The Sun.
London, England, 1804-05-15 00:00:00

MONDAY, MAY 14.

THE KING V. RICHARD BENTON, WM. SMITH,
THOMAS HALL, RICHARD fiALL, AND JOSEPH
GRANGER.

Those five persons were convicted of having as.
saulted and obstructed an Excise Officer in the dis-
charge of his duty ; they were also brought up to
receive the Judgment of the Court, which was, that
Joseph Granger should be imprisoned for the space
of months in the gaol of Cornwall.
Thomas. and Richard Hall to pay a fine of col.
each to His Majesty, to be imprisoned in the gaol
of Maidstone for three months, and to find security
in• 2001. each for their future condud.
Richard Smith and Richard Benton to he im-
prisoned in the County of Susstx gaol for three
months each.

judgment was pronounced against the Messrs.
Lee, rtintea of the Lewes Newspaper, called the

Stissex Advettise6 wlio were csinvkied
Assizes held for the county of Sussex, of printing
and publishing, partial.. arid libellous ac.counts of
homicide, for which,a Revenue Offlcer was indicted,
capitally, tried, and acquirted. The fixst.publication
tended direaly to prejudice the. Public mind against
the accused. The 'second publication condemned
hirn, by stigmatiiing his acquittal. Judge dROSR,
in animadverting on .the offence, drew a sound dri.,
tinEtion between the Liberty of the Press, which he
extolled, and its licentiouSness; which he reprpbat
ed. The Defendants were sentenced to six months
m ,
imprisonent. . _

•:.,

COURT' OF CHANCERY, MAY IL

BEFORE THE LORD CHANCELLOR.

Exparte DUFF, AND ex parte STARKE and,OTHE
IN T;HE BANKRUPTCY OF ROBERT KENNETT..
THIS is one of the most important eases which
has for many years occurred in the administration
of the Bankrupt Law, and one of peculiar interest
to persons in the situations of bankrupt, assignee, or
solicitor: This is the third time it has come before
the Court ; and in order to make our report intelli-
gible, we shall shortly state the circumstances of
the case, and the decisions upon the further peti.
Lions.

The bankrupt; Robert Kennett, carried on trade
1 as an unpholsterer, in Bond-street, many years pre.
vious to the year 1796, being then possessed of a.
house, which he himself occupied, worth Sciodt.
but mortgaged to the amount 430001. only. •,
An action being brought upon the mortgage botei
and a bill of foreclosure filed; the house was put
for sale,, and bought in at the sum of 50001. The
bankrupt, between the months of May and ,Odobee,
in the year 1796, had, to the knowledge of his brie_
ther, Vincent Kennett, committed several acts of
bankruptcy. Upon the house being bought in,
Vincent Kennett offered to Pay off the mortgage;
upon an agreement being entered into between hi!
brother, the bankrupt, and hiiii, which should be en
framed as to give him, Vincent Kennett, 'interest at
the rate of ten per cent. To effed this, an absolute
conveyance of the mortgaged premises was accorri.:
ingly made by the bankrupt to Vincent kennetr, for
the suns of 40001. it being agreed between theM,
that he, Vincent Kennett, should execute a lease of
the premises to the bankrupt for the term of twenty-
one years, at the rent of .4001. per annum, and
should also sign an agreement to reconvey the pre-
mises so pretended to be sold to him, upon repay_
meat of 40004. ; but this agreement was never re:
duced into writing, in consequence of which, Vine
cent Kennett refused, to execute the lease, and in,
sisted upon his right to the prnperty, as the absolute
purchaser of it. The bankrupt was also the owneit
of some houses in Albemarle-street, winch, subse
quenc to the acts of bankruptcy, alledged to have
been committed in the year 1796, were conveyed te
one Brown, without anj stainable consideration, and,
who had since become a bankrupt. The house in
Bond-street had been since lett by Vincent Kennett,
at the rent of 5861. a year.
Robert Kennett's affairs becoming much emu
barrassed, a commission of- bankrupt was taken ofl,
against him, in the year !Sant, under whiCh Brackl4
Kennett, another brother of the bankrupt's, 34
one Dyer, were chosen' assignees ; but in consel
quence. of their miscondnd and collusion with the
bankrupt and Vincent Kennett, a petition -vas pre_
rented, praying that the commission might be super:.
seded, whiCh the Lord Chancellor ordered to be
done, at the expence of the assignees and the bank.+
rupt, for the purpose of destroying the bankrupt's
certificate, being of opinion that the whole was con..
duded in fraud, and eeidently for the purpose of
defrauding the bona file creditors.
In consequence of this first commission being
superseded, a second commission was sued otir
against Robert Kennett, under the description of
Toothache Cuter, Dealer, and Chapman ; Duff, one
of the present petitioners, being the petitioning cre.
ditor, on a debt of 1081. due to him, for the main.,
tenance and education of the bankrupt's children.
Under this commission, two creditors, Parlby and
Playfair were chosen assignees, at the instigation,
and, by the contrivance of Henry Kennett, the, bank.
rupt's son, who had obtained a power of attorney
from Parlby, a very old man, almost childish, and
totally incapable .of attending to or understanding
any business, and who resided at Portsmouth. Play.,
fair, the other assignee, was also a man entirely un.
der the guidance of the Kennetts, being an uncerti.
fleeted bankrupt, and discharged from prison under
the At to relieve Insolvent Debtors. Henry Ken-
nett, ailing 'under the power of attorney obtained
from Parlby, received different sums of money be.
longing to the bankrupt, Playfair not all intermed-
dling with the affairs.
In August 1803, several of the creditor!, who
had proved debts to the amount of 13001. presented
a Petition to the Lord Chancellor, praying that this
second commission might be superseded, on the
ground of the prior ads of bankruptcy, committed
by Robert Kennett, in the year 1796; this cum_
mission being grounded upon the same ads as the
first commission, which had been superseded.
Upon that Petition coming on to he heard, the
Lord Chancellor expressed great doubts whether
it was not a fraudulent attempt to get rid of the
commission, and refused to supersede the commis.
sion, until it should' be completely ascertained by ,
the verd.id of a jury, that ads of bankruptcy, al_
ledged to have been committed in the year 1796,
could be made out, and his Lordship, therefore,
diretted issues to try, tst, Whether the bankrupt,
Robert Kennett, had committed any, and what ads
of bankruptcy, in the year 1796, or prior to those
on which this commission was grounded ? and,
idly, Whether he was indebted to the petitioning
creditor, in a sufficient sum to support the corn.
mission ?

Three Petitions were rioettf .prevented, which, by'
order of the Lord Chancellor, were all three heard
at the same time.
The firs: was the petition of Duff, who had sued
out the commission, and it prayed that the order
made in August.rBo3, direding issues to try the
ads of bankruptcy, might be discharged ; and that
Parlby might be removed from being an assignee,
on the ground of his inability to aEt. The splorzet
was also a petition of Duff, and twenty-seven other
creditors, praying that both ?ark and Playfdic

!

• y

urn."
Mr. TiiOM ox,' far Playfair....•--" My client ob.
j:.6.ts to his removal only in the charader of a credi.
tor. He is now, doing his duty with the utmost
diligence, and has been doing so ever since he di3.
cove:al the Itaudolent conduit of the Keunetts, for

" Duff, the petitioning creditor in this commis-
sion, is a creditor fo- the education and maintenance
of the bankrupt's children ; and I must say, that it
has been a bold attempt in him, with all these com-
bined forces against bun, even to persevere so tar in
attempting to extratt payment of his .debt.
" With respett to Parlby, it certainly is a matter
of surprite, that he should be per►nitted to execute
any such Letter of Attorney, for he was evidently
incapable of executing his own affairs; much , more
of undertaking those of others.
" It is necessary in such cases as the present to look
at hotises and dates. On the 14th ot May was the
meeting for the choice of assignees, and this, ac-
cording to the entry on the proceedings, was• at-
tended by Henry Kennett for Parlby, by Charters,
Brackley Kennett, Starke, Ker, and
Sandy ; these very persons chase Mr. Parlby and
Playfair assignees ; these very persons petition to
supersede the commission, when Mr. Henry Ken
nett and Playlair quarrel ; and these very ►cisons
now come and l etition for the removal of those
assignees, which. they themselves chose at the
meeting on the t4th of May. Can it. b... said,
that these creditors did nut choose assignees un-
der this second commission, with a full know-
ledge of all the, circumstances which had attended
the superseding of the first ? Were they, .or could
they by possibility, be ignorant that I superseded
the first commission, because I found it engen_.
dered, nurtured, and matured in fraud and here
let me declare my solemn opinion upon the point
which has been ,properly suggested by Mr.
have no manner of, doubt that the
combination or conspiracy in any shape, of any
number of men, to prevent a commission of bank-
rupt from having its due eireft, of distributing all
the bankrupt's property for the benefit of the cre-
ditors, is a most serious crime and misdemeanor,
and one which I trust will be soon punished with
the utmost severity of the law. And here let ine
advert also to the conduCt of those who are Solici-
tors of this Court. Let me tell them, that it ill
becomes that purity of charatter which this Court
expettts to find in all its Ministers, to Site them
meddling in transactions 'subversive of pr►nciples
ti,on which a Court of Equity is bound t.Q act. iS1)(1
I cannot here avoid most particularly desir►ng the
attention ot the Attorney-General' to see whether

LONPOP: Printed by BUCHANAN NPNIII,I—XN, (of bow-Street, C(orent-Uarcien); and
At .he Suri-OFm Jug, Mi. I z, Strived ; where Advertisements, Orders fur

After Thursday next the Public will, begin to
think about the new Administration; at present all
their thoughts are engrossed by the Lottery : every
one who has a Ticket or Share is expedlng to catch
some of the numerous Capital Prizes with which
the Wheel abounds. Those who have not a Share
should purchase before Wednesday night, as on
Thursday morning, at nine o'c:ock, one of the two
20,0301. is sure to be drawn, and perhaps in the
course of the iiay another 20,0)01. a ro,eool. two
or three 50031. &c. Sec. The Wheel is richer than
ev'e'r was known when there were only four days to
draw,

(oiishect by WiL:.14.1.1 ARNttaxg. SCRIPPS, (of South Melton-street, Gresvenor-square);
be raper, Letter, tor the Editor) &c, (pm-paid), must be addressed.

COAL EXCEIANGE,
Best Coak, in'the Pool, per Chaldron
Delivered to Housekeeper s at
Sunderland, per Clialdron
Delivered to Housekeepers at