Star.
London, England, 1821-05-03 00:00:00

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

Last night Miss Foors appeared, for the first time
since her long indisposition, in the part of Louison,
in the Musical Romance of Henri Quatre. The
traces of her late illness were observable in her acting,
which was, however ;very interesting. In consequence
of the indisposition of Mr. C. Kew:3LE, the character
of Bugene de Biron was sustained by Mr. CONNOR,
and that of O'Donnet by Mr. Comm The indulgence
usual on such occasions was solicited for these Gen-
tlemen, who acquitted themselves very creditably.
The other characters were well supported, and the
Play experienced a very favourable reception.
Soon after its conclusion, Messrs. DE:COUR and
ES/MAYAT exhibited some very wonderful feats, in
ntich they displayed uncommon muscular strength
and agility. One of those Gentlemen lifted on his
back an immense number of weights, which were
placed together on a broad plank. He then seized
two men by the arms, one in each hand, and bore
them in that manner across the Stage, without any
apparent effort. The other, placing his hands on the
back of a chair, raised himself with his feet in the
air, and remained some time in that position. He
also balanced himself in an horizontal position, the
weight of his body resting solely on his arms. Con-
siderable opposition was manifested daring the exhi-
bition—not that the performance by any means dis-
appointed expectation, but it seemed-to be the opi-
.nion of several persons, that such spectacles were un-
becoming a first-rate legitimate Theatre. The House
was crowded with rank, beauty, and fashion.

Last night Mr. ALEXANDRE repeated his wonder-
ful -performances at the Rooms in King-street, St.
James's-square, to a most numerous and fa,hionable
able audience. Among the company were present:
Lard Howard of Effingham, Sir W. W. Wynne and family,
IL P. Hope, Esq. Mr. Serjeant Vaughan, the non. Mr. Stott,
Chlunel Mulcaster, Mr. Cholmondeley, &c.
A letter, with the following singular superscrip-
tion, was recently forwarded through the Post-Office
to Warwickshire

0' To be left at a Public House wear liveth a Woman Name
is Elizabeth her Illishand's name I don't know is a Stone Cut-
ter and she sells Carding Stuff and ribon wever to Baddath
Warwickshire."
A most beautiful and singular Auricula was ga-
thered, on Friday last, in the garden of Mr. TARDY,
of Bath ; it had eight distinct stalks, combined in one
flat stem, completely incorporated together, and bear-
ing a calls containing 107 petals.
A gigantic child, the infant son of Jose Want, parish of Cam.
busnethan, is now exhibiting in Edinburgh. It is only 13 months
okl, anti measures 13 inches round the neck, 34 inches round
the breast, 37 inches round the belly, 20 inches round the thigh,
Ile round the arm. He weighs five stone, jockey weight.
The late Mr. PIEECIIELL, by his will, proved in
Doctors Commons, has bequeathed to his Royal High-
ness the Duke of GLOUCESTER the sum of £20,000,
on account of the good opinion he entertained of his
Royal Highness's public conduct, which he de-
scribes "as an example to others." He also dis-
charges him from the payment of the flT?ther sum of
£6,000, due on mortgage. Mr. PrEscrtru.'s personal
property is sworn under 050,000,- out of which a
considerable sum is bequeathed to various charitable'
institutions.

Yesterday morning, Joseph Day, a waterman, be-
longing to Vauxhall-stairs, was discovered dead in
his boat, floating with the tide above Westminster-
bridge, with his head hanging over the side of the
wherry. It was at first supposed by the passing water-
men, that hckwas drinking water, but, on closer in-
spection, they found the deceased a corpse. The body
was instantly conveyed to the Workhouse, where me-,
dicil assistance was administered for upwards of two
hours without effect.
At Lincoln Horse Fair, last week, there was the
largest show that has been known for many years,
the greater part of which were of an inferior descrip-
tion, and sold at low prices ; but good horses fetched
a high price. A fellow, by a trick, got possession of
a valuable horse, and rode off with it ;he was imme-
diately pursued, and, after an excellent chace of full
six miles, he dismounted, left the animal on the road,
and effected his escape.
A man and a woman, dressed in the very height
of .the first fashion, were charged at Marlborough-
street Police Office with uttering forged notes, and
remanded till Saturday.
Samuel Grimtcood, convicted at the late Suffolk
Assizes, of burglary, was executed on Saturday last
*at Ipswich. He appeared very penitent, and con-
fecsed he had been concerned in the robbery for
Which he suffered, and several others in the counties
of Essex and Kent.

CHESHIRE ASSIZES

SIMONY AND CHURCH PRESENTATION.

At these Assizes an issue was directed from the
Court of Chancery to try the legality of the presenta-
tion of the Rev. Mr. Uppleby to the living of Wilms-
low, but which presentation the Bishop of Chester
refused to sanction. The plaintiff is Fox, Esq.
and the defendant the Lord Bishop of Chester.
Mr. Serjeant CROSS then detailed the facts of the
case. The plaintiff, Mr. Fox, is a Gentleman of for-
tune in Lancashire. When he purchased from
Mr. Trafford, the advowson in question, Mr. Brad-
shaw was then the Rector, and was dangerously ill
of a fever; this circumstance might naturally give
rise to a wish on the part of the plan;iff to become
the patron, for he had two brothers in the Church,
and it was desirable, therefore, to obtain the pa-
tronage by all fair, honourable, and legal means.—
He applied to Mr. Trafford's agent, in Manchester,
and with him set off immediately to Leamington,
where they saw Mr. Trafford, on Friday, the 12th
of November, 1810. A conveyance was then pre-
pared, and the purchase was closed for £6,000. It
was three o'clock in the evening of that day when
the conveyance was executed, and about eleven
o'clock that night the Rev. Mr. Bradshaw expired.
—Mr. Fox then made an offer of the living to his
brother, who declined it, and subsequently to his
brother•in-law, Mr. Uppleby, who accepted of it,
byt—who was refused by the Bishop. Mr. Fox had
-riot the least interest in this offer to his relative ; it

was altogether an act of friendship on his part. The
point raised was, that the incumbents life was de-
spaired of; but he denied it : he was, no doubt, in a
dangerous state, buehis life was not despaired of. He,
therefore, thought he should satisfy his Learned
Friend, that the objection of the Bishop to Mr, Up-
plOy's presentation was not well founded.
The CHIEF JUSTICE said, that in the conveyance
there was a provision, that after the presentation there
should be a re-conveyance on the part of Mr. Fox, if
he requested ; this appeared an oyer of the deed. Vas
it not, then, a purchase of the next presentation, and
not of the advowson? He merely threw out the hint.
Mr. Ceoss said, the right of presentation was in
perpetuity for 99 years, if Mr. Trafford so long lived,
and there was a fourth provision to re-convey to Mr.
Trafford, or his agent, it he requested.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL.—Lord Eldon has given
a decided opinion on a resignation bond, in the case
of Finch and the Bishop of London.
Mr. PARK said, there was no doubt of a compe-
tency to purchase the advowson with the next pre-
sentation—it was almost every day's practice.
Mr. Cooke, an Attorney in Salford, the agent of
Mr, Trafford, was called and examined. On the
_ _

11th of November, 1819, he accompanied Mr. Fox
to Leamington, who had previously requested him to
become his Attorney in the transaction, in order to
Inegociate the purchase of the living from Mr. Traf-
ford; he arrived there on the 12th, at ten o'clock ;
£5,000 were offered, but Mr. Trafford declared his
determination not to take less than £6,000. An
agreement was at last made for £6,000 about ten
minutes before three o'clock on that day.
cross-examined by Mc ATTORNEY. G ENE R A L.—l
took the deed ready drawn with me ; it is more usual
to take a draft first. I considered the than Rector,
Mr. Bradshaw, in a dangerous state.—[Attorney
General, 66 Aye, you carried a conveyance ready cut
and dried in your pocket."]—A question being put
to the witness, as to his connection with Mr. Trafford,
as his agent, he appealed to the Court whether he
was bound to answer any questions which would in-1
volve his professional duties? He was told, he must
answer. Mr. Fox applied to me on the 11th of No-
vember, and told me Mr. Bradshaw was very ill. He
requested me to go with him to Mr. Trafford. He
told me that he had sent a bailiff over to Wilmslow,
to inquire about Mr. Bradshaw's health. I then said
no time was to be lost. We left Manchester at eight
o'clock the same evening ; it .vas four-or five o'clock
when he came to me. Mr. Fox, Mr. Brettargh, and
myself; went in the chaise. There was no ad valorem
stamp ort the deed then. We had four horses, but
the roads were not particularly bad. It was nearly
ten at night when we arrived at Wilmslow, when I
sent for Mr. Bradshaw's butler; he could not come,
but he sent a messenger, saying Mr. B. was so
ill that he lived only from hour to hour. We then
set off for Leamington. I said somewhat to
the drivers about signing a paper to spew what
rate we went at. It was about a hundred miles
from Manchester to Leamington. We went about
ten miles an hour. When we saw Mr. Trafford, we
went directly to business ; and the completion of the
contract and the signing was simultaneous. I believe
1 informed Mr. Trafford that Mr. Bradshaw was in
great danger, Mr. Trafford is a Roman Catholic; and
I knew if the incumbent died, the next presentation
Would fall to one of the Universities, under the Act
of William 111. I don't think Mr. Trafford was aware
of this before I told him, which was before the deed
was executed. We left Leamington the same evening,
and drove at the same rate back. When we arrived
at Wilmslow next day, we were told " Mr. Bradshaw
died about eleven last night." It is possible one of us
might have said, " Well, then, we are just in time."
The value of the living is about £l2OO a year.
Dr. Hull, of Manchester, was examined as to the
state of the health of Mr. Bradshaw. He said, his
complaint was an erysipelas fever ; it is by no means
a fatal disorder. He did not at all despair of his life.
He died a little before 12 o'clock on the night of the
12th. He did not despair of his life till his last visit
on' Friday ; and half an hour before his death he
quite despaired of him.
Cross.examined.—Mr. Bradshaw was able to swal-
low on 'Thursday evening ; he was occasionally wan-
dering in his mind. On Friday niht, the power of
deglutition was almost gone. Witness told Mr.
Clowes he was in danger; certainly in danger from
the beginning of his disorder.
The Rev. G. Uppleby examined.—l was presented
to the living of Wilmslow in 1819. I then lived
in Barton-on-Humber, Lincolnshire. Before Mr.
Bradshaw's death I had no communication whateverT
with Mr. Fox or Mr. Trafford on the subject. The
first communication was made to me by Mr. Fox on
the 26th November; I have never given anything to
him, nor has he required anything from me.
Mr. §erjeont Citoss--41 'This is my case, my Lords."
The ATTORiTEVGINIRIAL rose, and said it be-
came his•duty to state, that there was no- imputst

tion ever meant to apply throughout the whole
course of the proceedings to Mr. Uppleby, the Special
Pleader, had merely put it upon the plea, that the
bargain was simoniacal. The Learned Serjeant had
done no more than justice to the exalted character of
the Bishop of Chester, and he believed Mr. Pox and
Mr. Trafford were both highly respectable Gentle-
men. He charged them with no personal fraud ; but
in the legal construction of the agreement, it certainly
was a simoniacal one, and many honourable men had
been guilty of it. The statute of Elizabeth had beet'
adverted to by the Counsel on the other side, but he
(the Attorney-General) never pretended to insinuate
that Mr. Uppleby ever gave any money to Mr. Traf-
ford as a gratuity for the presentation; he did not wish
to touch at all on that part of the act ; he did not as-
sert there was anything corrupt in the presentation ;
but he did assert that the purchase of the presentation,
the party being dead, or his life despaired of, was null
and void to all intents and purposes, and the next turn
of presentation fell to the Crown. Indeed, his Learned
Friend, Mr. Cross, had admitted that a purchase under
such circumstances would be simony ; but he also as-
serted, that a purchase might be made, although the
incumbent should then be on his death-bed, which he
(the Attorney-General) decidedly denied. Mr. Cross
appeared to argue, that if the spark of life in the in-
cumbent was not completely extinct, there was a com-
petency to purchase ; but it was no such thing. In the
case of Seldon and Brett, Winche's Reports, p. 63,
it was adjudged, that the grant of the nest avoid-
ance, when the incumbent wai sick in his bed and
ready to die, was simony. The Attorney-Geneial in-
sisted that the contract in the present case was simo-
niacal—that it was made with the full knowledge of
both buyer and seller. The principal question for the
Jury then would be, whether Mr. Bradshaw was in
imminent danger when the contract was made ? and
this was pretty well ascertained from the evidence of
the Physician, Dr. Hull. Could there be a doubt of
his danger?
Serjeant Caoss—" The issue is, not whether he was
in danger, but whether his life was actually'despaired
of."

ATTORNEY-GENERAL—Very good ; there are some
issues with it, and some without it; and it were absurd
to cavil on what was merely special pleading verbiage.
The going to Leamington was a pretty strong proof of
the anticipation of the parties on this point ; they were
convinced Mr. Bradshaw could not live many hours,
and never was there a harder race between four horses
and death in this world ! Mr. Cooke satisfactorily
proved that he had a conveyance of the living ac-
tually prepared and ready engrossed, and, with this
in his pocket, he travelled at the rate of 11 or 12 miles
'an hour, and told Mr. Trafford, that being a Catholic,
the presentation would devolve on one ofthe Univer-
skies, unless the bargain was then concluded. AU
the witnesses had proved these was great danger,
and he, the Learned Attorney-General, thought the
case was proved to a demonstration. Why had not
the opposite Counsel called the two Surgeons, who
were in Court to speak to the facts ?—they dared not
to do so, because their testimony would serve to con-
firm his case.

Mr. PA RIC.—A Patron of a Living may grant the
advowson for a term of years
ATTORNEY-GENERAL.—And that point we will
debate after dinner I

The CHIEF JUSTICE did not think it necessary to
sum up the evidence to the Jury—the case princi-
pally rested on the fact, whether Mr. Bradshaw was
in extreme danger.

Mr. Cross.—There is another, my Lord; whether
his life was actually despaired of.

After a long consultation, the following issues
were agreed to be put to the Jury:

Ist, Whether Mr. Trafford and Mr. Fox, or tithet of them,
knew that Mr. Bradshaw was in great danger at the time of the
execution of this deed. Verdict—That they both knew it.
9.d, Whether Mr. Bradshaw was afflicted with a morta
disease, and in extreme danger. Verdict—Yes.
3d, Whether Mr. Trafford and Mr. Fox, or either of them,
believed drat Mr. Bradshaw's life was despaired of at the time
of the execution of the deed. Vetdict—That his life was de-
spaired of by both of them.

4th. Whether the life of Mr. Bradshaw was actually despaired
of at the time of the execution of the deed. Verdict—That
it was.

The points, that the conveyance was intended as
the means of conveying the next presentation, and
that only; and that Mr. Uppleby was not privy, to be
added in the Special Verdict. Verdicts were then
entered for the Bishop of Chester on these counts.

Sentence of death was passed on nine prisoners ;
Joseph Robinson, for burglary at Macclesfield, and
Samuel Mealy, for highway robbery at Stockport, are
left for execution': the others are reprieved.

The Survey under the Act of Parliament, passed
in 1820, for enumerating the People of Great Bri-
tain, is to commence on the 28th of this month, and
the Returns are to be made to the Secretary of State's
Office on or before the Ist of August thereafter.—
This is the third Government enumeration : the Acts
for the two former ones were passed in the years
1800 and 1810. In addition to their former schemes,
Government have now directed Returns of the Popu-
Ilation to be made, classified into ages and sexes.
The Act also directs that sets of births, marriages,
and burials, be taken in England. It is to be re-
grettetrithat the registers in Scotland are not kept in
such a manner as to enable Government to procure
similar information as they do in England.
There is a singular circumstance attending the,
death of the Chinese who was killed by the fifth Mate
of the East India Company's ship London. It appears
that the man was shot by the English Officer by ac-
cident,. whilst engaged in a boar hunt ; and there
exists an old Chinese law, which has been universally
put in practice among the natives, and generally
exercised against foreigners, requiring the life of an-
other individual in expiation of the one so destroyed,
whether by accident or otherwise. It was in the exe-
cution of this law that the Government of China laid
an embargo on all the ships in the harbour, and some
very serious misunderstanding might have arisen ;
for the ship's company were determined not to suffer
the life of a messmate to be sacrificed, had they not,
on their return to their vessel, found that one of the
crew, who was condemned to undergo some severe
punishment, had put a period to his existence by
hangink himself. body. oftheaeaman was offered
'to the friend of die deceased Chinese, and accepted
them, ansd thus the affair ended.

' IifEeTINO OFT= DRiTISFI AND FOREIGy
AUXILIARY BIBLE SOCIETY.

Yesterday a General Meeting of this Society was
held at the Freemasons' Tavern; Lord Tetosuoura
in the Chair. The Rev. Mr. °wax, the Secretary,
read the Report of the progress the Society was
making, both at home and abroad, The aggregate
receipts for last year were £89,154, and the expels,
diture £75,000, of which 026,276 were for Bibles.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER congratulated
the Society on the immense benefits that would be
produced to mankind by their endeavours. The Bishop
of GLOUCESTER moved the thanks of the Meeting to
the Dukes of YoRE, CAMBRIDGE, SUSSEX, and GLOD-
CUTER ; which was seconded by Lord CALTROEPIU
The Duke of GLOUCESTER returned thanks in a speech
which called forth great applause. The Rev.
BROWN, of Lanark, Mr. OWEN, and several other"
Clergymen, from various parts of the kingdom, spoke
warmly in support of the Institution. A series of
Resolutions was moved, in appropriate speeches, by
the Hon. C. GRANT, Lord WILLIAM SENTINCE, J. J.
GURNEY, Esq. G. SANDFORD, Esq. and Sir T. Am-
LAND, Bart. M.P. when thanks wee voted to the
Chairman, and the Meeting separated highly gratified
with the business of the day.