say, that on referring to the affidavits, he thought the weight of the argument rested with Messrs. Brande and Aikin, who fixed the proportionate durability of iron and wood, as three to one. A test had been suggested to him, by a person of much various and accurate information, founded on the results of the casual discovery of these substances: both wood and iron have frequently been found together deposited in the soil, where they had been laid either accidentally, or in pursuance of the ancient usage of the country, and discovered afterwards at very distant periods of time. Three different states of the soil in which these substances had been found, might be presumed; one where the ground had remained dry throughout the whole period; in such a soil both substances might be supposed entitled to a sound longevity; rust would not corrode the one, nor rottenness decay the other, where moisture and the external air were excluded. In this state Egyptian mummies, ascertained to be of 2,000 years standing, had been discovered, composed, as it was said, of the sycamore of the country; which might hence be aptly termed, as Pliny had characterized the larch, the "immortale lignum." In the very interesting account given by sir Henry Halford, of the disinterment of Charles I. at Windsor, it is observed, that the wooden coffin was found to be very much decayed, though it had been protected from external injury by being inclosed in lead, carefully soldered, and in ternally secured from those gaseous vapours proceeding from dead bodies, by cerecloths and spices. Another state in which

these substances had been found in contact with the soil, was where they were entirely or partially covered with water, either salt or fresh; frequent instances had occurred of old anchors, bolts, and chains, having been fished up, after having remained under water for an unknown length of time; and the keys of Lochleven-castle were recovered from the sea 250 years after they had been thrown in upon the flight of Mary from that castle. It must, however, be allowed, that the piers of Trajan's-bridge over the Danube, and the Cowey stakes in the Thames, supposed to have supported the bridge over which the army of Cæsar passed, are striking instances of the durability of wood under certain circumstances. The third state of the soil is that in which these substances are subjected to alternations of moisture and dryness; here both decay, but at different periods: and it is a well-known fact, that of the various weapons that are frequently discovered in the ancient tumuli or barrows, the metallic heads of spears, and the blades of swords and daggers, are found in a condition from which they might easily be restored to their ancient or any other metallic use; whilst the wood that formed the handle, the haft, and the connecting parts, was entirely decomposed and associated with the soil, so that no traces could be found of them. Numerous instances of this are mentioned in the English Archæologia. It appears in an affidavit made by three persons on behalf of the patentee, that on taking up a child's coffin which had been deposited for only a short time in the soil, it was discovered to be

greatly covered with rust; but the court could not infer any thing from this one instance; various accidental circumstances might have concurred to produce this effect; the covering of rust, besides, would, he imagined, have tended to protect the metal from further decomposition. It was upon these species of evidence, his own impressions, imperfect as they were, upon the subject, the common apprehensions of men, and the result of various experiments by scientific persons, that he was now called upon to act, such being the only evidence that he had been able, by great industry of his own, and the valuable assistance of those much more competent on the subject, to collect; and should the conclusions he had come to, hereafter appear to be erroneous, it was for the justice of the parish to correct any error; and if they failed in their duty, it was for the court to enforce it. The mode of fixing the increased taxation was now the remaining question to be considered; and here he apprehended that no general measure of quantum could be established, as it depended upon so many various circumstances, acting differently in different parishes; the size of the burial ground, with reference to the population, the possibility of enlarging their ground, the facility of purchasing new ground, these, and many other circumstances, rendered the fee to be established for one, no rule for other parishes. Amongst the fees that had been laid before him, as agreed upon by various parishes, there were demands which, he confessed, startled him. That of St. Dunstan in the West

had been proposed to be 251. but then it was to be considered that this parish was extremely populous, in the heart of the metropolis, closely surrounded by buildings, with churchyards extremely circumscribed, and at a great distance from the environs of the city. The fee of 214. for the parish of St. Mary Islington, appeared exorbitant, as ground there, though highly valuable, was much more attainable; he was, however, not prepared to say that it might not be justified. An objection had been made to the application of the fee and the proportion allotted to the incumbent; but the present party had no right to look into this; if the fee were a proper one, that was enough for him; and it would be foreign to the present question, to show that the freehold was in the incumbent, although in many instances in London, parishes have acquired by time a concurrent right.

In the Table of Fees before the court, the sum charged is for a metallic coffin; and that, without impropriety; for it appears, under the patent, that the patentee has secured to himself a right to offer brass, tin, or any other metals or composition of metals. This court cannot limit human art, nor is it possible to say, looking at the discoveries of our own days, whether other metals may not be brought within attainable compass. It was worthy of observation also, that coffins were, from their construction, out of the reach of internal examination, and there were no means to prevent their being varnished, painted, or tinned, without fear of discovery; while parishes will still be under the neces

sity of receiving them, on the bona fide of the maker; for he is not excluded, under the patent, from introducing more durable metals. It appeared too much to say that the coffins would be always of the exact quality of those specified in the articles; parishes, therefore, have a right to guard themselves against other disguises. The The parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, the subject of the present disputc, was in the most crowded part of the town, with a dense population, both of living and dead: both populations were rapidly increasing, and in the four cemeteries belonging to it, the bodies were as closely packed as decency would admit of. And he would ask, was a parish thus circumstanced fit for an experiment like this, for such it must be deemed by its most favourable advocates? When he weighed the serious inconvenience to the parish, against the individual profit of the patentee, he could not hesitate on such an alternative. The patentee must be contented to await the issue of further experiment and observation, before he could reap that abun dant harvest which would hereafter accrue to him, if it should turn out that his premises were well founded. Let experience show that the apprehensions of the court were groundless, and it was to be hoped that parishes would be then ready to do their duty; but the court must know much more than it at present did, before it could overthrow its present opinion. The sum proposed to be charged in the table of fees for iron coffins, was 10. extra; and what made it of more weight was, that the parish of St.

George, Hanover-square, a parish peculiarly well governed, had adopted the same. Had it fallen to the court to fix the quantum, it would probably have fixed a lower fee, and in other parishes he observed that to be the case; St. Saviour, Southwark, had proposed 5l.; and St. George in the East, 6l. 9s. 6d. Doubtless the matter had been well considered by them, and there were good grounds for the fees proposed; and it was not for the court to disturb what had been done, founded, as he concluded it to be, on local circumstances. The court could not, in the face of evidence, where the preponderance was considered to be in favour of the durability of iron, come to any other decision. The only point upon which he hesitated was, the condition in the Table of Fees, that the depth of the graves in which metallic coffins were to be deposited, should be 15 feet; and he must confess, that he could see neither the justice nor prudence of this proposition; if the parish demanded and received a larger fee for iron coffins, they were entitled to the same ground as those of wood, the additional fee being a com pensation for their longer duration; he still more objected to it on the ground of the increased expense to which parties would be subjected for a grave of that depth; besides, if such a measure were adopted, parishes would have no means of observing the decay of these coffins by occasional observation, so as hereafter to come to a practical conclusion on the subject. The learned judge concluded by expressing a wish, that this point should be re-considered, and when they had

so done, and the table of fees were again laid before him, amended in that respect, he should be prepared to confirm it accordingly.

The parish having since complied with the recommendation, by making no restriction as to depth, the table of fees has been confirmed in the usual manner.

Ruding v. Smith, falsely calling herself Ruding.-The following elaborate and able judgment on a most important subject was the last delivered by lord Stowell in the Consistory-court :

This is a suit brought by Walter Ruding, esq., against Jemima Claudia Smith, for the purpose of praying this court to pronounce null and void his marriage had with that lady under the following circumstances:

She was born at Fort St. George, in the East Indies, on the 24th day of December, 1777. His birth took place at Kineton, in the county of Warwick, on the 13th day of May, 1775. In Sept. 1796, she was at the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape had surrendered a year before: for what purpose she came thither, or how long she meant to remain, does not appear; and at the same time Mr. Ruding came thither also, in his way to the East-Indies, being at that period a captain in the 12th regiment of foot. On the 22nd of October, 1796, they were married by the chaplain of the British garrison, under the authority of a license granted by general Craig, the commander-inchief of the British forces in that country. When the marriage was performed he had attained his majority, but the lady was under the age of nineteen. The consent

of parents or guardians, required by the Dutch law then generally prevailing at the Cape, was not obtained as regarded either of the contracting parties. Her father had died some years before, and her mother had married a second husband. Nor had any appointment of guardians taken place. It is contended by the husband, that by the Dutch law at that time in force at the Cape, this marriage was null and void, and on that ground he seeks the aid of this court to pronounce a sentence declaratory of its nullity. The facts which I have stated, and the Dutch law under which, if applied to these facts, the marriage is to be invalidated, are pleaded in the libel, and I think there is little doubt that the Dutch law is fairly represented, and would be so proved if the libel was admitted: as little doubt is there that the facts of the case would be established by clear proof; but the real question is, whether the Dutch law so pleaded ought to govern entirely this case of fact; for if it ought not, the libel, which rests the case upon it, ought not to be admitted. In order to maintain that the Dutch law ought to govern the case, they plead first, a stipulation in the capitulation under which the Dutch colony was surrendered to the British arms. That stipulation covenants that the inhabitants shall preserve the prerogatives which they enjoy at present. The meaning of this article, be it what it may (for the term "prerogatives" is sufficiently indefinite and obscure), can never be extended to the British conquerors ex vi terminorum." They are the grantors, not the grantees; they

were not in the enjoyment of any prerogatives whatever under the Dutch law. They had nothing under it, which they could wish to preserve. It is impossible, that the Dutch could intend to stipulate for them. It has, therefore, I think, been nearly admitted, that as to the British conquerors this article has no intelligible application; consequently, if the Dutch law binds them, it must be some other obligation, which, independently of this article of capitulation, imposes the Dutch law upon them. In order to bring it a lit tle nearer, after pleading in the following articles what the Dutch law of marriage is, they plead, that that law binds all persons whatever within the colony, foreigners as well as natives, for that their laws say so, and that their learned lawyers will support that doctrine, and their courts will enforce it. Now, if it be true, that the law binds the British conqueror immediately upon the capitulation, there being no express covenant to that effect, it must be either from some known rule of the law of nations, which subjects the conqueror to the laws of the conquered, or from some peculiar principle of the law of England, which im poses such an obligation upon the British conquerors of the possessions of the enemy. Dutch authority cannot impose it, for it had ceased, and a Dutch court taking upon itself to force this law upon British parties only, and in transactions purely British, might be thought to put forward no very just or moderate pretension. I am not aware, that any such principle or practice exists in the general law of nations. It VOL. LXIII.

sometimes happens, that the conquered are left in possession of their own laws. More frequently the laws of the conquerors are imposed upon them, and sometimes the conquerors, if they settle in the country, are content to adopt for their own use such part of the laws prevailing before the conquest, as they may find it convenient, under the change of authority, to retain. I presume, that there is no legal difference between a conquered country and a conquered colony in this respect, as far as general law is concerned; and I am yet to seek for any principle derivable from that law, which bows the conquerors of a country to the legal institutions of the conquered. Such a principle may be attended with most severe inconvenience in its operation. The laws may be harsh and oppressive in the extrememay contain institutions abhorrent to all the feelings and opinions and habits of the conquerors; at any rate, can be but imperfectly understood; and that they should all of them instantaneously attach, and continue obligatory upon them, till their own government has time to learn them, and select and correct them, is a proposition which a professor of general law would be inclined to consider cautiously, before he admitted it unreservedly. But it is argued to be the doctrine of the law of England: if so, it is not the less hard, as the municipal code of our country is generally admitted to be more liberal and more indulgent, than the codes of most other countries. It would be a most bitter fruit of the victories of its subjects, if 2 D