The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-03 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

A LEGAL POINT WITH REGARD TO THE SMOKE
NuisiNcE.--In Vice-Chancellor Stuart's court the case of
Bendy v. Harvey has been heard. It raised a question
whether the annoyance caused by domestic household
smoke could constitute such a nuisance as to be restrained
by the Court of Chancery. The plaintiff was lessee of a
house at Torquay, which was f• t rrou ded by pleasure-
grounds, and commanded an extensive and picturesque view.
The defendant purchased a house in close contiguity to the
plaintiff's residence, which subsequently was pulled down,
and au hctel erected on the site. The roof of the defen-
dant's old house was much lower than that of the hotel, and
from the chimneys of the latter when the wind blew from a
certain direction immense volumes of smoke were emitted,
and seriously damaged the plaintiff's property. The Vice-
Chancellor said that whichever waythe decisionwen t it would
lie a great injury to the person against whom it was given.
The plaintiff Lad no doubt sustained considerable damage;
but inasmuch es the hotel had been finished in 186 G, and
the bill had nut been filed till 1868, he was of opinion on
the whole case that it was not one in which the court
could interfere. The bill would be dismissed, but without
costs, and without prejudice to any proceedings
which the plaintiff might be advised to take in
reference to any future injury or damage arising from the
same causes.

THE LAW 01' COPYRIGIIT.—In Vice-Chancellor Giffard's
court, Messrs. Sampson Low and Co., publishers, applied
for an injuction to restrain Messrs. Ward and Lock
from publishing a cheap edition of the " Guardian
Angel," by 'Wendell Holmes, of Boston, Ilrassachn-
setts. The book in question first appeared in a
serial form in the Atlantic Monthly Magazine. In
March of tlu year Professor Holmes entered into an
agreement with the plaintiffs for the assignment to them
of the copyright of the work, and for the purpose of ac-
quiring a British copyright—there being no international
copyright treaty between England and the United States
—went to reside at Montreal, in Canada, for some time
previous to the first publication of the work in this country.
In October 1567 (at which date the story was not com-
pleted in the numbers of the Atlantic Monthly, the plain-
tiffs, in pursuance of an agreement with the author, pub-
lished the "Guardian Angel" in two volumes, at the retail
price of 16s. In April 1868, the defendants, Messrs.
Ward, Lock, and 'Tyler, of Warwick House, Amen-
corner, in ignorance, as they stated, of any copyright
claimed by the plaintiffs, or of the edition brought out by
them, published from the pages of the Atlantic Monthly
a 2s. reprint of the " Guardian Angel," and it was sought
by the present bill to restrain this publication as an
infringement of the copyright vested in the plaintiffs. The
Vice-Chancellor said he had no doubt in his own mind
about the case, as it had lately been settled by
the House of Lords, in the case of Low v. Routledge,
that an American who chose to go across the frontier into
British territory acquired exactly the same rights in
respect of copyright as if he were a British subject. The
only substantial ground of defence was that there could
not be copyright as to a part of a work only. But there
were numerous cases in point chewing that the copyright
might be separated and claimed for a portion of the
work.

MUTUAL ANNOYANCES.—In the same court the cause of
Simpson v. Campbell was disposed of. The parties lived
next door to each other, and the plaintiff had two pianos,
one of which was played in the dining-room. The
defendant objected, and said that the instrument ought
only to be played in the drawing-room. The remonstrance
having no effect, the defendant, as a counter annoyance,
erected a machine which the plaintiff said made a most
violent noise. As soon as his friends called the horrid din
began, conversation being rendered impossible by the
intolerable noise and vibrations. "You could not hearyour-
self speak ; crowds were collected outside ; the children were
frightened out of their wits ; friends were driven away, and
altogether the house was in a fair way to be rendered uninha-
bitable." The defendant on the other hand complained of the
disturbance to his health and comfort, and interruption to
his studies by the perpetual " strumming" on the piano.
From six p.m. till midnight might he heard such familiar
airs as " Not for Joseph," " Paddle your own canoe,"
" Champagne Charley," &c., shouted at the top of their
voices, and thumped on the piano with derisive shouts of
approval and roars of laughter. On Sundays the annoy-
ance attained an air of religious persecution by the
" screaming of Hallelujahs for three hours with-
out intermission." On other days the plaintiff'slittle girls
were in the habit of singing their morning carol (some
organ-tortured air) at six a.m. to a drum accompaniment.
The case was ultimately ordered to stand over, upon an
undertaking by the plaintiff to remove the dining room
piano into " the breakfast•room," and to place it on the
side of the room opposite to the defendant's house, the
defendant, in the meantime, undertaking not to perform
upon his instrument

SCARCITY OF WATER IN WEST SURREY.—The
continued drought has dried up the ponds and brooks, and
the greatest difficulty is experienced in procuring a supply
for cattle. Some herds are driven three miles for water,
and on the hill lands carts are employed to fetch it for the
homesteads.

ENTHRbNISATION OF THE BISHOP OF HERE-
ronD.—The enthronisation of the Right Rev. Dr. Atlay,
Lord Bishop of Hereford, took place in Hereford Cathedral
on Thursday. The general chapter of the cathedral met
in the Chapter-house at a quarter past eleven, when the
chapter clerk having read the Archbishop of Canterbury's
mandate for the enthronisation, the dean and chapter

decreed to proceed therein. The chapter then proceeded
to divine service, and at the conclusion of the service the
dean provided a luncheon in the college•hall, to which
upwards of one hundred gentlemen and ladies sat down.
The verdicts of juries are often curiously in
opposition to the evidence, but it is very rare that we

(.!et with a jury acting as one at Duch= I►us just done.

At the sessions held in that ancient city this week, Ann
Calder and Ann Moony were indicted for stealing seven
shillings, the property of William Templeman, of South
SI ields. At the close of the evidence the prisoners pleaded

guilty, when the jury began to coi:sult among themselves,
and, to the astonishment of the court, they returned a
verdict of "na guilty." The attention of the jury was
then drawn by the bench to the fact that the pris ners
had pleaded guilty, and bad alsa been previously
convicted, The jury, however, adhered to their verdict,
a,v3 the prisoners were accordingly diseitaged,