The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-25 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

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COURT OF COALlithV --
PLEAS, Nev. 24.
(Sittings in Banco.)
EX PASTE DUNN.
Mr. PASITLEY rose, on the part of Richard Dunn, now
a prisoner in the Queen's Prison, to arply on affidavits
for a writ of habeas corpus, in order that he might be
discharged cut of custody, on the ground that the war
runt of commitment which would be returned to the
writ nay illegal The prinoner was in custody under
two warrants; and on the affidavits sent to him by his
eat nt, with only one of whi, h should he think it neces-
sary to trouble their Lordships, it appeared that the first
warrant set out that " the defendant having been this
day convicted of wilful and corrupt perjury, he be com-
mitted to the Queen's Prison, there to remain until dis-
charged by due course of law." That was clearly a bad
warrant, as the term of imprisonment was not distinctly
stated. He would now proceed to the second warrant.
This warrant stated that at a sitting at nisi prius held at
Guildhall, in London, on Saturday, the 10th of February,
1847, before Lord Denman, Chief Justice of the Queen's
Beach, the defendant " having this day been convicted
of wilful and corrupt perjury, it is considered and
ordered by me, the said Justice, that he, the
said Richard Dunn, for the said wilful and
corrupt perjury, be imprisoned for the space of IS
calendar months, to be computed from the day on which
he shall be first imprisoned ; and that he, the said
Richard Dunn, do give security to keep the peace, and
to be of good behaviour to all her Majesty's subjects,
lad especially to Miss Angela Burdett Coutts, for the
/pace of two years, the said two years to commence and
0, computed from the end and expiration of the said
IS calendar months, the said Richard Dunn to give
~retirity himself in 1001., with two sureties of 501. each,
and that he be further imprisoned until such securities
be• given, and that the said Richard Dunn be committed
to the keeper of the Queen's Prison, to be kept in exe-
cution on this judgment." So that under this judgment,
I. a free pardon were granted to him from the Crown,
and he could not get bail, he would still be compelled to
remain all the time in prison. _ _

Mr. Justice MAT:LEI—Is the judgment erroneous ?

Mr. PASHLEY submitted thai. it -Was more than that—
it was a❑ unlawful sentence. He could not find any
authority in the books which gave power on a conviction
.or perjury to sentence a man to find sureties to keep
the peace, any more than on a conviction for forgery.
lie quoted the case "In re Henry Reynolds," and
another, 1 Dowling and .Lowndes, Rep., p. 846, where
two persona were committed under the Night Poaching
Act, and ordered to find sureties " not to offend again
for the space of one year next following," which wws
held a bad commitment, as too general, and the prisoners
were discharged.
Mr. Justice MAuLa—There was a case "O'Connell
v. the Queen," in which the plaintiff in error was sen-
tenced to be imprisoned for a further term to keep the
peace, he having been convicted of conspiracy, and no
one advanced this point at all. It seemed remarkable
chat it was not taken if it could have been. The pri
s.:ner was not entitled to make this application under the
.tatute of Charles, for he was imprisoned for an offence
which was not bailable. Ile had also another clear
remedy, which was, that if he was under the sentence
of a Court which had done anything erroneous, he
might remove it by writ of error. The case quoted was
one of a summary conviction of justices, where the re-
medy by writ of error did not lie ; it was therefore not
in point.

Mr. PASFILEY—IIis Lordship's view would take away
the remedy of a writ habeas corpus wherever there was
not a summary con►iction.
Mr. Justice MULE—Yes.
Mr. PAsnutv aubmiited that the Court of Queen's
Bench had passed a judgment unknown to the law.
Mr. Justice Mat:Ls—Then it is an erroneons judg-
ment. A single judge at chambers may grant a writ of
habeas mints. How can a single judge review the
judgment of the Court of Queries Bench?
Mr. PASHLEY would not further press the application
after that intimation.

Mr. Justice Metmc—On- this view Mr. O'Connell, Ind
the gentlemen convicted with him might have appealed
to a judge at chambers in Ireland, who might tiler
with the other judges as to his conviction (and 4hbiry.
were one or two who did), and he would then upsetOefrl
judgment.
Mr. PASFILET—It was, however, satisfactory &ph'
client to know that he could review this erroneous iu*
meat in error, and since the case of " O'Connellsk the
Queen," he could have bail in error whilst that j4lgmezit
was being reviewed.
The LORD CII/EF JUSTICE said, it was Perfectly
ar that the applicant's remedy was by writ of error.
There was nothing in this case to show that that re-
ap dy was not open to him. Any other courae- would
lead to consequences which could not be anticipated.

- •
STATE OF TRADE.
MANCHESTER, NGV. 23.—The gradual improvement
n the sate of trade in this town, to which we alluded
in our last report, has continued deists to the present
time, and a fair amount of business, both in yarn
and goods, has been done, principally for the Levant.
Prier are no higher ; indeed, in some descriptions
of yarn, they may be considered a shade under
the quotations of last week ; but there is, on the
whole, more cheerfulness, and more inclination to do
business than for some time past. The recent reduction
in the rate of interest by the Bank of England has given
great satisfaction—not because the reduction of 1 per
cent. in the discount of bills of exchange is, in itself, a
mutter of any importance at the present time, but be-
cause it is considered to indicate a confidence on the
part of the Bank directors in the security of their own
position. And, however little trust might have been
reposed in that body a few months ago, there is no
doubt that their recent conduct has been marked by
great judgment and steadiness of purpose.
There have been no failures here worth mentioning
during the last ten days ; and the affairs of houses
which had previously suspended are progressing favour-
ably. The two instalments, each of 2s. 6d. in the
pound, one from the assets of Messrs. De Jersey and
Co., and the other from the estate of Messrs. John
Thomas and Co., which were mentioned in our last re-
port, are, we believe, to be paid to-morrow, Friday, and
Saturday. A meeting of the creditors of Messrs.
Mareland and Vetmann was held yesterday, and was
very numerously attended. We learn that the state-
ment submitted to the meeting showed ample means
for meeting every demand ; and an offer to pay 20s. in
the pound, by four equal instalments, at three, six,
nine, and twelve months, with interest at five per cent.,
and security for the two last instalments, was unani-
mously accepted.
We are glad to learn that the accounts received from
the East Indies and China, by the last mail, are con-
sidered tolerably' satisfactory ; and that the remittances
which have ccme to hand are generally satisfactory.
No doubt, many bills on the different suspended firms
must have been received, but we believe it will be
found that they have generally fallen to the lot
of other houses in a similar situation. It seems
probable that most of the suspended houses in the
East India trade have been, to a considerable extent,
acting in concert; and thst, consequently, the bulk of
the paper drawn upon one will he remitted by the others.
This may have the effect of cutting down their assets;
bill that is a much smaller evil than the ruin or embar-
rassment of solvent firms, and an extension of the dis-
asters of the last three months into new channels.
Very little interest has been created hero by the
failure of the Union Bank at Madrid, or the refusal of
the drafts of the West India Bank. The latter appears
to have been an exceedingly unsound concern, pos-
seasing a capital of only 120,000 L, and yet carrying
on business in seven different islands, with liabilities
amounting to 738,0001. Such an es.abliihment was
almost sure to give way to the first pressure of adverse
circumstances.

We understand that the spinners at Ashton- under-
Lyne hive genvrally resumed vecrk, as we were led to
expect last week. Some little delay has arisen, in a few
eases, from the necessity of a new arrangement of the
piecers' wages; but there is no doubt that the whole of
the mills wilt be at work in a day or at the latest.
:hrelerierally, hoc ever, they are, as yet, working only
.. or four days per week. With respect to other
parts of the dipstrict, we do not learn that there is any
material change since our last report,