The Sun.
London, England, 1826-01-05 00:00:00

[THE PUBLIC LEOGUIt.j

We have received the Paris Papers of Monday,
and the Etoile dated Tuesday. They are chiefly
occupied with the controversy respecting the sue.
cession to the ItUiSilln throne ; but whilst the
abdication of Constantine is insisted upon us stren:
uously as ever en one side, the contradiction is
given in a less peremptory tone on the other. As yet
wP see no reason to change our own opinion on the
subject, as we can see no reason for further mys.
lery, If there be any truth in the statement. Had
Constantine, ks stated, freely renounced his right
to the throne in favour of his brother, the fact
would, in all probability, be. fully ascertained'
before now, as there could be no motive, al least'
(lint we can discover, for concealment. The re.
gular order of succession would not be disturbed,
and therefore the most timid mind could See in
the proceeding tie danger to the national tran-
quillity. Bat, If we are wrong, we are not
at least under error in rejecting that part
of the report, which says that the abdi-
cation has been the voluntary act of Con.
storable. If there be any uncertainty on the

subjetf, it arises from some arrangement of the
late Emperor, by which he wished to interrupt
the regular Order of Succession ; in which case,
we have no doubt but Constantine would try to
set it aside by the sword. In the mean time, the
Directing Senate at St. Petersburgh has ordered
that Prince to be proclaimed in every part of the
Empire with the customary formalities— an
order wholly inconsistent, in our opinion, with
the idea, that Alexander has left a testamen.
tarp disposition of a different kind. It ap-
pears, too, that Constantine has been proclaimed
at Moscow ; anti it will be found, or we are
greatly mistaken, that the rumour of his ab-
dication has its, origin solely in the wishes of
those, who see in his succession the seeds of po-
litical troubles.

[MORNINce HERALD.]
it is reported, that during the late run upon
the Banking-houses at Cambridge, some of the
Heads of Colleges actually took so warm and
kind an interest in the concerns of one establish-
ment, as to have attended behind the counter ;
but whether for the purpose of dealing out the
money in payment of the Banker's notes, or to
deter persons by their presence from applying
for the payment of them, does not appear.
Some curious anecdotes are afloat upon the
Occasion, which, if the dulness incident to
mathematical research has not driven every
thing like wit from the shades of Academus,
will, we should think, he handed down to
posterity with the load of other nonsense with
which learued.triflers, or triflers without learning,
have adorned the Ana of their Alma Mater.—
There are people, however, uncharitable enough
to think, that this was not a very fit or apostolical
occupation for these eminent divines to have been
engaged in ; and that though as money-changers
they were not actually in the Nemple, yet that
they had duties connected with it which they
would have been better employed in fulfilling.—
Besides, the querulous people we allude to
reason thus :—" The Clergy," say they, 44 have
a manifest interest in supporting the paper sys-
tem ; in the Colleges it keeps up the corn-rents,
and elsewhere the tithes; neither of which would
probably long survive any serious convulsion in
the country." Be this as it may, there surely
might be laymen enough found to perform the
offices of bankers' clerks, without having recourse
to a species of assistance, the unseemliness of
which is too apparent for any motive to justify.

I:MORNING CHRONICIA.I
The American Lawyers appear to he perfect
cormorants in the article of Repinfs. There is a
paper in the last number of the North American
Review, in which the writer boasts, that in addi-
tion to their own Reports, which are pretty con-
siderable, we guess, the American Lawyers make
use of the English Reports, not as authorities,
but as examples ; and he reproaches our
Lawyers with not reading and quoting their
Reports in like manner in the Courts of Justice,
imputing this omission to prejudice. Alas ! the
worthy Reviewer little imagines the number
of Reports with which the English Lawyer
is overwhelmed---a number we are afraid to
quote*, or if he be aware of the fact, and would
recommend, in addition to this mass, the reports
of all the decisions of the principal Courts of the
United States, he must 1w a person of singular
ideas of application indeed, and no one of the
robe here will pretend to compete with him in
reading. That the Americans are generally insa-
tiable of reports we must infer front this asser-
tion :—" We should rejoice to (it'd English law
books in our Courts of Justice, as we do to see
English machinery in our manufactories." The
best thing they could do with the books when
they get them would be to burn theta to light the
fires of their manufactories., . It is amusing
enough to find nearly the whole of the article
We are noticing filled with praises of what
tha writer calls the Common Law transplanted
front England ; this name was in use here till Mr.
Bentham exploded the fallacy, and gave the thing
the proper description of the Judge-made Law.
Nevertheless, we believe that there are, even
now, a few people among us who talk of
the Common Law as of a thing on which
a man may lay his finger. Our North Ame-
rican Reviewer is a vehement admirer of
this Common Law, and, by force Of a Meth-
plior, gives it a decided advantage over a code
of laws. 66 A. code of laws," says he, "is a coat
of mail, which, however perfectly made, admits
of but few movements, and can fit hut one person,
and tho for a short period ; while the Common
Law is an elastic garment, which adapts itself to
every size, and every variety of 'notion." What a
thing is a metaphor ! Thus, even thus, is the
question between the written law and the Judge's
law disposed of. For our parts, we dont greatly
admire those elastic garments which adapt them-
selves to every size and every variety of motion,
for the Judges, not the judged, have the comfort
and advantage of their elasticity. No matter
what sort of coat a Code is like, it is no bad thing
provided it he well. rnade.

" A practising Lawyer in England must take in at least four
volumes of Reports a yLar„ one for each of the fonfhigh Courts.
if he only take in one volume then from each of the' four-and-
twenty'States of the Union, he will, in process of time, make,
-we recken, " a pretty considerable imitation particular" addi-
tion to his library,

CASTOU castor oil plant (palma
christi) is indigenous to Southern Africa, and is found fir
abundance in most parts of this colony. It may be useful to
some persons in remote situations to know, that the safe and
valuable medicine which this plant produces is readily obtained
by the following simple process ; —The ripe seeds ,are cleared
from the husks' well stamped in a mortar, and then boiled in
water till the nil rises to the surface. This is carefully skimmed
otT; but as some water will be still mixed with the oil, it is
necessary to boil, it over, again in an iron pot, till the water be
thoroughly expelled, by evaporation. This method of obtain.
ins castor oil is practised with perfect success by the Moravian
Missionaries at Gusolenthali who also use indiscriminately the
seeds of the different varieties of the plant found in that vicinity,
without perceiving any difference in the quality of the 0i1...—.
(South Africeti Advertiser.)

FIRE.—The starch mills nod manufactory of
Mr. KOMPSOW, situated at Hampton, were this
mailing, about four o'clock, debtroyed by fire,
supposed to have originated in one of the- Hues.
Four fine draught horses could not be rescued,
such Was the rapidity of the dreadful element,
and perished.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

idANSION-110USE.

Yesterday the Captain of the Venus Leith Smack, and the
crew, appeared before the LORD MAYOR, in consequence of a
summons to attend the investigation of the circumstances of the
death of two young men, named John Kinghorn and Robert
Boyd. The complaint was made by the father of Kinghorn.—
The first witness examined was the steward of the Venus,
which belongs to the London, Leith, Edinburgh, and Glas-
got! Company. His testimony was to the following effect :
On the 25th of December they were sailing between the Inch-
keith and the Firth, when, at night, the witness heard that a
man was overboord, and ran upon deck; they were then going
at the rate of 5 knots an hour before the wind; witness heard
the deceased, R. Boyd, who was the mate, cry out " Halloo !"
in the water. They threw out two casks, one after the other,
towards him ; they had no boat at the stern ; they put about as
quickly as possible, hut some time elapsed before they could
do so; they had no stern-boat, nor had they had any for 11
months, during which the witness had served on board the
smack; they had one boat, but it was lashed on the midships,
and filled with casks, which formed part of the cargo, and were
lashed together ; the boat, therefore, was quite useless, as they
could not get it out in less than an hour ; they put back for 20
minutes, but Boyd soon sunk. In answer to various questions.
from the Lord Mayor, the witness stated, that if they had had a
stern
,boat, or other boat that was free, they could have got it
out in five minutes, and Boyd might have been saved. The
man at the helm, a sailor, gave evidence to the same effect.—
The case of the loss of young Kinghorn was then inquired into.
On Tuesday the 27th they were entering the Cockle, in the
Yarmouth roads. The first witness stated that they were going
under a try-sail, with a heavy sea. At twelve o'clock at noon
Kinghorn, in heaving the lead at the quarter deck, fell over.
board. The poor lad swam after them, strong, for a long time.
—The LORD MAYOR : WM, and did you throw nothing to
him P—Witness : No, my Lord, we were in such confusion.—
The LORD MAYOR : Did you not then put back ?—Witness :
No, my Lord, we were then running through the narrows. We
did touch as it was, and for our own lives we could not turn
either way. It was a heavy gale; we saw him swimming atter
us, strong, for it long time. At last I saw a large wave cover
him, anti did not see him again. It shocked us very much,
my Lord, to see him lost in that manner, but we could
do nothing.—The LORD BlaYon : If you had had a
boat then, could you have got it out to save him P—The Cap.
fain : My Lord, no boat could have lived in that sea.—
lt was then stated that the complainant, Mr. Kinghorn,
had been misinformed, when he said Boyd was a good
swimmer. The Steward, on being questioned as to the prac-
tice of the smacks with respect to stern boats, said that some
did carry them, that it was the general practice, but he could
not he positive that all did.—The Loan MAYOR said, with
respect to the second case, it did not appear that any parti-
colar blame was attributable to those on board, but it was
advisable that all such vessels should be provided with
something which might be thrown overboard with effect,
upon such emergencies. With respect to the first case, it
was clear, that had there been a boat free, the poor mate's life
might have been saved. So far there was great negligence,
and he should dismiss the case, in the confidence that the ves-
sel would not be allowed to proceed to sea without a proper
boat attached to it.—The Captain said he would state the wish
of his Lordship to the owners.—lt was stated to the Lord
Mayor, that there was among the inventions submitted to the
Humane Society, one calculated to be of great service in cases
like the present. It was a buoy, which would support one
person. !'here was a small piece Of machinery attached to it,
by which a fusee was lighted in an instant. This invention
was hung at the stern, and when a person fell over at night,
the Noce was lighted, and the buoy thrown overboard. The
man was then enabled to see it, and those on board would be
guided to the spot where he was sustained.—The Lo RD MAYOR
said, those vessels which carried passengers ought undoubtedly
to be provided with something of that nature.