The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-04 00:00:00

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SMALL DEBTS ACT, AND lo vicr Li:
INJUSTICE OF CLAUSE 128, C,.‘,.1.14E1, "
• CURRENT JURISDIC 'ION WI 1..11 1..1 PE
COURTS."
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—As Parliament shortly assemOie, will you do
'me the favour of calling public , ttention to the above
Clause? Whether left as part of the Alt as en engine
for the advantage, enrichment, and oppressive use of
many petty lawyers and discounters I know not ; but
thus-much I can say, that I have been a severe suf-
ferer in the shape of law costs, paid to five times the
amount Of the debts I owed, and being a man with a
, large fatally, struggling with the difficulties of the
World, it has cost me many hours of anxiety and
trouble. And n 9 doubt numerous others have shared
the same fate, to the enrichment of a set of petty
lawyers, who rake from the books of tradesmen small
debts, due by persons resident twenty miles apart
from their creditors, and under the above section are
still at liberty to sue and 'charge their full costs,
'which in my- case has been for debts averaging from
al. to 51. The costs paid from 50s. to Si. each.
"Surely, if we are to have a law, the creditor is the
*an to be studied before the lawyer, who in my case
took
y especial care to have his costs paid down before
Le would consent to give me breathing time. Busi-
tea; may flourish with some, but it was not the case
_With me, as I had to summon numerous customers to
''.loll the rapacious lawyer, and thus have I destroyed
lo it great extent my own and family's existence ; and
doubtless, in seven cases out of ten, it is " want of
means,„ not dishonesty, that retards payment. The
'ounty Court, so far as it goes, has certainly a very
.Proper and, merciful jurisdiction placed in the judge,
'and no private person (lawyer) ought to possess a
'Power optional within himself to create his own gains
at the cost of his country and the increase of
'Pauperism.
In case of three 6/. bills, I found that although I
,paid them to my creditors they had at maturity found
their way into a lawyer's hands ; and no sooner
due than down came writs. On applying to a soli-
obtained the information, and further, that it
had: become a practice with professionals of the com-
mon grade to obtain the loan of a friend's name resi-
31ent twenty miles from London, for the express pur-
pose of carrying the interpretation of this clause in
the Act oUt to the letter, and that many entirely de-
pended upon this valuable privilege for their living.
I give verbatim the part alluded to, Sec.
`AI2B And be it enacted, that all actions and pro•
feedings which before the passing of this Act might
Nye been brought in any of her Majesty's superior
Courts of Record, where the plaintiff resides more
!Awl twenty miles from the defendant, &c., may be
Drought and determined in any such superior courts
at,the election of the party suing or proceeding, as if
this Act had not been passed."
If this clause is to remain the law of the land then
the Petty lawyers and bill discounters will ever pray ;
but God help the poor man placed at their merciful
consideration, much, I imagine, alike to the wolf and
to lamb. I am, Sir, yours, &c.,
A VICTIM TO THE 128TH CLAUSE.

REGIS, JAR. 2.—This morning, about two
Dec Qcxy wind S.W., it blowing a tremendous gale, the coast-
tart! on duty, about two miles to the westward of this port,
diosej,ve4a light from some vessel on shore, when he imme-
eqsanwed a blue light, and fired several times, which
"c crew answered by three cheers. He hastened as fast as
1 339:itilbOltle,to
when,nteain, assistance to rescue them from their perilous
on returning, the vessel was a total
I°es ;' crew all perished. Fragments have since been
e'ed up, which prove her to be the Angeline, of Ouistream,
"=2 tons register. A black coat, with a pair of gloves in the
Potket,' and some wooden shoes, have also been found. Up
to.the time of post, no bodies had been found.—Shipping
`tncl 2111reantile Gazette.
DREADFUL OCCURRENCE.—On Christmas night, a
dreadful occurrence took place within six miles of Kilrush.
tußridget Haugh dressed herself in man's clothes, and having
blackened her face, went to her father-in-law's house to have
some diversion. Her brother-in-law was taking care of the
°llB%, as his father was not at home—he had a loaded gun in
his hand and when he saw as he thought the man blackened,
~ presented the gun at his sister-in• law and fired, and lodged
the
.contents of it between her shoulders. She died at once.
Pere' was an inquest held on her body, and the verdict re-
turned was—" Manslaughter against Michael Hugh, de-
teased's brother-in-law."—Limerick Examiner.

• --- -• •
NovEL BARGAIII.—A strolling beggar in this city
lately sold his son, a child about 14 years old, to Monsieur
Pablo Fanque, to be trained in equestrian feats. The father
received the sum of 2s. in consideration of the wound 'caused
to'his paternal feelings.— Cork Examiner.

LET OF SALMON FISHINGS AND MILLS.— 0 wing
to the last very unsoccessful season it was anticipated that
t6ere would be a great fall in the rents this year ; but upon
those of the Earl of Wemyss, which were exposed by map
an Friday last, the reduction was only about 2001. upon a
rental of 1,800/. The total amount this year was 1,588/.
There were a great many present, and considerable competi-
tion. For the Town's fishings there were no offerers, ex-
cepting for the small stations of Cully, Wheel, and Vennels,
which let at 441. and 26/., as they were exposed at a mini-
inum sum. The flax spinning mill in Mill-street, belonging
to 'the town, which has been occupied in Granaries for
several' years, was let to Mr. Hutton, at Cromwell Park, for
1651., on a lease of nineteen years. It is understood that a
Dundee firm is to establish a power-loom manufactory on the
Premises.—Perthshire Courier.

A SON THE HANGMAN OF HIS FATHER AND
411ozuEn.--The following remarkable case occurred during
the reign of Oliver Cromwell :--At the Derby assizes, a
'tinily, consisting of a father and his two sons, were tried,
convicted; and sentenced to be hanged, for horse-stealing,
When the Bench entertained the cruel whim, as there was
ellitficulty in finding a hangman, to extend mercy to one of
114 e Criminals, on the barbarous condition that he sheuld
In& the other two. The offer was first made to the father,
tluen,lie inquired, in bitter anguish, " Was it ever known
at- a 'father hanged his children? How can I take away
tlyoso liveS whiCh I have given ?" He bowed, gave up the
ler and his life. It was then made to the eldest son, who
tdecfiried to act upon it. The proposition was then made to
Youngest son, John, who accepted it with an avidity that
inettio tell the Court that he would hang half the creation
such terms, and- he performed the fatal work without
teraerse on Lis father and brother; and he acquitted himself
'With Si)
much dexterity that he was appointed to the office
• Public executioner, or. Jack Ketch, of Derby and several
.4 the neighbouring counties, and c. ontinued. in it to an ex-
Lre e
ni age. So void was he of feeling of distress, that he
leieiCed at murder for the sake of his perquisites—a guinea
and the bodies of the executed. "He.died," says Brady,
in his
non " Varieties Of Literature," about the year 1705, loving
e and beloved by none. He spent a lite of enmity with
114_, you he very children pelted him, and the mothe_rs_enn-
,ueaed to stop the infant cry with the name of John
Crossland."
._,PQG TRAINING IN MUNICH.—One afternoon J.
lu,(1 me that she heard a tremendous noise, the shouts and
screams of a man, and the terriffic howling and yelling of a
de, g• Out darted the gentleman from the studio, and out
rushed J., and there , in a largo adjoining field, through the
rind—for there had been a heavy fall of snow—a man raced
abl•
e.t• pusr sprang upon
an enormous dog, the fiercest brute imagin-
't
upon bim, it tore him, it shook him by the
hair of his head, it dragged him along the ground, the man
screamingond' the dog howling! Then they were up again,
and careering round and round the field, man and dog,
like wild beasts. J. was horrified beyond words, and to J.'s
indiscribable indignation the gentleman looked quietly on
and smiled. What could ft mean? To her it seemed a
fearful ,murder. But no ! it was only the training of a
Watch -dog ; and a very frightful business it must have been,
,tho Ugh very grand to witness, the gentleman declared.
bt e man wail all bound up, so that the dog could not pessi-
,J injure him materially ; but his head and face, with their
'flOtful bandages, suggested no other idea than that of
I"unds;.Whlch made him look all the more dreadful. These
fierce - dogs, thus trained, are necessary as security against
91TherS •
bMany people keep them ; there are two at the
ut I have noticed nothing very ferocious about them.
ears this nu de of training dogs is not at all unusual,
lanugh the trade I should think not particularly agreeable.
.I",chati'B "Household Words."
7,11 AN CROLY BOAT ACCIDENT AND LOSS OF LIFE.
La. ",ust.P-ster Allen, blacksmith, and David Inglis, joiner,
lift"' °slanging to St. David's, :were proceeding on Monday
Iranentoen in a, boat from that place to Cramond with scrap
A"ing hauled close to the land on the south shore, a
,i7n squall struck the boat off Barabugle, when she im-
ro,enately filled and went down, leaving only the tip of her
atllho-ve water., To this the poor fellows instantly clung.
quikli',llo4Wever, being an expert swimmer, shortly rain-
yr'hold, and struck out for the shore ; but after
h.7.-ag proceeded a short distance, finding his strength failing
e rant back to his companion, whom he reached in a very
Zl--austed state, and was by him manfully supported for a
insjderable time, till at last all the efforts of Inglis to keep
end'a head above water proved unavailing, and on a
fe'wnaven boat reaching them shortly afterwards, it was
entrd.that poor Allen was quite dead, and Inglis in a very
eboerchied condition. They were immediately conveyed on
was, past lintinedical aid promptly called in. Allen, however,
ali4,l?.astall recovery, and we regret to learn has left a widowre
!alt children children to lament his untimely loss. Inglis, we are
° is in a fair way of recovery.— Glasgow Daily
Pax 114,, ,'o4l` AT THE LONDON AND NORTH-WEST:
4„
eurred on. STATION, MANCHESTER.--An accident oc
London at g" Year's Day to the mail train which leaves
Chester
sat 2. 4.31, as it was entering the station in Man-
11417thvvreelaci,,
bittl;r7•st., which led to several passengers being
Tanh:Pl,:fa.:oneagaiofnthm.em were seriously or dangerously
Arn • 7,"rain had stopped for tickets to be collected at
motion, and. passing the points
• ce, South Junction line, when the engine ran off the rails
and "Y at the points, taking with it the tender, luggage van,
shiwthe isetena
-class carriage. The motion of the train was
, but this check to its progress was sufficient to throw
oned Passengers in the second-class carriage from their seats,
than %etl of them were shaken and bruised. A lady, gen-
, and a Soldier of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, were the
''.Passengers, however, who it was necessary to furnish
iltival aid to. - The lad had three teeth damaged, the :ritlernan had a cut across the nose, and the soldier a slight
ceration across the temples. They were all able to proceed
to their destinations after their wounds had been dressed
wtoithout further inconvenience. The cause of the accident
,tild not be satisfactorily ascertained ; probably it was a
,sliftlit accidental obstruction at a particular point which
tanned the wheels of the engine aside, andwhich no ordinary
care would•have prevented.
FRENCH FISHERMEN.—Ninety boats of Boulogne,
*f ,478 tons, with 979 men on board, have been this year
tngaged in the herring fishery on the coast of Scotland; they
ave brought !some 17,866 tons of salt herrings.
▪ tRoSSING THOROUGHFARES.— Mr. Weld, of the
4070 SoCiety, in a letter in the Builder, says—The terribly
crowded condition of our great thoroughfares renders the
erciSsing of them at all times a difficult and slow business,
atlid*Ame.tinles even a dangerous performance. Permit me,
• ur'?9gh.your medium, to suggest the expediency of throw-
!ng" light east-iron bridges over the most frequented cross-
esl!lgsh 'bridges might be divided longitudinally a
ilt fence or railing, to enable parties to pass to and fro band
2C.IS to theta Might easily be gained by a double spiral
s,atrcase. By this means our thronged streets might be
crossed in safety, and without exposure to the unctuous mud,
file• 1e those who preferred risking their necks by threading
. carri'ages, &c., to losing the few moments of additional
'nue 'required for .ascending and crossing the bridges, would
still Be at perfect libert7 toa 40 so.