The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-18 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

MCKAY'S MEMOIRS OF EXTRAORDI-
NARY POPULAR DELUSIONS. 2 Vas.
Bentley, London, 1841.
Lord Byron's well-known remark that "Truth
is strange, stranger than Fiction," was never more
forcibly illustrated than in the instances of the
Mississippi Scheme, and the South Sea Bubble
--two wild, unprecedented projects, that turned
I the heads of France and England about the
commencement of the last century. In the pre-
sent volumes Mr. Mackay has given an interest-
ing account of these romantic schemes; and from
his details, aided by our own recollection of the
numerous memoirs of the period, we shall pro-
ceed to state a few curious particulars respecting
them. And first of the Mississippi humbug and
its projector, John Law, of Lauriston. This
shrewd adventurer was born at Edinburgh in
1671. His father was a rich goldsmith and
banker, and his son for three years laboured in
the counting-house, where he acquired a good
insight into business. At the age of seventeen,
however, on the death of the elder Law, he with-
drew entirely from the desk ; and fancying him-
self handsome, though he was so scarred and
seamed with the small-pox that his face resem-
bled a cauliflower, and being besides of a restless,
enterprising, mercurial turn of mind, and inordi-
nately fond of female society, he determined on
quitting Scotland and pushing his fortunes in
London. As he was well endowed in point of
pocket, he found no difficulty in procuring the
means of enjoyment. He gamed; flirted with
the women ; fought asluel in which he killed his
antagonist; was found guilty of manslaughter,
fined, and detained in the King's Bench, from
which he contrived to make his escape to the
Continent—as poor as Job, for his fortune had
been all lost in gambling. After travelling for
three years, he settled himself at Amsterdam,
where he devoted his mornings to finance, and
his nights to play. Thus accomplished as a
worldly adventurer, he quitted Holland, and
continued to vagabondise for years, support-
ing himself chiefly by gaming. At length,
he decided on taking up his permanent re-
sidence at Paris, and trying there his skill in
play and speculation. At this period the Duke
of Orleans ruled as Regent, during the minority
of that scamp of scamps, Louis the Fifteenth.
Mr. Mackay, cursorily alluding to the Duke—
whose character, by the bye, considering the con-
spicuous part he played in the Mississippi scheme,
should not have been disposed of in a sentence—
tells us that he possessed "wit and amiability."
"Wit" he may have had, for this was common
enough among the French aristocracy of the pe-
riod; but of " amiability" he had not an atom.
Capricious ; tyrannical ; physically brave, but
morally a coward; hating all State business as
the Devil hates holy water; a heartless sensual-
ist ; and as selfish as Louis the Fourteenth, with-
out any of his redeeming qualities ;—who can
recognise in such a character, the germs of any-
thing like " amiability ?" Smollett states that lie
" was endowed with shining talents for empire ;"
but when we look for proofs of the historian's
assertion, they are not to be found. In a word,
the Duke was just the reckless, greedy, unscru-
pulous man to be made a tool of by any clever
financial experimentalist, and to go the whole
hog with him in any scheme that promised their
mutual benefit, no matter at what cost to France.
When Law first made his bow at the Duke's
levee, the finances of the country were—as Mr.
Mackay truly observes—" in a state of the ut-
most disorder." The corruption and extrava-
gance of the preceding reign were now telling
with ruinous effect on all classes. The national
debt was of an amount almost incredible,
when the value of money at that time
is considered. The currency was depreciated
one-fifth. The right arm of commerce was
palsied. A cloud of tax-collectors, like
locusts, overspread the country. And what was
the system of policy pursued by the Regent in
this alarming crisis? He had none. In vain one
Minister recommended the declaration of a
national bankruptcy, and another, the assem-
bling of the States-General ; he listened to all,
but pinned his faith upon none. France might
be delivered up to the wildest anarchy, and even
blotted out from the map of Europe, provided the
young and witty Marquise du Duffant, then a
mere girl, scarcely seventeen years old, did not
look coldly on his love 1 But Law now appeared
on the public stage, and henceforth, for a season,
all was to be changed. He soon contrived to in-
gratiate himself with the Regent, and to exercise
that quiet, despotic mastery which a strong mind
rarely fails to exercise over a weak one. His in-
fluence was first shown in the permission which
he gained from the Government to establish a
bank, under the name of Law and Company, the
notes of which should be received in payment of
the taxes. So adroitly did he manage this con-
cern that, in the course of a year, his notes rose
to fifteen per cent., and so widely was his credit
extended, that branch-banks were formed in
many of the principal towns and cities of France.
Law's prospects were now hourly brightening.
He was on the high, broad road to fortune, and
was not the man to stop while aught of ambi-
tion's career remained to be run. Strike while

the iron is hot, seems to have been his motto ;
and strike, God knows, he did, and this with a
force that stunned France, and resounded through
Europe ! Shortly after the formation of his
bank, the beneficial effect of which was soon
telt, he proposed to the Regent—we quote our
author's words—" to establish a company which
should have the exclusive privilege of trading to
the Mississippi, and the province of Louisiana on
its'western shore. The region was supposed to
abound in the precious metals, and the com-
pany supported by the profits of their exclusive
commerce, were to be the sole farmers of the
taxes, and sole coiners of money." Delighted
with the success of Law's Bank, the Regent
assented without hesitation to this new proposal,
and letters patent were issued, incorporating the
Company, in the year 1717. And now began
that rage for speculation which brought France
to the verge of ruin. Despite the opposition of
Parliament the applications for shares in the
Mississippi scheme increased daily; additional
privileges were bestowed on the Company and
Law promised a yearly dividend of two hundred
livres upon each share of five hundred ! From
this moment the game was in his own hands—
the ball at his feet. People of all classes, and of
all professions, the young and the old, the
rich and the poor, speculated in the rise and fall
of the Mississippi bonds. The high-born dame
quitted her boudoir—the secluded scholar his
closet—the merchant his counting-house—the
Minister the Council-board—the actor the
green-room—and the artist his studio—to go
and buy shares of the jobbers in the Rue de
Quincampoix. From the remotest provinces
sanguine speculators flocked by thousands to
take part in the one grand scheme of the day.
So astonishing, indeed, was the infatuation, that
the price of shares sometimes rose ten or twenty
per cent. in the course of a few hours The con-
sequences may be imagined. Men's social posi-
tions were changed in an instant, as if by magic.
The Lazarus of yesterday was the Dives of to-
day. The tradesman, who rose in the morning
comparatively poor, by a lucky investment, be-
came before nightfal rich beyond the wildest
dreams of his ambition. All that can be con-
ceived of the romantic and the marvellous, of
the desperate and the infatuated, was realized in
Paris at this period. The barriers between the
patrician and the plebeian classes were thrown
down. Pride offered itself up a willing sacrifice,
at the shrine of avarice. France, in short, was
mad—stark, staring mad, and society fairly
turned topsy-turvy. And Law, the arch con-
juror, whose power had worked all these won-
ders, where was he ? What was the extent of
his authority during this season of phrenzy ?
Mr. Mackay shall inform us :
During this time, Law, the new Plutus, had become
all at once the most important personage of the
State. The ante-chambers of the Regent were forsaken
by the courtiers. Peers, judges, and bishops thronged
to the Hotel de Soissons ; officers of the army and
navy, ladies of title and fashion, and every one to whom
hereditary rank or public employ gave a claim to prece-
dence, were to be found waiting in his ante-chambers
to beg for a portion of his India stock. Law was so
pestered that he was unable to see one-tenth part of the
applicants, and every manoeuvre that ingenuity could
suggest was employed to !gain access to him. Peers,
whose dignity would have been outraged if the Regent
had made them wait half an hour for an interview,
were content to wait six hours for the chance of seeing
Monsieur Law. Enormous fees were paid to his ser-
vants, if they would merely announce their names. Ladies
of rank employed the blandishments of their smiles for the
same object ; but many of them came day after day for
a fortnight before they could obtain an audience. When
Law accepted an invitation, he was sometimes so sur-
rounded by ladies, all asking to have their names
put down in his lists as shareholders in the new stock,
that, in spite of his well-known and habitual gallantry,
he was obliged to tear himself away par force. The
most ludicrous stratagems were employed to have an
opportunity of speaking to him. One lady, who had
e sphair
striven in vain during several days, gave up in despair
all attempts to see him at his own house, but ordered
coachman to keep a strict watch whenever she
was outer
in her carriage, and if he saw Mr. Law coming, to drive
against a post, and upset her. The coachman- promised
obedience, and for three days the lady was driven inces-
santly
through the town,
praying inwardly for the op
op-
portunity to be overturned. At last she espied Mr.-
Law, and, pulling the string, called out to the coachman
"Upset us now ! for God's sake, upset us no%vt" 'BR!
coachman drove against a post, the lady screamed, the
coach was overturned, and Law, who had seen the acci-
dent, hastened to the spot to render assistance. The con-
ning dame was led into the Hotel de vissons, where she

9, soon thought it advisable to recover from her fright,
and, after apologising to Mr. Law, confessed her strata-
gem. Law smiled, and entered the lady in his books as
the purchaser of a quantity of India stock. Another
story is told of a Madame de Boucha, who, knowing
that Mr. Law was at dinner at a certain house, pro-
ceeded thither in her carriage, and gave the alarm of fire.
The company started from table, and Law among the rest;
but, seeing one lady making all haste into' the house
towards him, while everybody else was scampering away,
he suspected the trick, and ran off in another direction,
'But this state of things could not last. It was
high water, and the tide was about to ebb. The
extraordinary increase of paper-money, when
the rage for speculation had in some degree
abated, began to produce its usual bad effects ;
whispers got about injurious to the credit of
Law's Bank; the stock-jobbers took the alarm,
conceiving justly that shares could not go on
rising for ever; and many of them quietly con-
verted their notes into specie, and sent it off to
foreign countries. Hundreds followed their ex-
ample ; and hundreds, too, concealed what coin
they possessed; so that in a short time the ope-
rations of commerce could no longer be safely
carried on. In this emergency., " Law hazarded
the bold experiment of forbidding the use of
specie altogether." It was his death-blow. The
value of the Mississippi shares fell almost imme-
diately ; general distrust took the place of
general confidence; the Bank stopped pay-
ment; and France, at length aroused from her
infatuation, poured the vials of her wrath on the
devoted head of Law. Quack, impostor, were
among the lightest of the charges brought against
him. Every ministerial blunder—every obnoxious
edict—was laid at his door. He never appeared
in public but at the risk of his life. If he begged
for a patient hearing, he was laughed at: if he
suggested a remedial measure, the Court was
suddenly seized with deafness. Of all his for-
mer friends, not one remained to cheer him Sin
his adversity. Thus bereft of all influence—
stripped of fortune and of reputation—the Re-
gent's scape-goat and the people's abhorrence—
the unhappy man quitted France, and, after rest-
lessly wandering over the Continent, supporting
himself; as before, by gambling, he died at
Venice in the year 1729.
The above outline, brief and hurried though it
is, will enable the reader to form a pretty cor-
rect estimate of Law's character. He seems to
have been a man of the world, in the strictest
sense of the term; of infinite self-possession;
ardent and enterprising to a degree; of un-
bounded confidence; fertile in expedients; and
as unencumbered with principle as an inveterate
gambler is apt to be. But Mr. Mackay, adopt-
ing Smolittt's hasty, partial view, thinks other-
wise. He assures us that Law " was neither
knave nor madman, but one more deceived than
deceiving, more sinned against than sinning."
Of madness we readily acquit him; but as to
Lis being the deceived party in the Mississippi
hoax, this is really too ridiculous. He knew
well the fallacy of his golden promises; and
that Louisiana was by no means the El Dorado
he asserted it to be; for among the more en-
lightened and adventurous classes, the hope of
finding the precious metals to any extent on the
shores of the Mississippi, had been extinct for
nearly a century. The vague, ardent expecta-
tions that had hurried our speculators across the
Atlantic in the days of Elizabeth and James,
had given place to a spirit of rational enterprise;
and it was in South, not North, America, that
gold was looked for. None knew this better than
Law; but he trusted to the ignorance of the
masses, and, as we have seen, succeeded in
duping them. Then, what absurd cant to talk
about his having been " snore sinned against
than sinning," when we know that he had spent
the best part of his life at the gambling-table
and become notorious in every European capita
for his dexterity in games of chance, which he
studied as a science, and pursued as a trade, with
the plodding diligence of a shop-keeper ! But
not only does our author insist on Law's unso-
phisticated simplicity of character, but he car-
ries his nationality to a still more extravagant
height; in fact, lie quite burlesques the feeling,
for he dwells with marked admiration on the
personal graces of his hero, whom he calls " the
handsome Scotchman," notwithstanding he was
specially described in an advertisement inserted
in the Gazette, as "a very tall, black, lean man,
well shaped, above six feet high, with large pock-
holes in his face big-nosed, and speaking broad
and loud !" Unablei to get over this imtward,
matter-of-fact description, Mr. Mackay insinu-
ates that it was drawn up " with a view to favour
Law's escape"—just as if those who had an interest
in the man's arrest, and themselves penned the
advertisement, would have wilfully falsified the
truth in a business-like Government Gazette !
About the same time that France was con-
vulsed to the heart's core with the Mississippi ma-
lady, England was running wild about the South
Sea Bubble. This scheme originated with Sir
John Blunt—a cunning, plausible, unprincipled
scrivener. The pretence for his project was to
discharge the national debt by reducing all the
funds into one. On this occasion the Bank and
the South Sea Company outbid each other; but
the latter offering the highest terms, they were
accepted by Government; and a Bill was ordered
to be brought into the Commons, formed on the
plan presented by the Company. " While this
afliair was in agitation "says Smollett, " the stock
rose from one hundred and thirty to nearly four
hundred ;" and when the Bill had received the
Royal assent, the avaricious hopes of the people
were excited to a degree that bore the aspect of
the wildest insanity. In vain Walpole in the
Commons, and Earl Cowper in the Lords, pointed
out the inevitable evils of the speculation ; the
country held fast to its belief that " the Com-
pany trading to the South Seas would be the
richest the world ever saw, and that every hun-
dred pounds invested in it would produce- hun-
dreds per annum to the stockholder." Day by
day this belief strengthened, till at length it be-
came a deep-rooted conviction. Everybody
rushed to purchase shares ; Exchange-alley was
blocked up; and Cornhill was impassable for
carriages. In one week stock rose from five hun-
dred and fifty to eight hundred and ninety, and
a few days afterwards was quoted at one thousand
per cent. ! But the bubble was now full-blown ;
trickery had done its best, and was to pay a pro-
portionate penalty. After fluctuating for some
days, stock—notwithstanding the contrivances of
Blunt and his agents—began to fall as rapidly as
it had risen, and a general panic was the imme-
diate consequence. In the first phrenzy of her
disappointment England, as in the case of France,
looked out for victims, and pounced upon the
Directors, whom they compelled Parliament to
punish with remorseless severity. Sir John
Blunt, in particular, was reduced to the verge of
beggary ; nothing could surpass the popular fer-
ment against him ; and in this case the victim
deserved his fate, for he was so consummate a
rogue—and a Methodist, in addition—that John
Law shows like an angel of light beside him. It
is not a little remarkable that the proud, wealthy,
aristocracy of England were as eager in the sup-
port of the South Sea scheme as the most des-
perate jobber on 'Change. In the hot pursuit of
gain they stooped to every meanness; and a de-
scendant of one of the Peers of the Norman Con-
queror might be seen in Cornhill humbly soli-
citing the patronage of some upstart Director,
who, like a mushroom, had sprung but yester-
day from the dunghill! Among those who suf-
fered most severely by this famous Bubble was
the elder Craggs, whose son, the Secretary to the
Treasury, is now only remembered by his friend-
ship with Pope and Addison. Our author tells
us little or nothing about the senior Craps ; we
ms to emi-
nence. will supply his omissions, therefore, by stating
that lie was originally a barber, who
by his g
e
ta-
lents and perseverance raised
himself
elf
He became, insuccession,
Genthe Duke eral, and home agent to rostmaster-
e of Marlbo-
rough; amassed a vast fortune; and was looked
upon as one of the most efficient
honest, men of business of _, I 'f•
not the most
his d
well as himself, was mixeday. His son, as
Sea hoax ; and they diedup with the South
within a few weeks of
each other, while the Parliamentary investiga-
tion into their conduct was going forward.
G4r, the poet, was another of the sufferers.
Poor Gay ! he fancied,
in his simplicity, that he
was about to be put into possession of the wealth
of Crcesus ; and went about dreaming of parks,
and palaces, and • • paintings, and such luxuries,
as no poet ever yet acquired but in imagination ;
but
one fine morning, his delusion was rudely
dispelled ; the Bubble burst ; and he found him-
-self possessed of nothing beyond the shirt on
his back, and the friendship of the Duke of
Queensbury. Mr. Mackay's account of this cele-
brated hoax is—considered as a whole—the
.bc_st
portion of his work. It is neatly and concisely
Penned; the details are dexterously put to-
gether, and enlivened by. apposite sketches of
time descrip-
character ; and thieve is a vivacity
alert th rough-
tions that keeps attention on therdects that were
out. Alluding to the various
projects
of time South
set on foot during the continuance
particulars :
Sea mania, he relates these cu
of London, 'gravely informs
:
Maitland, in his "History.es
p which received great en-
us, that one of
the
l'orr°-tche establishment of a com-
couragement,
rdeal-boards out of saw-dust." This
Tany "to makeis,
intended as a joke ; but there is abun-
dance doubt,
no to show that dozens of schemes
of evidence
hardly a whit more reasonable, lived their little day,
ruining hundreds ere they fell. One of them was
for a wheel fur perpetual motion—capital, one mil-
lion another was for " encouraging the breed of horses
in England, and improving of glebe and church lands,
and repairing and rebuilding parsonage and vicarage

EVENING SUN

il ini thetl' e lfiartstte,r
icslaounsley,
in
Why the clergy, who were io rittlialyintOested' ..
be
de
xhpaila•
stohobu eintaedt.i. :thuleu:scupph ,interest
that the scheme was projected by a .. lif the fox-hunt-
i
ing parsons, once so common in EnglaW., -The shares -
of this company were rapidly subseillzeid for* ' ' Bailin,. •
most absurd and preposterous of all, atutwhicli:Streivell; 2 more completely than any other, the uttetsittitiness of
the people, was one • started by an unknown adventurer
entitled "A company Ar.carlwinoj
gon an undertaking '
great advantage, • but nobody to know what it is." Were
not the fact stated by scores of credible '
witnesses, it
would be impossible to believe that any person could ave
been duped by such a project. The man of genius who
essayed this bold and successful inroad upon public cre-
dulity, merely stated in his prospectus that the required
capital was half a million, in five thousand shares of 1001.
each, deposit 21. per share. Each subscriber, paying his
deposit,. would'be entitled to 100/. per annum per share.
How this immense profit was to be obtained he did not
condescend to inform them at that time, but promised
that in a month full particulars should be duly an-
nounced, and a call made for the remaining 9i/. of the
subscription. Next morning, at nine o'clock, this great
man opened an office in Cornhill. Crowds of people
beset his door, and when he shut up, at three o'clock, he
found that no less than one thousand shares had been
subscribed for and the depositS paid. He was thus, in five
hours, the winner of 2,0001. Ile was philosopher enough
to be contented with his venture, and set off the same
evening for the Continent. He was never heard of again.
The " Tulip-mania" is another singular chap-
ter in the voluminous annals of human folly.
This epidemic raged throughout Holland about
the seventeenth century, and made sad havoc
with the fortunes of the sedate, square-sterned,
broad-breeched Dutchmen. All the rich mer-
chants of Amsterdam became suddenly smitten
with a rage for tulips. Jobbers speculated in the
rise and fall of these exotics, and made or lost
vast sums by them. The tulip-mart was the fa-
vourite resort of all classes; and people of the
highest rank converted their property into cash,
and invested it in flowers. At length the crash
came, and then thousands of ruined speculators
stared at each other, wondering how they could
have been such asses! Alas! in cases of this sort
men always wonder too late! They are wise
after the event, when wisdom can be of no fur-
ther use than to suggest the propriety of their
being resigned to their lot. Nearly contempo-
rary with the " Tulip-mania" in Holland, was
the rise of that religious fanaticism in England,
which Cromwell turned to such excellent ac-
count. Mr. Mackay says not a syllable about
this phrenzy, but lie should have made it the
subject of a chapter; and it would have been
one of the most entertaining in his work, fbr the
materials are abundant; and what more curious
than a sketch of the early reveries and preach-
ings of Fox, the founder of Quakerism, of the
strange day-dreams of the Independents, and the
still stranger fancies of the Fifth-Monarchy men?
On the subject of " Witcli2raft,"
,Nxhich for
many centuries was firmly believed in through-
out Europe, our author is more than usually mi-
nute and painstaking in his details. He is mis-
taken, however, in supposing that this supersti-
tion
was confined to the Middle Ages, for the
Romans—even in the enlightened 'days of
Augustus—had faith in it ; and one of the most
earnest and energetic of Horace's Odes is ad-
dresSed to the witch, Canidia. Tile creed of
witchcraft, as it was generally received on the
Continent, as well as in England, is so extraor-
dinary, that we subjoin a slight summary of it.
It was thought that the earth swarmed with
demons, who were divided into seventy-two bat-
talions, each of which was commanded by a
Prince, or Captain ; Satan, of course, being the
Commander-in-Chief. These demons could as-
sume any shape they pleased ; and when male
were called Incubi, when female, Succubi. Al-
though their supernatural powers were great,
$ yet they had the greatest possible difficulty in
concealing their tails, which used to stick out, in
spite ofihem. Sometimes, however, the male
demons managed to hide these embarassing ap-
pendages, and then they would make love to,
and marry, beautiful young women, by, whom,
if they ever had children, such children could
always be detected by their innate genius for
kicking and squalling-, and requiring five nurses
to suckle them ! One of the favourite tricks of
the Incubus, or male witch, was to transform
himself into an ass—a circumstance which ought
1 to make certain Tories unfeignedly grateful that
such transformations are no longer believed in ;
fbr were it otherwise, they' would certainly be-
tray themselves by their ears, and be burned at
the stake for wizards. The Incubus was also
fond of changing himself into a lawyer, which,
by the bye, was a very natural and becoming
[ metamorphosis, for there is a wonderful conge-
niality of mind between the Devil and a
lawyer, especially it' the latter happen to be also
a Saint, and an unsuccessful candidate for a
metropolitan borough. Every Friday night
the witches and wizards held their Sabbath, and
once a year on the Brockeu, where they set-
tled all their business mutters with the punctu-
ality, and—it is to be hoped—with the
rigid integrity of stock-jobbers. It any of them
attempted to levant, they were instantly caught,
and soundly flagellated by order of Satan, who,
like a certain Noble Lord, had a fancy for flogg-
ing refractory spirits on the Sabbath. At these
weekly and annual meetings, Beelzebub always
presided in the prepossessing shape of a he-goat,
with one fitee in front, and another in his rear !
When all the business-matters' were disposed of,
the whole assembly stood up for a dance, in
which they were joined by toads and frogs, who
capered away on their hind-legs like mad, to the
enlivening music of the Devil's bagpipes. The
dance ended, two or three of the superior witches
figured in a reel, with tom-cats round their necks
by way of necklaces ; and then the whole party
sat down to a capital supper, Satan in the chair,
at which they made a variety of excellent
speeches, till cock-crow,when they hurried away to
their respective homes; but not beingTee-totallers,
the majority of them got so glorionsly drunk
that they actually tumbled off' their broomsticks;
and had they been discovered by any of the New
Police, they would most assuredly have been
taken to the station-house, and next day fined
five shillings by a Bow-street Magistrate.
Such were the superstitions that for centuries
held Europe in thrall; and this, too, at a period
when Bacon, Shakspeare, and- Milton were dif-
fusing far and wide the broad searching light of
their genius! The circumstance is one mmiliat-
ing to the pride of human intellect; but how
much more so, when we bear in mind that among
the firm believers in witchcraft and its attendant
absurdities, were such luminaries as Fairfax the
translator of Tasso, Sir Matthew Hale, and .the
philosophic author of the " Religlo Medici 1"
But indeed Mr. Mackay's volumes throughout
are calculated to lower mans estimate of man's
pretensions; for what are they but authentic re-
cords of such errors, crimes, hallucinations,
and .
pitiable weaknesses, as exhibit human
nature in
the light of a !noon-struck id"' ?
lot . One sad truth
they forcibly impress on our • ..
attention—namely,
that while Intelligence is the slow laborious,
up
growth of years, Polly, shoots '•
and arrives at
maturity in a day, as thouolt rooted • 1 a conge-
nial n soil. The •
nation that listened with impa-
tience to the sagacious warnings of a. Walpole,
welcomed with general enthusiasm the frantic
offers of a Sir-John Blunt ! We here take leave
of our author, with the remark that his
• • work
will excite great differences of opinion among
his readers. A D • .11 'hid
emocritus In in it food
a Heraclitus it
for inextinguishabl laughter • •
e , !n. ~ when we
will call forth only sigh • a or a tear•
the contrast," says Gibbon, speaking of
1 gress of this
inven-
tion of gunpowder, 1
" tie rapid,',aleal advances
mischievous discovery with the „i
of peace, the phi-
of reason, science, and the arts
i will' laugh or
• losopher, according to his. temper,
weep at the folly of mankind." . ,
__-.......--,

CORONER'S INQUEST.—Yesterday evening an
inquest was held in the Board-rom City
St. Bartholon
o-
mew's Hospital, before Mr. Payne, the Coroner,
view of the body of John Hutt, aged fifteen,. who was
killed on Monday morning last by an explosion, of a
firework manutiletory in Charles-street, Curtain-road,
Shoreditch. The catastrophe was not confined to the
death of the unfortunate youth—four others are at pre-
sent more or less injured in the Hospital, viz.; Mr. Price,
the proprietor of the premises ; William Shore, one of
his workmen ; another lad, named Miller ; and M
give ry infer-
Price's sister ; the latter much hurt in her escape byr.
jumping out of window. Mrs. Price, who at the time
n seven
of the accident was in the last stage of pregnancy,
since been delivered of a still-born infant, also has
lies in a
very precarious state. After a number of
respecting lifieiscbaoudsye
;oll'lethdeiteaxpalboosiuot
been examined, whose evidence did not persons had.
the house-surgeon, stated that the deceased' ir.
perry,was dread-
fullyon :.he evening of
nl
a ti:)buu riital l
e, his admission, from
had received. -Mr. Price and the other the injuries he
state of great suffering. It might be s were still in a
would be able to quit the wards. Both weeks before they
Price
had questioned, who said there was and Shore he
ft fire
when the explosion took place,in the room.
might have flown emote, and that
some of the a spark
mate-
rials. Verdict—" Accidental. death," combustible
consi-
dered there was muchand the
carelessness Jury
ure of the fireworks,
used in the mandate-
The banking house of B b
ut e
of Portsmouth,Y; Lot, and Co.,
appear is Friday
bankrupts. The partners have night's Gazelle as
Irish provision trade. The carried on a very extensive
announcing the failure, says, ,
The ampshire Telegraph, in
com-
menced with an actually proud ' establishment c
ex-
penses of the parties have been apital ; the personal
rigidly economical.''
A benevolent family in D
com-
menced their annual distribution
t • Devonshire have
butio
tickets to the poor of their parishn of coal and potato
tickets will be delivered ; thus one hundred
months, to the great joy of monthly fir the five winter
the
poor.

I

I

EVENING SUN

SECOND

THE FUNDS-(CLOSING PRICES.)

BIlltISll FUNDS.
Bank Stock 163 India 5t0ck...... ..... ....
3 per Cent Red. B7i Ditto Bonds — pr
3 per Cent Cons BBl Ditto Old Annuities ... 85
3i per Cent Red 97i .Ditto New Annuities...
New 3i per Cent 9Bl Ex. Bills, 1,000/....21d 7 pro
New 5 per Cent i Ditto 500/.
Long Annuities toexpire 1 Ditto Small. .
Jan 1860 l2i 'Bank Stock for Acct...
Oct 1859 l2 5-16 India Stock for Acct....
Jan. 1860.
FOREIGN FUNDS.

Austrian, 5 per cent Portuguese, 5 per cent.
B
elgium, 5 per cent — :Ditto, New Ditto —
traziliau 80nd5.... — :Prussian, 5 per cent.
Buenos Ayrus, 6 per eta Russian, 5 per cent —
Chilian, ti per cent..... ',Ditto, Metallic —
Colombian, o per cent< , Spanish, 5 per cent 2IN
Ditto, 1824 ... ..... 'Ditto, Deferred ....... ... lOi
Danish, 3 per cent — ;French, 5 per cent. —f. —c.
Greek, 18-45,5 per cent — I Exchange 102.f. —e.
Mexican, 5 per cent.... (French, 3 par cent —f. —c
Ditto, ti per cent, 1825 ;Dutch, 2i per cent 3l
Peruvian, 182,5, 6 per et. —_ I Ditto, 5 per cent.

. .
SHARES
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (100 p)
Ditto New Shares (76 paid) •.. 5
London and Brighton (50 paid) 37i
London and Birmingham (90) ....... .....
Ditto Thirds (32 paid) 526
London and South 'Western
Midland Counties Railway (100 paid)
Ditto Quarter Shares (15 paid) 2oi
York and North ?Aidiand Ratiway (50 paid)
Ditto New Shares (15 paid)

VICE CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY).
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)
(Before Vice• Chancellor KNIGHT BRUCE.)

LOD:"..E V. NICHOLSON AND oTnEns.

This suit was instituted by the plaintit; as adminis-
tratrix of Mrs. Batham, against the executors o*Mr.
Baker, who, during his life, had acted as her agent for
receiving certain rents and dividends of stock.
The object of the suit was to obtain the re-investment
of a stun in the Thr:,e-and-e-Half per Cents.. equivalent
to a sum of 95C1. .I,:avy Five per Cents., which it WaS
alleged Baker had transferred to his own name, without
the consent of Mrs. Latham, to have the arrears of the
dividends paid. • -
His HONOUR, in delivering judgment, said, in this
eau: e Baiter, a trade:enan resident in London, acted us
the agent of certain friends of his, named Bathani,
of the saute class of life as himself, and residing
in the county of Hereford. Among other things, in
1810 a power of attorney appeared to have been executed
by Batharn for the purpose of Baker receiving the divi-
dends of certain stock, which was acknowledged to be-
long to Bedlam, an standing in the name of the person
whom he represented. There was added to that power
of attorney an authority, which certainly mast have
been with the perfect knowledge of Batham, to Baker,
not simply to transfer the general moiety of the stock,
but what appeared somewhat singular, to trarsfer it in
his own name. Why that was done did not appear.
There was nu evidence whatever that there was any con-
sideration fur such transfer ; no evidence of a contract
for it, nor that it was intended by way of gift.
Now, when he found Baker agreeing to pay to Mrs.
Batham the dividends on the whole sum, as he had pre-
vious to the transfer, and not referring to the authority
given in the power of attorney, but to an authority in
his own strong-box for that purpose, which he miver pro-
duced, the inference was unavoidable, that the atioiety of
the stuck which Baker transferred in his own name, was
so transferred as not to be in equity a change on the pro-
perty; and his °Honour's opinion was, thnt Bak m, at his
deuth, remained inde7)ted in that moiety to the estate of
Batham. The decree ;hen to ha made in the cause would
declare that Baker at his death, was indebted:to. Batam's
estate in the sum of 262 L 10s. New Three-and-a-Half per
Cents. ; and that the executors of Baker shall L*i bound
to transfer in the plaintiff's name that sum, with the divi-
dends which had accrued on it since the death od' Baker,
un account to ba taken if the parties differed. With
respect to the question of costs, his Honour saw no rea-
eon for departing front the general rule, which Klirected
that a creditor, successfally suing an estate, however
properly the executors might resist the demand., should
be paid his costs.
Some other cases wholly devoid of interest were
dis-
posed of, and the CUil rt rose at four o'clock.

,(Before Vice-Chancellor %IrianAm.)
RAINE V. CADIES.

The hearing of thi3 cause was brought to a. conclu
sion. His Honour cicq;rred his judgment.

BOWSER V. COLBY

The Court was occupied with this cause ?ruin its
rising. We shall give a summary of it at u more ad-
vanced stage of the hearing,.
The Court rose at half-past three o'clock.

.. __-
SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
1
FROM TUE EVENING PAPERS OP TILTS DA.Y.
GLOBE.—The Times yesterday devoted a long
article to enforce upon the country gentlemen of its
party the duty of feasting. Eathig and drinling to
repletion have been found, it seems, most excellent
auxiliaries to Toryism. It is now reared by certain
gourmands, that having effected the main purpose for
which they were employed, Conservative festivals are in
danger of falling into disuse. " These admirable fes-
tivals must on no account be relinquished," is not only
the friendly admonition of the Tin:; s, but the fond hope
of many a ranipaut Tory, who win wont to be favoured
with a ticket at the Tury candidate's or Member's cost—
es the price of his sweet voice at the poll, and his voci-
ferous cheers when the party toasts were announced from
the chair, after the removal of the cloth from the din-
Le: table, taking special care not to be betrayed into
any un-Toryfied expression of loyalty to the Sovereign
on the proposal of " her Majesty's health," should it Le
deemed rather " too bad" to shirk that time-honoured
compliment to the Sovereign,by " Church and Queen,"
the new-fangled form which is now extensively used on
such occasions. The Times evinces considerable tact
in thus drawing attention to the influence of the
stomach on the principles, or, rather, the voles, of its
party. Th. Tories are universally good feeders. The
disposition evince l by the " respectables" of the party
to barter their suffrages for soup, and their consciences
for claret, has a due and appropriate influence upon
those who occupy a lower place in the scale of society.
STANDARD.—The Morning Chronicle perseveres
with commendable as,,idulty, if its case were a good one,
in the Anti-Corn-lain controversy. The state of deser-
tion in which our respected Contemporary stands seems
rather to animate the:: to subdue its zeal, and day attar
day it pours out its closely-packed columns, under the
disheartening testimonies from all sides that its labours
are but moderately approved of, or, worse, that they are
net read. It is an hapression of the latter kind which
forbids our reply to the Morning Chronicle as often as
we could wish. This disheartening fear, that one
writes for a thankless public, that will not even con-
descend to the perusal of what has been written, has
been, at least since the days of Persius—" Quip leget
pace ? Nemo flereu.e neino "—the most powerful and
melancholy restraint upon the exercise of the pen ;
and the person who e:n expo readers for any long
article with the awful st;gme, " Cora-law Question,"
• in its Gera, must have a higher opinion of his powers
than we are conscious of. Nevertheless we adhere to
the hope thilt tol,..ratien, and even a minute's attention,
!s possible fur it ftw words upon a very striking and
important fallacy. Under this impression we venture,
tlicz.gli still with diilidenc
e e
f
reader, to submit, coil t success in catchingi a
notice in a few words, tae
following extract from the
411orning Chronicle of this
:

"In another column will ' found an account of an
important fde trade meet*" at Sheffield on Monday
last, Fitzwilliam, Johry,
last, at which %re; e present
rand nearly all the most
Parker, Esq., Sir Arnold Jaem"
of the plice.
influentiat merchan..ta?p,pirnaax,,,,Liacett'u'i ee , acc ~
islative interfere
" Resolutions di
' to protect the Inaeu;octure or Jr'e nee
free intercourse
in any national locai:ty,' advocating of
"thing
various articles
between the cations set the earth for" t:
of manufacture and natural production,' expressing
a TCLidiDCSS ' to abolisli all protective inaptiort duties on
foreign manufactures,' Vre7C proposed
seconded by
masters and operathes, and cat tied unaninu•
We had supposed that the nianufacturessOi
minghana and Shrilielel would be the last to suffer 1B:1Z
the corn monopoly. But we re,;ret to pet-mil:lin
the statements of some of the leading manufacturers ir-
refragible evidence that thc trade of Sheffield has suf-
fered from it to au extent which we could hardly have
creclited."""llr. ibbotson observed that flee-eighths of
the manufacturers of Sheffield go to the American
marip.t, the severe prostrations of which has been of five
years' standing.
" What (said Mr. liibotson) is the reason of all this?
Beet:L.l,e the Americans have had nothin4 to give us in
exchange for our goods.—(Hear.) America has an
abundance of what our people are dying for—not lite-
rally dying, but wasting away for want of adequate sup.
port."
The reason, then, of the stagnation of the American
trade during the last five years is to he found in the
Cori:-laws! Prima facie, this seems strange when we
remark that the trade, the temporary stagnation of
Which is complained of, had grown up under the system
obte'rparnottiechtrp,, i)on,and had prospered beyond example and
under the Corn-laws for at least 21 years.
COU RI ER.—We stated some ago, that the condi-
tion i , '
r the sister county was gradually and steadiiy int-
Proving. ,is vy,ll with , egard to the feelings and habits,
as to V; ao
Inttiriteral a on.ferts of the great body the
people
notwithstanding the atrocious crimes that
have recently been peispetrated there, disgracing
na-
tional character, and rolling had for . the
provernent He a time the tide orun-
in the , e see no reason to niter
slightett or qualify our opinion
particular ; on the contra'
subsequent evenand confirm it. tsl3ave but -cried to strengthenY' vru
the Irish peasantry The land-hunger that obtains
almost
the main source oafinisatigetion to the incomprehensible,mrtny savage . : t 1
and
brutal murders
thatunhappyeoubnyt a hrea
es
been the scene, einhi‘tytheircehd and aggravated
and furious agitation ; and the lessons of contempt
for law and disregard for human
b
l life which it inculcates
with such industrious
l malignity.
gra-
phically does a late revolter
,Truthfully and
ra against the desolating 41es-
potism of that system
the close, the inseparable
connection subsisting bete:ee
its preachings and the
murderous practices which
pass in the sister country
sgrarian outrage,.
under the designation of

L4W INTELLIGENCE.
ROLLS' COURT, Nov 16.
ATTORNE it-GENERAL V. THE SOUTH SEA COMPANY.
This was an information, filed by the Attorney-Ge-
neral, at the instance of the Charity Commissioners,
against the South Sea Company and others, for the reco-
very of certain property that had been alienated by the
trustees of a charity. The case was partly heard
yesterday.
Mr. TURNER (with whom was Mr. Blunt) stated
that, by an indenture, bearing date Oct. 31, 1667, the
property in question, which consisted of eight Ines.
suages in Hammond's-alley, near Bishopsgate-street,
was conveyed by Margaret Taylor, widow, to Matthew
Smallwood and others on trust, subject to certain life
estates, for the poor of the parish, and for the mainte-
nance and education of poor children chargeable thereto.
The deed contained a power for the appoint-
ment of new trustees, in case of vacancy, and the last
appointment under it took place on the 16th of Novem-
ber, 1821, when the trust of the property became
vested in Mr. Ellis, and other defendants on the record.
It appeared, that from time to time several parish meet-
ings had been holden, at which orders had been made
for the repairs of the property, and also, that at tnese
meetings propositions for building upon it, and for
leasing it, had been entertained, none of which had
been carried into effect ; but at a parish meeting held
on the 11th of March, 1723-4, a gentleman named Gore,
alleged. to be one of the trustees of the property, in-
formed the vestry that the South Sea Company were
willing to take a lease of all the premises at the yearly
rent of 45/., to be paid half-yearly, clear of all taxes,
for the term of 999 years, commencing at Lady-day
1725, and the vestry agreed to the proposal; and Mr.
Gore and other persons were desired to conclude the
affair, and the churchwardens were instructed to give
the necessary notices to quit to the tenants. On the 10th
of April following- new trustees were appointed, and
a lease was granted on the 27th of March, 1725,
by them and the churchwardens to the South Sea Com-
pany, pursuant to the above resolution, by which, in con-
sideration of 1351. paid to the churchwardens by the
Company, being three years rent, they demised the
premises in question, for the above term of 999 years,
with power to pull down and erect new buildings, pay-
ing for the first three years the rent of a pepper corn, and
for the remainder of the term the clear yearly rent of
451., with the usual covenants. It appeared that at the
time when it was proposed to grant this lease the property
was let at rents amounting to 771 a-year, and that in the
year 1723, when it was repaired, pursuant to an order
of the vestry, the rents amounted to 81/., and it also ap-
peared from an entry in their minute-book, of the 11th
March, 1723, that the South Sea Company were aware
of these circumstances. Some years after this convey-
ance was made, Mr. Gore, who had built a house adjoin-
ing this property, effected an arrangement with the Com-
pany for a certain portion of it, and, a deed was ex-
ecuted on the 15th March, 1755, by which the Company
demised to Mr. Gore, a small portion of the property for
968 years, in consideration of a portion of freehold land
in his possession, and on Ist August, 1759, another con-
veyance was made between the same parties, by which
threc- feet four inches more of the same pro-
perty was conveyed to Mr. Gore without con-
sideration. In February, 1762, Mr. Gore assigned
the property comprised in these conveyances to a Mr. I
Mellish, from whom it descended to Mr. Mellish, one of
the present defendants. Against the tenants, Irving.
Lewis, and Smith, it did not appear that any case could
be made out as holding the property of the Charity, but 1
as against the complainants and Mr. Mellish he contended
that there was a clear case. Supposing the rent paid by
them was the best that at the time could be had for the
property, he apprehended that would not be sufficient to
entitle the Company to retain the lease, since an alteration
had taken place in the value of property, and the Court
would not suffer the charity to be deprived of the bene-
fit that might accrue from this alteration; and alienation
for the term of 999 years, was, of course, an entire
alienation of the property. The Learned Gentleman then
cited the Attorney-General v. Bray, 3 Bevan, 91; Same
v. Green, 6 Vesey, 452; and Same v. Owen,
10 Vesey, 555. Tho principle of the Court was,
that alienation el charity property for the term
of 999 years, at a fixed rent, could not be main-
tained ; and if special circumstances were necessary to
enforce it, they were not wanting in the present case.
He understood it would be said on the other side, that,

in consequence of deductions from it, the clear rent did
not exceed on the average 22/. ; but his Lordship would
find that calculation was made on the ten years preceding
the date of the lease, when the charges for repairs were
very great. As to Mr. Mellish, it appeared that a cer-
tain portion of the property had been alienated—one
portion by exchange, and the other by voluntary grant.
This alienation was made to Mr. Gore. who was a trustee
of the charity, and the deeds recited that it was cha-
ritable property. The assignment to Mr. Mellish
also recited the same facts ; and therefore the same
rule was applicable to him as to the South Sea
Company. Under these circumstances, he submitted the
lease of 1725 ought to be set aside, anti the property
restored to the charity, with rent, for such time as his
Lordship should think proper.
Mr. PEMBERTDN inquired whether it was proposed to
make inquiry as to the expenditure of the lessees, and to
make allowance to them for it.
Mr. TURNER said it was for the lessees to make out
the compensation they were entitled to.
Mr. TINNEY (with whom was Mr. Herbert and Mr.
Bosanquet), appeared. for the South Sea Company, and
said he hoped for *very different result from that so
confidently predicted on the other side. The situation
in which he stood was ae—very etrrinus one. Ile
appeared nominally fur the South Sea Company, but
much more substantially for the Attorney-General
and for the public. Ilis Lordship would remember
that when the case came on originally he had
shown that the Company had not a shadow
of interest in this property. By the 55th Geo. 3, ch. 57,
the Company were deprived of all power of trading, and
by that Act a largess fund was to be accumulated and
handed over by them to the Government, who guaran-
teed them 3 per cent. upon the capital, with power, in
case of deduction from it, to go to the Treasury per anno
in annum to make it good. Therefore, if the Company
were called upon to repay any portion of these rents, the
Treasury would have to pay them a larger sum than
they would otherwise receive, which would be thus taken
from the public and given to this parish. On that oc-
casion he had also suggested that the Attorney-General
might see that it was impossible that any benefit
could be derived to the charity by the prosecution
of this suit. The Solicitor-General then declined to stay
proceedings, but ho did not know that it was
absolutely necessary that the present Attorney-Ge-
neral might not take a different view of the mat-
ter. That, however, was fur his Lordship's considera-
tion. To the principle stated by Mr. Turner, that
it it must be shown that no possible loss could be sus-
tained by alienation by trustees to render it valid, he
was inclined to accede, but when he said that it must be
shown to be beneficial, he replied that must be secundum
snbjectum materium. Those who executed this lease
found that the only way of making that property bene-
ficial to the charity was to make a grant of it, anti that
the South Sea Company were ready to take it on terms
which nobody else in existence, at that time, would hare
clone, and it was conveyed it to them, as he contended, for
the benefit of the charity. The property consisted of nine
small houses in a blind alley, surrounded by buildings
belonging to the South Sea Company and Mr. Gore,
with no entrance except from an alley in Bishops-
gate-street, about three feet broad, in which
two persons could scarcely walk abreast. There
was no fund to improve it, and the way in which
it was sought to improve it by the testatrix and others
was to get nominal rents from the tenants, the duty of
repairing it being in the lessor ; and it was found that
such was the expense of the repairs and the loss of
rents, that from 1714 to 1723, the utmost average rent
received from it was 24/. per year. Under these circuit].
stances, it was not desirable for the parish to retain it,
of they could get rid of it at a fair price ; and if so, a
perpetual rent charge was much preferable to a sum of
money. The Company at that time, contemplating to
build the South Sea House, proposed to treat fur this
property, and their proposal was accepted, the property
being leased to them for a term of 999 years. Since a
grant to a corporation must be alienation or nothing,
he asked whether this arrangement was not beneficial
to the property, and whether it was possible to make one
more favourable ? He asked whether, if it could be re-
stored to the charity in its original state, it would not be
much less beneficial to the parish than it was now, with
a rent charge clear from taxes, and with rates paid in
respect of Mr;Mellish's property on the one side, and
that of the South Sea Company on the other ? The
Only principle on which this suit could be maintained
transactions
was that the property, though worthless to the charity,
grounds
e very beneficial to the Company. Moreover, the
that to establish
fi•ren ' t times. These with Mr. Mellish were twofold and at dif-
r-Jese might nind on very different
; one might b Ithe other bad. Ile con-
tended,egout. and
waspaent than that the transaction there was a this suit it must be shown that
id by thebreacho of trust. It was said that no premium
It must be remember
the trustees had act:lde
usaction was beneficial to the charity?
Could there be a stronger argu-
ence of those forthat this was not a case in which
Same
t their own discretion in the ab-
Learned Gentleman whomthen ,
vtl.ievvAartrtio4ri
they were trustees. The
8 bAyth, . jte
to Green, 6 Yeses, erse
that the7a,c ts of tr Attorney
-General
ewnlieirc Seinea
The principle laid
(ti.o%lvlntuiligictrhfbesred,citses
was,
reisrlesiholuld he maintained.
were beneficial for the charities
dand on authority,
He submitted, therefore, on
ti)txhecturtnotrl
transactions
ti
this information could not be sustained.
Mr. Mellish,
Mr. PEMIIEhTON (with whom Was 3,olt.r.ussell), on
ons that took
contended doe of the
thatth e
devisees
dealing and
w
place so long as a hundred years ago, the Court must
deal with them in relation to the eircuntstancee costing
at the time the transactions took place.. It was not
le-
cessary to establish this transaction to prove that it :1
beneficial ; it was enough to prove stillielent to enable tic;s
Court to pret:ume that it was beneficial. It wazi
that the purchaser of property was hound by the,
notices
in the instrument by which he purchased,
but he contended that there was no notice that this
was charit roptrty in the assignment
to Atel-
y p
HA nee yet in the conveyance- which it recited ;
for in all these it wits
distinctly stated that this
property, which was designated as ruinous houses,
was not charity,
but parish property. If there-
fore the lease to the Company was a breach of
if it was not
trust, Mr. Mellish had no notice of it, andt
it was not beneficial Mr. Mellish had no notice t
be-
neficial. The Learned Gentleman then urged at consi-
derable length that the arrangement was ft provident one
for the charity, and complained Strongly that the suit
should have been persisted in after th o satisfactory
answer put in by the defendants.
Mr. LLOYD, and other Learned Gentlemen, appeared
for the tenants in possession, and applied for costs against
the co-defendants, and submitted that, under the circum-
stances, his Lordship would depart from the rule, and
grant them against the co-tiefre dents through the Attor-
ney-General.

• The MASTER of the ROLLS—I certainly can't do that,
though it is quite plain that your clients ought not to
have been made co-defendants, and also-that they were
continued so after it was discovered that they ought not.
Mr. TURNER, in reply, said that it any excuse were ne-
cessary for his pressing a decree against Mr-. Mellish, he
thought it was supplied by the conduct of the Solicitor-
General in a former hearing of the case, who then stated,
notwithstanding the answers, that it was a case that
ought to be prosecuted. It would therefore have been
very presumptuous in him to have acted differently.
The MASTER of the must set you right on
that subject. My recollection is that the Solicitor-Ge-
neral did not say that it was a case that ought to be pro-
secuted, but that he was
.not satisfied that it was a case
that ought not to be prosecuted, and that he thought it
required further examination.
Mr. TURNER, after some further observations, ad-
dressed himself to the arguments on the cases cited by
the Counsel for the defendants and proceeded. It
could never be the doctrine of the Court that
Trustees could alienate charity property, and thus
deprive it of the advantages that might accrue from im-
proved value of the property, or that in its neighbour-
hood, or from other accidental circumstances. These
were two points to be considered, the amount of rents
and the conduct of the trustees. With respect to the
first the inference, from the evidence, was, that at the
period of the sale the premises were in a state of repair ;
and, with respect to taxes on the property, it appeared
that in 1721-2 the rent amounted to 102/. 10s., and the
taxes to 241. lls. Bd., bearing a net rental of 77/. 18s. 4cl.
In 1722-3 the sum received for rent was 801. 103. ; the
sum paid for taxes was Isl. 7s. 7d., leaving a clear
rental of 61/. 3s. sd. ; and in 1723-4 all that appeared
as paid for taxes was 10s. 11d. The value of the pro-
perty was proved by the evidence of a treaty in 1720 to
grant it to a party who was willing to pay a rent of 351.
a-year, and to expend 1,500/. upon the property, and that
upon a lease for a certain term of 60 years. It had been said
that it was of little value, because the charity was built
out of it; but, as had been justly stated by his Lordship
a right of way to it must have existed. It was said
also that the land on which it stood was useless, yet he
knew not why dwelling-houses, which were in great re-
quest in the city of London, might not be turned to very
useful purposes for the benefit of the charity. It was
said also that it was parish, and not charity property,
yet it appeared from the evidence that it was property
entrusted to the parish for the use of the charity. le
would, therefore, submit that sufficient had been proved
to set aside the lease against the Company, and fur in-
quiring as to what had become of the other property.
As against Mr. Mellish, he admitted that he felt great
difficulty, and in the case of the exchange of
property he did not know that it might ap-
pear advisable to impeach that transaction, but
the other conveyance was of a different description,
and Mr. Mellish must be bound by the notices in the
deed, which he contended were sufficient. With these
observations he should leave the case in his Lordship's
hands.

The MASTER of the Thous said that he had before
observed that in these cases, though they should be
looked at with great suspicion, and the party in pos-
session was placed in a disadvantageous position ; yet
he did not conceive, after the cases cited, that it was
imperative on him to say that a transaction of this na-
ture must of necessity be void. In those cases the Judges
had gone somewhat further than he was disposed to
go. The trustees of charities required to be
very strictly looked after,but, taking what had passed,
he thought the Court ought to inquire whether the trans-
action was beneficial at the time"; and if it should ap-
pear that it was fairly meant and beneficial at the time,
he thought he must dismiss the information. If he
came to a different conclusion, the question remained
what was to be done with the other defendants ? lie
would look over file depositions, and give his decision
to-morrow.