The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-30 00:00:00

L DON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 188.7

nion of the Ilnauna of MUSCAT. Getting under

weigh on the 26th, the expedition thence pro-
ceeded, without further delay than that caused by

a storm on the Ist of December, to the point

which was very well understood from the first,
to be that of thoir ulterior destination—
Bushire ! Captain JONES, our resident at that

place, quitted it on the 301, announced hts politi-
cal connection with Persia to have ceas:d, and
intimated to the authorities that thenceforth they

would have to communicate not with himself, but
with the military and maritime commanders of
the expedition. Upon the following day (the 4th),

the neighbouring Island of Karrak—formerly held
by us from 1839 to 1841—was quietly occupied,

and at once converted into a military depot. Two

days later (namely, on the 6th), our fleet having
moved back from their position off Bushire to
Hallila Bay, then and there dislodged from 300 to

400 of the enemy, and disembarked the troops with

out molestation. Hence--keeping each other in view
—the fleet and the troops advanced along the coast
line of Persia to Bushire, precisely as the fleet
and troops had advanced to the Alma along the
coast line of the Crimea from the point of debarka-
tion. The advance on Bushire commenced on the
9th of December—upon which day the old P, rtu-

guese fort of Reshire (not Bushirel was stormed
and taken, fatally for some of our brave fellows,
but gloriously for them all. Brigadier STOPFORD
fell, shot through the heart, and pierced with
many wounds, while gallantly leading on the
64th Regiment. Lieutenants WARREN and
ITTTERSON, of the 20th, were killed sword
lin hand, and almost side by side—" brothers
in arms and rivals in renown."- Captain WOOD
was dangerously wounded—about 40 or 50 men
either killed or wounded—while C,)lonel MALET
during the final charge of the 3d Cavalry fell
shot through the heart by a wounded caitiff (an
Arab) to whom he had, b!it just a moment or so
before, magnanimously granted the boon of quarter!
A. decisive triumph at the fort of Reshire was the
happy fruit, however, of this lamentable loss on
our part—the enemy being fairly routed at the
point of the bayonet. Upon the following morning
(that of the 10th) Bushire itself was finally assailed
by our shipsof war—a storm of shot and shell being
directed by them upon the town from a consider-
able distance, and with a deadly and crushing effect
very speedily manifested. An effect so over-
whelming, indeed, that about midday, when our
troops were actually just preparing for the assault,
the flagstaff was suddenly ion erecl in token of
complete submission. Bushirehad fallen ! About
3,000 of its defenders having perished ! The rest
of the Persian army flying precipitately into the
interior, leaving in our hands, however, a cansi-
derablo number of prisoneri, including among
their number the Governor, and various person-
ages of distinction ! While, as subs' antial tokens
of their success, the British, besides capturing
the maritime capital, securing to them undisputed
command of the whole Persian seaboard in the Gulf
—found in their possession, as trophies of their
' victory, a considerable quantity of small arms, a
vast amount of military stores, and some sixty-
four guns, several of them brass, and almost all
of them in excellent condition. Gladdened by
these events, and having no losses on our side
to deplore save those already mentioned as
having occurred in the attack upon the Fort of
Reshire, Admiral LEEKE returned in the Assaye
to Bombay, carrying with him the good tidings,
and, as prisoners of war, the Governor of the
captured city and the more distinguished among
those who had been associated with him iu its
Government. Such are the inaugurative events
of the riew British War with Persia—a War which
the Srrea was himself the first mos'. wantonly
to provoke, and the heinous crime of originating
which he has been compelled already to expiate
thus signally and hunafliatln&y.

A great public duty has been partially dis-
charged, a national wrong partially righted—not
by the Government or the Parliament of the
country, but by the leading merchants of the
comnaercial metropolis of the United King-
dom. The men of Liverpool have nobly
come forward to redress a serious injury inflicted on
the Commissioners, who too faithfully performed
the services required at their hands. Alen of all
parties, and of all shades and varieties of political
opinion, joined in offering their spontaneous tri-
bute of approbation and gratitude to Sir JOHN
NPNEILL and Colonel TuLLocEt for the valuable
results acaieved by their indefatigable exertions
and faithful and uncompromising conduct under
circumstances of no ordinary difficulty, requiring
moral courage of the highest order. This unex-
pected and unsolicited demonstration was the more
valuable, ina•'much as it was the only public
document which contained an acknowledgment
that any service had been rendered by the Coin-
mission—a fact that reflects disgrace not on the
Commissioners themselves, but on those whose
business it was to recognise an I reward their
useful labours.

The admirab'e answer of Sir JOHN M'NEILL
places this matter a just point of view. The
treatment of these gentlemen forms an appropriate
sequel to the dark history which they were de-
puted to investigate. Their incorruptible honesty
prevented them from screening Vag aristocratic
delinquents, whose "neglect, apathy, and incom-
petence," caused the fearful and deplorable evils
wt►ich occasioned the loss of so many valuable
lives, and imperilled the military honour, and al-
most the sa,fe!y of the United Kingd An. And
yet these man were loaded with rewards. Pro •
motion to the utmost possible extent was bestowed
on them, while the faithful servants who unspar-
ingly exposed their sin s of omission and com-
mission were treated with neglect and contumely
—their zeal, talent, and industry, everything, in
fact, that constitutes true merit, being blighted
and concealed by " the cold shade of aristocracy."
Such a proceeding is by no means calculated to
induce men of patriotism, honesty, and talent to
lend their aid in an emergency similar to that in
which Sir J. APNBILL and Colonel TIILLOOH were
engaged, an .l through which they passed with so
much credit to themselves and advantage to the
community.

Our extraordinary express, in anticipation of
the Overland Mail, has happily brought us full
particulars of the operations of the British fleet
and the British troops in the Persian Gelf at the
beginning of December. It now proves that
those warlike operations have been really, afier
all, more satisfactory, all things considered, than
even the most sanguine had been led to anticipate
by the first brief intimation of the good news
transmitted to this country by the electric tele-
graph. The shameless violation by the Govern-
ment of Teheran of these solemn engagements
which it deliberately entered into with the Go-
vernment of Great Britain in 1853 has, indeed,
already been most summarily avenged ! The
SKATE has enjoyed but small leisure during which
to. exult over his seizure of Herat, upon the
miserable pretext of DOST MAHOIED having been
instigated, by the Anglo-Indian Cabinet, to ad-
vance with a hostile array of Amoers and Affghans
against his Persian Majesty's dominions, as close
upon the frontiers of those dominions as the city
of Candahar. Scarcely two months had elapsed
from the date of the lawless occupation of Herat
by the troops of the SHAH, when the whole sea-
board of his empire in the Persian Gulf had fallen
under the sway, and before the prowess, and at
the first assault of the British Expedition ! That
expedition, bearing the flag of Admiral Sir H.
Ltin", had taken its departure from Bombay on
the 18th of October—consisting of some
forty-five sail of the liar, carrying from
0,000 to 6,000 troops, under Major-General
FOSTER STALKER. The political charge of our
affairs in the Persian Gulf having been formally
entrusted to our quondam resident at Lucknow,
Lieutenant-General Sir JAMES OUTRAM. Arrived
at the Persian Gulf about the 20th, the British
Fleet, it appears, rendezvoused on the 24th off
the volcanic island of Kislim, situated at the
mouth of the Gulf, and appertaining to the domi:

Sir J. WNEILL declares that, " when he con-
sented to proceed to the Crimea, he conceived that
his duty to the country was in perfect accordance
with the intentions and wishes of the Govern-
ment. His duty, as he understood it, was to
conduct that inquiry without fear or favour, and
to report the result faithfully, without consider-
ing whom it might inculpate, or whom exculpate."
As he truly declares,—" The welfare of the
British army, the honour of her MAJESTY'S arms,
the interests of the nation, in more than one quar•
ter of the globe, and the success of the war
waged to defend the freedom of Europe, were all
at stake in the Crimea ; and he did not consider
it possible that, at such a moment, any one could
give way to personal considerations." But iu
this he was mistaken. It
was not
that
"unde-
viating and painful fidelity" was re-
quired. •It was a convenient subservience
which would induc3 the COMMiS,SSODOTS to
fling the mantle of protection over the wren,-
doers, to blemish their own high and irreproach-
able characters, in what must have proved the

vain attempt to shelter those deserving of censure. :\ abolish the testamentary and administrative juris-
It was not a strictly honest report, a faithful nar-• j diction of the Court of Chancery. With that
nttiv© of the dreadful calamities that occurred, addition there would be no lack of occupation--
and the causes to which these calamities might. j indeed the only question would he whether there
truly be ascribed that was desired. It was some ' would not be too much, and whether it might not
thing that would cast discredit on the startling: be indispensable to appoint two Vice-Chancellors
Report of Mr. ROEBUCK'S Committee—that would_ and two Common Law Judges, in addition to the
have enabled the Government to impeach its ac- 5 Judge of the Court, with power to sit in separate
curacy, on the authority of an investigation con- Courts, and with an appeal, either to the Lords
ducted on the spot, with all the means of eliciting t Justicas or to the Exchequer Chamber, according
truth, and the results embodied by men of. ► to the nature of the business transacted, and an
ability and unblemished reputation. Sir JOHN.' ultimata one to the House of Lords. But

INPNErnn and Colonel TIILLOCH were not the incsi:
for this dirty work. They fearlessly discharged.
their duty, and voila, le resultat. Every attempa
has been made to discredit them, disparage their
labours, and neutralise their Report. It is
true that the Premier, in a manly speech becont-

should there be any spare time the transfer of
matrimonial causes, for which such a tribunal
would be peculiarly qualified, would give ample
employment. The Vice-Chancellor's time might
easily Le spareJ, when it is considered how large
a proportion of the business transacted by the

ing his position, expressed the satisfaction of ti►e
Government with their conduct, and acknowledged
the advantages which the public service had de-
rived from their proceedings. But there was
no official recognition from the department for
which they were engaged—no reward for their
indefatigable industry, and efficient, faithful, and
exemplary discharge of the duty confided to their
charge ; they would not be the tools of the Go-
vernment, the exculpators of those who merited
reproach. Hence the carping criticisms and
petulant attacks of Mr. PEEL, the mouthpiece of
the War-office, and hence what virtually was their
trial by the partial and packed Board at Chelsea.
Lord PANMITRE, too, has tardily spoken. Nearly
twelve months after the Report was in his hands,
and when that Report had virtually been condemned
by the conduct of the Government, ininstituting a
new inquiry into the same facts by different Com-
missioners, the Noble Secretary for the War De-
partment declared that "the Government"approv-
ed the Report." Why, then, the new inquiry ? Why
the Report of the Chelsea Board ? And what is
the opinion of the Government respecting that
Report, so diametrically opposed to that which
emanated from the Chelsea Commissioners ?
We rejoice that the gentlemen of Liverpool
have spoken so boldly and truthfully. It must
produce beneficial results, and in no respects more
than in showing the true nature, intent, and ob-
ject of Government inquiries, which are not, and
cannot be, accepted by the country as trustworthy,
after what has taken place with respect to one of
which they profess entirely to approve.

Equity Judges has relation to testamentary suits,
3dly. As to local tribunals. We should corn.
pletely and permanently abolish all Ecc/esiastica
jurisdiction. If any district court should be au
thorised to act, it should be the County Courts, as
suggested by Mr. COLLIER and by the Society.
But we should limit the power to the common
form, and not permit any contentious busi-
ness to be decided by these tribunals. If, as
stated by the Chancery Commissioners of 1854,
"a uniformity of practice is of essential impor-
tance in regard to the probate of wills "—if the
necessity for that uniformity constitute au ade-
quate objection to the transfer of the business to
the three Superior Courts, as suggested by Mr.
COLLIER, how much more powerfully would it
apply to thel7o Local Courts on which the society
would confer jurisdiction in contentious matters,
where the assets did not exceed 3001., Where
every judge would be an Autocrat, acting accord-
ing to his own caprice— sic vole sic jubeo being his
sole rule of action, and where the inestimable
safeguards afforded by the presence of an inde-
pendent bar, and the publicity given by the re-
ports of independent journals are altogether
wanting. Three hundred pounds is as important
to a poor man or to a family in humble circum-
stances as ten or twenty times the sum to their
wealthy neighbours, and there should be no
grounds for casting even suspicion on the ad-
ministration of justice. The expense would be just
as great, inasmuch as competent practitioners
should be highly paid to undertake the special
business in Courts where they do not habitually
attend. Besides, the Society would allow an
appeal in matters of law from the country, to the
Metropolitan Court (Resolution 25), and that
appeal would take place in almost every case, so
that the expenses would be enhanced in place of
being abated by conferring authority in con-
tentious suits. Besides, the importance of having
but one tribunal capable of conferring probates
and letters of administration will be universally
recognised. The validity of these documents
would be at once ascertained, and there would
be far less chance of fictitious instruments being
promulgated or acted on. A fertile source of
crime would thus be abrogated.
Having the doom of English wills so clearly
depicted in some of the early numbers of House-
hold Words before our eyes, we should certainly
not allow original wills to be kept in the County
Courts registries. They should be deposited in
the Metropolitan Courts. It may be desirable to
have attested copies deposited in the district
courts, to which easy access could be obtained,
but that is all that should be tolerated, so far
as the custody of documents by the County Courts

On Friday last, when considering the able Re
port of the " Society for Promoting the Amend-
ment of the Law," we declared that, " although
agreeing in many respects with the Society, we
cannot adopt all their views." We shall now ex-
plain the grounds on which, with the most pro-
found respect, we venture to differ from some of
the conclusions arrived at, and to suggest what
appears to us to be more judicious, and better cal.
culated to achieve the great objects which every
sincere and disinterested Reformer must have
deeply at heart. Our plan does not agree with
any of those suggested by either the Attorney-
Ganeral, Sir FITZROY KELLY, Mr. COLLIER, or the
Society. It is compounded from all—taking that
which appears to be really valuable in each, and
rejecting the portions thereof which seem open to
well-founded objections.
It is universally ag reed by all, with the excep-
tion of the insignificant clique referred to in our
last article, th'at the testamentary jurisdiction cf
the E eclepiastical Courts should be altogether abo-
lished, and a now tribunal created, which should
have full control in granting probates and letters
of administration. We should add thereto all
cases of divorce, alimony, and ja.ctitation of mar-
riage, for reasons which we shall hereafter adduce,
and which, as we believe, will be found not merely
cogent, but perfectly decisive on the point. The
questions at issue may thus fairly be considered
under three heads, viz :-
Ist, The Constitution of the new tribunal.
2J, Its Jurisdiction.

And 3dly, How far local tribunals should be
authorised to act, and to which Courts the duty
should b© entrusted.

On the first point we fully concur with the
Society, that three Judges would be far better
than one. Their decisions would have greater
weight, and the anomaly of a single judge being
called on an application for a new trial to review
the conduct of another judge, of co-ordinate or
superior authority, would be removed. But we
cannot agree that the Court, should consist of one
judge from each of the Superior Courts of Common
Law. We have already pointed out a fatal ob-
jection to this course, viz., that the new tribunal
should be practically closed during nearly half the
year, while the judges were absent on circuit,
or d iring the vacations, that cannot be abolished
with any regard for the health and comfort of the
learned Judges, and which would be fraught with
the most serious inconvenience to many families.
This alone renders the appointment of a new
Judge, whose time shall be exclusively devoted to
the business of the new tribunal i ndispens-
able. The only objection is the additional
expense which the Society calculates would
amount to 5,0001. per annum. But although
not yielding to any in the desire to promote every
sound and wholesome economy, wo repeat that
such a sum is of comparatively trivial importance
when the vast and complicated interests at stake
are taken into consideration. With this new
judge should bo associated two others. One a
Vice Chancellor, the other a Judge of one of the
Superior C9urts of Common Law, who should give
their services gratuitously, and for whose absence
while so occupied, adequate arrangements might
be made by the other Judges and Vice-Chancel-
lors.

2dly. As to the Jurisdiction.—We should not
only confer authority of granting probates, and
letters of administration (dealing with wills of real
as well as of personal estat3), which should be
valid in all parts of the United Kingdom, but also
of construing wills and administering estates, as
urged by the Attorney-General and Sir F. KELLY.
But it should have the exclusive jurisdiction in
such cases, and not a co-ordinate power with the
Court of Chancery, as proposed by the latter
learned gentleman. The serious evils of divided
authority, against which the Society has adduced
irresistible arguments would thus be avoided, and
a Vice-Chancellor, accustomed to the construction
of wills and the administration of assets being
associated with the other judges, there could be
no inconsistency in imposing that part of the duty
relating to testamentary and administrative suits,
which might safely devolve on the new tribunal,
as proposed by Sir R. BETHELL.

There is no part of the business of the Courts
of Equity to which so many and such grave ob•
jections have been preferred as that relating to
the administration of estates. The fortunes of
widows and orphans, of legatees and next of kin,
have been so frequently sacrificed, that the great
unpopularity of the Court may be in a great degree
attributed to that terrible cause. The imaginary
suit of JARNDYOE V. JARNDYCE, referred to by
one of the greatest of modern writers, furnishes
an over-true picture of the monster grievance ;
and we believe that no portion of the plan would
be more popular, or more beneficial to the com-
munity at large, than that which would completely

are concerned.
The registrars of the County Courts might very
beneficially, as suggested by the Society, act as
district officers of the Metropolitan Court with
respect to all common or non-contentious busi-
ness. They might entertain applications
for probates or administrations, give directions
respecting the production of documents and
proofs and the, preparation of affidavits, see that
these directions were complied with, and transmit
the papers to the Court in London in order that
they may be finally examined by one of the prin-
cipal Registrars. The actual probate or letters of
administration should be granted by the Metro-
politan Court, and the documents, when com-
pleted, transmitted to the Local Registrar, and by
him delivered to the proper parties.
We have in the above been only enabled,
within the brief space of a single article, to pre-
sent the most salient points. There are many
others that may be produced on some future coca-