The Sun.
London, England, 1867-11-28 00:00:00

THE REFORM LEAGUE.

Last evening a meeting of the Council of the
Reform League was held at their rooms in Adelphi-
terrace; Mr. Beales in the chair.
Mr. HOWELL (the secretary) read a letter from
the Irish Reform League, enclosing a resolution—
thanking the English people for their generous
efforts to save the lives of Allen, Larkin, and
Gould, whose execution they considered contrary
to the true interests of the Government, and con-
trary to the wishes of the great majority of the
people.
The debate on Mr. Lubey's motion was resumed.
He protested against the assassination of Italian
patriots by foreign soldiers on Italian soil, and de
daring the author of the atrocities committed by
foreign soldiers against the brave volunteers at
Nlentana to be guilty of one of the greatest
massacres which had disgraced Christianity.

Ait. WESTERN said he heartily approved of the
resolution, and it was carried with loud cheers.

Mr. DILL moved that the cordial thanks of the
council be given to the electors of Manchester, in
the return of Mr. Jacob Bright, and in the triumph
of the principles of the League.

The motion was carried.

Mr. GUEDALLA stated that at the next meeting he
would call the attention of the council to the repre-
sentation of working men in Parliament.
Mr. WESTERN gave notice that at the next meet.
ing he should move a resolution for organising a
demonstration to Hyde Park, to express sympathy
with the relatives of the executed Fenians, and to
condemn the Government which hanged them.
The proceedings then terminated.

PRICE 4d.
STAMPED sd.

TtiE CLIFTON ASSAULT CASE,.

At the Shire Hall, Nottingham, yesterday,
Samuel Marsh, police-constable Walker, William
I Southgate, and John Barrow, appeared on a sum
mons charging them with assaulting Mrs. Tyers,
wife of Sir Robert Clifton's gardener, on the 11th
inst. Mr. Lees conducted the prosecution, and Mr.
Cranch was for the defence. Sir Robert Clifton
was present, and the court was crowded. Ann
Tyers, the complainant, said that about 4 o'clock
on the 11th inst. some persons came to her house
at Clifton. Her husband was from home. The
persons who came were the four defendants, and
Walker told her not to put herself about, as he
would pay for the damage done to her things. The
defendants then cleared the house of the furniture.
Complainant was lying on a piece of carpet on the
hearth. Her house had been partly cleared on the
day previous. They (the defendants) got a spade
and took the fire out of the grate. Southgate and
Barrow then got hold of her arms, and Marsh and
Walker pushed her out of the house. They then
locked the door, and complainant went away. Wal-
ker threatened to take her to the lock-up if she did
not go away. In cross-examination by Mr. Cranch,
complainant said her husband was Sir Robert Clif-
ton's servant. They did not pay rent for the house,
but the rates only. Mr. Cranch submitted that the
complainant's husband having been dismissed by
Sir Robert Clifton, he had' a peifect right to' eject
him from the premises. The Bench said it must be
proved that Tyers was a tenant at will. Com-
plainant further stated that Sir Robert Clifton
came to her house on the Sunday previous to the
alleged assault, and said she and her husband must
be out of the house by ten o'clock the next morn- ,
ing. Sir Robert took a chair out of the house.
She told Sir Robert she would not go until the
money was paid which was owing to her, and said
to him, " Why don't you pay me for the milk, and
those sovereigns which I lent you ?" Sir Robert re-
plied that if complainant had sent a proper account
it would have been paid; and she answered that she
had sent twice, but had received no reply. Ed-.
rounds, one of Sir Robert's servants, afterwards
paid the account. When Walker came into the
hOuse there were only two chairs in the room. These
were taken away, and she then lay upon the hearth-
rug. Sir Robert Clifton sent a cart to remove her
goods. Witness hal another house in the village,
and the goods were removed there. She had said
that before she would go to the house in the village
she would drown herself. This house was not in a
fit state to live in. It was in a dilapidated state,
and they had spent £5O in repairing it. Mr. Lees
contended that they were not tenants of Sir Robert
Clifton, but of the Court of Chancery. Sir Robert
had no more right to go into that house than he
(Mr. Lees) had, as he paid no wagcs. The Bench
said the alleged assault had been committed assum-
ing that Sir Robert had power to turn the coin-
' plainant out, being a tenant at will. Mr. Patchitt
(magistrates' clerk) referred to an Act of Parlia-
ment in which it was stated that where the right of
possession was called in question the magistrates
could not adjudicate, but if au assault was com-
mitted, and the complainant pressed the charge, the
magistrates had only the alternative of sending the
case to the assizes or sessions. Mr. Lees said he
should press the case for trial, and Mr. Tyers, the
gardener, being examined, said he was engaged by
Mr. Haworth, the receiver, in the presence of Sir
R. Clifton. His wages were paid by Mr. Haworth,
but the orders for what work he should do were
given to him by Sir R. Clifton. There was a house
in the garden which he inhabited as part of his
wage. lie had a house in the village, which lie
left on being reappointed gardener. Sir Robert
complained to him of his misconduct, and told him
he must go away by ten o'clock next morning. The
magistrates dismissed the summons, the bench ruling
that Tyers having been engaged by Mr. Haworth,
in presence of Sir Robert, and having followed Sir
Robert's directions in the management of the gar-
den, he partook of the character of a servant rather
'than of a tenant. Mr. Lees said he should press
for a case, and the magistrates slid he might have
one on making application in the usual way.

PRESET TA7ION OF PRIZES TO THE
INNS OF CO UT VOLUNTEERS.

-e...

Last evening the first banqueting-hall of Lin-
coln's-inn was the scene of an interesting ceremony,
namely, the first presentation of prizes to the Inns
of Court Volunteer Corps, which was witnessed by
a most distinguished company. The meeting was
presided over by Lord Chief Justice Bovill ; and
among those present were Lord Cairns, Vice-Chan-
cellor Wood, Mr. Justice Keating, Mr. Justice
Willes (who wore his uniform as a full private in
the regiment), Mr. Justice Smith, the Solicitor-
General, Sir T. Kindersley, Sir Charles Locock, Sir
George Bowyer, M.P., Col. Wilkinson, Col. Sar-
gent, Col. Colvill (War-office inspector of volun-
teers), Captain M'Gregor (of Rob Roy canoe re-
pute), and many other public men.
The corps had paraded early in the afternoon for
battalion drill, and for a couple of hours before the
ceremony of the evening a good smart drill was en-
joyed by the six companies on parade. They were
marched to the body of the hall, headed by the
band, where they formed three sides of a square in
front of the platform, on which was displayed a
magnificent array of prizes, all the cups (and there
were many) being of solid silver. The cere-
mony commenced by
Vice-Chancellor PAGE WOOD, who came for-
ward and, on the part of the Hon. Society of
Lincoln's-inn,. welcomed the volunteers and the
company to that hall.
The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, who on taking the
chair was received with a general salute, addressed
the assemblage at some length. He expresssd the
great pride and gratification he felt at taking the
chair on so interesting an occasion, and he assured
the volunteers that his own presence and the pre-
sence of his brother judges was entirely owing to the
great interest they felt in this regiment. The judges
felt, and he concurred with them, that it was desir-
able to show. the profession—the younger members
of it especially—that in their view there was
nothing incompatible with the due performance of
the duties of the profession and the enrolling of
themselves as members of this corps ; and, moreover,
they desired to tell the young members of the
profession that they would be best fitted to fulfil
their duties at the bar by taking a position as volun-
teers. (Cheers.) The judges, and the heads of the
prefession, had ever been proud of their corps, and
had ever given their countenance to it. In this they
had only followed the general voice of the country ;
for all classes had seen. that since the institution of
the force, some eight or nine years, our shores had
not been again threatened ; and, more than this,
foreign nations had seen that the people of this
country were ready to shed their blood for the safety
and security of their land. (Cheers.) If it was
necessary, in olden times, for 300,000 volunteers to
stand ready to repel an invader, it was more than
necessary now to have an army of volunteers when
time and space had been annihilated, and an army
might be bet moving by the flash of the telegraph.
Every country was now filled with soldiers, and a
war might take place i►i which we might possibly be
involved, and this again rendered it necessary for
our young men to be trained to arms. Ile referred
to the Inns of Court Volunteers of the beginning of
the century, and, in terms of pride, mentioned that
it was most ably commanded by the great lawyer,
Erskine, who was at once the head of the profes-
:sion and of the regiment. lie also spoke of the late
Col. Brewster, to whose memory he paid a warm
tribute, and then proceeded to urge upon the young
members of the Inns the great benefits they would
experience by joining as volunteers, for, be said,
they would thus receive the benefits to be acquired
by steady exercise, and they would add to the

•(--/

_

(___-

/
prestige of the Inns of Court Corps After gOttie
further remarks, be concluded by telling the mem-
bers of the corps that they had, in common with
the volunteers of Great Britain, accomplished one
great object in assuring the safety of this country,
that they had carried out another great and good
purpose by uniting men of d;fferent ranks, and had,
by strengthening their arms at drill, prepared thFun•
selves for the occupations they were called upon to
fulfil.

The prizes were then distributed, and the fol-
lowing were the prizes and prize-winners:—
The Benchers' Cup, presented by the lion. S
ciety of the Inner Temple, was won by Stageaut
Locock,who also won the Battalion Challenge Cup,
given by the four Inns of Court. The Brewster
Challenge Cup, competed for between " company
tens," was won by Lieut. Turner. The Bat alion
Efficiency Prize was won by Private Pari3. The
Wimbledon Cup was won by Lieut. Pepys, the vo-
lunteer instructor of musketry to the corps. Ser-
geant Drake won a silver cup, competed for by
those of the corps with the 3d Cambridge who were
present at the Dover Review. Sergeant Witham
won a telescope for the best average shooting in all
competitions. The company prizes were won as
follows :—A company, Private Cope; B company,
Corporal Leeson; C company, Sergeant Ewen ; D
company, Private Bidder ; E company, Sergeant
Witham ; F company, Private Steele. A challenge
cup, presented by Major Lysley to the members of
the 1) company, was won by Private Wilkie.

Lord CAIRNS, on the conclusion of the ceremony,
proposed the thanks of the assemblage to the Lord
Chief Justice for presiding, and said he coull not
refrain from expressing his congratulations to the
members of the corps who had won those very
handsome and valuable prizes. It was a source of
great gratification to all who took an interest in this
dietingniahed.eorpe that Ito efficiency was.,kept up sq,r
well as it had been, and he trusted it would go on
now with greater efficiency than ever. The profi-
ciency of its members with the rifle, and the good
character of the regiment for drill in the field, were
sources of pride to the whole profession, and there
was no lawyer in the country but would deplore any
falling off iu these qualities. It was necessary for the
corps to recruit its numbers, and he looked forward
to every student who entered as a member of the
profession at once enrolling himself as a mein!)er of
the corps. It would not be a mere " case in point''
as showing that there was the highest example
if he instanced the fact of one of her Maj .sty's jus-
tices who was present in uniform as a full private
of the Inns of Court Volunteer Corps, and w1:0 thus
gave one of the best proofs of the reg,ird the pio-
Ls-lion had for this noble movement. (Cheers.)
Mr. Justice Small, in seconding the vote, sail
he thought the justices ought to return thanks for
being allowed to be spectators of so interestieg, a
ceremony. He could not believe that the corps
which drilled so long and continuously under his
chamber windows in Paper-buildings would e. er
fall off in efficiency ; but he could well understaud
that it was necessary for the young meinbers of the
profession to be called upon to recruit the rank'.
Ile assured these young members that the exertion
of winning prizes at drill and shooting would be
material assistance to them in winning the more
substantial prizes of the profession. (Cheers an I
laughter.)
Loud and long-continued cheers were then given
to the chairman and the justices, and

TIA CHAIRMAN called for a vote of thanks to
Vice-Chancellor Wood and the Hon. Society of

Lincoln's-inn.

Vice-Chancellor WOOD, in response, said the so-
ciety had watched with no little anxiety the progress
and position of the corps, and he confessed that bad
he been of a more acceptable age he should, like
Mr. Justice Wines, have been a more active member
of the corps. IL had often watched the cArps at
drill both on field days and oiler occasions, and ha
was glad to see that the regiment had always main-
tained its good reputation.
Three cheers were given by the corpi, and the
proceedings terminated with the National Anthem.
The excellent Laud of the regiment played many
appropriate selections of music.

-

" •