The Sun.
London, England, 1840-05-16 00:00:00

.7.9n.c,tve that the Vicrien (-;

'7l is ~

1. Kdclor.

f'irst Highest Lowest Last
Price rico P
reach 5 per Cents ll4 45 ... 114 Price. 60 ...114 50 ... I,4rice 55
4 per Cents lO5 ... ,fl 5 ... 105 ... 105
3 per Cents B4 60 .. 84 CO ... 81 55 ... 84 60
3ank of erance 3375 ...3375 ...3345 ...3345
Loffitte Bank 5,000 f. Sb KOU _521'0 ...5200 ...WOO
iiogian Bank 9 0 ... till ... 900 ... 9C2 50
5 yer Cents lO3l ... /044 ... 103% ... 103%
3 per Cents 74 75 ... 71 80 ... 74 -;5 ... 74 60
Spanlsh Ac.ive =9% ... :1'1,54 ... 29 kii ... 294
PaSFiVC 7
Portuguese 3 per Cents
Neapolitan lO4 70 ... 104 i 0 ... 104 05 ... 104 05
lonian 103Y4 ... 11.13 ... 163% ... 103 X,
... __ .

RAILWAY SHARES.
St. 6erniai,,
versai!!es. R. 13 577 50 ... 577 50 ... 575 ... 575
L.B. 385 ... 385 ... 783: 75 ... 385
Orleans ..
str.oburg to Bale
T.

Ktax.—At the Meeting of the Synod of Lo
thian and Tw•ccddale on Tuesday, Mr. Candlish, the
right-hand man of Dr. Chanters, moved that the Ge-
neral Assembly be overtured to take steps for opposing
Lord Aberdeen's BEI. Dr. Muir, one of the rational
party, made a counter-motion, calling on the Assembly
to take the said measure into their serious considera-
tion, acquiescing, as they did, in its principles, which
were in accordance with the word of God. On a divi-
sion, Lord Aberdeen's Bill was denounced by a majo-
rity of 40, 60 voting against it, and 20 for it. The fol-
lowing is a specimen of the extravdgant nonsense which
the wild men uttered on the occasion. The speaker
is Mr. Cunningham, one of the missionaries or-
dained by the Chalmers' party to sow dis-
cord between the people and the ministers of religion.
" He considered that this was the first, or at least the
most offensive attempt which the Legislature had ever
made to enact a full and complete and detailed directory
for the guidance of the Church. The Legislature had
taken up this matter as if it belonged to them—as if it
was Cassar's province, and not God's ; and they
had commanded the Church to do and not to do—that
they must do this, and they must not do that—as if the
office bearers of the Church were the most obscure and
insignificant of civil functionaries—not office-bearers in
Christ's house at all, and possessed of no rights or pri-
vileges whatever. If there had been no other objection
to the Bill, he held that it would have been their duty
to remonstrate against the conduct of the State in
presuming to tell them what they were to do. He held
that the passing of this Bill would be a great national
sin—that it would be an attempt to depose the Re-
deemer from his throne, and to give his power to the
civil authorities."

WOOD PAVEMENT.---It will be seen from an advertise-
ment in The Sun of this day, that a patent has been ob-
tained, and a Company formed, for constructieg Wood
Pavements in the metropolis, on the principle of that
laid down in front of Whitehall. That pavement has now
been tested for some six weeks, and appears as regular and
firm as ever. There are neither buigings nor hollows, and
consequently the friction and pressure on the materials
are uniform, and the wear and tear on every wooden
block alike. There is one drawback, however, at least
as regards that piece laid down in the Strand between
the two churches. In wet or very moist weather
it becomes slippery, and we have heard that
several horses have fallen on coming rapidly
on it from the stone pavement. The same complaint
was made against that in the Old Bailey, and it was con-
sequently found necessary to deepen the grooves, in
order to give the horses a firmer footing. If this de-
fect can be remedied it will form the best of all pave-
ments. It causes less dust and less noise than any other,
and is said by those who have seen it in America to
be as durable as stone. For paving streets in the
ncighbeurhood of churches it is preferable to all others,
and we therefore advise the parish authorities who em-
ploy the police to shut up Temple Bar on Sundays, to
Put themselves and the inhabitants to a little expense
in paving the streets in this way round the churches,
without annoying every passenger for their whim and
caprice.

EXCHEQUER COURT-THIS DAY,

STEPHNESON V. VINES AND FORT.
Mr. KELLY (with whom was Mr. GURNEY) stated this
was an action for an illegal distress and false imprison-
ment brought under these circumstances. A Mr. Gee had
resided in a house in Spitalfields from 1819 to bis death,
in 1828. His widow remained in possession until her mar-
riage to the plaintiff in 1833, and they kept the house till
the 15th June last, when the defendant Fort, put in a
distress fur rent alleged to be due to the defendant Vines.
He remained in possession for a fortnight, and on the 30th
June, in the middle of the night, he came, still acting as
Vine's agent, and took plaintiff into custody upon a charge
of stealing some doors and windows. He was taken to
the station-house; kept until the morning, when
he was taken before a Magistrate, and at once
discharged. In order to prove that the charge was not
bona fide he would prove that, before going before the Ma-
gistrate, Vines said, " Ido not want to hurt you ; if you
will give up possession of the house you may go." This
was a grievous injury, and he trusted that a British Jury
would never sanction any such oppression to be practised
by a rich man upon a poor one.
Several witnesses proved this case, and in their cross-
examination it appeared that this was one of many houses
the property in which had been disputed. Vines had
taken a lease af them, and was repairing them. He ap-
plied to the plaintiff, but he refused to go out or pay any
rent. It was a large house, containing nine rooms, and
the plaintiff had only a bed, bedstead, and either one or
two chairs; the house was; in such bad repair, that it
was dangerous to trust to the floors; and several of the
doors were burned, and the sashes taken away.
Mr. }hammy, for the defendant, said the jury, from
ail the circumstances in this case, must see that this was
entirely a speculative action. The plaintiff had been in
possession of the premises for a long time without paying
rent to any one. The defendant, Vines, leased the pro.
petty to the number of thirty houses, and was repairing
them, but the plaintiff refused to allow him, and it was
evident that he wanted to be paid out. It was clearly not
an honestiaction, for they had most unfairly made Vines's
agent a defendant, for no other purpose than to shut his
mouth, as he was tho only person who could possibly prove
that time plaintiff had acknowledged the defendant Vines
as his landlord. Vines was a rich man, and perfectly able
to pay damages and cosi.s. Then why make Fort a de-
fendant for any other purpose than the one he had sug-
gested ? It;they would release him, he would at once put
him into the box. It was a speculative action, and he
trusted the jury would defeat it by their verdict.
His LORDSIIIP summed up, and did not think the de-
fendant had made out the justification he had put upon the
record;. and as he had said there that the plaintiff had been
guilty of felony, it was a great aggravation of the offence.
lie thought the plaintiff entitled to damages; it was fur
the Jury to assess them in a temperate manner.
The Jury consulted for some time, but could not agree,
and retired.
One of the Jurors applied to be discharged, as they
could not agree.

His LORDSHIP said he could not do so, a ithout the con.
sent cf both parties.
The Jury had been out for two hours, and had no'
agreed when we went to press.

CRIMINAL COURT-(THIS DAY.

OLD COURT.
Eliza Lovett was found guilty of stealing some clothes,
the property of John Carter, and sentenced to three
months' hard labour.
George Green was found guilty of stealing a necklace,
the property of Jane Cousins, from her person.
The prisoner entered the room of the prosecutor, and
stole the neekl.ce while she was sleeping.
He was sentenced to six months' hard labour.
John Cleave, Or: publisher of Shoe-lane, surrendered
to take his trial for a misdemeanour.
Mr. Adolphus and Mr. Bullock conducted the prosecu-
tion, and Mr. Chambers the defence.
Mr. ADOLPHUS addressed the Court at some length, and
said that this was an indictment against the defendant for
the publication of a blasphemous libel. The prosecution
was instituted by the Government, who would hare neg-
lected their duty if they had allowed such an atrocious
attack noon that religion which was held so dear by all
the thinking people of this country, to pass unnoticed.
The Learned Counsel then proceeded to read pa•sages
from the alleged libel, in which the Bible was denounced
as a fraud upon the people, and recommending it to be
burnt, and also denying that it was the word of God.
The Learned Counsel then called the following witnesses :
Alexander Kerr deposed that be is a police constable,
and knew the defendant's shop in Shoe-lane. He
went there in the month of February, and asked for a
work entitled " Ilaslem's Eighth Letter to the Clergy of
all denominations," and the prisoner, who was in the shop,
told a girl to serve him with it, and a young man
at the same moment banded it over to him, and he paid a
penny for it, and then left the place. He went again to
the shop on a subsequent occasion. ar,d asked if they had
the whole of the work, and he was info, med by a girl in
the shop that they had not. He then said he would take
all they had, and they gave him Nos. 1,3, 5,7, 8,9, 10,
12, and 13, and he paid for them. Alter he got out of
the shop he marked the numbers, and he knew that those
produced were the same.
Cross-examined—Supposed the shop in question
door,
M be-
longed to r. Cleave, from his name being over the
and seeing him in the shop. He had not made
not
in
his inquiry
po-
lice
of the landlord upon the subject. He w
dress when he purchased these things, as
directed to go by his Superintendent and 5
man in the
solicitor to the Treasury. There was a young
shop, and the works were taken from the shelf behind
irMaple, the
but he was
him. Did not see
mbers through. He
w
any copies of the works in the shopindow. He had read three of the nu

;gnorant that .eft-I_.
frt.i7y of t;;(1 Tatua, receives suppikos of ar►as and amn►u-
nition from Gibraltar."
" TANGIERS, APRIL 22.—As I told you in my last let-
ter, there is no declaration of war on the part of the Em-
peror, nor any tendency to an open rupture. The Em-
peror finds a state of peace more advantageous to 11:in, and
sends to Abd-el-Kader all that he wants. A state of ~,r
in the country would expose him to a strict blockade of his
ports, and would hinder the landing of every thing he
wants. It is confidently affirmed that the project of law on
the tariff question rendered necessary by the commercial
treaty with England, will be shortly presented to the
Chamber of Deputies.—Le Commerce.
Accounts received at Galatz state, that the Russians
are continually sending troops to the coast of Circassia;
all the Russian fortresses from Dschah to Geschindochill
have already been taken by the Circassians. It was
not known as yet at Sebastopol, what had become of the
fortress of Nicholas : some say it is taken, and others
state that the siege still continu?s. A great number of
Polish deserters, amongst whom are many officers, are in
the ranks of the Circassiana.
BOURS E. TLIURSDAY, MAY 14.