The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-11 00:00:00

GANEO V. HUGHES.

This was an action to recover the sum of 101. on an
lOU. The defendant denied the signature.
The plaintiff's attorney gave evidence that the plaintiff
was a diamond merchant, carrying on business under the
firm of Day and Co., to whom the lOU was addressed.
A witness was called, who said that he had seen the
defendant write a great number of times, and did nut
believe it to be his handwriting.
The attorney said the witness was evidently adverse,
and plaintiff would submit to a nonsuit.

LEE V. DREW.
This was an action on a bill of exchange, of which
the defendant was indorsee.
Defendant pleaded that he had not had due notice of
dishonour.
The facts were these :—The defendant, who is a pub-
lican, residing in Stationers-court, Ludgate-hill, had
indorsed the bill. The drawer had notice of dishonour
the day the bill was dishonoured, and went next day to
defendant's house, and left word with the barmaid that
the bill was dishonoured. .

The UNDER•SHERIFF held that a verbal notice to a
third party was insufficient.
In another case, between the same parties, a boy was
called to prove that a notice of dishonour bad been sent
by post. He, however, could not read, but was told by
his master after he (witness) had posted it.
For the defendant it was contended that the contents
of the letter must be proved.
The UNDER-SHERIFF left it to the jury to say whether
the notice was good, and whether it had reached de-
fendant ; leave, however, would be given to set aside the
verdict, whichever way it was.
In the first case, plaintiff was non•suited. In the
second, a verdict for the plaintiff.

BOW-STREET.--(THIS DAY.)
A servant girl was charged with stealing two boxes,
containing some shirt studs, three pieces of silver coin,
and a glazier's diamond, the property of her master, a
plumber and glazier, living in Princes-street, Red Lion-
square.
The prosecutor said that the prisoner came into his
service on Tuesday of last week, having an excellent
character from her former employer. On Thursday
evening she went out, and did not return. In the
course of the week he missed the property in ques-
tion, and happening to meet her father ou Monday,
he told him what had occurred. On Tuesday the
father brought her to his house, when she said that she
had not taken the things, but gave no reason for ab-
sconding. He then told her he would forgive her if she
gave up the stolen property, but she persisted i❑ saying
that she had not taken anything, and he sent for a
policeman to give her in charge. As soon as she saw
the policeman, she took from her breast the two boxes,
which contained the studs and the diamonds.
The policeman took possession of them, and
took the prisoner in custody. In the course of the day
a boy who was now in Court came to his house, and
gave him a paper parcel cotaining three old coins, which
witness had not missed.
The boy now came forward, and said that the parcel
was given to him by a man who met him in the street,
and gave him a penny to take the parcel to the pro-
secutor's house.
Mr. HALL commented severely on the impropriety of
persons giving good characters with servants knowing
them to be false. He would not recommend the prose-
cutor to press the charge, as his having held out hopes
of forgi►eness to the prisoner would be a sufficient reason
for a jury to acquit her.
The prosecutor said he did not wish to press the
charge; he only wanted to recover his property.
The property was accordingly given up, and the pri-
soner discharged.
Mr. HALL observed that if the prosecutor could prove
that the persons who gave the girl the false character
did so knowingly, he could bring an action against them,
and would recover very heavy damages.
The prosecutor said he would certainly do so if he
found that they knew it to be false.

OPENING OF THE PORTS.
ST. MARTIN'S-IN-THE-FIELDS' VESTRY
MEETING.—(THIS DAY.)
A special meeting of the parishioners and ratepayers
in this parish was held this morning, at ten o'clock, in
the Vestry-room, in compliance with a numerously-
signed requisition, to take into consideration the pre-
sent state of the country, and to memorialise her Ma-
jesty to open the ports for the free importation of foreign
corn forthwith.

Mr. Puca, one of the churchwardens, having been
called to the chair, said he had called the meeting in
consequence of the requisition which had been sent him,
numerously and respectably signed. He had done so
with pleasure, as he was always glad to meet the wishes
and to further the views of the parishioners, and in the
chair would be happy to further the object of the meeting
in every way he could.
Mr. R. STANHOPE WILKES, who rose to move the
first resolution, said he was glad that a meeting bad at
length been called. Westminster, which used to lead
on these great questions, had been anticipated every-
where by meetings having the same object in view as
had brought them together. Yet, they had just come
in at the nick of time, when their effiarts would most
The Ministers, he had heard, had resigned, be-
cause of division in the Cabinet ; whether it were so or
not was very immaterial to them as convened on that
occasion ; the object of the meeting was that which
must occupy their attention. The impoverished state
of the country was the cause which brought them to-
gether'; their object must be to devise measures of
alleviation. Such a crisis as the present compelled
him to compare the state of his fellow-
countrymen with that of the West India slaves, which
bad so largely occupied their thoughts in times bygone ;
and he must say it was difficult to discover which was the
preferable condition—that of the white slave or that of
the black. Their endeavour must be to effect the abo-
lition of the corn-laws, and these, but temporarily with-
drawn, could not, in the nature of things, be reimposed.
He quoted, from the times of Charles 11., a presentiment
similar to that he had expressed—that a bad law, being
once withdrawn, could not be put on again. He con-
cluded by moving the following resolution
" We, the inhabitants of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields,
in vestry assembled, el, clare our deliberate conviction
that nothing can justify the Legislature in tampering
with the food of the people, or impeding the free pur-
chase of the articles on, which depend the existence of
a large portion of the community. That the removal of
all- restrictions on the article of food is expedient to the
general prosperity and peace of the country, is
a measure dictated by all sound principles,
confirmed by a long and fatal experience of the
effect of an opposite course ; that it is demanded
by the wants and pressing necessities of the labouring
classes ; that it is sanctioned bythe judgment of the edu-
cated part of the community ; that the present condition
of the country renders it a measure of immediate neces-
sity, the delay of which must inflict much hardship on
the working classes, and seriously interfere with all in-
dustrious pursuits by which the suffering attendant on a
bad harvest might be obviated."
This was seconded by Mr. MURRAY.
Mr. STAUNTON said he thought that the mover of
such a resolution, so worded, was bound to give them
some data on which the assertions in it are grounded be-

avail.

fore they could be expected to pass it. The resolution
he thought, was too strong. The Ministers were respon•
sible for the condition of the people, that they do not
s ant food—as much responsible for this as that there
should be pounds, shillings, and pence in the Exchequer;
and were the state of the country such as the resolution
represents it they would have done something before this,
He remembered a time when the use of food in any
unnecessary way was prohibited; now at the present
moment they were in the habit of using flour in many
ways not necessary for their support, in puddings and
pies for example, and would not the Government, did it
consider that necessary, prohibit the use of it in that
way? He thought the failure of the wheat crop had
been unnecessarily overstated. He would take the
Times Commissioner in Ireland for his authority, a
gentleman whose ability and opportunity would weigh
with them; and he begged to say that in his reports he
could find no such :statement of failure borne out. As
for the potatoes, he would just remind them that Mr.
Cobbett, a great man on many points, had deprecated
the introduction of that fruit into England. The reso-
lution, he said, might suit some who were moving with
the Anti-Corn-law League. The abolition of these laws
would work for the immense advantage of the chief sup-
porters of the League, who happened to be in the corn-
market, acid to have vast quantities on hand. These
men had endeavoured to coerce the Ministers, but he
did not think it was a subject on which Ministers ought
to be forced. He could not, therefore, agree with the
resolution just moved.
Mr. HATCHARD said the condition of the country bad
weighed with him in adopting the course he took. The
failure in the potato crop could not be questioned, nor
could that of the wheat crop. Both together must
severely affect the poor, so that the country requires the
measure by necessity. Mr. Hatchard then spoke of
having heard of incendiary fires in Bedfordshire, and
that a gentleman he had seen very lately was
afraid to leave home on account of them, and
said that till that time he had been always
averse to a repeal of the corn-laws. The Anti-Corn-
law League appeared to him to be made up of persons,
merchants and manufacturers, whose interests were to
be served by the object which the League proposed to
attain. There might be some who had the same opinions,
who might therefore not be inclined to adopt the original
resolution ; he therefore moved as an amendment :
" That the removal of all restrictions on the articles of
food is expedient to the general prosperity and peace of
the country ; it is a measure dictated by all sound prin.
cin'es, confirmed by a long and fatal experience of the
eff,cts of an opposite course ; and that it is demanded by
the wants and pressing necessities of the labourirg
classes."
Mr. R. lIAm, seconded the amendment.
Mr. STAUNTON expressed his disapprobation of this
also.

Mr. POUNCEY said he did not think there was a per-
son there who was prepared to go so far.—(This was
denied by several at once.) In continuation, he said they
must not be misled by the state of the markets. In the
potato market, for example, many were pressed to go
in with their potatoes, and to sell at what price they could
get, lest in a short time, out of all their stored potatoes,
they might not have any fit to be brought. It had
been said that the tone of the resolution had been some-
thing like coercion of the Ministers ; in a free country
he did not expect to hear of that, much less that the free
expression of opinion should be named coercion. But
for that they would obtain nothing ; bat for that Minis-
ters would dare to continue the corn-laws to the mani-
fest injury of the country. At this time it behoved them
not to stand back ; if they would use their power with
mit effect, now was the opportunity. When the column