The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-09 00:00:00

TINDAL.
(From the Times.)
The earthly career of the late Lord Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas has been terminated rather suddenly. About
ten days ago he attended the hearing of an Irish appeal in
the House of Lords—" Sheehy v. Lord Muskerry. On
leaving the House he complained of excessive beat, and ap-
peared to be almost fainting. He was, within a few hours,
seized with paralysis of the left leg, extending, as we under-
stand, to the hip joint ; and, after the lapse of two or three
days, his medical adviser recommended him to procevd to the
seaside. Without delay he repaired to Folkestone,. accom-
panied by his son, Captain Tindal ; but there he ma: sappily
experienced a renewal of his alarming malady. 8, weral
members of his family were summoned, though little more
than in time to witness his dissolution. He expired on Ilteron-
day evening at half-past seven o'clock, to the inexpressi,hle
grief of his family and numerous friencis,as well asto the grew t
regret of the public at large—for he was one of the most
popular as well as the most eminent judges that ever adorned
the bench of justice.
Sir Nicolas Cenyngham Tindal was in the 70th 'year of
his age, having been born in 1776. There was, however, a
general impression that his birth took place some years earlier
than that date, for, though hale and vigorous, he seemec,' to
be rather older than threescore-aed-ten. It is also generally
supposed that he was a native of Buckinghamshire; but .of
this there can he no doubt, that he is descended ;from an olel
Essex family, and that his father, Robert Tindal, who was le
solicitor, resided for many years, if not the whole of his life,
at Chelmsford, in Essex. There is a Mr. Tindal, brother to
the late Chief Justice, who practises as a solicitor in Ayles-
bury, but we have every reason to believe that the subject
of this notice was born at Chelmsford. After the usual
course of school education, he entered at Trinity College,
Cambridge, in the year 1795, and 'l7 ith n four years of that
period—in 1799—he took the degree ofek.B., and that of A.M.
in 1802. In the former year he was eighth wrangler and
senior Chancellor's medallist. In the !moth of October, 1801,
lie was elected a fellow of his college, eind held the fel-
lowship for eight years. Immediately afte.:r taking hia
Masters degree, he became a student of Lincoil'l
Inn, by
which society he was eventually called to the Or. His
connexion with Lincoln's Inn probably gave rise to the' com-
mon error that he had been a Chancery barrister; bus, on
the contrary, his practice was limtted to the common lalj
courts. Shortly after his admission to Lincoln's Inn, he en-
tered upon practice with very considerable success as a spe-
cial pleader, and Lord Brougham stated yesterday that he
had been among the number of his pupils. There can be no
questien that a young law student could hardly have
chosen a safer guide, for a man more thoroughly learned
than Mr. Tindal even then was, in every department of
the law, could scarcely be found within the range of the
profession, and he was especially celebrated for what id
called " black letter learning." His high reputation brought
him so many clients that at a very early age he thought
it safe to go to the bar, and accordingly we find that he wale
called in Trinity Term, 1809. In the same year he married
the youngest daughterof the late Captain Thomas Symonds, ,
R.N., and of ceurse resigned his fellowship. A numerous -
family were the issue of this marriage, but the
irife of Sir Nicolas Tindal died many years awo. Inif the
Court of King's Bench, and on the Sorthern Circuit, every'
year brouoht Mr. Tindal additional reputation as a lawyer,
hut very little fame as an advocate. He was never at a loss
for a case; he could always expound a principle; he could
give the history of any statute, and with great perspicuity
set forth its provisions; he could argue any point, however
apparently hopeless, and impeach .the validity of any legal
document, however apparently sound; but a knavish witness
could elude his examination, and an apathetic jury were
never warmed by his eloquence
yet he had what the pro-
fession calls a " capital business ;" and a large income re-
warded his learning, his industry, and his high reasoning
faculties. The natural process I.;Y which lawyers seek ad-
vancement in their profession is to get into Parliament. Mr.
Tindal, however, enjoyed a distingnished opportunity of ap-
pearing before one House of Parliament long before his elec-
tion as a Member of the other. A Bill of pains and penalties
was preferred against the Queen of George IV., and in
one of the most extraordinary proceedings that our history
records Mr. Tindal was called upon to bear his part. He,
conjointly with several others, was counsel for the Queen.
How far his astuteness and knowledge rendered him ars
efficient assistant to her Majesty's Attorney-General was a
matter not very apparent at that period. That he was capable
of giving valuable hints to his more showy brethren, Lords
Brougham and Denman, there can be no doubt, but his
oratory was not of the order to neutralise the dazzling in-
genuity of Copley, or to cope with the wily manoeuvres of a
cloud of Italian witnesses. Hence, though he enjoyed the
honour of being a Queen's advocate, he obtained with the
public little additional reputation from his share in this ex-
traordinary inquiry. We now follow him to the House of
Commons, to which assembly in the year 1824 he was re-
turned by the Wigton district of burghs; and here also we
can say but little for his qualifications as a public speaker.
His manner was cold, dry, and unimpressive; his political
and historical knowledge displayed itself to small ad-
vantage ; it bore upon few questions, and not even upon
those with much power. One would have expected
that his talents and learning as a lawyer muse
have often enabled him to enlighten the House on
legal difficulties, but yet he had not a popular mode of dis-
cussing even questions of law. Nevertheless, a better man
for the office of Solicitor-General could not be found amongst
the Tory lawyers in the month of September, 1826, when
Sir C. Wetherell became Attorney-General, in censequeticee
of the elevation of Sir John Copley, afterwards Lord Lynd-
hurst, to the Mastership of the Ilolls.e At this time Mr.
Tindal became Sir Nicolas, but he still remained without
any very material increase of professional fame, nor was he
called upon during his tenure of office to assist in any im-
portant prosecution on behalf of the Crown. Sir J. Copley,
who had represekted the University 'of Cambridge, became
Lord Chancellor in'tke year 1827,°thiripg the Canning Ad-
ministration ; thereupon a vacancy Occurred in the repre-
sentation of that constituency, and Sir Nicolas Tindal soli-
cited its suffrages. Mr. William John Bankes, though also
a Tory, went down to Cambridge to oppose him ; the result
of the polling was, 479 .for Sir Nicholes, Tindal, and 378
for Mr. Bankes ellel had been choseri for Harwich
at the general election in 1826, biit of course readily _
withdrew from 'that borough to eenjey the honour
representing alma mater. Eventually, however, he became
perfectly satisfied with two years' possession of this much..
envied distinction. Gout, irritability, and Sir Thomas
Wilde, combined their united virulence to drive poor Lord
Wynford almost beside himself. The chief seat in the
Common Pleas therefore became vacant, and a prize within
the grasp of the Solicitor-General. Sir Robert Peel repre-
sented Oxford, Sir Nicolas Tindal Cambridge ; the one was
leading Minister in the Lower House, and the other second
law officer of the Crown ; the one proposed Catholic emanci-
pation, the other supported it ; the one retained his place
in the Cabinet and lost his seat for Oxford ; the Member
for Cambridge gave up his seat for that University, but
obtained a seat upon the bench ; and in the month of June,
1829, became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, which
position he occupied during the long period of 17 years, al-
though, under the 6th of George IV., cap. 83, he might, at
the end of 15 years, have claimed exoneration from the toils
of that high station. Death, however, has at length de-
prived him of its honours and relieved him of its labours.
Sir Thomas Wilde will soon occupy the situation
which he filled on the bench, although few
men are qualified to supply the place which he held in the
public esteem. If he had any faults, he certainly possessed
many most shining qualities as a judge. Gentlemen of the
bar who practise in a given court may never be able to agree
amongst each other. or with the public, respecting the merits
of any judge who occupies a seat on the bench of that court;
still less can they be brought to anything like an admission
that any judge at any time was ever wholly faultless. The
public, however, are not remarkable for such nice discrimi-
nation; but, with less knowledge and far less fastidious-
ness, they pronounce an unqualified opinion, either to the
great discredit or the infinite honour of the personage who
may at the time have become the subject of their notice. As
to the merits of Chief Justice Tindal the bar maybe divided,
but the public are unanimous. They looked at his " sum-
mings-up" as among the most masterly exhibitions
of judicial sagacity, and they regarded his calm, thoughtful,
and tranquil inflexibility as the impersonation of British jus-
tice. They admired the vigour and promptitude with which
he would cast the light of a clear and searching intellect upon
some vast accumulation of minute facts, inferences, and ex-
positions,—how he would track out a plain and palpable
path amidst some labyrinth of contradictory evidences. The
world viewed with admiration the manner in which he threw
aside the sophistries and disentangled the forensic perplexie
ties with which cases are sometimes enveloped,—how he dis-
sipated the obscurities, lopped off the irrelevancies, curtailed
the redundancies which had been imported into the cause by
the weak or wily advocate, and, finally, how he reduced the
real point in dispute to its strict and indisputable merits.
Such was the impression that the character of Chief Justice
Tindal made upon the community at large; and, whatever
criticism his alleged eccentricities might occasionally pro-
voke .aniong the members of the Bar, all was foi gotten in the
intervals between one term and another, while his imperturt
bable temper, the uniform amenity
r observer.
of his manner, his perec
independencelrere
aisoflzi,s ritp,relsiesnitiitgolithinetffnidtyo,
faenydey great judicial
abilities

SUGAR DU-TIES.
It is oon6dently said that the plan to be proposed by Lord
John Russell will be-a sliding scale, terminating in a vanish-
ing point so far as differential duty is concerned. We are
are assured that the gradation may be thus stated : -
BRITISH PLANTATION. ALL roanacar.
1845
1846 ...... .. ..... Its.
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852 ... ..
1853 ......... ...... 14s. ......... ..
1854
The duty thus resulting, at the last-mentioned date, is a
permanent equalisation of fourteen shillings on British plan-
tation and foreign sugars.—Post.

Sir T. Wilde is to succeed the late Chief Justice Tin-
dal. Mr. Jervis will be Attorney-General, and it is said that
Mr. Romilly will be the new Solicitor-General.
WHAT CONSTITUTES A DOCTOR ?—A bastardy case
was brought before the magistrates at the Town Hall, on
Thursday, the putative father being what was called a
doctor. The magistrates, in the absence of the "doctor,"
seemed to have some doubt whether he had claims to the
title or not, and to ascertain the fact, probably in order to
guide them in the amount of the order, they required some
explanation on this mysterious subject. A witness on being
questioned on the matter, gave the following enlightened in-
formation. Mr. Birley having asked him whether he was a
doctor or not, the witness replied, "He is." Mr. Birley—
" Why, does he qire advice ?" Witness—" No ;he makes 'eta
pay for it."—Bohoot Free Press.
DEATH FROM A PISTOL-SHOT.--Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. William Baker, jun., deputy-coroner, held an inquest
at the Black Bull, Kingsland-road, on the body of Mr.
Charles James Kampf, aged 21, who had lately came into
possession of some property, and had within the last few
months opened a grocer's shop, at 31, High-street, Kingsland.
William Bellamy, an assistant to the deceased, said that on
the evening of Monday, the 22d of June last, the deceased,
who had been out, returned home at half-past eleven at
night. Witness, on attempting to close the door, was told
by the deceased to let it alone and go to bed. He left the
deceased at the door smoking a cigar, and he heard nothing
of him till the bell rang the next morning, when he went
down stairs and saw his master in a chair, with the pistol-
wound in his thigh. He said, " I hope the Lord will take
me." He afterwards said, "that whilst he was taking a
pistol out of his pocket the trigger caught the lappel of his
coat. and it exploded." He had had the pistol in his pos-
session about two months, and had fired it at the back of
his premises on the previous Saturday, in consequence of
thinking that he beard thieves there. On coming of age he
entered into possession of considerable property. Witness
had observed that his spirits were depressed, but he did not
know the cause. He had been keeping company with a
young lady at Woodford. During- the last fortnight of his
life he had complained of not being able to sleep. Police-
constable 287 N gave testimony to the same effect. The in-
quiry at this stage was adjourned to procure the attends92oa
of the surgeon, to ascertain whether or not deceased had
made arty statement to him reopectiog