Star.
London, England, 1826-09-08 00:00:00

TIIE CAPE CURRENCY.

_ .
The Committee appointed to advocate the Interests
of the inhabitants, on the subject of the Cape currency,
have the honour to acquaint their constituents,that they
have been favoured with communications from Colonel
Bird, the gentleman delegated by them to repair to
England, containing the intelligence, a, that he had
waited upon Earl Bathurst, on the subject of his mission,
horn whose reply it appeared, that the Lards of the
Treasury had received the sentiments of the Governor
in Council, and those of his Majesty's Commissioners of
Inquiry, which had tended to confirm their Lordships in
the propriety of the line which had been taken." That
the opinions of the most eminent lawyers in England
had also !nen taken, on the legal claim which the inha-
bitants might have to a repeal of the Ordonnance of his
Excellency the Goverver in Cour.cil of the 6th of June
last, who were unanimous in their opinion, 4. That the
Crown has the power, by Proclamation, to reduce the
value (.f the six dollar in the manner in which it has
exercised that power, and that the inhAitants have no
legal remedy for any injury they may have experienced
in consequence of the change; but that their only means
of obtaining redress is by petition to his Majesty in
Council:" a measure which was in consequence
adopted by Col. Bird. w. HAWKINS, Chairman.
CLOETE, Ls. Secretary.
N.B. The original letters from Colonel Bird are lying at the
oSce of the Secretary, for the perusal of all persons who subscribed
to this missies.
Colonel /3E111(11.11(S fox-hounds have arrived at Chel-
tenham, for the purpose of cub-hunting. The harvest
has been got in so soon this year. and the game of all
hinds is so plentiful, that the lovers of sporting will have
a lengthened season.
A melancholy accident occurred at Ileathfield last
week. Mr. Christmas, a young man, took a gun from
over the kitchen fine-plate, for the purpose of unload-
ing, when accidentally the cock struck against a clock-
case, and the contents exploded, and caused bis death.
A ball of fire fell on Wednesday at Heppleworth,
near Cottingham. A sulpbureous smell was experienced
for a considerable time afterwat ds, the cattle were much
terrified, and a part of a hedge was burned.
The police of Ilarnburgh has been obliged to stop
the propagation of the doctrines of a mystical society,
which has lately established itself in that city.

SALISBURY PETTY SESSIONS, Ihrt •

A number of informations were presented here toe.
day against men, women, and children, forentervg the
woods of the Earl of Pembroke, at Grovely, for the pur-
pose of gathering nuts, notwithstanding boards had
been put op, forbidding the practice. The general plea
of the parties was, that they were distressed for watt of
work, and did not know of the notice, but they all ac-
knowledged themselves guilty of the offence, if it were
an offence. One was a person who brought testimonials
to the excellence of his character as a servant, but being
out of place, in consequence of the death of his late
master, he thought no harm in gathering nuts for sale.
Another was a poor woman who had done so, she said,
all her life time, and " her forefathers for a hundred
years back before her." A third was a young man,
who, a witness said, was out of employ, and his widowed
mother and three children must have starved but for
his industry.
The Magistrates, with great good. feeling, said, that
considering the people were out of work, they could
not severely visit the offence, though they were bound
by law to convict the parties against whom it was
proved. There appeared to be nothing against the cha-
racter of either of them, and* could scarcely be deemed
a moral offence, although after notice it had bec,-me
legal and unjustifiable one: they would however, exer-
ci,e the utmost degree of lenience, and therefore fine the
parties only sixpence each. The great difficulty, how-
,
I ever, arose from the expense of the information, which
was in each case 9i. The parties exoressed their ina-
bility to pay this sum. and it was ordered that if the
amount should not be paid forthwith, the offenders
should be committed to Fisherton gaol for fourteen
days each. In one of the informations, where two young
men were charged together, one of them paid his moiety
through the kindness of his brother ; but the younger of
them had no money or friend, and the Magistrates asked
the informer to give him a week's time to get the money,
which he appeared willing to do, securing himself by
taking a warrant for his committal if the money was
not paid in the time specified.
After two or three of the Magistrates had, however,
left the Council house, the informer came back and
said he had seen Lord Pembroke's steward, who would
not consent to wait; and as the boy had neither money
nor friends, he is, no doubt, committed to gaol, unless
the Justice's clerk should have considered that his fees
alone created the difficulty. The amount of fees at
Potty Sessions operate grievously against the poor, as
offences which the Magistrates often. think deserving of
a fine only of sixpence (which the offender might easily
pay), are thus indirectly punished by imprisonment.