Star. — London, England, 1811-01-23 00:00:00

wamißiarr SESSIONS. The Adjourned Sessions were held yesterday in the Old Bailey, before the Right Hon. Sir WILLIAM SCOTT, Baron MACDONALD, and Sir SIMON La BLANC. John Brodie was indicted for an atrocious misde meanour, committed on the person of a boy, fifteen years of age, named William Boosey, on board the Susannah merchantman, of which the said Jelin Bro die was master, on her voyage to Fayal from Lon don. The circumstances of this case are too disgust ing to detail ; we shall, therefore, content ourselves with stating, that the prosecutor, on being cross-exa mined, confessed, that he had often been very harshly 1 treated by the prisoner, and did on one occasion say he would be even with him. He also admitted that he had been flogged for theft, but denied the justice of the punishment. He was unsupported by any con current testimony. William Burgess, the chief mate of the vessel, was called to invalidate the testimony of Boosey. He sta ted that he was a vat liar, and would not believe him on his oath. Baron MACDONALD having summed up the evi dence, the prisoner was acquitted. It may be in the recollection of our'Readers, that this man was tried capitally on a charge of a similar nature at a former Sessions, but was acquitted from a deficiency in the evidence. • CHARGE OF MURDER. Quisetti Marini stood capitally indicted for having. murdered Luigi Ferrari on the high seas, within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England, on the 16th of July last, by stabbing him in the breast with a car. tun knife, and inflicting a wound one inch in width and three in depth. • From the opening of the case by the Counsel, it appeared that the prisoner and deceased were Italian soldiers, who had been in the service of the French, and, together with their companions, were on their voyage, as prisoners of war, on board the Kingston packet, from Gibraltar to England. The first witness examined in surlport of the prose cution was Giovanni Stebbano, who deposed through the medium of an interpreter, that on the 16th of July last he was on board the Kingston packet, on his passage from Gibraltar to England. They were about ten leagues out at sea on that evening, when the prisoner brought some soup to cook at the fire in the fore part of the vessel. The cook, who was there, told him that no cooking was allowed at that time of the day, and immediately threw some water on the fire to put it out. A dispute immediately arose, in which high words passed on both sides. While the quarrel was going forward, the deceased, Ferrari, came on deck, and asked the prisoner what he was making that noise about ? observing, at the same time, that he was always quarrelling ; this gave rise to a new altercation, which terminated by the priso ner throwing his cap on the deck, as a token of defi ance to Ferrari—a sort of scuffle ensued, and the pri soner hit the deceased on the breast, when they clos ed and fell against a cannon ; while they lay on the deck, the deceased seized the cheek of the prisoner in his teeth, and bit it so severely that the blood flowed from the wound. During the time that the deceased had the cheek of the prisoner in his mouth, the priso ner cried out, if he would let him go they should be friends, that he would beat him no more, and that, in fact, they should be as brothers. They were shortly afterwards disengaged by one of their comrades, and retired to a short distance from each other, apps. rently at peace. The prisoner, however, took a clasp knife from his bed, which lay on deck, and secreted it behind his back, and, in about four minutes after the termination of the affray, he advanced to the de ceased, who was talking to his companions, and stabbed him in the right breast, of which wound the deceased died almost immediately. The priso ner was immediately secured, and on being placed in confinement, he asked whether Ferrari was dead ? and on being answered in the affirmative, he said he was satisfied. I Three other prisoners who were present during this tragical scene corroborated the testimony of the first witness, with some trifling variation. They all agreed in the principal facts, and spoke with great exactness to the time which elapsed from the termination of the fight, in the first instance, to the infliction of the mor tal wound. The Surgeon who was on board at the time, and to whom the deceased was carried the moment he was wounded, deposed, that when the deceased was brought to him, he was in a dying state—he had a ' wound under his right nipple, of about an inch in width, from which the blood flowed profusely.— Witness had no doubt that the death of the deceased was occasioned by this wound. He did not examine the depth of the wound, but inserted his finger three inches. Here the case for the prosecution closed, when the prisoner, through the medium of the interpreter, was called upon for his defence. He said that all the witnesses had sworn falsely, and gave in a written defence in the English lan guage, which he said had been explained to him, and which he perfectly understood. The paper 'stated, that the prisoner could not speak the English language, but had explained the real state of the facts in French, from which they were translated to the form in which they were tendered to', the Court. It then went on to detail the particulars It is a curious fact, worthy the investigation of onr of the commencement of the altercation with the Natural Philosophers, that for some years pastohe cook, and the subsequent interference of the deceas ed. It asserted, that at the time Ferrari came upon winters have been much more severe in London th an in Edinburgh, and much more snow and frost in deck the prisoner was sitting down eating his dinner England than in Scotland. with his knife in his hand, and that after some dis- At the late Quarter Sessions for Shrop s h ire, J and puce which arose with Ferrari, a scuffle ensue d, in S. Ashcan, J. Pemberton, and M. Birch , were indicted which by some accident the knife of the prison er pc netrated his breast. He denied all in tent's on of woun- for uttering counterfeit shillings and sixpences, of i and accused the witnesses who had sworn which a very large quantity were found in their p os- h ding him, session. They had wrapped them up i n tissue paper; a aingst him of malice and enmity. An Italian soldier, named Bernardi, appeared to each paper containing 25 in a row. The Jury found I the character of the prisoner, and represented him to them all Guilty ; and they were each s entenced to six be a humane man, and by no means quarrelsome.— months imprisonment, and to find sureties for six He also knew Ferrari ; he belonged to the same regi months more. ment, and was by no means a man of a quiet dispo- At the General Sessions of the Peace for the town and port of Sandwich, holden on Friday se'nnight, sit Sir SIMON La &am summed p u the evidence with two soldiers, quartered at Ramsgate, were found I the greatest pas applicable and humanity, and, after cit guilty of purchasing base coin , and sentenced to lag the law applicable to murder, and contrasting twelve months' imprisonment. it with that of manslaughter, he left the Jury to de- Last week was committed to York Castle, J. Har ter, late of Bolton le Moors , in the count y of Lan- tide whether the time which had elap sed between the caster, butcher, charged with uttering t h ree notes o f q , carrel which had been described , and the actual in -45 each, purporting to IA of she Dudley Old Bank. fiction of the mortal wound, was sufficient for the ... passion of the prisoner to cool, and for his understan- ' withtheßritintr during his voyage. After . this examine. ding to come to his aid. They would recollect that tion, he wis again put on board the smack, to pro.. the time which had been described was but of a very tent her from the depredati.ns of the yawns people. short duration, and that the deceased had bit the pri- On the ensuing day, an officer of the Commissariat eoner most severely on the cheek. If they were of department, accompanied by an interpreter, came on opinion that at the moment the fatal stab was given,' board; and be underwent a second examination ; 'the prisoner was smat ting under the pain of the bite t the same questions which were proposed to him on which the deceased had given him, then would they' the preceding day were repeated, to all of - which he find him guilty of manslaughter. If, on the con- I returned similar answers. An offer was then made Vary, they thought he had acted malignantly And ; to give him one-third of the value of the carg e pro. 'deliberately, with the full possession of his senses and vided he would tell from whence in reality she came, command of his temper, they would, of course, find hilt he could not be induced to swerve from his first i hint guilty of murder. 1 story. The interpreter immediately seized him by The Jury then retired, and after an absence of an the collar, called him by an opprobriors epithet, and hour returned with a verdict of Manslaughter. i said he had been telling d—d lies, for which he should Sir Wm. SCOTT immediately passed sentence on the I be sent to the Tower of St. Maloes, and fined 550 prisoner, and condemned him to be imprisoned for livres ; and accordingly he was forthwith conveyed one year in Newgate, and to pay a fine of one shilling. to prison, where he remained until the Captain of the PIRACY. privateer came and aslcd him if he would serve on John Cullen, alias Collins, was capitally indicted for I board his vessel ? Having been living, nine months having been found in arms against the subjects of on bread and water, he agreed to go on board the I his Majesty, contrary to his allegiance, on board a privateer, in the hope that he should by that means French privateer, off Ushant, in the month of No- be able to make his escape to his own country, or vember last, with intent to carry away a certain Eng. stand the chance of being released from his miseries lish packet. by being taken by a British vessel. He had actually Lieutenant John Parr deposed, that he was first formed a plan with a comrade to steal an open boat Lieutenant on board the Northumberland man of and go off to Guernsey, the very day on which he war. On the 31st of November last he was on a was sent to prison by Captain Harte. He concluded cruise off Ushant, when a French privateer was ob- by solemnly denying any intention to fight against Served in chase of a packet, which it was believed his King or country, and declared his firm intention belonged to a British Port. The Northumberland to escape from France whets the means should offer. immediately commenced a chase after the privateer, Baron MACDONALD summed up the evidence for but night coming on she was obliged to lay to for the Jury, with an observation, that if they were sa. the night. On the ensuing morning, however, she tis6ed the prisoner had been found on board an erre. again obtained sight of her and recommenced the my's vessel aiding and assisting in the management pursuit, and about noon came up with her, and of that vessel, he was guilty of the crime imputed to after firing six or seven shots she struck. Witness, him, unless it was proved that he was forced by coer - with part of the crew, then went to board the pri. cive measures into such a situation. As it appeared vateer, and as he got up the side he was somewhat in evidence, however, and by his own confession, that surprised to hear a person sweating most vehemently he had gone voluntarily on board in the first instance in the English language. On looking round, he in the ch aracter of an American, no such excuse could accosted the prisoner, and asked him whether he was be formed for him, consequently the Jury had but the not an Englishman ? to which he replied, that he one painful course to pursue. was not an English, but an Irishman. The crew of The Jury, after a few minutes consideration, re the privateer, together with the prisoner, were then turned a verdict of Guilty ;—but recommended the sent on board the Northumberland, where he again unfortunate man most strongly to mercy. confessed that he was an Irishman ; and stated, that Sir WILLIAM SCOTT then addressed the prisoner be had been invalided from the Zealous man of war. with his wonted feeling. He lamented the melan. iOn his arrival at Plymouth he was sent on board the choly task which fell to his lot to perform; yet in re. Salvador del Mundo, from whence he was forwarded garding the offence with which the culprit was charg. to town for trial. ed, he conceived it to be one of the most heinous na . The prisoner having no Counsel, by permission of ture, inasmuch as the character, the honour, and the the Court, asked witness whether he did not hear him safety of the nation were at stake—for the preser (the prisoner) express his happiness that he had been vation of due order and subordination in his Ma. taken by a British ship, and observe that he had been jesty's service, it was highly necessary that men who almost starved in a French prison ?—An answer in were found in arms against the subjects of their coun the affimative was given. try should be punished in the most exemplary man- Henry Hill, a seaman belonging to the Northum- ner. What crime could be more injurious in its berland, corroborated the testimony of Lieut. Parr. tendency, than that of our own countrymen turn- Henry Boyle, another seaman, deposed that he ing their ability and their antis to the benefit of our knew the prisoner to have belonged to the Zealous enemies ? There was no excuse to be found for such . man of war, in the battle of Trafalgar—he was in conduct, nor could any The be urged de. the waste, and always represented himself to be an serving of attention. The Jury, however, having, Irishman. ~ strongly recommended the wretched criminal to When the prisoner was asked whether he had any mercy, he should take care and state that circum questions to put to this witness, he said, that he had stance, as well as such other facts as occurred in the not ; but he recollected him to be an old shipmate. course of the trial, in the proper quarter. He would Andre Harte, the Captain of the French privateer, advise the prisoner not to be too confident of pardon, was next examined. He stated himself to be a Dane; but to prepare himself for that fate which the law he obtained the command of the Glaneuse privateer, prescribed for his offence, and which it then became on board of which the prisoner was taken about two him to pronounce. The Right Hon. Gentleman then months before his capture. During his cruise he had sentenced him, in the usual words, to be taken from , taken nothing, but was in Chace of a British vessel the bar, to the place from whence he came, and from the day preceding that on which he struck to the thence to the place of execution, where he should be , Northumberland. He left St. Maloes two days be- hanged by the neck until he was dead. fore he was himself chased. The prisoner entered TL.e poor fellow having made his bow, retired. on board his ship as an American, and stated himself CHARGE OF FELONY. to be a native of Philadelphia. He met him amongst Joseph Jokon and Charles Jobson, two most respee. other foreigners at a prison in St. Maloes, and asked table fishermen, residing at Ipswich, were indicted him if he should like to serve on board his vessel-.-to for stealing a ton of sheet copper, value &SO, the pre which he replied in the affirmative; and in tense- petty of John Scott, the Master of the transport cal quence of an agreement entered into between them, led the Anne of Aberdeen, which was stranded on a he (the witness) paid five hundred and fifty livres to sand bank, twelve miles from the coast of Essex, and obtain his liberty. from which vessel the copper in question was taken. The prisoner cross-examined this witness, and as- The prisoners came voluntarily to trial, but upon ked him, whether he did not send him to prison for an investigation of the case, it did not appear that six weeks, on suspicion of his intending to steal a guilt was fairly imputable to them, and the Jury, boat to make his escape to Guernsey ? without a moment's hesitation, returned a verdict of Witness answered that he knew of no such inten- Acquittal. tion on the part of the prisoner ; he acknowledged that he sent him to prison for about a month, in con sequence of his being drunk and riotous about the streets of St. Maloes, and attracting the attention of the police, who fund it necessary to take notice of 'his irregularities. The next question put by the prisoner was—Whe ther witness did not send two gens d'armes for him to the Tower, St. Maloes, to convey him on board the Glaneuse by force two days before capture by the Northumberland ? An answer in the affirmative was returned, with an observation, that as soon as the privateer was ready for her cruize, he thought it necessary to bring the , in At Court aho -Martial a o rti h th al e beg h on board and h his N M ov aje:t i gst Hibernia, prisoner on board, as he should want his services to Rear-Admiral Sir S. WOOD, Bart. and K. B. work the vessel. And second Officer in command of his Majesty's ships and vessels The prisoner having declined proposing any other In Port Mahon President. question, he was called on for his defence. He im- • French Maniere, Esq. R e ar - Admiral otthe Red. Thomas Francis Freemantk, Esq. Rear-Admiral - of the Blue. mediately related, in a blunt manner, the :allowin g 4 . Captain B. Hollowell Captain J. West story :—He formerly served in the Zealous man of . Sir R. King, But. C. Adam war, and was at the battle of Trafalgar, but being • Hon.H. Blackwood J. C. White invalided, from a wound in his right hand, he was E. Fellowes - W. H. Webby rendered incapable of further service. Being out of J.Tallsot R. J. Neve. employment, he agreed to go with a smack, in coin- , officers The and Court c rew proc eeded his b t l o a'est ' try C s *P la t te shi ain ereir i ' lvel; for the le t t pony with the owner and another man, under Prus- ! i the same ship, on running ' in shore on th p e morning of the 10th wan colours, and by authority of an English licence, August last, op the Point of Salina, the SOU It-eastern entrance with a cargo of oysters. On their arrival off the town '' of the Bay of St. Paul's, in the Isla nd of Malta ; and having in of Concale, on the coast of France, being unacquain. quired into the cause of the loss of the said ship, ssaturely weighed fed with the harbour, they waited f ora pilot, and, on a c n o d urt co is as o ld f er o ed inio a h ll tthheatctihreenmsta 100 c fl f ee th s e at i l e ndi ly ng w th as e o s: c me, the the next morning, when they were about to raise their by that ship p running on shore en Point Cowes, in the Island of anchor, a gun was fired from the fort, and they were Malta, and not on Point Salina • that no blillit Is attached to obliged to lower their sails. A boat full of soldiersers and crew of the said ship. rc e h e a r rd t a ieutenan Captain George M•Kinky, the ;lie immediately put off, and took on shore the owner of F. Be rkeley , toaster; t tht e t every lion. exertion ma de an b d y the Mr . Michael Cap the smack, and the other man, who were conveyed to tale, o ffi cers, an d. crew, in endeavburing to get the ship off, and prison, the prisoner being left behind ; he was sent to save the stores and provisions, and dotb therefore, with the for, however, in a few hours afterwards, and taken , before a Magistrate, who asked him what countryman hmeasacter:dfaiderge aforesaid exception of Lieutenant Berkeley and Mr. M.Richards the e Captain , our Cour t is al a s l o l e t the e opinion,other t e r s some ats dcilw, to 'he was ? he replied that be was an American, born in Philadelphia, but having left the country at four blame attributed to Lieutenant Berkeley ;he ought to have made his Captain acquainted when the ship was dist. vered to be years old, he had no recollection of the place. sit danger ; but at his conduct in all other respects appears to i He was then asked, how he had been employed ba .n ve .am been correct, no other f punishment ndc is d deeze h a t n h e a ce t necessary i from the time of his leaving Philadelphia ? to which j u d ge d t o on admonition acq fo u r itt h e i l Th tur e ex' ourt u is hasher l of opinion, that i he answered, that he had been a sailor in different great blame is imputable to Mr. M. Richards, master, for having American ports, but had not been much on shore.— brought the ship to with her head in shore, and &tit therwere i The next question put to him was, as to the port from whence he last came ? he said, that he came straight adjudge him to be dismissed from his office as d master in his Ma- 1 jesty'socr, on ivy, : t u d d s t u o c ie h , rv h i e p t a w s o t r e a c t s o tr u m is:tdcoer in m c a h s toaster, or y petty think Tom _Norway, and had rant had any communication p-open, Isebre he can again be eligible to he promoted. A true Bile was yesterday found by the Grand. Jury, appoiuted by this Court, against Captain Ste. venson, for an assault on a Lady on her passage to the West Indies, with intent to commit a ripe. His trial was, however, postponed to next Sessions, upon condition that he should himself eurr into re cognizance of £lOOO, and two sureties in £5OO each, for his appearance in Court to rake his trial on thatday. NAVAL COURT-MARTIAL. LAW INTILLIGENCE.. COURT OF CHANCERY. JANUARY CR LI:NATIC PILTITION.--IN THE MATTER OF MRS. E. LEITH. This was a matter which came before the Court in the Master's Report, describing a Mr. Harvey as a proper person to be the committee of the lunatic. Sir S. ROMILLY stated the case with his usual elo. crence. He observed that Mrs. Leith was a Lady who, about sixteen years ago, came into possession of a considerable estate, supposed to be of the value of .44 or .415000 per annum, by the death of a brother, who died in the West Indies. She unhappily fell un der mental derangement, and in that case Major-Ge neral Hay, an officer, residing in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, was appointed the committee of her estat e, and Mr. Harvey was appointed committee of her person. The Lady was lodged at the house for I , inatics, kept by Mrs. Holmes, at Islington, on a stipend of £BO per annum. Several years elapsed, daring which General Hay gave in no account of his trust, and he was never called on so to do by the com mittee of her person, in consequence, it was presumed, of some intimacy between them, and it was not until 1808 that Mr. Leith, who was one of the next of kin to the Lady, interfered, and on his mere suggestion, the allowance to the Lady was raised from 3680 to ril7o. On application to the Court, Colonel Hay was removed, and ordered to account for his trust. At the same time it was referred to the Master to ap. point a proper committee to her estate. General Hay did not account,And it suit had been instituted in the Court of Session, in Scotland, to the determination of which every possible impediment had been opposed. The Muter had reported Mr. Harvey a proper person to be cohnuiuee of the estate. Sir S. ROMILLY contended that Mr. Harvey, who had been so negligent in calling the committee of the estate to account, was very unfit to be placed in the same situation. It was of the first importance, that persons who fall under so heavy a calamity as that of insanity, should have all the comforts of life which their fortune aiorded • them. If their estates would not admit of those comforts, they must submit ; hut this was the case of a Lady entitled to considerable income not plated in a comfortable establishment, but in a receptacle at Islington, where she was in the habit of seeing persons likely to increase her malady. Sir ARTHUR Peso? said. that the estate of the lu natic was in mortgage, and nit productive till lately, and. that Mr. Harvey had no wish to have the con troul of the lunatic's estate, unless with the approba tion of the Court. The Loan CHANCELLOR intimated, that if the Court of Chancery could endure that a Committee of a lu natic could suffer fifteen or sixteen years to elapse without Accounting for the lunatic's estate, and to keep her at a common madhouse on a stipend of £BO a year, the public ought not to endure the Court of Chancery. His Lordship therefore Said, that he could not think of suffering Mr. Harvey to have the care of the lunatic's estate. With respect to Mr. Leith being the proper person, there were some circum stances relating to an anonymous letter which his Lordship would consider of, and in the mean time he directed that Mr. Leith should make an affidavit whether he was the author of the letter imputed to him. Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY afterwards stated that Mr. Leith was not the writer of the letter in question ; and ' he also observed that an account had arrived from Scotland, that Major-General Hay had been ordered, in the Court of Sessions, to pay all costs. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JANUARY It. RUDDER AND CO. v. SMIDTZ. The plaintiffs are silversmiths and jewellers, carry. big on business in London and at Birmingham, and the defendant is a Dutch merchant. It was an action brought to recover 4270 for jewellery goods sold and delivered to a man, named Buller, a bankrupt, on whom, it was alledged, the defendant had given the plaintiffs a false character to obtain credit. It appeared in evidence, that the defendant called of the plaintiffs in June 1809, and said he had a customer to recommend him, who, to use his own wJrds, was a good man," and in a day or two af terwards brought Mr. Buller in his hand, to the plain tilfs' warehouse, and they looked out together goods t the value of £127, and in the month of August f)llowing they called together again, and selected more goods, to the amount of £l4O odd. The Court asked the witness whether the plaintiffs 'ware to give the defendant any pecuniary conside r4tion for recommending them this customer ? to 'which he replied, that his employers were to give him 10 per cent. on the goods sold, and he had been, that proportion, paid for the goods purchased by Mr. Buller. Lord ELLENBOROUGH here interposed and said, "That this was a covenant the law would not en dure. It had the appearance of a conspiracy to de fraud a third person, because Buller would have to I pay, and was actually charted, with all the inctins.l brances so charged upon the property sold. It was hard that he should pay 10 per cent, for being intro duced to the plaintiffs." Mr. GA:tROW called Buller, to interrogate him as to his knowledge of this millrace between the plain tiffs and defendant, and he completely disclaimed any knowledge of it. Lord ELLENBOROUGH—g , Then I hold this action is not maintainable. The plaintiffs were accordingly nonsuited.