The Sun.
London, England, 1812-06-26 00:00:00

Officers habited like Servants in attendance.—
Tbis-was a mere attempt at experiment, without
authority—statute—or precedent,—or practice to
warrant its being made. No escape of any de-
scription bad been made out, and he hoped. a
verdict :under hii Lordship's direction, favourable
to the defendants.

Mr. Justice Gum told'the Jury, that the case
which they had to examine was, whether the She-
riffs had permitted George Grant to escape from
their custody or not. In order to shew what
the- duty incund)ent upon the Sheriff amounted to,
they had to examine the writ which committed
hiM to his custody., Now the COunsel who intro-
&iced the case had discovered only one way,of
explaining and acting upon the writ, which was
to confine him immediately in the county prison.
It had been submitted to him as a point of law,
whether that_a prisoner by remaining in any other
place but a prison was out of proper.confinement
by the Sheriff. He was of opinion that the She-
riff had a permission by the writ to keep him in ens -
todY, and that place of safety ha had chosen was
a lock-tip-house, •
A nousuit was taken by the election of Mr.
Serjeant Shepherd,_ with permission. to apply to
set aside thenonsuit hereafter.

HIGH GOIJRT OF* DELEGATES, SERJEANTS' INN.

NULLITY OF MARRIAGE.

On ,V4rednesday last came on before the High
Court of-Delegates the important cause- -between
Smith and Htison, falsely calling herself
This ,is the first appeal. cause that, has, ever been
preferred to the Court of DelegateS-, on, the Mar-
riage• Act--o- 26th Geo. 11. and consequently it
excited considerable interest. The case was as

Mr. Smith, of-Croydon, married at St.,George's,
Hariver-SqUare, in the year 1806, a Miss Huson„
of the same place, while.a.ininor of only 17
,years
of age, without the knowledge of her father, Mr:
Ralph liuson, who died six months after, the'so7
lemnization df -the marriage. Miss Huson re-
turned' to 'her father's house on the day of her
marriage, and continued to reside there until a
considerable time after...her father's-decease. The
husband, Mr. Smith, commenced a suit' in the
Ecclesiastical. Court, iii 163, for, nullity of mar-
riage, on-the ground that the marriage was had
without the consent of the father of Afra Huson,
the 'minor, and was therefore, by the .26th of
George 2d, null and-void.. Jpc)vrever, Sir Jontv
NicnoLL, befOre whom the cause was tried in the
Ecclesiastical Court, pronounced in favour of
Afralinson,-and confirmed the marriage.' Against
this decision, Mr, Smith- appealed to. the King in
Council, and accordingly the nigh Court of De-
legates assembled on Wednesday _to decide upon'
the cause.

The case was opened with great ability. by Dr.
SwAa&x, Counsel fora the respondent,. Afra
Hu-
son or Smith, who insisted that from the evidence
given of the •selitiments and conduct of Mr.
Ralph' Huson,' before 'his death, relative to the
marriage; his consent was clearly established, al-
though he died in igneranee 9f the solemnization
of that marriage. The case turned on the nature
of consent,-and on the mode' of giving it. Dr.
SWABEY, Mr. LEAcn, - and Dr. BURNABY,
argued, with great learning and, great ability. in
sapport of the validity of the marriage.
Dr. ST9DIJART, on the behalf of the appellant,
Mr. SMith, argued in order to annul the marriage.
• These arguments occupied the attention of the
Court until four o'clock, when the Court adjourn-
ed till the next day.

Mr. RED}iBAb YOBKE, 011 the opening of the
Court yesterday, argued in answer to Dr. Stoddart,
in support of the ,validity of the marriage ; and,
in a very learned, elaborate, and eloquent speech,
sheered, that the motives which led to the
enactment of the statute did not apply to the
present case, and that as the statute did not
specify the mode of consent, the fact of its hav-
ing been given must be decided by the mode of
giving consent previous to the passing of that
statute. In support of his argument, he cited se-
veral ancient authorities.long before the Marriage
Act was in force ; and animadverted, ..with great
vehemence and severity, on the perjury of Smith
when he obtained the license for marriage, and
on the effrontery he had betrayed in coming be-
fore the Court to demand that it shortld confirm.
the,triumph of his per jury and subsequent fraud.
Mr. FONBLANQUE, in a Speech of uncommon
force and eloquence, replied to Mr. Yorke, and
was followed by Dr. Stoddart, and Dr. Jenner,
who also argued against the validity of the
marriage. ,

The Cortrt rose at four o'clock, and adjourned.
the further hearing of this important argument
until next Monday se'nnight, at ten o'clock, when,
Mr. I.lolroyd and Mr. B:ougham-will be further
heard on the part of
.the appellant, and Dr, Swa-
bey and Mr. Redhead Yorke, in reply. ,The -de-
cision of the Judges in this cause, will determine
the most important question to domestic society
that has ever been agitated, especially as a child
has been the fruit of this marriage.

Swindling .—A man about sixty years of age,, of
demure .appearance and. fluent address, has kt-ely
obtained goods fraudulently of many tradespehple
at the west end of the town. He first took apart-
ments at an hotel a fortnight ago in Jermyn-street,
calling himself the. Rev. Mr. Judd, and pretending
to have been recommended by a Colonel who was
well known at the house. He has since - changed
his name to Seymour, and personated a Gentleman
of fortune of that name in Sbmersetshire, by which
he obtained goods of an upholsterer,. and also of a
jcv.-ellor in-Bond-street, to a.,considerablc amount.
He was lastly known as Col. 'Browning, in Alpha-
road, Mary-le-bone- He is about five feet ten,
wears his own hair in
.powder, and is supposed to
have made several hundred pounds since\his• arrival
in London. .

On Saturday afternoon, as Mr. Witty, of
Hull, was returning from Hessle, in. company
with another person, (hiring the heavy thunder-
storm, he was struck dead by the lightning. His
hat was torn to pieces, and fragments of it driien
to the distance of twenty yards from where he
Was struclt.-;--The man in company with hint re-
ceivefl no injury.