The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-18 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

AN IMPORTANT POINT IN BANKRUPTCY.—Lord Justice
Cairns has decided an important question under the bank-
ruptcy laws. The point came before him on appeal from
the Commissioner of Bankruptcy at Liverpool, in the
matter of one Atherton. Mr. Atherton was adjudicated
a bankrupt in 1864, and in June 1865 his order of discharge
was absolutely refused. He r..cently applied to the com-
missioner to appoint a day on which he might renew his
application. His Honour, however, was of opinion that
he had no jurisdiction to hear another application
for an order of discharge. The bankrupt appealed. His
lordship held that the Commissioner had jurisdiction, and
ordered the matter to be remitted to the Commissioner,
with that expression of his opinion.

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE OP A CoNTRA.u.--Vice-Chan-
cellor Stuart, in the suit of AV-Murray v. Spicer, ha,/
ordered the specific performance by the defendant of an
agreement entered into by his father to buy certain lands
for £ll,OOO. The Specific performance was resisted on the
ground that the conditions of the contract were vague,
and that there had been good notice that they would not
be carried out. His Honour, however, held that the
objections were untenable.

GOODS DEPOSITED IN THE CLOAK-ROO3l AT A RAILWAY
STATION.—The Court of Queen's Bench has had before
it the case of Pepper v. the South-Eastern Railway Cons.
pany. It was an action to recover damages for delay in
forwarding a trunk. The plaintiff, an elderly lady, de-
posited a trunk:with the defendants' servants at the Folkes-
tone railway station. When she demanded the trunk it
was not to be found, and it then appeared that it had been
forwarded by mistake to Charing-cross. It was afterwards
recovered and delivered to the plaintiff. She now claimed
damages for the delay. The defendants pleaded the con-
ditions printed on the back of the ticket given in
exchange for every article deposited, that they would
not be responsible for any article left with them,
the value of which exceeded £lO unknown to
them. This plea was demurred to by the plaintiff, who
submitted that this condition did not protect the defendants
from all liability for the delay in the delivery of an article
by its temporary loss. The court decided for the de.
fendants, Mr. Justice Mellor remarking that the damages
under any circumstances would be insignificant.

CURIOUS CIIXILGE OF LIBEL.—Mr. Justice Byles and a
common jury have tried a most curious case of libel
against the Middle:ex Chronicle. On the 2nd of November
last there appeared in the Middlesex Chronicle a paragraph,
which stated that the plaintiff, a Mr. Christmas, had been
fined for poaching. As this was simply untrue, Mr.
Christmas issued a placard stating that it was so, and
wrote to the defendant asking him what it meant. De-
fendant answered that he had taken it from the County
Chronicle, and it ther appeared that a person had been
charged with trespass, at Guildford, who falsely gave the
name of Christmas. It seemed, however, that the report
which appeared in the County Chronicle had been so
altered in the defendant's paper as to exagge-
rate the offence. There was shewn to have been unplea-
santness between the plaintiff and defendant, and his
lordship directed the jury that if that account were a fair,
correct, and honest report of the proceedings of a court of
justice, it would be privileged, and the defendant would
be entitled to their verdict. The jury found for the
plaintiff ; damages, £5O.

THIEVES AND PAWNBROKERS.—Another case in \villa,
the pawnbroker appeared to disadvantage has been heard
at the Westminster Police-court. A woman named Emma
Minnie, who had been previously sentenced to penal servi-
tude, and had a ticket-of-leave, was committed for stealing
a sealskin jacket of the value of £26, and other things
worth £3O, from a house:in Pimlico. It transpired that
the jacket was pledged for £l, and the magistrate sharply
criticised the pawnbroker's assistant for lending so little
upon so valuable a pawn.

CHARGE OF MURDER AGAINST A BOY.—The boy James
Loader has surrendered in discharge of his bail at the
Worship-street Police-court, on a charge of murdering
James Strangeways. The verdict of the coroner's
jury was read. It stated that Strangeways' death
resulted from a misadventure, caused by his own act.
The magistrate at once ordered the discharge of the
prisoner.

A RIGHT HON. WAGGONER.—The Right Hon. E. P.
Bouverie, M.P., appeared, a few days back, at Earring-
don, in the shape of prosecutor against a waggoner, whom
he found lying helplessly drunk, with his waggon and
horses standing still in the road. The defendant was
lifted by the right hon. gentleman into the waggon,
and Mr. Bouverie, shouldering the defendant's whip,
drove to a neighbouring farm. The usual drunkard's fine
of ss. and costs was inflicted.

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE IN A GENTLEMAN'S HOUSE..—
At the Warwick Borough Police-court, Admiral Harding
charged his footman with being abusive to him. It
appeared that the defendant, in defiance of orders, had
gone out after dark, and on Thursday night last he did not
return till ten o'clock. On being remonstrated with he
became abusive, and refused either to leave the premises
or to go to bed. He became furious, and walked about in
the hall till two o'clock, when the whole house was thrown
into confusion and alarm. Having no one they could send
into the town, they were obliged to signal for assistance.
Mrs. Harding went upstairs, and, opening one of the bed-
room windows, she waved backwards and forwards in the
air a lighted candle, in the hope of attracting the atten-
tion of some one. The cook rang an alarm bell, and
Admiral Harding lay upon his bed blowing a railway
ethryesesharli shrill, and
alarms
dhcaodu could e
ebne
kepthear d
naplong
r
woffh.ichAwfatesry
di these
about ten minutes, some gentlemen who were passing in a
carriage came to their help ; a policeman was fetched, and
the defendant removed in custody. The bench decided
that they had no power to deal with the case, and after
reprimanding the prisoner they discharged him.

DEATH OF A FAMOUS HIGHLAND PIPER. —2']lo
Inverness Advertiser announces the death of Donald Came
ron, the celebrated piper to Seaforth. He began his trium:
pliant career in 1838, when he won a broadsword at Edin-
burgh. He won the gold medal at the Northern Meeting
at Inverness in 1849, and in 1850 a gold medal given by
Seaforth for competition among the nine best pipers in
Scotland, and crowned his fame by winning the Great
Champion Gold Medal at the Northern meeting of 1867,
He composed several excellent airs, such as " Brahn
Castle," " Lady Anne Mackenzie," "Kessock Ferry," atc.
SHEEP STEALING.—A bold case of sheep stealing
has occurred at Ashford, near Staines. Mr. Benjamin
Spittle, the occupier of Clockhouse Farm, left a number
of sheep on an outlying piece of land, within a few hun-
dred yards of the police-station and sonic adjoining cot-
tages on the one hand, and the union workhouse, an inn
known as the Stag and Hounds, and several occupied
houses on the other. On Wednesday morning the sleep.
herd discovered that no less than thirteen of the sheep
were missing, and a minute inspection of the ground
sheaved that a van had been backed close up to the hedge,
where it was evident the lost sheep had been put into it.
although active inquiries were made in all directions, no
duo that can be relied upontas yet been discovered.

THO'S GRAINGER? LICENSED
VICTUALLERS' TOBACCONIST. SHEPHERD'S-BUM.

The SPORTING EDITION of "THE SUN" can be seen at
GRAINGER'S Establishment, as above, every evening by Eight
o'clock.

THE WHEELER AND WILSON
LOCK STITCH SEWING MACHINE :
139, Regent-street, West ; 43, St. Paul's Church-
yard, E.C.