The Sun.
London, England, 1848-01-25 00:00:00

THE SUN.

I be, n picked up there. A ship's stern has been picked
up at Bah,: Sund, with 901hs. of lead on it. A boat be-
longing to the Neptune of Neweastlo, has been found at
Unst.
SLIGO, JAN. 22.—The Sarah and 11Iaria, in proceed-
ing down the river this morning, took the ground, but
is ex pec•cd off next tido without, damage.
KILItITSII, JAN. 21.—The David of Galway, in coming
out of the creek last night, took the ground and lay
badly. Sic will be surveyed.
DARTAIOUTIL JAN. 2t—The Grossfarst Vlacimir,
from St. Petersburg to Leghorn, which put in here,
instant, leaky, capsized this morning, in a heavy
squall ; cargo landed in a damaged state.

1,0N1)0 4N,

THE CASE OF THE REV. DR.

lIAMPDEN.

QUEEN'S BENCH.-(THIS DAY.)

(Sittings in Banco, before the LORD CIIIEF JUSTICE,
and Justices PATTESON, COLERIDGE, and E RLE.)
THE QUEEN V. TIIE ARCIIDISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

Neither the body of the court nor the galleries
were so crowded as yesterday. The Very Rev. the
Dean of Hereford occupied, as yesterday, a seat in
the jury-box.
As soon as the Learned Judges had taken their
seats,
Mr. BADDELET rose and said he had received a note
from his leader, Sir Fitzroy Kelly, stating that he
became so indisposed last nig•ht, as to render it neces-
sary for him to call in a physician. At the time he
was taken unwell, he was preparing some notes with
reference to the case. Dr. A.ddams was also absent,
and it would be for the Court to determine whether
the further hearing of the argvments should not be
adjourned for a few days, in consequence of the
absence of his two leaders. Sir Fitzroy Kelly stated
in his note that, if he should be better, he would be
in his place at the sitting of the Court.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL rose, and hoped that the
arguments would be allowed to proceed notwith-
standing the indisposition of his Learned Friend.
Lord DENMAN (after consulting with the other
Learned Judges) said, the consequence is that we
must hear the gentlemen who, have been enabled to
attend.

Mr. M. D. Him then proceeded with his address.
He first addressed himself to the sth section of the
Act of Henry VIII. It stated that if all the pro-
ceedings incidental to the election of a bishop were
not completed within twenty days after the issuing
of letters patent premunire should follow. But if
the bishop elect's character, learning, piety, doctrine,
or even his legitimacy were to be made matters of
inquiry at the confirmation, he might say, without
any stretch of imagination, that twenty years might
be required from the opposing parties to adduce
proofs in support of their opposition ; nay, he might
go further, and say that if such inquiries
as these were to be permitted after election,
they might extend throughout a man's life, and em-
bitter the whole of his existence, owing to their ha-
rassing character. It was impossible to imagine any-
thing more stringent than the requirements of the
statute : it clearly shut out all inquiry. The act of
confirmation was merely a ministerial act, one of a
subsidiary nature, and being merely formal, was of
no moment at all. The Reformation was young
when the Act was passed ; and Burnet, in his famous
work on the Reformation, stated that Legh, who
succeeded Cardinnl Wolsey, was well known to the
King to be addicted to the Church of Rome, and to
be secretly one of the partizans of the Pope ; and
the Act, therefore, was passed to vest the sole gift
of nominating bishops in the Crown, and to abolish
the interference of the Pope in the election of these
ecclesiastical officers. He now came to deal with the
question, whether a mandamus would lie, and
whether the matter to which it had reference
justified such a proceeding ' • and, further,
whether the parties, who had made this
application, were competent to do so. The subject
was an ecclesiastical one, and could not be taken
cognizance of by this Court. The Court, no doubt,
could take cognizance of an application by the bishop
of a diocese, to issue a mandamus calling upon the
judge of an ecclesiastical court to show cause why
he refused to grant the probate of a will; but the
doctrine laid down by Lord Holt, in the case of
" Long v. the Bishop of St. David's," reported by
Raymond, was to the effect that this Court could not
interfere in the business of one of those courts whilst
it simply dealt with matters purely spiritual.
Mr. Justice PArrissosi said the case cited was an
application for a menden-4gs, calling upon the judge
of one of those courts to show cause why he refused
to grant the probate of a will. The case before the
Court, the Learned Counsel would see, went further
than that. _ _ _

Mr. M. D. HILL went on to say, that in the same
way it could not be held that a person living in a
certain diocese could oppose the election of a ma-
gistrate.
Lord DENMAN said the Court had decided, in the
case of the borough of Oxford, that a burgess could
oppose the election of a mayor or magistrate.
Mr. liter, having referred to the two books men-
tioned in the affidavits, went on to say, that an exa-
mination into soundness of doctrine was nowhere
mentioned, and he should as soon expect to hear of
the Court being called to institute an investigation
whether a bishop had committed murder or not.
Mr. Justice COLERIDGE said an inquiry by a
coroner's inquest might ensue in such a case as that
assumed, without the interference of the Court.
Mr. lime said the finding of a coroner's jury, or
of a bill by a grand jury, were not judgments; they
were no more than statements, open to further and
higher investigation. The charge of Dr. Hampden
having written in favour of the abolition of some of
the forms set forth in the Common Prayer-book, was
one which might he brought against laymen as well
as clergymen, and was subject to ecclesiastical review
and ecclesiastical punishment. When an attorney of
the Court was charged with misconduct, their Lord-
ships often directed that he should be prosecuted ;
and the charges against Dr. Hampden being offences
which might he taken cognizance of by an ecclesias-
tical court, he was at a loss to understand why a
mandamus had been applied for. Dr. Hampden
was charged with illustrating the injurious effects of
dogmatism. Dr. Johnson, a high Churchman, and
a great authority, said a dogmatist was a " minis-
terial teacher, a positive asserter, and a bold advancer
of principles ;" and Watts stated that a dogmatist
was nearly allied to a bigot, and was not unlikelly to
become a " bloody persecutor."—(A laugh.) Even
the University of Oxford had admitted that dogma
of the divine right of kings to govern wrong, and it
had been fashionable to compel millions to follow the
faith of one man. It was therefore difficult to definc
what dogmatism meant in things spiritual, and was
only in this case defined in a shadowy and con-
sequently unsatisfactory manner; and could they on
such grounds issue a writ of mandamus The Learned
Counsel cited cases in which wrifs of mandamus had
been refused, because the subjects to which they had
reference were not sufficiently defined. If they made
the rule absolute, instead of doing good they would
do great injustice, inasmuch as the inquiry sought
might extend through Dr. Hampden's life, and keep
the see vacant during the whole of flat time. But
there were other grounds for the consideration of the
Court. Had the parties opposing no peculiar
interests which they wisLied to serve by what
they had done ? This was a question of so
much solemnity that they could ally it with the
mere exhibition of personal or vindictive feelings.
Would no danger ensue—no injury be caused from
making such an investigation before the populace in
tiow Church ? They had but to look into the histo-
rians to find the injury which had resulted to the
people by the fomenting of Church differences. Let
them bear in mind the time when oyster women
locked up their oysters and trudged to the churches
to cry " No bishops"—(Laughter)—and drawing a
moral lesson from the past, avoid the repetition of
such exhibitions in future. Instead of aiding in
fomenting these unhappy differences, the Court should
not allow the minds of the clergy to be distracted by
matters of this kind, but to be devoted to their minis-
trations, the superintendence of schools, and the im-
provement of the condition of the people; by doing
which they would accomplish more good than much
of their criminal law. Such proceedings B 3 these
were likely to breathe new life into old forms, long
since fallen into dissuetude, and the removal of which
could do no good to the Church.
Dr. BA YFORD followed, and in the first instance
read an elaborate pessage from " Blackstone's Com-
mentaries," stating, after reviewing the old system,
that the right of nomination was solely invested in
the Crown. Ayline in his " Parrergom" corrobo-
rated this view, as well as other writers. The
Crown had possessed the power at an earlier time,
but all the text writers of eminence agreed that the
prerogative of nominating bishops was finally and
solely invested in the Crown by the statute of
Henry VIII. This reasoning was unimpeached and
unimpeachable. There was not a single word in that
statute crippling the favour of the Crown. The
Learned Counsel then cited authorities to show that
no direction to inquire into the fitness of the person
commanded to be elected accompanied the letters
patent, and contended that the whole proceedings
were merely formal anti immaterial.
(The case was proceeding when our report left.)

A curious instance of the sagacity of the fox oc-
curred on Monday, in the course of a run with the Duke
of Rutland's hounds, when reynard, finding himself more
hardly pressed than met his views of self-preservation,
jumped on the wall at Crorton Park, and after running
on the top for some distance, gently slipped down be-
tween the wall and the ivy with which it is overgrown.
The pack cleared the wall and the fox together, and
were immediately at fault, and all the efforts of the
huntsman by casting his hounds round in every direction
were useless. The trick was observed by a man who
was lulling turnips in a field adjoining; but he had
humanity enough to let the hounds get clear away before
he disturbed the lodger in the ivy, who will doubtless
afford another day's sport.
Anmissios or Soucrrons.—The Master of the
Rolls has appointed Friday, Jan. 28, at the Rolls' Court,
Chancery-lane, at a quarter-past three o'clock in the
afternoon, for swearing solicitors. Every person de-
sirous of being sworn on the above day must leave his
common law admission or his certificate of practice for
the current year at the Secretary's office, Rolls-yard,
Chancery-lane, on or before Thursday, the 27th inst.
The Marquis of Bute, instead of following the pre-
/lining mania of prizes for pigs, offer:: largesses for the
beet kept hedges on his estates.