Star.
London, England, 1826-01-14 00:00:00

COUNTRY BANKS AND BANKERS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.
WAL9II4III, JANIIAIIIT IQ, 1826.
Sin—ln the cnurse of last week, I saw in your Pazer
an article tepecting the purchasing of provincial bank
notes at a discount, for which the public are certainly
much indebted to you, ana they would, I am certain,
be still more, were you to give some information relative
to,the separate debts of co-partners who are bankrupts.
Creditors, I believe, in general think that under a com-
mission against a joint.firm, their claims upon the indi.i
viduals of such firm ought not to be proved ; however,
en the contrary, they should be proved, and as soon as
possible, as the estate of each individual partner is
liable, in the first instance, to the payment of his sepa.
rate debts, at least to such as are proved ; but after sa-
tisfaction thereof, the surplus goes to the liquidation of
she debts of die tit m, and thus the creditors of the indi-
vidual partners may. if their claims are not proved, be
lest without any resource, and in a very different situa-
ti.rn to what they might expect. Another reason may be
urged, that the separate debts of each copartner should
be provei before the bankrupts' examination, in order
th4t the clear surplus of their respectiveestates may be
asr:er twined, and the Commissioners have a better op-
portunity of questioning the bank, opts, and the joint
creditors nut misled in their ideas of the bankrupts
estates.

I trust you will excuse the liberty I am taking, in
drawing your attention to this subject, being, as I con-
ceive, for the general benefit of the public.
I am, Sir, yout'a obediently,

J. &

• We adverted on Tuesday lait to the spirited conduct
bf General Dow, the Governor of Gibraltar, and Sir
Join Putwar az, Commander of his Majesty's ship
Turns, in rescuing from the rapacity of the Spaniards
some British vessels wrecked ore the lines daring the
late storm. It is stated in letters from the Agent to
Lloyd's at Gibraltar, dated the 22d ult. that another
English vessel, the Lady Hamilton, with a valuable
cargo from Naples, bound to London, had struck on
some rocks near Torre Cat bonera, on the Spanish shc•le,
ab ut six miles from Gibraltar, on the night of the
19th, and had become a complete meek. The Cap-
tall was preparing to save as much of the cargo, which
principally consisted of silk, as was possible; but the
Spanish marine and Custom house officers near the
spot had collected, and insisted that the whole of the
cargo sh uld be landed there, to go through the usual
forass as in the case of regular entry. The Agent to
Lloyd's, on behalf of the owners, protested against this
step; and on his return to Gibraltar bad an interview
with the Governor and Sir Jouw PHILLIMORE, in cots.
sequence of which he had prepared a memorial on the
subject, which was under consideration at the date of
his truer. Sir JOHN Plumumorts arrived it Gibraltar
from Naples in the THETIS only on the 16 h ult.
Thursday morning, between one and two o'clock, a
watchman was found, on his beat, in Patein rater-row,
nearly frozen to death ; and shortly after wards, another
was found in his box, by the petrol, in Statioaers'•court,
almost frozen, and unable to articulate a syllable. They
were taken to the watch-house, and shottly restored.
The following is the result of the observations made
upon the increase and diminution of the waters of the
Seine during 1825 :—The highest elevation of the river
was on the 10th of December. It was then four metres
fifty centimetre*, above that of 1719. The least eleva-
tion was observed on the Sd, 4th, and Bth of August.
It was twelve centimetres below that of 1719. Mean
water one metre fourteen centimetres two as:lime:res.

Lnrsi Chief Justice WILMoT used to give a curious
account of an innkeeper at Warwick, whom he had
tried for having poisoned some of his customers with
his Port wine, by which they had narrowly eszape.ll
with their lives; and that the indictment was quashed
by the impudence of the fellow, who absolutely proved
that there had never been a drop of Port wine in the
hogshead.—Cradock's Memoirs.
Judge ASTON bad a kind of dry humour about him
that in company engaged attention, and in an evening
frequently enlivened his friends with many pleasing
anecdmes. Speaking of a brother Judge,on his entrance
ill a country town, he informed us that his Lordship
had ta encounter rather an unpolished High Sheriff
Ore uorld, then, pedlars, was not so highly refined as
at present), and that after the usual opening of com-
mon topics, such as the roads and the weather, the
High Sheriff began to feel himself a little more em-
boldened, and ventured to ask his Lordship whether at
the last place he had gone to see the elephant ? The
judge, with great good humour, replied, " Why no,
Mr. High Sheriff, 1 cannot say that I did, for a little
d.tficulty occurred; we both came into town in form,
ith a trumpet sounding, before us, and there was a
p &int of ceremony to be settled, which should visit first."
GAttatex's vaerty once induced him to ask MACK-,
it v what he thought of the differert modes of acting
Prime° adopted by HARRY and himself ? .‘ Sir," said
" Barry comes into the garden strutting and
t .lking aloud like a Lord about his love, that I won-
der the Ca lels do not tome out and toss the fellow in
a blanket. " Well, my dear Mack," exclaimed Gar-
rick, "go on." Now," said Macklin, " how does
Garrick act this? Why, Sir, sensible that the family
are at enmity with him and his house, he comes in
cret ping upon his toes, whispering his love, and looking
alit= huts just like a thief in the night."