The Sun.
London, England, 1845-07-26 00:00:00

PRIVATE BUSINESS FOR MONDAY, jum 28.

REPORT.
Eastern Counties Railway (Cambridge and Huntingdon
Line) (to be considered, by Order).

NOTICE GIVEN AT THE PRIVATE BILL OFFICE.
Scottish Midland Junction Railway,—Lords' amendments
to be considered, Monday, July 28.

COURT OF UHANCEIM,
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sia,—The question of qualification for the office of
chief clerk to the Masters in Chancery, which you have
alluded to in your journal, is assuming a graver aspect
than it has yet presented. The profession, who, though
tardy in movement, are not deficient in energy when
roused, have now taken up the matter in earnest, and
have presented a petition, signed by upwards of thirty
of the leadine, officers in Lincoln's-inn, calling for in-
quiry into the circumstances under which a gentleman
exercises an office of trust and importance in the Mas-
ters' offices by deputy. When it is known that fees ex-
ceedieg 4,0001. are annually taken from the pockets of
the suitors by the Masters' clerks, it is not unreasonable
to suppose the suitors will expect there should be some
sup (vision over these gentlemen. And, 'the Legislature
having assigned a salary for the office, sufficietitto
cure the services of gentlemen of professional educ'ation
and skill, the Lord Chancellor will not surely allow the
office to be held by a person whose incompetency obliges
him to perform the duties of his office by deputy.
The Lord Chancellor has appointed Monday next fur
the hearing of the petition.
I am, &c.
A FORMER CANDIDATE FOR THE OFFICE.
Law Institution, July 25, 1815.

QUALIFICATION OF CHIEF CLERK TO THE
MASTERS IN CHANCERY.
(From the Legal Observer of July 19. )
We have received a copy of a petition presented to the Lord
Chancellor in the matter of Thomas Whiting, the chief clerk
of Andrew Henry Lynch, Esq., one of the Masters of the
Court of Chancerly ; and as this is a subjeet which concerns
the profession generally, we feel bound to submit it'-to=bur•
readers. _

It is the petition of thirty-two of the solicitors of the Court
of Chancery, whose respective names and residences are there-
unto subscribed.

It states that the petitioners are, and for many years have
been, solicitors duly admitted to practise, and actually prac-
tising, in this Honourable Court, and in the course of their
said practice the petitioners have the conduct and management
of suits in progress through the offices of the Masters in Ordi-
nary, and divers of the petitioners have now the conduct and
management of suits in which references have been directed to
Mr. Lynch. one of the said Masters, and which references are
still pending.
That the officers in the said Masters' offices consist of the
Masters themselves and their chief clerks and copying or
junior clerks, one chief clerk and one copying or junior clerk
being attached to the separate office of each of the said Masters.
That according to the usual course and practice of the said
offices, it is the duty of the chief clerk to assist in the prosecu-
tion of all inquiries and accounts rt ferred to the Master to
whose office he is attached, in which an exercise of the per-
sonal discretion of the Master is not involved ; and it is like-
wise, according to the same practice, the duty of the said chief
clerk to prepare the drafts of the reports of such Master, and to
settle such reports in the presence of the solicitors concerned.
That a very large amount of the business of this Honour-
able Court is, in fact, transacted by attendance before the
chief clerks of the said Masters, and that in the prosecution of
suits in the said Masters' offices the solicitors of this Honourable
Court have to attend before the chief clerk more frequently
than before the Master, and that it is of the highest import-
ance to the interests of the suitors of the Court, as well as due
to the solicitors of the Court, individually and as a body, that
an officer before whom such solicitors have to lay statements,
and to whose judgment they are called upon to defer, should
not be selected from a lower rank in society than themselves,
and should be qualified by his station to attain their respect
and confidence.

That from the earliest time the said office of chief clerk to
any of the said Masters in Ordinary has been executed by the
holder thereof for the time being in person, and not by deputy.
That the copying or junior clerk in the office of each of the
said Masters is usually a person who was clerk to the Master
while at the bar, and that the duty of such copying or junior
clerk is to wait personally upon the Master, and to receive the
fees in the office, and to make the appointments for attendance
before the Master and the chief clerk respectively, and to enter
and copy accounts, reports, and proceedings.
That by an Act of Parliament passed in the session of the
third and fourth years of the reign of his late Majesty King
William the Fourth, intituled " An Act for the regulation of
the proceedings and practice of certain offices of the High
Court of Chancery in England," it was among other things
enacted, that no person should be ippointed to be chief clerk
of any Master in Ordinary of this Honourable Court, unless
he should have been admitted on the roll of solicitors or at-
torneys in one of the Courts of Westminster Hall, for not less
than five years, or should have been a junior clerk in the office
of one of the said Masters for a term of ten years. And it was
thereby among other things further enacted, that each and
every of the Masters in Ordinary, registrars, and clerks of the
said registrars, master of reports and entries, clerk of affidavits,
and examiners of this Honourable Court, should hold their
said offices during their good behaviour, and so long as they
should personally give their attendance upon their respective
duties, and should conduct themselves honestly and faithfully
in the due execution of the duties of their said offices respec-
tively • and that the officers and clerks in the several offices of
this Honourable Court should give their personal attendance in
their respective offices during the times they should be so di-
rected to attend, as by the said Act provided, unless otherwise
engaged in the business of their respective offices, or prevented
by sickness or other unavoidable cause. And it was further
enacted, that there should be paid by the accountant-general
of this Honourable Court out of the fund to be placed to his
account, to be entitled " The Suitors' Fee Fund Account," to
the several officers named in the schedule thereunder written
the several salaries or yearly sums set opposite to their respec-
tive names or titles in such schedule, being (among other
things) the salary or yearly sum of one thousand pounds to the
chief clerk of each of the said Masters in Ordinary other than
the accountant-general, and the salary or yearly sum of one
hundred and fifty younds to the junior clerk of each of the said
Masters ; and it was further thereby enacted, that it should be
lawful for the copying or writing clerk of the said Masters to
receive and take the sum of one penny halfpenny per folio of
90 words, and no more, for every copy of every document or
writing, or a part of any document or writing, made in the
Masters' offices, from the parties requiring the same, and also
for the transcript of every report, and that such sum of one
penny halfpenny per folio should be retained by the said
writing or copying clerks to be employed by the said Masters in
their respective offices, and that no part thereof should be re-
ceived or retained by, or applied tithe use or benefit of any
other person or persons on any pretence whatsoever. '
That in the month' of December, 1843, Andrew Henry
Lynch, Esq., one of the said Masters in Ordinary appointed
Thomas Whiting, who had then been copying or junior clerk
in the office of another of the said Masters for more than ten
years, to be chief clerk of him the said Master Lynch, and in
the month of June, 1844, the Lord Chancellor was pleased to
order that the salary of one thousand pounds, provided for per-
sons filling the said office of chief clerk, should be paid to the
said Thomas Whiting, since which time the said Thomas
;Whiting has annually received such salary.

That notwithstanding such appointment of the said Thomas
Whiting, and sncli receipt by him of the said salary, he has
never performed, or in any manner attempted to perform, and
does not now perform the important duties belonging to the
said office of chief clerk to the said Master Lynch, but that
such duties have been ever since his said appointment per-
formed by, and the same are now continuing to be performed
by, Edward Wright, the junior or copying clerk in the said
office of the said Master Lynch, who is not himself qualified,
according to law, for the office of such chief clerk, and by such
means the duties of chief clerk to the said Master Lynch are,
in fact, performed by a deputy and an unqualified person. And
the said Thomas Whiting has ever since his said appointment
performed the duties of copying or junior clerk, and no other
duties, in the said office of the said Master Lynch, and the
petitioners believe that the said Thomas Whiting is, in fact,
incompetent to discharge the duties of chief clerk to the said
Master.,

That the petitioners are advised, and humbly submit to the
Lord Chancellor, that an office of so much trust and import-
ance es that of chief clerk to one of the said masters ought
not to be executed by deputy, and that to permit the same to
be so executed would be establishing a principle injurious to
the interest of the suitors of this Court, and contrary to the
true intent and meaning of the said Act of Parliament, and
would have the effect of depriving the said suitors of the
security intended to be given to them by the said Act for the
performance of the duties of the said office by persons possess-
ing the experience and legal attainment indispensable for the
efficient discharge thereof ; and the petitioners, in their cha-
racter of solicitors of this Honourable Court, and also as re-
presenting the interests of the suitors of this Honourable Court
confided to their care, feel aggrieved by the premises.
The petitioners therefore pray his Lordship to cause inquiry
to be made into the matters aforesaid, and into the manner in
which the duties of the office of chief clerk to the said Master
Lynch are now, and have been since the appointment of the
said Thomas Whiting thereto, been executed and performed.
And that his Lordship will be pleased to order that henceforth
the duties of the said office may be performed by the said
Thomas Whiting while he shall continue such chief clerk in
person, and not by the copying or junior clerk of the said
Master or by any other deputy, and that in case the said
Thomas Whiting shall neglect personally to perform such
duties, or shall be found incompetent thereto, that he the said
Thomas Whiting may be removed from being such chief clerk
of the said Master Lynch, and that in such case his Lordship
will be pleased to make order for the due appointment of some
other properly-qualified person to the said office of chief clerk
in the place and stead of the said Thomas Whiting.

TEAN & DOVE VALLEY RAILWAY,
AND CIIURNET VALLEY RAILWAY.

TO THE „EDITOR OF THE SUY:

Sear—l, in common with many others, have been consider
ably amused by the efforts which a certain officious individual
has recently been making, not only to divert the attention of
the public from the merits of the projected Tean and Dove
Valley Railway, but also to puff and bring again into notice the
Old Churnet Valley line, a scheme which though once notori
ous is now almost forgotten by all but its unfortunate share-
holders. The gentleman to whom I allude, has been industri-
ously dancing attendance upon the editors of several provincial
papers, with a capfull of articles manufactured by himself, and
aiming at the two objects I have mentioned. The whole of these
articles, it may be observed, are anonymous, and although some
of them bear a suspicious resemblance to editorial articles, yet
the secret of their authorship peeps out from all, yes, verily,
" The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of
Esau." Now, Mr. Editor, I know that,it is your disposition to
afford fair play to all parties who may have occasion to trouble
you, and I am sure you will allow me to make a few remark,
by way of reply to our friend of the Churnet Valley.
In the first place, then, I must beg to tell him that, however
necessary the North Staffordshire Line (i. e. from Macclesfield
aid the Potteries to Colwick) may be to the important district
which it embraces, it is rather too much to expect that the Lon-
don and Manchester traffic is to be dragged along so circuitous
a route. A glance at the map will cenvince the public that
the North Staffordshire line is not and never will be a London
and Manchester line.

The other portioh of the North Staffordshire scheme (i.e.
from Macclesfield to Wellington,) does not profess to be a
London and Manchester line, and it may fairly be questioned
whether one and the same company can have any serious inten-
tion of making the two lines, running as they do parallel and
within a few miles of each other nearly the whole of the distance.
That the North Staffordshire Company may intend to apply
for an Act for constructing both lines, no one who is at all con-
versant with railway tactics..can doubt. The obtaining of an
Act for that purpose would give them absolute possession of the
ground, and keep their opponents at bay ; but the:actual making
of both lines is another and very different matter, and is an idea
which, to my certain knowledge, many influential parties con-
nected with the Potteries portion of the North Staffordshire
scheme consider themselves privileged to laugh at. But, sup-
posing on the other hand, and for the sake of argument, that
there really exists on the part of the North Staffordshire Com-
pany an intention of carrying out the whole of their scheme,
what then ?

The whole, be it remembered, is at present only a project,
and if the Tean and Dove Company can offer a much better
and more profitable line than the Churnet Valley portion of the
North Staffordshire project, what earthly' reason is there to
prevent it? Are we to be gravely told, that because the North
Staffordshire Company think fit to project a line of railway in
a certain direction, that the Tean and Dove are precluded from
projecting a better line, simply because it will traverse a por-
tion of the same country_?... Surely, Mr. Editor, you are
sufficiently:acquainted with these matters to know that the time
has gone by in which such nonsense might have been insisted
upon. The country is now in a situation to make choice of
the best line, and the simple business-like question to be asked
and answered is, which possesses the greatest merits, the
Team and Dove, or the Churnet ? The advocate of the latter
harps a good deal upon the fact of the Board of Trade having
already reported in its favour, bat " as things go," the Report
of the Board of Trade upon a railway project, is a " rather dis-
cordant string to play upon." " The light of other days is
faded," with reference to the decisions of that unfortunate
hoard. In short, Mr. Editor, you are well aware that the
Railway Department of the Board of Trade has been regularly
cashiered by Sir Robert Peel.
You will think, Sir, that I am scribbling on to a most in-
convenient length, but there is one little fact connected with
the Churnet and the Board of Trade, which deserves to be re-
corded. Before I state it, I will gratify our Churnet Valley
' friend by assuming for a inoment•that some degree of importance
is to ba attached to the Report of the Board of Trade. Under
what circumstances, then, was that vaunted report made ?
Was it when the Churnet was in its present " mongrel and sense-
less shape ?" Certainly not. That report was made when the
Churnet was a London and Manchester line, which it has now
voluntarily, and to suit its own selfish purposes, ceased to be.
So much then for the Churnet Valley and the Board of Trade.
Now for the Tean and Dove Valley scheme. This is a
London and Manchester line, and (as compared with the North
Staffordshire line), will effect a saving of seven miles of actual
distance. Whilst doing so it will embrace the important
towns of Leek, Cheadle, Tean, Uttoxeter, and Burton-
upon-Trent (in respect of which latter town alone
it is computed that 50,000/. per annum is paid for
carriage), and it will also (to adopt the language of
its prospectus), open the rich and extensive coal-fields of Bid-
dulph, Poynton, A dlington, Cheadle, Gresly, Swadlincote,
and Moria to the whole.kingdom.
Such, then, are some ref the merits of the Tean and Dove
Valley scheme,- and?Of- its claims upon public attention and
support.

If our Churnet Valley friend wishes for further discussion,
I am prepared to afford it him when and where he likes.
In the meantime I can assure him that, notwithstanding the
various guises in which he has appeared, I am well acquainted
with his real position as to the old Churnet Valley line, and
will, in conclusion, give him the benefit of an anecdote, the
application of which I will leave to himself and his conscience.
Coleridge takes up the old idea that the Jews have a peculiar
odour, and may be known by it, just as Cobbett affirmed that
he could scent a black man at the distance of a mile. " Once,"
says Coleridge, ," I sat in a coach opposite to a Jew— a sym-
bol of old clothes bags—an Isaiah of Holywell-street. He
would close the window, I opened it. He closed it again ;
upon which, in a very solemn tone, I slid to him, ' Son of
Abraham, thou smellest ; son of Isaac, thou art offensive ;
son of Jacob, thou hast a bad odour ! See the man in the
moon, he is holding his• nose at thee at that distance? Dost
thou think that I, sitting here, can endure it any longer ?' My
Jew was astounded, opened the window forthwith himself,
and said he was sorry he did not know before I was so great a
gentleman." I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
A SUPPORTER OF THE TEAN AND DOVE
VALLEY RAILWAY.

.[ADVERTISEMENT.]—TO THE L A DIES.—It is uni-
versally acknowledged by every one of taste that however beau-
tiful a woman may be, if her hair is deficient either in quantity,
quality, or colour, one of her greatest charms is wanting. A
complete remedy for all this is to be found by visiting the esta-
blishment of Ross and Sons, and choosing head-dresses that sur-
pass nature herself, fronts, bands, or ringlets that assist her,
or splendid plaits that, encircling the thin hair, give it all
the appearance of a luxuriant growth. The partings are so
admirably contrived that the nearest inspection is confounded ;
the transparency of the web, admitting the skin of the head
to be seen through, they may be described as being as light as
a feather. —Address Ross and Sons, 119 and 120, Bishopsgate-
street, London, who have lately invented the Depinquitory for
cleansing the skin, parting of fronts, &c.
EWEN MACPHEE.—Our readers may recollect the
story of this singular Highlander, which we gave to the world a few
years since. He still lives in his solitary little island in Loch
Quoich, as free and almost as agile as one of the red deer
on the hills. Last week Provost Sutherland of this town
happened to allude to Ewen's history while proceeding in the
Glasgow steamer to Corrychoillie's sale, when another
passenger, Bailie. Macphee, sugar refiner, of Leith, was so
struck with the character of his namesake, that he gave the
Provost W. to present to him, adding also another U. bank-
note in the name of his brother, Provost Macphee, of Greenock.
This unexpected windfall Provost Sutherland had an opportunity of
presenting to Ewen at Corrychoillie, and we need not say that
such a recognition of clanship was joyfully received. Ewen never
cared much for the " authorities" in any shape, but this union of
'two Provosts and a Bailie to relieve his necessities is as curious a
matter, and fully as kind hearted, as Bailie Nichol Jarvie's affec-
tion for Rob Roy. Nor is there any occasion for our Prevost being
afraid, like the ancient worthy of the Saltmarket, that the members
of the Council would not think it creditable in one of their body to
be aiding a wild Highlandman !—lnverness Courier.
THE GENERAL POST L ETTER. CARRIERS.—On
Thursday night, at a late hour, a meeting, attended by nearly 200
letter-carriers of the General Post office, was held at the Owen
alendwr Tavern, Aldersgate-street, for the purpose of preparing
alpetition to the Postraaster-General, expressive of the grievances
under which this body of men consider they labour, and praying his
Lordship to abolish the system of payment by fees, and to esta.
blish a graduated scale of permanent salary. Mr. Robert Grapes,
being unanimously called to the chair, the draft of a petition, pre.
viously prepared by a committee chosen for the purpose, was, after
considerable amendments, adopted, and arrangements made for
placing it in the hands of the inspector of letter-carriers without
delay for presentation to his Lordship the Postmaster- General.
The business of the meeting was not concluded before twelve
o'clock, at which hour the bedrof letter-carriers quietly separated.
COBBETT ON DUELLING.—Cobbett, when chal-
lenged to fight, recommended the challenger to draw a Cobbett in
chalk upon a door, and if he succeeded in bitting it, to send him
instant word, in order that he might have an opportunity of ac-
knovledging that had the true Cobbett heen there, he, in all pro-
bability would have been hit too. But hit or not hit, the bullets
would have no effect whatever, he maintained, on the original cause
of quarrel. • _ _

. _
A QUAKER WOMAN'S SPEECH. —Dear friends,
there are three things I very much wonder at. The first is, that
children should be so foolish as to throw up stones, brick-bats, and
clubs, into fruit-trees, to knock down the fruit—if they would let
it alone, it would fall itself. The second is, that men should be
so foolish, and even so wicked as to go to war and kill one another
if they would let one another alone, they would die of them-
selves. And the last thing I wonder at most of all is, that of
young women—if they would stay at home, the young men would
come after them.
ASYLUM FOR AGED AND DECAYED FREEMASONS.—
Pursuant to an order of Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce, in a
suit in which this charity is concerned, by which it was re-
ferred to the Master to appoint trustees to the institution,
Master Dowdeswell on Wednesday approved of Lord South-
ampton, the Earl of Aboyne and Enzie, the lion. Col. Ans Jll,
B. B. Calsbell, Esq., and Dr. Crucefix, as such trustees.
Baron de Cetto, Bavarian Minister, transacted business yes.
terday, at the Foreigu.!oftice. .

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
VICE-CHANCELLORS' COURT, July 25.

MATHEWS V. WEBSTER.

Mr. ROGERS moved in this case for an ex parte injunction,
restraining Mr. Webster, the lessee of the Haymarket Theatre,
his agents and servants, from performing or representing, yr
causing to be performed or represented, the well-known fare,
Used Up, without the permission of the plaintiff, Mr. Charles
Mathews, by whom the play bad been translated and adapted
from L' H6rnme Blase. Mr. Mathews's affidavit stated that
in February, 1844, he had composed and prepared for dramatic
representation the farce Used Up from the French play, all
had adapted it for the English stage. He had himself play
in it until very lately, when, in consequence of a quarrel with
Mr. Webster, he had ceased to do so. The farce bad been
represented seventy-seven nights, and had been announced as
the work of Mr. Mathews, who had altered, transposed, and
re-written the greater part of it. He claimed, by virtue of the
recent Copyright Act, to be the author of the farce, and until
the 22d instant, had been represented as such in the play-hil
issued by Mr. Webster. Since that time it had been announce,
to the theatrical world and the public with the name of•
Bourcicault, and Mr. Mathews had not played at the theatre.
It was advertised for performance this evening.
The VICE-CHANCELLOR--What is announced for tomor-
row night ? You had better wait until to-morrow. Acting it
for one night cannot do you much harm, and the injunction
would cause some inconvenience probably, this motion beiug
made without notice. All cases of ex parte injunction you
know are discretionary.
Mr. Roszxs—Perhaps your Honour would be kind enough
to look at the playbill (handing it up).
VICE-CHANCELLOR—I am engaged for this evening, Mr'
Rogers.—(Laughter.)
Mr. ROGERS—It is a very popular farce, and the lessees mat
probably realise a large sum by this evening's performance. ,
VICE-CHANCELLOR—Perhaps many of the public will not
go if they know Mr. Mathews does not play. The inconveni•
ence of waiting until to-morrow cannot be very great.
It was understood that the solicitor of the Haymarket The-
atre, who happened to be in Court, consented to accept short
notice of the motion for to-morrow (this day).

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
HOME ClRCUlT.—Maidstone, July 24.

CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice COIZRIDGE.)
CHARGE OF MURDER AND ARSON. —Charles Minos'
aged 23, a well-dressed young man, was indicted for having
wilfully and feloniously set fire to a certain dwelling-house, at
Faversham, he well knowing that ofie Thomassin Pymrn Par
was therein at the time.

The prisoner was likewise arraigned upon the Coroner's in-
quisition for the murder of Thomassin Pymm Payn.
The first indictment was proceeded with.
Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Deades conducted the prosecution'
and Mr. Bodkin, with whom was Mr. Horne, appeared for
the prisoner.
The trial commenced on Thursday, and occupied the Court
from mid-day until past eleven o'clock at night, during the
whole of which time the Court was crowded, and the case ap-
peared to create great interest.
A considerable number of witnesses were examined, but the
case will be much better understood in the form of a narra-
tive. tive. It appeared that the prisoner had been formerly in the
service of a grocer at Canterbury, but last October be came to
Faversham, and set up in business for himself. He at first
occupied, with his wife and an infant child, two room° ie
West-street, in that town. This was in October ' • and in
the February following he removed to another house in
the same street, which was jointly occupied by himself and
it person named Payn, and where he again carried en
the business of a grocer ; he living, with his family, on one
side of the house, and Payn and his family on the other, the
passage from the street-door being between them. It has been
stated that the family of the prisoner consisted of himself, We
wife, and an infant ; and Payn, his wife, and a cousin, the 11F-
fortunate deceased, constituted the other family. The fire 10
question took place between eleVen and twelve o'clock on the
night of the 29th of April. Smoke was first seen issuing from
the passage of the house, and very soon afterwards the side.
the house occupied by the prisoner and his family was cusci
covered to be in flames. An alarm was speedily given, oe
the prisoner with his wife and child were taken from the boos
in their night clothes, and Mr. and Mrs. Payn were also taken
out in safety; but the deceased was either suffocated,
she
unfortunately the terror was too much for her ; but, however, e;
unfortunately lost her life, and was found dead to
her room, apparently in the act of 'attempting ;:e
open the door of her chamber. It was remarked at ts,
time of the fire that the flames burnt very brightly, ter
suddenly, and appeared as suddenly to be extinguished ; bete l
the time there did not appear to be any particular suspicion eee,-
tertained upon the subject of the fire. Upon an examinatle"
or the premises being made, it appeared that the fire come,
e,
menced near the cellar, and from the fact of all the doors helve
fastened on the inside, it became apparent that if the fire e 02.1,8
wilful one it must have been com.nitted by some person teit''
the house. Upon more minute search it appeared that the fled
had been what was called a surface fire, and the lames seem
to have spread all along the floors and the shelves of the sbeiti
and all along the passage the same appearance presented ibex
so far as the cellar door. On the rubbish in the passage tinder
removed a shawl and a piece of liven were found une,"e
it, both of which artic,es were strongly impregeau-5,
to
ok
picion, the spirit of camphine. This excited greater sook
picion, and a more minute examination of the rubbish
place, and under another portion of it was found a new nloe
dow blind that had been sent home to the prisoner a day
.o
two before, and had only been used once, and this seas
strongly impregnated with camphine. The mat at the etrlii
door was also wet with the same spirit,, and the carpet ine`it,
prisoner's sitting-room was also wetted nearly all over ieitu it,
Two cans that appeared to have contained camphine were Wed.
in the shop, and one of them appeared to have been overtaretes
The fire' appeared to 'have extended as far as the third eb
leading to the cellar, and the suspicion was that the &erne%
commenced at that spot ; and the shawl and the piece et. 'leo
saturated with the spirit being found near the place led teased
inference that they had been the means of Causing the fire' by
that the fierce manner in which it ignited was occasioned to
the camphine spirit. These suspicious circumstances l; ape
further inquiry, and the jury who sat upon the body of t".bov,ict of
fortunate young woman who lost her life returned eer at
wilful murder against the prisoner. In addition to the aseere
facts it appeared that before Mr. Payn went to bed hed that
tamed that his side of the house was perfectly safe, An art of
there was not the slightest appearance of fire in aleaetere
it. He went to bed before eleven o'clock,- and shortifri
wards he heard some one, whom he believed to he the the
come in at the street-door, and he heard him walk along eed
passage to the cellar, and heard the door of the cellar ape
very gently, and the alarm of fire was given before he .4elo,
sleep. It likewise appeared that on the 'Wednesday or T 11") it,
day before the fire, the prisoner, who used a camphine 10110,
his shop, purchased a gallon of camphine at a shop in furtherie
ham, and on the day before the fire he purchased aap•
quantity of camphine. In addition to these facts, it al'! ~e to
peered that a few days before the fire the prisoner had ewede a
the agent of the Phoenix fire-office in Faversham, and tr: the
proposal to effect an insurance with that establishment
amount of 4001., of which 3001. was to be for his stock the
trade, and 100/. for furniture ; but it appeared that afteresia
fire the goods and stock that were saved, and which it vv,asenos
constituted the greater portion of it, did not fetch 50'ee-ueet
gether. There were some other minor circumstances hr,"eolee
forward, but the above are the principal points of the ev
against the accused. With
The witnesses were cross-examined by Mr. Bodkin teat
very great care and minuteness, and he elicited from them yore
when the alarm of fire was given, the prisoner and his iee,
and child were rescued by means of a ladder, with greatseeap,
culty, and with nothing on but night clothes. It likewiet the
peared, that upon the
,people going into the house " f the
time of the fire, there was not the slightest appearance and
removal of any property, the prisoner's watch and a purse.s, it
money being found in one of the rooms. Besides thre
e I
likewise appeared, that although the prisoner had made rto
posal for the insurance, the policy had not been handed 0 :00.
him, so that he would have had no legal claim upon theerd to
parry for any loss he sustained by the fire ; and With reg- the
the amount at which the stock and furniture were sold after the
b
fire, it was admitted that it was all very much dammed bi
fire and water, and that the rice fetched at a forced Ocrite.
auction, under such circumstances, was not at all afeir
non as to its actual value. Off
Mrs B in his address to the jury, commenteL,'.ooer
forcibly upon these circumstances, in favour of the 10`5-00er,
and urged that the utmost that appeared against the pre
lived
, o
was that a ease of suspicion had been made out, and be an
if it even amounted to that. He submitted that there astiv
absence of anything like direct evidence, and that it sc_ffeece.
possible for him to have committed so dreadful an u. and
without, as it appeared, the slightest assignable inotieeei'oare
with regard to what had been proved _respecting th be,
ance, if his object had really been' to defraud the CornPa-louole
asked the jury, as risen of common sense, whether 17 i;
have committed the offence until he had secured the Pelee 00
whether he would have destroyed his property, when %roe
have been aware that he had no legal claim upon the
office for any portion of his loss ? orY
the to
Mr. Justice COLERIDGE, having summed Up, ,i9ll
deliberated for a short time, when they expressed a
ea
retire.
They were absent, about five minutes,
into Court, finding a verdict of Not Guilty. . se"
were 0.
A number of persons in the Court, among whom
veral ladies, clapped their hands when the verdict w_ae'essea
nounced ; ut this ebullition of feeling was promptly rep
by the officers.
c
July 25.
amain P'e r
The prisoner, Charles Simms, was this morning itien
at the bar, sad arraigned upon the coroner's melee' flew
when they reoill
the murder of the deceased young woman, Thonaasi
tate'ne.
Paen, who perished in the conflagration, as above s
Mr. CLARKSON declined to offer any evidence, and
The jury, therefore, returned a verdict of Not Guiltt cbarr
The prisoner was also arraigned upon an indictment Joie'
ing him with feloniously setting fire to a certain dwelliefi, a
with intent to defraud the Phoenix Insurance Comlealed, one
ed
Upon this also a verdict of Not Guilty was reliscesrfi
Mr. Justice CoLERIDGE ordered the prisoner to be
from custody. ed ler
eai
David PTaylor, assmore 5B, solicitor, was indict est
indecent assault upon Eliza Spain. wade ae as
The circumstances under which the charge was übe,
the prisoner will be fresh in the recollection of the have al'
the facts, so far as they admitted of being detailed,
peared in the police reports within the last few daY_siendaat was
The jury returned a verdict of Guilty, and the de
sentenced to be imprisoned for one year.

M.01611•••••1•00.1016i, .-
....._.. A.............................•••••-'n o(
BIRTHS. ._ Whi`l3eP
On the 25th inst., Mrs. William Underwood -
Great College-street, Westminster, of a son. ~, 111x`• p.
On the 23d inst., at St. Ann's-hill, wwidsvirori..,
Pl.
Bel
On l, of a
23daughter. ii ,(I wire,
the d inst., at Grenville-street, Ri1.0°.3"-- •
James Johnstone, of a son. f W"t-
-°
On the 23d inst., Mrs. Oliver, wife of Ur. Oliver'
of
ham, Essex, solicitor, of a son
T., the 11"11.
On the 23d inst., at Over Compton, Dorset,
John Goodden, Esq., of a son and heir. Airs. Job°
On the 24th inst., at Gresham-place, Dalston,
Oneoe-
Guillmard, of a son. . s:i •
the 24th inst., at Clapham-rise, Mrs. C. 1,,,,e.a91?0.11.4Y-e, •
On the 24th inst., the lady of Louis Lucas, •'-'"'" of
park-gardens, of a son. ~ EA"'
of
On the 24th inst., the lady of James Ingra"
Sussex-place, Regent's-park, of a daughter. A Mancha'
On the 24th inst., the lady of Mr. Joaquin .-to
Swinton-street, Pentonville, of a daughter.
Car
ALARR/ED. , ...ie
On the 12th inst., at St. George's, Hanover-!ejapt,
tain P. C. N. Ami, to Sarah Foule, only child e`
John Bennett.
Alpe,
DIED. balm `-
On the 20th inst., at'Brandon House, Chrlten ,
t 0
Countess de Ponthieu. e jug°
On the 20th inst., at St. John's-wood-terracd,:tibe. .1 of
park, Lady Feliche Perpetue Paul de LaMalloll ~,,, chili,
On the 23d inst., at Wilton, James Edward, env
yor,.-
the Hon. and Rev. C. A. Harris. —ter,
On the 19th inst,, Mr. William Jones, P°Stlll3' ''
' 1,- Jallie.'
terrace, Regent's-park. ox.-,
eg gent's-P
On the 22d inst., at Chester-terrace,
Robinson Hayward, Esq., aged 58. _.7—, cf
--, 'II
L!l'io.ri . 2' rilitt:d rnti fu;ii:Eshk., oy DI
i • P.lcl. °
Lran; , Print i . at: 2 'ice Sun 0414,000 X
Strand, nS . P the recinctw of the Savoy, is the
,liiiddlesex, Saturday, July 26, 1845.

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