The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-12 00:00:00

THE SUN,

process of steeping has been specially described
in this paper, explained the principal merits of his
plan ; and he was followed by Mr. Donlan, who pro-
duced numerous samples prepared by him without
steeping at all, and without the application of chemi-
cal agency except for the finest qualities. The flax
prepared under this process was admitted to be of the
best description, and it was stated that it had been
valued by brokers at 541. to 561. per ton. The dis-
cussion having closed, the proceedings terminated by
a vote of thanks to Mr. Calvert.

TATTERSALL'S-THIS EVENING
Six O'CLOCK.

WOLVERHAMPTON STEEPLECHASE.
5 to 2 agat Peter Simple
8 to 1 agst Victim—taken
8 to 1 agst Vain Hope—taken
8 to 1 agst Maurice Daley—taken
HURDLE RACE.
6 to 2 agst St. Holier
7 to 2 agst The General
6 to 1 agst Vesta

DERBY.

5 to 1 agst Grecian
7 to 1 agst Prime Minister
13 to 1 agst Newminster

MARINER'S Compass.—The "fleur delis" was
made the ornament of the northern radius of the m'ariner's
compass in compliment to Charles of Anjou (whose device it
was), the reigning King of Sicily, at the time when Flavio
Gioja, the Neapolitan, first employed that instrument in na-
vigation. —Notes and Queries.

SELF-ACTING SIDING STOP.—At the close of the
regular business, at the meeting of the Institution of Civil
Engineers on Tuesday, Mr. Beckers exhibited and described
a self-acting siding stop, which was now in use on the Great
Western Railway. A portion of the ordinary rail was cut so
as to admit of the movement of the stop, which was of iron
about 1 inch thick, and projected above the rail about nine
inches; this was attached to one end of a shaft, and on the
other end there was a bent lever, which carried a signal disc
above and a counterbalance weight below. The object of
this simple and inexpensive machine was to remove the lia-
bility to accidents from carriages or trucks running out of a
siding on the main line, as occurred some time since at
Wootton Basset; for whilst it permitted a train of waggons
to pass into the siding, the wheels themselves depressing the
stop, it presented an absolute bar to any waggon leaving the
siding, unless some person held down the lever, so as to lower
aad remove the impediment.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Dec. 11.

Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Guildhall, before Lord
Chief Justice JERVIS and a Common Jury.)
COS V. DAVIDSON AND ANOTHER.

Mr. Bramwell and Mr. Willes were counsel for
the plaintiff, and Mr. Sergeant Channell and Mr.
Few for the defendants.

This was an action brought against Messrs. David-
son and Gordon, colonial brokers of Mincing-lane, to
recover the sum of 1751. for the loss sustained by a re-
sale of 1,431 bales of a dyestuff called " gambier,"
which they on the part of their principal refused to
accept, after having entered into a contract, of which
the following were the terms : _

" January 9, 1850.
" Bought by order and on account of Messrs. David-
son and Gordon, of Mr. W. Cox, 100 tons cf gambier,
sound and of good marketable quality, to arrive per Jus-
tine, at 131. ss. per ton in small bales. In the event of
damage being so extensive as not to leave 100 tons of
sound, the actual reduced quantity to be accepted by the
buyer in lien of the said 100 tons. Conditions custo-
mary. !Deposit 151. per cent. Promdt three months
after lauding, &c.

" SARGANT AND TRUMBLER."

The Justina arrived at the West India Docks on
26th of January, and discharged a quantity of cam-
phor, which formed part of her cargo, on the 11th
and 12th of February. In the mean time no less than
four suits for wages had been instituted in the Court
of Admiralty against the ship and freight, and on the
13th of February a stop order from that court, to
prevent the further uischarge of the cargo, was lodged
at the West India Dock-office. Money was paid into
the Admiralty Court in respect of the Gambier on
the 20th of February, and thereupon an order for its
release was lodged at the office on the Ist of March.
The unloading, however, was not resumed till the Bth
of March, and continued till the 23d. One witness
stated that a vessel of 400 tons, like the Justine,
would in general occupy only five or six days in
unloading. It seemed here that nothing prevented
the delivery of the gambier except the con-
iliating claims of the captain and the crew
in the Admiralty Court. The invoice was not sent
to the defendants till the 4th of April. A month
previously they wrote to the plaintiff's brokers,
Messrs. Sargant and Co., stating that their principal
had been complaining of the delay, and threatened to
make them rseponsible, and to cancel the contract.
After receiving the invoice Mr. Sargant met Mr.
Gordon, when the latter objected to it, but only on
the ground that by it they were not only charged the
deposit of 151. per cent., but also the difference be-
tween the original cost price in the weight. note and
that at which the gambler was sold to the defendants.
Mr. Sargant promised to amend the invoice, and a
clerk was sent an hour after to say that only 15/. per
cent. deposit was to be paid. Next day the defendants
wrote to Messrs. Sargent and Co., saying that their
principal had returned the invoice, as he 'considered
the contract cancelled by their letter of the 4th of
March. It was proved that the market price of
gambler during the early part of February was from
12s. to 13s. per cwt., and in March there was a fall-
ing market.
The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE directed the jury that
if they thought there was unreasonable delay in un-
loading the ship, he should tell them that the fact of
the stop order was no excuse to make to these de-
fendants, as the plaintiff might have his remedy against
the captain for any loss he could sustain. But then
the question arose, did the defendants repudiate the
contract on that ground. He would ask the j ury to
consider whether the defendants had only objected
to the contract by reason of the additional charge in
the invoice, in which case the verdict should be for
the plaintiff, or whether they had repudiated the con-
tract on the ground of the delay caused by the pro-
ceedings in the Admiralty Court.
The jury found for the plaintiff—Damages 1711.
COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Dec. 11.

Sittings at Guildhall, before the LOAD CHIEF
BARON and a London Jury.) _
11I6EVOY V. SHUTTLEWORTH.

This was an action against an auctioneer to recover
two per cent. on the purchase money of a property
which he was employed to sell, but which was, in
fact, sold through the instrumentality of another
agent. The defendant had retained the amount from
moneys in his hands belonging to the plaintiff, and
the present action was brought to recover it back.
The question raised upon the plea of set-off was,
whether an auctioneer was entitled to his commission
if property entrusted to him for sale was sold by any
person before the authority of the auctioneer was put
an end to.

A great number of witnesses connected with the
trade were called to establish the afiirmitive of this
proposition, but
The jury finally intimated that they did not con-
sider the custom proved, and found their verdict for
the plaintiff for the sum claimed.