The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-24 00:00:00

INVESTMENT OF MONEY GIVEN AS COMPENSATION.

•.....,___
An important question has just been raised before Vice-
Chancellor Malins in the matter of the Holborn Valley
Improvement. The applicant to the court had been
plaintiff in a compensation suit against the City of
London, and had obtained £6,500 on account of certain
property taken in Skinner-street for the improve-
ment of Holborn. The money had been invested
in Consols in the first instance, but a safe in-
vestment had been found on mortgage of certain
real estate at Rochester, which would give- 4 per
cent. interest. An objection was made to the City being
saddled with the costs of a second investment, having had
to pay already the costs of a previous petition. There was
no case in which the court had sanctioned an investment
in land as a temporary investment, as this must be, as the
trustees had no power to give discharges. A case having
been mentioned in which the order prayed for had been
made, the Vice-Chancellor said that the application was a
most reasonable one. A house, producing £3OO a year, had
been compulsorily taken, and the money in the first instance
—because no better investment could be had—was invested
in Consols producing only £2OO a year. Now the
parties interested had found an investment authorised by
the rule of the court at 41 per cent. ; but it was said that
the court could not sanction this because the City'
had paid the costs of a former investment, and also because
this was not a permanent investment, as the time of the
sale had not yet arrived ; but, in his opinion, by the act
of having authorised an immediate sale, he thought the
trustees could have given sufficient discharges. At all
events, as between the parties and the City, this must be
taken as a permanent investment, and the City must pay
the costs.

THE NEW LEGAL APPOINTMENTS.—In the Court o.
Queen's Bench, Mr. Baliol Brett, the new Solicitor-General,
was congratulated on Saturday by the Lord Chief Justice
on his appointment.
NECESSARIES. —The question " What are necessaries ?"
has again been raised— this time in the Court of Exche-
quer, in the case of Ortner and another v. Callander. It
was an action to recover 2132 125., the amount of a bill
for jewellery and other articles. The defendant paid
£G 13s. into court, and pleaded never indebted as to the
rest of the claim. He also pleaded infancy. The plaintiffs
were jewellers, and the defendant was the youngest son
of the late Mr. Callander, of Edinburgh. He was for a short
time in the 17th Lancers. In March 18;4 he ordered
certain goods of the plaintiffs, but, after communicating
with his brother, who asked them not to serve bin, as he
was so young, the plaintiffs did not execute the order. In
July following the defendant gave an order for a watch
and chain, a dressing-case, a ring, and other trifling articles
of jewellery. The plaintiffs referred a Second time to the
brother, and he making no further objection, the defendant
received the various articles, for the price of which he was
how sued, he being at that time in his nineteenth year.
The defends at admitted his liability for the smaller items
in the plaintiff's account, sueh, for instance, as for soli-
taires or sleeve links, studs, breast pins, rings, and en•
graving his crest. The real contest was upon the follow-
ing articles : a plain gold hunting watch £4O, a strong gold
vest guard £2O, a gold and blue enamelled cabinet locket
(for attaching to a gentleman's watch chain, and used for
a miniature or hair), £l4 145.; and an oak dressing-case
with silver fittings, £3O. The jury found for the plaintiff
for everything except the locket.

A CHANCE FOR, THE THIEVES.—" The munici-
pality of the city of Paris," says the Presse, " has just
determined, for rea3ons of economy, to have every other
gas lamp in the streets of the capital extinguished after
'midnight. The measure is to come into operation next
month. The saving is incontestable, but the police, when
itCormed of the intention, have made some just observa-
tions as to the difileultiei which the arrangements will
introduce into their surveillance."

A Madrid journal says :—" The golden rose sent
this year by the Pope to the Queen (of Spain), is not, as
might be suppos3d, an object of trifling value ; on the con-
trary, it is a truly remarkable work of art, representing a
branch of a rose tree, with the thorns and buds in pure
gold, and having at the extremity a flower of larger size.
The bough rests on an elegant pedestal of silver gilt, which
bears the Papal arms among its ornaments. The intrinsic
value of the present, calculated by the weight of the gold
only, is about 40,000 reals (24C0)."