When MORE some years had chancellor been,

No more suits did remain;
The same shall never more be seen,
Till more be there again.'

The Court of Chancery seems to date its rise at the close of the fourteenth century. It was highly obnoxious to the professors of the common law; who, by their interest in the House of Commons, procured a petition against it from the parliament to Edward IV. in 1471. The influence of the preJates (who were certain of guiding that court) defeated this attempt; and its establishment encountered no further difficulties. (Cotton's Records,)

Writs, relating to the business of the subject, and the returns of them, were, according to the simplicity of ancient times, originally kept in hanaperio, in a hamper; and the others (relating to such matters wherein the crown is mediately or immediately concerned) were presented in a little sack or bag, in parva baga: and hence arose the distinction of the hanaper office, and the petty bag office; which both belong to the common law-court in chancery.

When Archbishop Williams succeeded the great Lord Bacon, as chancellor, these were his resolutions, which he declared in a speech upon his entrance on his office :First, Never to make any decree that should cross the grounds of the common or statute laws. Secondly, Never to encourage any motion made at the bar, which did not apparently tend to further and hasten the hearing of the cause. Thirdly, That, without special motives, he

would not overthrow the decrees of his predecessors. Fourthly, To be as cautious as possible in referring causes, because it deferred the hearing of them. Fifthly, That the court would be no sanctuary for indiscreet and deperate sureties. Lastly, That he would follow the rules of the court as near as he possibly could. It is said that the Court of Chancery was never better ordered than in his time. (Vide Hackett's Life of Archbishop Williams.)

than ever: or, there is too much money afloat, which cannot be properly diverted without a current As the evil of through this court.

an equitable delay has been of considerable standing, we are strongly inclined to believe, that there must be a peculiar species of wisdom in it, which we are not up to: for, other courts have several judges; and, until lately, there was no vicechancellor appointed in this court, to expedite suits. We, therefore, rest satisfied, that what can be cured must be endured, though it is contrary to the proverb. For our own parts, we have no lands or hereditaments lying there, very snug for our heirs; but,

'It pleases time and fortune, to lie heavy Upon a friend of our's, who, in hot blord, Hath stept into the law, which is past depth

To those that, without heed, do plunge

into it.'

Este, in his Journey in Flanders,' 1793, tells us, that there were then causes before that patient and long-suffering court, Wetzlaer, at Liege, to the amount of upwards of one hundred and eighty thouHe says, he could not help sand! asking, How old any of them might be ? He was, in reply, referred to the dark ages; if not to the creation of the world. After This heavy period alluded to by this, our own Chancery-court must be deemed very precipitate and the bard of Avon, we are forturash; for we do not recollect hear- nately spared. As for our friend, ing of any suit as old as the Revo-requiescat in peace; for he expects lution. And a late chancellor must to get a hearing in two years! have sadly committed himself, by literally ending his career, as a judge, by a decree upon the identical suit, which he, as a pleader, had begun twenty years before!

'Thus pitying Equity, in case not clear, Is pleased to take your rents-for twenty year!'

THE FEAST OF THE STATUE.

A Statue, we're told, that sat all astride Upon a stone horse, (as if Statues could ride,)

Was ask'd by a Don, (he but meant it in joke,)

To throw his leg off, and come to a provoke ; Which he, Giovanni his name was, then meant,

We shall merely add, that, in the year 1756, the total amount of To give that (mid) night;—the Stone bowed the effects of the suitors, in the High Court of Chancery, was £2,864,975 16

In the year 1766 1776 1786

1

ascent.

When the bell had tolled twelve, and spread was the Feast,

Which with Donnas and Goblets all sparkling was graced,

A thundering knock startled poor Leporello,

8,848,535 7 11 14,550,397 2 0 21,922,754 12 8 31,953,800 9 5 33,534,520 0 10

The above is from a return of the total amount of the effects of the suitors, as laid before the House of Commons; so that the world has either become more litigious, or the Court of Equity more dilatory

LANDED PROPERTY IN IRELAND. (Continued from No. 31.)

'TYRONE.

This county is divided chiefly into estates of very large extent. The Marquis of Abercorn, Lord Belmore, Lord Northland, Lord Mountjoy, possess very large tracts of country. But the first-mentioned proprietor has only a life interest, and therefore he grants a lease of years and a life, but under the condition that it does not exceed his Own,'

6 WESTMEATH.

This county has but one absentee possessed of large property, namely, the Marquis of Buckingham, whose income here is 7000/. I am acquainted with no other property exceeding 60001. a year; but it abounds with gentlemen of mo. derate fortunes, from two to three thousand per annum. It is seen, by records of the year 1641, that not one of the names in the grand juries of that period are to be found in the list of jurors summoned at the present time. Lord Longford, Mr. Pollard, Sir Richard Levinge, Mr. Rochford, Sir Benjamin Chapman, and Mr. Daese, may be ranked among those who have the best properties in this county. Leases are now granted for twenty-one years and a life.

WICKLOW.

"The immense tract of land belonging to Earl Fitzwilliam, which consists of 46,000 acres, in the barony of Shilelagh, with his property in other parts, making altogether 66,000 acres, forms the largest estate in the county. The leases are for twenty-one years and a life; and though his lordship is an absentee, his estate, without exception, is the best cultivated of all those I have seen in Ireland.

But whatever may be the cause, the estate of Earl Fitzwilliam in this county, exhibits an appearance that would do honour to any part of Europe; and though I am not inclined to be lavish of compliments, I will not hesitate to say, when I consider the situation of his lord

ship's Wicklow tenants, that he appears to me to take justice as the guide of his conduct, and to that chiefly I ascribe the admirable state in which I found his property in Ireland. Can he who loves his country, and honours humanity, forbear here from exclaiming to many a thoughtless and improvident landlord, "Go thou, and do so like. wise?" Will not such examples, if incapable of arousing benevolence where benevolence perhaps does not exist, produce some effect upon that principle of self-interest, which sometimes impels men to do good, when more honourable motives find no room in the breast?

'He who neglects to ameliorate his landed property when he has it it his power, is certainly inexcusable; for he might do so without subjecting himself to much labour or restraint: and how gratifying would it be to one of those lordly proprietors, if possessed of generous feelings, to hear applied to him, what a great man, now no more, said of our sovereign; "Even in his amusements he is a patriot, and in hours of leisure an improver of his native soil.”*

'Lord Carysford, Lord Powers. court, and Lord Meath, have all large estates, the leases on which are, in general, for twenty-one years and a life. The Rev. Mr. Symes, of Ballyarthur; Mr. Blachford, Mrs. Tighe of Rosanna; Mr. Tighe of Woodstock, Mr. Synge, and many others, have considerable tracts of land. The centre of the county, which is uninhabited, consists of boggy mountains, and belongs chiefly to the sce of Dublin. The districts on the sea-coast are very much divided, and abound with villas, to which the citizens of Dub. lin retire, to enjoy the pleasure of rural views, amidst all those com. forts that flow from ease and independence acquired by industry. It

Burke's Letter to a Noble Lord on the Attacks made upon him and his Pension. See his works, octavo edit. vol. vii. p. 40,

41.

appears to me to contain more gentlemen's seats than the same space in the vicinity of London.'

In order that the reader may see at one view the political influence which landed proprietors possess in Ireland, I have constructed the following Table. The letters, U, L, M, C, in the second column, are the initials of the provinces in which the opposite county is si tuated. The third and fourth column gives the number of houses and inhabitants in each county. The fifth column contains the names of the representatives for counties; and the last column exhibits the names of those who possess the greatest influence in returning members to sit in parliament. Such of them as favour the Catholic interest have a C affixed to their names; and P represents those who are patrons of Protestant ascendancy. The same letters occur in the fifth column, and will explain in what way the respective members have voted on the great question of Catholic Emancipation. This Table, therefore, exhibits a picture of the political state of Ireland; points out to the people the number of their friends and enemies; and shows in what counties intolerance has the greatest hold. Every man who claims the honourable title of freeholder, should peruse this Table with care and attention. The time is approaching when he will be called upon to exercise the proud right of a freeman; and on the issue of the next elee tion in Ireland will depend the decision respecting the independence or corruption of the forty-shilling freeholders. I have a few words to say on this important subject; and I shall, in a week or two, address them to the freeholders of Water

ford.

PAUL JONES,

(Continued from page 287.) The missing man need not have been regretted; he was a traitor, and his exertions, not the breaking of the morn, nor the sudden blaze, saved the town. I find by a news. paper of the time, an extraordinary number of which was published the morning after the descent, that a little after three o'clock this morning a man rapped at several doors in Marlborough Street, (adjoining one of the piers,) and informed them that fire had been set to one of the ships in the harbour; that matches were laid in several others; that the whole would be soon in a blaze, and the town also destroyed; that he was one belonging to the crew, but had escaped for the purpose of saving, if possible, the town and shipping from destruction.*

The descent at Whitehaven produced consternation all over the kingdom. Expresses were immediately despatched to all the capital seaports; all strangers in Whitehaven were immediately ordered to be arrested; similar di. rections were forwarded through the country. Look-out vessels were appointed at every port; continual meetings of the principal inhabitants were held all down the coast; companies were raised by subscriptions; and all forts and guns were immediately put into proper condition.

These active operations did not, however, deter the commander of the Ranger from carrying on the execution of his bold conceptions. From Whitehaven the Americans stood over to the Scotch shore, and the very noon of the day whose dawn had witnessed the fing of the Cumberland shipping, was the moment selected for an exploit, if possible, of a still more daring nature.

'The treatment of the American prisoners of war in England had long been the subject of bitter and * Cumberland Paquet Extraordinary, April 23.

just complaint, not only by their own countrymen, but by the majority of the English nation itself. Subscriptions for their relief, and even sustenance, had been opened in most of the principal towns of Great Britain; but this ebullition of national feeling had not yet produced any change in the conduct of the administration.-Paul Jones was deeply affected by the suffer. ings of his imprisoned countrymen, and was constantly intent" upon striking a blow in their favour." His favourite plan was to gain possession of the person of some Englishman of high rank, and then, by the influence of the captive noble, to procure an amelioration of the condition of his imprisoned countrymen.

With this view, Jones sudden. ly, on the celebrated 23d of April, landed at noon on St. Mary's Isle, accompanied by a boat's crew. On this island was the family seat of the Earl of Selkirk, and to this mansion Jones immediately directed his steps. Before, however, he reached the house, he learnt, that the earl had lately left St. Mary's for the metropolis. As the object of the expedition could not now be obtained, Jones proposed to reembark, but his crew murmured. The English, they said, were not accustomed to spare either life or property in America, and they saw not why, as they had landed, they should not pay their intended visit. They were the same men who had landed at Whitehaven, and the captain could scarcely refuse them this reasonable favour. He himself, however, avoided a personal interference, and leaving the command of his men to his lieutenant, with strict injunctions to behave with scrupulous politeness, he returned to his ship. The crew were somewhat moved by their leader's delicacy. They would not enter the mansion, but entrusted the business to their commanding officer. Lady Selkirk met the lieutenant, and behaved with great firmness: the officer's demand was

moderate, at least for one in his situation, and the boat's crew returned to the Ranger with the family plate of the house of Douglas.

The

On the succeeding morning Jones was off Carrickfergus, and was meditating an entrance into that port, when he found that, during his expedition to St. Mary's Isle, the English had not been inactive. His old friend the Drake was seen slowly approaching tim: she was attended by five small ves. sels full of people, who were anxious to witness the punishment of the redoubted Ranger. Drake had come out in consequence of an express from Whitehaven, and was very fully manned. Alarm smokes now appeared in great abundance, extending along both sides of the channel. The tide was unfavourable, so that the Drake worked out of harbour but slowly. This obliged the Ranger to run down several times, and to lay with courses up and main topsail to the mast. length the Drake weathered the point, and having led out to about mid-channel, Jones suffered her to come within hail. The Drake now hoisted English colours, and at the same moment the American stars

were

At

displayed on board the Ranger. The American commander expected that preface was now at an end, but the English soon after hailed, and demanded what ship it was? The answer was characteristic-" The American ship Ranger; we wait for you, and desire that you will come on. The sun is now little more than one hour from setting, it is therefore time to begin."

'The Drake being astern of the Ranger, Jones ordered the helm up, and gave the first broadside. The action was warm, close, and obstinate; it lasted an hour and four minutes, when the enemy struck. The fore and main top. sail yards of the Drake were cut away, and down on the cap; the top-gallant and mizen-gaff both