The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-02-24 00:00:00

MARRIAGE.

The first inhabitants of fireoce lived without laws or
government ; no bounds were prescribed to their pas.
shins ; their love, like the rest of their desires, was un-
confined ; and promiscuous mixtures, because unre-
strained by human authority, were publicly allowed.
The tint who restricted their liberty in those respects
was t'crropa, who, having raised himself to be king over
the people, afterwards called Athenians, among many
useful institutious, introduced marriage. Others refer
the honour of this institution, together with the inven-
tion of dancing, to Erato, one of the Muses; but some
understand by that story the marriage-soletnnity, the re-
Eular conduct whereof, they say, was first ordered by
rato. However that be, it was in some time received
by all the Grecians; her, no sooner did they begin to re-
form their savage and barban.u. course of life, and as-
sociate themselves in towns and village-ourieties, than
they found it necessary to confine the unruly lusts of
the people by establishing lawful marriage, with other
rides of good manners.
Marriages were peculiarly honourable in many of the
Grecian ttttt monwealtles ; bring the more so, hecause
encouraged by their laws. The abstaining from it in
certain States was punished; for the strength of States
consisting in the number of their people, those who re-
(weed to contribute to their increase were thought very
cold in their affections to their country. In this respect,
the lacedepuonians are remarkable for their severity
against those who deferred marrying, as well as against
those who wholly abstained from it. No man could live
beyond the time intimated by the lawgivers without
ineurrieg severe penalties; as first, the magistrates new
mantled such, every winter, to run round the public fo.
ram naked; and, to increase their shame, they sang a
certain song, the words whereof aggravated their crimes
and exposed them to ridicule. Another of their punish•
menus was, to be excluded from the exercises wherein,
according to Spartan etistinii, young. virgins contended
naked. .1 third penalty was inflicted upon a certain .ao-
lenenity, wherein the trowels dragged them round an
altar, (orating them with Weir lists. And, lastly, they
were deprived of the' respect and itlitilience %%hit+ the
younger sort were compelled to pay to their superiors
and elders; and, theretote, as Plutarch saith, " man
boom! fault with tell et etas till tel Dercyllidas, a great
captain. and one who had conimanileel armies, who.
coming into the place of assembly, a yosmg man, in-
stead of rising and making re • told him, Sir, you
must not expect that his:lour from me, which cannot 1w
returned to use by a child of yours when I am old.' To
these may he added the 4\ihenian law, whereby t all
who were commanders, orators, or entrusted with any
public affair, were to be married, and have children and
estates in land for these were looked upon as so mow
pledges for their goal behaviour; without which they
thought it dangerous to entrust them with the manage-
uieut of public affairs."

LAM INTELLIGESCL

COL ItT (11' LOWS BENCH. Fia. !3.

THE I:lNsi r. WET.

Tills was an information tiled by the Attorney-licneral
against the defendant, l'aptain of a merchantman, railed
the New Minerva, bound from Liserpool to Pertiatu-
buco, iu South .lineriea, and back again, fur unlaw-
fully putting on shore and leaving at Pernambuco, one
Janie. Boyd a British %object, contrary to the statute
of 11l and I 21Vi I ham 111. and t lie:aftli Geo. 111. the former
of which enacts, " that if any Master of a British skip
shall put a British subject from on board his vessel on
shore, against his will, in ans finvign land, or refuse to
take Lilo on board his vessel, if desirous of reaming
kliastel
to En daud, and to bring hint back to his own country,
•;04 a resael, tomtit:p.o tk/rnefs ttn? „he le-.
h rye months imprtsonnient, wltliOut Of =et
rise." The second mentioned statute, for the profit/
16n of nritish seamen, subjected the offender to primal
cation by information or indictment. .
• Mr..lstives conducted the prosecution, and Mr. Dam-
ns:l the defence.

The case was in substance this:—ln I ZiIS, the prose-
cutor entered on board the defendant •s ship, under articles
for the voyage iu question, out and home, in the capacity
of mariner and ship's carpenter. tln the ship's arrival
at Pernambuco, in Receuilter the prosecutor te-
ceived orders to caulk her, which he proceeded to do.—
The defendant went on shore for about two hours,
and on his return he found fault with the prosecutor's
work, and ace used hint of laziness ; but the latter said
be bail ulnae a good day's work, and if the defendant
did not like his performance, he had better discharge
him, and send I • on shore. The defendant said,
it was very well,—su he would, and desired him
to make out his account for wages due to him, against
morning, and he should then he paid and discharged.—
The prosecutor accordingly next morning presented his
bill, when the defendant desired I • to pay over with
pitch his previous day's work, which he proceeded forth-
with to do, but in the attempt to execute the order, the
kettle, containing boiling pitch, was upset, and scalded
both his legs most dreadfully. He was sent on shore,
and after three weeks' confinement in an hospital, he re-
turned to the ship, an.l desired to he taken on board in
his former capacity. This the Captain refused to comply
with, and sent hint on shore again, after tendering Itim
his Wire*, which he refused to accept. The resident
owners again seat the prosecutor on board,with an order
from the Consul, requiring the defendant to take hint
into his ship, and carry him home. The defendant still
positively refused, and sailed to England without bins,
and he was afterwards sent home by another ship.
Mr. DaWMAN, for the defendant, submitted that there
was no case to go to the Jury, for, according to the evi-
dence, the prosecutor had voluntarily cancelled his con-
tract for service with the defendant.

The Cett► JUSTICI thought otherwise, and, under
his Lordship's direction, the Jury found ths defesdiut
Ouilty.

sNnwolt V. MITFORO AND 0 RISC

The plaintiff, who is one of a firm in Pk-month,
brought an action of damages against use defendants
for false imprisonment.
The defendants were Commissioners of Bankrnpts.—
It appeared that the plaintiff and his partner became
bankrupts, and the date of the first hearing before 11*
Commissioners was the 18th of September, 18124. There
was another meeting du the 10th of Angnst, when *
great many questions were put to the plaintiff, some Sir
his answers to which; Particularly one respecting lit.'
balance-sheet, were held to be unsatisfactory, and tin
Commissioners, by their warrant, committed him it
Nancgate. Here lie remained from the 10th of Angled
will the Bth of October, when being brought up Isy:
Ijabeas Corpus for it before Mr. Justice Bailey, and
terwarils before the Chief Jmtire, he was finally dlio
ebarired. Poe this imprisonment he brought the settees
The *hairs Counsel placed great reliance spoil the
6 dirsumstasce of tem bearaed-Jedies hating bees of iep.i
is that the commitment was illegal. Kvidelics al
committal to Newgate and appearance before the
need Jedges WLi produced ; but after bearing Coun-
sel' as both sides, the Court did not think the cense of
Won took placeln Mitielliset, and therefore the phde-
ton'ease Sailed.—Venlietvitietmait. , • '
slat/ eltii.tegiii. •0, ......'-
"merhis was an eitabliy -Dr.. Mart, •tbc itAllteilleiti-
'tifetd Ill'liiihnsgh, deceased, fermeily an dicer in the