The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-01 00:00:00

to be atternoted to be sa up on the Northern Cir-
cuit. He understood that an attorney had been
instructed to prosecute and had prepared a brief for
counsel ; but as it was supposed from what the de-
fendant had eaid before the magistrates that he
Would plead guilty, the taxing officer, Mr. Compton,
acting under the rules and directions issued from
the Treasury, had refused to allow the attorney his
costs fdr preparing a brief, or. a fee for counsel.
His Lordship—Does any one prosecute ?
Mr. Blackburn said a brief was just then handed
to hire, but he was not instructed, and no fee was
marked.
His Lordship—Do you appear to prosecute ?
Mr. Blackburn said he did not, but merely held
the brief.
The Churchwarden of Tynemouth here stated that
he had been bound over to prosecute, and had in-
structed Mr. Kidd, an attorney, to prepare a brief
for counsel and take the necessary stops to prove
the case against the prisoner. A brief had been
prepared accordingly, and was ready to be delivered,
when be had that day been informed by the taxing
officer that under the new taxing rules, as the pri-
soner was expected to plead guilty, the costs of pre-
paring a brief and a fee to counsel would not be
allowed.
His Lordship then directed that the depositions
should be handed to the junior counsel in court, to
examine the witnesses.
The depositions were accordingly handed to Mr.
Church.
It was then proved that the prisoner had been
married to a woman named Parker in August, 1856,
anti that the woman he then married was still alive.
Evidence was then given of his marriage at Tyne-
mouth on the 25th of January last.
On cross-examination by the learned counsel for
the prisoner it was elicited that the prisoner's first
wife had been in a female penitentiary before his
marriage with her, unknown to him ; that after she
had been married to him a month she went off with
another man, and had since led a dissolute life,
and it was reported she had since married again ;
that the prisoner's second wife was aware of all the
facts, and being under the impression that the
second marriage of the prisoner'sfirst wife had freed
the prisoner she had married hirn—:-this prosecution
had not been instituted by her.
Mr. Davisoa on these facts left the case in his
lordship's bands.
His Lordship baying summed up,
The jury found the prisoner Guilty, and
His Lordship said, he thought the justice of the
case would be met by sentencing the prisoner to one
week's imprisonment.
The whole of the criminal business was got
through in the course of the afternoon.

The civil business, which consists of an entry of
seven causes, will be commenced on Monday before
both their lordships.
The above discussion about the allowance of costs
has created a good deal of comment at the bar.
It is understood that a scale of allowance for attor-

net's, fees for counsel, and expenses for witnesses
is being prepared which is wholly inadequate to
remunerate the former or to reimburse the latter.
Is this a new scheme in order to make out a case
for the appointment of public prosecutors ? Cut
down the costs allowed to the attorney to such an
extent that it is worth no respectable man's while to
attend to a prosecution ; make the fees to counsel
so miserable that they cease to care about criminal
business ; pay the witnesses so little that they are
out of pocket for their expenses, and will, as a na-
tural consequence, avoid coming forward on all oc-

easions to give information or tender evidence
because to do so is to inflict a flue on themselves in
the shape of expenses which they will not get paid,
besides loss of their time ; then, in all probability,
a case will be easily made out that the administra-
tion of criminal justice in the country is inefficient.
Numerous instances will be ready to quote of crimi-
nals who have escaped justice because the attorney's
olerks or constables sent with briefs to counsel (it

not being worth while for the attorneys to come
themselves), from ignorance of what was required
to be proved to establish their cases, have not had
the requisite proofs ready. Counsel for miserable
fees will sot throw that zool into the oases which they

ought to do, and witnesses will not be in attend

ance because they cannot afford to lose both time
and money. When a goodly number of criminals
have escaped justice through this careful economy
(bit real extravagance), then my Lord Campbell will
be in a condition to bring these facts before the House
of Lords as establishing an unanswerable case for
the appointment of public prosecutors all over the
country. The plan is an ingenious one, and, should
it be carried out, the mind which conceived it may
possibly be rewarded by one of these public appoint-
ments. The folly of such a course of proceeding,
so far as the securing the due administration of jus-
tice is concerned, is but too apparent.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT, NORTHAMPTON. Feb. 27.
This being the commission day and the Lord
Chief-Justice Campbell occupied in trying the case
against the directors of the Royal British Bank, Mr.
Justice Coleman proceeded to Northampton and
opened the commission at 3 p.m.
In the county gaol are 15 prisoners-2 charged
with shooting, with intent to do grievous bodily
harm ; 1 with burglary and stabbing ; 1 with break- '
ing and entering a church and stooling a commu-
nion cloth ; 3 with arson ; 1 with uttering false and
counterfeit coin ; 1 with embezzlement, and 6
larceny. In the borough gaol are 9 prisoners, 3of
whom have each two bills of indictment preferred
against them. One of these is a solicitor charged
with having obtained from the Lords Commissioners
of her Majesty's Treasury the sum of 381. 3s. by
certain false pretences, with intent to defraud.
There is a further charge against the same prisoner
of having committed wilful and corrupt perjury in
an affidavit made and swornbefore a Commissioner
for taking oaths in Chancery. There are three other
cases of obtaining money or goods by false pre-
tences, two embezalements, and five larcenies.
On the civil side no case has yet been entered.