The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-28 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

JUDGES' CHAMBERS, August 27.

IN THE MATTER OF WILLIAM CROWTHER, A PRISONER IN
YORK CASTLE.-IMPORTANT DECISION AS TO POWER
OF COMMISSIONER OF BANKRUPTS TO COMMIT FOR
NON PAYMENT OF COSTS.

This was an application to discharge the above-named'
prisoner, who was the baliff of the Honour of Pontefract,
in the West Riding of the county of York, out of the
custody of the gaoler of York Castle, he having been
committed to that prison upon a warrant issued by Mr.
Commissioner Burge, the commissioner of the Leeds
District Court of Bankruptcy, for contempt of Court, in
not obeying and observing the order of that Court. The
circumstances are, as shown by the affidavits used on
both sides, as follow :
" That Mr. Crowther was the baliff of the Court of
the Honour of Pontefract, in the West Riding of the
county of York, and in that capacity he, in pursuance of
a warrant of execution duly issued out of that Court on
a certain judgment recovered therein by one William
Cole against John Pickles, a hairdresser, residing at
Bradford, proceeded to levy 121. 18s. 3d. and costs.
Upon the levy being made, Pickles stated that he had
obtained an order of protection from the Leeds District
Court of Bankruptcy, whereby all his goods and chattels
were protected from all process, upon which Crowther
(the prisoner) demanded to see the order, which was re-
fused by Pickles, and as no messenger was in possession
under the insolvency, he (Crowther) proceeded to exe
cute his warrant, and ultimately removed the goods
immediately after which a complaint was made by Mr.
Harle, of Leeds, the solicitor to the insolvent Pickles, to
Mr. Commissioner Burge, who issued a summons on
13th of August, directed to the prisoner, to show cause
why he so seized and carried away the goods and chat-
tels of Pickles, he being protected from process by the
order of the-Court. This summons not being obeyed, a
warrant was issued by the Commissioner to apprehend
aneribring.him before the Court to'answer.to the complaint,
and on the 15th of August: he having been taken in
custody, was taken before the Commissioner, who, after
hearing all parties on the subject of the complaint, or-
dered and adjudged the prisoner to have been guilty of
a gross contempt of his Court, by seizing and taking
away the goods of John Pickles, and also ordered the
prisoner to nay the costs occasioned by the application
(amounting to nearly 201.) or, in default, to stand com-
mitted to York Castle. Mr. Crowther protested against
the authority of the Commissioner to make such an
order, and refused to comply therewith, upon which he
was taken into custody and to York Castle, there to
retnain until he had paid the costs and purged the con-
tempt. Under these circumstances, an application was
made to the Lord Chief Baron, on Saturday last, for a
writ of habeas corpus to bring up the body of the pri-
soner in order to his discharge:out of custody as to such
commitment, when, atter perusing the affidavit in sup-
port of the application, the Learned Judge granted his
fiat for the issuing of the writ.
In pursuance of this writ Mr. Crowther was brought
up in custody of Mr. John Noble, the keeper of York
Castle, yesterday, before Mr. Justice Erle, when that
Learned Judge, after hearing Mr. Serjeant Chadwick
Jones, who appeared in support of' the commitment, and
the solicitor for Mr. Crowther, made an order directing
Mr. Crowther (the bailiff) to be discharged out of cus•
tody, on the ground that the warrant and commitment
were bad on the face of them, the Learned Commis-
sioner, Mr. Burge, having assumed a power wish which
he had not been invested by the Bankrupt or Insolvent
.Acts,—i e., of awarding costs in the shape of damages
for the improper, or, as it might be contended, illegal
seizure, and in issuing his warrant of committal for the
non-payment of such costs.
The Learned JUDGE said he should give no opinion
whether the seizure under the circumstances was a con-
tempt or not, or whether the Commissioner had the
power of committal which he bad exercised ; it was
clear, however, he had no power to commit for non-
payment of costs upon the authority of all the cases that
had been brought before the courts of law.
Mr. Crowther, who, of course, was in custody of the
keeper of York Castle, was at once discharged.