The Sun.
London, England, 1869-11-25 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

A LITERARY CASK—The singular case of "Pike v.
Nicholas," has been brought to a conclusion in the Court of
Chancery. The suit was instituted by the author of a
work called " The English and their Origin," for the
purpose of restraining the publication of certain portions of
the defendant's work," The Pedigree of the English People."
on the ground thAt it was a piracy of the plaintiff's book.
Both books arose out of a competition for the prize of
100 gUineas offered by the Welsh National Eisteddfod
in 1865 and 1866, on the origin of the English
nation. The plaintiff's essay was strongly recom-
mended for publication by the arbitrators in 1865, and
he brought it out in the sluing of the year following. The
defendant competed both in 1865 and 1866, and in the
second year his essay was favourably noticed. It was
published in March 186 i. Vice-Chancellor James thought
the defendant's work was in the parts complained of a crib
from the plaintiff's book, and granted the injunction. Their
lordships, in giving judgment, held there had been no such
use made of the plaintiff's book as would entitle him to an
injunction. At the same time the defendant should have
acknowledged his obligations. The bill must be dismissed,
lAA without costs.
TIIE FAMILY ENDOW3fENT SOCIETY.--Vice-Chancellor
James has given judgment in re the Family Endowment
Society. The society was formed in 1835, and was an un-
limited society, not registered under the Companies Act.
In 1861 it was amalgamated with the Albert, and
circulars were sent ronnd to the shareholders
and annuitants, announcing the amalgamation, t
which, however, the petitioner, General Poll-, had
not given a direct ausent. At the time of the
order to wind up the Albert Company, half-a-year's annuity
was due, and the petitioner sought to make the members
of the Family Endowment Society liable. The
Vice-Chancellor, in giving judgment, said that three
answers were urged in opposition to the petition-
1. That the petitioner had ceased to be a creditor of the
society; 2. That the society had ceased to exist before the
Companies Act came into operation ; 3. That the court
should leave the petitioner to establish his rights at
law. He was of opinion that the society failed
entirely in the first point of its defence, there
being no evidence of novation by the petitioner.
As to the second point he held that the society
had not ceased to exist; it could not destroy itself for
the purpose of prejudicing creditors, and the arrange-
ment with the Albert provided for its continued
existence. As to the third point, his Honour
held that he was not justified in leaving
the petitioner to bring actions all over the
country to find out the shareholders, &c. He must
hold that the respondents had failed to substantiate any
of their grounds of resistance, and the petitioner was
entitled to a winding up order ex debite justitie. The
petitioner would have his costs, and the costs of the
Albert Company must come out of its estate.
THE " PoßcuPlNK"—Arguments have been heard in the
Court of Queen's Bench for and against the rule obtained
in the case of the Porcupine, a Liverpool paper, for a libel
contained in an article on " Marine Coal Scuttling."
Reference was made in the article to the loss
of the Golden Fleece, which had formed the
subject of a Board of Trade inquiry, resulting, however,
satisfactorily to the owners. The defendant disclaimed
any intention of applying the article to the applicant, and
after proceedings were begun, a second article was pub-
lished explaining that the passages complained of had no
reference to the Golden Fleece. Rule absolute.

PROGRESS AND THE PAPACY.—A. religious
journal, Le Monde, sap it is well known that the Papacy
has been the originator of the greatest undertakings and
the leader of every movement best calculated to ensure the
progress of civilisation. According to this journal it was
a Pope, Sixtus Quintus, who first conceived the idea of
the Suez canal.

The ITgaro, which has been very hard upon the
successful candidate for the First Circumscription, con-
tains the following squib on the imperative mandate :
"An elector said to M. Rochefort, lam ready to vote for
you on one condition.' Which?" That you will promise
to find the body of Kinck pere.'" -

A JOURNALIST'S ANNOUNCEMENT IN AMERICA.—
It is evident that the editor of the Chicago Tribune must
take the first place among duelling editors. M. Paul de
Cassagnac pales his ineffectual fire by the side of such a
hero. The American editor finds it necessary to place the
following intimation at the head of his news :—" The
editor of this paper, in consequence of the number of
analogous engagements previously contracted, will find
himself, compelled till Easter, or Trinity, to refuse
challenges from his honourable adversaries, political or
otherwise."

TAKING Dnnis.—Thero is no custom which is
more annoying to quiet folks who go to lectures, con-
certs, or theatres, than that of "taking drinks " between
the parts or acts. The moment the first pause in the
performance occurs, away go an eager crowd of men,
a; if they bad but five minutes to live, and the loss of
a moment would be an irreparable misfortune. The
elucert or play is generally r:sumed before they como
rushing Lack, bringing with them a fine odour of
whisky or rum, and diotuibing decent people who can
manage to go an hour a': a time without recourse to the
bottle. It is merely the result of a habit of drinking—
the tipplers are not thirsty, but they must drink when-
ever thcy have nothing clan to do. Young men, at least,
ought to be ashamed be seen thus training themselves
to become dminkards. Their elders have the excuse that
they are the slaves of A habit which degrades all the truly
noble qualities of human nature, riel renders a man into-
lerablo to himself and odious to everybody else. It is very
easy to find out the topers in a concert hall or theatre.— •
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