The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-02 00:00:00

IMPERIA

HOUSE OF COMMON'-'—(This Day.)
The Sr EAKER took the chair at 12 o'clock.
The swearing in of the new members wa3 continued
today until the adjournment of the house.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.— ;This Day.)

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENOIT.

(Sittings in Banco. Before Lord Campbell, Mr—Justice

Erie and Crompton.)
THE CONVICT MANSELL V. THE QUEEN IN

ERROR.

It being known that this case would come o❑ for ar•
gurnent this morning, the court Wai dense ly crowded.
It will be recollected that the prisoner, Thomas Mansell,
Wag tried before Mr. Baron Bramwell, at Maidstone, in
December lest, for the murder of a man named Burney,
a lance corporal of the 49th Regiment, and was
found guilty and sentenced to death. Certain
objections were raised at the trial by the prisoner's coun-
sel, as to the mariner in which some of the jury had been
challenged on the part of the Crown. In order that
these points might be argued, the Secretary of State for
the Home Department had respited the execution of
the prisoner until the s;h of May.
At.lo o'clock the prisoner was brought into court in
custody of Mr. Wer.therhead, the G•rvr rnor of Newgate,
and was placed in the seat of the Coiornon Sergeant.
He is a man of short stature, and rather slight built.
He wore a large beard of dark brown hair, and during
the proceedings he evinced but little interest.
The counsel present on behalf of the prisoner was Mr.
F. Russell and Mr. G. Denman ; Mr. Weleby and Mr.
Ribton appeared on the part of the Crown.
Mr. F. Russell, in opening the case, said the applica-
tion he had to make to the court was to•reverse the sen•
tence of death which had been passed upon Thomas
Mansell, now a prisoner at their lordships' bar. The
learned counsel then read at length an abstract of the
record, and at its conclusion said • the principal
point hi had to submit to their lordships was that
a certain number of persons who had been cal el
to serve on the jury on the part of the prisoner
had been improperly put aside. The learnel gentle-
man then detailed the proceedings that had take❑
place at the trial at Maidstone, the• effect of which
was, that instead of the number of persons who ought
to have been o a the jury to try the prisoner, there were
only nine out of the twelve properly sworn. At the
trial several jurors were ordered by the counsel on b,-
half of the Crown to stand by, in consequence of their
having conscientious scruples with respect to the punish-
ment of death. This proceeding, Mr. Russell con-
tended, was illegal, as the Crown bad not the
power :to order persons to stand by for such
reason—it not being a right to challenge. In sup-
port of the view of the case a number of authorities
were cited, and in conclusion the learned ceun-el ob-
served, that instead of the right of challenge under the
circumstances he had stated being a prerogative of the
Crown, it was an abuse of it, and he trusted their
lordships would agree with him in opinion, that the
panel had been gone through before the jury who tried
the prisoner was constituted, that the jury by which the
prisoner had been convicted was illegally constructed—
and that therefore under such circumstances the convic-
tion must be set aside.

Mr. G. Denman followed on the same side.

Mr. Welsby, on the part of the Crown, con
tended that the panel had not been gono
through, that the steps taken by the counsel
for the prosecution were in accordance with the
law, that the jury by which the prisoner had
been tried and convicted was -legally constituted, and
that therefore the prisoner, Thomas Mansell, had been
properly convicted.

The case was proceeding when we went to press.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
(Sittings at Nisi Prins.)
HOLLOWAY ♦. KELLY.-" SHELLS OF THE OCEAN."
This was an action brought by the plaintiff, Mr. Hol-
loway, against the defendant Kelly, for selling a
spurious edition of the song "Shells of the Ocean,"
whereby he had infringed the copyright of the work
which was the property of the plaintiff. The song was
published on a small card set for the German con-
certina, and was sold at one penny each.
Evidence having been given that the song in question
was the property of Mr. Holloway.
tiergeant Thomas, on the part of defendant, said he
trusted that the jury would give their verdict for the
defendant when they became acquainted with the whole
facts of the. Cage. The learned counsel said the de-
fendant was a poor fellow with a wife, mother, and
four small children, who inhabited a small hole in
Gray's-inn-lane, and who to gain a living sold penny
publications and such like, and amongst other
he unfortunately sold a certain song, called " Shells of
the Ocean." Notice of action was served upon him, and
the present proceedings, charging him with printing and
publishing a spurious edition of the song, were com-
menced. He would call the wife of the defendant, who
would give a simple manner in which the circumstances
arose. After that he felt sure they would not ruin him
by giving a verdict against him.
Maria Kelly, wife of the defendant, stated that a short
time ago a man named Fortune called upon her, and
asked her to purchase some music of him, and she
bought about two dozen songs. On the second
occasion Fortune called, she bought about four copies
of the song in question, but she did not know that the
copyright of the song belonged to Mr. Holloway. She
had bought in all about a dozen and a-half copies-of the
sang "Shells of the Ocean," and had realised a profit. of
about 9d. by the transaction. She did not know that
she had committed any offence by purchasing the songs
in question.
In answer to the questions of the counsel for the
plaintiff, the witness said that her husband did
not print the edition of the sorg now in ques
tion, and the reason her husband's name appeared
on it as the printer was, that Fortune, the man
of whom she bought the copies of the song, stated that
as he was continually changing his lodging he hoped
she would allow him to put her name on the song, as
then his customers would know where to find hi'n.
The defendant was also called, and stilted that as soon
as he received the letter of the plaintiff's attorney he
immediately sent to Mr. Holloway all the copies of the
song he bad.
A witness named Fortune said he was the publisher of
the edition of the song " Shells of the Ocean ;" he got
them printed for him and handed them about.
When he sold the songs to the defendant he
did not say anything about copyright. He had
printed a number of songs, some of which he
had put his name to, others he had not. When he be-
came acquainted with the circumstance that Mr. Hol-
loway's solicitor had sent the defendant a letter, he
(witness) took the plate and all the copies he bad by
him to the plaintiff, and distinctly toll him that he was
the, printer and publisher of the song in question. He
bought the copy of the song, which he had bad engraved,
from a person in the Mile-end-road, and gave a penny
`or it.
Verdict for the defendant,

SUICIDE AT ROTHERIIITHE. —A few days ago a man
named Knight, a butcher in the Hackney-road, became
insane, and was taken to an asylum. His wi e, with
her child, a boy three months old, wet to live with an
uncle, 'near the Rotherhithe Parish Church. On Thurs-
day morning the uncle got up, and on going into the
yard, found in a water butt the dead body of Mrs.
Knight, and in another butt that of the child. An in-
quest was held yesterday, and a verdict returned to the
effect that the woman destroyed herself and her child
while in a state of temporary insanity.
THE SUEZ CANAL.—The Viceroy of Egypt has ad-
dressed the following letter to Mr. C. Kenney, the
author of "Tbe Gates of the East :"—" Alexandria,
March 18, 1857.—Sir,—His Highness the Viceroy, on
his return from his late progress into the Soudan, re-
ceived the copy you sent him of your Memoir, in ten
chapters, entitled 'The Gates of the Feast.' His High-
ness was not surprised at finding that your patriotism
should have impelled you to raise your voice in favour
of a project whose execution must be more profitable to
your country than to all other nations. But what more
especially struck him in your Memel' was the largeness
of the views, the logical reasoning, and the laudable par-
tiality which form its most conspicuous features, and
which of necessity must render more conclusive the
arguments by means of which you refute the objections
that have been raised against the canalisat on of the
Isthmus of Sure • For these reasons his highness has
instructed me to convey to you his thanks for the l'yal
and enlightened support you have given to this great un-
dertaking. With this letter you will receive a ring ,
with the Viceroy's name, which his highness begs you
will accept as a souvenir, and as a proof of his high satis-
faction. Receive, sir, with my cougratulations, the aQ-
serene° of my most distinguished con-ideration.--The
Secretary of the Council of his Highness the Viceioy,
KseNIG BEY.'
THE RIFF PIRATES. —A lttter from Albucemas has
been. received at Madrid giving an account of another
outrage committed by the pirates of the RH. ••
27th of March, the Moors intimele'
boatload of poultry e--'
Spanis,-

..,. vae

snat they bad a
provisions for sale, and four
and an interpreter went from a vessel to
purchase ; but no sooner bad they landed than a ei,-
charge of musketry was made by a party placed in am-
bush, and the sailors were all more or loss wounded ar.d
taken prisoners.

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