The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-03 00:00:00

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY, U.K.—
LECTURES and LAW CLASSES, 1869-70.
LECTURES (6 to 7 p.m.)
Three Courses of Lectures on Conveyancing and the
Law of Real Property, Equity, and Common and Mercan-
tile Law, will be delivered in the Hall of the Society, in
the months of November, December, January, February,
March, April, May, and June next.
LAW CLASSES (4.30 to 6 p.m.).
In connexion with the Lectures, Classes will be con-
ducted under the guidance and superintendence of the
Lecturers, and will proceed concurrently with the Lec-
tures. The number of subscribers to each class will be
limited, and the instruction giv, n will bo confined to an
examination of the students upon the subject of a proced-
ing lecture, or on portions of a given book bearing on the
same subject. A sufficient number of classes will follow
each lecture, and be of such duration as shall provide for
the efficient instruction and examination of the students.
The teaching of the lectures will thus be amplified, and
impressed on the memory by the classes; and the system
of constant examination will test, from time to time, the
progress made by the students.
Lectures on Conveyancing and the Law of Real Property,
by Howard Warbiirton Elphinstone, Esq.,
Farrister-at- Law.
The Course will consist of Nine Lectures :—Lecture 1,
Introductory. The Theory of the Law of Real Property
Treated Historically ; 2,3, Purchase Deeds ; 4,5, Mort-
gages; 6,7, 8, Family and Marriage Settlements; 9, Com-
mercial Conveyancing.
The Lectures (with the exception of the first) will be
rendered as practical as possible.
Books, recommended for beginners:—Williams' Law of
Real Property. Davidson's Concise Precedents. Black-
stone's Commentaries, Vol. 11., for Advanced Students,
Tudor's Leading Cases on Real Property and Convey-
ancing, Davidson's Precedents and Forms in Convey-
ancing.
Lectures on Equity, by Fitzroy Kelly, Esq., Barrister-
at-Law.
The Course will consist of Nine Lectures upon the fol-
lowing subjects:—Lecture 1. Review of the Equitable
Jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery ; 2, 3. Specific Per-
formance of Contracts, Relief afforded in Cases of Acci-
dent, Mistake, and Fraud; 4, 5. Foreclosure and Redemp-
tion of Mortgages. Charges and Liens; 6, 7. Husband and
Wife, Infants ; 8, 9. Trusts and Trustees ; and (if time
permit) Administration.
In the Private Classes the subjects of the Lectures will
bo examined more in detail, and the practice of
.the
Courts will be e, plained.
Books recoil-mi.-need to beginners :—Hayncs' Outlines
of Equity, Smith's Manual of Equity, and Hunter's Suit
in Equity.
Lectures on Common and Mercantile Law, by Henry M.
Bompas, Esq., Barrister-at-Law.
It is proposed to treat the subjects in the following order:
—Lecture 1. The Sources of Law. The Persons who are
subject to the Law. Absolute Rights of Persons, such as
the rights of Personal Security and Liberty ; 2. Absolute
Duties and their Breach, including the Law relating to
Negligence, Fraud and Malice, and the Law of Libel ; 3,
4. The Law of Contracts and the Rights derived from
them ; 5, 6. Relative Rights of Persons, not arising from
Contract, such as the Legal Rights arising out of the re-
lations of Husband and Wife, and Master and Servant ; 7.
Rights over Things, such as Rights of Ownership, Ease-
ments and Liens; 8. The Transfer of Rights and Duties,
including the Law of Bankruptcy, and the Devolution of
Property; 9. The means provided by the Law for the
Protection of Rights, and Enforcement of Duties.
The Subscription payable for the Lectures :
For all the For each
Three Courses. Course.
By clerks of members £2 2 0 £1 1 0
By clerks of gentlemen not
members 3 3 0 1 11 6
By all other persons not being
members
The Subscription payable for the Law Classes:—
For all the branches For each
of Instruction. branch.
By every subscriber
Members of the Society may attend the Lectures without
subscribing.
To prevent interruption at the lectures, subscribers
cannot be admitted to the Hall after the lecture has com-
menced.
N.B. Gentlemen may subscribe for, and attend the
lectures and classes, either separately or collectively ; but
as the instruction given in the classes will have special
reference to preceding lectures, it is recommended that
those who desire to attend the classes should also attend
the lectures.
Address on the Origin and History of the English Law, by
John Marshall Hayman, Esq., Barrister at-Law.
Before the above Courses of Lectures are commenced an
Address will be delivered by John Marshall Hayman, Esq.,
Barrister-at-Law, in the Hall of the Society, on " The
Origin and History of the English Law."
Mr. Hayman proposes to trace, so far as the limit of time
will allow, the origin and history of some of the leading
principles of the English law. He will invite attention
chiefly to that element of our system which is derived from
the law of the Roman Empire.
It may be convenient to take at least one illustration
from each of the main divisions of our law which are the
subjects of the Courses of Lectures about to be com-
menced.
The proposed illustrations are:-
1. The Derivation of our System of Equity from the
Jus Prmtorium of Rome.
2. The Law of Contract, and particularly of Bailment.
3. Title by Prescription.
Time will not allow of more than very brief reference
to the other great element of our system, which is of na-
tive or feudal origin.
The Address will be delivered on Monday, the Ist No-
vember next, at 5 o'clock; and, in addition to the mem-
bers of the Society, all clerks now serving under articles,
whether subscribers to the Lectures and Classes or not,
will be admitted gratuitously.
E. W. WILLIAMS, Secretar.y
Law Society's-hall, October, 1869.

LONDON, FRIDAY, DEC. 3, 1869.

Truth is stranger than Fiction, is a well-known
saying, and every now and then it is exemplified in
some curious occurrence or startling revelation. It
is no exaggeration to say that the capture of a re-
nowned swindler in Philadelphia has disclosed facts
and unravelled mysteries which, if mentioned in the
pages of a sensational romance might well have called
forth incredulity, and awakened ridicule. The
author would have been told by some matter-of-fact
person that he had better not try to depict things so
differently from what they actually were, and that
in the world of common sense his sketches were
visionary and vague. It has, nevertheless, been
shown that the nineteenth century contains many
dupes, and that one man may be dexterous
enough to make many victims. SPRAGUE, whose
career has been brought to so ignominous a conclu-
sion, contrived to play many parts in the world's
stage, and may be considered an adept in the science
of letter writing. It may be questioned if his victims
will coincide with the opinion of the poet who said
that " Heaven first in its mercy taught mortals their
letters." Perhaps the news of the defeat and capture
of this too successful strategist comes upon us with
all the more force that for some time past the public
have not been much molested by the intolerable tribes
of begging-letter writers. SPRAGUE may claim some
pre-eminence among the class, and he cannot be re-
proached with being " not half a villain," for he went
into his work with a will, and achieved most signal
triumphs in his novel branch of the art.
There is something most revolting to the feelings in
the whole scheme that is before us, and to have car-
ried it out in its entirety demanded an unscrupulous-
ness and an indifferenee to the commonest sentiments
of humanity that are not often heard of, and could
not be surpassed. To trifle with the good name of
the dead, and to traffic on the genial thoughts and
affectionate goodwill of the survivors are objects
which one who sets before him must be ashamed to
contemplate himself. The ingenuity of the plan is
apparent at first sight, and it was not surprising that
it should have answered in some cases, but the wonder
is that so many fell into the trap to so great an ex-
tent. For two years the privacy of those whose sor-
row should have been sacred has been intruded upon,
and their friend's characters traduced and their pro-
perty endangered to aid the purpose of a crafil and
dexterous assailant. SPRAGUE has declared in his
confession that be made three thousand pounds dur-
ing the period of his letter system. Of course he
has during his career of crime tried his hand at many
things, but this epistolary correspondence with the
dead was the most successful of his strategems. The
ingenuity with which he planned, and the zeal with
which he carried out his schemes were indeed worthy
of a better cause, and might, if directed to the pur-
suit of an honourable purpose have won him fame
and fortune. He chose the crooked path, however,
and must reap what he has sown.
It is as well to draw what moral we we can from
such an insight into the dark deeds of the corrupt
and crafty, and the lesson in this case is one
which he who runs may read. Had the
individuals to whom these begging letters were ad-
dressed exercised more prudence they would have
been rescued from much annoyance, and also
escaped a considerable pecuniary loss. The swindler
was at last caught through the foresight of a gentle-
man, who opened his communication to a departed
relative. SPRAGUE was imprudent enough to send a
reply to the carefully worded letter, which acknow-
ledged the receipt of his first application, and the
failure of his scheme was the result. The strange
thing is, not that one person suspected wrong, but
that others should not have discovered before that
evil existed. Let the warning not be lost for the
future. Another SPRAGUE may not spring up
in this generation, but there are plenty of
cheats abroad, and plausible tales are told with
great force and fluency. A little patience
and a slight investigation may often serve to prevent
an undesirable consummation, and in all cases it is
wiser to make inquiries before commencing a system
of doles and donations. By boldly facing the worst
a better solution of the difficulty is often met with,
than by tamely waiting for things to take their
chance, or by submitting weakly to the imperative
demand of the grasping. This accomplished swindler
has verified the truth of the saying, be sure your
sin will find you out, and it is most satisfactory to
think that his infamous career has been cut short to
all intents and purposes so far as the pursuit of his
roguery is concerned. He who spared not the
mourner cannot hope for commiseration, and he who
traded on the character of the dead must
not expect the world of living men to
have much patience with him. The ignominy
which attends his career may well deter
others from following in his track, and the ex-
posure of his schemes should encourage people to be
wary, and trust not to appearances. The admirable
arrangements by which he was at last discovered
reflect the greatest credit on the American authorities,
and those criminals who persuade themselves that the
Atlantic rolls between them and the arm of aveng-
ing justice, may awake some day to find that it has
er ved as the means of communication between their
victims and their judges. The sooner the criminal
finds the honest men of all lands united together
against him the better, and the fewer and less fre-
quent will be the transgressions of a similar character
to that which has been recorded.

The Cork and Limerick magistrates have found
it necessary to issue a proclamation forbidding all
gatherings and processions, and warning all persons
who take part in street demonstrations that they will
be dealt with summarily. Such is the unwelcome
announcement which greets us at the close of the
year 1869, in which England has deliberately made
one of the greatest concessions to the Irish which
have ever been asked from her. The aspect of affairs
in the sister country is, it must be admitted,
very discouraging, and unfortunately the Govern-
ment appear scarcely equal to deal with it. Mr.
GLADSTONE'S unwise lenity to the Fenian prisoners
was incalculably productive of mischief. Like savage
nations, the reckless insurgents attributed lenity
to fear, and mistook an overstrained desire to
conciliate the disaffected for a sense of weak-
ness and of incapacity to resist them. They
could not, or would not, enter into the re-
finements of political magnanimity, but they
saw and recognised the plain fact that open and
acknowledged law-breakers, who, without any ex-
tenuating circumstances, had deliberately imperilled
the lives and fortunes of peaceable citizens, and defied
the authority of the Crown, were sA at liberty.
They naturally inferred that similar outrages would
produce similar results, that murder, and clamour
and treason would serve, not to bring the offend-
ers to the gaol and the gallows, but as
instruments to extort from her MAJESTY'S Ministers
those concessions which no lawkeeping loyal subject
of the QUEEN could expect.

The intemperance of language, the rub and hasty