The Sun.
London, England, 1835-10-28 00:00:00

COURT OF ALDERMEN

Yesterday a Court was held for the despatch of business.

FINES.
Alderman WILSON begged to call the attention of the
Court to what he considered a very fit subject of complaint.
He had been requested by a Committee to furnish them
with a return of the fines paid into the Court of Exchequer
in his shrievalty, but he found that he could procure no
such return, except as a favour from Mr. James, the
Secondary. Now, his name was attached to that return
without his knowledge or consent, and he was desirous of
knowing whether he could not demand a document under
such circumstances as a right ?
Alderman COPELAND mentioned, as a hint to his bro-
ther Alderman, that he had made a demand of the return
in his shrievalty as a right from Mr. Secondary Crowther,
and the demand cost him the sum of 1171.—(A laugh.)
Upon finding himself called upon to pay such an amount,
he went to the City Solicitor, who could give him no as-
sistance, but charged him 20 guineas more.—(Great
laughter.)
Alderman WILsoN should not be frightened by an ex-
pense of a few hundreds from trying whether or no he had
an important right.
Alderman COPELAND was informed, as a consolation to
him, that the sum of 1171. was neither more nor less than
the fees of the Secondary.
The City Solicitor was in possession of the return, and
would supply a copy. _

REGULATIONS OF THE CITY PRISONS.
*Alderman VENABLES presented, and Mr. Firth, of the
Town Clerk's Office, read, the Report of the Committee
of Aldermen on the subject of the prison regulations, in
pursuance of the Act of last Session, for effecting greater
uniformity of practice in the government of the several pri-
sons in England and Wales. and for appointing inspectors
to prisons in Great Britain, &c. &c.
The Report was agreed to, after some observations ex-
pressive of the approbation of the members of the existing
plan of using Newgate as a prison for the reception of pri-
soners before trial.

ATTACK UPON THE CITY MAGISTRATES.
Alderman T. WOOD rose to notice a most unfounded
and calumnious attack upon the members of the Court of
Aldermen. It had been introduced amongst the evidence
before a Committee of the House of Lords, and professed
to be the opinion of the Middlesex Magistrates, as it was
signed by Mr. Rotch, their Chairman. Alderman T.
Wood then read the following quotation, which had the
signature of Mr. Rotch to it :—" I cannot conclude
this return to the Committee without calling their Lord-
ships' attention to the very singular position in which
the Middlesex Magistrates were placed with reference to
their county gaol of Newgate, which is said to be situate in
the city of London, and the management of which, there-
fore, is, under the 13th section of the Prison Act, by the
Court of Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London.
Thus ousted of any controul over their own county gaol,
the Magistrates of Middlesex have the mortification to see
it one of the most ill-conducted gaols in the kingdom,
Scarcely one of the most important provisions of the Prison
Act is carried .into effect in that prison, while the returns
annually made to the House of Commons show a mixture
of deceit and insufficiency which ought not to pass un-
noticed by the Legislature. The bad state of the prison,
the want of a proper classification, and no proper provision
for hard labour being made in the prison, have caused an
unwillingness on. the part of many of the Middlesex Ma-
gistrates to send prisoners to that prison, and have caused
them, on many occasions, to fill the House of Correction
to overflow, while the Court of Mayor and Aldermen have
taken advantage of this feeling, for many years, to save
the City from being burdened with the unprofitable county
prisoners. They have actually refused, point blank, to re-
ceive persons into Newgate, regularly committed there by
county Magistrates, to the great annoyance of the consta-
bles and all parties concerned, and to the entire frustration
of the ends of justice in more cases than one. The fact is,
the gaol of Newgate is now only made available for such
county prisoners as are, by the tees paid on their trial and
conviction, likely to enrich the City purse ; and I trust
their Lordships will consider these matters worthy of their
most serious consideration.
" BENJAMIN ROTCH."
_ " Chairman of the Sessions."
All these assertions the worthy Alderman declared to be a
tissue of wilful and deliberate falsehoods.
Sir PETER LAURIE did not believe the observations
quoted contained the opinions of the Middlesex Magis-
trates. He (Sir Peter), as one, never witnessed anything
of the kind.
Alderman PAREBROTHER hoped that Sir Peter Laurie
would bring the subject before the Board, in order to re-
move the supposition that all the Magistrates were con-

cerned. -
Here the subject dropped.
After the transaction of some other business the Cour
adjourned.

VICE CHANCERY COURT.

WEST INDIA COMPENSATION FUND.

Sir W. HORNS applied to the Court on the behalf of a!
party to a cause, the name of which did not transpire, for
an order upon the Commissioners of the West India Com-
pensation Fund, to restrain them from paying a sum cf
money awarded out of the fund to another party in the
cause, until the result of the suit, which related to the pro-
perty in question, should be ascertained.
His HONOUR granted the application.
BASTARD V. SMITH.
Mr. KNIGHT stated that his client, the plaintiff, was a
lady, who was tenant for life of a beautiful estate, situate on
the banks of a river in Devonshire ; and that he was in-
structed to apply for an injunction to restrain the defen-
dants, their workmen, and agents, from attempting to cut a
watercourse through the lawn immediately in front of her
dwelling-house. The Bill stated that the defendants re-
sided at Manchester, but that, having a mine adjacent to
Mrs. Bastard's estate, they had recently come down from
Manchester, and, without the slightest notice, or shadow
of title, unless that, because it was a tin mine, they were
under a delusion they possessed some right under the
Stannary Laws, had actually entered several times upon the
plaintiff's lands, and had attempted to cut a watercourse
from their mine under the very eye of the mansion. Here-
tofore, the lady's bailiff had been successful in hunting them
off. But the defendants had lately caused a notice to be
inserted in the county paper that on a certain day they
would enter on the estate with a body of one hundred and
fifty men, to effect the construction of the desired water-
course. It was, therefore, to arrest a proceeding of a cha-
racter so arbitrary and illegal, that the Learned Counsel
bad now to move for an injunction.
His HoNoun certainly did not see at present why these
Lancashire gentlemen should march down into Devonshire
to commit an act of this description. " Let the injunction
go, however," added his Honour, " and then we shall hear
something about it."

SHERIFF'S COURT.-TUESDAY