judges on the spot, and upon their opinion the court must found its own. That the Consul, therefore, was entitled to some remuneration, was clearly indisputable; and the only objection which had been offered to the bottomry-bond in this court was, that the Consul had charged, in the way of remuneration, a sum that was considered too much in quantum. The charge he had made, though the court did not know in what manner, was 5 per cent on the ship's value; and this charge was defended on two grounds first, that by the existing tariff, 5 per cent was allowed to English Consuls, for the care of British intestates' effects. No authority, however, had been exhibited for that principle; and it was clear that it was one which could not apply to a case of this description: for the captain could not be said to have died intestate in the country where he had lived; his intestacy was not proved, and there might be a will on board, or elsewhere. At any rate, no court in America had been applied to, to ascertain that fact. The second ground, upon which the charge was defended, was, that 5 per cent was the common mercantile premium for similar services done by merchants. It might be so; but the court was not prepared to say, that it was therefore a proper remuneration for a Consul. The premium of 5 per cent might, in many cases, be exceedingly disproportionate; and in others it might be excessive, according to the proportion which the services rendered bore to the greater or less value of the ship. It was to be recollected, that a Consul was an honorary officer of state, although entitled to remuneration for certain services. A per-centage would not appear to be the just measure of

his claims; and, indeed, the court trembled at the apprehension of Consuls charging 5 per cent, in all cases, whether of great or small value. The question, then, now to be considered was, to what extent did the present claim deserve to be entertained? This could only be decided by a reference of some kind to the value of the ship. By a paper of a year and a half's standing, which was found on board the vessel, she was described to be of the value of 4,000l.-an estimate which was fortified by the merchants of Boston. But, in fact, it seemed, that only the year before the date of this paper, the ship had been purchased for 1,846l. She had since been sold for 2,526l.; 4,000%. therefore, could not be the real value, but seemed to be rather an unreasonable statement. It was true, that she had been insured for 4,000l., but the office in which that insurance was effected, did not appear to have been at any pains to ascertain her real value, which, under all the circumstances, would appear to be about half of the estimate about 2,000l. Now the registrar and merchants had reduced the claim of the Consul within the very modest dimensions of 351. His lordship declared, that he should allow, without hesitation, 100 guineas to the Consul, for his very meritorious services.

25. FATAL ACCIDENT.-An infant son of sir Edward Mostyn, bart. of Spring Bank, near Worcester, showing symptoms of scarlet-fever, the remainder of the children were, in order to prevent its spreading amongst them, sent to the house of Mr. Parry, a farmer, living at Redhill, which is a short distance from Spring Bank. On Tuesday last, lady Mostyn, their mother, walked thither early in the morning, to

pass the day with them, and the carriage was sent to fetch her away at nine o'clock in the evening. The approach to Mr. Parry's house from the high road is up a short but steep ascent, near the top of Redhill. At the moment the carriage had cleared the gate, the off wheel slipped into a water-shoot, the violence of the jerk, occasioned by which, was such as to throw the coachman from his seat to the ground. He, however, almost immediately recovered his legs, and running to the horses, who had got into a gallop, succeeded in laying hold of the traces, and lastly of the reins. The near animal now began to kick violently at him, and, one of its legs catching in his breeches pocket, he was again pulled down, and once more lost the reins. Upon this the horses set off at full speed towards Spring Bank, and in endeavouring to turn into the road to it, about 300 yards from the gate at Mr. Parry's,brought the carriage against two posts with great violence, splitting both. They then took again towards the high road, and continued their furious career. Lady Mostyn had till this time kept her seat; but, it is supposed, her fright being increased by the concussion, she took the fatal resolution of jumping out. A footman, who was in attendance upon her ladyship, had followed the carriage with all the speed he was able: and about twenty yards from the entrance to Spring Bank, he observed something in the road, which he at first thought was a coat or shawl fallen from the carriage, but on approaching it he found it to be his mistress, lying flat on her face, with her eyes closed, and bleeding profusely at the nose. He spoke to her, but she returned no answer, being in a

state of complete insensibility. He then took off his coat, and wrapping it round her, placed her on the bank; by this time the coachman came up, and he remained with her, whilst his fellow-servant went to the house, and procured assistants, by whom she was conveyed home in a large chair, scarcely showing the least signs of life. In this interval, a gentleman, who was passing, attempted to bleed her ladyship, but little blood issued from the puncture. Medical aid was Her right

instantly procured. shoulder was dislocated, but the most extensive injury was on the left side of her head, which was contused and swollen to such a degree, that the surgeons immediately pronounced her case destitute of the smallest hope. She remained throughout the night, and Wednesday, in the same state, her eyes closed, and apparently perfectly unconscious of her situation, until about six o'clock on Thursday morning, when she expired.

26. ACCIDENT AT THE CUSTOMHOUSE.-This morning, at about half-past nine o'clock, a portion of the floor at the east end of the Long-Room, at the Custom-house, gave way, and was precipitated with a crash into the king's warehouses, which lie immediately under it.

The arches of brickwork which supported the floor, not being sufficiently strong to bear the immense weight placed on them, and weakened by the loosening of the earth beneath by the late unusually high tides, had fallen in. The portion of the floor which gave way was about 40 feet in breadth from side to side of the room, and about 20 feet in length. The entire breadth of the room is near 60 feet, and the length 200 feet. The desks at each side

of the room were left standing, the middle part of the floor alone having sunk. Fortunately no person sustained any injury on this occasion. As soon as the accident was known, orders were issued to close up the doors of the Long Room, and to forbid any persons to enter it being then uncertain how far the security of the whole fabric was endangered.

VIOLENT DEATH OF MR. RowCROFT.-The following details of the unfortunate death of Mr. Rowcroft, British Consul in Peru, have been received:

Mr. Rowcroft was proceeding from Callao to Lima on the 11th December. The Royalists at that time occupied Callao, and the Patriot forces Lima: and the advanced posts of the garrison of Callao, with two pieces of artillery, were very near to the advanced posts of general Bolivar. Mr. Rowcroft having to cross from the one advanced post to the other, was hailed by the Patriot troops. Instead of answering the signal and stopping his carriage, Mr. Rowcroft got on horseback, and, with his servant, continued to proceed forwards. The sentinel again hailed, but received no answer, and conceiving, from the noise made by the trampling of the horses' feet, and the rattling of the wheels of the carriage, that the enemy, with two pieces of artillery, were advancing, fired two shots, and, unfortunately, one of them struck Mr. Rowcroft. Miss Rowcroft, his daughter, was in the carriage, and returned to Callao with Mr. Rowcroft, where he expired the next morning. All the authorities, both Spaniards, Patriots, and English, evinced the utmost concern for this unfortunate event. General Bolivar, in particular,

showed an unusual degree of sympathy, and called upon Miss Rowcroft to condole with her upon this unhappy event.

FEBRUARY.

1. KING'S BENCH.-Montague v. Espinasse. This was an action by a jeweller against Mr. Espinasse, the special pleader, to recover 497., the balance of a bill for jewellery furnished to the extent of 90l. on the order of his wife. At the trial, before the lord chiefjustice, at Westminster, it appeared, that no authority was ever given by the husband to the wife to purchase the jewels. The articles supplied were furnished in about two months, and left with Mrs. Espinasse, at her house in Guildford-street. On these occasions Mr. Espinasse was from home, being engaged by his professional pursuits in chambers. The maidservant of Mrs. Espinasse never saw her mistress wear any of the articles in the presence of her husband. Upon this evidence, Mr. Gurney submitted, that the plaintiff must be nonsuited, as he had shown no authority, express or implied, from the defendant which could bind him. The lord chiefjustice, however, then thought that it was a question for the jury, under all the circumstances, whether Mr. Espinasse, by word or by conduct, authorized the purchase; but gave leave to move, in case the verdict should pass against him. Mr. James Espinasse, the nephew of the defendant, was then called on his behalf, and stated, that Mrs. Espinasse brought a fortune to her husband somewhat under 4,000l.; that out of this sum 601. a-year was paid

to her for her separate use; that Mr. Espinasse resided in a house very moderately furnished, taking a house in the country for a short time in the summer; that he kept no man-servant, and that his lady had trinkets suited to her condition in life. The lord chief-justice left the case to the jury, with strong observations in favour of the defendant; but they found for the plaintiff. In Easter term Mr. Gurney obtained a rule to show cause why this verdict should not be set aside, and a nonsuit entered or a new trial had.

Against this rule cause was now shown. The matters, it was urged, which had been submitted to the jury, were proper for their consideration, and the Court could not say that they had decided wrong. Two questions had been left to them-whether the articles were suitable to the station and degree of the defendant, and whether there was ground to presume that he assented to the purchase; and on both these the jury had expressed their opinion, after every remark had been made calculated to direct their attention to all their bearings.

Mr. Scarlett and Mr. Gurney spoke in support of the rule.

Mr. Justice Bayley said, he was clearly of opinion that there was no evidence of authority to go to the jury, and that the plaintiff should have been nonsuited. The rule of law was this-if a man, except for sufficient cause, turned away his wife, he was liable to fulfil contracts made by her for necessaries; if he omitted to supply her with necessaries while residing with him, perhaps he would also be liable; but when the husband and wife were living together, he was liable only for articles

which she might reasonably be supposed to purchase by his sanction, as wearing-apparel for herself, or provisions for the family. In this case there was no reason to suppose such authority, but every reason to believe that none was given. The lady's fortune was under 4,000l., which would yield an income of less than 2001. a-year; and was it to be believed that her husband authorized her to spend nearly half a year's income in two months, in jewels which she did not want? While he was working hard in chambers to support his family in respectability and comfort, was he to be made liable for jewels, while the appearance of his furniture informed the tradesman who called for orders in his absence, that they were wholly unsuited to his station? In this case there was gross negligence on the part of the plaintiff, who surely ought to have called on Mr. Espinasse, and asked whether he sanctioned the purchases which his wife proposed to make. Had he made the inquiry, he might have received for answer, "You are the sixth jeweller who has asked this question, and to whom I have answered, that I will be liable for no such purchases." On these grounds, therefore, the rule for a nonsuit must be made absolute.

Mr. Justice Holroyd, Mr. Justice Littledale, and the Lord Chief Justice concurred. The rule for a nonsuit was accordingly made absolute.

TRADE WITH PORTUGAL.-The following circular has been issued by the Portuguese Consul :

Portuguese Consulate-office, London, Feb. 1, 1825. SIR-I beg leave to apprise you for the information of merchants and others concerned in the

trade with Portugal, that his most faithful majesty, in order to put a stop to the smuggling of colonial and Asiatic produce, which has been carrying on lately by coasters and other small vessels in the ports of his dominions, by his royal decree, under date of the 3rd of January last, has been pleased to order as follows:

1. The law prohibiting the importation of Asiatic goods and colonial produce, not coming direct in Portuguese vessels, is put in full vigour.

2. The entry of such goods and produce is prohibited in Portuguese vessels of less than 80 tons burden. 3. The regulation of the 1st article is to he understood only with regard to the home consumption, as foreign vessels of more than 80 tons burden, loaded with such goods either from Portuguese or foreign dominions, may transship, deposit, and re-export the

same.

4. The regulation of the 2nd article is general, and any Portuguese vessel of less than 80 tons burden that may enter any port in Portugal, or may be found at the distance of three leagues, with such goods, will be confiscated, together with the cargo; and the same in regard to foreign vessels of less than 80 tons, that may be met at the same distance, if they should not be able to prove, by authentic documents, that their destination is to another country, and that stress of weather forced them to approach the coast of the Portuguese dominions.

These regulations are to be put in force in six weeks after their publication in regard to Portuguese vessels, and in three months to foreign. I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient humble servant, F. I. SAMPAYO, Con.-Gen.

4. The Hamburgh bailiwick of Ritzebuttel, together with Cuxhaven and the isle of Neudwerk belonging to it, was visited by a most tremendous calamity in the night between the 3rd and 4th of February. The wind, after it had blown with great violence from the west, turned on the 3rd to the northward, and continued to rage with the fury of a hurricane. The water, increased by the spring tide, which happened on that day, rose to an unexampled height; the waves were driven with terrific force over the dyke, and washed away parts of it in several places in Cuxhaven to the very base. In a few moments the furious billows inundated the whole bailiwick, and overthrew in their way whatever opposed their course. A few inconsiderable tracts of heath land, situated somewhat higher than the general level of the country, alone escaped. The inhabitants, who had suffered severely from the calamities of war, and had been greatly reduced in their circumstances by the low price of corn, were totally ruined. The husbandman not only lost his crops of winter corn for the present year, but both arable and pasture land were rendered unserviceable for several years. Great numbers of cattle were drowned; many houses were so completely carried away as to leave no traces behind; others received such injury as to be incapable of repair. Several persons found their graves in the flood, and many lost all they possessed. The Jupe Neuwerk was totally laid waste; all the cattle there perished, and the inhabitants saved their lives with the loss of nearly all their property. The general distress was further aggravated by the absolute want of water fit for drinking.