ATTACK, OR ASSAULT. 



ATTACK, OR ASSAULT. 



any debt is due from himself to the defendant, or that he puesesee* 

 any good* or money of hi* ; he may al*o show that he ha* a lien 

 upon the defendant'* good* in his own right The question thu* 

 raised between the plaintiff and the garnUhee i* then tried by a jury, 

 and judgment is given upon their verdict, with or without appraise- 

 ment, according to the nature of the property attached. It should 

 her* be remarked that, according to the custom, the good* can never be 

 actually nixed in execution under the attachment; if the garuUhee 

 refuse to deliver them, the only remedy of the plaintiff U to arrest him. 

 ffenmoe of opinion prevail* amongst mercantile men with 

 respect to the utility of thi* proceeding. On the one *ide, it i* said to 

 be important, in a commercial community, to be readily able to apply 

 the property of an absent debtor, wherever it may be found, to the 

 payment of hi* creditor ; and thi*, it i* contended, is particularly 

 advantageous in a city much frequented by foreigners for the purpose 

 of trade, who may contract debt* during their abode in England, and 

 then remove themselves to foreign parts, beyond the reach of personal 

 process : on the other hand, it I* supposed to embarrass commercial 

 operation*, in consequence of the enormous power which it places in 

 the hands of creditor* a creditor for 20V. being entitled, if he pleases, 

 to attach property to the amount of 20,0002., or any larger sum, v. hi. h 

 cannot be applied in discharge of any commercial engagement* which 

 the debtor may have formed, until the attachment is disposed of. 

 The apprehension of this process i* said to deter foreign merchants 

 from consigning cargoes to London. It does not, however, appear to 

 be likely that the existence of this custom should, under ordinary 

 circumstance*, have the effect of deterring the fair merchant from 

 nyling hi* good* to London ; though it may well happen that a trader 

 who ha* contracted debts in London which he doe* not intend to pay, 

 or who su*|iects that claim* will be set up which he does not wish to 

 afford the claimants any facilities in litigating, would hesitate to send 

 a cargo to a port where, by means of this process, any of his creditors 

 there, real or pretended, might instantly seize it. Nor can much 

 practical inconvenience arise from the power of attaching a large 

 property for a small debt; for the garnishee, who is almost in all 

 rssni the agent of the defendant in some shape or other, may at any 

 time dissolve the attachment, by appearing for the latter, and putting 

 in bail to the action ; or, if satisfied with the truth of the debt upon 

 which the attachment issues, he may pay the plaintiff's demand, and 

 take credit for the amount in his account with the defendant : for a 

 payment under an attachment would be pro tanto an answer to any 

 demand against the garnishee by the defendant The alleged objections 

 do not, therefore, appear to be so formidable as ha* been represented ; 

 but the advantage of a speedy and safe mode of recovering debts is 

 obvious. 



There are, however, many imperfections hi this form of proceeding. 

 No cost* are recoverable on either side : and therefore where a small 

 debt is contested, if the plaintiff succeeds against the garnishee, his 

 costs may very possibly exceed the sum he can recover ; and if the 

 garnUhee succeeds in snowing himself not to be liable to the attach- 

 ment, he may incur a considerable expense without the possibility of 

 reimbursement The efficiency of the custom is also much impeded 

 by the limited extent of it* local jurisdiction. Thus, goods in a ware- 

 house in Thames-street may be attached ; but if lying in a lighter on 

 the river Thames within a yard of the warehouse, they are exempt. 

 So also, if a merchant keep his cash with a banker in the city, it in 

 liable to the process; but if his banker dwell a few yards beyond the 

 limits of the city, no attachment can be made of lus balance unless 

 indeed the plaintiff should prepare himself with process, and be for- 

 tunate enough to serve it upon one of the partners when accidentally 

 within the jurisdiction ; in which case, as he U supposed to carry with 

 him all the debt* and liabilities of the house to which be belongs, the 

 balance of any customer of the firm might be attached. 



Although the procedure of the Lord Mayor's court has been 

 recently unproved, the custom and practice of foreign attachment 

 remain a* they were. It may be added that when the legislature 

 (Common Law Procedure Act, 1854) conferred on the Superior Courts 

 of Uw powers of ordering the attachment of debt* due to judgment 

 debtors, and compelling their payment to the creditor* after judgment, 

 it refrained from giving any authority to do so as a preliminary step 

 to an action, which U the nature of the process called foreign attach- 

 ment, of arrestment in Scotland, and of taitit-arrtt in France, and in 

 tho*e countries where a similar procedure U in use. [(JAUMSHEK.] 



ATTACK, or ASSAULT. Assault U taken from the French Aaaul, 

 which U derived from the Latin Auilit, Aaultum, to leap against 

 This word, in military science, U applied to the attack made by a 

 tuelsginfl army on a fortress or military post, or more generally to the 

 attack of any strong position. When a regularly fortified place U 

 hssisgsil, the besieger* after pushing their approaches close to the 

 defence*, and making breache* in thorn, either by breaching batteries or 

 by mine*, give tile assault, which, if successful, places them in possession 

 of the portions of the works immediately about the breach, where 

 they establish themselves by forming lodgment*; or, as constantly 

 happen*, the attacking party, pushing on, seize the whole place. Such 

 wa* the case at on* of the meet remarkable assault* in history, that of 

 Han Sebastian in August, 181 8. The principal breach was in the see-face 

 which bad been battered down for a length of about 600 feet. The assault 

 was given in the morning, when the tide permitted the Urernea to be 



forded. For nearly two hours the desperate exertions of the storming 

 parties were unsuccessful Sir John Jone*, in his ' Journal* of Sieges,' 

 note 38, nays : " Had the struggle been merely that of man to man, the 

 result would not have remained for many minutes doubtful ; t 

 troops mounted the breach, and gained the summit at the lirat ru*h, in 

 sufficient numbers and sufficiently formed to have borne down any 

 body of men which could have been formed on the rampart to oppose 

 The French foreseeing this had, with their usual skill, trusted 

 their defence to artificial obstacles, which should prevent the assailants 

 advancing beyond the crest of the breach, and to directing n 

 powerful and close fire on the summit, which was far too confined to 

 a<lmit of cover being established on it, to guard the assailants from 

 the effects of missiles." The interior retaining wall of the rampart 

 and the walls f the ruined houses in the neighbourhood were 1"|>- 

 holed, and had a banquette in rear, so a* to obtain a heavy fire 

 summit of the breach, while the circulation along the raiii|>art was 

 impeded by means of wall* and traverses formed across the tarrrpliin. 

 The assailants, therefore, had either to force over these "tefmMf under 

 a close fire, or jump down the retaining wall 24 feet in depth. General 

 Graham, in his despatch to the Duke of Wellington, says : " Everything 

 that the most determined bravery could attempt was repeatedly tried 

 in vain by the troops, who were brought forwai lies in 



succession. No man outlived the attempt to gain the ridge; and 

 though the slope of the breach afforded shelter from the enemy's 

 musketry, yet still the nature of the stone rubbinh prevented the great 



i< of the engineers and working party from being able t 

 a lodgment for the troops." " In this almost desperate state 

 attack, after consulting with Colonel Dickson, commanding the I! .y .1 

 Artillery, I ventured to order the guns to be turned against tli 

 tain. A heavy fire of artillery was directed against it, naming a few 

 feet only over the heads of our troops in the breach, ana wo* kept up 

 with a pn vi.-ion of practice beyond all example." A column of Portu- 

 guese now fording the river at the mouth, attacked and c;irn- 

 right of the great breach, and a small breach on it* right, v. 

 British column, taking advantage of the admirable fire on the nirtuiu, 

 advanced again, and fortunately arriving at the breach juut at tie 

 when on explosion on the rampart of the curtain (occasioned by tin- 

 fire of the artillery) created some confusion among the defenders, 

 carried it; and the first column having forced their way int.. tie- 

 adjoining houses, the town was gained. Nothing could restrain thu 

 impetuosity of the troops, the enemy were driven from their defences 

 in the streets, and after suffering a severe loss, were forced to retreat 

 into the caatle, which surrendered after a few days' siege. 



This assault is remarkable, not only for the severe contest maintained 

 with unparalleled bravery on both sides, but also from the circumstance 

 of a heavy fire of artillery from forty-seven guns having been directed 

 on the summit of the breach over the heads of the storming party. 1 1 

 was also effected in daylight, a rather unuiual circumstance. Sir John 

 Jones says on this head : " daylight is certainly the beet time for 

 storming works when the troops can advance under cover to the breach 

 or point of escalade, or have the support of a powerful artillery. Hut 

 when the garrison have preserved an extensive front of fire, ami tin- 

 trenches have not been pushed very forward, to storm in daylight con 

 be seldom advisable, as the troops would most frequently suffer so 

 much in advancing a* to be disabled from any serious effort when 

 arrived at the breach. The most preferable time for such open ad- 

 vances is at the moment of day-break. In the dark the troops are 

 liable to imaginary terrors, and being concealed from the view of their 

 officers, the bravest only do their duty. When it is decided to assault 

 a place immediately before day-break, the utmost attention should be 

 given on the previous morning to ascertain the exact moment ..f itn 

 becoming light ; and the most energetic and decided measures in 

 taken to insure the columns advancing at the instant fixed upon, as it 

 will be equally prejudicial to their success to be too soon, as to be too 

 late." The truth of these remarks was fully borne out by the assaults 

 at the late siege of Sebastopol. In the assault of the 18th of June, 

 which was intended to be given some hours after day-break, so as to 

 allow the artillery to destroy any defences which might have been 

 repaired in the night, the right French column appears to have I 

 way, and becoming entangled with the Russian outposts, oonm 

 the assault too soon. Though much before the concerted time, the 

 main French column advanced to the assault of the Malakoff, and the 

 English force had to be ordered forward on the Redan, to K< . 

 these attacks. They were all unsuccessful. Not only was the garrison 

 on the alert, and the artillerymen standing by their guns ready to pour 

 grape into the heads of the columns immediately they appeari-d, but 

 also they had, by incredible exertions during the night, repaired I heir 

 defences and replaced their disabled guns. The fire on the assaulting 

 columns was so severe that they were annihilated almost as soon as 

 they issued from the trenches. 



In the successful assault of the 8th of September, the French, 

 rushing from their trenches close to the Malakoff, were in the works, 

 which were not of a nature to offer any obstacle to such an effort, 

 before the garrison could get to their poet*. The resistance, however, 

 with which the other French columns and the English column ,:: 

 received, when the defenders had been put on the alert by thi.- attack 

 v. l.i. h had preceded them only by a few minutes, was very dil' 

 insomuch that none of them were successful. 



