Star.
London, England, 1808-04-30 00:00:00

Of

PRIZE cAUSE.

TO TR

EDITOICCWTHE STAR.

Sm—l *id the Reptweopsi.JAME9 Macnrrosit's
Deeree, in your Paper or Monday, a topic of much
conversation, and the decisien- considered ,by many
as stnnethingnew. The lodge himself seems to be='
lieve that he is the first that has considered the law of
nations as paramount to the particular instructions of
the King ; and as the subject it important, and fre-
quently agitated, I should be glad to find some of
your Correspondents, leashed in the Law of Nations,
and particularly in that branch of it relating to Prizes,
Induced by this occurrence to satisfy the public
theteozu For my AVM part I hase always conceived,
thotigKl bait 'often-been Contradicted in the opinion,
that the pirsent Verylleartied,- end Nighty respectable
Judge of the Admiralty, has uniformly maintained
the sarhe Aottrint. ' iftdeed said, repeatedly;
that tile -instructions of Mejesty were the Rule of
the Court.; but. inivery cizie,,utiless I, am greatly.
misMliett, referring. to particular instructions which-
he considered as telating; but never as extendingthe
right* of the Crown beyond the limits of the Law of
NatiOn's-r-linw else are we to interpret the following
PainOsz viz. * . •
isaubt---eAvtasztw II; non. 550-
44 In formjng that judgment I trust it has not es-
taped my anxious tecollectra for one moment, what
it Is aifit the duty, of my station calls- for from me ;
nauiely, to-considermyself as stationed here, not to
defter oCcaslokial and shifting- opinions to :gyve teemed
ilarealtariittelai vatioiiii Invent; but to administer
wit' i rime that justice which (he lamo-V. Nation,
holds out; without At 1 isittiattt •to independent States,
some happening. to be neutral, * and some to, be belli-
• ,rent. The Mart jntficial authority is indeed-locally
herr, in the belligerent coubtry,according to the known
law 'and practice of notions ;"but the law itself hiu no
his the duty of the person who sits here to
determine this question exactly as he would determine
the same, question if sitting at Stockholm ; to assert
no peetentions on the part of Great Britain, which he
would not allow to Sweden in the same circum-
stances ; and to . impose no duties on Sweden as a
neutral. country which he would not admit to belong
to Great Britain in the same character. • If, therefore,
I mistake the law in this matter,-I mistake that which
I consider, and which I mean should be considered,
as the wiivrelid law upon the question; a question
regarding one of the most important rights of belli-
gerent nations relatively to neutrals."
1.1 am confident I have somewhere met with a dic-
tum of the learned Judge, in which he avers that
if
ise finds the Crown wrong, however painful such a
case would be, he Must pronounce against the Crown.
I :cannot *jay my hands upon it k but, if I be right in
my recollection, Doctor ROBINSON, or some other
of the learned Members of the Court, will remember,
and perhaps clothe public the favour to point it out—
it: would h.; pity that in such a discussion a declara-
tion so like the man, and so honourable to the Sove-
reign who eMploys . such men, should be omitted.—
In the case of the Fisehe 5 Rob. page 173, where the
question was whether the Crown had a pow:7. of re-
leasing Several vessels, being part of the second Swe-
dish convoy (an order for such release having been
issued by Government) the same opinion appears,
though not titidein verbit.
"'lt he (the laity) had appealed from the Go-
vernment to-a Court of legal. Redress, the Court mutt
Bove melond the complaint, and have proceeded to an
uirinrate determination on the quantum of the griev-
ance alledged". page 179. “ The fact. being then
completely established the question of right arises,
bow 'far the Crown can release-at any time before ad-
judication, without the consent of the captors ? It is
an important question connected with most momen-
tous consequences. No reflecting man can approach
it, without feeling that he has to weigh a matter of
extreme delicacy, though perhaps not of equal diffi-
culty. Be the delicacy or the difficulty whatit may,
however, it will be the duty of the Court to meet
svith firmness any exigencies which the Administra-
tion of Justice may impose on it." Page 181.—In
short, the entertaining this question-at all, spews the
opinion of the Court, that the Acts of the Crown may
be. the subject of judicial enquiry and decision. The
Crown was clearly in the right in this important case:
let any one who doubts it look to the case at length,
and he will satisfy himself at the same time, that had
it proved otherwise, on investigation, the Crown must
have lost the cause.
It would, indeed, destroy all Law, and render the
works of the Learned Commentators on National
Rights, the musty volumes that some modern refiners'
have wished to make them ; if the Sovereign of any
Nation were to be authorized to issue such orders as
he pleased, to the prejudice, not only of his enemies,
but of his friends ; and however instances may have
occurred in which the power has been exercised, I re-
lieve the principle was never admitted.
A diversity of opinions may, indeed, exist onsub-
jects of minor consideration :—for instance, a Judge
of a very high Court may discriminate between the
payment of duties in a bond or a bank note°. It would
be great condescension in such an one, and savour too
much of official drudgery, to know that the mode of
payment by bond is the practice of his own country—
much more to allow it to have the effect of a pay-
ment in my other ; but a Judge like Sir.Jazats Mae-
'Nitwit, who knows the right of the Crown, to yield
any part of its prerogatives when the national interest
requires it, as well as the illegality of extending its
power beyond them ; Would .probably.agree with Sir
• Was. Sorer that gc an official letter from the Secretary
of State for the Foreign Department to the Minister
of that country, whose subjects were principally inte-
rested in the question (such, for instance, as the letter'
from Lord Haavaksausiv to Mr. KlNth the American
Minister, -of the 11th of April,•11101), binds the state,
unless disavowed." t As to the. decision of. Sir J.
Nimisrmo, there can be no doubt of its rectitude, and
very little that it is inconformity with the views-oldie
Government, at the time of issuing the orders in ques-
tion. It is probable that the case of these particular
colonies, to which a trade was allowed to foreigners in
time of peace, was not contemplated when the orders
isued ; or that the usage, as deviating from the ge-
neral colonial practice, was not known. It was a
matter of question here, some time ago, whether the
t: aide to Batavia was thus open, and referred to autho-
• watiain—irery, Appeal March 11,1806-5 Rob. p. ;es.
t LLtbe u s ip; a—s Rob. 178.

• 'I.
rides in HoNand to ascertain.the-flct.--It was not de-
cided for a longtimt- I doubt whaer it is yet. In
the case before us, it was ascertained, upon distinct
enquiry ; and under these circumstances, I think, the
Council may be fairly enough acquitted of any inten-
tion of extending the power of capture, to a trade al-
lowed to the neutral tin time of peace.

CONCILIATOR.

LONDOS..EARKETS.

PRICES OF HAY AND STRAW.
IT. J AM tags. WIIITECIIA FE L.
Hay SL. Oa to el. 12a.. Hay 41. Illt. to 61. 12s.
Straw 21. 2s. to 21. lia. Clover ' VI. Os; to 71. 7a.
StSll, • • IL Ms. to SI. als.
, ..
PRICE 417 HOPS IN THE BOROUGH mARKer.
Bvi, 41. 15s. to 61. os I Pockets a. Os. to iIL 101.
SMITHFIF.I.D, April t 9. •.
-- • , . To sink the offal—per stone ofalb.
Ikef 4a. ltd. to ss. 10d. Veal .ss. 4d. to 6s. 4d.
istujton 40. lotl. to ss. 10d. Pork 4s. tid. to ss. &I.
Lamb tis qd to s• od.

NEWGATE AND I.EADENHALL MAR/CET.
Per stone of 81b. by the carcase.
Boer 36. 6a. to 46. Bd. Veal 44. 04. to 64. Od.
Mutton 46. Od. to 56. od. Pork os. Gd. to tis. od. ,
Lamb 5s ud to Gs Bd.
PRICE OF LEATHER IN I.EADENHALL MARKET.
bins 19kd. 41d Calf Skins 286. 226
ritto 244. 254 Ditto 376. 416
Merchants' Backs 19d 21. Ditto 3•4. 3/4
Mowing Hides 17d. 184. Small Seals Zs. Ga. :6. 74
Five Coach Hidep 19d. 20d. Large ditto 100%. 150 s
Crop Hides for cart. led. 42d. Tanned Horse Hides 226. 246
Ditto 17d.. 19d. Goat Skins 00s. 00d

----- ,
PRICE OF TALLOW.
St. Jamrs's Market 4s 9tl Town Tallow ma 6d
Clare Market ' ••4s 9 Yellow Russia 83s 845 Od
Whitechapel Market 4s 9a White ditto 79s tais Od
per stone of 81b. ---- Soap ditto 7fts 80s od
14s 4d Melting Stuff 65a, fitis Od
41 91d Ditto rough 42s Ocl
Graves 12s Cc!
Good Dregs 12s Od
Yellow Snap, 1065—Mottled, iltis Od—Curd, 120 s.
Price et Cannes, per dozen 13s Od—Moulds, 14s Od.
COAL MARKET, April 29.
Ships at Market Ships sold
29 Newcastle Coals 28 50s. Od. to 57s 6d
2 Sunderland 1 48s Od. to --s. Gd.
1 Wesh Coal 1 6541. al. to Gob. Od. •
1 Yorkshire Ditto 0 Os.
• THE COURSE OF EXCHANGE. • • '
Amsterdam, 35 10 2 U Palermo, 92 Pence per oz.
Ditto at sight, 35 2 Leghorn, 461
Rotterdam, 11 22 U Genoa 451
liamburgh, 34 82t U Venice, 52 Liv. Piceole
Alton, 34 10 . 21 U effective per I. star
Paris 1 day's da. 23 16 Liv. Naples, 42
Ditto, 2 Us. 24 0 Lisbon, 60
Bottrdesuz, ditto 24 0 Oporto, 65
Madrid, 41 Effect. Dublin, 11
Cadiz, 41 Effect. Cork, 111
Bilboa, 401 Effect. New Dollars, Os. 04. per ez.
Agio on the Bank of Holland, slt per Cent.

Average

ECCLESIASTICAL PROMOTIONS.
The Duke of Norfolk has presented Dr. Parr to the Vicarage of
Buckingham.
The Right Hon. Lord Viscount Hawartlen has been pleased to
appoint the Rey. Thomas Morgan, B. A. late Secretary to Vice-
Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, Bart. to be one of his Lordship's
Domestic Chaplains.

PARTNEWHIPS DISSOLVED. •
Tombs and flay, maltsters, Abingdon, April 5, 1808.
Richard Wilson and Co. Manchester, April 20, 1808.
Eastman and Millard, packers, Size-lane, London, April 23,1808.
James Holroyde and Co. cotton-manufacturers, Halifax, York-
shire, April 20, 1808.
John Smith, George Trower, and John Slater, warehousemen,
Great East Cheap, London, April 16, 1808.
John Whinfield and Phineas Crowther, Skinner Burn, Northum-
berland, civil engineers, April 16, 1808.
William Nurse and John Harrison, Houghton-street, Clare-mar-
ket, builders, April 19, 1808.
Robert Adams and John Graves, of Oaford4treet, chair-makers,
April 16, 1808.
John Cunliffe, Richard Pollitt, and James Holme, of Sharpies,
Lancashire, bleachers, April 22, 1808.
Thos. Palmer, jun. and Wm. Vaughan, butchers, April 22, 1808.
Warcop Consett, William Batchelor Bayley, and Henry Hirst,
of North-Alltrton, bankers, April 28, 1808.
DIVIDENDS.
April fn./. Charles Husey and Nicholas Husey, of N:nrgate-street,
. London, linendrapers and partners, at ten, at Guildhall.
April 26. Robert Poole, of Ratcliffe Highway, Middlesex, linen-
draper, at one, at Guildhall.
April 26. Archibald Smith, of Kingston-upon Hull, baker, dealer
and chapman, at eleven, at the George Inn, Kingston-upon-Hull.
April 26. John Catbery, of Vint-street, Westminster, ware-
houseman, at twelve, at Guildhall.
April '2.5. Robert Preston, of I..iverpool, merchant, at ten, at the
Globe Tavern, John-street, Liverpool.
April 30. William Manby, of the Strand, parish of St. Clement
Danes, oil and col•urman, at ten, at Guildhall.
April 30. Sarah Stiles and Mason Stiles, of Dorking, Surrey,
plumbers and copartners, at ten, at Guildhall.
April 26. Edward Kirkman, of Portsmouth, Hants, linon-draper,
at eleven, at Guildhall, London.
April 25. Henry Madden, late of Barbadoes, but now of Liver•
pool, merchant, at ten, at the Globe Tavern, Liverpool.
-April 25. Joseph Rutter Asbe, late of Ormskirk, Lancashire,
draper, at twelve, at the George Inn, Liverpool.

BIRTH s.

On Tuesday, at Newmarket, the Lady of W. Bryant, Ssq. of a
daughter.
In Manchester-square, the Lady of the Hon. Henry Blackwood,
of a son.
At Dalyell Lodge, Fifeskire, the Lady of John I.)alycll, Esq. of
I.Mgo, of a daughter,

MARRIED.
At Stonehouse, near Plymouth, William Symonds, Esq. Lieu-
tewint in the Royal Navy, to Miss Elizabeth Luscumbe, daughter
.of M. Lttscombe, Esq. of that place.
John Withers, Esq. of Hayden, Wilts, to Miss Willoughby,
daughter of the late R. Willoughby, Esq. of Millmead Cottage,
Wantage, Berks.
JohnClutton, Esq. of Southwark, to Miss Dabos of Bermondsey.
On the I.lth inst. Abbot Grayer, jun. Esq. Barrister at Law, to
Miss Carew, eldest daughter of the Rev. Richard Carew of Clon-
mel.
Monday the "_sth instant, at Beaconsfield, by the Rev. W. N.
Bradford, Thomas Witts Watford, Esq. of Uxbridge' to Miss
Crook, daughter of Robert Crook, Esq. of Beaconsfield.

DIED.
On Tuesday, the 26th Inst. in Portland-ptace, Mrs. Bastard,
wite of John Pollesfen Bastard, Esq. Member for the County of

Devon.
Wednesday evening, at her house in Queen Anne-street West
Lady Peyton, widow of the late and mother of the present Sir
Henry Peyton, Bart.'
On the Intl+ inst. at Plymouth Dock, sincerely and deservedly
Jantented by a disconsolate widow and a numerous circle of near re-
ladvirli and friends, hir.Alexandcr Rowe, aged 26 Tears, a Member
of the Rotfal College of Surgeons in London ; second son of Mr.
Ceotge Rowe, Portira.
Wednesday List, at his house in Scotland-yard, w Lowndes,
Fsq. of Cite,ham, in the county of 13ucki, one of the Cosrunis-
bioners of the Excise, and last surviving grandson of the Right
Hon. William Lowndes (commonly called Ways and Means.
Lowndes), Secretary to the Treasury, and M. P. dating the
reigns of King William the Third, Queen Ann, and King George
the First.
On the lWi instant, in Cork, Samuel Pocock, Esq. Carel% 71et
Highland Foot, aged 30 years.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. TO-MORROW.
Morning ..... tift minutes after S
alieutds after S

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