O V^, ** V."^. \^ %> \^ ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^/ ^ A Tranaparanca Quality of prir Quality inigaia da i'imprasaion Includaa aupplamantary matarii Comprand du material aupplimantaira Only adition avallabla/ Sauia Adition diaponibia I — I Pagaa raatorad and/or laminatad/ r~~} Pagaa diacolourad. atainad or foxad/ pn Pagaa datachad/ r^ Showthrough/ I I Quality of print variaa/ r~1 Includaa aupplamantary matarial/ I — I Only adition avallabla/ Thai toth Thai of tb filmir Origii bagin tha la aion. othar firati aion, or iilu Thaii ahall TINUI whici Mapa, dlffar< antira baglni right I raquir mathc Pagaa wholly or partially obacurad by arrata aiipa. tiaauaa. ate. hava baan rafiimad to anaura tha baat poaaibia imaga/ Laa pagaa totalamant ou partiailamant obacurciaa par un fauillat d'arrata. una pelura. ate. ont M fiimAaa A nouvaau da fapon A obtanir la maillaura imaga poaaibia. Additional commanta:/ Commantairaa aupplAmantairaa: Irrtgulir pagimrtion: [i]-xlv, [1)-36,7-30p. Thia itam ia f iimad at tha raductlon ratio chackad balow/ Ca document aat f limA au taux da rAduction indiquA ci-daaaoua. 10X 14X 18X 22X MX »X / 12X ItX »X MX MX 32X >tair« « (Mtails quM du nt modiftor cig«r un« !• filmage |uA«s lire Tha co|»v fllmad hun has baan to tha ganaroaity of : raprodttoad thanka L'axamplaira Wmk hit raproduit griaa A la Ubrary of tha Public Arehivaa of Canada Tha Imagaa appaaring hara ara tha bast quality poasibia conaidaring tha condition and laglbHIty of tha original copy and In kaaptoig with tlia filming contract spaciflcationa. Original coplaa In printad papar covara ara fNnnad baglnning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga ¥tM% a printad or Hluatratad Impraa- •Ion. or tha back covar whmn appropri a t a . AN othar original coplaa ara fHmad baglnning on tho f irat paga with a printad or Hluatratad Impraa* aion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or Hluatratad impraaaion. Tha laat racordad frama on aach microficha •hall contain tha aymbol -^^ (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha aymbol ▼ (moaning "END"), whichavar appllaa. Mapa, plataa. charta, ate. may ba fllmad at dlffarant raduction rattoa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraly included In ona axpoaura arc filmed beginning in the upper left hand comer, left to right and top to bottom, aa many framea aa required. The following diagrama IHuatrata the method: U biblloth«que dee Arehhraa publiquae du Canada Lea bnagae aulvantaa ont it4 raproduHaa avac la plua grend aoln. compta tenu de la condition at da la nattat* da rexempleire film*, et en conformiti avac lee condMona du contrat da filmage. Lea exemplalrea origlnaux dont la couvarture an papier eet ImprimAe aont fHm4a en commeit^ant par la premier plat at en termlnant aoit par le demMre paga qui comporta une emprelnte dimpreeaion ou dINuatratlon. aoit par ie aacond plat, aalon le caa. Toua lea autrea exemplalrea origlnaux aont film4a en commen^ant par la pramlire paga qui comporta une emprelnte d'Impreealon ou dlHuatration et en termlnant par le dernMre page qui comporte une telle emprelnte. Un dee aymbolae auhranta apparattra aur la damlAre image de cheque microfiche, aalon la cea: la aymbde — »> algnifia "A 8UIVRE", le •ymbole ▼ algnifia "FIN". Lea cartaa. planchea, tablaeux, etc.. peuvent Atre fitmte A dee taux de rAduction diff Arenta. Loraqua la document eat trap grand pour Atre reproduK en un aaui clichA. il eat f UmA A partlr da I'angki aupAriaur gauche, de gauche A drolte. et de haut an baa, mn prenant la nombre d'imagea nAceeaalre. Lea diagrammea auivanta illuatrant la mAthode. »y errata led to nt me pelure. agon A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 BI #^ Ai INT BRITISH-AMERICAN ASSOCUTION. AND NOVA-SCOTIA BARONETS. REPORT "?■ OF THB ACTION OF DAMAGES FOR ALLEGED LIBEL, BROUN (sai-disant) SIR RICHARD AOAINST THE "GLOBE" NEWSPAPER. WITH INTRODUCTORY REMARKS RELATIVE TO THE ABOVE SCHEME AND THE " ILLUSTRIOUS" ORDER CONNECTED WITH IT. EDINBURGH: THOMAS a STEVENSON, 87, PRINCE'S STREET. ^ M.DCCC.XLVI. r IMPRESSION. SEVENTY COPIES ON PAPER. ONE COPY ON VELLUM. FC ROUEKT HARDIB AND COHPAMT, PRINTEBfl, FHEDklUCK CTRKKT, EUINDUUOH. 6(i'23 m INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. TnK highly praiseworthy conduct of the Editors of the "Globe" newspaper in exposing and denouncing a very rascally attempt to swindle Her Majesty's subjects, and the resolute bearing of its pro- prietors in meeting before a jury the gasconading effort of vengeance brought against them by the discomfited promoter of this mis- chievous scheme-, merit the warmest gratitude of all who are capable of discriminating between right and wrong. And this sentiment has induced us %o profit by their line of conduct, by preserving in a tangible shape the record of the proceedings referred to; adding to this a few not irrelevant notanda, both as connected with the moving principle of the transaction, and the ilhistrious order, so readily adapted for similar outbreaks against common sense and propriety. The promoter of the " British-American Association for Emigm- tion and Colonization" is an individual styling himself (Str Richard Broun, 'Daronet. When the bubble wjia started, this person then wrote himself 7r«!'(7/t/.* Both titles being alike baseless assump- tions, it may be as well to record the pedigree of this distinguished character, as set forth in the infallible Mr. Burke's " Peerage and Baronetage" (last edition), aided of course by the obliging correc- tions of the party whose bright dignity it mirrors forth. We omit the " family tradition" of B'rench descent from the era of the Con- quest, and commence somewhat nearer to our own time. The account of tlie family in Mr. Broun's own ".Baronetage" is even more diffusively vague. "Various other notices occur of chiefs of the fiimily in the par- liamentary records and meetings of estates, together with names long associated with the history of those times, down to George Broun of Colstoun, who m. Margaret, daughter of Sir D. Murray of Stanhope, Bart., by his wife, the Lady Lilias Fleming, dau. of John Earl of Wigtoun, by a dau. of John Earl of Montrose, and * V\'e give liia altisonant title a.s noted by himself in his " Haronctagc of the Ikitish Einpiro" for 1843 : — " Sir Kichard Rroiui, Eqiics Auratus, Hon. Secretary to the Committee of the IJaronetage for I'rivileges, a Knight Commander of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and Grand Secretary of the Langue of England." What Uiis Frccniiirtonic tra(*h moans we know not; of all such associations of self-styled " Knights, " the only gentlemanly and aristoeratie one is, we l)clieve. that of the Drder of Knights Templars of Scotland, so called; and where this " Grand Secretary of the Langne" dare not venture to show his nose. a u liad a yoiinpfer i'on, George, who m. a dau. of SpottiswooJc, the Harony of Thornydyke; and " I. Sir Patrick Broun of Colston n, who, in consequence of his eminent services, and the fidelity of the ancient family he represented, was created a Knight, amlJiaronet of Nova Scotia, IGth Feb. 168G, witli reservation of the title to his heirs-male for ever. Sir Patrick 711. a dau. of the noble family of Sinclair, and was s. by his son, " II. Sir George Broun, who m. the Lady Elizabeth M'Kenzie, dau. of George 1st Earl of Cromarty; and d. 1718, without male issue. It is reported of Lady Elizabeth, tlie first night after her marriage that she slept at Colstoun house, that she dreamed she had eaten the pear, which her father-in-law looked on as a bad omen, and expressed great fears that she would be an instrument in the destruction of the house of Colstoun. VVhether owing to the lady's fault, does not appear, but, shortly after, the family split betwixt the heirs-male and the heira-of-line, the title devolving upon the Thornydyke branch, and the estates upon an heiress, who married George Brown of Eastfield, and from whom are descended the latter family, represented by George Brown Lord Colstoun, of Session (who m. a dau. of D. Dalrymple, Lord Westhall); the late Charles Brown of Colstoun, who m. a daughter of M'Douall of Logan; and the Countess of Dalhousie. " III. Sir George Broun, son of Alexander Broun of Thornydyke Castle and Baasendean, by Catherine, dau. of Sir Alexander Swinton of Swinton, s, his cousin, and died without male issue, and was «. by his brother, " IV. Sir Alexander, who m. Beatrice, dau. of Alexander Swinton, Lord Mersington; and (/. 1750, leaving " V. Sir Alexander Broun, who m. a dau. of Colquhoun of Glins, and (1. 1775, without male issue, when the baronetcy devolved upon his cousin, " VI. The Rev. Sir Richard iJroun,* minister of Lochmaben, who declined to take up the title, as he was in holy orders. He m. Robina, dau. of Col. Hugh M'Bryde of Beadland. Ayrshire; and d. in 1782, leaving two sons, — " James, who, in 1 825, assumed the title, after a special service before a jury of fifteen gentlemen of the co. of Dumfries,, of whom the present Marquess of Queensberry was the chancellor. Sir James is the Present Baronet. " William, of Newmains. who m. Nancy, dau. of Colonel Peter Maingy of Guernsey, and d. in 1831, leaving three sons, — " 1. William, Government Secretary of Guernsey. " 2. Peter-Nicolas, Colonial Secretary of Swan River. « 3 Richard M'Bryde." To make this very plausible story immediately perceptible, we reduce it, more prohato, to a simple stemma; by which means we shall the more readily discover how far the learned genealogist is borne out by his own assertions. " * The Rev. gentleman was a distinguished member of tlio Church of Scot- land. He had two brothers, Colonel William Broun, Lieut.-govcrnor of Guernsey, and Captain James Broun, 11. N., both of whom d. wnm." a r. J 5 lU y, J 3cial service )umfriea. of 5 chancellor. lurch of Scot- t. -governor of e 3 H - ICO EQ ««-3 jCq^ 3S CD 3 = •33 i-EQ. JSI-i 00 111 o a<» 5Sj§-5 Cft> H a o 11"- M O a I 3 = 5 do M4 C/3 •So aJ 2 S «^ ra§ S" t1"S c rS J 2 H " r^ = a • '*' c r J •o tcS' ►J o o "ii" 2 «^ el's" ^ HI O M ■* 2 w 3 is » •5 ,S c •S^^i^ a: O It o i^ ^ en (,fl 9 bo a tost S « '-' « * •*? CI •S « CO - « .1-1 % d n . iS'il ,^ CO M ft^ 3 a O « a ^ 2 2 'Ji M "3 £ g a" 2«2 p:; r/i o u f1 « 5 § o -3 -a .a p-> pq ^ C<-. g IT Hy this tubie it is clearly manifest that in no direct way — and certainly not even indirectly — doea this sell-dubbed Barunct con- nect himHelf with Sir George Broun of Colstoun. Moreover, in reference to the said pedigree wo may observe that, iia regards Lord Coulston, this entry appears in Messrs. Haig and Brunton's " Account of the Senators of tho College of Justice," p. 522:— " George Broun, son of Sir George Broun of Colstoun, admitted Advocate 31st January 173 i (Books of Sederunt); — died 6th No- vember 1770 (Scots Magazine, xxxvij. 022.)" Had tlus Sir George Broun been a Baronet, it would have been stated in tho Books of Sederunt. Nisbet, of whoso System of Heraldry the first volume was printed in 1722, merely says — "This family was dignified with the title of Baronet in the reign of King Charles.''' Had there been a baronet then alive, Nisbet, in accord- ance with his usage, would have said 3o. In like manner Douglas, who in his Peerage invariably marks the distinction between knight and baronet, would, in noticing the marriage of Sir George Broun witli liady Elizabeth M'Kenzie, have so designated him. Nisbet w.os not at all likely to have assigned a dignity to the reign of Charles, which was granted in that of James II. The Charles Broun of Coalstoun, who is made by the modern Peerage ' compiler the brother of Lord Coulston, was in fact his son, by EUzuboth, daughter of Hugh Dalrymple of Drummore, third son of the Honourable Sir Hugh Dalrymple of North Berwick, third son of the first Viscount of Stair (the eminent lawyer.) Vide Douglas' Peerage, by Wood, IL p. 524. — As this portion of the peerage had the benefit of the revision of Lord Hailes, full reliance may be placed on it. We should like exceedingly to find any one who could supply the lacuna) of the descent from Sir George Broun to Lady Dalhousie, supplied in the preceding table by a dotted line) ; or give us any information showing how Alexander Broun waa connected with George of Thornydike, and how the Rev. Sir Richard, who is said to have declined taking up the title, waa connected with the Coals- toun race. Can tho whole Committee of the Baronets furnish proper evidence of these 1 This worthy knight of 1843, and baronet of 1844, has been for years in the habit of pestering the public with pamphlets relating to tho fancied privileges of the Baronets of Great Britain, and was the originator of a Committee of these persons for aaserting and protecting their aerial pretensions. The monstrous absurdities set forth in these patnplilets were cleverly exposed iu the Athemvuvi of loth and 3Uth May \8H), in a review of two of thoni, viz. "Addreaa to the liaroneta' Committee, on the Subject of the Chartered Rights iiud Privileges of tho Order, by William Crawford, Esq., Barrister- at-lttw, Staudiuy ('ounsel to the Order," 8vo., 1837, and " Dignity, Precedence, &c., of the Honourable the Barouetteasea of the liealm," 12mo., 1839. The dreams of this " Standing Counsel" and Mr. Broun being similar, they may justly be considered as par nobilt fratrum. This review merits to be preserved among these our Notitia Bruncrniana, and here follows : — " The public has hearil much, and, we believe, are likely to hear more, of the claims of tho Baronets to certain ' rights, privileges, and distinctions;' and, aa the subject excites much interest among a class, and will have some novelty for all, and as the tracts above mentioned have been published, we are perhaps justified in con- sidering it a matter fairly within our critical cogniz;vnce. " The Order of Baronets was created by King James tho First, iu May, IGU, ostensibly for tho defence of Ireland, and especially for the security of tho province of Ulster, but really aa a means for recruiting the Royal Treasury. The execution of this lOtable pro- ject was originally intrusted to Commissioners, who were authorized to treat with a certain number of such Knights and Esquires as might present themselves with olFors of assistance for the service of Ireland. They were to signify to such of them as desired to be admitted into the Dignity of Baronets, that they must maintain thirty foot-soldiors in Iroland for three years at eight ponce a day, and pay tho wages for one year upon passing their patents, and give bonds for the payment of the remainder. None but men * of quality, state of living, and good reputation,' descended from a paternal grandfather who bore arms, and worth £1000 per annum, were to be chosen. Anticipating that the real motive of these creations might be suspected, King James directed that each of the new Baronets should swear that ho had ' r )t given any more for attain- ing the Degree, or any precedence in it, than that which is necessary for the maintenance of the number of soldiers, or such sort as aforesaid, saving the charges of passing his patent.' After a long preamble, the original Letters Patent create the Dignity of Baronet {slatum, gradiim, dignitatem, nomen et titulum, Baronetti, Anglice of a Baronet), and confers it upon the grantee and the heii-s male of his body for ever, with place and precedency before all Knights, as well Knights of the Bath as Knights Bachelors, and before all Knights Bannerets, except such as might be made under the royal standard in the King's wars in open war, and when the King himself was present; and a corresponding precedency is given to their wives and children. The King covenants that the number of Baronets of England shall never, at any one time, exceed two hundred, and that each of them bhall respectively ' enjoy the place and precedency among others, according to the priority of his creation.' Kit»g I ; VI JumcH then pr^rniseH, for luiuself and his heirs and sucoosaorH, never to create in Knghmd any frradi*, order, name, title, dignity, or state above or equal to tliat of Maroiiet, and not to fill up any vacancy in the said number of two hundred that might occur by failure of heirH-niale of the bodies of any of the grantees. " Very soon after the institution of the Order, a dispute arose between the linronets and the younger sons of Visuounts and Barons about precodency, and the matter being referred to the King in Council, James hoard it argued before him for three several days, and, on the 28th of May, 10 J 2, he issued a decree, settling the point in diaputc. He adjudged that the younger sons of Viscounts and Barons should take place and precedence before all Baronets; that Bannerets made by the King under the royal standard displayed in an army royal in open war, should, ' for the term of their lives only, and no longer,' precede all other Bannerets, younger sons of Vis- counts and Barons, and Baronets, and that the said younger sons and Baronets should precede all Bannerets not created in tliat manner, except those that might bo made by Prince Henry: — ;"That the Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the Privio Councellours of his Majestie, his heires and succcbsoui-s, the Master of the Court of Wardes and Liveries, the Choncellour and under-Treasourcr of the Exchequer, Chancellour of tiie Duchie, the Chiefo Justice of the Court commonly called the King's Bench, the Muster of the Rolls, the Chiefe Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, the Chiefe Baron of the Exchequer, and all other the Judges and Barons of the degree of the Coife of the said Courts, now, and for the time being, shall by reason of such their Honourable orders and imployment of State and Justice, have place and precedencie in oil places, and upon all occasions before the yonger sonues of Viscounts and Barons, and before all Baronets, any custome, use, ordinance, or other tiling to the contrary notwithstanding. But that no other person or persons whatsoever, under the degree of Barons of Parliament, shall take place before the said Baronets, except onely the yonger sonnes of Viscounts and Barons, and others of higher degree, whereof no question ever was, or can be made.' " The precedency assigned to the wives and children of Baronets, and tlie promise not to create any rank above or equal to that of Baix)net, is repeated. King James then proceeded to grant addi- tional honours and privileges to the Baronets : " ' First, his Majestie is pleased to Knight the present Baronets, that are no Knights; and doeth also by tlieso presents of his meere motion and favour, promise and graunt for him, his heires and successours, that such Baronets, and the heires males of their bodies, as hereafter shalbe no Knights, when they shall attaine, or bo of the age of one and twentio yeares; upon knowledge thereof given to the Lord Chaniberlaine of the iiousehold, or Vice-Chamberlaine for the time beeing, or in their absence to any other other olRcer attending upon his Majesties person, shalbe Knighted by his Ma- jestic, his heirts and succosfsours. His Majestie doth also grauat for liini, his lieiri's and successour!^, that the Baronets, and their de- f I Vll Bci-nJants, shall ninJ inny bcarc, either in a Cant: ) intentions and id to them that 'hen theretofore lignity.' In no 3st fallacious to rring hereditary en naturally en- of the words so her words, what )laco, and privi- by force and with that of a tions incidental it of a Baronet, ecorations, and of controversial a theory more a non sequitur 'state, grade, with all its vileges are not ancient usage, e party obtains if a Baronet,' h, are not only are expressly iiincd and set- How then can ticular dignity, h dignity, can ^'ing to another mentioned bv n; n Mr. Crawford, and the right of sitting in Parliament, Barons enjoy various other privileges and immunities — freedom from arrest, and from attending court-luets, or the posse comikUus, in c i of riot, for example — and does he mean to say that these were included in the patent to Baronets as part of their state, grade, or dignity? But if his arguments be correct, and any privilege belonging to Barons were given to Baronets by those words, oM must be given, — a redudio ad ahsurdum, that shows the mistake into which he has fallen. "We now proceed to notice the other claims seriatim: — First, Knighthood. — Many of the newly-created Baronets being Knights, and, perhaps, with the view of consolidating or uniting, as it were, the new dignity with an ancient institution. King James engaged to Knight all Baronets, and their eldest sons on becoming of age ; consequently there can be no dispute a& to the right of those Ba- ronets and their eldest sons, to Knighthood, in all cases in which a clause to that effect occurs in their patents of creation. We be- lieve there are few, if any, patents of English Baronets in which it is omitted, before the 19th of December 1827, when Letters Patent were issued, revoking the covenant in the patents of King James; and it has been omitted in all subsequent creations of Baronets. " When a Baronet is Knighted, he of course becomes entitled to all the privileges and distinctions of a Knight Bachelor, as well as of a Baronet : and the claim to vestments and decorations is prin- cipally founded upon such ornaments having been once worn by Knights, Mr. Crawford observes (and, aa it is almost the only indication of common sense we have discovered throughout the Ba- ronets' proceedings, it is particularly deserving of attention) — ' But supposing the right to such dress and decorations to be undoubted, it will be for the body at large to consider how far their adoption would suit the spirit of the age, and whether the splendid trappings of the days of Chivalry are adapted to those matter-of-fact times in which we live. On such points aa these, I can offer no remark. My duty is to point out, to the best of my ability, what the Baron- ets may claim if they shall be so disposed.' " Certainly it would rather astonish her Majesty's lieges to sec 900 gentlemen walking about London with gold collars of S S, scarfs, belts (or military girdles), swords, gilded spurs, gold chains, and with large gold rings on their thumbs, and white hats and plumes on their heads ! " Though the right of such Baronets as enjoy their titles under patents containing the covenant to confer knighthood upon them and upon their sons and heirs-apparent, is not likely to be disputed, the Crown, when called upon to confer that dignity, has not merely the power, but it is bound to ascertain that the claimants are de jure entitled to its favour. In other words, their pedigree ought first to be proved by legal evidence, before a Court created for that purpose. The necessity for such a meiwurc luvs long been felt; be- cause many persons have assumed the title, eltVier without any proofs of their descent whatever, or, what is nearly the same thing, 6 I, ! upon the I'aith of that most contemptible of all legal evidence, a modern Scotch lie tour! Clamorous aa the Baronets have shown themselves for imaginary rights and supposed privileges formerly resisted, they now take but slight notice of the most serious defect in their constitution, the one most calculated to impair their dig- nity, and to bring their order into disrepute, namely, the want of a competent tribunal before which the right of every Baronet should be established. We may be told that such is to be one of the du- ties of the Chapters they are desirous of holding; but on such a Court (judging from the proceedings that liave already emanated from the body, and of the elements of which it would probably be composed), we fear no reliance could be placed; and if anything of the kind were done, it fiust be formed by and depend entirely upon the government. Some of, if not all, the Judges of such a Court might however be Baronets, because it would be easy to find competent lawyers among the body, or they might be created for tlie purpose. " The claim to Suppoeters is thus stated: — " ' It is necessary under this head to show that Baronets are of the Order of Nobiles Majores. Now the Nobiles Majores are dis- tinguished from the Nobiles Minores by hereditary descent of title. I have shown by the Charters that Baronets enjoy an hereditary dignity, therefore if Supporters be distinctive of, and appropriate to those grades cf hereditary rank theretofore existing in the State, namely, tlie Pef rs; and that Baronets are to be adjudged ' in all things relating to privilege and other matters by the same rules, laws, and customs, by which other degrees of dignity hereditary are ordered and adjudged,' then it follows that Supporters legiti- mately appertain to the Order of Baronets. This was the conclusion of Lord Lyon King of Arms, when he a&signed Supporters to the Nova Scotia Baronets, a junior branch of the Order.' " In this assumption about Nobiles Majores, Playfair (perhaps the most worthless of all authorities) is cited; and we arc then told that — " ' Anstis, in his treatise called Aspilogia, says, ' The practice of the Sovereigns of England granting Supporters to the Peers of each degree seems to have occurred in the reign of King Henry VIII., as did that of granting tht like ornaments to the Arms of the Knights of the Garter, ai)d of the Bath.' The right of these throe privileged classes to boar Supporters was established prior to tlio accession of James I. to the British Monarchy; they were en- joyed by them respectively at the period when he founded the Oi'der of Baronet or Minor Baron, and they continue in use to the present day. Wlien therefore the Baronetage was erected, it is, I think, a fair presiunption, thut it was unnecessary to specify in the Boyal Docroo, tliat the Members of it should bear Supporters, that privilege having been incidentally conferred by the Charters grant- ing to the Baronets that they should be adjudged in all things re- lating to title, dignity, i)rivilegc and other matters, as other degrees of lleieditavy Dignity thcu and Iherotolbre were ordered and ad meet, and came to a resolution which certainly betrayed great indifference about their true Dignity, for they objected to a measure proposed by the Crown for preventing impostors from assuminf the title. If they had been authorised to hold Chapters, all they could have done would have been to meet and remonstrate : — meet and remon- strate however they did — but with what respect for their Order ov credit to themselves, it is not necessary to inquire. In the second case it was surely as competent for the Baronets to have met with- out a Chapter, and to have remonstrated against the creation of xvu ly entitled to 3 and expen- ibuses. Thia ce Mr. Broun o the present title, without there are in- Ivea Baronets ir real or pre- t)y the Claim- Charter from onet of Nova ited with the lid have place Baronets; yet in the reign Cnights of St. it is declared, said Knights, all places im- aterial for my {nights of St. id it is compe- i a Commoner he Chapter to ed rights, and latent bearing in the original nised for that id their eldest a their coming ication therein )se, and assert irly be argued, rge IV. had a privileges — it i successors, to i did meet, and lat indiiference asure proposcil min" the title, hey could have eet and remon- their Order or In the second have met with- the creation of tlic Ordor (if St. I'ntrirk, as it was for them to meet in the following year, when tlioy remonstrated, "nd cficotuall^ too, against the in- tended investigation of tlio pedigrees of all persons calling thorn- solves Baroaots. I*, sc-ma ditlicult to avoid the conclusion that upon a mere point of honour, though they supposed that it involved an essential part of their rights and privileges, the Baronets were silent and supine — but that the moment a measure calculated to maintain efl'cetually the reputation of the Order was proposed, but which would necessarily cause each of them, for once only in their several lives, a little trouble and some expense, they vigorously re- sisted it! VVith respect to the third and last instance, Mr. Craw- ford may be assured that no proceedings on tho part of the Baron- ets, not even if they had met in solemn Chapter, wearing ' thumb rings, spurs, and plumes,' or their 'appropriate lK-.d decoration' to boot, would have prevented the omission in all future patents of the improvident and inconvenient covenant to Knight the heirs- a])parcnt of Baronets. " While alluding to the Order of St. Patrick, it is proper to ob- serve that it is very doubtful whether the institution of that Order was a violation of the promise alluded to, inasmuch n-s it was created in Ifclund bcforo the Union; and the covenant in the Patent of 1611 referred only to 'this our kingdom oi England.^ " The claim to attend Coronatiovs anp Hoval Funerals, &c. ia easily ausi:\ .'>rod. Except the Knights of the Bath, who were usually created at (Coronations, all tlie persons who attend that ooremiMiy are fnnctwimrie!^, — namely. Peers, the Great Officers of State, Officers of the Houseiiold, Judges, itc, and they all attend upon the Sovereign in the charaut ir of functionaries. Neither Knights Bachelors, nor Knights of the Thistle, St. Patrick, St. Micliael, or St. George, are summoned to Coronations, Royal Fu- nerals, or otlior gi'eat Ceremonials, though of each of tliose bodies the Sovereign is himself a constituent member. Why then should IUronets, who are not functionaries, and to whose institution the Sovereign does not even belong, require from him a mark of consi- deration which he withhold:-! from his own Knights'? The ' heredi- tary dignity ' «tf Haronets aftbrd.s them no pretensions to be present, because even Peors do not attend on account of their dignities being hereditary, but because they are Counsellors of the Crown and Peers of the K vim, who have public duties of the highest and most inij>ortant nature to perform. " The claim to a Badoe seems mainly founded on the circum- stance that a Badge is worn by the Baronets of Nova Scotia. King Charles the First created that body in 1025, ' for advancing the plantation of Nova Scotia in America, and settling a colony tliere.' By their patents a tract of land was assigned to each of them. Their rights and privileges are very similar to the Baronets of England ; but iu.stoad of bearing the ' Arms of Ulster ' in their Arms, the heraldic distinction assigned them consisted of the Arms of Nova Scotia, which they might bear either in a canton or inea- cutchoon, at their pleasure. On the 17th of November 1629, the XV 111 Kin;,', ill a \h>yi\\ W'ainint td the Privy Council <>1' Scotlanil; after reciting lliat lor the better advancomcnt of the I'l.mtation of New Scotland, his late father intended to institute, and that he himself had since ' created the order and title ,ot in our ancient Kin;,^loin,' and ' seeing' that Sir William - . nder, Lieutenant of Now Scotland, hath now a colony whore his son Sir William is now resident,' thus proceeded — ' We beinj; most willing to afford all the poasible means of encouragement that conveniently we can to the Haroneta of that our ancient Kingdom, for the furtherance of so good a work ; and to the effect they may be honoured and have place in all respects according to their patents from us, we have been pleased to authorise and allow, as by these presents, for us and our successors, we authorise and allow the said Lieutenant and Haronets, and every one of them, and their heirs-male, to wear and carry about their necks, in all times coming, an orange tawny silk Kibbon, whereon shall hang pendant, in an Incscutcheon argent, n saltirc azure, thereon an incscutcheon of the arms of Scotland, with an Imperial Crown above the scutcheon, and encircled with this motto: /'(fw Mentis Ilonesto' Gloria; which Cognizance our said present Lieutenant shall deliver now to them from us, that they may be the better known and distinguished from other persons.' " Power was then given to the Privy (,'ouncil of Scotland to punish persons who improperly took precedence of these Baronets, their wives or children, or who pn sumed to wear their Cognizance, by fine and imprisonment, ' that others may be terrified from at- tempting the like.' " Under tliat warrant, all Baronets of Nova Scotia, created before November 1G29, and their heirs-male, are undoubtedly authorised to wear the Badge therein described ; but the right of those sub- sequently made is extremely doubtful. Nothing occurs in that document respecting any other Baronets than those already created. On the contrary, the privilege seems, from every word of the in- strument, to be confined to the existing persons and their succes- sors in the Dignity. Unless, then, the patents of all the Baronets of Nova Scotia, created since 1 G29, contain an express graat of the Badge, they cannot be entitled to it. It appears from the follow- ing statement in the Gcnlhniian^s Magnzine for 1775, that the use of the Badge liad long been di.scontinued : — ' November 20. — Several Scotch Baronets upj)earcd at Court in the ensigns of an Order wliich has lain dormant near 1/50 years. It was originally callotl a Nova Scotia Order, and has been lately revived.' This proceeding did not, however, pass unnoticed. The Earl of Suffolk, tlieu Earl Marcilial, immediately ' required that the claim of the Baronets to the distinction of wearing the Riband and Jewel of their Order, should be referred to his Majesty's Attorney and Soli- citor-Generals for England, and the Lord Advocate and Solicitor- General fur Scotland.' The answer of the Baronets to the inquiry for their authority to wear the Badge, contained no sort of justifica^ tion; and then left the question of (crial right untouched. They merely said — ' Tlie privilege is extremely dear to us. Our lives the As oai 1 XIX L'otlaiulj .'il'tiii ation of New iftt ho himself n our ancient Lieutenant of /illiam is now ■ to afford all itly we can to 'urthcrance of jrod and have (n 113, we have •csents, for us iiou tenant and e, to wear and ige tawny silk [icon argent, a Scotland, with ■cled with this uincc our said us, that they her persons.' of Scotland to these Baronets, cir Cognizance, •rifled from at- , created before edly authorised it of those sub- occurs in that already created, word of the in- nd their succcs- sdl the Baronets •ess graat of the from the follow- '5, that the use November 20. — e ensigns of an t was originally revived.' This Earl of Suffolk, he claim of the id and Jewel of ttorney and Soli- ,te and Solicitor- its to the inquiry > sort of justifica- ntouched. They us. Our lives and lortuiifs Wf wuiilil, without foar, trust in the haiidw of thi fuui guntlcnien pointed out Ly your Lordrfhip, but wc cannot submit our family honours to any Ix^dy. Wu will be .so frank as to own to yiiur Lordship, that Wf should not wish to have honours which de- pond upon any voice except that of our Sovereign or the Laws." IJi. Jor these circumstances, so far from the Badge of the Nova Sci)tia Maronots forming a precedtnt for assigning a Badge to all the Uaronets of England and Ireland, the legal right to that Badge appears to be confined to less thun half of the whole number of Scottish Baronets; and it wa^^ not generally worn by them until about a century and a half after the institution of that Order. " There is a great di.stinetion between the Badge of an Order of Knighthood and the Badge of an hereditary Dignity; and while the former may be a legitimate object of ambition, a desire for the latter originates in mere personal vanity. An Order of Knighthood is presumed to be, and often is, the reward of services to tlie Coun- try, and its ensigns are the outward and visible proofs of the Royal favour and of the merit of the individual. But u Badge of ficrcii- tary rank would merely indicate that the wearer had inherited a certain degree and station, — in other word.s, that he was \ Mauonet. ^ The case is, we admit, slightly different in the instances of persons ^ who have themselves been created Baronets; but as the claim is % made upon the ground that the Dignity is hercditan/, it must be f treated accordingly. We must repeat, that it is not the fact, that i# all other hurrditary Degrees are distinguished even at Court, much , less m general society, by Badges or dress ; and if Baronets are to bear marks of their rank, a fortiori ought the higher hereditary order of Peers. Except at Coronations or in Parliament, even a Duke bears no sign of his elevated station; and no one can distiu- gui-sli a Peer at a Levee (unless he happens to be a Knight of the Garter, Thistle, or St. Patrick), from the humblest commoner. Sup- posing, however, the Baronets were to succeed in their wish, and to be labelled like decanters, what possible pretence had they to a Star'f That ornament is a Knightly ensign, radiated with silver; but of what Order, in the proper sense of the word, would a Ba- ronet's Star be the ensign ? Baronets are not Knights, though, like all others of the Queen's male subjects, they may be Knighted, and as Knights of Orders, many of them wear Stars and Badges. But why should Baronets wear a Badge, much more a Star, when Peers (excejit in Parliament and at Coronations) arc undistin- guished, and have never sought either the one or the ^llicr ? On the ground of ' hereditary dignity,' the Baronets have u( preten- sions that arc not possessed in a greater degree by Peers; and they cannot claim such decorations from any analogy to Orders of Knighthood, for the simple reason that the constitution uf thcii Order is radically and totally different from that of every British Onler of Knighthood. " This is not the first time the Baruiiett have put forth claims of this kind, but their preten.leasant and authentic anecdote connected witii the ancestor of the present proprietor of Johnstonburu, a wmall property somewhere about Haddington, (ho pn-session of which entitles him, more. Smtiro, to .style himself " i){." The first of this tribe kei)t a shop in Edin l;urgh. He purchased IJniid, which his son liy extravagance lost. The father or son married u daughter of an Ivlinbuigh JJailie named Crokat, to whom this place Johnstonbuin belonged. This individual, after demitling his office iif Bailie, was apiiointed Admiral of iicith, — a civic trumpery, A case once came before him, brought against the skii)per of a vessel for the value of a /«/ii!rril which bad been drowned while in his custody. The defence was that it had accidentally jumpcd, \va- a mcmbci ol the Town CoMMcil. 1 » xxm Afciilentally, at the recent sale of Mr. Deuchar's rubbish, we [.it-kcd up the printed report of a meeting relative to the deceptive Association, which it is advisable also to preserve, as well as the interesting epistle, holograph of the " Honorary Secretary," written iin its reverse. "NOVA SCOTIA CLAIMS. "At a Meeting of Baronets of Scotkuid, and Olhrrs having interest in Lands in British America, holden at No. 3, Great Cinnheiiand Place, London, 2d February 1842 ; " The Hon. Sib Fkedebic Hamilton, Bart, in the Chair; " The Minutes of the last Meeting, held at the Thatclied House, St. James's, on the 6th of April, the Most Noble the Marquess of Hlntly, K. T. in the Chair, were read and confirmed. " Mr. Broun reported : — That pursuant to the liesolutions of the last Meeting, the proceedings on that day had been printed and sent to the absent Members of the Order ; that a Meeting had taken place on the I'Hth of April following, as appointed ; that not I'orniing so large an assemblage as was to be desired, the Baronets present had not come to any definite conclusions as to the course of procedure to be adopted; but that he (Mr. B.) had more fully l)rought under consideration the propriety of forming an Associa- I'loN of a public nature, for the combined purposes of promoting Emigration, establishing the rights, and managing the properties ill North America of the Baronets and others who should join it. " Further, Mr. Broun reported: — That during the course of List Session the Constitution of such an Association had been prepared at a series of Meetings held for that purpose ; but that from the dissolution of Parliament, the change of Ministry, and other politi- cal movements, the final organization of the Association had been delayed till the present time. " The Prospectus of ' The Scottish and British-American As- sociation FOR the furtherance OF COLONIZATION AND EMIGRATION ' was laid before the Meeting, and it was reported that his Grace the Duke of Argyll had consented to accept the OlFicc of President of the Association, and that it had already received the approval and support of many intlucntial Members of the Order. " The nature of the Association was explained to the Meeting, and is briefly as follows: — It is to be composed of two classes of Sliareholders, proprietors and capitalists — the former to bring in 1(111(1, the latter moncif. To tliese two elements of wealth is to be added population, and tlic profits of the three combined will be di- vided periodically amongst the Proprietary. " Under this plan, every Uarouet joining the Association will he allowed for such lands in Nova Scotia as he may assign to tlu! Association, £\. per acre; two-thirds of the purchasu-monoy to bt iiijuidated in paid up shares, tlie renmintlor in cash, subject only t*> tlie deduction of any expen.^es that the Association may incur by !.lj If ii 1^ XXIV I if t'lo same. On these terms, each Baronet joining the Association will be relieved by it from the personal trouble and expense of prosecuting his individual claim, whilst in the event of a successful issue he would farther be relieved from the anxiety and outlay of colonizing his grant. Thus assuming that each Baronet joining the Association, shall through its instrumentality obtain a new grant of 16,000 acres in lieu of his original grant, for the mere benefit which the Association will obtain from his influence and cooperation, he will receive £0,333 : G : 8 in caah, and hold paid up shares for ilO,G6G : 13 : 4, upon which there will be a yearly aug- menting dividend, as the resources of the Country shall be progres- sively developed under the exertions of the Association. " It was also stated that the Association was to be under the effective management of a Board of Commissioners, to be composed partly of Baronets and partly of Shareholders, aided by a COURT, to comprehend the President, Vice-Presidents, Trustees, and Com- missioners ; that the Constitution contains special clauses protect- ing the above-mentioned Officers against liabilities, and limiting the responsibility of Shareholders to the amount of their respective subscriptions to the capital Stock ; that conditional arrangements have been made for commencing operations upon a tract of land in Canada, admirably adapted, from its geographical position, to be the centre of the transactions of a great and powerful Association ; and that such an undertaking, if taken up in a national spirit, and carried out with energy, could not fail to be attended with vast advantage, not only to those embarking in it, but to the public at large. " Further it was reported; — That the Baronets, the Commis- sioners, and the Professional Advisers, by whom the Association has been formed, and its constitution matured, had for some time past given their beat attention to the course of procedure now to be adopted relative to the Nova Scotia claims; that it appeared to them, under all the circumstances of the case, to be the most pro- per and judicious mode to present a Memorial to the Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, for a new grant of unlocated land along the disputed frontier in New Brunswick, in lieu of the grants originally made; tliat the adoption of this course (which could be strongly urged on the favourable consideration of the Government, upon the ground tiiut it would not disturb the exist- ing Settlers, that it would m^st effectually strengthen British con- nection along the boundary lino of the United States, and that it would provide an ample outlet for the distress existing in Scotland from surplus poiuilation) would not bar the Baronets, and othets interested, from having recourse to legal proceedings, should the prayer of the IMkmorial not bo granted; and that as the Government has just appointed a (Commissioner (Lord Asliburton) to go out to America to arranpo the disputed iioimdary Question, and is further understood to be favoiiralilo to Emigration as a great mode of relief for national distres^s it was desirable tliat no time should now be lost in presenting the iMinioniAL, slioidd it bo approved of by the Meeting. U 3<1, th XXV " The Memorial was then submitted. It contained in historical order an abstract of all the Uoyal Charters, Acts of I'arliament, and j)roceeding3 of the Privy Council, relptinjif to the erection and ob- jects of the Scottish Baronetage during the reigns of Jamea VI., Charles I., the Commonwealth, and the reigns of Charles II. and .liimcs VII. It showed that the riffhts of the Baronets were recojj- nised and allowed \>y Acts of the Crown so late as 1698; that they were secured by the Act of Union ; that they were reserved by the Treaty of Breda in 1713, by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapellc in 1748, and were finally revived and restored by the Treaty of Paris in 17G3. It accounted for proceedings not having been adopted for the revival of these rights, by the Revolt of the Ameri- can States in 1775, by the French Revolution, and the long conti- nental wars following thereupon. It set forth the mutual benefits which would flow to Scotland and Nova Scotia from the revival of the rights and objects of the Baronetage of Scotland, and it termi- nated by praying the Colonial Secretary to advise Her Majesty to make a consolidated grant of unappropriated lands in British Ame- rica equivalent to the original grants of 1G,000 acres for each of the Members of the Order, subject to the condition of the efficient settlement and colonization of the same within a period to be limited by Her Majesty, and for which provision has been made through the machinery of the Association hereinbefore mentioned. " The Meeting having taken into due consideration these various statements and reports, and deliberated upon the same, the following Resolutions were proposed, discussed, and unanimously adopted: — " 1st, That in the opinion of this Meeting ' The Scottish and British Association for Promoting Emigration and Coloni- zation' is well adapted to relieve Scotland of her surplus po- pulation, to strengthen British interests in North America, and to eff'ect the combined objects of establishing the rights, and making available the properties in British America of such Baronets as shall join it. " 2d, That as the union and coiiporation of every Member of the Baronetage of Scotland is needed to raise and successfully pro- secute the valuable rights and privileges vested in the Order by the Acts and Charters of King James I., and King Charles I., the names of the Baronets (not being Peers) who have hitherto concurred in the proceedings shall now be added to the Consulting Council of the Association ; and such oklicr Baronets (not being Peers) as have not hitlierto sent in their adhesion, shall bo requested to allow their names to be added to the Consulting Council. " IVl, That the names of the Peers, being Baronets, who concur in the proceedings shall now be placed in the list of Vice-Presi- dents of the Association ; and that such Peers, being Baronets, as have not yet signified their adhesion, shall be requested to allow their names to be added to the Vice-Presidents, " 4th, That no Peer or Baronet joining the Assooiatu»n, shall it! XXVI '■l .1 hy doing so incur any liabilities or expense beyond the Sub- scription (nut less than £5 each) agreed upon at a former Meeting to defray the preliminary expenses. " 5th, That the Memorial now submitted be adopted, signed by the Chiiirman of the Meeting on behalf of all such Baronets, and others having interest in Nova Scotia, as now or hereafter may concur in its prayer, and forthwith be presented to the Right Hon. Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for the Colonial Department. " Gth, That a Letter be addressed to Lord Stanley, with the Mkmorial, to request that an opportunity may be afforded to the Barf)net3 of a conferrence with his Lordship on the subject of tlie MiiMOKiAL, prior to his Lordship making an order upon its prayer. " 7th, That the proceedings of this Meeting be communicated to the absent Members of the Order — and that each of them be requested to write in reply, and to address their answers to ' H. Broun, Esq. Scottish and British- American Association, 29, iVew Jirithje Street, lilachfriars, London,' — to whom all communications and Subscriptions are to be sent. " Fkedkeick Hamilton, Bart., Glutirman." On the back hereof is written — " 29, New Bridge Stueet, Blackfriafis, London, " lAth Feb. \^\-2. " Sir, — In reply to your letter, I transmit to you the proceed- ings of a meeting held on the 2d instant. " You are entitled to join the Association as the heir of line of the Blackadders of TuUiullan, who had a grant of 16,000 acres of land in Nova Scotia, — and on remitting to mc £5, I will add your name to the list of Baronets and others concurring in the proceedings. — I am. Sir, your obedient sei-vant, R. Broun." To whom this epistle was addressed, does not appear But it is believed that Mr. Oliphant of Condio ia the representative of the old family of Blackadder of Tulliallau, through female descent. In the " Kdinlnirgh Evening Courant" of 27tli March 1823, we read the following: — "On the 22d March 1823, at Haddington, in presence of the Sheriff of the couiity, the Riglit Reverend George Pretyman Tom- line, Lord Bishop of Winchester, &c. wns, by a distinguished jury, of whom Lord Viscount Maitland was Cnancellor, served heir-male in gcnci'al of Sir Thomas Pretyman, Bart, of Nova Scotin, who died about the middle of lust century. His Lordship also established his right to tlio aneirnt Uarouetoy of Nova Scotia, conferred by Charles I. on Sir.lohn Prclynian of Loddin^iton, tlie male ancestor of Sir Tho- niius. The faniily of Pretyman, originally from Suffolk, and of great antiquity in tliat county, has produced many individual.^ celebrated V'-t xxvu irch 1823, we for their virtue and loyalty. Although possessed of ample estates', they had, like many others, the misfortune to lose them all in tlie cause of Charles II., whose ingratitude to his faithful adherent" is so notorious. Amid the vicissitudes of human life, it is pleasing to contemplate the revival of an ancient family in the person of a respected prelate, the friend and instructor of the immortal Pitt. The family were connected by marriage with the Stewarts, Earls of IJothwell, hereditary High Sheriffs of Haddingtonshire, on which account the service took phice in that county. After the service, the noblemen and gentlemen of the jury partook of an elegant en- tertainment at Blackwell's. In the course of the evening, many appropriate toasts were given, which were enlivened by the taste and harmony of Gow and his excellent band; and the evening passed away with the utmost conviviality and cheerfulness." On this event, the author of his life, in the l.^th vol. of " The Annual Biography and Obituary" for 1&>\), after uarrating Dr. Pretyman's repeated acquisition of fortune, say.s — " To these super- fluities of wealth was shortly after added, for Mrs. Tomline's grati- fication (the Bishop himself was said to be indifferent to it), an accession of honour. On the 22d of March 1823, at Haddington, in the presence of the Sheriff of the County, Bishop Tomlino wiis, by a distinguished jury, of whom Lord Viscount Maitland was Chancellor, served heir-male in general of Sir Thomas Pretyman, Baronet of Nova Scotia, who died about the middle of the last century; and his Lordship also established his right to the ancient baronetcy of Nova Scotia, conferred by Charles the First on Sir John Pretyman of Loddington, the male ancestor of Sir Thomas. The Bishop's eldest son now declines to assume this title." — P. 214. The fact of the service is undoubted : that of the estahlkhment of ri'jht is quite another thing; as certainly would have appeared had the menaced inquiry on the part of the Crown taken place, but which the death of the Bishop, and hi.s sons prudent declinatup to assume the title, prevented. Connected with the Bishop's marvellous assumjjtion, the following' articles appeared in the London newspapers : — "AN 1II^.UALT)IC QUERY. " To the Eililor of the ' Courier: .1/iety and learning, is part oi their vocation ; but the Courier is generally actuated by very different motives and feel- ings, and it is thcrcfon- that we tlius express our surprise at its having become a party to the circulation, if not of an absolute falsehood, at least of a fact most falsely and injuriously stated. ' •^ •' '\ XXIX " We are now alluding to an anonymou' letter whicli api)eared in the Cockier, professing to be written by a Nova Scotia Baronet, cliarging the Bisnop of Winchester with wrongfully assuming the rank and decoration of that order, " That the Bishop of Winchester should have taken up a title without a just claim and proper authority for its assumption, we at lirst sight considered impossible, and we have since received several communications, which convince us that our inference was just. " It is so far true, aa the anonymous correspondent of the Courier states (voluntarily and greedily adopted the next day by the libel- ling leveller in the Times), that the claim of his Lordship to an old Nova Scotia Baronetcy is neither admitted nor recorded in the English Heralds' Office: and for the best of all possible reasons; because that office has just as much to do with the matter as the Worshipful Companies of Cordiners, Merchant-Tailors, or Frame- Work Knitters — but, in the proper office, that is to say — ihe Heralds' Office of Scotland, not only was the riglit of the Bishop OF Winchester ascertained and decided by the unanimous verdict of a Jury, with the Chancellor Lord Maitland at its head, but re- gularly, duly, and officially regi.stered under the hand and seal of Lord Kinnoull, whose office (dapper and insignificant as he looks) is, under the title of Lord Lyon Kin*} at Arms, precisely equi- valent to that of the English Earl Marshal. So much for the perversion of a plain fact, which could not have arisen either from ignorance or over-zeal, and therefore is attributable either to ma- lignity or some interested motive not very difficult to be guessed at. We happen to know that no Nova Scotia Baronet seconded the newspaper claim — we happen to know that the letter was inserted by one who felt, that if old honours were admitted without certain fees of office being paid, nearer home the market might be injured. We shall spare the writer for the present, and leave him to make what he can legitimattJi/, provided that the paid and hired recorders of Aristocratic Distinctions do not forget themselves and their trade so far, as for a selfish purpose, and with a mei'cenary feeling, to join the ranks of levelliny Radicals." "BARONETS OF NOVA SCOTIA. " To the Editor of the ' Courier.' [J urn- S, 1821.1 " Sir, — A simple question of precedency has brought into the arena two champions for the Baronetcy lately ' taken up ' by the Bishop of Winchester; the one introduced by your paper of Satur- day the 29th ult,, the other by John Bull, a few hour.* afterwards; both, if I may judge by the angry tone of their defiance, having a more than ordinary interest in the i.s.sue. The Court Kalntdar. however, brandished by the one, and the nud apropos charge of radicalism by the other of these horoe.'s, arc weapons not very apjial- ling to their opponents, who liappen to present a most formidable front, as they consist of all the Nova Scotia Baronets created sub- 1 i >:■, I II J"' 'i ' I t ' XXX sequently to 1041, the whole body of BaronoLs of (ji-cat Britain creatoil since the Union with Scotland, and the Baronets of the United Kingdom. These must all yield place and precedence to the lii.shop of Winchester and his posterity, if the claim of the learned prelate should be acted upon. "The case rests upon a point of fact, not of inference. All Baronets are created by the following process: — The King issues a warrant under his signet, directing a bill to pass the Privy Seal ; and a writ of Privy Seal thereupor authorises the grant under the Great Seal. Of these three instrurnents a record is preserved in the Public Archives of the Kingdom, and the records of this de- scription, a.s well in England as in Scotland, are perfect, for the period to which this presumed creation refers. Now, the Bishop of Winchester asserts that an individual of the name of Pretyman was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1041; but he cannot pro- duce the original Patent of such creation; and there is no trace amongst the public records cither of the grant itself or of the pre- paratory instruments; the necessary conclusion, therefore, is, that no such grant ever passed. " I am informed, upon inquiry at the Heralds' College, that Sir John PrStyman of Loddington, in Leiccstershh'c, Knight, soon after the restoration, described himself ' Kuifjht and Baronet,' and was therefore so called by others. He died in 1070, and Sir George Pretyman, his son (who had been Knighted in his lifetime), con- tinued the style of 'Knight and Baronet ;' and having, as is stated by the Bishop himself in his case, with reference to Dean Swift's Journal to Stella, fallen into great poverty, went begging from house to house in the reign of Queen Anne. This Sir George had two sons, George and Shirley; by wliat became of them is not known. It appears that William Pretyman, a younger brother of Sir George, afterwards a.ssumed the title of Baronet, and was buried by that description at Greenwich in 1719; and it was lastly used by Thomas Pretyman (son of Tiioma.s, llic youngest brother of Sir George), who died an inhabitant of Morden College, Blackheath, in the year 1749. From that period, the doubtful title was no longer used. " I also learn, that about five years since, the Hisliop of Win- chester exhibited a pedigree at the Ilernlds' College, purporting to show that he was a lineal descendant cf the body of the said Sir John Pretyman, and, as such, entitled to vlie honour in question. This pedigree, upon an examination of the evi lence upon which it was constructed, was rejected by the (,'ollege for want of the re- quisite proof; itml it was, uioroover, discovered, in the course of the laborious investigation then had, that Sir John Pretyman was not only not created a Maronot in 10 U. but that he had been described, in a series of deeds enrolled in ("hancerv, befcve and during the Commonwealth, and down to a few months before the restoration, by the appellation of ' Ksquire;' and tliat, in the month of August subsequent to the restoration, he was described in Letters Patent XXXI sren zc. All "ore, is, that iinilor tlu! Great Seal, granting to him an olliee under the Crown, hy tlie style of Sir John Pretyman, Kniyht. " The LeiimcJ Prelate, thus disappointed in establishing in the Heralds' College his pretensions as heir male of the body of Sir John I'rotyman, appears to have had recourse to an assumption that the Harunetcy, of the grant of which no trace existed, had been limited to that of heir male general, or whatsoever; and, abandoning hia former claim of descent froin the alleged Baronet, souglit to make himself the collateral heir male of the same individual. " Having, in this character, deduced his descent from William Pretyman, a worthy Suffolk yeoman, who was living in the reign of Henry VII. , and is presumed, by a very probable hypothesis, to have been also the ancestor of Sir John Pretyman of Loddington, Kniylit, his Lordship proceeded to Scotland, where, upon an ex purti- statement of his evidence in support of such collateral de- scent, and although not an acre of land, cither in Haddingtonshire or elsewhere in Scotland was in question, or a drop of Scottish blood was flowing in his veins, he procured himself to be served lu'ir to ' Sir Thomas Pretyman,' who died in 1741», by a process which is justly estimated by every person acquainted with the na- ture of such a proceeding, and haa been pretty accurately described by the groat Scotch novelist in 6^;/// Mainnriuif, and more recently in tlie entertaining work of the ' Life of Matthew Wald.' " With these facts before the public, do the partizans of the Hisihop of Winchester act with fairness when they deny the autho- rity of the Heralds' College in England, to take cognizance of his t:ase — an authority to which his Lordship had himself had recourse in the first instance, under an impression, it cannot be doubted, that the sanction of that body would be the best support of his pretensions. " One word as to the general question of the official cognizance of the Karl Marshal of England in matters of this kind. It is well known that, in all public ceremonials where the different degrees of rank belonging to the three kingdoms are marshalled, the whole is under the exclusive direction of that high Officer of the Crown; and it is therefore especially within his province to guard the rights of all persons enjoying hereditary distinctions. Neither is this a question of party — and it ill becomes the pretended supporters of the Aristocracy of the country to denounce as radicals those who are desirous of preserving the purity of that Aristocracy by sifting the pretensions to a title of honour assumed under circumstances similar to that in question. — I am. Sir, yours, itc. " PUILALKTHES." Some fifteen years later, we find the following in the " Edinburgh Evening Courant" of May 2(), 1838:-- " Thk Li:ma\ Case. — On Monday week, in pursuance of a Brief issued from her Majesty's Chancery, dirertod to the Magistrates of Canongate, a highly respectable Jury, several of whom were of the legal profes.sion, returned a verdict in favour of Sir John Leraun of tT ".; U IV H .1, ? ili M> xxxn Northaw, Haronot (formerly of Nottingham, now rcsiJinj? in Edin- burgh), aa nearest lawful heir-male to his cousin Sir Tantield Lcman, Baronet, who was the great-grandson of Sir William Leman, first of Northaw, High Sherift" and M. P. for Hertford in 1G34, and for his distinguished merits was afterwards created a Ikronet, by letters- patent dated March 3, 1(505. Sir John is the male representative of his ancestor Sir John Leman, Lord Mayor of London, who flourished during the reign, and was a favourite of King James L of England; and wc are informed that Sir John Leman, Baronet, is entitled to immense funded and territorial properties belonging to his progeni- tors, which were thrown into Chancery by orders of that Court, till the rightful heir was legally ascertained. In the evening the claim- ant gave an elegan'^ entertainment to the Judge, Jury, and a select number of Sir John's friends; R. W. Hamilton, Esq., agent for the General Steam Navigation Company, presided as chairman. The party spent a most harmonious evening, and they did not separate till an early hour." The above is cited, along with the case of Pretyman, to show what can be effected by a legal nuisance. It will be observed that botli these families were purely English, without ever having possessed one acre of land in Scotland; and that in the case of Leman, the dignity was that of a Baronet of England, and not of Nova Scotia. This legal nuisance, the source of numerous evils, is the improper system of what is denominated " Services" in Scotland, by means of which any person — no matter of what nation or whoever he may be — can obtain himself declared, by a jury of twelve individuals — the more ignorant the better — heir to any one whom he may choose to cl "m as his ancestor, however distinguished the title, or valuable the property depending upon such claim. The manner in which these mockeries of justice, or rather legalized impositions, are set about, is notorious. A man imagines — or the suggestion is put in his head by one of those unprincipled fellows called " Genealogists" — tliat he represents, in some undefined shape or other, a Baronet or Peer (the former is the hack cheat), whose dignity, in nine cases out of ten, is not dormant, but extinct, and immediately, by dint of extracts from old Red Books, a few loose memoranda from vague records, and sturdy assumptions, utterly destitute of evidence but advanced with the persevering impudence of an attorney, the Magi who are convoked — (like the banqueters in the parable, from the highways and lanes) — find and declare the worthy claimant to be the representative of a family of which he possesses not in his veins one drop of the blood, or with which he has the remotest connec- tion, or, it may bo, with even the country to which it belongs. There is no one, perhaps, in a position to oppose ; the law has provided no XXXlll check for such practices, and incalculable injury is daily done both to private parties and to the public at large. These evils have been particularly felt in mattera of English dignities; and the recent coho of Humphries, the psetiJo Earl of Stirling, is a striking instance of how the State may be inconvenienced by such a lax and indefensible system,* and private parties have been in the Leman case above noticed. For the claimant therein served is by that deed of service enabled to raise money, and has proceeded to harass the tenants of sundry estates, under colour thereof; and his agents, availing them- selves of the facilities afforded by the service, which is presumed by parties ignorant of the real fact to be the recognition by a proper tribunal, have proceeded to make and fashion his pedigree so as to lead to the recovery of large estates, by fraudulent and false evidence, thereby inflicting very serious injury on individuals and the common weal. As a specimen of some of the incidents connected with this said Leman case, the following recently appeared in the "Globe" of Wednesday, June 24th last, 1846 : — er, a Baronet in nine cases " COURT OF BANKRLTTCY, June 23. " In Be Edward Godfrey Leman. " This case came before the Court to vacate the proceedings. The insolvent was sued as Sir Edward Godfrey Leman, and claimed the estates belonging to the " Leman " family. It was contended, in showing cause, that the application was not duly made, and that it was not a proper case for the exercise of the discretionary power of the Court. The insolvent was heard at Nottingham : he was an old man of eighty, found in some almshouses, havi:^i^ been a brick- maker, and was put forward as the heir of the Leman estates and the title of Baronet. Mr. Hawkins had some property in White- chapel, which had been in his family for a century, and the old man had mixed himself up in the matter so as to become liable for the costs; and hence his application to the Court. There were parties moving in the case, and their object was to get the proceed- ings vacated with the view of further litigation. No affidavit was made by the old man, but by an affidavit on the other side it ap- peared that the present application was mad-e without his request. Therefore it was insisted that the application should be refused. * Among the assumptions of this man Humphries was a right, in virtue of the original grant to Sir William Alexander, whose representative he pre- tended to be, to confer the title of Baronet of Nova Scotia on whomsoever he pleased. Accordingly, being highly satisfied with the services and^'('^io«« of of Banks the " Genealogist" he dubbed him Baronet, and this man Banks ridiculously adopts it to the present day. In a very excellent local history, recently published (Walbran's History anil Antiquities of Gainford), the author expresses his gratitude for asnistance received in framing the Fotherby i)cdi- gree from " the kindness o( Sir T. ('. Banks; Hurt.".' ZXXIV Mr. Cooke, in support of the rule, said, if Mr. Hawkins had been puid, u8 WHH admitted, the application mIiouM be granted. The (!ourt tlioiiyht the rule was answered. Mr. Cooke offered to show that the application wa-smade without his concurrence. The Court aiid tho rule might bo enlarged, and on the next occasion, if it wiw not satisfactorily .shown that it was made "yith bis sanction, it would bo refu.sed, as it would not then appear to be 'duly' made as required by the Act." To remedy this crying abu.so, to the disgrace of our legal autho- rities, no steps have ever been taken, albeit repeated remonstrances have been made by professional as well as private individuals. Nay, we know that the Chapter of the Herald.s' ('ollege of England memorialized tho present Lord Advocate, when he formerly held otficc, in reference .specially to the very case of Leman, which Alemorial was, with singularly unaccountable discourtesy, neither acknowledged nor acted upon. And when the ex Lord Advocate la.st year introduced " A Bill to alter and amend the Law and Prac- tice in Scotland i\s to the Service of Ileirf*," which, however, went no farther, — he strangely omitted in any way to remove the great bane of tho existing sy.stem. For although the lUh and 12th sections of the Bill* admit of competition, yet the frauds take place because there is no person interested in opposing, and the evidence is all ex parte. This really demands early attention on the part of the Legislature; and the drawing up of any Bill tending to correct tho present system ought to be entrusted to some English lawyer, and not to any member of the Scottish Bar, whose circumscribed ideaa and prejudice in favour of obsolete practice ' I * " § XI. And lie it enacted, That it Hhall and may he lawful to any person conceiving that lie has a rifjhl to be served preferable to that of the person petitioning tlie Sheriff a.-* aforesaid, also to present a petition to the Sheriff in manner and to the eilbct aforesaid, and which shall be intimated in man- ner above directed: and it shall anil may be lawful to the Sheriff, if he shall sec cause, to confirm the said petition, and thereafter to proceed to take evi- dence in manner hereinbefore directed; allowing to each of the parties, not only a proof in chief with reference to his own claim, but a conjunct probation with reference to the claim of any other party; and the Sheriff shall, after receiving the said evidence, pronounce judgment on the said petition, serving, and refusing to serve, the petitioners respectively, as may be just; and the extract of every such Judijiucnt, given out to the petitioner thereby 8er\-ed, sliall specially and articulately set forth the particulars hereinbefore required, and be transmitted to Chancery, ami be duly recorded, in manner and to the effect before provided. " XII. And be it enacted, That no person shall be entitled to appear and oppose a service proceedin:;: before the Sheriff in terms of this Act, who could not competently appear and oppose the service proceeding under the laws of inip'.fcst, according to the law a"d practice heretofore existing; and all objec- tions shall be prcionted in writmg, and siiall forthwith be disposed of in a summary manner by the Sheriff." ;.'«(i .!'-'''l|l xxxv ladc without ing, and the attention on may tend to nmke matters rather worse, if poseiblc, thu-n tliey ar* at present. Among those families who assume to themselves Baronetcies without any right thereto are — The Dalyells of Binns. — Since tiie demise of the late so-callud Sir James Dalyell, his brother Sir John (Jraham Dalycll, Knight, wlio from his dabbling in legal and antiquarian lore cannot be i"no- rant how the matter stands, has continued to usurp the title. The fact is, the members of this family are not Dalyells, but Mtnttiths; as, in 1688, James Menteith of Auldcathy married the elder of the two daughters of Sir Thomas Dalyell, first Baronet of Binns. This Baronetcy expired in the person of Sir Thomas, second Baronet, who died unmarried, and the estate of Binns then passed by mar- riage of the elder co-heiress aforesaid. It is pretended that the patent of creation confers the dignity on the grantee and his heirs of entail succeeding to the estate of liiniis; but no such patent cm be shown, and such a destination of the honour is altogether in- consistent with the patents of other Nova Scotia Baronets, whieli invariably run in favour of heirs-male. In like manner the Riciiarusows of Pencaitland and Pitfour. The present so-styled Hir John proved his propinquity to a person who had assumed the title without lawful right thereto, and in virtue of his service to the pseitdo Baronet now makes use of the title.* Thus also the Dunbaks of Dukx. — The person calling himself the Rev. Sir William Dunbar, — and who has recently acquired a somewhat unenviable name from having been excommunicated by his Bishop for contumacy, — has no right whatever to the title, which expired in the person of the late Sir James Dunbar, who died in 1813. We should likewise desire to know what right can be shown for the assumption of the Baronetcy of Nicolson and Lasswade. Can • " On Mond.ay last, the 9th Januarj*, before the Sheriff of Perth, and a highly respectable Jury, John Uii-hardsou, Ksq. of Pitfour, was served nearest and lawful heir-male of Sir John Charles Hiehardson, Hart., Commander in the Royal Navy, who died at London some time ago, without issue. IJy this service Mr. Richardson, now Sir John, has become a Baronet of Nova Scotia under a patent granted by King Charles the First in 1(530, AVe understand that the estate of Smeaton, in Mid Lothian, which formerly belonged to the ancient family of Richardson, was sold many years ago, and is now in the possession of the Duke of Buccleueh. After the service, a number of the friends of Sir John Richardson, who is now in England, partook of a sump- tuous dinr.or at the George Inn, and spent the evening with much hilarity; and on the following day, the tenants on the estate of Pitfour had a similar convivial meeting, to express their congratulations to their landlord on his acce^isiou to his present illlc." ~{Coura7it, January 12, 1837.) I III :•) ••I XXXVl any better tliuu a wretchod " service " to a lineage as exhibited by the unfailing Mr, Burke, support those claims? But the pedigree may satisfy the phocte of Zetland, where the " eighth and present Baronet" is said to exist. We might, if we had space, disqualify at the very least one third of these Nova Scotia puppets. 'I^i il^ Bastardies are exceedingly numerous in Scottish families. A curious illustration of the manner in which the compilers of Peerages and Baronetages contrive to pass over such matters, appears in re- ference to the Sinclairs of Ulbster, recently exposed in the columns of the Gentleman's Magazine: — " Amongst the genealogical collections formerly belonging to Douglas the Peerage writer, and subsequently acquired by George Chalmers the author of Caledonia, occurs the following letter, which, aa correcting a mistake recent writers on genealogy have fallen into, may be worthy of presf^rvation in the pages of the Gentleman's Magazine : — '"21 January 1758. Please inform Mr. Douglas, that George, who he calls the second sou to the Earl of Caithness, was his third son. John, Master of Caithness, was the eldest, the second was William, and the third was George. William died without lawful children. Ulbster's family is descended of a bastard of William's,* and, upon William's death, George succeeded to the estate of Mey. The contracts of marriage of the family of Mey are mostly in his charter chest, where it's not easie to find tham, and a good many of them in processes at Edinburgh, which Mr Budge can direct. I think you may venture to assure Mr. Douglas that all the mar- riages insert in the note I sent are just, and no bastards insert in it : for they had not a bastard that was of fortune but Ulbster, and he is the bastard of William that died without any legitimate heirs, for, if he had had any legitimate children, they would have suc- ceeded to Mey before George the third son.' " In the old edition of Douglas, William is altogether omitted, but in the edition published by John Philip Wood, Esquire, 2 vols, folio, he is restored to his proper place as second son, and George, the ancestor of the present Earl, is entered correctly as the third. " Sinclair of Barroch or Barrach, the writer of the letter, w&a descended from the third son of George Sinclair of Mey, and this branch, in the event of the failure of the present one, would succeed to tlie Peerage of Caithness. " It may be proper to add, that this account of the origin of the family of Ulbster is corroborated by Father Hay in his curious "* William liad two iiatiiial kdhs, who were Icuitiinated in the usual way liy leltor "f legitimation frimi the king. 'I'liis gave tlicni ecrtuin privileges, hut they still reiiiainc*! in«'ai>alile ol' assuming the right competent to la'vful rhililren." XXXVll Memoii"8 of the Saint Clairs of Koslin, a few copies of which were for the first time printed from the original MS. in 1835, (Edin- burgh, Thomas G. Stevenson, 4to.) where the name of the m<.'ther will be found. She was a Margaret Mowat, a daughter of Mowat of Bochullj-. But for the bastardy, the Sinclairs of Ulbster would liave succeeded to the Caithness Earldom." — Gent. May. vol. xx. p. 2G0. T- -L House, March 25. " In a book cntituled ' Memoirs of the Life and Works of the Right Honourable Sir John Sinclair, Bart.,' written by his son, the Rev. John Sinclair, M.A., and published at Edinburgh in 2 vols, crown 8vo. 1837, there is a preliminary account of the ancestry of the Baronet, in which an indirect attempt is made to engraft him on the legitimate stock of that branch of the Sinclairs in which the iiucient Earldom of Caithness still exists. The sister of the learned writer is well known as the authoress of several amusing though inaccurate productions; and this lady, without the slightest hesi- tation or demur, is incessantly trespassing on the patience of her readers with notices of her illustrious ancestors the Earls of Caith- ness. Both brother and sister, however, seem to be ignorant of the fact that their connection with the Caithness family is one not recognised in law, seeing that the founder of their family was ille- gitimate. This ignorance is the more remarkable, as the reverend gentleman and the lady have a brother who follows the calling or occupation of a genealogist, and who has given the world a toler- able estimate of his talents in that line in the publication of a treatise on the meaning of the words ' heirs-male' in the patents of Scottish peers. " Now this gentleman, whose unceasing inquisitiveness in all matters of pedigree astonishes and delights all those who have the honour of his acquaintance, should have put his pen through the following passage, which occurs at page 3 of his brother John's Memoirs of his Father: — " ' George, fifth Earl of Caithness, conveyed, in 1596 and 1G03, the lands of Ulbster to Patrick Sinclair, whom in both grants he designates his cousin. Dying without issue, Patrick was succeeded by his brother John, styled Master (Magistcr), a title of honour peculiar in those times to professional scholars. To this learned gentleman the same Earl renews the former grsnts, for the particu- hir love and favour that he bears towards his cousin Master John Sinclair of Ulbster. This charter was confirmed by the Crown in IGIG.' " That the eldest son of a Scottish Baron was termed, and is termed, M later, is unquestionably tn e, but thut the word Magister, or, in ancient Scottish parlance, * Jfiiister,' was a title of honour in the circumstance here set forth, is altogether preposterous, n», so far from ht ing esteemed an honourable distinction, it was uniformly applied to professional persons. Thus notaries-public, a very suli- ordinatc cliis.«, were so termed; so were teachers or dominies^ htkI i '1 f. 4 I m ■if: XXXVIll probably the highest grade to whom it was assigned were preachers : — thus the well-known Robert Hruce was called ' Maister;' so was John Knox, ^ , -ititudes to Germany, France, Italy, and Ireland. As the learueu i^.storian already mentioned has not traced the Irish, Italian, or German brandies of his family, it is incumbent upon me to prove that there are any such ; and, for- tunately, the proof is concise and conclusive. " That all-accomplished hero, who is recorded in the Baronage as imving performed prodigies of valour when not yet fifteen, has just now raised a regiment of fencible intantry, to be emploj'ed by his king against the common enemies of Pkirope. In that regiment are some Germans, some Italians, and nifiny Irish; and a.s one of the officers was lately cow-keeper to the minister of Balquhidder, about sixty or seventy miles west from this — another a tailor, in the village of Callander, where his fatlier still follows the same business, and keeps a ilram-Khop — and a third a r/aiii/er, — it is hardly conceivable that these foreigners, especially the Germans, would obey such officers, were they not convinced that they have all sprung from the same royal stem. It may, indeed, appear surprising to some of your readers, that the Chiefs of so illustrious a family .should have selected such men for commands in their regiment: but let it be remembered, that the blood of Prince Gregor circulating in his veins is more than sufficient to ennoble the meanest tailor or herdsman on earth. There was policy, loo, in making officers of ('■in<-keepers, ffaugers, and tailors. The French armies have been invincible under their low-born generals; and what must be the prowess of the Royul Clan-Alpines (lor that is the name of the legiment), when they unite in their officers the advantages both of low and high birth 1 " The exploits of this wonderful regiment, I have no doubt, will evince the wisdom of that legislature which lately restored the name il xlii of Mao Greuou; and I do not despair of living to see its heroic commander sitting in the House of Peers by the style and title of Duke of Glknfalloch. By inserting this supplement to the history of the illustrious house in your next number, you will much oblige .all the Mac Gregors, as well as an ally of the family, who is your constant reader and admirer, Greqor Mao Nab. 119 >ii>utli Bridije StrfJ, Eilinlinrijli, May the'22d, I79d. RETRACTATION AND APOLOGY CONCERNING THE MAC GREGORS. "The author of the letter which was published on the Ist of August last in the London Monthly Magazine, with the fictitious signature of Gregoh Mac Nab, acknowledges the said letter to be a gross, unprovoked, and unmerited libel; that it contains the most injurious misrepresentations of the Koyal Clan-Alpine regiment, re- viving old calumnies, and deducing from these calumnies inferences injurious to the famili/ and the whole Clan of Mac Gregor, whose conduct and real characters are, in all respects, as unexceptionable as the conduct and character of any other Clan or class of his Ma- jesty's subjects whatsoever. " On real consideration, I am sensible that it was unbecoming in me to aim any sarcasm at that legislature which restored the Mac Gregors to their franchises, seeing it must in candour be admitted that, in the indiscriminate prescriptu-n of that tribe, the rights and liberties of the subjects were manifestly violated; that the long continuance of their privation of law was an intolerable grievance; and consequently, that the legislature which abolished the ••ascrip- tion acted a virtuous part, in the discharge of a duty, wuich it owed not only to the injured Mac Gregors, but also to the people at large, whose constitutional freedom, and most valuable rights and lirivileges, had through them been infringed. " Ih'i'pJtj penetrated with cniiij/iniction for having been hurried on by sudden but unmerited resentment against a single individual, to prostitute his pen and misapply his talents to the unworthy purposes of defaming the dead, and endeavouring to rekindle extinguished and groundless prejudices against the innocent living, he sees the complicated mischief of such conduct in colours as strong as those in whicli it can be viewed by tlie injured parties themselves ; and he laments that the apology which he is capable of making is in- sufhcient to atone for offences, which even the reqret and contrition he must have, though they may, breasts of humanity, never can . M that, to the last hour of his life, perhaps, extenuate them in the thoroughly wasli uwuy. " Desiring forgiveness of every individual of the Clan-Alpine i^ogiment and of the name of J\/<(e Gregor, he has thrown himself entirely u]>on the mercy and placability of the parties chiefly injiucil; and he considers himself as deeply indebted to them for tiie iiiagnanimiti/ and huiii'yniti/ with which tliey have accepted of, and declared tliemselves .sutisfied with, these sincere concessions of he Offendkh." . r*i xliii Eiiuugli has for the present, perhaps, been said on the BuroinHsi and miyhty men of the North, for the length of our qHotationss has extended these introductory remarks beyond due bounds. We hhall probably ere long resume the subject in a different shape. In the meanwhile, .since the annexed Pro.spectus was printed off, another has been placed in our hands, differing from the former in so far as it holds out the following inducements: — '' ruiNcE Edward's island settlements and fisheuies. " The Companies already formed for this object are producing the most beneficial results, both to the shareholder and the emi- grants; still there is ample room for the exertions of others to aid in the introduction of British capital and British industry to the vast field open for their application. " Among the various objects presented by these extensive and prosperous Colonies for the advantageous investment of capital, and the profitable employment of industry, none hold out more certain or speedy prospects of success, or of a better retnrn for the money and labour expended on them, than the Fisheries in the Gulph of St. Lawrence. This most important source of national wealth, which the French considered more valuable than the gold mines of Peru, has hitherto been treated with a neglect no less astonishing than well known, and it has led to the total relinquishment of its advan- tages to the citizens of the United States, and to the French, both of whom have not failed eagerly to profit by it. It is no uncommon occurrence for seventy sail of American fishing craft to be seen at once in any of the numerous bays on the British coa.sts; and thus the trade which would afford a nursery for a hardy and skilful race of sailors for the British crown, is converted into one of the main supports of a powerful and industrious rival. " The shores of almost every part of our possessions surrounding the Gulph of St. Lawrence literally swarm with fish of various species, which, in succession, crowd the bays and creeks of the coast. Early in the spring, shoals of herring visit these localities, and are succeeded by the gaspereaux and the mackarel. The cod, pursuing the herring, often fill the harbours, and are to be met with in the greatest abundance off the coasts during the whole of the summer. The Americans are prohibited by treaty from fishing within three miles of the land; but they carry away with them annually many thousand barrels of each descuption, almost from our own bays and within /iew of our shores, and sell them in British markets. For every variety there is an abundant demand: mac- karel during the last season brought oOs. the barrel, herring from 208. to 258. per barrel, and cod 15s. per quintal in the Halifax market. Nor is this the only place which would take off the pro- duce of the fishery : the British West Indies, and even the American ports, are open to an incalculable extent ; while Spain, Portugal, and ,i I I m }^} ,''l^ ■■ *i Ital^, to Aiy iiiitliiiij^ (jI" the home trade, alVnvd a never failing aud ample doiu.iin]. " The following extract from a work of undoubted authority, 'British Americ'i' by John Macgregor, Esq., now Assistant Secre- tary of the Board of Trade, may convey some idea of the extent to which our acute and money-making republican neighbourii carry on this trade. — ' Tlio Americans of tlie United States had, in the year 1829, about 500 vessels, and 15,000 men, employed on the coast of Labrador, and their catch amounted to 1,100,000 quintals of fish, and about 3,000 tons of oil — value altogether, about i'G 10,000.' And in anothi;r part of the same work, under the head ' Newfound- land,' the author states, that ' in these fisheries the Americana have annually engaged from 1,500 to 2,000 schooners of 90 to 130 tons, employing about 20,000 seamen. The exports of cod-fish from the United State.>^, wholly caught in the British-American seas, average nearly 500,000 quintals; and the home consumption of the Americans is equal to 1,850,000 quintals. Of the whole quantity, about 1,300,000 quintals are the produce of the British seas; the remainder is caught on their own shores. About 3,200 tons of oil are pr»,duccd from the livers of the cod, and about 200 from pelts of seals, caught on the coast of British America.' There needs no more proof of the profits to be derived from this branch of indu.stry — nor indeed can it be otherwise; the crews of the fishing vessels are all paid by shares of the produce, and the only outlay, after the purchase and outfit of the vessels, consists in the salt and barrels. " Prince Edward's Island, from its position, and from the excel- lent harbours it possesses, offei's the most desirable station for an extensive and profitable Fishery. The northern coast is the most frequented by herrings and gaspereaux, while the shallops and fishing boats find no difficulty in following the fish to the Magdalen Islands and the Labrador coast. The masters and crews having all a common interest with the owners, a spirit of enterprise and exer- tion is roused, which cannot fail to ensure success. It will be the part of the Association to supply the boats, nets, and the means of salting and drying the fish, and to receive for them a given propor- tion of the quantity caught, while they will provide a market for the whole. " The failure of the herring fishery on the Western Coast of Scotland, and the very redunnant population that has for several years existed in many of its districts, render some measure for the permanent relief of the poor inhabitants imperative; but if it be attempted to convert these hardy mariners into ploughmen or farmers' labourers, the result would probably be, as in one or two instances it has turned out, a complete failure, while to no other quarter can we so confidently look for a hardy and determined set of men, ready and willing to brave the seas and gulfs of these American coasts, and to pursue in another hemisphere their favour- ite and accustomed occupation, when circumstances have rendered it no longer available in their native land. Of their fitness for thi;? 'l4' xlv empluymeut no doubt can exist ; and it must be admitted that the patience with whicli, for the last three winters, they have borne siiflerings little short of famine and starvation, entitle tlieni to the utmost consideration. On these grounds Thk Hkitish-American Association expect that all interested in the wellbeing of the poor, but more especially the Noblemen i\nd Gentlemen of Scotland, will ai'l in this important branch of their undertaking; and thoy trust tliat the supervision which will be exercised over their operations by a large body of the ancient Scottish Nobility, who are closely connected with the North American provinces, will be a powerful guarantee that the interests, both of the emigrant and shareholder, will be carefully protected. The lirst and principal fishing station will be established at or near Holland Bay, in Prince Edward's Island; a locality which aiTords every advantage requisite for such an undertaking, — from the abundance of fish, the ready access to the otber spots they fre- quent, and the excellent harbourage, even for vessels drawing four- teen or fifteen feet of water. Preparations for the reception of the fishermen will be made by the previous dispatch of a sufficient number of agricultural labourers, aud the necessary artificers, to whom most advantageous terms will be oSered, and thus the agri- cultural capabilities of the district selected for the first operations of the Association, which it possesses in an eminent degree, will be efficiently developed, while the application of the most just and sound principles of colonization to both descriptions of settlers will ensure an adequate return to those who may be disposed to embark in an enterprise so well calculated to advance alike the interests of the nation and of individuals." Alas ! if the poor of this country have no better support to trust to than the " herrings and gaspereaux " provided for them by the Hkitish-American Association, their plight is a sad one ! It would be no unfit distribution of justice, were the means and estates of those who lent the prestige of their names to this abominable de- lusion, to be burdened with the amplest provision for all the " kith and kin " of the unfortunate victims who were it J afitray by this titled glamourie. It was at first intended merely to reprint the trial, with the pro- spectus elucidatory thereof; but as every thing connected with this " mighty swindle " is worthy of preservation as a guidance for others, all notices and proceedings relating to it, so far as these can be obtained, are prefixed. This will account for the difference in the pagination. * 1 I'H^ ^M»i' BRITISU-AMERIOAN ASSOCIATION, FOR EMKJRATION AND COLONIZATION. Capital, £1,000,000, in £20 Shares.— Deposit £5 per Share. PRESIDENT. HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF ARGYLL. TllG Tlio The The Tlie The The The Vlf'E-PUESIDENTS. Marquess of Huntly, K.T. Lord Scarsdale. Marquess of Dowushire, K.P. Lord Forbes. Marquess of Bute. Lord Dufl'us. ]\Iarquess of Lorn. Lord Belhaven. Earl of Carnwath. Lord Elibank. I-larl of Dunmore. Lord Kilnmino. Earl of Castlestewart. Lord ]\Iacdouald EarlofGosford, G.C;.B. CONSULTING COUNCIL. The Premier Baronet of Scotland and Nova Scotia. Sir Thomas Livingstone, Bart. Sir James Colquhoun, Bart. Sir William Murray, Bart. Sir John Ogilvie, Bart. Sir Wm. Alex. Maxwell, Bart. Sir James Cockburn, Bart. Sir John Campbell, Bart. Sir John Murray, Bart. Sir Michael Bruce, Bart. Sir John Forbes, Bart. Sir Edward Crosbie, Bart. Sir John C. Fairlie, Bart. Sir Fitzroy G. Maclean, Bart. Sir Frederic Hamilton, Bai't. Sir William Pilkington, Bart. Sir Robert Abercromby, Bart. Sir Robert Preston, Bart. The Lord Provost of Edin''' The Lord Provost of Glasgow. The Chisholm. Sir James H. Turin, Bart. Sir Neil Menzies, Bart. Sir William ]\Iaxwell, Bart. Sir John ]\laxwell, Bart. Sir Charles Bannerman, Bart. Sir John Pringlc, Bart. Sir Wih'.im C. Seton, Bart. Sir Richard Greirson, Bart. Sir James Broun, Bart. Sir James W. ]\lackenzie, Bart. Sir John Reid, Bart. Sir George S. Mackenzie, Bart. Sir Wm. Dunbar, of Durn, Bart. Sir Francis Mackenzie, Bart. Sir James Stuart, Bart. Sir John Gordon, Bart. Sir Robert Keith Dick, Bart. The Rev. Dr. Norman Macleod, Mr. Sheriff Alison. Neil Malcolm, Esq. i. Itll ,511 COMMISSIONEKS. Sir William Oirilvio, Bart. Sir William l)iinhar, Hart. Sir Ildbcrt Bardav, Bart. Sir Allan Napier Macnab. Sir Kichanl Hroun. Thoma.s Kulpli, Esq. Siijii riiiliHiliiit of Mlh-rn in i'annilii. Sir .lanios 1). Ilamilti'ii ]lay, Wiwi. .ST.VNl)IN(i CorNSEK. Kiiijliiiiil. A. E. Cofkburn, Esq., Q. C. — George Barrett LcnnarJ, Esq. f 'iltinihi. C. R. 0^'fleii, Esq.. Atturnev-Cieiicral, East Canada. J. II. Tutors, ]'ls(i., Solicitor-(jeneral, Prince Edward's Island. HANKKHS. London. i Mcssr,g. Glvn, Ilallifax, I^Iills, & Co.' Messrs. Cockburn i Co. Kdinbunih. Sir William Forbes k Co. (llasijuii'. The Union Bank of Scotland. Agent fur Glasgow — John Lamont, E.sq., Buchanan Street. .SKOUKTAKY. W. II. Buckerfield, Esq. Offices — 29. New BriJye /Street, Bladfriars, London, The object of the British-American Association is to pro- mote the Colonization of our North- American possessions, by a transfer of tlie surplus jiopulation of the United Kingdom upon a national scale ; and by such an infusion of Capital into them, as shall lead to an immediate and wide development of their inexhaustible resources. Our North American possessions present the most advan- tageous field for these operations, whetlier we consider their easy distance from the mother country, now abridged by the application of steam navigation — the fertility of their soil — the salubrity of their climate, and freedom from those occa- sional droughts which so seriously injure the Australian Co- lonist — or the still more important consideration of a long established trade, and of the settlers being placed in a com- paratively civilized country, with all the benefits of British society and British laws. The operations of the Association are intended to be com- menced in several Seignories lying on the north bank of the - pow(>r to apply lor a Charter, or for an Act of Parliament, for the incorporation of the As- sociation. 21. The Commissioners have the authority to make Bye-laws for the better government of the Association. Apjdkaiioiisfur Shares at id for Prospectuses to be made to the S>'crd< tries, at the House cfihe Association, No. 20, New Bridge Street, lilackfriars, London, or to the Agents of the Establishment in their respective Districts. •nn From '' The Globe" of Monday, Oct 2ith 1842. Mansion -House. — The Lord Mayor was engaged most part of Saturday in hearing summonses against a Mr. Duncan Campbell, of Adam's Court, Old Broad Street, relative to a proceeding in which an Association, styled " The British North-American Company," is implicated. The facts are as follows: — Mr. Campbell is the owner of the Barbadocs, of 240 tons burden, about to sail with emigrants to Prince; Edward's Island, where the company is to divide 400,000 acres of land among them. A young man who had engaged himself as ship-carpenter, applied on Tuesday for a summons against Mr. Campbell for seventeen days' wages. lie had agreed with the then captain to sail to any part of North America ; but a new captain having been appointed who re- quired him to sign an agreement to any part of the world, he left the vessel, and this application was the result. In the course of the same day some of the intending emigrants came to the Justice-room with complaints that they had been in- duced to throw up employment by promises of pay and fitting out by the company, of which they now saw no prospect ; and these were followed by tradesmen who had supplied goods to the Barbadocs. The Lord Mayor observed, that articles to sail to any part of the world were unheard of, and after some further remarks granted the summonses. Mr. Campbell having appeared to ansvv'cr the charges, and having stated that the Duke of Argyll, Sir Thomas Brown, and Sir James Ogilvic, Baronets, were among the Directors, the Lord Mayor pointed out that Sir Thomas Brown's name was not in the prospectus — it was printed Sir James; and, moreover, that the other Baronet was an infant. Asking who was now the captain, Mr. Campbell replied Captain Fricketts, who had just brought the Erin from China, which the Lord Mayor remarked was extraordinary, since the Erin had been lost in the Chinese seas I Wilkinson, the officer, then said that the mate of the Bar- badocs had desired him to state publicly tlint the whol(> trans- action was a swindle. 1 1 8* In reply to a question, Mr. Campbell stated that he had insured the vessel for £3000. The Lord Mayor made some very strong remarks relative to the names which had been put before the public as being Directors, after which he ordered the claim of the applicant to be paid. With regard to the tradesmen, they had made their claims a matter of debt. If those persons who had been fool- ish enough to agree to leave their native country upon such a speculation as that which had been put for'.h in the prospectus, would come on Monday and make their charges, he should know how to deal with their applications. He had no doubt the expose would at Icasi save them from going to a place where, on their arrival, tlrey \vould be frozen to death. (Thursday, April 20, 1843.) In consequence of the advice given by Lieutenant Lean, the Gcvcruiucnt agent, Mr. Henry Fretwell, the captain of the Barbadocs brig, which some months ago left the port of London with emigrants for Prince Edward's Island, and Mr. Dimcan Campbell, the owner of the vessel, were summoned before the Lord Mayor, at the Mansion-house, yesterday, to answer the complaints of several of the unfortunate persons who had broken up their establishments in this country, and engaged to go to that remote region in the Barbadoes, under the sanction of the British- American Association. The justice- room was densely crowded during the investigation, which lasted a great length of time. Captain Fretwell, who was the first questioned by the Lord Mayor, manifested the most laudable desire from the commence- ment to give a full explanation as far as he was concerned. In answer to the questions put by his Lordship, he said that he had been engaged at Gravosend to take command of the vessel to Prince Edward's Island, and he sailed from the Downs on the 1st of November 1842, with fifty passengers (men, women, and children.) When the vessel reached 42' west longitude, she encountered heavy winds and seas, and was so dreadfully battered as to be obliged to put back to the nearest eligible |)ort, which was Cork, a distance of about 1,300 miles. On the 22d of December she reached Cork, where she remained smce 9* liat he hail >mlil the 9tli of April, when she sailed tur London, l(?aviMg behind her in Cork some of the emigrants, hut hringing to London about thirty of then, who were at the present moment lodging and boarding in her in the London Docks. The Lord Mayor having ascertained from the captain the nature of the damage sustained by the vessel, asked him what money he had received from the passengers. Captain Frctwell rephed that he had not received a farthing from any passenger, nor had he received a farthing of pay bince he joined the vessel. He had caused all the re'^airs t< be done to her in Cork. The Lord ALayor — How was she provisioned? Captain Fretwell state(' .'hat no reasonable complaint could be ade as to the provisions, which were abundant and un- exceptionable. The repairs, however, went on very slowly, for the agents in Cork began to suspect that they could not easily procure remuneration for their outlay. The British- American Association, in the meantime, sent to him to state that the vessel must sail on the 20th of March, and he made every preparation in his power, when he received an intimation that she was not to prccccd. He paid off the ship's company at Cork, and consequently had on board only the mate, the steward, the emigrants, and liimself. The emigrants never expressed the slightest dissatisfaction at his conduct ; on the contrary, they were convinced he had done all he could for their service ; but they felt and expressed bitter disappoint- ment at the manner in which they had been treated by the Association, and those who acted for that body. The Lord Mayor — Did you expect that you would reach Prince Edward's Island at that season ? Captain Frctwell — I am sure that if we had not met sucli severe weather (for there have not been such heavy gales on the coast of America these ten years), we should have made the passage. Wc were sufficiently manned, and had every- thing of the best quality. I have been often to St. John's in New Brunswick, and to Miramiohi, and I know we should have succeeded. When we "^-ere on the edge of the banks of Newfoundland, we all agreed, in consequence of the necessity of the case, to bear for a lee port ; and after consulting with 10^ i«4 .;•, ^ -It if ■ 1 1 • tlic superintendent of the emigrants, and with the emigrants themselves, all of whose protests I received, we acted accord- ingly. The Lord Mayor — You understood the naime of the voy- age you were going. Was it not a very late one ? Captain Fretwell — It was late for the emigrants; but I have no doubt it would have been effected if the weather had not been so bad. We arrived in London on Sunday last, and the vessel is now in the London Docks, and the emigrants are in her. I have done nothing with them, and I do not con- sider myself any longer in command. The Lord Mayor — And who is in possession of the vessel? Captain Fretwell — Mr. Soames, who has a mortgage upon her, has put in a ship-keeper. The Lord Mayor — The summons handed in states that you unlawfully attempted to force these emigrants to leave your ship. Captain Fretwell — I never contemplated anything of the kind. I have no power whatever in the ship. I have paid off the runners I hired in the Cove of Cork, where I dis- charged the able crew I had to go the voyage. The Lord Mayor — You have answered my inquiry in the most candid and straightforward way, and there is no charge whatever established to your prejudice. But what are these poor men and their families to do, who have calculated on the allotment of land, and thrown up their situations in this country in the hope of bettering their condition ? Lieutenant Lean, the Government agent, said he had heard the emigrants speak in the highest terms of the conduct of Captain Fretwell. The Lord Mayor then questioned Mr. Duncan Campbell at considerable length. Mr. Campbell stated, in answer to his Lordship, that he was sole owner of the Harbadoes, subject to a mortgage to Mr. Soames of £375. The Lord Mayor — Who were the persons who engaged her to take out the emigrants ? Mr. Campbell — The principal managers of the British- American Association — Sir Bicliard Bioun, Sir William 11 (Jgilvie, and Dr. Kolfe. Tlio sliip was cliartorod by mo to those three Commissioners to take out eniigrantH to rrinee Hilvvard's Island, all most respectable men, but not very rich of course. {A laugh.) They engaged him to provide the emi- grants at £8 per man, and half-price for children, with food and passage out. He provided the ship by a contract with Messrs. Leslie & Smith, the extensive provision-merchants, with meat, bread, flour, &c., at £2 :10s. per head. Everything that was required for the voyage was, according to the act of Parliament, most abundantly supplied. The cargo, which was valuable, was bought upon credit ; but now the Association is broken up altogether, and 1 have never received a farthing ; I have lost the ship and everything else. The Lord Mayor — I find in this printed paper a number of great names, the appearance of which was calculated to induce people to believe that the Association was a bona fide one. There are attached the names of a Duke, fifteen Lords, and nearly forty Baronets. You are amongst the Commis- sioners, and the emigrants complain that you have not per- formed your contract. Mr. Campbell — It was impossible for me to perform it. The Association is completely broken up. There have been several executions put into the house in Bridge Street ; and owing to what passed at the Mansion-house in October last, the Duke of Argyll, the president of the Society, has resigned. There are actions at this moment going on against the Diiko of Argyll, the Marquis of Downshire, and Sir James Cock- burn. The Lord Mayor — This paper contains a list of first-rate names. Mr. Campbell — Yes, but they are broken up altogether. The Lord Mayor — The Association may be broken up, but these noblemen and gentlemen are not broken up. Are all these shareholders ? Mr. Campbell — No, they are only the Vice-Presidents and Consulting Council. The Lord Mayor — How much of the million capital has l)ecn paid up ? Mr. Campbell— none a'- all, {Lwu into the most serious difficulties. Mr. Ciimpbell — I have been deceived myself most egre- giously. As to the month's extra provision, the general practice is to give extra provision for only a few days after arrival. The Association in this adopted a most liberal plan. The Lord Mayor — Why, emigrants under such circum- stances may die through sheer starvation. Mr. Campbell — So they may. (Lmighter.) Emigrants arc- not taken out to their destination on such liberal terms. The vessel was singularly unfortunate. The voyage is one of six weeks. If she had been a fortnight later, she would, I enter- tain no doubt, have made the yoyage. Mr. George Ilenlcy and Mr. Taylor, two of the emigrants, and very intelligent men, here stood forward. They stated their great object in bringing tlie case before the Lord Mayor to be, to ascertain upon whom the serious responsibility to them could be fixed. The Lord Mayor — Have cither of you paid money for the voyage? Mr. Taylor said he had paid £50 for himself and his family of eight children, to the Secretary to the Association. Mr. Henley stated that he was introduced by the British Association to Mr. Iluldcn, wlioni they acknowledged as their :ig(>nt, and ho engaged to pay thirty guineas for his passage, &('. by instaliiionts. in the Island. 13' The Lord >rnyor — What (h-oadlul mischicl" arises from the use of higli names in cases of this kind I I have no doubt :hat the noblemen and gentlemen whose names appear in this paper were wholly ignorant of the naturt; of the proeeeding to whieh it might appear they lent their sanction. Mr. Taylor said he had seen in a newspaper an account of a meeting in Scotland, which had been attended by some of the meat res])ectable individuals, representing the plan of emigration, and the advantag(>s with which it abounded ; and he was deceived into tlie belief that the whole was dictated by the most honourable feelings. Under t]i(\se circumstances, he determined to go to Prim-e Edward's Island, and made his arrangements accordingly. He had sufiered both mentally and physically in an extreme degree. The case of all the emigrants was now becoming desperate, lie was given to understand that it was the intention of the mortgagee to sell the ship and cargo, and to turn the emigrants, who had not one farthing in their possession, completely adrift. A repre- sentation had been made to the Magistrates in Cork on the subject, and those gentlemen were of opinion that the owner was as liable as he would be in the case of a seaman's wages. The Lord IMayor — There is no man more respectable or Immanc than Mr. Soames, so that you may rely upon it that he will do you justice. Mr. Campbell said that ^Messrs. Leslie & Smith also had a mortgage on the vessel. He did not think the emigrants ought to make any complaint until they were disi)0ssessed of their asylum on board the vessel in which they were at present supported. The Lord Mayor — What! not complain when they are threatened with being thrown upon the streets to starve, or to hurry in a crowd to the workhouse ? It is quite absurd to talk in such a manner. Lieutenant Lean said it was ollicially announced to liim on Tuesday that the provisions would be stopped, and no doubt the emigrants would be obliged to leave the vessel. The Lord May»)r — I cannot, looking over this prospectus, conceive it possible that any of these individuals would suffer these poor emigrants to be imposed upon. mn i 14* Mr. Canipboll — ITow comes it then, my Lord, that tliey have (l(»ii«; ho? Tln' liord Mayor — I daresay that some of tliese noblemen have, under the impression that the Association wjis calculated to do good, aliowod their names, from a benevolent feeling alone, to bo used. I am convinced that not one of them ever dreamt tliat a number of poor emigrants would be sent out to an isohited spot witli a month's provisions, to run the chances of climate and the various contingencies to which persons in a country unknown to them must be subjected. It was hero stated that the Duke of Argyll took the lead at all the public meetings, and made no secret of attaching his high name to the acts of the Association, and that his Grace's correspondence with the late Lord Mayor clearly proved that fact. Sir John Pirie, who entered towards the conclusion of the investigation, said that the vessel was originally mortgaged to Mr. Soames, and that it was now mortgaged to Messrs. Leslie & Smith, who, he had not a doubt, would sell the ship at once. Indeed, he had had the information from these gentle- men themselves. He did not think the ship was by any means accountable in this case between the emigrants and the Asso- ciation. The Lord Mayor — T am of a different opinion; I think these poor men have a legal claim upon the ship, and that the ship cannot be taken away without fulfilment of the contract; if it were otherwise, the most dangerous and extensive frauds might be committed upon that pretext. This is a case in which I would advise you by all means to have legal advice. Mr. Taylor — I am reduced to pauperism with my large family, and cannot afford to employ a lawyer. I have not only lost my passage money, but I have been obliged to expend the money I had put together to apply to the purposes of labour, in the cultivation of the land 1 expected to have held. The Lord Mayor — I shall persevere in this inquiry to render you as much service as I can. Pray, Mr. Campbell, how many shares did these nobleman and baronets take? Mr. Campbell — None at all. {Lavghter.) The Duke of Argyll and Sir James Cockburn were the only two out of the ! a case m 15« whole list who signed their names for shares. Thty signed for shares to the amount of £500 each. Tlic Lord Mayor — And with this £1000 you start the Association? Air. Cam])bell — It was started long before 1 had anything to do with it. Mr. Henley requested that the Lord Mayor would jKistponc the case for a few uays, in order that the attendance of the Secretary and a Mr. Andrews might be procured, and also that Mr. Campbell might be called upon to produce his books, which might explain the case more fully. Mr. Campbell objected to produce his books, and said he would not allow any one to overliaul them. The Lord Mayor — I shall postpone the case, certainly, and 1 hope that some satisfaction may be obtained. I am decidedly of opinion that you have a claim upon the ship, and that she is bound to leave you at the place of your original destination. I suppose you would still go to Prince Edward's Island, Mr. Taylor? Mr. Taylor — I should not wish to go without coming to a more clear understanding as to the power of the Association. I understand they have not an acre of land in Prince Ed- ward's Island. The Lord Mayor — What! no land there? Is that the case, Mr. Campbell? Mr. Campbell — Not a single acre, my Lord. (Great laughter.) Mr. Henley — They bargained to sell me 150 acres. (Laugh- ter.) The Lord Mayor — It is quite impossible that any of these individuals whose names have been used in this list, could have known of all this ; why, it is a most decided and heartless fraud. I would send the concocters of it to Prince Edward's Island, with a month's provisions. I consider the emigrants the dupes of a conspiracy. Mr. Campbell — My Lord, I know nothing of these things; I have found them out to my heavy cost. I have lost my vessel and money, and there are twenty actions against me. The Lord Mayor then directed that all the parties should appear before him in a few days. ]*• fi' w Hi I ' i it ^ ' 1 ItJ {Frulaif, April -21, l«4:i.) Mansion-Housk. — The Ukitish-Amekican Association. — Dr. llolpli, who was alluded to in the affair connected with the British- American Emigration and Colonization Association, before the Lord Mayor on Wednesday, appeared at the justice- room yesterday, while Alderman Gibbs was sitting, and was very anxious to deny the correctness of the statement made by Air. Duncan Campbell, that " the ship was chartered by the three commissioners, Sir 1{. Broun, Sir W. Ogilvie, and Dr. Rolph." Alderman Gibbs said the Lord Mayor intended to enter into the merits of the case on a future day ; and intimated to Dr. Kolph that it would be the better course to correct any inac- curacy in the presence of his Lordship. Dr. Rolph said he feared he might not be able to attend when the Lord Mayor meant to pursue the investigation, as he expected to be obUged to attend elsewhere, in consequence of circumstances arising out of the British-American Associa- tion. Alderman Gibbs — Where do you expect to be obliged to attend relative to the Association ? Dr. Rolph — At the Bankruptcy Court. Alderman Gibbs repeated that it would be advisable in Dr. Rolph to attend before the Lord Mayor, who would willingly afford any opportunity of correcting inaccuracies, if any arose, in the course of the examination which had already taken place. Dr. Rolph said if it was possible he should be in attendance. He, at the same time, was most desirous that what he had to say should, as soon as postuule., appear before the public by means of those channels of communication through which the misrepresentation had been made. He then said he denied that he was one of the three commissioners who chartered the ship Barbadocs for Prince Edward's Island, and he asserted that Mr. Campbell was the third commissioner who had acted with Sir William Ogilvie and Sir R. Broun in that transac- tion ; and that the whole arrangement connected with that vessel, and the deportation of emigrants to Prince Edward's 1 Island, was planned and ontored into during liis (Dr. l{ol|)h'.s; absence from England, and had met with bis moat uncjualirtcd reprobation and protest immediately upon his return to this country. He assured the Alderman that, so great was his objection to the late departure of emigrants to North America, he had prevented a large number from leaving Belfast for Canada, even in the month of July. Connected as lie was with the government of Canada, be hoped, that in justice to him, the impression that he had sanctioned the course adoi)tcd would be removed. A person who said he had a complaint to make against the Association, but was desired by Alderman Gibbs to postpone it until the Lord Mayor should be ready to attend to it, pro- duced a printed paper, which appeared to be a promissory- note for £100, and was signed with the names R. Broun, W. Ogilvie, and D. Campbell, as commissioners to the British- American Association. Alderman Gibbs said the name of Mr. Campbell was plain enough upon the instrument produced, to wliich Dr. Rolph's name certainly was not attached. Dr. Rolph — I was in Canada the time the vessel was char- tered. The person who appeared to complain against the Associa- tion said he believed that Dr. Rolph was absent from England at the time the vessel was chartered. He stated that he was most anxious to meet Mr. Campbell, who had done so much to throw the blame off his ow*. shoulders, at the same time that he was deeply involved and responsible in the whole of the transaction. m 1 II (Saturday, April 22, 1843.) The British -American Emigration and Colonization Association is ar ^in before the public. As is usual at the bursting of a bub .e company, by the fraudulent practices of which numerous dupes are ruined, the parties implicated in this deceptions scheme seek to escape from the consequences of their conduct by shifting the responsibility from their own to the shoulders of others. Hence we have one day Mr. Campbell, another day Dr. Rolpli, and another the solicitors ■I Mi ' f ■< I 1 h 18* oi' liis Grace of Argyll, appearing at the Mansion-house to assure the presiding magistrate that they deeply sympathize with the suiFerers, but that, on whomsoever the blame may fall, thoy are blameless. Our readers will remember, that in October last this Asso- ciation for conveying emigrants to Prince Edward's Island occupied a considerable portion of pubUc attention. Sir John Pirie, then Lord Mayor, was appealed to by certain tradesmen who had supplied stores for the vessel in which the emigrants were to be conveyed to their proposed destination, and who found themselves unable to obtain payment for their goods, in pursuance of fhe contract. Some of the passengers also began to be uneasy. Circumstances, by no means such as to strengthen their confidence in the emigration scheme in which they luui been induced to embark their all, transpired daily, and led them to apprehend that they had been gulled into parting w'*^^h their money to a set of adventurers who had no means oi iulfiUing the hopes tiicy had raised, or the specific engagements into which they had entered. Sir John Pirie, whose position as an extensive shipowner peculiarly fitted him for the investigation, devoted himself with commendable diligence to sifting the facts brought before him, expressed himself in pretty strong terms upon the character of the high- sounding pretensions of the Association and its projec*^ors, and warned the persons who contemplated expatriating themselves under its auspices, of what they were likely to encounter if they persisted in their intention. We lent our aid to analyze the scheme, and to demonstrate its iniquity ; we denounced the impudent and heartless fraud upon a large number of poor creatures who had drained their resources to the last shilling to ra'se the stipulated sums demanded by the cormorant " com- missioners," -so the managers of the concern pompously de- signated themselves in their prospectus, — as the price of the berefits they engaged to confer. The "good ship Barbadoes" was chartered to these " commissioners" for the purpose of tian8})orting the emigrants to the IJl Dorado of their imagina- tions, but had been detained, by various untoward events, for several weeks. At length the vessel sailed, towards tlio close of November, lor Prince Edward's Island. n The result which the experience of Sir John Pirie enabled liim to predict, as the probable consequence of sucli a voyage at such a season of the year, has followed. When the vessel Ijad got about half way across the Atlantic, according to the statement given by the captain, she encotintered heavy winds and seas, and was so dreadfully battered as to be obliged to put back to the nearest chgible port. This port was Cork. There she rcinained more than three months. The repairs, rendered necessary by the injuries she had sustained, proceeded very slowly, and under frequent interruptions, from the captain's lack of money and credit. The emigrants continued on board all this time. The provisions laid in for the voyage were con- sumed. At length, at the beginning of the present month, the captain was directed to sail, — not for Prince Edward's Island, but to the place whence he originally went forth. lie was ordered by the " commissiontirs" to return to London. The commissioners were now as desirous of scattering, as they were last autumn desirous of collecting their dupes. T'.Js brought the concern, its " commissioners," and some other high and mighty personages, whose names had figured in its previous exhibitions, again before the Lord Mayor. Some of the poor, ruined dupes of the flagrant imposition appeared at the Mansion-House on VV^ednesday, to state their cases, and those of their companions in misfortune. A Mr. Campbell, one of the directors and •' commissioners" of the company, and who chartered the vessel for the voyage to his brother com- missioners, appeared to explain the case, so as to excuse him- self and implicate others. In the course of the explanation given by Mr. Campbell, it a})peared from his statement tliat he had mortgaged the vessel, — tliat the mortgagee was in possession, having seized the vessel, and was about to proceed to sale, — and that although he (Mr. C.) was a director and commissioner, chartering his vessel to his co-directors and commissioners, ho never received any money for the un J .)* .'I r vHr 22 liigh names whicli api)carcd in its prospectus. lie is now in prison for debt, ruined by the loss he lias in consequence sus- tained. We adhere to the opinion we expressed when the affairs of this company were last year before the public. We consider that the Duke of Argyll, and every other individual whose name was affixed — with his own knowledge of its being so — to the delusive prospectus, are bound by humanity and justice to indemnify the sufl'erers by the failure of the scheme to which they gave the sanction of their names. We had hoped that a due sense of what the Duke of Argyll owes to society would have induced his Grace, and every other individual who was induced to give his sanction to the scheme, to have volun- tarily paid the penalty of his folly. By not doing so, the public may be induced to suspect that it was something worse than error of judgment which brought their names into such a connection. We also went further; and have seen no reason to retract the opinion we then expressed. We oeiieve that his Grace the Duke of Argyll and Sir James Cockburn, by the act of signing their names for sbf res to the amount of £500, rendered them- selves responsible in law for the parties with whom the ma- nagers of the Association contracted for the purposes we have described, and who have so grievously suffered by their confi- dence in the names which they saw appended to the prospectus. If Dukes and Lords lend their names to bubble companies, and thus give a semblance of stability they could not otherwise obtain, surely they ought to be held liable to bond fide con- tractors with such companies, as they would be if they indorsed bills, and those bills passed into the hands of parties who have given bond fide consideration in exchange for them. Or if they allow themselves to I ' represented as partners in a scheme for transmitting emigrants to a given place, and fail in fulfilling contracts which the company to which they belong has made with other parties ; ought they not to be held liable to the suft'orers by the breach .^ It is really painful to have to appeal to t]i(! power whicli the law possesses to enforce such contracts, when a no])le of the liighest rank is the party concerned. We should have been too well satisfied to have left the question to be settled by that sense of honourable obligation which ought to be at was powc le is now in jquencc sus- he affairs of ►Ve consider idual whose being so — ' and justice scheme to 3 had hoped s to society lividual who have volun- ), the pubHc ie than error connection. > retract the I Grace the t of signing dered them- »m the ma- ses we have their confi- )rospectus. panics, and otherwise fide con- ey indorsed who have cm. Or if in a scheme in fulfiUing lias made ,ble to the c to appeal 1 contracts, rncd. We :stion to be 1 ought to 23* be associated with nobility. We trust, however, tlie law will supply what may be lacking in the Duke of Argyll's sense of honourable obligation to the poor dupes to a scheme which was launched and was for a time kept afloat by the sustaining power of his Grace's name. {Monday, April 24, 1843.) British- American Association. — The recent expose of the proceedings of this Association would appear to have in- duced the heads of the department to emigrate in propria persona. On Saturday the offices in Bridge Street, Black- friars, were shut up, the zinc door-plates removed, the house advertised for sale by Messrs. Toplis, without even the cus- tomary notice being given as to where the company intended to carry on operations for the future. {Tuesday, April 2o, 1843.) The British-American Emigration and Colonization scheme having figured in police reports and bankruptcy proceedings, was last night introduced to the notice of Parliament. In the House of Commons the Lord Mayor drew the attention of Lord Stanley, as Colonial Minister, to the case of the poor emigrants who were induced to embark for Prince Edward's Island, by the specious prospects held out by this Association, and by the supposed security afforded by the names of the Dukes, Marquises, Lords, and Baronets, which were affixed to its prospectus, as vouchers for its integrity and stability. Tlie answer of Lord Stanley, in reply to the inquiry made by the Lord Mayor, went to exonerate the Government from all suspicion of having neglected its duty in the matter. The Emigration Commissioners instructed Lieutenant Lean, their agent in the port of London, to institute the most searching inquiries into the condition of the vessel, and into the quality and quantity of the provisions laid in for the emigrants on board the Barhadoes. Remonstrances and warnings were used with the Association as to the danger of undertaking the voyage at such a season. The emigrants were also cautioned by the Government agent against embarking on a voyage so })regnant with danger. These remonstrances and warnings D* .■i> :8pectu8, re- law in such id so strong, re, and my steps simul- ave to solicit disposed to rs were the nous one of they should face of such e been most you stated irst as well r connexion ie left open ', that you ter, and as able settle- ind harass- of twenty to believe, and really , — I have nt humble --ESME." ss was my 27* uncle, and I am consequently cousin german to your neigh- bour. Lady Janet Buchanan, to whom 1 gave Dr. llolpii an introduction on his last visit to Invcrary, your (Jrace may per- haps be inclined to give mo credit for seeking this interview, in the capacity of a fellow-' ictim as much as anything else." The learned Counsel continued: — This letter gave ample evidence of Mr. Leslie's object and intentions, and he would now proceed to read an extract from a letter addressed to Major Campbell by Mr. Koss, or Mr. Roy, which would at once raise the question whether this business was not actually a conspiracy against his Grace: — " The Duke of Argyll's position will instantly be harassing to him, and costly beyond conception. The creditors of the American Association put Dr. Kolph into the Gazette on Sa- turdaj^, for the purpose of enabling them to get a warrant for bringing up the Duke, and another for public examination before the Court of Bankruptcy — the most disgusting of bear- gardens. He is open to questions from the bankrupt, and any creditor and the Court, and his evidence, taken down, forms complete evidence against himself *' The creditors are about thirty, to the amount of about £8000. Besides them, a Mr. Bruce sold the Company lands, and he is in debt; and his creditors, to the extent of £5000, are on the alert. " One creditor, a Mr. Leslie, wrote the Duke, and I saw the answer from the Duke's solicitors yesterday. It actually says merely that the Duke disapproved of tlifc proceedings, and protested. Does that cease to make him a partner, or relieve him from responsibility ? Does it not imply an ad- mission that he was a partner r It is infatuation to allow this to go on. He subscribed the share list for 500 shares for himself, and so many for tlie Marquis of Lome, and read and returned the inclosed minute (viz. the proceedings of the meeting held in London on the 8th of June 1842), as preses observe, in page 5, ' where the purchases are mentioned and approved, and thanks voted for them.' As soon as the Duke, at his public examination, admits having taken shares, he is himself exposed to have a fiat of bankruptcy issued against him, and 1 cannot see how it can be escaped from. I am told his solicitors are very young men, and that the ex- pense of the defence against so many as thirty suits will be very great. But I do not know them, and those sort of things are otten said unfairly. fl 28* " I yesterday persuaded Mr. Leslie to write an apology to the Duke for an unintentional expression in his letter whidi had ortended the Duke ; but it seems there is some advantage expected to be gained over the Duke (although I can't see where it is), by keeping him unaware of the object of Dr. Ilolplj's bankruptcy, and so the sohcitor prevented Leslie from sending it. I am quite certain that an intelligent unprofessional friend would get the matter settled before it goes mrther." Mr. Laurence (with considerable "mphasis) — I most indig- nantly disclaim any knowledge of tliat letter on my own be- half or that of my client. If that letter were written to his Grace by Mr. Roy for him ( Mr. Leslie), I would at once give up the case. Mr. Leslie, examined by Mr. James — I am the petitioning creditor in this bankruptcy. The fiat is dated the 6th of April. I know Mr. Robert Roy,* who is the party I alluded to in the letter of the 4th of April, but he never did any business for me. lie was in London when 1 wrote that letter, but I was not in communication with him. I did not know, until I heard to-day the letter read, that he had written it to his Grace. I was shown in the minute-book a list of Directors, with their signatures, and the number of shares they held. The list of names contained those of Lord Lome, Duke of Argyll, Sir James Cockburn, and others. It was entirely on the faith of these signatures that credit was given to the Asso- ciation to the extent to which we went. Mr. CommissionPT Ilolroyd — It appears to rae that, taking into consideration the whole of these facts as disclosed in this case, I cannot refuse to enter into the proposed examination. Mr. Bagshaw, at this stage of the proceedings, suggested that no further inquiry should take place until Mr. Roy was before the Court, in order to furnish the Court with some ex- planation of the letter, and by whose authority it was written to Major Campbell. This arrangement was agreed to, upon the understanding that his Grace and Sir J. Cockburn should be in attendance at the next adjourned meeting. Adjourned accordingly. • This is the uotorious Mr. Roy of Duudonnell Cause celebrity, and who figured in the suit at the instiincc nf Mi.-'n Hope t^eraus Captain Donaldson Boswall, of Wiirdie. '■^! 29' an apology to is letter which me advantage h I can't see object of Dr. 2d Leslie from unprofessional 8 nirther." I most indig- i my own be- vritten to his 1 at once give le petitioning ! 6th of April, ided to in the ' business for er, but I was now, until I ten it to his af Directors, ;s they held, ne, Duke of s entirely on to the Asso- that, taking ilosed in this xamination. 8, suggested ^r. Roy was ith some ex- was written ed to, upon burn should Adjourned britj', and who tain Donaldson (Monday, May 29, 18' 6.) Mansion-House. — The unfortunate persons who were to liave emigrated to Prince Kdward's Island, in the ship Bar- hadoes, appeared befon.' the Lord Mayor for the purpose of receiving their respective shares of the subscription raised in their behalf by the ex«>rtions of his Lordship and Lieutenant Lean, the Agent to lier Majesty's Commissioners of Immigra- tion. Lieutenant Lean was present at the distribution of the money collected, which amounted to £225. The number of persons among whom it was divided, was fifty, including men, women, and children. Mr. Taylor, wlio so ably represented tlip body >)f emigrants when their case was first represented to the Lord Mayor, stated that they were every one perfectly sa- tisfied, an the money was a donation, it could not be divided in any other way than in equal shares, and quite independently of the greater claims which some had than others. The Lord Mayor — I had hoped that the contributions would have been more, and I regret that the truly affecting state- ments which have been made by the press have not had a more general effect. Lieutenant Lean then proceeded to state the particulars of the subscription, viz. The Duke of Argyll £50, the Marquis of Downshire £30, Sir James Cockburn £25, Lord Scarsdale £50, the Marquis of Bute £10, Sir W. Maxwell £10. A gentleman, whose name he was not at liberty to mention, had benevolently sent £50 for the aid of the ill-treated emigrants. Mr. Taylor then said it would of course be understood that the emigrants were not, by the receipt of this donation, to be precluded from taking legal proceedings for the purpose of claiming remuneration for the injuries and losses they had sustained. The Lord Mayor said by no means. The Duke of Argyll and the Marquis of Downshire, he knew, were anxious that every satisfaction should be given them. The emigrants, after thanking his Lordship for the interest he had taken in their misfortunes, and the assistance he had afforded them, most respectfully withdrew. .t |.«, ! f 30^ {Tiiesdaif, May 30, 1843.) COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, MAY 29. {Before Mr. Commissioner Holroyd.) THE BRITISH-AMERICAN COLONIZATION ASSOCIATION, In Re lloLPH. J* Tins day was appointed for the purpose of hearing further arguments as to the propriety of entering upon the examina- tion of his Grace the Duke of Argyll, Sir James Cockburn, and other noble and influential personages connected with the late British- American Colonization Association, as the alleged copartners of the bankrupt ; and also for the examination of Mr. Roy as to the authority (whether of the bankrupt or not) upon wliich he wrote a letter, dated April 11th, to a Major Campbell, on the subject of the liability of the Duke of Argyll in relation to his connexion with the affairs of the said Asso- ciation, and therefore, at least by implication, with the estate and affairs of the bankrupt. Mr. Laurence attended as solicitor for Mr. Leslie (the peti- tioning creditor) ; Mr. Cockburn, Q. C, and Mr. E. James, for the Duke of Argyll and Sir James Cockburn ; and Mr. Tyrrell as solicitor for Mr. Roy. Mr. Roy, examined by Mr. James — He was a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and was acquainted with Mr. Leslie. He was in London in April last ; and the first time he com- municated with Mr. Leslie as to the affairs of the British- American Association, was either in October or November last. The letter dated 11th April, read at the last meeting, was " part " of a letter which he wrote to Major Campbell con- fidentially, as well as another part on business. The letter was written in his own lodgings. Great Ryder Street, St. James' ; and he would positively swear that it was not in the shghtest degree influenced by Mr. LesUe. Had previously to this dined with Mr. Leslie, at his house at Wandsworth, with several other parties, two or three of whom were connected with the Association. Sir Richard Broun, Dr. Rolph, and others, were ^■^ iiniongst tlie company; but Mr. Duncan Caniiilitll was not there. Mr. Leslie's health was proposed at tiiat dinni'i- fur his " forbearance" in relation to the afliiirs of the Association. Xotl ling was said directly about the Duke of Arf^yll, but in the course of the conversation something wa.s said of the dif- ficulties of the Association, in conscquoncc of Iiis; (inicr not having paid up his shares. Mr. Leslie was here ordered to withdraw. Mr. James — When you wrote that letter, did you not think it was probable that it would reach the ear of the Duke of Argyll in some way or other? Will you swear that? — No, i will not ; I left it entirely with Major (-ampbell, who mi^^ht communicate it or not to his (Jraco. It was quite optional to Major Campbell. Mr. Leslie showed nie the copy of a letter, and when I found it contained a threat of arresting the Duke's rents, I said it was oppressive and harsh. lie felt distressed, said he had crot into a scrape ; and, at his request, I wrote out the scroll of an am[»le apology. Did he write it? lie said he would, to the Dukes solicitor. You are largely engaged in emigration in Scotland? I am, from my official situation, and was very glad to find the Duke of Argyll also favoured emigration. Mr. Leslie, examined by Mr. James — I said I was induced to strike the docket by Dr. Rolph, who recommended Mr. liaurence to me. We had a meeting on the r)th or odings of the British- American Association, the fi'.tc of the emigrants who had taken berths in the ship Barbadoes, and tlio bankruptcy of Dr. Rolph, one of the principal promotor.-> of tlie Association, have been made so familiar to the publii; (lirough the instru- mentality of the police and bankruptcy reports, that it will not be necessary to do more than advert to the evidence by i¥ I - HO I ,*i4' which it was sought to fix the defendants with HabiHty for the acts of the Association. It appeared that the order to copy the maps, &c. was given by the Secretary of the Association in August or September 1842, and that the first meeting which the Duke of Argyll and Sir James Cockburn attended, was held on the 22d of April in the same year. They attended another met.ting on the 29th of April, and another on the 8th of June, and after that time there was no evidence to show that they ever interfered in any way, directly or indirectly, with the proceedings of the society, or attended any of their meetings. It appeared that a prospectus was pubhshcd> in which the Duke of Argyll figured as President, and a number of noblemen and gentlemen as Vice-Presidents, besides a num- ber of Baronets, among whom was Sir James Cockburn, who formed the " Consulting Council ; " but it seemed from the same prospectus, that the whole management of the affair was left in the hands of six " Commissioners," and that the func- tions of the President, Vice-Presidents, and Consulting Coun- cil, were exclusively confined to the protection of the interests of the shareholders. It was arranged by the very constitution of the Association, that no Peer or Baronet who became a Vice-President should be liable as such to the expenses of the Association ; and it appeared by one of the resolutions which was adopted on the 8th of June, that it was determined that nothing should be done by the Association till £50,000 had been subscribed for. Only £7000 was subscribed for up to December 1842. There were several minor features in the case, but the above were its leading cliaractcM'istics. Lord Chief-Justice Tindal summed up, and the jury, who retired at ten minutes to six, returned into Court in Jibout twenty-five minutes, with a verdict for the defendants. COUHT OF COMMON PLEAS, JANUAKY IG, IS44. WOOD V. THE DUKE Ol' AKOVr.L AND ANOTIIEIJ. Mr. Sergeant Byles said that this was an action tried on the 5th of last month before Chief-Justice Tindal, and was brought <#■ ^# 35 to recover the sum of £37 for maps and plans supplied by tlie plaintifiF to the British and North- American Land Association, of which it was contended the defendants, the Duke of Argyll and Sir James Cockburn, were directors and members. The jury at the trial returned a verdict for the defendants, anu the learned Sergeant moved to-day for a rule calling on them to show cause why that verdict in their favour should not be set aside, and a new trial had, on the ground of the decision being contrary to the evidence adduced. He contended that the defendants had made themselves hable by their proceed- ings to the preliminary Association, the object of which was to fjtart the project of the North- American Land Association itself; and that they held themselves out to the world as sup- porting that society in such a way as to make themselves responsible in such an action as the present. On these grounds he appUed for this rule. The Court decided that the rule must be refused, as their Lordships thought that at the trial the fullest inquiry had boon made into all the circumstances of the ease. The case had been left to the jury on three points, viz. whether there was a direct contract between the parties ; whether there was any liability on the ground of partnership ; and whether the de- fendants had held themselves out to the plaintiff so as to be responsible for the acts of the executive committee. The jury had thereupon found in the negative , and in favour of the defendants on all points, and the Court therefore saw no ground whatever for disturbing the v 'diet that had been given after mature consideration. The evidence showed no contemplation by the defendants to form a company ; but that they had cautiously guarded themselves from responsibility, until £50,000 had been really and bona fide subscribed by purchase of shares in the proposed Association. That never had been done, and the Court therefore thought the society was never in fact formed, so as to render the defendants liable to any such claim as that made in this action. The rule wiw accordingly refused. m i ■H ^». "I jouil chaj wliii and I cont Ii a tri hall, in \v iislu TJhj] raet( (lam l.unii Colo is st and the ] sionf cxpr Man frau( meai Broi tificr the ; caus knig plaii resit ing ■t*,*^ I Leading Article from " The G'lobe" of Feb. 23, 1846. The hist:)ry of actions for libel, brought by indivitluals against journals of established reputation, would form an interesting chapter in the annals of civil jurisprudence. After a sonicwhat protracted career in journalism, during which we have been peculiarly exempt iivjm such annoying and expensive visitations, the Globe has been called upon to contribute its quota to the materials for such a history. In another part of our columns will be found the r»^nnrt of a trial which took jilace in the Court of Common Pleas, Guild- hall, before Chief-Justice Tindal, on Friday and Satu rday last, in Avliich the proprietors of this journal, through their pub- lisher, were called upon to answer the complaint of a " Sir liit'HARD Broux, Knt.," for an alleged libel upon his cha- racter, and by which he sought to recover compensation in damages for the injuries thus indicted u})on him. On the 4th of July 1844, an article appeared in our co- lunms, containing some strictures on the British -American, Colonization and Emigration Association, the history of which is still fresh in the public recollection. Of that fraudulent ai.d extensively mischievous scheme, Sir Biehard Broun was the projector, and one of the three self-constituted " Commis- sioners" and ^Managers. We designated that project by terms expressive of its true character ; and its Commissioners and Managers by appellations which were but descriptive of the frauds they had practised on the credulous and unwary by its means. For that article we were proceeded against by Sir K. Broun. AVe replied to the declaration in the action by a jus- tification of ev(>ry count. At one time it was doubtiul \\hether the plaintiif — like others of his class — had not abandoned his cause. Not being able to discover the residence of the worthy knight, our attorney obtained a judge's order, rerpiiring the plaintiff's attorney to furnish the defendimt with the jiresent residence of the plaintifi". That order had the ellbct of hang- ing up the cause for several months. If, was not convenient — perha;^>9 it was not possible — for the plaintitf's attorney to 1^ •»i If •!ih :i I I if' 111 8 obey the order. After the lapse of several months, a " local habitation" — he already had " a name" — was assigned to the plaintiff. lie was the occupant of a humble lodging in one of the obscure streets in Brompton, whore, however, ho was never visible to inquirers, being invai'iably " out" when- ever application was made to obtain an interview with hira. At length, as we have said, the action was brought to trial on Friday and Saturday last. The plaintiif 's first witness was a Mr., alias Doctor, Thomas Kolfe, one of the self-constituted " Commissioners " and Managers of the bubble Association. That witness, in his searching cross-examination by Sir Tho- mas Wiido, complcte'y confirmed every statement wc had made in the article sot fortli as a libel on Sir Uichard Broun, as one of the " commissioners'' and manai?crs of the Association. Fabricated minutes; interpolated resolutions — documents con- cocted and issued for the purposes of deception — were, in succession, placed in the witness's hand, who was compelled to admit that they wrro fabrications. The " constitution" of the Assoc ation was at length placed before him. That docu- ment professed to def^n^^ tlu; powers of the " commissioners" and " executive council; '" and, as it originally stooc* conferred no authority for issuing loan-notes. It simply authorized the " commissioners" and " txoeutivo council" to raise money by the disposal of shares. This was iueonvnient, for shares were not in demand; and Sir Iliehard Broun and his coiifrocs -were desperately hard-up for funds. At a meeting at which his Grace the Duke of Argyll ard Sir James Cockburn were pre- sent, the plaintiff and liis co-commissioners being also there, the latter ventured to propose that money be raised on deben- tures. The Duke of Argyll and Sir James Cockburn, up to this time, s.^cm to have been blinded to the real character of the Association and Its managers. This proposal, however, appears to have man'' d thrir s^ispicions. They protested, as they well might, againsl any y. 'h proceeding ; alleging that, as the Association liaa not o foof of land, there was no secu- rity for the payment of the debet!.. res, if issued. His Grace, in conjunction with Sir .)ames Cockburn, also declared that they would be no parties to any further operations of the Asso- ciation until the .' um of £50,000 was subscribed for shares. ■If lis, local J assigned to Ic lodging in however, ho ' out" when- with him. )Ught to trial t witness was If-constituted Assoeiation. by Sir Tho- we had made d Broun, as Association, luments con- 1 — were, in is compelled stitution" of That docu- miissioners" d. conferred thorized the e money by shares were nfrcrcs were which his were pre- also there, on debcn- urn, up to laracter of however, otested, as girjr that, is no sccu- lis Grace, ■lared tliat f the Asso- shares. This determination of the Duke and Sir James Cockburn was a poser to the ])laintiff and his brother commissioners. They had made every pn.'paration to obtain a concurrence on the part of those who interposed this formidable and apparently fatal objection to what they intended should open up a source whence funds should flow to their hands. We have said that the deed of constitution, as originally " settled," signed, and sealed, contained no provision for raising money on loan-notes. This was a trifling defect, easily supplied by such ingenious functionaries as those who managed the affairs of the IJritish- American Colonization and Emigration Association. Tliese worthies, the plaintiff and his witness Rolfe — being either concoctors of or parties to the fraud and forgery — actually removed, or caused to be removed, a sheet from the deed of constitution, as it originally stood, and interpolated another sheet, on which, by means of smaller and more closely-com- pressed writing, they introduced the clause empowering them to raise money on loan-notes. The interpolated sheet was written by a clerk who did not enter the service of these "com- missioners" until several months after the deed, as it was ori- ginally settled, was executed. The production of the fabricated deed, and the extorted ad- mission of the witness to the facts, as we have stated them, was decisive of the plaintiff's case. Mr. Sergeant Talfourd and Mr. Sergeant Channell, his counsel, declined to sanction, by their further appearance in the cause, conduct so flagrantly fraudulent. They commuricated their decision to Sir Thomas Wilde, who was still pursuing his destructive cross-examination of the plaintiff's witness, and subsequently to the Court. As it was admitted that one of the defendant's pleas on the record — that which affirmed the non-seaworthiness of the Barhadoes — could not be sustained; and on that plea, therefore, if with only a fartliing damages, a verdict nmst have been taken for the plaintiff; it was agreed to withdraw a juror. This arrangement, so far as the costs are concerned, is pre- cisely the same as though the plaintifl' had obtained a verdict for the smallest coin — each jjarty bears his own costs. Wo need hardly remark that this result is sul)stantially the same to the proprietors of this journal as though they had obtained Vi- < 10 a verdict from tlif jury. 'rii<-'y were well uwuro, throughout the proeeediiigs, that they could never have ohtained a jienny i'roui the plaiulil!' of tlie heavy costs they must necessarily in- cur ju cl< lending the action. One of the amusing incidents in the drama of villany, as [troved hy the admissions o. the witness Jiolfe, and contirmed by the minutes of the proceedings of the " conunissioners," was the coolness with which these worthies voted l.irgc saliirios to each other. £1000 per annum to Andrews, '•C(jnimissioner, registrar, and solicitor;" £1000 per annum to Sir Ivichard Broun, the plaintiif, for his eminent services ; £.')00 per an- num to the witness Kolfe, as " commissioner," &c. &c. The amounts were ])aid in loan-notes ; the signing ])arties mutually releasing each otlier irom personal liability. These loan-notes, worthless as waste pa])cr itself, were to be negociated, if pos- sible. In some instances they were used as instrumeuls for raising the wind, llolfe, when pressed as to the amount which the debentures and loan-notes actually issued by the " commissioners " represented, would not say whether the former was £10,000 or £100,000. Of the loan-notes it was admitted that £17,000 had passed tlu'ough his hands alone. It is but flvir to infer that the other " commissioners" were as liberally dealt with. VVc confess to a f(;eling akin to disappointment at the sud- den — we had almost said premature — termination of the trial. We could have ^^i.shed that the proceedings of the plaintiif and his associates had been more fully exposed, as they would have been, had the cause proceeded. There were letters in Court, written by these worthies to each other at the time when they held out to the public that they were proprietors of an illimitable extent of territorial possession, and had thou- sands of pounds sterling under their control, earnestly pressing for a rcnnittance of ten, or even five, pounds, to meet tluur extreme necessities. A letter would have been put in, written by the plaintiif, Sir Richard Broun, to the secretary of the Association, suggesting the expediency of dro})})ing the " Sir," and substituting " Mr.;" and reconnnending that, in writing his name in future, the letters forming " Sir" should be so written as that they might ajipear to cx]>ross either appellative. M Ai L', tlirougliout iiined a jifuny iiuccssarily in- of villaiiy, as mil confirmcil mniissioncrs," I.iri^e salnrios L'oiDinissioiicr. ) Sir IHdiard £500 per an- &c. &c. Tlic rtics mutually 'SO loan-notes, 'iatcd, if j)Os- strumonls for I tlio amount issued by the whctlier the i-notes it was hands alone, lers" were as t at the sud- n of the trial. the plaintilT they would e letters in at the time j)roprietors d had thou- tly pressing meet ihoir in, written tary ol' the the " Sir," ill writing ould be so ij)pellutive. Passing over multitudes of fabricated and interpolated minutes and resolutions of a similar charaeter, and iraiii(>d for ('(pially fraudulent purjioses with those which had already Ix-en recog- nised and admitted by the plaintitf's witness, we will only adduce one. Certain resolutions and other proce(>dings of the commissioners, which were set forth to have been passed and recorded in A})ril, were not entered until the September fol- lowing. One of the last resolutions in the commissioners' minute-book is one declaring that the plaintiif, Sir Kichard liroim, had " forfeited the conHdi.niee of his brother commis- sioners, and was no Icnger worthy of a seat at the board;" seeing he had seized \ ipon, and secretly removed from the pre- mises of the Association, almost everything moveable, and ap- propriated the jirococ'.ls to his own use. Whether they would not have been before land with him, and anticipated him ui the spoliation, may h^ fairly doubted. However, the fact is U2)on rcccrd, and. would have been brought out, but for the merciful abandonment of the case by the plaintift"s counsel. "\Vc had in Court a host of witnesses, including tradesmen who had been robbed, and some of them actually ruined, by the loss of th<^ goods and money obtaimnl from them by the false pretexts of the plaintiiV and his confederates; others who would have established tliat which constituted the csstmce of the alleged libel, that the Duke of Argyll and the other noble- men and gentlemen whose names were paraded before the pub- lie to give apparent stability to the deception, were lured into lending their countenance to the objects of the Association l)y pretences the most false, and by the production of documents and letters framed and fabricated tor the purpose of carrying on the delusion. The endeavour to unite the objects of the Nova Scotia liaronets, who were seeking from the Crown a recognition of their claims, with the pretended objects of the Association, was a jiart of the seheiiie. This enabled the plain- tiff to parade a number of really respectable names before the public eye, — as though these personages were identified with the Associatiim When the Nova Scotia IJaronets insisted on their objects being severed, and henceforth kept iliUiiict from the obie.'ts of the Association, a heavv blow and i;'reat dis- couragemcnt were intlicted ou the scheiiie of the plaintiif and his confederates. U- Wi 11 I n ' 12 We liavc (Xtrnded tliis article to a length only justified by the eircuuistances in which we have been placed. The evi- dence of the plaintiff's own witness proves that wo did not injure the lame or fcehngs of an honest man. We have vindi- cated our own integrity ; have exposed the villanica of a set of impudent knaves ; and have thus shown that the protection of tlie public against such characters is, as it ought to be, one of the principal objects in the conduct of this journal. By inserting a plausible statement sent us by Sir 11. Broun three or four days after the appearance of the article on which he founded his action, and which was an attempt to revive the defunct Association, we might have propitiated his mighty wrath, and even obtained liis distinguished patronage. A pri- vate note from the illustrious knight, sent with his statement, proposed that " if the article were inserted, he would take 200 copies of the paper in which it appeared, for circulation among his friends in Scotland — provided six months' credit were given him for the amount" (£4 : 3 : 4.) I It would have been surprising if, during the railway mania of the last year, the plaintiff were not found among the pro- jectors or directors of one or more of the numerous bubbles which were formed to induce those who had more money than discretion to intrust their spare cash to the keeping of persons who had more ingenuity than money. Accordingly, we find " Sir Kichard Broun, Bart." with the prefix of " The Hon." to his other equally valid title, at the head of a list of names who figure as the Directors of a Paris and Dieppe Railway project. In how many more railway schemes the plaintiff had a share, we know not. It must be admitted, that with such recommendations as he could obtain from the British-American Colonization and Emigration Association, his title and qualifi- cations lor business would be found invaluable, and ought to be secured by those capable of appreciating the worth of dis- tinguished rank, high character, and vast experience in business of a certain class— at any price. V . u y justified by ,'d. The evi- t wo did not c Lave vindi- ics of a set of protection of lit to be, ono journal. By Broun three on which he to revive the I his mighty tiagc. A pri- iis statement, ) would take or circulation tiontha' credit ailway mania long the pro- jrous bubbles ; money than ig of persons igly, we find * The Hon." ist of names )pe Railway plaintiff had with such i-Araerican and quahfi- ,nd ought to orth of dis- in business COURT OF COMMON TLEAS, Fehruauy 20. (London Sittings after Term, hefore Lord Chief-Justice Tindal and a Special Jury.) [We ta the following ample and accurate report from the Timec.^j BROUN, KNIOHT, V. EVE. Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, Mr. Sergeant Channell, and Mr. llosack, appeared for the plaintiif ; and Sir Thomas Wilde, Mr. Iliunfrey, and Mr. Phinn, for the defendant. The plaintiff in this case is Sir Richard Broun, who, at the period when the action was commenced, as the eldest son of a Scotch Baronet, assumed the title of Knight, and who, by descent, is now a Baronet ; and the defendant is the publisher of the Globe newspaper. The action was brought to recover damages for an alleged libel published by the defendant against a certain company called the British- American Emigration and Colonization Association, of which the plaintiff was one of the chief promoters and directors. The libel complained of was published in the Globe on the 4th of July 1844, and alleged that the said association was a " jobbing scheme," got up by " penniless commissionprs and directors," by whom the Duke of Argyll had " allowed himself to be duped," and by his " becoming the patron and president of the bubble" the public had been duped, and emigrants had been induced to lodge their money with " the commissioners," and embark on board " the good ship Barbadoes" for Prince Edward's Island; that the vessel was compelled to put back, not being seaworthy, and the whole scheme " an enormous humbug." The alleged libel concluded with recommending that the names of all shareholders in such companies should henceforth be regis- tered under the provisions of the Joint Stock Companies bill, then before the House of Commons, in order that the public might be protected " against sharpers of both high and low degree." To the declaration setting forth the libel at length in hmo verba, the dcfoudant pleaded a number of pleas : — 1 . Not .0 ... vr:s.^< IMAGE EVALUATION TfeST TARGET (MT-S) {./ 1.0 1.1 11.25 m m m Vi Ui Bl u lii 122 Ifto |20 li& U 11.6 i ^ ^ // ^1 w ■'I Fhoiographjc Sciences Corporation n WIST MAIN STtMT WIMTIR,N.Y, 14SM (7U) t71-4S03 IP u guilty. 2. That no such company had been associated toge- ther under the name of the British- American Association. 3. That the plaintiff was not one of the projectors, or a member, director, or manager of the association. 4. That the defen- dant did not use the word " bubble " for the purpose of expressing an unlawful joint-stock company. 5. That the de- fendant did not use the word " sharpers " for the purpose of expressing persons addicted to fraudulent practices. 6. That the defendant did not use the word " humbug " for the pur- pose of expressing delusion or deception. 7. That the ship Barbadoes was not a good and seaworthy vessel, but on the contrary; and was by her default compelled to put back. 8. Except as to part of the declaration, the defendant pleaded u justification ; and 9. As to the part excepted, the defendant pleaded a justification. On these pleas issue was joined. Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, in opening the case to the jury, said the plaintiff, Sir Richard Broim, was a gentleman of ancient Scottish family, who, since the commencement of this action, had succeeded to his father's Baronetcy, which was one of those created by James II. The present action was nominally brought against the printer of the Globe newspaper, for pub- lishing a libel in that paper on the 4th of July 1844. The nature of that article, which did not in terms name the plain- tiff, was an attack on a society which had its origin in 1841, and which came to an end in 1842, and which was a scheme for promoting emigration from this country — especially from the Western Islands of Scotlar? — to Canada, of which society Sir Richard Broun became oi. of the projectors and a most active promoter, and became responsible for its general scheme, objects, design, and views. The nature uf the charge which appeared in the Globe newspaper would be read to them. It did not state that this was a scheme originating in any rash- ness of purpose, but that it was from first to last a wicked fraud, devised not for the purpose of promoting emigration from this country to Canada, but with the wicked design of obtaining for the promoters the moneys of those persons who might be induced to take shares in that association, and of appropriating those moneys to their own use. That was the nature of the charge, and it was one which the plaintiff had 15 felt it due to his character to contradict ; and that was the charge which the defendant had to prove, and on which the jury had to deterrjiine. Before he introduced the article of which the plaintiff complained, it seemed to him better that he should give to them a short outhne of the history of this Association. In 1841 this Association took the name of the British-American Association, and it had its origin in the la- mentable state of destitution which, in 1839 and 1840, befel the population of the Western Islands of Scotland. They were aware that on the western coast of Scotland there were a nimi- ber of barren islands inhabited by a scanty population, stretch- ing from the mouth of the Clyde along the coast of Argyle- shire, Inverness-shire, and Ross-shire. Their inhabitants were accustomed to food of the poorest description, and to derive their support from the scantiest resources ; and when any fa- mine came, they were driven to the most dreadful distress. The same observation applied to the inhabitants of the Hebrides Islands spread out in the western seas. His Lordship here intimated that, from an examination of the record, this appeared to him to be one of those cases in which honestly and justly something might be said to satisfy the plaintiff. Sir T. Wilde — I don't know what will satisfy him, my Lord. Mr. Sergeant Talfourd continued — He certainly should have been most glad to adopt the kind suggestion of the Lord Chief Justice, and to satisfy the action ; but the impression the defendant had received was such as precluded such an ar- rangement. In 1839 the distress in these islands had become tlie object of private charity. Amongst others similarly si- tuated with the plaintiff, who was descended from a Baronet created in the time of James II. (who, when he wanted money, sold those titles, together with large grants of land in Nova Scotia, under the plea of colonizing them), the plaintiff was anxious to forward measures for obtaining a renewal of the grants of those lands to which this class of Baronets believed themselves to be entitled under charter from the Crown. Whether legal or not, these were rights which tlie plaintiff and others honestly claimed. At this period the plaintiff was ■■ I 16 M secretary to the Society of Bflronets, who natuhilly took a aort of hereditary interest in these possessions ; and Sir Richard Broun naturally also took an interest in the practical question of emigration from the most densely populated of the Western Islands, for the purpose of planting new colonies in the Cana- dian possessions, to which he and others believed themselves entitled. In 1840 a great meeting was held, under the pre- sidency of the Duke of Argyll, at the Hopetoun Rooms, in Edinburgh, for the purpose of ascertaining what relief could be given to these poot islanders by emigration. That meeting was attended by a gehtleman intimately connected with Cana- dian affairs, and who held a high office under successive Cana- dian governments. That gentlemah, of the name of Rolfe, had been educated for the medical profession. He had practised in that profession in England, but fell into misfortunes, and went (as many men of enterprise and talent had done who did not find a fair field in this country) to Canada ; and there he was appointed to be the government emigration agent in that colony. At that meeting Mr. Rolfe expatiated on the advan- tages which might be derived from an extensive and systema- tic scheme of colonization from the western shores of Scotland. He became acquainted there with the plaintiff, and the plain- tiff was induced to unite with him in the designs which he was desirous of promoting. Mr. Rolfe returned shortly afler to Canada, and directed attention to the cultivation of large tracts of land in that country. He shortly afler returned again to this country, the accredited agent of the Canadian government and of Canadian proprietors of millions of acres, authorized to treat for the sale^ upon a certain commission to himself, of large portions of territory in that country. Mr. Rolfe had received the thanks of the Canadian government, and various presents of from £100 to £500 for his zeal in the cause of emigration, and held an appointment of £500 a-year from that government. With great knowledge of the subject, and enthusiastic zeal for the promotion of its objects, he as- sociated himself with the plaintiff and other persons of much higher rank, in 1841 ; and in 1842 considerable progress was made iii the prosecution of their design of colonizing lands in Canada by means of this Association. Mcetuigs were held, 17 ok a sort Richard question Western ;he Cana- lemsc-ives the pre- ooms, in ief could ; meeting Ith Cana- ive Cana- lolfe, had practised Unes, and who did there he it in that le advan- systema- Scotland. the plain- which he •rtly after of large returned Canadian of acres, oission to iry. Mi. ^ernment, eal in the 00 a-year e subject, ;s, he as- of much ^ess was ^ lands in ere held, which were attended by the late Marquis of Downshire, the Marquis of Bute, and other persons; and in 1841 tliis Associa- tion was formed, under the title of •' The Scottish and British American Association." His Grace the Duke of Argyll, after a communication with Mr. liolfe, became President, and the Marquis of Huntly, Lord Forbes, and others, became Vice- presidents, and a " consulting council" was Tanned of honour- able persons. The plaintiff and Mr. Rolfe were commissioned to visit the North of Scotland, and took the title of Commis- sioners. In 1842 Mr. Rolfe returned from Canada, accom- panied by Sir Allan M'Nab, now the Speaker of the Canadian Legislature, their object being chiefly to forward this scheme of emigration. On the 4th of April there was a meeting of the Association, and various provisions were made with re- spect to the purchase of large properties which Mr. Rolfe was commissioned to dispose of. On April 22, 1842, the Duke of Argyll presided over the " consulting council," and that meet- ing was adjourned to the 29th of April, and on that day the Marquis of Downshire presided, and measures were adopted which led to the plaintiff, Sir Allan M'Nab, and Mr. Rolfo, being directed to proceed to Scotland and advocate the objects of the Association there ; and, in consequence, two great meet- ings were held in the following month of May, in F'^inbu'-gh and Glasgow, the Lord Provosts presiding in each oi those places. Mr. Rolfe addressed the meetiugs, and explained the scheme, which was embraced with enthusiasm by many gen- tlemen there ; among them by Mr. Sheriff AUson, the his- torian of the French Revolution. Upon the return of these parties to London, a meeting was held, which was presided over by the Duke of Argyll, and it was then proposed that a share list should be opened, and that capital shoulu be raised and employed for the purpose of paying the first instalments for the purchase of the lands they were in treaty for. One of these treaties was for the purchase of many thousand acres of land from a person named Cunard, in Prince Edward's Island. It was then discussed whether the Society should issue shares or debentures, and it was determined to issue shares. The share Ust was headed by the Duke of Argyll, who agreed to take fifty shares, and he was followed by many others, who u 18 ri agreed to take a certain number of shares ; among them by Mr. Rolfe. The deposit to be paid for the shares was £5 per share. He beUeved that the only persons who ever paid any deposit at all on these shares was the plaintiff (who paid £250 into Glynn's bank), Mr. Rolfe, and Sir W. Ogilvie, who each paid a similar sum, making £750 altogether, which was all the money that was ever obtained from anybody on the faith of this scheme. The scheme had every appearance of prosper- ing, when Mr. Rolfe was obUged to return to Canada. During his absence, u.i occurrence happened which ruined the Asso- ciation. It was not intended tliat any actual outlay should be made till £50,000 should be subscribed and in hand. Sir James Cockburn had proposed that that aourse should be adopted, and it was adopted. But it so happened that there seemed to offer to " the commissioners " a favouraUe oppor- tunity to send out a pion^r band, to be located on that land which the Society had agreed to purchase, and who, going there as approved workmen, should facilitate the views of th« Association. This was a small episode — a littlie excrescence in the proceedings, which the " commissioners " ought not to have taken without the entire consent of the Society. It wa* stated to them,, that a gentleman of the name of Haldon was willing to engage a band of persons of from 50; to 80 selected workmen, who might go out without risk to themselves, and prepare the way for those who might follow not so skilled. Mr. Haldon proposed to charter a vessel, and to make his con- tract with those persons, and they were to go out at a certam price of purchaset^noney to be paid to him, and were to be hia servants. When they arrived they were to have allotted to them, on the land which the association had agreed to pur- chase, an acre in the first instance to clear, at a rent of Is. an acre, and to have the option of purchasing it in four years- at £1, and then to have the option of obtaining three acres more at a rent of la. an acre, or £1 for the fee-simple ; and the Association was not to be called on to expend any money on that contract. Mr. Duncan Compbell undertook to- charter a vessel called " the Barbadoes " to carry out these persons^ He was to be paid £8 for each adult passenger, and £4 for each child ; and he was to find them with everything proper them by £5 per paid any id £250 (\rho each was all the faith prosper- During the As8o- hould be and. Sir hould be hat there )le oppor- that land lo, going ws of the ccrescence ^ht not to r. It was aldon was to selected elves, and so skilled X his con- I; a certain 'ere to be allotted to ;d to pur- of Is. an ir years at ores more ; and the money on ■ charter a i personsi d £4 for ig proper 19 for the T<^age. He was also to take out the goods of tlie Assooiatimi at 4& a ton, and consented to receive payment in debentures, and not in cash, *o whicli debentures Aediare- holders were liable, no diarter having been obtained. " This, therefore, became ihe speculation of Mr. Campbell, so far as his vessel was ocmcemed, and of Mr. Haldon, so far as the emigration was concerned, and Ind nothing to do with the Association. A number of persons entered into bargains witli Mr. Haldon, and what those bargains might be, he was not prepared to state by legal evidence. With the exception of one man named Taylor, who paid £50 for the passage of liim- self and family, not one of those persons paid a single shUling to Mr. Haldon." These persons went on board the vessel, which was to lie a month on demurrage. Scsne one wrote io Lord Stanley, calling his attention to this vessel. Whether this was some rival company, or who it might be, he knew not, further than this, that the attention of Government was called to the vessel, and an inquiry took place, which caused considerable delay, on the allegations that the vessel was not seaworthy, and wa3 not properly provisioned. An officer made a thorough inquiry, and it was found that the vessel had been completely repaired and was entered at Lloyd's in the second class; and there was no pretence for saying that the vessel was not in every respect seaworthy and properly stored with provisions, and the result of the inquiry was perfectly satisfec- tory. While the vessel was lying at Gravesend, some of the passengers who had agreed to go, but then declined, made complaints at the Mansion-house, before the Lord Mayor, against Mr. Haldon. They preferred some claim against him which that gentleman thought it better to compromise with them, and he paid them some sums of money for the purpose of preventing their claims, taking their receipts. But that had occurred which was fatal to the Association ; for the then Lord Mayor, acting, as he (Mr. Sergeant Talfourd) thought, extrajudicially, expressed opinions about this Association which were facal to it. It sometimes happened that Magistrates thought fit to express opinions, and to let them find their way through the great channels of communication to the world, which were injurious to the character of individuals; and u so though he would not borrow the very striking and strong lan- guage with which a former Lord Chancellor (Lord Brougham) had reprobated these extrajudicial inquiries of Magistrates, still as absolute wisdom did not always preside over the city and inspire magistrates, he thought it would be better if they would confine themselves to the simple discharge of their duties, especially when there was not a legal education to guide them. Without any reference to the character of Sir John Pirie, he thought it would have been better had he confined himself simply to ;he line of his duty, instead of taking the steps he did. He wrote to the Duke of Argyll on the subject, and the effect of that letter was, that that nobleman thought it right instantly to withdraw his name from this Association. Many oihers immediately took the alarm on no other grounds, and the consequence was the paralyzation and utter ruin of the prospects of the Association. On the Ist of November the vessel proceeded on its voyage. That voyage was most unfor- tunate, for having started too late in the season in consequence of these delays, the vessel met with violent adverse winds, and the result was that she was compelled to put back to the coast of Cork. There these emigrants found themselves .landed where they did not intend to land, and they became the sub- ject of great charity. The succeeding Lord Mayor took an interest in their case, and the result of this calamity was fatal to tho Association. When Mr. Rolfe returned from Canada, he found that the affairs of the Association were m such a condition that even the enthusiasm which he had endeavoured to breathe into it could not revive it ; and the Association, in- stead of issuing debentures or shares, never obtained a single shilling more than the money he had stated. During the time that the Association existed, it was assailed by the press, and he did not complain of that. So long as any project af- fected large public interests, he did not complain of the press exercising vigilance respecting it. The substantial debts of the Association were small, and, of course, " the commission- ers" were liable for them, and its creditors very rightly re- sorted to the nobleman who had presided over the Association and had taken shares in it. However, with this he had no- thing to do, except that it explained the article of which the 'ong Ian- ougham) gistrates, the city r if they ir duties, de them. Pirie, he . himself steps he and the t it right . Many nds, and n of the nber the »st mifor- sequence inds, and the coast IS .landed I the sub- took an was fatal 1 Canada, n such a eavoured ation, in- a single ring the he press, roject af- the press debts of imission- »htly re- sociation had no- hich the 21 plaintiff complained. An action was brought againi ' ^he Duke of Argyll for the price of some maps furnished to the . ssocia- tion, and the jury found that there was not sufficient evidence to fix him with the liabiUty of payment, and the action did not succeed. In another Court, however, a person of the name of Lake brought another action, which was tried before Lord Dennian, for the cost of printing, and the evidence then given did satisfy the jury that his Grace the Duke of Argyll had become responp. jle for the debt. With this they would have thought the p .blic journals had little concern, and would scarcely have imagined that whether tLo Duke of Argyll, and Sir Richard Broun and Sir Allan M'Nab and Mr. Rolfe were all liable or not, would have provoked a leading article in a journal in which space was so precious as happily it was in this journal. A leading article, however, was written, and re- peated all the history of the Association, and in such lang^mge as prohibited the plaintiff from thinking that he could hold his course vdth hononr unless he challenged the newspaper to retract or to prove its statements. After this long preface he would proceed to read the article of ,/hich the plaintiff com- plained. It was in the Globe newspaper of the 4th of July 1844. The learned coimsel then proceeded to read the fol- lowing article, which was the libel complained of: — " His Grace the Duke of Argyll, and the British- American Emigration and Colonization Association, will be long asso- ciated in public recollection. The Duke and the emigration jobbing 3cneme will eo down to posterity hand-in-hand. The scheme wi^s concocted by others. The iVova Scotia Baronc+s, who lent their titles to its prospectus for i ' con-si-de-ra-li-on, " to invest it with dignity in the -^yes of the ig? orant, and the {)enniless commissioners and directors oi the nefarious scheme, lave figured in various forms and in different courts of law, in connection with the Association a;id the liabilities it in- curred. The Duke of Argyll was sc its head. We do not impute any fraud to his v'jrace of Avgyll — God forbid! The Duke merely allowed himself to be duped into lending his name and title to the scheme, from an idea of the benefits which would result from shipping off, from certain esiates he possessed, a number of superfluous bodies, to the unknown regions which were to be colonized by the British- American Association. Ilis Grace of Argyll was quit*^ a godsend to the m\ it m til. schemers. To have a Duke as patron and firesident of tbeir bubble was the very thing they wanted. No one would be so presumptuous as to doubt the vaUdity or question the veracity of a project of which the Duke of Argyll was the head, and in the management of which his Qrace took an active part. The bait was successful — at least up to a certain point. Trades- men sent in stores for ' the good ship Barbadoes.' Emigrants lodged their money with the ' commissioners,' for the purchase of land, and for their conveyance, with their families, to the glorious island which the commissioners and directors stated they had the right to dispose of, and which they, with the most suspicious liberality, were anxious to sell, dirt cheap, to whoever would pay earnest money, and go out to take posses- sion of the estates they had thus cheaply obtained. How the whole bubble burst — how the vessel was compelled to put back through inability to go forward — how the impudent knav^ of the directors was exposed, and their dishonesty and cruelty to the wretched people tliey had inveigled on board their ship, were demonstrated and denounced; — these, and much more, were shown up at the time by the public journals, and need not now to be repeated. " We then remarked, and in more than one article on the subject proved, that, though not cognizant of the frauds which otlier parties — bankrupts in character no less than in pro- perty — contemplated by means of the Association, his Grace of Argyll was manifestly, legally, and morally liable to the tradesmen and others wno had been induced to supply their goods, or to entrust their money to the managers, on tne cre- dit of his name, and by the fact of the open interest he took in the project. We advised the Duke, for his own sake — from regard to his personal reputation, and for the sake of the Peerage of which he is a distinguished member — to do that voluntarily which the law would eventually compel him to do, if appealed to by the sufferers. The penalty might be high ; but it was incurred through his own neglect. A due consi- deration of his position, a very little inquiry into the charac- ters of the projectors, and into the project he was asked to patronize, and thus commend to public confidence, would have sufficed to open his eyes to the folly and danger of placing himself at the head of such an enormous humbug. His Grace committed himself to the fortunes of the xmdertaking, and had no right to complain if he — almost the only individual of the fraternity who possessed anything beyond the decent gar- ments in which the managers were compelled to appear in order to carry on the delusion — is called upon to pay the bills of tradesmen for pjoods supplied to the Association on the ere- ^^ 23 of their lid be so veracity 1, and in irt. The Trades- migrants purchase to the rs stated with the heap, to e posses- How the to put mpudent lesty and m board ese, and journals, le on the ds which . in pro- lis Grace ie to the ply their I the cre- he tooi I sake — ke of the > do that m to do, be high ; le consi- j charac- asked to uld have ' placing [is Grace and had idual of jent gar- ppear in the bills the cre- dit of his Grace's name, used with his knowledge' and per- mission. " The question of the Duke of Argyll's legal Hability lias been at length established in a court of law. Yesterday, in an action tried before Lord Denman and a snecial jury, the claim of a tradesman, who sued hw Grace for £145, ibr print- ing, was affirmed, and a verdict given in favour of ttie plaintiif. The printing consisted of the prospectuses, in which the Duke's name fibred as president ; tlie captivating resolutions passed at meetings of the Association, which were verified by the Duke's signature; and the other appliances and means by which the monstrous delusion was kept afloat. The result of this trial will be a salutary warning to noblemen and other respectable individuals whose names are sohcitcd for purposes which, however flattering in sound and semblance, are void of all the re(juisite elements to give them stability and success. The question of the Duke of Argj'U's legal liability having been established — for the responsibiUties it incurred during the period he continued to allow his name to be used by the eoncern — we presume the other claimants, similarly circum- stanced, will have httle difficulty in obtaining payment, or se- curity for payment, of their demands. His Grace will surely not compel these unfortunate people to drag him into court to obtain verdicts. One such exhibition as that of yesterday is sufficient to' settle the point of liability. A second would be more damaging to the noble Duke's fame than the aggregate of the demands would prove, if paid without further contro- versy, to his pecuniary resources. " The Joint-Stock Companies Bill, which is now before the House of Commons, will exercise a very salutary restraint upon such nefarious schemes as that which has bro ght the Duke of Argyll into his present difficulties. This bill is the result of a Parliamentary inquiry into joint-stock companies, the evi- dence taken before which exposed the deep-laid knavery in which many such schemes are founded, and led to the sugges- tions and recommendations for the public protection, in com- pliance with which this bill was framed. The main objects of the bill are to establish publicity and regularity in the proceed- ings of joint-stock companies, and to prevent jobbing in scrip. Pohlicity will defeat the knaves who contrive to support them- selves on bubbles. Let the names of shareholders be regis' tered, with the number of the shares they hold, the amount of paid-up capital, and the other particulars which the project- ors of bubble-schemes studiously apply themselves to conceal, be published, and the public will be protected against sharpers of both high said low degree. Such speculators on public 1^' I i u gullibility have driven a thriving trade in this disreputable class of trafBc. It will be easy to remove the objection taken to the bill in the course of the discussion of last night, that bona fide trading companies will be unnecessarily interfered w^th by its powers. Indeed, it seems to us, that the more openly the affairs of such comuanies are exhibited to the public, the more firm will be their uold on public confidence." This was the article of which the plaintiff complained, in which the term " sharpers" was used, as fitly describing the proceedings of the Association. Did the defendant retract or apologize? No. [The learned counsel then described the pleas, an abstract of which is given above, and which it is unneces- sary to repeat.] One of the special pleas alleged that in truth and in fact the real objects and designs of the plaintiffs and others, commissioners and directors of this Association, they being in mear^ and indigent circiunstances, were to enrich themselves with the moneys of any persons who might take shares in the company, under the impression that its object was a real and bona fide one. The pleas then stated that the projectors induced the Duke of Argyll to take fifly shares, when they were without means or without any chance of ob- taining means for purchasing these lands, or acquiring a good title to them, and that the sole object of the plaintiff and others was to enrich themselves by the improper and fraudulent ap- propriation of sums obtained from persons who imagined the scheme to be a bona fide one. He would call Mr. Rolfe before them, and ask them, after his evidence, whether it was fitting to call this scheme a " bubble" and a " fraud;" and should ask them to give fair damages for the injury the plaintiff had received. Whether the scheme was the dream of persons of high rank or of low rank, when an English gentleman or a Scottish gentleman complained of a personal calumny against him as the conductor of a scheme, it was not to the result of the scheme that they must look, but to the motive and feeling and design which promoted it. By that he would stand or fall. If the plaintiff deserved infamy, he should not regret to see him fail ; if otherwise, he should look for a verdict at their hands. William Taton Hall was called, and proved the registration of the defendant as the printer and publisher of the newspaper called the Globe and Traveller, on the 4th of July 1844. I 25 Thomas Rolfe was then calleu and examined by Mr. Rer- geant Talfourd. — He deposed that he was brought up to the medical profession, and in 1833 he went out to Canada, to the western extremity of Lake Ontario. lie had previously prac- tised as a medical man in diilcrcnt places in this country, and was unfortunate, and went out to repair his fortunes. He prac- tised his profession there, and turned his attention to agricul- ture ; and in 1837 he received a government me proposal February proposal d to com- $ir Jamea )f the As- ution was resolution re was an ssociation ssioners," res to Sell ig of the nniission- L be taken " and se- Qutes not 'ews, and lat year it £30,000 ad a hne ' eornmis- was to be Iiis own 1000, and he was to be called " Registrar, Commissioner, and SoUcitor;" and Mr. Thompson, who was appointed controller of the ac- counts, was to have a salary of £500 a-year. He did not know what accounts they had to control, lie did not receive information from the plaintiff that debentures were issued ; but he learned that during his absence in Canada the " com- missioners" did issue debentures. He also knew from Broun, tlie plaintiff, that they had issued what they called " loan- notes." Sir J. Cockburn had objected to the issuing of de- bentures, and said it was absurd to issue debentures when they had no land on which to charge them. Sir James Cockburn strongly objected to it. Loan-notes of the Association were given to certain members of the company for their salaries. Witness had received the loan-notes, and had signed them for the salaries of the officers. He had learned from Sir Richard Broun that the Association had b- rrowed £1000 from a Mrs. Borlase, and that securities had been given to her for £1200, and that £750 of this sum was paid in to the plaintiff's bankers. Loan -notes had been given to Mrs. Borlase as a collateral security, and he (witness) had joined in the security. He did not get any part of the £1000 borrowed for himself. There was no authority in the original deed of constitution which had been agreed upon, to issue loan-notes. He was not aware that a sheet had subsequently been introduced into the deed of constitution giving the authority. ( The deed was put in, and it was shown that such a sheet had subsequently to its execution been inserted.) The sheet was in the handwriting of Woods, the clerk of the company. When he signed the constitution deed, he did not know that that sheet was in it. He knew that there was no authority giver for the issuing of loan-notes before the execution of the deed, and he had no doubt — in fact he knew that the sheet containing that autho- rity was introduced long after the deed was signed, lie would swear that he did not know that it was to be introduced before it was introduced. He knew that there was a sheet added to the deed of constitution, as Andrews and the plaintiff had had some conversation with him about it. He supposed it was added to give a sanction to the issuing of the loan-notes. On the 24th of January 1843, £600 in these promissory loan-notes t li 30 were paid to Mr. Buckerfield for his salary, he agreeing not to make the " commissioners " personally hable for their pay- ment. Witness did not know who was to be hable. Various sums in these notes, from £500 to £2000, were paid to the plaintiff, to Sir W. Ogilvy, to Sir A. M'Nab, and Mr. Bucker- field, for salaries ; to Mr. Andrews £2000, and on account of law expenses £1000. In this manner very likely £17,000 worth of loan -notes were issued. He could not tell what amount of debentures were issued. It was very likely to be £10,000. At this juncture the learned counsel for the plaintiff, who had been consulting with him, made an intimation to Sir T. Wilde, which stopped the case. Sir T. Wilde — I beheve, my Lord, our labours are termi- nated ; a proposal to withdraw a juror has been accepted. Mr. Sergeant Talfourd — The executive Commissioners mere- ly thought they were acting for their own regulation without binding other parties. I understand my learned friend to disclaim any part of that statement that the ship was unsea- worthy. Sir T. Wilde — Oh, certainly; the ship was perfectly sound. The Lord Chief- Justice — That is not the most serious part of the case. A juror was then withdrawn by consent, and the case ter- minated. Robert hardix and company, printers, FREDKRICK ATREBT, EDIKBrRaH. ; not to ir pay- various I to the Bucker- !Ount of ■17,000 II what y to be iff, who aSirT. 8 termi- ted. rs mere- without riend to B unsea- y sound, ous part case ter- u