The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-22 00:00:00

CAUSES OF DEATH.

PRICE sd.

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE IN A
COURT OF JUSTICE.
At the Public Office yesterday (Friday), after a charge
against sonic prisoners for stealing toilet bottles had been
disposed of, Inspector William Hall handed up to the Mayor
(who, with Mr. Weston, the ex.-Mayor, presided) a slip of
prper, which, we were subsequently informed, contained
the following notification :—" Feb. 14, 1845.—Inspector
Hall begs leave most respectfully of the Mayor to allow him
to resign forthwith." After presenting his resignation,
The brayer said—l will see you after, Mr. Hall. We can-
not accept your resignation without knowing what it is for.
Mr. Hall (in an excited tone)—That has nothing to do
with the matter. You may as well accept my resignation
now as any other time; and if you do not, it shall come be-
fore the public.
The Mayor here attempted to interpose, to put an end to
further discussion in such a place.
Mr. Hall—l have been most grossly insulted by Mr.
Weston, the ex-Mayor—a greater vagabond never was seen
on the bench ; and I now tender my resignation as a man.
[This language of Hall produced great sensation in court.]
The Mayor—Mr. Hall, this is very improper language.
Hall—l don't care, I will have something to say about you
before the public, before I have done.
The Mayorl do not care what you have to say of me
before the public.
Hall—l will not serve such a corporation and such a b--
set of thieves and vagabonds any longer. There are a few
thieves there (pointing to the gallery), that are a d—d sight
more respectable and more competent to fill that situation.
I can go and get a porter's situation at 128. or 14s. a week,
as you did when you were at Mr. James's, in the Bull Ring.
Hall was proceeding in this abusive and violent strain, in
spite of the repeated efforts of Mr. Gem, magistrate's clerk,
and Mr. Redfern to restrain him, the latter frequently ejacu-
lating "Hall ! Hall !" in a deprecating tone.
In reply to the remonstrances of these gentlemen, Hall
continued, "I don't care ; r I know what I am doing," and
(turning to Mr. Weston), exclaimed with vehemence, "You
have been studying the law, have you ? You have been
studying the law and morality? Recollect Highgate! I
can live upon 12s. a week, and upon porridge, as you did in
the Bull Ring."
Hall was here bustling towards the door, when Mr. Weston
who had during the extraordinary scene remained silent and
perfectly undisturbed, addressed him and said, " Hall, the
Mayor and myself dismiss you."
Fall—Very well; that is done, that is better; you have
been obeying the law, and at the same time you have been
studying a d—d deal of immorality.
Hall here left the office.
There are various surmises as to the real cause of this scene,
some attributing the inspector's violence to mental aberration,
while others, who see a " method in his madness," do not
hesitate to say that it is the first act of a plot got up to in-
sult the Chief Magistrate of the borough, and bring the
authority of the Corporation into disrepute.—Birmingham
Journal.
REVOLUT

lON AT ICHABOE.
Strange as such a fact may be, it is not more strange
than true. By letters which have arrived in town this
week, it is stated that a complete, and happily, a blood-
less revolution had taken place at Ichaboe, at the date of
the last dispatches. It seems that in the operations of
the first six months after the island was visited, a host of
agents or supercargses established themselves on the
island, erecting tents and temporary residences. In a
short time they marked off the ground, and laid claim to
all the principal parts as their own bone fide property, on
behalf of themselves and their employers at home, erect-
ing loading stages, and selling pits at extravagant prices.
Till the revolution no opposition was made to this nude
of procedure, and the consequence was, that ultimately
no ship, unless the captain submitted to these land sharks,
could get a shovel's breadth of ground to land upon.
When an agent had a ship loading at his stage, he pur-
posely kept dallying with the work, until another ship
from his house at home would arrive to take up the
berth, although there might be three hundred other ships
surrounding the little island, and waiting for access to
the beach. Squabbles and small fights were of continued
occurrence, and increased until a sloop of war arrived to
preserve order. Her commander remained till he be-
lieved his presence was no longer necessary. On the
following day the demurring shipmasters held a meeting,
and it was very soon resolved that a general reform
should be made instanter. There were about 300 ships
at moorings, and each ship agreed to send her proportion
of men ashore with guns and bayonets, mustering
altogether about 1,400 men. Supercargo tewn was
attacked, and its entire population put to the rout at
the point of the bayonet, and driven directly into
the
sea up to their chins, and the discomfited landlords there
and then made to swear, that from that time henceforth
they had relinquished all right and title to the soil of
Ichaboe, after which declaration they were permitted to
return to their respective places of abode. This sum-
mary proceeding produced an entire chango in the civil
affairs of the island, and skips are now loading at the
rate of 50 tons a day after lying idle for months,—
Greenock Observer.

COURT or SESSION (SCOTLAND).—A return of the
number of causes instituted and decided in the Court of
Session, from the Ist day of January, 1844, to the Ist of
January, 1845, has just been presented to Parliament,
and punted by order of the House of Commons, pur-
suant to the Act I 'William IV., cap. 69. There appear
to be five Lords Ordinary—Lord Cunninghame, Lord
Murray, Lord Ivory, Lord Wood, and Lord Robertson.
In the " outer house," as it is called, the number of
causes enrolled for the first time before all the Lords
Ordinary amounted to 1,457, the number of decrees in
absence to 476 ; the number of final judgments pro-
nounced in litigated causes to 800, of which 20 were
pronounced by Lord Cunninghame, 25 by Lord Murray.
73 by Lord Ivory, 229 by Lord Wood, and 206 by Lord
Robertson. The total number of causes ready for de-
bate but not heard amounts to 94, and the total
of causes ad avizanduni to 18. In the "inner house"
the number of reclaiming notes presented against
judgments of Lords Ordinary in the course of the
same year amounted to 289, viz., 207 in the first, and
82 in the second division. The number of incidental
and summary applications presented during the same
period amounted, in the first division, to 580, of
which 558 passed as matters of form ; and in the second
division to 362, of which 330 passed as matters of form.
The number of final judgments pronounced in litigated
causes, without the intervention of a jury, amounted to
122 and 96 in each division respectively. The number
of causes tried by jury to 25 and 23 respectively. The
number of causes ready for judgment on hearing; c
sel or otherwise amount, in the first division, to 'olin. which 19 are to be tried by jury ; and in the ;econl,dio-f
vision, to 34, of which 15 are to be tried by jury.
PREVENTION OF SMOKE.—Sir William 11 lagnay,
P
Alderman John Johnson,
asd several scientific men,
visited Mr. Godson's retises in Aldersgate-street, on
Wednesday, for the purpose of witnessing the operation
of his apparatus for the prevention of the very offensive
nuisance of smoke. Mr. Godson's patent furnace for
the consumption of smoke has been under trial in the
factory at the Dockyard at Woclwich, and at Ports-
mouth Dockyard, by the Government, and several re-
ports have been made most strongly representing its
efficacy. The numerous gentle men who tested the Tiower
of the apparatus expressed surprise at the extraordinary
disappearance of smoke during the whole time the fur-
nace was blazing, and also at the simplicity of the plan.
They remained during an hour on the premises, and
expressed their admiration of the ingenuity by which
one of the greatest nuisances the metropolis is infested
with can be completely removed. Many Members of
Parliament have been to examine the patent furnace
within the last few ‘veeks, in consequence of the inten-
tion to legislate upon the subject of the prevention of
smoke early in the present session.
ti ENBZUELA SUGAR.—A return has just been pre-
sented to the House of °carillons, strait* the quantity of
sugar which has been admitted for home consumption under
the 7th and Bth Victoria, c. 28, at the rate of 345. per cwt.,
and 5 per cent., between the sth July, 1844, and the latest
period to which it could be made up. It appears that the
total amount is 11 cwt. 2 qrs. 131bs. of sugar, all of which is
the produce of Venezuela.

LAW INTELLI
COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feh. 21.
(Sittings at Guildhall, before the LORD Climb' Banox and a
London Jury.)
O'CONNELL V. HEPWORTH AND ANOTHER.
Mr. JAMES (with whom was Mr. Lush) stated that this
was an action brought by Mr. Henry O'Connell, the illegiti-
mate son of Mr. Daniel O'Connell, against the defendants,
as proprietors of a newspaper called The Wakefield Journal
and lVestßiding Heruld,for a libel published in that paper on
the Sth of March, 1844, reflectinn. on Mr. O'Connell's charac-
ter. The Learned Counsel stated that the plaintiff; although
he inherited nothing else from his father, inherited
some portion of his talent and eloquence, and as soon as he
arrived at maturity, disdaining to be 'a mendicant on his
father, he earned a livelihood by lecturing in various towns
in the country on the science of astonomy. By the profits
obtained from these lectures, the plaintiff supported himself
and his mother, whose name was Courtenay. In the spring
of last year the plaintiff lectured at Leeds, where his lectures
were numerously and respectably attended. He afterwards
proceeded to Wakefield, where he also purposed to give lie-
tures ; but, before any lecture had been delivered by bim
that town, the defendants published the libel now complained
of. The Learned Counsel then read the alleged libel, which
was as follows :
"Lectures on Astronoinv.—A Mr. H. O'Connell, who
claims to be a son of Mr. Daniel O'Connell, M.P., has been
delivering a course of lectures at Leeds this week, which
have been very thinly attended, and gave but indifferent
satisfaction. This Mr. O'Connell, we are informed, Is dis-
avowed by the learned Irish agitator, who declares that he
is no son of his, and that it is a trick by the use of his name
to gain audiences. We leave the disputants to settle their
own quarrel, but it certainly is a singular thing for a father
to deny his own son, and inercenav as we believe Mr. D.
O'Connell to be, we do not believe him so lost to every sense
of shame as to disavow his own flesh and blood. We un-
derstand this Mr. H. O'Connell is the same man who was
exhibited at Exeter Hall some few years ago as the bastard
son of the Honourable and Learned Member for ' all Ire-
land,' and whose exposure only threw ridicule upon the
getters up of the affair. We perceive that the gentleman is
posted on the walls of this town as Mr. H. O'Connell, the
sen of Mr. D. O'Connel), M.P." The Learned Counsel said
that -nearly every allegation contained in this paragraph
was false. Mr. O'Connell never denied that the plaintiff
was his son ; on the contrary, he had paid for his education
until he was of an age to support himself. The plaintiff
had never exhibited himself at Exeter Ball, as suggested;
this was a piece of fabrication. In fact, the paragraph was
as false as it was cruel and malicious; and it had been the
sources of positive injury to the plaintiff. hle was engaged
by a lady named Penn, who kept a boarding school, to give
lectures to her pupils, but, after hearing of this paragraph,
she declined to let him continue his lectures. In this, as in
other cases of libel, it was impossible to know to what extent
it might have injured the plaintiff to represent. him as an
impostor. lie, therefore, called upon the jury to give rex-
sonable damages.
Mr. WILKINS, for the defendants, submitted that a person
who had the indelicacy to go through the country promul-
gating his own unfortunate situation and the frailty of his
parents, was fairly open to the imputation conveyed in the
paragraph read to the jury. All that the defendant had
done was to suggest that the plaintiff's mother and father
were not what he represented them to be. The Learned
Gentleman observed that there was a new coin, half farthings,
known in the north as "grahams." The plaintiff did not
want damages, but notoriety ; let the jury give him notoriety,
by being the first person to whom a British jury awarded a
"graham."
The jury, after five minutes' consideration, returned a ver-
dict for the plaintiff—Damages 101.

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