The Sun.
London, England, 1810-05-17 00:00:00

COURT OF SESSION.

A cause aconsiderable importance, with regard
to the obervance of the Sabbath, and the authority
of magistrate's, was,deternained, by the'Court of Ses-
sion, in the month of December last.

A difference having arisen among the subscribers to
'the coffee-room, Or public news-room, in the to wn of
Arbroath, concerning the shuttinglifthe room during
divine service on Sabbath, the magistrates, and a num':
ber of the subscribers, found it necessary-to apply to.
the Lords of Council and Session, by bill of suspen-
sion, praying for an interdict against all_persons
whomsoever, from keeping thecoffee-room outl, or
meeting therein on Sabbath, during the time of public
worship in. the church or churches of the burgh and
parish of Arbroath. The application was made to
Lord tiermand, Ordinary, who, on the 14. th June
last, granted interdiet, to-the effeet, that the coil
fee-room shall be regularly shnt every Sunday.do
ing divine service. The bill of suspension came
to be advised by -Lord Glenlee, 'upon answers
and replies, when his Lordship passed the bill, and
continued the interdict, so tar as gl'anted on the appli-
Cation of't he magistrates. The case came aTterwdrds
to be discussed before Lord He-rmand„. when his
Lordship pronounced the following judgment :
" The; Lord Ordinary having heard th.r.! Counsel
for the parttes, finds, that magistrates of burghs, as
guardians of the public police, are entrled, and called
upon to inquire into, arid check,whatever appears to
them to be a violation thereof: Finds, that any ind,i'
vidual, member-of a society, is entitled to obje& Ib
any regulation or praCkice which- he cot4idcrs as
inconsistent with law and good order Finds, that
the keeping. a room open duringdi vine service, mile'
t.her for reading newSpapers, on any other secular
purpose, is a piaanation of the Lord's dray; sus'
pends the letters simpliciter, grants the interdict` as
craved, and decerns." •

This sentence was acquiesced in by the respoir.
dents.

Counsel for tho Magistrates and Subscribers, the
Hon. Henry Erskine,: and James' Moncrieff, Esq..l
for the Respondents, the Dean of Faculty, and
Francis Jeffrey, E,q.

By the Amelia higate which has arrived from the
coast of Gallicia, atter the short voyage of tour days,
we have intelligence to the 11th inst. relating both
Portugal and Spain.—The following qie extraOt9
from some of our letters

CORUN A, Al-AY B.—News by last night's Mail
_inform; us, that the :head-quorwrs of the 13:josh
I army have removed from Visets; and that it Was
advancing towardi Salamanca;"

The subsequent .extrat4.' suppl'es the particulars
of the siege and surrender of •Asic'iga, and of its • .
abandonment by the French troops after the de"
stru,::tion of the works. Tiis .city, so highly distio-
-.guished in Moorish ltistory, had, for many centa"
ries; been reduced to an open town, with no other
means of &fence than such as were_ provided foe
municipal'Ourposes. The gate of- Orense mentiotr
ed,was an anctent'edifice erected in the period to
which we have referred. ,
CORUNNA, MAY' the 2d April Junot
began the
_attick of Astorga, and continued it on the
23d, bit seeing it wa's deten.led by 250 men, al
resolved to take it, on the
.:otth he made a coYere"
way on the hide of the Bishop's Gate, situated on
part of the wall which was weak. At break V'
day he began to play upon it, and made a bre-leh
seven yards wide, as if it had been cot with a knife'
Three times they renewed the assault at this open'
, mg; on which the valiant Governor Santolices Or'
deted an obus 'to be planted thew, whiCh swept
down the ranks of the enemy bat at last, tilt'
brave':-otlker having no more 4.111, and seeio
Junot determined to- obtain possession Of the cilY'
he reludtantly surrendered it, and on Easter Tues-
day General Junot entered the place at the head of
two bodies.of artillery -and some cavalry.
" was met by the noble and generous San'
to}ices, who presented his sword to. the Frenchrnan,
which Junot desired him to retain, telling him that
he knew well how to employ it, and that he might
keep his Government it he would exercise his 00' ''
thotity in the name of the Emperor Napoleon. 4%1
this.offer he replied,- that ht was a Spaniard, and
that he should acknowledge no Sovereign but Fe'
dinand VII. After this reply, he was ordered,
with the other prisoner;, to be conducted to Villa"
dolid. The killed on the part of the cuemy amount
to 3500 men, and on our side we had only co(114
paratively a small number killed;'and,looo prisoners'
• " Our prudent General, when he capitulated, in-
troduced a condition, that the twors of the enemy
were not to be distrbuied in the adjacent country,
assigning as a-reason, that he c,,uld .not answer ter
their •security among "his- ind!gliant- countrymen'
Having arranged this matter, he ordered all his sol-
diets, that could procure the means, to dress die°
selves in peasansts' habits, and in 'that disguise e 4"
cape. By this. device, a pr,digious numbed' were
enabled to join the Spanish army in the neighbour
hood.

Junot had with him about 10,000 men, and
having etti.teted hi, porpose, he sent 3090 to Cit-Id4d
Rodrigo, 2000 to Asturias, aukf the rest .etnaii,ed to
Asiorga, who were env)°, ed in demolishing the
walls, and in the sequel, only 300 were reserved to
fititsh this work.

• " Those which proceeded to A-turias, when
deavouring to pass the Natono, w:-re attacked bf
Porlier (el Matqu:sita), who beat them and put
to a disgracefut ti,ght."

Mr. MACKELsIZIE is stated to have arrived 0t
Paris on the Ist inst. He is honoured by the Parisian
Editors with Cie title of Envoy of his Britannic IVIaS
jesiy, abd Mr. WILLIAM KITI'OU, who acCOMPaOig.
him, with that of his Secretary of Legation.
The Public will phase to observe, tint the only
person in partnership with the lite Sir J. 8RA149...
COMB, at the time that Firm shared and sold 11)6
Grand Prize of One Thousand Tickets, which Pr°-
duced 24,7651. (in last April Lottery) was E. k*
TON, whoii now removed to No.. 2,; CoTabil I, near
the Mansion-house.

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