Star.
London, England, 1826-11-11 00:00:00

THE, ANNUITY-ACT OF LAST SESSION.

A memorial of an annuity was required by the 53d
Geo. 111. c. 141, to contain the names and residencesof
the witnesses. An annuity was set aside because the
memorial did not state the residence of the witnesses.—
" Darwin v. Lincoln and Lock," 5 Barn. and Alderson,
R. 444. The 3d Geo. IV. c. 92, passed to explain the
53d Geo. 111. by which the Lames of the witnesses was
declared to be sufficient.

Since that act passed, an annuity was set aside, be-
cause the memorial contained only the initial letter of
the Christian name as the witness.—" Check e. Jeffreys,"
S Dowling and Ryland. Many other cases followed
this decision.

The act of the last session, 7 Geo. IV. c. 75, passed
to meet this last objection, ani to explain (not the 3d of
the King, but) the 53d of Geo. 111. which bad been so
recently explained in the very same section, by which
it is enacted, that it shall be sufficient to insert in the
memorial the names of•th• witnesses as they appear in
their attestations to the deeds, and that so the said act
of the 53d Geo. 111. shall be construed, &c.

That this last has passed without the ordinary pre-
caution, is evident, by comparing it with the 3d of the
King. In the act of the 3d of the King, there is a
provision to prevent its operation upon previous decisions,
or upon cases pending previous to a day therein men-
tioned, which is quite correct. But in the last act
there is no sort of protection whatsoever afforded to the
previous decisions of the Courts, nor to cases existing
(and there are now many cases existing), which it is
submitted is very wrong.
Look at the consequence if this act be suffered to
exist. A decision under the 53d George III: acted upon
and acquiesced in by the parties, may now be set aside
by writ of error; for the Court of error, it is conceived,
would be bound by the act, if it can be permitted to
exist, so long as to allow a writ of error to be brought
and prosecuted to judgment. That the judgment of the
Courts at Westminster, founded on the statute law of
the realm, should be set. aside upon a writ of error,
founded upon this es post facto law, would present a
novelty, certainly, of no very creditable kind.
If the act be suffered to exist after the meeting of the
next Parliament, it is to be hoped that an act will be in-
troduced to protect previous decisions from its opera-
tion, and also to exclude from its operation such ques-
tions as may be in progress before the Courts at the
time when the act WAS first introduced into the house,
similar to the clause found in the 3d Geo. IV.

Thursday se'nnight, W. F. Bftowtr, Esq. late. Captain
in the Enniskillen Dragoons, when on his way from
Edinburgh to North Berwick by the Linton road, was
accosted by a fellow who deman led his money. Upon
getting a denial he fired a pistol at the Captain, which
fortunately missed bins, but wounded the mare on which
he Lode in the neck. •

The Melrose Chain Bridge, which fill' some time pan
has been erecting across the Tweed, at Melrose, has just
been completed, wnd is now open to the public. It has
been built by private subscription, and is intended to
form a communication from Melrose to the village of
Gattonsitie and the surrounding country on that side of
the Tweed. It is a very handsome structure, and forms
altogether a new and interesting feature in the scenery
of the vale of Melrose. It is chiefly intended for foot
passengers, although it is also calculated to admit horses.