Star.
London, England, 1824-02-02 00:00:00

MOST INIVORTANT DLSOcVEItY.

The:learned President, Sir Ilumphry Davy, Bart. in
a pati4r.'o4 the Cause of the Corrosion and Decay of
Cooper tr,ed for coveting the Bottom; of Ships, read
before the Royal Society, has pointed out a simple, ef-
fectual, and econf:micat method of remedying this evil.
The cause, he ascertained, was a weak chemical action,
which is constan:ly exerted between the saline contents
of sea water and the copper, and which, whatever may
be the nature of the copper, sooner or later destroys it,
which i, thus ricticed in the last Number of the Philo-
sophical Magazine.:
"The samegeneral principle oldie manner in which che-
micar changes may be exa::ed, destroyed, or suspended,
by electrical powers, which led him to the discovery of
the decorryo%ition of the alkalies and the earths, like- •
wise afforded him this new and more practical discovery.
He finds that a rev small surface of tin, or other oxi-
dable metal, adywhere in contact with a large surface of
c9pper, renders it so negatively electrical that sea water
has no action upon it ; and a little mass of tin brought
even in communication by a wire with a large plate of
copper, entirely preserves it. By the desire of the Lords
of the Admiralty, he is now bringing this discovery to
actual ptactice on ships of war. It is needless to point
out the mes and economical advantages of a result
which must add. so much to the permanency and
strength of our navy and shipping, and be so beneficial
to oirr maritime and commercial interests:'—Phil. Mag.'
A Patent, which had for its object the remedying of
the same evil, was lately taken out by Mr. Mushet, of
the Mint; and it is a curious enough fact, that the
means he recommends for improving the copper em-
ployed in sheathing is, alloying it with a very small por-
tion of tin, or of zinc, or of arsenic or of antimony. Mr.
Mushet only specifies the fact, but nothing of the cause.
Is the effect in this case to be ascribed to the very cause
ascertained by Sir Humpluy?

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, JAN. St.
Jos/u Vernon Cooper was opposed by Mr. HEATH
for Samuel Sewel. The insolvent, it appeared, was a
working jeweller, and was discharged under the Act in
March last ; in a couple of months after which he took
a house of Mr. Sewel, and agreed to purchase the furni-
ture for 451. promising to pay for it in ready money.
Not having done to, Mr. Sewel arrested him in August.
He gave bail to the action; and after his surrender in
discharge of his bail, in November, he sold the furni-
ture, and said that he had spent the money in support-
ing himself and in law expenses.
The COURT was clearly of opinion that the petitioner's
present insolvency was not caused by unavoidable mis-
fortune, silk!) alone could entitle him to be discharged
within the period of five years from his former discharge,
and tkrefore ordered his petition to be dismissed.
Gene Taylor and his son, Clement Whitaker Taylor,
who had been belOre theCotirt some time ago, were this
day brought up in order that their case might be finally
heard. The opposing creditor was a Dr. Duncan, who
keeps a school at Hampstead, and with whom the elder
insolvent incurred a debt to the amount of '2OO/. for the
education of his sons. At the time when he was brotight
up to obuin his discharge he was opposed on the ground
that this debt had been incurred under fraudulent pre-
tences, the father having given bills in his own name
and that of his son, and having represented that he was
possessed of an estate tear Sevenoaks, in Bent, which
estate, when sold, would be sufficient to cover the bills.
It appeared, however, that the parties had no interest in
this estate; that interest having long hefoie been dis-
posed oh Whenr the elder insolvent appeared last before
the Court, he was remanded, in order to enable him
to give a satisfactory account of dreintetestlte possessed
in this estate.

Dr. Daman again appeased in Court, and stated, as
he had done before, that he mould not have given the
long c :edit he had done to the insolvent were it not loa-
the representations made to him respecting the inzerest
which George Taylor pi eteided ize had in the tA.ite.—
Letters were then pi oduced, from which it appeared,
that this insolvent wished to make the Doctor believe he
was the owner of the estate.

Mr. Cooks, on behalf oldie insobrents, said they had
done everything in their power to procure the necessary
deeds respecting the estate in question, but were uasuc•
cessful, and wete therefore unable to comply auy further
with the order of th►e Court.—Susie discussion then
took place, as to whether the insolvents should be re-
tuandeJ, in order to give further time for Ending those
documents,

And Mr. lienrti, on behalf-of pr. Duncan, prayed
the judgment of the Court. The elder insolvent at the
same time said lie was ready to receive judgment, and
made some angry animadversions on the conduct of Mr
Heath, for which he was reprimanded by the Court, and
threatened to be sent to Nevegate.
Mr. Commissioner /IA Ititi (the Chief Commissioner'
being absent) then addressed the two insolvents. The
younger one, he said, had not been opposed on the day
he appeased before the Court, on the supposition that
the estate had beiong,ed to the father. The father bad
beau a bankrupt in iBO9, when his interest in the estate
was redeemed, and since 16 i 2 he had no claim to it.—
It was on the representation of proceeds :lasing from
this estate, which did not belniagto hint at the time, that
he contracted so large a debt with Dr. Duncan; thatre-
presentation was false, anti he must he imprisoned for
twelvemonths ter that fraud within tie walls. The son
was also sentenced to he intptisoned for six months.
John Aden was opposed by a creditor named Wicks,
who said he was a watch and clock-maker; he said,
when the insolvent contracted the debt with him, he had
given a bond to another person named Brown, on which
his goods were seized, and sold considerably below their
value. The debt contracted whit %Vick' was for a watch ;
and this watch was taken in erecutiou by Brown, who
was another opposing creditor.
Mr. Brown next came forward to oppose the insol-
vent; he had put the bond in force againit the insol-
vents effects; the watch purchased Isom Wicks was
among the articles; it was bOlight in by the broker, and '1
is now in the possession of the witness Brown; the pro-
duce of the sale was net SaiCirtit to pay the debt; here
the case was adjourned in consequence of defective
services.—The other ca.es helot& the Court Here of
no interest.

The population of the Pru,4au Monarchy continues
to hiciesse. By the census of 1821, it was 11,494,173
persons. In 1819 it was but 10,799,954. Thus in throe
yeas, the iucreAse has been 649,219 souls.

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