-
lowed by the whole body of the hunt in full cry, crossed the
Uxbridge-road, near the entrance of the village of Ealing, and
from thence across the Great Western railway, near Drayton-
green, towards Castle Bar Hill. The unusual scene in that
neighbourhood caused most of the inhabitants to follow in the
wake to witness the sport. Among others, the deceased, who
was possessed of independent property, and resided opposite the
above inn, hastened after them, and, on reaching the bridge
over the railroad, stood still to view the scene from the distance.
He had, however, scarcely stopped, before he was observed to
fall down flat on his face. Dr. Ralfs, of Brentford, who was
following in his cab, witnessing his fall, got out, went to his
assistance, and attempted to bleed him from the arm and
temples, but scarcely any blood flowed, life being quite extinct.
It is supposed that the unfortunate gentleman had over-exerted
himself, which occasioned apoplexy. Verdict—Died by the
Visitation of God.

We have received a letter from Lord Denman,
saying that he knew nothing of the addrebs purporting to come
from him (and which, as being extensively circulated, we co-
pied into our last week's paper), until he saw it in print. In-
deed, we stated that, on the first view, it never could have pro-
ceeded from the Lord Chief Justice Denman ; and little did we
expect an assurance, which we have since received from Mr.
Bretton, the printer, that the Hon. Thomas Denman, son of
this same Lord Chief Justice, and his Marshal and Associate of
the Court of Queen's Bench, was the writer,— Observer.
BRUSSELS, JAN. 24.—The King has arrived
here from Ardennes. Yesterday afternoon the hurricane blew
down the telegraph at Eppeghem, just as the director was work-
ing it. He was taken from under the ruins a quarter of an
hour afterwardi, quite dead. We learn from Binche, that on
the 21st the hurricane had done very considerable damage in
that city and the environs.
POISONED BY MISTAKE.—Mrs. Wheeler, of
Evesham, a few days since, being in want of some dripping to
make a pudding, toil some from the cellar, into which a por-
tion of arsenic had been mixed for the purpose of killing rats.
All her Lmily ate of the ridging, and, melancholy to relate,
two of the children soon afterwards died, and she and her family
still remain in much danger from the effects of this virulent
mineral poison.— Worcester Journal.
THE CHARTISTS AT BURY.—This week a
memorial to the Queen. praying that the capital punishment of
Frost and his companions may be remitted, has peen in course
• of signature by the Chartists of Bury. At the same time the
stupid fellows maintain an alarm in the neighbourhood, bye .n.
tinning to held their secret class meetings. The same also
Prevails in several of the country districts around Manchester,
—Manchester Guardian.
During the night of Sunday last, some miser
ants cut off the manes and tails of no less than 17 horses e
the hair, weighing about ten pounds,l
be-
longing to four farmers living adjoining, between Chard end
Yarcombe. Part of
been sold to a saler at Axminster, b 7 a fellow
whowas taken
of 001'404 "
into custody Honitont. frith
a 1d o parties
arp in search of APnther PlarS°l4 Who was concerned ••
sadly disfigured . *—
transaction. 'The horses are

kr estern Times.