The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-22 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

WHAT CONSTITUTES A CHARITY ?—ln the Court of
Appeal a question has been raised respecting the will of
the late Mr. Benjamin Oliveira. The testator made certain
specific bequests to several societies and institutions, and
the question was whether the Royal Society and the
Royal Geographical Society, which were among the
number mentioned, were charities. Their lordships were
of opinion that these societies were corporations founded
for purposes of general utility, and therefore came within
the statute of mortmain, and the disposition of the
property was ordered to be made accordingly.
THE SCULLER'S RACE. —ln the Court of Queen's Bench
an action has been brought to recover £3OO, the amount
of the stakes in a sculler's match between Sadler, the cele-
brated waterman, and Kelley, the champion of the
Thames. The case had previously been tried at Guild-
hall, before the Lord Chief Justice, when a verdict for the
plaintiff was returned. The question was, whether the
referee, who was not present, had authority to award the
stakes to Kelley, on the ground that Sadler refused to row
over the course. It seems that Kelley did not properly
deliver the referee's order to Sadler., and thus took an
undue advantage of his opponent. It was argued that the
decision of the referee was final upon whatever grounds it
was based, but the Lord Chief Justice decided that as no
race was run the stakes ought not to have been given up
to Kelley, and the rule was therefore discharged.
AN AWKWARD CHARGE.—At the Mansion House, on
Thursday, Mr. Edward Simpson, a merchant, was again
brought up on a charge of having, within three months of
his bankruptcy, obtained goods to the value of £l,OOO
under false pretences. The case is not yet completed, and
the defendant was released on bail.
A WELL-DESERVED PENALTY.—Two more keepers
of
refreshment-houses in the neighbourhood of the Hay-
market were on Thursday summoned at Marlborough-
street on charges of having sold exciseable liquors without
the necessary licenses. In each case the magistrate
inflicted a penalty of £l2O and the costs.
CATTLE PLAGUE PRECAUTIONS.—SeveraI slaughter-
house keepers have been summoned at Bow-street Police-
court for having infringed the provisions of a metropolitan
cattle plague order by neglecting to forward to the police
the market passes authorising the removal of cattle. In
one case the summons was dismissed on the ground that
the defendant was neither the proprietor nor the licensee
of the premises on which he slaughtered his beasts ; and
in two others fines of £5 and £1 on each summons were
inflicted.
A POLITICAL LIBEL.—An action is to be brought in the
Court of Queen's Bench against the proprietor of the
Leiceter Chronicle for a reported libel arising out of the
late election. A Liberal named Smith bad been fined by
the county magistrates for an assault on a voter on the
other side, upon which the Chronicle had a series of articles
attacking the bench for political partiality. The court
thought the comments went beyond legitimate criticism,
and granted a rule.

A New York paper says :—" Queen Olga of
Greece walks the streets of Athens with her baby in her
arms, stops and talks with all the mothers she meets, and
compares babies with them."
The Liberals of IVednesbury intend celebrating the
return of Mr. Alexander Brogden, as the first member for
the borough, at a public dinner, to be given in St. George's
Hall, West Bromwich, on the sth proximo.
The nomination for RenfrewEhire has been fixed

by the Sheriff of the county for Monday next, at Renfrew.
As the Home Secretary's candidature has been unopposed, his
election may to expected to take place on that day.

A few days ago Mr. J. Heaton, of Kearby, near
Wetherby, accidentally ran a needle into his thigh on tak-
ing a seat in his chair, but it was subsequently extracted.
Mortification afterwards ensued, and, despite the most
strenuous medical Efforts, has since terminated fatally.

Mr. John Tatham, the agent and manager of the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company, has disappeared, not

baying been seen since Saturday. The directors have natu-
rally caused inquiries to be made into the state of his
accounts.

A report is current that the Senior Wranglership
at Cambridge will this year be carried off by a gentleman
of Trinity College, to whom the Master and Seniors
will not be able to offer the reward of a Fellowship,
inasmuch as the abolition of tests is not yet the law of the
land.

Defensive works are being constructed on the
north-east frontier of Hungary. Eperies is first to be forti-
fied. It is situate at the point where the roads leading from
Galicia cross each other, and is a post of the highest strate-
gical importance, commanding both Austrian and Russian
Poland.

MOULD TO SOW THE SEEDS IN.—When Chief
Baron Lyndhurst, on the Home Circuit at Croydon, was
trying a man for coining, the principal witness was a
gardener. On cross-examination the counsel for the
defence said to the witness, ," So you went to sow the
seeds of this prosecution ?" " No," said his lordship, "he
went to find the mould."

THE CHURCH ASSOCIATION AND THE RITUALISTS.
—A. correspondent writes :—" Will you kindly allow me
space to warn all incumbents who still continue the use of
lights on the altar, that I haveheard on the best authority,
through a leading man of the Church Association, that
that society intends to send a representative to each
church on Sunday next, and will prosecute in every case
where lights are burnt? They say, 'We have got the

law ; why not use it ?' "
DIRECTOR-GENERALSHIP OF THE NAVAL MEDI-
CAL SERVICE.—Dr. Bryson, C. 8., whose term of office
has expired, has, it is believed, resigned, and is only hold-
ing. on until the appointment of a successor. Several
inspectors-general are named as likely to be considered
eligible for the vacancy, especially Sir David Deas,
K.C.8., Dr. Davidson, C. 8., Dr. Armstrong, and Dr.
Salmon. The latter may possibly be promoted over the
heads of his seniors, who, however, have, independently
of seniority, good claims on account of service and
popularity.
WORCESTER CATHEDRAL GREAT BELL.—A new
mode of tolling great bells has just been applied to the
4-ton bell lately cast by Messrs. Taylor, of Lough-
borough, for Worcester Cathedral, and recently hung there.
The bell has been hung on a new plan, which, with the
clock and peal of twelve bells, is designed by Mr. Denison,
Q. C., and gives a new effect to bells which are too heavy to
be rung in the usual way. The gudgeons, or pivots, instead
of being round, are wedge-shaped, like those of a
scale beam, and roll on hard brasses very slightly hollowed.
The fi ietion is thereby made so little that this great bell
can be tolled easily by one man with one hand, and was
so toiled for service last Sunday by the Rev. H. T.
Ellacombe, of Topsham, who is a small man and in
his 80th year, as well as by Mr. Denison himself
and the Rev. R. Cattley, the author of the Worcester
Cathedral clock and bell scheme. It is actually
much easier than clappering, or pulling the clapper by a
rope, yet brings out the full tone of the bell much more
grandly. This tone is half a note below the fourth quarter
bell of the Westminster clock. The heaviest bells in Eng-
land might be made tollable in this way at a very small
expense, where most of them are only inadequately struck
by clock hammers or by clappering, which is the cause of
nine out of ten cracked bells. No wheel is required, but
only a long lever fixed to the stock. The gudgeons must
not be lower than the top of the bell.