The Sun.
London, England, 1804-05-16 00:00:00

DISORDERLY HOUSES.

Two persons of . the name of Lauder, were in-
ditaed for keeping a disorderly house, upon the Sta.
tute of Geo. Ij. for preventing such abuses, which
enatls that those convided of such offences, besides
imprisonment, shall be liable to pay a fine of tool.
The Prosecution was carried on at the instance of
the Society for the Suppression of Vice.
Mr. Morgan, one of the Members of that Society,
having heard that an assembly was held twice a week
in Roll's.buildingi, Chancery-lane, for the purpose
of dancing, called at' the house, and purchased a
ticket from the Defendants-. Conceiving the as-
sembly to be of a licentious and disorderly nature,'
he gave information to the Society, and Officers
were procured from Hatton Garden, to take the
Defendants into custody.
Mr. CONST, Counsel for the Prosecution, pro_
flounced an elaborate panegyric on the Society for
the Suppression of Vice. He then entered upon
the circumstances of the -case, from which he en-
deavoured to prove, that this was little else than
a place where people of every description were
admitted, and where riot and licentiousness pre-
vailed, to the great prejudice of the lower orders of
the community.
From the general tenor of the evidence for the
Prosecution, it however turned out, that the place in
question had been for a long time in the possession
of the father of the Defendants, who is a Dancing Ma-
ster ;- that Dancing Assemblies had been regularly
held there, but that no disorder had .prevailed, and
that the whole was conducted with decency and pro.
Fiery. _ _

Mr. GURNEY, made an able speech in behalf of-
the Oefendants, in which he observed that his Learn-
ed Friend appeared to have had instructions to praise
the Society for the Suppression of Vice. It put him
in mind of an Attorney, who pralised a great deal
on the Western Circuit, wh'o constantly concluded
his Briefs with the words, " pray, Sir, abuse the. At-
rorney on the other side !" He then entered upon
the general views of the Society, and had no doubt
that the motives of many individuals who were
concerned in it were laudable, but at the same
time, he contended, that from the encouragement
it afforded to Informers, it promised soon to be-
come a greater nuisance than any of the disorders
which it was designed to suppress. Praise, when
undeserved, he said, was' only the severest of satire :
and he put it to the Jury, whether any praise was due
for this Prosecution. He then•adverted to the evi-
dence; and contended, that the Law, as applied by
Lord. KENYON, did not bear upon this case. The
Chairman was of the same opinion, and the Defen.
dants were accordingly acquitted.

DESCRIPTION OF CAERWENT.
FROM A 'TOUR IN MONMOUTHSHIRE.)

ITS present appearance has nothing respeaable or
inviting, yet it deserves every, attention that cap be
bestowed by the antiquarian or lover of those scites
memorable for having been the scenes of magnifi-
cence, genius, and heroism. Roman greatness has
at thin place shone with a splendour little inferior to
any other part of the kingdom; fragments of stately
piles, and innumerable coins and medals, have been
found, to prove the consequence this place has borne
among their stations.
It is situated on the Via Julia, or military road,
which, Camden informs us, was made in the year
80, by Julius Frontinus ; but now few are the re-
mains whereby it can be traced ; the walls which
inclosed the fortified space may still be ascertained
by close investigators, and those parts which are
distind, exhibit, perhaps, the most perfett remnants
of Roman masonry in the kingdom, and prove the
judicious means they used to render their works as
lasting as could be done by human perseverance.
Some idea of its original strength may be formed
by a part, nearly ten yards long, and of the whole
thickness, which has separated from the rest and
completely rolled over. Leland, who was here in
the sixteenth century, says, it had then the appear-
ance of having been " sumtyme, a fair and larg'e
cyte;" that the " places where the rt r r gates
was, yet appeare ;" and " in digging they finde
fundations of great brykes, tessellata pavimenta,
and numismata, argentea, simul et area."
British histories of the central ages are in general
silent relating to Caerwent, nor are the Welsh
writings very communicative, and the spot which
was originally occupied by numerous Roman edifices,
are substitued by few houses, cottages, and a church,
all of which were apparently raised from the frag-
ments and facirv,s of former splendour ; and, in all
probability, where ro,ooo souls have inhabited,
there afe not at this time more than son persons.
This was the Venta Silurum of Antoninus, and
is supposed to be the capital of the Silures before
tile Roman conquest ; afterwards it was considered
to have held its dependence on Caerleon, to which
ptice there is a tradition, that it had also a commu-
nication by a subterrancous passage, whose entrance
was from a lane which still retains the name of
Arthur.