The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-07-17 00:00:00

LAW urn LUG ENV&

COURT or comictety. Jet.•
Da TIMILT f. LOPEZ.
1.11. LORD CALM'S...LOS this moraine goer jedg.
'omit In the nee of Da TWO O. Lopes, which had
Leen fully argued on the preceding coy. It was an
ppticalion to liir foorriaMp to in order mode
by his Honour the Veen Chaecellor on Ilse 30th of
Jame lest, slaying a Mat at how. which was set 'loon
so be tried doting the present %flings at Nisi Prier
in London. His Lordship hero by °lnertias, that
'omits of h e question now before his lay in a
yaerew compass. Ilr ovoid, therefore, take a brief
'rotes of skew, lied he certainly thought they afford.
.el rnntinrint pioof, that no wan shriek' give an
opieiviii wittiest cooki.lerlng the whole pottjeci-mot.
ter of the case solonoited to his jedgment. The present
was unlike fiery other Is his ',collection, both is its
triton, and in the rireeentimem attending it. It ap.
peered that •os action hid been brought by Lopes
rimiest De Teske, I. the year 1010, for the purpose
recoveriog a very large sea of money, •nder the
toting ing circumataome:—The Plaintiff •as mer.
thaw rerisliog al SI. Petereberglo„ anti by permission
of it e Emperor of Resole, was allowed is send •
merchant 'yawl to the Baulk. The ship haring dis-
posed of her oet ward-hoesod cargo, and taken in ano-
ther at Rio Janeiro, wailed 'gain for Russia, but by
site-a of seethe, was obliged to pot into Falmouth.—
Ilev• she was seised by Mr. D- Taste', a merchant
re.iding in this country, between whom and the De.
(,adapt there had been commercial transactions, and
bercstan sold. Theennugeence was, that an wise at
was brought against the Plaintiff inequity, by
Nr. Lopes, in June, 1810. No steps, however,
wet@ taken by Mr. De Tassel to accelerate the pro.
cre 'lop, vim was entice of going to trial served till
Vie year 1818; a bill was thee filed in the Court for
a discovery, aid It was eel till then, that • motion
was made before Mr. Justice Parke at Nisi Pries
for postponing the Idol, a bleb motion, the Learned
Judge, in his opinion, very properly refused, on
the ground that an satisfactory n was assigned
sty rattier application had not been made to the
Court of Cloancery.The action wasaccerding by tried,
•t.d • verdict was returned lot Mr. Lopes with
*hones to the amount of 37,0001. Oat that tom-
Pion wit bad been brought from ROMI.II, and
sso ilerence was made. An @mended bill woe
after, sofa filed in this Coot. praying that a
Commission n icht home for takitig ',Whence in
Russia ai.d other countries with • view to a sew
trial. The answer which was pot is, on being
referred to the Master, was reported to be in some
respects impertinent, and these parts were espeoged.
rending thi. proceeding, application was mode to the
Court of Common Moss for a new trial, but he
could not immediately dime''r on what grounds it
had been granted. Probably the Court had beets in-
duced to come to th;s declaim, by the circemstince
of the bill filed there, consii:eving that its Agit
might be ancillary to • feting. defence, and urn lei
promote the ends of justice. At the range time, he
did not perceive how tie Ciotti hail got over lb. ob.
jertinn, that the bill was not filet soil two year
after the action had been commenced. The sew
trial, however, was granted on the terms, Alba'
that, if Mr Lopes should be abroad, the Jodeint
Wee should be read at tire trial ; or that a Com-
mission thould issue to mein* whams% abroad,
and that security should be gives, in the mean time,
for the saint of the verdict. The Commission
sohregeently lined on the 11th of January, 1819,
sod having returned on •Sdaiiit, dated the 29th of
June, was filed in the 30th, the same day on which
application was molt to the Vice-Chancellor, to
stay the new trial till the Sittliage In neat Mi-
chaelmas term. This application was successful, and
the pottiest was an appeal from that judgment. As
it was kssown, however, that he aid the Vice.
Chancellor hod a few holydays after Term, the
appliratless might es well have been made to the
Cued of Common Pleas, or to the Chief Justice
titling at Nisi Prier. No order for the original
'rill, it might be obsernol, heel issued finer the
Court of Chancery. On the woe day, however, the
last day of Term, • tontine was wade in the Common
Pleas to suppress the depositions taken by the Com-
nsissioners at St. Petersburg,'. Now. he had the
authority of the Chief Justice of that Court to say,
that this motion had been ceosicleyed os most im.
proper, and was refined without hesitation. lf,
then, • Court of Equity, looking at such • eau in
all its circumstances, were convinced that a further
discovery might be mode, 'overrun to a defence at
law, sod calculated to promote the ends of justice,
it would he its duty to interfere, and not to allow
further time; bet as Lord Camden had observed,
prompt application was, with reference to such an
object, the lead and mese* of equitable relief.—
liefure be granted delay, therefore, a Judge was
booed to consider the whole conduct of both parties.
Several eiders bad been made by the Vice-Chancel.
ter in this case, the most material of which was dated
the 23d February, and which directed that all books,,
papers, Ac. relative to these transactions, Arnold be
prothoceil on or before the 24th May. This not
having token place, the execution of the order was
postponed till the 24th June. It was now urge.},
that the information brought home by the Commis-
Pion was scanty slid insafficient ; bet ow • whom did
the blame of Its nee-execution rest ? Row was it
this more ample wavers had not been procured ?
It appeared that the Commission hail failed ; bet its
failure had been caused by Mr. Us 'raster, under the
snort 'this! and foolish pretests. One of these was,
list no person could be found capable of insulating
the Russian la ogee ge IP the English—as if it were for
a moment credible, that there sere not many in St.
iteter.hurch perfectly conversant oil,' both langsairs.
Delay ought not to be ponied on such preemies, sc
for the mete purposive of speculation. Recollecting,
theieffire, all that hail taken place, and the stone-
y...a.ry delay oblith bad sheerly heerr crested, his
opinion was, that to postpone this trial would be to
do so set lint retioected with the interests of justice.
11e did not say that I.e would tint have wadi the
tame fuller as the Vice-Chancellor, had he been to
the same situation; hilt having sees additional affi-
davit, he felt himself hound to discharge it. At the
• 'non, 11. is•elsoa ecru al liberty to apply to doe
Ctnef Josin • of the Court of Common Pleas, if they
I 1/1.14. I• 11.4 ptfl.lllrifilt all tie papers
-se laint,anil without prejetlicett any °rinks which

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