The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-22 00:00:00

FRIDAY EVENING, MA Y 22, 1857

LAW Igo TE:

E.—(This Day.)

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.
THE QUEEN ON THE PROSECUTION OF WILLIAM COCKBURN

-LIBEL.

Sir F. Thesiger moved for and obtained a rule for a
criminal information againat Mr. Cockburn, publisher
of the Joint Stock Companies' Journal, for a libel against
the directors of the London Bank in that paper.
Mr. Cockburn appeared personally and opposed the
106 108 I motion.

'i L- ii

Rule made absolute.

12 —12 A
232
LO4 106
par p

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Fr.ne.)

IN RE NATHAN.

2a 2a
88 90

This was a meeting for the last examination of this
bankrupt, who was described as of Church-lane, White-
chapel, butcher and salesman.

54 - 55 1

Mr. Sturgeon appeared to oppose, on the part of the
assignees, on the ground that the accounts were un-
satisfactory, not being vouched ; and that the bankrupt
bad not exerted himself to obtain accounts from the
persons with whom he hail dealt, in order to corroborate
the statement in his balance-sheet, the bankrupt not
having kept pr)per books of account.

- 138 0 1393
-
9 - 9i

32 - 33
86 - 88

88 7

His Honour said that a bankrupt could not compel
them to give information, and probably they would not
take any trouble at his request, but the assignees could
apply to the Court for summonses against them, and
compel them to give any required explanation. The as-
signees bad bad ample time to do so, and if they had not
done so, it ought not to prejudice the bankrupt, and he
would therefore be allowed to pass.
Mr. Sturgeon said the assignees would oppose tie ap•
plication for a certificate.

- 95

- 96

CITY SHERIFFS' COURT.
(Before Mr. Prendergast, Q C.)
3fACIPHERSON V. PULLEN.

61. 2

CAUTION.--PROMISSOBY NOTES.—The plaintiff in
is an accountant, and brought an action on two pro-
missory notes flr 2/. each, given by the defendant.
It appeared that the defendant bad been a bankrupt,
and his examination had been adjourned several times,
the accounts not being satisfactory, and ultimately the
laintiff was engaged to complete them, which he die,
but refused to filo them until he bad been paid, and
defendant gave him the notes in question.
Mr. Lewis, for the defendant, took an objection that
the notes were invalid on several grounds—the principal
being that the notes being for sums under 5/ , the law
required that there should be a subscribing witness to
the signatures, also that the name and address of the
person to whom it was made payable ought to appear on
the face of the document, and also, that they were made
payable one month after date, whereas the length of
time was limited to 21 days, and by the Act of Parlia-
ment the note was to be made according to the form
prescribed in the Act.

His Honour held that the objections were fatal to the
case, and the plaintiff must be non•suited, but where a
man, in writing, admitted his liability, he ought to pay.
Mr. Macpherson said that he should bring another
action on the contract generally.

.16 14A

MONSTER BLAST.

91i

HOLYHEAD HARBOUR, MAY 21.

This ma inificent operation came off with com-
plete success at 20 minutes past noon this day,
when, with an aggregate charge of 21,0001 b. of
powder, a section of Holyhead mountain, amount-
ing in measurement to 160,000 tons of the hardest
quartz rock, was dislodged. The most splendid
sight was presented on the command " Fire !" be-
ing given, when a section of the mountain up-
heaved and came over like an avalanche, leaving a
spl/2ce of 450 feet in length, 120 in height, and 60
in breadth, as a witness to the successful applica-
tion of powder as a moving agent.
The engineering operations were conducted by
Mr. Chas. Righy in person, assisted by Mr. G. C.
Reitbeimer, the resident engineer for the contrac-
tors, Mesrs. J. and C. Rigby, of Westminster.
Upwards of 60 engineers of the civil and military
branches were present, several'of whom are among
the more eminent of the day. The London and
North-Western Railway Company afforded every
opportunity to the scientific inquirer and public at
large by running cheap trains. Nearly 10,000
visitors witnessed the operation.

LITERATURE.

The Comprehensive History of England. Parts I.
and 11. Blackie and Son.
A magnificent serial appears to have been here
commenced. A national illustrated " History of
England," giving promise of turning out to be an
improvement upon the far-famed Pictorial ! And
surely that is saying much in commendation of the
Comprehensive! The work is published in shilling.
instalments from month to month ; and the pros-
pectus announces in plain terms that the number
of embellishments, when the Annals are actually
completed, will extend to nothing short of a thou-
sand. Woodcuts for the most part, but, interspersed
with these woodcuts, steel engravings of great beauty-
-if we may estimate the general merit of the latter
from the exquisite specimen prefixed to the initial
part ; an engraving by Prior, from Cope's great
painting of "The Supremacy of the Law," a work
of art worthily commemorative of the famous inci-
dent associating together the names of Prince
Henry and the Lord Chief Justice Gascoigno. The
motto selected for the new History is a couplet
(if we recollect rightly) from The Pirate Morns in
Lord Byron's " Corsair"—rather a strange source
for a motto for such a title-page :
" Far as the breezes blow, the billows foam,
Survey our empire and beho!d our home."
The History will have reference to England's Civil,
Military, Religions, Intellectual, a, d Social Ad-
vancement. The Vignette on the cover is grace-
fully suggestive in its way—if we except the pump-
handle tail of the British Lion at the feet of the
Allegorical Figure of Britannia. Among the few
coins represented in a cluster round this central
group we cannot imagine why the lot should have
fallen for distinction upon mean bad kings like
John and George IV. The Protector's coin—the
coin of William and Mary—and the three medals
on the opposite side, being rather more comprehen-
sible. The last-mentioned cluster especially—the
three medals—first the medal of the Great Exhibi-
tion, 1851—secondly, the medal of the First Rail-
way, opened 1830—thirdly, the medal of the incor-
pora•ion in 1853 of the Submarine and Electric
Telegraph Company. We wish the enterprise of
Messrs. Blackie and Company success in its de.
velopment.

Good in Everything. •A. Tale. By Mrs. Foot.
2 vols. .Durst and Blackett.
This novel is written with energy, and a tone
of earnestness pervades its spirit, but it is to be
wished that the authoress could have chosen some
means less startling and painful to effect her pur-
pose. Sho evidently intended to illustrate the
various conditions of the human mind when tried
by torturing suspense and harassed by conflicting
claims. To do this it is not reasonable to expect
that the course of events could flow on smoothly
as in the mind of a calm existence. The beings
whose careers are here chronicled passed through
the thickest of life's fitful fever, not its cool seques-
tered vale. It is impossible not to sympathise
e ith Helen Monmouth, whose trials never unnerve
her for her duties, and who seems to rise superior
to the numberless evils by which she is surrounded.
It is otherwise with Frederick Beresford, how-
ever, for sad as his life was, it was in
a great measure caused by his own fault.. It could
never be excusable or justifiable under any cir-
cumstances to form the contract he did at his grand-
father's death-bed; and it is only a monad feeling
and a false sense of right that would palliate such
conduct. The results of his rash act are vividly
exemplified ; and his remorse at finding it impos-
sible to make himself appear consistent to Helen
might point a moral to those who place themselves
in false positions. Perhaps it would have been
better to have left the evil irremediable on earth,
instead of introducing death as an alleviator ; but
the torments Beresford endured must have been
felt long after the immediate cause was removed.
With regard to Mabel Beresford it will appear to
many that her part is overdrawn, and it is to be
hoped that few could be her prototype ; nevertheless
it is not the possibility of such wickedness existing
thatistobequest;oned, butthe advantage of thus pre-
senting it in so black a form in the pages of romance.
The stern resolve she exhibited, and her power of
self-command are depicted in a forcible and impreJ-
sive manner; and it is a fitting close to aniacquaint-
ance with so evil a nature to find that she, whose
cunning and dexterity Lad averted the terrors of
earthly justice, had been overtaken by the re ribu-
tion of Heaven in the sharpest sting that can affect
humanity. It is a relief to the reader to turn from
such horrors to the numerous objects of interest that
are elsewhere to be found in the tale. The account of
the family of the Monmouths departing from Eng-
land is touching and truthful, and the many diffi-
culties they encounter in India awaken the interest
for those so painfully situated. Mrs. Truman, the
old housekeeper, is a faithful sketch of an old, at-
tached servant, and it is gratifying to meet with
one so genial and devoted in a sphere that had been
contaminated by the presence of a Mahel Beres-
ford. Putting aside the above-mentioned draw-
backs, much remains in the narrative that is note-
worthy and commendable. The skill that has con•
structed the plot before us, and the feeling dis-
played in many of its passages, might be exercised
to advantage in compositions more pleasing and
desirable.

MR. COBDEN ON OUR TRADE WITH
CHINA.

Mr. Lindsay, M.P., at a public meeting held in
the Albion Assembly Rooms, "North Shields, on
Tuesday evening, read a communication he bad re-
ce ved from Mr. Cobden with regard to our trade
with China. Mr. Caird, M.P., had handed several
written questions to Mr. Lindsay, and he had sent
them on to Mr. Cobden, whose reply he had re-
ceived to the following effect :
"Mr. Caird asks—
. "1. What are the objects of the war ?
"2. Is Lord Elgin to demand permission for
British subjects to reside in China ?

"3. Is Ch usan to be seized and permanently occia-
pied as the hest emporium for Biitish trade 7
"4. Is the navigation of the China eeas and
rivers free to all countries to be insisted upon ?
"5. Are preparations, on a scale of due magni-
tude, being made for enforcing such conditions ?

"6. Is Lord Elgin cautioned against making any
sudden or patched-up treaty, which may render the
past bloodshed and expense ineffective 7"
To these questions Mr. Cobden replies :
"1. I should say that the objects of the war are
to divert public attention from domestic politics,
and keep the present administration in office.
Wars have generally had similar objects and always
have succeeded.

"2. Such a demand would be very unreason-
able, unless the Chinese Government were allowed
to make its own conditions—a right insisted on in
other countries. For instance, the United States
will not allow a British subject, if he he not quite
white, to reside in some parts of the country. The
Russian Government will not permit a British sub-
ject, if he be a Jew (at least it was so when I was
there in 1849) to carry on business in St. Peters-
burg, and our dear ally the Turk prohibits on pain
of death the entrance of Englishmen into Mecca.
But practically what advantage would be gained
by having the right of residing in any part of
China conceded to us ? What Englishmen are found
living for the purposes of trade in the interior of
Turkey or Persia, or even of our own territory of
India Why, with the exception of half a score
of Indigo-planters, there is hardly an Englishman,
or even a Scot, to be found residing in British In-
dia, beyond the great sea ports. There are nearly
as many British houses of business in China as in
India. It is a chimera of the brain, this cry for ad-
mission into China.

"3. Why seize anything that does not honestly
belong to you ? If I were to seize some of your
Ayrshire cows, you would send me to Newgate or
Hanwell. I ate, however, by no means sure that
it would not be a wiser plan to give up Hong Kong,
and offer to withdraw from all the five ports to
which we are entitled to trade, on condition that
Chusan were made free, like Singapore, to the
trade of all the world, and declared neutral terri-
tory. My own opinion is, that the more contact
we have with the people of China on the mainland,
the greater the danger of collision ; that it will not
lead to any increase of our trade, whilst it will occasion
a constant increase of our military and naval sta-
blishments to protect British merchants and fili-
busters, and of course lead to frequent recurrence.
of war. On the other hand, if Chusan were a free
port, the Chinese would bring their silk and tea
there, and take your manufactures (as much as they
do now) in return ; and after a long experience of
the benefits of a peaceful trade with the barbarians,
the Chinese people might come to wish to be better
acquainted. Why not ? It is human nature.
"4. The navigation of the China seas is free.
No nation allows foreigners a free navigation of its
rivers. Try it on the Loire, the Gua.dalquiver, the
Po, the Dnieper. Surely you would not be so un-
reasonable or unjust as to demand privileges for 'all
the world' in China which the other nations will
not accord to us.

"5. It requires no great amount of force in the
present weakness of the Chinese Government to
dictate any terms by cutting off the supply of food
and other necessaries to Pekin, as before. But the
question still remains, Cui bono ? Who is to bene-
fit ? Look at the Queen's Speech of the session of
1843. There we are congratulated on having dic-
tated peace, our own terms of peace, to China, and
we were promised a great extension of our exports
to that country. The Manchester people threw up
their caps, and thought there was to be no end of
the demand for cotton goods for Chula. I was the