The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-27 00:00:00

Share'

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 27, 1859.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.-(THIS DAE I

COURT OF CHANCERY.
(Before the Lord Chancellor.)

DE MATTOS V. GIBSON AND CURRIE,--JUDGMENT.

This is an appeal from a decree of Vice-Chancellor
Wood dismissing the plaintiff's bill.
The facts of the case are these :—ln the month of Octo-
ber, 1857, the defendant Currie, who was negotiating for
the purchase of a ship named Allerton, agreed by charter
party of that date to carry a cargo of coals for the plaintiff
from Newcastle to Suez by the ship in question. The
plaintiff was to pay the freight partly in bills at
three months and part in six months, and the
rest on tne performance of the voyage, but the
acceptances were not to be handed over until the
vessel had sailed. On the 6th of January, 1858, a bill of
sale of the ship was executed, and Currie deposited the
acceptances with Messrs. Bramley-Moore and Company,
of Liverpool, who were the vendors of the vessel, and
with Messrs. Heal and Company, of North Shields, the
plaintiff's agents, who had undertaken not to part with the
acceptances, on account of the freight, which was also in
their hands, without seeing that the balance of their pur-
chase money was paid. On the 12th of January, 1858,
Currie mortgaged the ship to the defendant Gibson for

£1,500. A short time afterwards £l,OBO, part of the
mortgage money, was paid by Gibson at Currie's request to
Messrs. Bramley-Moore and Co. The balance of the
amount of the purchase money amounted to £7OO. In
February the ship sailed, and meeting with stress of wea •
ther became leaky, and it was necessary to take her to
Penzance, where she was partially repaired. On the 12th
of July, 1858, the mortgagee's power of sale became exer-
ciseable, and a short time afterwards he took possession of
the ship, and completed the repairs. On this the
plaintiff filed his bill praying for specific perform-
ance of the charter-party, and an injunction against
Gibson to restrain him from interrupting the voyage
or selling the ship without giving notice to the
charter parties. On the 12th November last the plaintiff
applied to the Vice-Chancellor for an injunction against
Gibson, which was refused. An appeal was taken to the
Lords Justices, who, on the 17th December last, reversed
the decision of the Vice-Chancellor, and granted an injunc-
tion restraining Gibson and his agents from removing the
vessel to Newcastle, or interfering to interrupt the voyage
to Suez, the plaintiff undertaking to answer any order that
the Court might make as to damages. The injunction and
undertaking was to last till the hearing of the cause. On
the hearing of the cause, the Vice-Chancellor adhered to
the opinion that he had formed in the first instance,
and made the decree complained of, dismissing the bill
with costs as against Gibson. The plaintiff appealed, and
the case was heard last term and stood over for judgment,
which was delivered this morning.
The Lord Chancellor considered that there was not a case
before him in which he could decree specific performance of
the charter party. The charterer had a choice of his ship
and the sailing master. The ship was disabled, and
Currie was not able to pay the expense of repairs.

It was no answer to say that another ship might
have been engaged to perform the voyage. The
charter party was put an end to by the inability of the
parties to perform it. His lordship for the same reason
could not grant an injunction against Gibson. When he
found the charter parties were not able to perform their
contract, he was entitled as mortgagee to take possession of
the ship.

His Lordship affirmed the decision of the Vice-Chan-
cellor, and dismissed the appeal with costs, and also re-
mitted the case to the Vice-Chancellor to dispose of any
claims arising under the plaintiff's undertaking before the
hearing of the cause as to damages.

LITERATURE.

Newton logvane, a Story of English Country Life.
By Francis Francis. With Illustrations by
Leech. 3 vols. Hurst and Blackett.
These volumes furnish us with some entertaining
sketches of various scenes of country
life. The
hero, Newton, is the son of a wealthy merchant,
but the son did not at all emulate the business
propensities of his father ; on the contrary, he led
an independent life, and some of his essays and
endeavours to appear at case in gay society, and to
seem cognisant of matters in the shooting and
sporting world, of which he was ignorant, are very
ludicrous. However, there was enough aptitude
in this ambitious hero to acquire rapidly all neces-
sary information, while, in regard to other draw-
backs, his natural sense and good feeling came to
his rescue, and he soon became a general favourite.
His friend, Edward Bowers, is not nearly so esti-
mable a disposition. He was always being led
into errors which were the more inexcusable, as he
had constantly friends to assist and advise him,
which his friend Newton had not, being by himself
as it were, from his parents and early connections
living in quite another line of life. The accounts
given of Dogvane's many adventures in search of
a country residence are very amusing. and are
narrated in a skilful manner. Uncle Crabb is a good
specimen of a peculiar class, and the working out
of his character is admirably done. There is some-
thing genuine in his words and real in his actions,
which stamp the portraiture with the semblance of
truth. The ladies of the story do not appear
much, as is not to be expected in a sporting novel,
but they are pleasing representatives whom we meet
in the family of the Bowers. One group is very
effectively drawn—Mr. Sharp and his sisters. The
absurd styles which this worthy trio adopted in
turn, as self-interest prompted or vanity suggested,
the plots they formed, the plans they laid out, and
the many devices they resorted to, are altogether
most entertaining to dwell upon. Some of the
episodes of Newton and his associates, in their
ardent attempts to become famous, attract notice,
and the several passages are related in an animated
and spirited style. If with this constant reference
to out-of-door sports, and their attendant train of
circumstances, this work may not prove so accept-
able to the general reader, it is admirably adapted to
the votaries of the exciting pastimes it chronicles,
and the lovers of what have been styled the Olym-
pian games of Englishmen.

filment -of such comprehensive and complicated
duties ?

Sibert's Wold : A Tale. By the author of " A
Trap to Catch a Sunbeam," &c. Simpkin and
Marshall.

This is the second edition of this little volume,
which maintains the reputation of its author as a
writer of pleasant domestic tales. There is no
great originality or remarkable talent displayed,
but it is simple and agreeable in style and tells the
old story of lovers' cross purposes in a pleasant and
animated manner. The moral is good, as it shows
the superiority of a good heart and cultivated
mind, even when joined to a weak and crippled
body, over the greatest advantages of health ,ind
strength without any ennobling and enduring
qualities.

Nathalie. A Tale. By Julia Kavanagh: Hursi
and Blackett.

Miss Kavanagh's sparkling novel of " Nathalie"
forms the fourth volume of Messrs. Hurst and
Blackett's New Standard Library. It is written in the
authoress's most animated style, and displays her
thorough knowledge of French life. It has long
been a favourite with most readers, and is well
worthy of a place in this excellent series. Those
who wish to secure an agreeable novel in a commo-
dious form cannot do better than seize this oppor-
tunity.

Studies in English Poetry. By Joseph Payne.
Fourth edition. Arthur Hall, Virtue, and Co.
This is a very excellent collection of studies in
English verse, extremely varied in its character,
and including specimens from most of our poets,
ancient and modern. It is intended as a text-book
for the higher classes in schools and as an intro-
duction to the study of English literature. It is,
therefore, accompanied by short biographical
sketches and notes explanatory and critical. The
greater part of the volume is occupied by lyrics,
odes, and brief selections, but there are several
passages of greater length extracted from Shak-
speare, Milton, and Pope. The selection has been
made with taste and discretion, and we commend
it highly as an introduction to the various styles of
our great poets. It tends to prove the truth of
Bacon's words on its title page—" Poesy serveth
and conferreth to magnanimity, morality, and to
delectation."

The Wild Flowers of England. By the Rev. R.
Tyas, M.A., F.R.B.S. ; with coloured illus-
trations, by J. Andrews. Honitton and Wright.
Choice Garden Flowers; with coloured illlustra-
tions. By S. Andrews. Houlston and Wright.

These two charming little volumes will be as
acceptable to all unscientific lovers of the floral
kingdom as to the proficient in botany. The
" Wild Flowers" make a delightful volume ; and it
is pleasant to find our old friends the daisy, the
cowslip, and even the common furze elevated to the
dignity of a botanical work. It is an excellent
idea to treat of the simple wild flowers, as it is
both more interesting and more instructive to learn
the properties and peculiarities of those plants
which every one may see than to read of those which
most people are totally unacquainted with. The
poetical quotations are happily introduced, and
prove that our poets, while " soaring to the skies,"
havennt forgotten "the stars of earth—the golden
flowers." The volume on "Choice Garden Flowers"
is treated in a similar style, except that there are
plentiful directions as to their cultivation and
general treatment, which will be of practical service
to amateur gardeners. The coloured illustrations
in both volumes are the work of Mr. Andrews,
F.R.S., and reflect the highest credit upon him.
They are- really beautiful, and add not a little to
the attractions of the works.

Our Farm of Four Acres, and the Money we Made

by it. Chapman and Hall.
An agreeable and instructive record of two ladies'
experience of living in the country. Circumstances
having obliged them to quit their house in London,
and find a comfortable and inexpensive home for
themselves, six children, and the accompanying
household, they searched in vain for a convenient
v;'

la at a moderate rent. At last they took an old-
fashioned house, with commodious grounds, and set
up their " Farm of Four Acres.' They made their
own bread and butter, kept cows and poultry, pigs
and pigeons, managed their laundry and kitchen
garden, and reaped the fruits their energy and in-
dustry deserved. The record of their experience
and plans will be of the greatest practical service
to those similarly situated, as directions in books,
professedly instructive, frequently omit the very
things beginners most need to be told. It is a
pleasant little volume, with plenty of usefUl infor-
mation.

The Gourmet's Guide to Rabbit Cooking. By an

Old Epicure. Kent and Co.
Those who complain of the sameness of English
cookery need mourn no longer. Since "An Old
Epicure" can provide us with 124 varieties in
rabbit cookery, surely a new epoch of invention or
discovery has arrived. Boiling, roasting, baking,
picv, puddings, soups, curries, broiling, frying,
fricassees, stewing, rabbit served cold, warmed-
rabbit—such are some of the varieties of dressing
this somewhat insipid animal. These, however, are
but the grand 'divisions of the subject. They are
subdivided into endless methods of carrying out.
To all puzzled housekeepers and disconsolate chefs
de cuisne we commend this useful auxiliary.

Vlty should we Learn. By Emily Shirreff, author

of " Intellectual Education," &c. Parker.

This volume consists of a series of short and
simple lectures, addressed to schools, on the advan-
tages of education, the reasons for acquiring know-
ledge, and similar subjects of importance. It is
written in a plain and sensible manner, and is well
worthy the attention of young people, as setting
before them in a clear and forcible light the respon-
sibilities they incur by neglecting the means of
education.

The Horse and Ms Master. By Vere D. Hunt,
Esq. Longman.
A volume on the breeding, breaking, and train-
ing of horses, with remarks on stable management,
elementary horsemanship, riding to hounds, and
other arts necessary for the aspirant to equestrian
excellence. It is a useful volume, convenient in
size and concise in style, furnishing entertainment
for those experienced and interested in the manage-
ment of these noble animals, and some useful hints
fur the uninitiated.

Portrait of H.R.H. the Princess Frederick William
of Prussia and Infant Prince. Mitchell, Old
Bond-street.

A graceful portrait of the Princess Royal and the
little heir to the Prussian throne. It is taken from
a photograph, and shows the young mother bend-
ing over her babe in a charming homelike attitude.
This is another of those pleasant groups which
draw the curtain of state aside, and show us Queens
and Princesses in their more attractive guise as
matrons and mothers.