The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY
_EVENING, JUNE n, 1M64

private one, consequently no extra saluting or cerempny has
he,pn ohserved.
superinteri.ant Hof the s:hetftipolltan Plialleand
as-
sistants are in attendance upon' the Prince during his so-
journ here.
The yacht built for the Emperor of Russia by Mr. Joseph
White; of East Cowes, a splendid schooner, was to Be
launched this morning, named, by her Majesty's especial
permission, " Queen Victoria." His Highness • the Grand
Duke and a brilliant party were expected to have been pre-
sent, but they were not.

THE ROBBER. By G. P. R. James.
" The Robber" forms the eighth volume of Mr. James's
works. This series, every volume of which is orna-
mented with an engraving. is wanting in some of the
necessary adjuncts of good pap, r, type, printing, and
" getting up." It will be very acceptable to the author's
admirers, who will be able to procure all his works in a
compact form, and when we consider his prolific power,
it must certainly be an advantage to have them in one
volume instead of three.

THE MARCHIONESS OF BRIN VILLIERS.
By Albert Smith. Standard Novels.
The history of the celebrated " poisoner of the seven-
teenth century," which for many months interested and
appalled the readers of the. Miscellany, now appears in
the neat and attractive form of a standard novel. The
name of the author will be a sufficient passport to many
who are acquainted with his more genial and attractive
compositions; and the title itself will charm, and the
contents will not disappoint, the lovers of the horrible,
from which class, hcwever, we beg to be excepted.

LITERATURE. LAW INTELLIGENCE.
WESTMINSTER REVIEW. No. LXXXIX. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, June 10.
:.'Outs great fifingl philosoper, Professor ratrqtipys • (Sittings in Banco.)
whose researchea upon themost primitive elements of THE QUEEN V. SHARP.
the physical sciences have acquired for Min a more than (Continued-fromur Afternoon -Edition ef-yesterdays)
At the close of the argument, the Coeur, after reviewing
European celebrity, receives in- this -number- of the
the..,whp.ls_ease, agreed that it did not come within their
Westminster Review an instalment of that approbation
virtueurisalcotfioll the vicaresol being an ecclesiastical officer, and in
to which his genius and his labours have entitled him, or and presiding officer in all
and which, if denied by the niggardly spirit of his matters relating to thee
capacity not amenable to theh iurilisediwctlon tohfertehisf?re,Coiucrt.th_at
contemporaries, will be unstintingly' awarded by pos-
terity. Unlike many of his predecessors, Faraday has ;Rule discharged accordingly.
abstained almost entirely from theorising; en hypothesis,
however specious, or however feasible, has possessed no
charms to him in comparison with those appertaining to
the acquisition of novel data. .Acting upon the largest
principles of inductive philosophy, he has tested the ac-
curacy of his suppositions before admitting them into
his calculations. With Leonardo da Vinci, he has ever
regarded " theory as the general and experiments as the
soldiers." Indeed, what we are the more inclined to
regard as admirable in the scientific advances of Pro-
fessor Faraday is the cautiousness of his admission of a
truth rath( r than the brilliancy of the truth admitted.
Rejecting that impatience with which the immortal
Kepler endeavoured to hurry an effect to some suppo-
sititious cause, Faraday has nevertheless partaken in
some measure of the capacity for suggesting schemes as
skeletons for first discoveries which so particularly cha-
racterised that most wonderful man ; in this manner
both philosophers possessed a hypothetical imagination.
As we have just intimated, however, the imagination of
our English experimentalist is in a great measure suc-
cumbed, or rather modulated by the interposition of a
stern and inflexible prudence. Circumspect in the ac-
knowledgment of a conjecture, he has invariably given
that conjecture some degree of form, and solidity and
character by the most industrious analysis before he has
even dreamed ef venturing upon its publication. And
from these very circumstances, from his captious treat-
ment of mere theories, from his repugnance to pro-
nounceupon any unfamiliar phase in natural philosophy,
before it has been elaborately tested and scrutinised in
all its bearings, an announcement from him, however
startling, or however contrary to all previous experi-
ence, comes upon us with peculiar weight. Incredulity
is seared away by a consciousness of the announcer's
reverence for mathematical precision, and his intimate
acquaintance with the rules of logic, as well as with the
laws of matter. On these accounts our sentiments were
restricted altogether to those of astonishment on the
declaration of Professor Faraday, which started before
the scientific and the general world towards the close of
1845, that a hitherto unknown affinity existed been
light and electricity—that if those two great forces were
not absolutely identical, they possessed a subtle correl-
lation with each other, and in proof thereof, he (Pro-
fessor Faraday) had succeededin magnetizing and elec-
trifying a ray of light, and in illuminating a magnetic
line of force ! Wonderful and prodigious as was the
nature of this professed discovery, we were neverthee
less fully impressed with the actuality of the truth,
not from any blind credulity in the progression
of science, but from a recollection of that cha-
racter for accuracy in the elucidation of philosophical
fact which our illustrious countryman had acquired.
For many long and arduous years of experiment and in-
vestigation, Dr. Faraday has been pursuing in silence his
inquiries as to the nature of the analogy between these
two marvellous departments of nature ; for years he had
maintained silence; and not until a few years since, when
the matter was throughout proven by experiments as
simple and beautiful as the fact which they tended to
demonstrate, did the discoverer divulge the nature of his
discoveries. This we conceive to be a pattern to all
who would aid in macadamizing the road to knowledge,
to all those who have the real interests of science at
heart, to all those who would expound even the smallest
of those unnumbered mysteries with which we are sur-
rounded in creation, and the subtlety of which have as
yet baffled the research of the most astute intellects.
To these important events, the first paper in the West-
minster Review is devoted, and the history of the disco-
veries which preceded, and relate in some measure to
those of Professor Faraday, is given with singular per-
spicuity, while the ,manner of the writer evinces his
hearty relish for the theme. With the intention of in-
troducing his commentaries upon the recent assertions
of Faraday, the author prefaces them with a rather
microscopic narrative of the progress previously effected
in this division of science. From the time of Pytha-
goras and Pliny the loadstone has attracted, not only
fragments of iron, but the attention of every successive
philosopher ; nevertheless, it was not until 1200 that,
according to Di Vitri, we find this strange phe-
nomenon applied to the purposes of navigation,
through the medium of its polarity. Again, it was not
until as recently as 1590, that a surgeon of Rimini, am-
bitiously christened Julius Caesar, detected the fact that
all ferruginous substances contained a certain amount of
magnetic power. That the magnetic fluid, or power
contained in these bodies was composed of particles re-
pellant to each other, " inversely as the squares of the
Gistance ;" and that the particles of this fluid and the
principles of iron possessed a reciprocal attraction each
to each was an hypothesis reserved for the ingenious
mind of Epinus, in 1759. No further advances whatever
towards the development of magnetism appear to have
been made until 1800, when Coulomb defined, with the
assistance of the torsion balance, " the correct law of
magnetic attraction and repulsion ;" he proved that the
magnetism of iron was merely superficial, and so forth.
In 1820 Ersted discovered the connecting link between
electricity and magnetism. Such are the broad outlines
of that preliminary history to which we have referred,
and from a perception of the somewhat narrow boundaries
which had been overleaped in the organisation of data upon
so wonderful a field in science, the adva!ntages which
must ultimately accrue from such discoveries as those of
Dr. Faraday, are obvious. Having demonstrated " the
magnetisation of light, and the illumination of magnetic
lines of force," philosophy will not tarry long upon the
mere threshold of one amongst her noblest structures ;
she will advance boldly to its still hidden mysteries,
cheered on by the success with which her votaries have
been already crowned, and yearning for the practical
employment of her revealed secrets, as a motor in some
definitive manner. With the asserted discoveries of
Baron Rickenbach, to the effect that magnetic patients
have beheld in darkened rooms " a luminosity like a
moving flame at the poles of an electric battery, and
around powerful magnets," we must acknowledge we have
but a comparatively feeble sympathy ; and, but that
the translation of these " Researches" bears the sanction
of Dr. Gregory's signature, we should have rejected them
as altogether fictitious. The paper under notice should
be perused very generally ; it is teeming with informa-
tion, and is penned in a generous and popular strain.
"The Tendency of Puseyism" is a copious retrospect of
the tractarian movement, but the dogmatism of many
sentiments in the disquisition we conceive to be rather
clumsy and inadmissable. "The Lost Senses" is a
charming review of a publication, written by Dr. Kitto,
upon the most melancholy calamities of body to which
humanity is subjected. With all deference to the
amiable Doctor, we regard the comparative wretched-
ness resulting from blindness or deafness as peculiarly
afflicting, according to the idiosyncracy of the patient,
not from any inherent preponderence in the one or the
other. Deafness to Beethoven must have been a more
horrible privation to that musical Titan than possibly
the loss of all his other senses combined ; whereas blind-
ness to Milton, who had loved the glorious phases of
creation through his visual organ, must have possessed a
proportionate intensity. The argument, however, in
either instance is solemn. and of ineffable melancholy.
" The Oregon Question," with " Railways and Metro-
politan Improvements," are singularly elaborate and in-
structive articles : in both the writers are intimately
versed in their different subjects, so that to all who are
ignorant of the merits of our American squabble, the
former will prove a most comprehensive informant, while
to those doubtful as to the influence of railway specula-
tions upon our large towns, but especially upon our
vast metropolis, the latter will enable them to form a
definite opinion. Number eighty-nine, though not quite
so glorious as the ninety-eight of the Corn Bill majo-
rity, will be welcomed as of a kindred spirit.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER, June 10.
The Court was engaged all day till half-past five o'clock
on motions, none of which presented any matter for a report.
(Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Westminster, before Mr. Baron
PARKE and Common Juries.)

RAILWAY COMMITTEEMEN,-LAW U. WILSON.

This was an action for goods sold and delivered and sup-
plied to the defendant as a member of the provisional com-
mittee of the Southampton, Petersfield, and London Direct
Railway Company. The sum sought to be recovered was
58/. 17s. 6d. •
Mr. Jervis and Mr. Cole conducted the case for the plain-
tiff, and Mr. Hoggins (with whom was Mr. Rawlinsor.) ap-
peared for tbe defendant.
It appeared that in the month of September in the past
year a scheme was got up by Mr. Duncan, the solicitor, to
construct a railway from Southampton to Petersfield, and
then on " direct" to London. On the 30th of that month
Mr. Duncan and the other solicitors wrote the following
letter to the defendant :
" 72, Lombard-street, Sept. 30, 1845.
" Sir,—At the request of Mr. Bradley, we forward you a
prospectus of the Southampton, Petersfield, and London
Direct Railway, and shall feel obliged by your informing us
whether you desire to have your name inserted in the list of
the provisional committee of the Company. " We are, Sic."
In . reply to this letter the writers obtained no written an-
s partyttformer
r t o
er; but a few days after it had been sent, although the
habitation, whom
ithatdhebedere,feandddarenstsecdahllaedd a
rertohse-edc:ffifrocem
and
o
stated that he should have no objection to be a director of
the company. The clerk er
letter, " Agreeable to be a directo"oliendorsed on the
and presently an allotment of 50 r. The company went on,
shares was awarded to the
defendant as one of the provisional committee. The defend-
ant, however, not only never took up the shares,
es, but
never took any notice either of the numerous lettersar
official reports and papers which were constantly being and
for-
warded to him from the company's office. By-and-by the
railway market became under the influence of the panic, and
then the managing committee—for there was a managing
committee, consisting of some 16 or 18 persons—thought it
useless to proceed with the undertaking, and at once
turned their minds to the consideration of the ques-
tion as to which would be the best way of winding
up the concern, and liquidating the debts which had been
incurred. The result of this deliberation was a resolution
to return 255. per share out of the 21.25. deposit to the
shareholders, which was subsequently done, and that each
provisional committeeman should be called upon to contribute
the sum of 351. as his fair proportion of the expenses incurred.
Accordingly a letter, containing the resolution, and solicit-
ing the payment of the 351., was sent to the defendant, but
of that communication he took not the slightest notice. In
the end, however, the present action was brought by the
plaintiff, one of the creditors of the concern against him in
his character of a member of the provisional committee of
the company.
On behalf of the plaintiff's case there was, under these cir-
cumstances, a failure in proving that the defendant had
given his written consent to become a member of the pro-
visional committee, and that he had, upon any occasion,
acted in the conduct or management of the affairs of the
company. Thus far the case bad proceeded, when the
Learned Baron was compelled to rise on Tuesday.
Mr. HOGGINS now addressed the jury on behalf of the de-
fendant, and at the outset denied the statement made by his
Learned Friend, that his client had, like the other members of
the provisional committee, been in the habit of receiving
his two guineas per day for his attendance at the • office,
and for the best of all reasons, that, except upon the day
when he had given his consent to become a director, he
had never been near the concern. Neither had he, like those
who had taken part in the proceedings of the company, be-
nefited by the premiums which had been gained upon the
shares. He should throw himself back upon the question
which had been left to the jury in the case of "Barnett v.
Lambert "—namely, "did the defendant render himself
liable for the goods supplied in consequence of his having
given an express consent or an implied consent by personal
communication or in writing" to become a provisional com-
mitteeman, and to become, in common with others, responsible
and liable for the debts of the company? or did he give such
an authority to the secretary of the company as could bind
him to the consequences of any acts of what now appeared
to be a select managing committee? But he contended that
in the present case the question was not as between the
creditor of the company and the defendant, but between the
managing committee, who, in strictness, were liable to every
claim, and the defendant. The use of the plaintiff's name
was a matter of form—a mere blind, for the real plaintiffs
were the managing committee. The main question in the
case was as to what was the meaning of the consent which
the defendant was stated to have given? Was it not that
he consented to become a director, and in which character
it was quite clear he meant to become one of that body
which was to take the control and management of the affairs
of the company, and not ene of a provisional committee,
whom, without having any control over either the arrange-
ments, or the incurring or not embarking in large liabilities,
it was now attempted to render liable? That was the simple
question, he apprehended. Well, then, it was quite clear
that he had not given any consent to become a member of
the provisional committee, and, therefore, that being so, it
was beyond all doubt that he was in no way liable for the
debts which the managing committee had thought proper to
incur. He submitted, therefore, that the defendant could not
be held liable. _ - . .

Mr. Baron PARKE, in leaving the case to the jury, said, it
was in the first instance necessary for the plaintiff to make
out that there had been an express contract entered into by
the defendant in person, or by his agent, and that it was
only upon such ground that be could recover. The question
was, whether the person who entered into the contract
with the plaintiff, was the authorised agent of the party who
was sought to be made liable? There was no doubt that
in the first instance the claim was upon Brooks, the secre-
tary, but if that party contracted the debt as the agent of
another, then the question arose as to whether the defendant
was that other. In the present instance the plaintiff, there
was no doubt, could have brought his action against Brooks,
or against the managing committee, but he had not chosen
to sue either of these, against either of whom he could have
had no•difficulty in proving his claim, but rather chose to
select a member of the provisional committee. The acting
committee had abandoned the concern, and had then made a
claim upon the provisional committee. But the managing
committee had clearly made themselves liable for these
debts, for they it was who had conducted the concern, and
had authorised the contraction of debts. But, so far as the
jury was concerned in the present case, the question was,
whether it had been made out to their satisfaction that the
defendant had rendered himself liable by consenting to be-
come a director. That consent was clearly not in the terms of
the present form of action in so far as the description was con-
cerned. The defendant consented to become a director, not a
provisional committeeman, and the promoters of the company
or the managing committee had thought proper to make him
that which, as far as the evidence went, he had not con-
sented to become. The jury, before they could make him
liable to this claim, must be satisfied that he had given his
consent, of had meant to become a member of the provisional
committee; and, further, that in that capacity he had in-
tended to take upon himself all the responsibilities which
the managing committee might think proper to incur. Then
there was another matter fur them to take into consideration.
The defendant, it was admitted on the part of the clerk of
the company, had not only not taken up shares, but had
never acted as a committeeman, or had taken the most re-
mote participation in the business. He did not accept the
settlement of 50 shares; he had in no way interfered in the
concern, nor had lie attended any meeting, and he had re-
fused to answer or take any notice of the numerous letters
which had been sent to him from the office of the company,
It, moreover, appeared that the provisional committee had
had no power to interfere with the managing committee. If
the jury were of opinion that the defendant had not given
his consent to become a provisional committeeman, there was
then an end to the case. There had been no evidence offered
to show what the duties of the provisional committee were,
but all bad gone to establish the responsibility of the ma-
naging committee, and that those parties were responsible
for all acts and debts they incurred, either by themselves or
by their agent.
, The jury returned a verdict for the defendant.
Mr. Baron PARKE then said, that it was not to be sup-
' posed that, because a man allowed his name to be inserted in
' the list of provisional committeensen, he made himself re-
• sponsible for every act or every liability of a managing corn-
mittee, unless it could be proved that he had acted in the
conduct of the concern.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
BO W-S TREE T.
The widow of Thomas Blewitt, the unfortunate man who
died a short time since from the effects of the gun• shot wound
inflicted by John Graham, in Drury-lane, applied to the
sitting magistrate, Mr. Henry, to relieve and advise her in
her present distressing situation.
The applicant, who was attired in respectable mourning.
stated that she was dependent upon the wages of her hus-
band dur!ng his lifetime, for the support of herself and child
—a girl about seven years of age—and had now no means
of living ; she was therefore anxious to get a little money to
place herself in a small way of business.
Owing to the suggestions of Mr. Mace, the chief usher,
and a police inspector in Court, his worship was induced to
question the woman at some length as to her habits and
general character, it having appeared that she was convicted
and fined at this Court, about four months ago, for mis-
conduct. She denied that she was in the habit of, drinking,
but admitted that foj a considerable period she did not live
with her husband. This, however, she attributed to his
misconduct, and not her own. She stated that they went to
Hong-Kong together, about five years ago, and that her hus-
band, after getting into debt, absconded from her, and left
her in China unprotected. A subscription was there got up
for her, and she returned to England by the ship Tory,
Captain Johnson, at whose trial, in November and January
last, she appeared as a witless at the Old Bailey. At this
time she again became acquainted with her husband, who
called upon her at her lodgings, but it did not appear upon
what terms they lived together, if at all, up to the shocking
occurrence in Drury-lane.
It would be unfair to state the allegations on either side
at present, but enough transpired to show that they did not
live happily together.
Mr.into HENRY,th e
matter, therefo
and reportre,deputedthe e
the
rusherst
of in
to makes v eafsu
inquiryll
t
gation next week.
HAMMERSMITH.
After the night charges weree
Hislop, of No. 3, Lansdown- a Fcluisiphoasd. merooaf,d, Mr.
was Hardyplaeed
the sitting magistrate, on a
cahtarthgeebaorf behavingfore3vliro.
laGtedChethe person of Caroline Mathews,
his servant. of No. 23, Thavies Inn, Holborn,
Caroline Mathews, a rather pretty-looking young woman,
for Todd,the solicitor,priso ner.
deposed that she was now living in James-street, Larkhall-
at tend. ed
lane, Clapham. On Friday last she was living in the service
of the prisoner, at No. 3 Lansdown-villas. On that night
she retired to bed about eleven o'clock, leaving the
prisoner, her master, down stairs. She undressed, and
bad been in the room about twenty minutes before she got
into bed. She had not been in bed above two minutes before
the rrisoner came into the room. He was undressed with
the exception of his shirt. Mrs. Hislop, the prisoner's wife,
had left home, and gone into the country on the previous day
(Thursday). The prisoner said to witness, "As we are in
the house together, we may as well sleep together." Wit-
ness told him that he should not, and that she would tell
her mistress. Witness had, on seeing the prisoner enter the
room, jumped out of fru!, and was trying to run out of the
room, but the prisoner would not let her, and said he did not'
care for her mi.tress. Witness struggled with him, but he
• took hold of her and threw her on the bed. The witness,
tben stated circumstances tending to show that he sue-
t ceeded in attaining his objeet.
By mr, clayz--Witnesa tried to push him away and