The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-10 00:00:00

1846.

1847. 1848.

Stock this day ......
Price of Y. C. .• ..

Delivery last week .7
Ditto from June 1....
Arrivals last week
Ditto from June 1 ...

10,102
42s 3d
'to Os Od
451
964
202
443

Price of Town ...... I 42s Od

7,275 8,616
50s 0,1 44s 6d
to 51s Od to 45s Od

735 I 1,573
1,339 ; 2,054

264 509
515 j 3,141
53s Od ! 47s 6d

1849. I 1850.

24,325 25,956
38s 6d to 36s 9d
Os Od to37s Od
1,035 723
1,303 955
155 1,202
154 1,287
39s 6d 38s Od

QUEEN'S BENCH.—(THIS DAY.)
;Sittings in Banco, before Lord CAMPBELL, and Jus
tices FATTESON, COLERIDGE, and ERLE.)

TUE QUEEN v. STEVENS.-CRIMINAL INFORMATION.

Sir FREDERICK THESIGER said he was instructed to
apply to their Lordships for a criminal information on
behalf of Count Baptiste Metaxa, a foreigner who had
been a long time settled in this country, and had married
a lady who was connected with some of the first families
in it. By that marriage he bad four children, and his
family and himself had long moved in the very best
society. He (Sir F. Thesiger) made this application
in consequence of a libel which had been published by a
gentleman named Thomas Brook Bridges Stevens, an
attorney of this court, in which he had chosen to stig-
matise Count Metaxa as an adventurer and impostor,
and stating that he had gained a footing in society by
assuming a title which did not belong to him. This libel
had been published in a most offensive way, by sending
copies of it to Sir Archibald Maclean, with whom the
Count had been acquainted for 25 years, and other parties
private friends of the Count. The libel was contained
in an alleged letter, dated May 20, 1850, which was
printed and addressed by Mr. Stevens to a person of the
name of Decree, ,in which the following passages
occurred:—

" From what has recently come to my knowledge of
this Mr. Metaxa, I believe there is no act of meanness,
falsehood, and cowardice of which he is not capable.
. . . Within the last few days I learned from
the highest authority, that many years ago this Greek
attempted to get himself presented to her Majesty's
representative, the Lord High Commissioner of the
lonian Isles, under his assumed name of Count, but the
officers in attendance on his Excellency, discovering the
fraud, of course refused to acquiesce in it, and
the soi.disant Cotint had the honour of being
permitted to pass before his Excellency after having been
publicly announced as Mr. Baptiste Metaxa. There he
was nearer home, and consequently easily detected; but
Cheltenham is a long way from Greece (and although
your poodle dog has as much right to the title of Count
as this adventurer), whose business is it in Cheltenham to
expose the imposture? It becomes, however, quite an-
other question when the fraud is attempted to be played
off at the Court of her Majesty the Queen of Great
Britain. It is the Lord Chamberlain's office, I believe,
to protect the Royal presence of our Queen from the
pollution of such brazen impudence, and doubtless his
Lordship knows how to discharge his duty, which is
rendered the more easy by the fortunate presence at
this moment in London of the former Noble Governor of
the lonian Isles, and the very Aide-de-Camp who in-
troduced Mr., Baptiste Metaxa to his Excellency,
as just mentioned. The course I pursue is that
suggested by a sense of what is due to my station
as a British gentleman, and son of a soldier, who shed
his blood and laid down his life in defence of his king
and country. That my conduct meets your sanction
and approval is a great gratification to me, and encou-
rages the hope that it will also meet with the approba-
tion of all honourable men, into whose hands the cor-
respondence between the Greek imposter and myself
may happen to fall."
Now (continued Sir F. Thesiger) there was not the
slightest pretence for saying the Count had improperly as •
sumed that title. He was the legitimate son of a Count,
-was born in Cephalonia, and was nearly related to Count
Andre Metaxa, who had lately held the office of Prime
Minister of Greece. Ia 1691, in consequence of the
distinguished military services of his ancestor, Captain
Ansola Metaxa, the State of Venice, by a decree which
issued from the Ducal Palace in that year, conferred on
that ancestor the title of Count, to him and his legitimate
male descendants in perpetuity. The count was a legi-
timate male descendant of the original possessor of the
title. He was born in Cephalonia, and was baptised by
the names of Baptiste Ansola Metaxa. By a decree of the
United States of the lonian Isles that title of Count was
recognized to belong to the Count and to his two brothers
by name. In 1834 he was presented to his late Majesty
William IV. by the Secretary of State for the Colonies
by his title of Count, and was frequently invited to the
palace under that designation. He also frequently bad
the honour of dining with her Royal Highness the
Duchess of Kent. He was presented to her Majesty on
her accession to the throne by the same title, and him-
self and his Countess have had frequently the honour of
being invited to the palace. Abroad he was also known
by that title, and he was introduced by the English
Ambassadors by it to the late King of the
French, Louis Philippe, and to the King of the
Belgians. Under those circumstances the Count felt
that the publication in question was a most serious re-
flection on his character, and was likely to injure his
position in society, as well as to be injurious to his family
in the highest degree; and he (Sir F. Thesiger) appre-
hended there would be no doubt whatever that he was
entitled to ask at the hands of their Lordships for a
criminal information. The Court would naturally in-
quire what were the motives which had instigated Mr.
Stevens to publish this libel on the Count ; he (Sir F.
Thesiger) was extremely anxious not to introduce the
names of other individuals, but he might state generally
that the Count, as an act of friendship, had interfered in
a private affair, in which a friend of his was deeply inte-
rested. Mr. Stevens was not personally connected with
that affair, but was acquainted with one of the parties,
and he seemed to have resented the conduct of the Count
in the matter. Accordingly he circulated a report that
the Count had been publicly horsewhipped, on which the
Count wrote a letter to Mr. Stevens on the 24th of
April last, in which he said :
" London, April 24.
" 13, Cumberland-street, Bryanstone-square.
" Sir,—Captain having circulated a false ca-
lumny respecting myself, that I had been publicly horse-
whipped in Cheltenham, was required by me to give up
the name of the author of this falsehood, or to abide the
consequences; end in your answer he has stated that
you have told him so, and that you desired him to refer
to you as his authority. As it will be necessary, if this
statement of Captain is true, that a different kind
of proceeding should be adopted with respect to yourself,
I must request you to give me an explicit answer,
whether you did make any such statement to Captain
—, and what is your authority for having done so?
" I remain your obedient servant,

" BAPTISTE METAXA."
In reply to this, Mr. Stevens on the 25th of April wrote
a most offensive letter to the Count, in which he said:—

" I replied that I scarcely knew you, but that a
gentleman from Cheltenham had told mc, without any
reserve, that you had been horsewhipped there; be mis-
takes me when he says I authorised him to say this."
On the receipt of that letter the Count wrote as fol-
lows to Mr. Stevens:—

" April 29, 1850,
" 13, Cumberland. street, Ilryanston-square,
" Monday, at two o'clock.
" Sir,—Your letter, though full of calumnious state-
ments against a gentleman now absent from England,
contains no answer to the only question in which I am
concerned. From whom did you receive the false and