The Sun.
London, England, 1828-02-05 00:00:00

believe there is hardly.a.seet or denomination in
Great Britain so insignificant as not to possess some
Court, constituted in-one way or another, to which
it virtually, if ,not openly; defers. How many of
these bodies, which really represent the Dissenters of
the United Kingdom, have signified their adh,:rence
to the resolutions of the Dissenting Committee ? We
have ito wish to impugn Mr. Smith's assertions ;
they may rest on very good grounds ; but we are
anxious to ascertain what theSe are. It makes but
little towards the general question whether Mr.
Smith be right or wrong in stating that the Dissen-
ters, though they do not ostensibly make common
cause with the Roman Catholics, do yet wish them
all manner of success, and will assist them if they
can. The question is not to be decided by numbers.
We should be as little disposed to abate one jot of
our opposition to-the parties when combined as we
should to them separate. But it is of some import-
ance to not a few of the Dissenters that their feel-
ings and opinions should be clearly and unequivo-
cally expressed.. To all such as are within the scope
of the Indemnity Act we should particularly address
ourselves. Do they join with the Roman Catholics ?
Does the Church of Scotland join with them ? As-
suredly the claims of that class of our fellow-citizens
have no friend in the most celebrated of the Presby-
terian Ministers in London. So far as he may be
supposed to speak the sentiments of his countrymen
—and we rather presume his claims that way are
better founded than those of the Dissenters' Com-
mittee—there is but .little disposition in the good
folks be-north the Tweed to bolster up Emancipa-
tion.—New Times.

The case of Gulley v. the Bishop of Exeter,
which was argued in the Court of Common Pleas
the other day, afforded a striking, but by no means
an uncommon, illustration of the extravagant lengths
to which the absurd 'system of special pleading is
carried at the present day. That was an action
arising out of a ctntested claim of advowson, in
which the Bishop was only the nominal defendant.
The plaintiff rested his claim upon a deed, which,
he contended, was`granted by the original possessor
to his ancestors, in the year 1672. The defendant
disputed the validity of this deed, and set up (mother
which purported to be a conveyance of the advow-
son to his ancestors in 1674 ; and on this deed he
relied for the establishment of his title. The prin-
cipal point in issue, therefore, must, have been,
whether the deed on which the plaintiff rested his
claim was a legal and valid conveyance ; for, if it
Was, its priority in execution to that pleaded by the
deCendrint, must have decided the question of title
to the advowson, or thing conveyed. Now, to as-
certain whether such deed was a valid one would
have been, in the more primitive days of our legal
practice, a question comprised in a small compass.—
It would have been necessary to have produced the
deed in evidence, for the Court to examine whether
it had all the legal requisites of an instrument of
such a nature as it purported to be. Of course, do
witnesses could be called to prove the execution of
so old a deeed; nor, if it were possible for those
who subscribed it to live to that patriarchal age,
would their evidence be required, as the law
presumes the execution of a deed of thirty years'
standing and upwards ; but it would be necessary to
show whether there had been any, and what, pos-
sf.lsion under it. Thus the two points of the ques-
tion at issue would be—the legal execution of the
deed, by its own inspection—and the possession un-
der it, by documentary or oral evidence. Yet, upon
this question—so plain, so simple—the special pleader
raises a verbal structure offortu-three special pleas!
the most of then having as much real connection
with the elucidation of the subject as so many pas-
sages taken at random out of Gulliver' s Travels ;
for sham pleas are just as true as any of the state-
ments in that veracious author, though very far
from being so amusing. An application having
been made to the Court, by the Counsel for the
plaintiff, to strike out a certain number of those
pleas, it was contended, on the other side, that
they had become necessary on account of the
amendments which had been made- by the plain-
tiff;
which caused Chief Justice Best to observe,
in a manner as just as it was caustic, that, " when
there were forty-three pleas in a case, amendments
might be expected until the Day of Judgment." Of
course, his Lordship meant the day of judgment in
another world, as it could never be expected to ar-
rive in this! Mr. Justice Park also took occasion to
state that it would .be impossible for him to forget
the record, as it was of the size of the great dining
room at Exeter, and reached .from one end of that
apartment to the other ! Here is an example of that
sort_ of legal practice .which makes justice a machi-
nery of forms to drain the pockets of suitors. We
have often felt it our duty to remark upon the manly
and vigorous good sense with which Chief Justice
Best combats and endeavours to put down this mer-
cenary and vexatious practice, so disgraceful to the
administration of the laws. But we fear it is now
t-s 6 strong except for the Legislature, where it can-
not be too soon exposed and remedied.—Morning
Herald.

WEYMOUTH ELECTION.

WEYMOUTH, SATEADAY EVENING.

This Borough enjoys a privilege allowed to no
other place in the kiogdem except London,—that of
sending four Members to Parliament. The repre-
sentatives are elected by freeholders of Weymouth
or Melcombe Regis, whether inhabitants or other-
wise; and every elector has the same privilege as
in London, of polling for four candidates, who, when
chosen, are returned in one indenture, under the title
of " Burgesses of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis."
A six-and-eight-penny freeholder is as much entitled
to vote for the four members as a gentleman who pos-
sesses an income of 6,000/. a-year. An individual who
boasts of property worth 100/. or 2001. can have it
cut into small parts, (or into 6s. Sd. votes), and by the
legal alchymy of lease and release, the proprietor
parts with and receives back what the simple-hearted
would imagine had been diffused among a great num-
ber of people.
. The general impression is, that Major Weyland
will gain the day. Mr. Sugden was yesterday some-
what disconcerted at the electioneering wit of a
burgess's wife :—" Why do you wear that shabby
blue favour in your cap ?" said the candidate in his
most winning way. " Because I a'nt a better," she
replied. " Then I will give you a pretty purple
one," said he ; and he accordingly drew a few yards
of riband of that colour from his pocket. " Thank'ye,
Sir ; I will wear this for your sake after the elec-
tion is over."

Mr. Sugden left here for town at eight o'clock last
night, to attend to his duty in Chancery. The
rooms where his committees meet in the evening
are generally crowded, especially where the purple is
freely bestowed. , Many of these, however, who
stile themselves his " well-wishers," marched
straight from his to Major Weyland's committee-
rooms, and put down their names as voters. The
inhabitants are familiar with election chicane ; and
so, I fear, Mr. Sugden will know to his cost, when
the hustings are opened. It is said that the precept
will he read some time in the course of to-day ; and
that polling will commence on Tuesday or Wednes-
day. Mr. Sugdeu's convenience has been consulted
by the Worthy Mayor, who is the returning officer.
An immense number of voters are 'coming in from
Shaftesbury and other parts of the county.

INCREASE OF LIVERPOOL. The annual in-
come of the (orp oraitilt itfncinLiss,ievrpe, was Liverpool, an average of
1,603/. 61. 2d. ; tur •,
years, &0ra17.2 Ito 1730
ten years from 1739 to 1748, it amounted to 2,126/. I9s.
60. At that time Cleveland-square seas a corn-field, and
Whitechapel
was a shady country lane (called Frog-lane) ;
Sparling-street
uras.a distant Sunday walk, and St. Peter's
Church then stood in the fields. All these places are now
in thebuildi .
grnsolsvti
tphoilitiultohu and
es
town
nc crowded p
extending
ngar tof
for
ra the etown ; the
least a
mile
that o 'which a century ago
north, south, and east of - place,
was situated in the environs. The income of the corpora-
tion last year amounted to 131,2021•
and trade of Liverpool continue to increase town
next
iis:2ddurinlgf the
ee
century as they have increased during the last, we shall
rival London, not only in extent of trade, but in numbers
1 of our population.--Liverpool Parr.