Star.
London, England, 1822-05-06 00:00:00

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SATURDAY, MAY 4.
HEARING OV CASES IN PRIVATE.
IN TIM MATTER OF COMELY.

COURT OF CHANCERY, MAY t.
IN THE MATTER OT JOHN COMELY.
In the Vice-Chancellor's Court, on Monday, a pe-
tition was presented by Mr. CHINO, on behalf of the
a'uove-named individual, paying that he might be
discharged from the Fleet Prison, where he had been
confined upwards of two years, for contempt of an
order of the Court. The circumstances upon which
the order was made, were of a very delicate nature.
The petitioner, a labourer in the fields, a married man,
and the father of a family, having contracted an inti-
macy with Miss—, a ward of the Court, which her
friends, for obvious reasons, were extremely desirous
of interrupting, was cautioned against continuing
the intercourse with her, and was also reminded
of the fatal consequences that must inevitably fall
upon himself, in the event of his persisting in his
improper conduct. The advice was not heeded; but
as the preservation of the young Lady depended
upon the connexion between them being broken off,
her friends made an application to the Court for its
immediate interference ; upon which an injunction
was issued, peremptorily forbidding him from having
either personal or written communication with her.
This mandate was also disobeyed, and as their at-
tachment continued to increase, it occasioned a mis-
fortune to the young girl, when she was not more
than sixteen years of age, that at once ruined her
moral respectability, and blighted all her future pro-
spects of happiness. On this calamitous event
being made known to the Court, Comely was taken
into custody, now upwards of two years sioce, and
has from that time been subsisting solely upon
the scanty prison allowance of four-pence per day.
The deplorable state of misery to %%licit he, his wife,
and children, were reduced by this long imprison-
ment, induced Mr. Ching, the Munster, from motives
of humanity, gratuitously to supplicate the Court to
grant him his li'serty. Bad as was the wretched si-
tuation of the prisoner, it was said to be superior to
that of his hapless wife and children, who were lite-
rally perishing, frau having his assistance -so long
withdrawn from them. Against the petition, Mr.
Heald handed in an affidavit, with an observation
that its contents were such as had prevented him fiom
filihg it in the usual way, because hereafter, when
he hoped the quietness of the family of the young,
Lady would be in some measure restored, it
should not again be broken by reading on the re-
cords r f the Court the painful facts it disclosed.—
Mr. Ching protested against this document being-re-
ceived but in the usual way, alleging as a reason that
he had not seen it,-and that if it contained false mat-
ter, the party making it was screened, by this mode
of pry ceeding, from an indictment for perjury. To
this it was anssvered, that it was not probable that
the petitioner Would prosecute his own father. The
affidavit was then handed up to the Vice-Chkincellor,
and, after his Honour had read it, he said, in an em=
phatic tone, 44 Let the matters of this Petition stand
Over till the first day of next Michaelmas Term."—
Mr. Ching implored the Court not to incarcerate the,
sofortunate man in prison for sir r:onths, upon
the evidence contained in a paper he was not per-
mitted to see, nor even to know the substance of.—
The Vice-Chancellor replied, that its contents were
such as he could not and must not be permitted to
see, lint that it convinced him that the man had done
an irreparable injury
-to the unhappy girl and her fa-
mily, and therelote for the present he should dismiss
she Petition without assigning any reason for doing so.
circumstance of a decision being made upon
an affidavit, 'which the petitioner was neither suffered
to answer nor to know the contents of, appeared to
Mr. Ching as a singular exception to the general
practice of the Court, and he consequently, on Tues-
day, made a similar application for Comely's dis-
charge, before the Lord Chancellor:. his Lordship,
after hearing the case, said, as the matter appeared
to bear so much upon the libert7 of a subject, he'
could not refuse to let his situation be considered,
and, in conclusion; ordered it to be mentioned on ,1
Thursday morning. The subject was accordingly
discussed, but in the private room of the Lord
Chaocellor, s 9 that the particulars of'what transpired)
wete not made public. It waa, however, ascertained!
that the petition would be disposed of on Saturday.

The LORD CHANCELLOR asked Mr. Heald this
morning if Mr. 'Wetherell had seen the original affi-
davits in the case which had been mentioned to him
on Thursday morning ?
Mr. HEALD said, he did not believe that he had.
The LORD Cu Aric EL 1.0 R.— Then let him get them
out of my room. I have no wish to go into that room
any more. I was told in the House of Lords yester-
day morning, that observations had been made in
one of the public papers upon my hearing that peti-
tion of Comely's, which Mr. Ching stated affected the
liberty of the subject, in my private room. I did not
do so of my own accord, although I have always
considered it right, when circumstances affecting fe-
male infants or lunatics came before the Court, to
upon the present
recollected, that, when
the Counsel
rate ; and to
bound to attend.
been spared.
been pleased

' 411• •

to mention this. aglitter is art Cant, that he (Mr:l
Heald) had seen asitpaper_centaining those observa-
tions ; in addition to whiA kids°. ceataiaed a report
of circumstances which had taken place in his Lord-
ship's private room. Now, as tie only persons pre-
sent were the Counsel and Solicitors engaged, and his
Lordship's Registrar, such circumstances could only
have transpired through. on of them ; and. he con-
sidered it complesirly.at variance with the confidence
reposed in Professional Gentlemen thus to divulge
what. had taken place in private.
The LORD CnOttionx.t.oa.--With respect to hear-
ing the case in pietnte, I have nothing further to ob-
serve thanithat I dld so in consequence of the appli-
cation of Counsel. on both sides. I will do the Bar
the justice to say, that whenever the Court has been
of opinion that a case should be heard in
.private, they
havealways willingly consented, to avoid adding mis-
fortune to misfortune, by giving it publicity. lam
therefore convinced that when Counsel agree
that a
case ought not to be made public, they that
a
lend themselves to such a purpose afterwards. Let
me not, however, be understood as saying that, even
though Counsel were to withhold their consent, it'
might not sometimes be the duty of the Court to in-
sist upon preventing circumstances of this nature from
being disclosed to the Public. I think a Chancellor
is bound to see that the affairs of a family, in which
there may be infants or lunatics who are wards of
Court, be not made more public than the ends of
justice require.
The petitioner's Solicitor then rose and stated, that
what had appeared in the Newspaper had only been
mentioned as a rumour in Court. He had certainly
been applied to, but had stated nothing of what had
occurred, in the private room, more than that the
case had been adjourned until Saturday morning.—
The Solicitor on. Mr. Heald's side had also been pre-
sent, but be was sure the Learned Counsel's observa-
tions did not apply to him.
The Loan CHANCELLOR was willing to give the
Gentleman full credit for what he had stated ; but
still the circumstances could not have. been heard
through stone walls. He therefore agreed with Mr.
Heald, that there must have been a breach of pro-
fessional confidence somewhere; and, from his know-
ledge of the Bar, he was sure it was not with them.
Such a breach could not be too much reprobated :
giving publicity to the ruin of an unfortunate infant,
could not, in his opinion, give the Public satisfaction.
At a subsequent period of the day, Mr. CHING
czme into Court, and said that he had read the affi-'
davits which his Lordship had sent him ; perhaps,
therefore, his Lordship would dispose of the case in
the course of the morning.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said, he (Mr. Ching) might
.
observe that the facts contained in them were ql.ute
at variance with what was stated in his petition. He
(the Lord Chancellor) felt some difficulty in this case.
He did not know whether he was to hear it in private
or not. Some observations had been made upon his
having done so on Thursday. Mr. Ching had not
been in Court when he mentioned it in the morning.
It was all the same to him (the Lord Chancellor) to
hear it in public, except that he thought it was making
a very unnecessary exposure.
Mr. HEALD said, that Mr. Wetherell, who was on
the other side, had taken the same view of the mat-
ter as he (Mr. Heald) had.
The LORD CIIA NCELLOR observed, that the affida-
vit stated circumstances of great aggravation in tip
conduct of the petitioner.
Mr. CHING said, that originally he bat! been guilty
of' great misconduct, but, his long subsequent cm-
finement had been some atonement for it. •
The LORD CHANcELLoa.—The best way is for you
to attend me at half-past nine o'clock ore Tuesday
morning; and in the meantime an affidavit ought to
be made by the petitioner.
Mr. CUING said, That the expense of that would be
an object to him.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said, he could not help
that. He also informed Mr. Ching that he had only
attended to those affidavits which he had sent him.—
He certainly thought that some affidavit ought to be
made by petitioner, stating that he had abandoned all
idea of persevering in his former improper resolutions.
After some further observations•of no importance,
it was ordered, upon the suggestion of Mr. Ching, in
order to save the expense of the Master's going to the
prison, that the petitioner should be brought up by
the Warden of the Fleet to the Master's Office, with-
out a writ of Habeas Corpus, for the purpose of
swearing the affidavit.
Mr. WETHERELL now came into Court, and ob-
served that he had heard observations had been made
upon his Lordship's hearing this case in private. He
begged to state that that was the act of Counsel, and
not of the Court.

The LORD CIIANCELLOR.—It was certainly not the
act of the Court ; it therefore ought not to have been
animadverted upon. But, he repeated, the Court has
been always considered to possess a parental discre-
tion to do what it can for the purposes of justice,
without unnecessarily exposing infant females, who
are wards of the Court.

COURT Q 1 KING'S BENCH, MAY 4.
THE KING V. CLARKE.

The question submitted to the judgment of the
Court in this case was, whether the City of Bath is
liable to be assessed to the county-rate for Somerset?
It depended on the construction of 55 George 111. c.
51, which exempts from the liability to contribute to
the general county-rate all places having a separate
jurisdiction of their own by grant, Charter, or Statute.
It appeared that the City of Bath had, for some pur-
poses, a separate jurisdiction by Charter, but that its
Magistrates had the power of committing to the
county jail persons charged with felonies within the
city, and the expenses of prosecuting,such offenders
would be paid out of the county fund.
The COURT, therefore, after bearing Mr./trim% for
the exemption, and Mr. GAM= for the liability of
the City, decided that Bath was liable to the rate.—
The City had, no doubt, for some purposes, a separate
jurisdiction; but those words in the excepting provi-
sion of the Act must be construed to mean a separate
jurisdiction for the purposes to which the countyrate
is applicable, and could never intend that where a
City derived benefit from the rate, it should be ex-
empted from a liability to contribute to mike it. Tbey
therefore gave judgment for the Crown.
The Court rote at two o'clock, as the Judges were
summoned to meet in the ExchNtier Chamber, to'
confer on reser►ed points of criminal law.

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HIGH-WATilt at LONDON BRIDGIZ T -MO UTOw
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Afternoort

LONMON : Printed and published by Limy
place, Tensple-Bas.

P " was. •s. •••••--
avoid giving them publicity. But upon
1 . ' ' occasion, lam sure it will be recollected
i 1 coming into Court, I was applied to by
idi Cu both sides to hear the petition in priv
such an application I thought myself bout
i, ', , Those observations, therefore, had better
Mr. [ILSLD said, as his Lordship had 1