The Sun.
London, England, 1824-11-17 00:00:00

MERCANTILE SHIPPING.

DEAL, Nov. IG.—Wind W.S.W.---Came down from the
River and sailed the Princess Mary, Smith, for the South Seas;
also, and remain, the Hector, llawlet ; Temple, ileaty ; Henry
Cox, Sergeant ; Princess Charlotte, Pixley ; and Elriek, Read,.
all for Jamaica ; and the Elizabeth, Brooks, for Tobago.
PowtsmouTn, Nov. 16.—Wind W.S.W.—The Ducken-
field, Lyons, for Carthagena, which put in here leaky, has got
her damages repaired. cargo shipped, and ready for sea. Sailed
the Resolution, Ward, for Gottenhurgh.
FALMOUTH, Nov. Is.—Wind N.W.—Sailed the Louisa,
Barnard, for Terciera ; and the Atlas, Reel, fitr Charlstone..
LtvErtroof., Nov. 15.—Arrived the Rocket, Ayshford,
from Jamaica sailed the 6th of October ; Fulham, Forger,
from Monte Video; St. Lucia, Rawling, from Antigua ; La-
tona. Thomson, Quebec; John Wells, Harris, New York:
sailed the 24th of October; and Union, ----, front Oporto.

The Swift, Edwards, from Cork to London, was driven on
shore, near Boulogne, on Monday morning, but expected to be
got off.

RETAIL BREWERS.

A decision, very important to the interests of
the above class of persons, took place at the last Petty Sessions,
at Watford, Hens :—.3lr. James North, the proprietor of an
extensive Brewery in that town, was summoned before the Ma-
gistrates, upon an information lodged against him by an Excise
Officer, for the penalty of 1001., for having, contrary to the sta.
tute, sold beer to be drank on premises in which he had an in-
terest and concern. Previous to the opening of the case, the
Supervisor of Excise stated, that he understood Mr. Williams,
a Solicitor of Gray's Inn, was in attendance on the part of the
defendant, and begged that the Magistrates would not permit
him to be heard, it being quite unusual in cases of this nature.
Mr. WILLIAMS, in reply, observed, that the Board of Ex-
cise might have sent down its solicitor, had it thought fit, but
that because it had not chosen to do so, the defendant ought not
to be deprived of the benefit of professional assistance ; and in-
deed as there were a Supervisor and two other Excise Officers
conducting the prosecution, who are generally tolerably au /At
at that sort of thing, he really thought the odds were still consi-
derably against his client.
The MAGISTIIATUS said, they were unwilling to shut out
any information which they could derive upon the subject, and
that they, therefore, should certainly hear what the defendant's
solicitor had to advance on behalf of his client.
One of the Excise Officers being sworn, stated, that he had
purclunied a pint of beer at the defendant's house, which was
handed to him through a window under a gateway, adjoining.
the house. And that he had also, on the various days he had
mentioned, seen a great number of persons drinking beer under
the same gateway.
Mr. Cowley, the freeholder of the adjoining premises, prov.
ed, that in his purchase a right of way was reserved to the de-
fendant in the gateway in question.
This being the case for the prosecution, Mr. Itritt.saus ad-
dressed the Magistrates at considerable length on the part of
the defendant ; and contended, that upon the reasonable and
proper construction of the statute, there was no proof whatever
that the defendant had any such interest and concern in the
gateway ass would bring him within the operation of the law.
The Supervisor then handed in a newspaper, containing an
account of a similar case, wherein the Magistrates of Manches••
ter had convicted the defendant.
Mr. Wit.r.taars said, he would not insult the Bench, by
reminding them that the newspaper report was not evidence,
and could not at all operate in this case. He had no objec-
tion to their reading it, and the more they considered it,
the less satisfied, he was sure, they would be with the de-
cision. The Magistrates, on that occassion, had made the cir-
cumstance of the pot being the defendant's property a principal
ground for their convicting. In his case, he neither knew nor
cared whether or not the pots were supplied by the brewer, its,
although his client might, by Mr. Bennett's Act, be punished
for selling his beer without first measuring it in a pewter pot,
still that was wholly a distinct point, and had nothing to do
with the statute under consideration in which there was not
one word about pots from the beginning to the end. lie was
quite satisfied that, whatever other Magistrates might have dons
in other places, the Gentlemen he was then addressing would
not thereby feel themselves bound to convict his client, in direct
opposition to reason and common sense.
he MAOIHTUATTN, after consulting a few moments, stated
that they did not consider themselves at all bound by the Man-
cheater case, in which it did appear to them, as stated by the
defendant's solicitor, that the question of the pots hail been
improperly introduced ; that, in this case, one argument had
been used by Mr. Wiliams, which seemed irresistible, viz:
" that the defendant had not such an interest and concern in
the gateway as would enable him to maintain an action of tres-
pass against any persons who chose to remain there against his
consent, or would justify him in forcibly removing them."—
Information quashed.