Star. — London, England, 1820-03-30 00:00:00

1 1 11. 1 I i ': 1 Y I I i t. • I : 1I . - L4lll-- LNI;i•E:LLIGL.vez. COUIT OF CHA:.:CEiIY, 'MARCH 24. HIGH LIFE. It; il^ n!otte- of sm. ROGER GRESLEY, Baronet, a Minor and a if":trd of Chancerii, and the lion. LADY SONI: A COVENTRY, also a ML:or. . A Petition was preseute.l to the LORD CUANGEL LOR some time back by Lady Gresley, the mother of the ward of Court, prnying that the Earl of Co ventry, the Countess of Coven;ry.ani the Hon. John Coventry, their son, tnight be restrained by injunc tion, front aidin,?; and assisting, or encouraging a nvirriage between the 'var.:, who it; 20 years of age, and Lady Sophia Coven:ry, the youngeA daughter of dte E.trl, who is only 17 years of age. His Lord s:4 heard the Caunsel for the Petitioner in his pri -I.vat't room at Westminster WETnErtELL this day said, he had to shcw case why the prayer of the Petition should nut be stante.d. Ile, had advised his Noble clients, who consisted of all the parties of the Coventry family set Inth in the Petition, to lay every circumstance of f:eir conduct, add of the transaction, even to every letter that was written on the subject, before his Lordship ; they had done so, and what did they amount to? It appeared that Sir Roger Gresley, the ward, was the repreentative of an ancient family, and on becoming of age, would be in the possession of a large es:ate. In Apiil last year, he left the Uni versity of Oxford, having finished his studies, and rent to Worcester, where the ftnily of the Earl of Coventry were at the time. On being introduced to . the family ler the first time, he was invited to'dine, but there was not a general invitation given him to the house oldie Noble Earl, as charged in the Peti tion of Lady Gresiey. After the return of the Noble family to their house in Piccadilly, the ward- visited them, and was invited to dine, and received, in the same way as any other person of the same rank would have been. The Noble Earl's family in the autumn went to Cheltenham, and they supposed bay One of those accidents by which people in a similar station of liie meet, they met the ward, and the Hon. John Coventry brought him home to dinner with Shoitly afterwards the ward wrote a letter to Noble Earl, asking his permission to pay his ad dresses to Lady Sof.hia, which he answered as a fa ther ought, that if his fortune was of that extent so as to make a cettiemeat en his daughter suMcient for her rank in lire, and his, the ward's friends, approved cf the marriage, he would have no objection. The ward, in answer to this letter, sent the Noble Earl his rent-roll, and referred him to his Solicitors for the uuth of it. Ile did apply to the Solicitors, and t ley confirmed the statement of the rent-roll, and in formed him that Earl Beauchamp was the guardian of the ward, on which he wrote to that Noble Earl, and informed him of the circumstances, and received for answer that he could have no objection to the marriage, but teat the ward could not make a settle ment on Lady Sophia, until he obtained his full age of '2 l. The Earl of Coventry immediately informed the ward of the answer he had received from his guardian, and at the same time represented to him that he could not consent to any marriage bezween him and Lady Sophia until he became of age. It appeared that afterwards thet e was a correspondence between Lady Gresley and the Countess of Coventry, in which the latter assured her Ladyship that no part of her family would consent to a marriage with her son, the ward, bet - we he became of age. He would ask his Lordship, now lie was in possession of the facts, what were in them that was derogatory to the chaoacter of the Noble House of Coventry? He was at a loss to know what order his Lordship could make in such a ease as this without it was to dismiss the Petition with costs. Mr. SHADIVC.LL followed on the same side. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, Counsel for earl Beau champ, the guardian of the ward, said he was in structed by- his Noble client to say, that he did not see anything improper in the intended marriage of the ward and Lady Sophia when he had obtained the age of 21, and that he believed it never was the intention of the Earl cf Coventry, or any part of his family, that tke marriage should take place before he obtained that age. Mr. HA RT, Counsel for Lady Gresley, stated that it never was charged by his client that the Noble fa mily of Coventry had entered into a conspiracy for the purpose of getting the ward to marry Lady So-, phia, it was only leged they had riven such an ac quiescence as would promos it. 'Under these con siderations he trusted his Lordship would grant the prayer of the Petition. The Loan CII . ANCa.LOR observed, that he would gi‘e his judgment on coming into Court on Mon day rmrr.ing. MONDAY, MARCH 27. THE EARL OF COVENTRY V. SIR ROGER GRESLEY. The Co-,:rt was crowded this morning in the expec tation_that the LORD CHANC::!-LOR would give judg ment in this case. Soars alter the Lora) CHANCELLOR had taken his seat, Mr.Nl - x - inEnELL called his Lordship's atontiiin to tl:is case. lie st::-.od, that Lord Coventry and the llonourable John Coventry visited to make fresh - , • - •;da‘iits, and to state that they riad never led Sir Roger Uresley into any inegularities. LORD CHANCELLOR had no objection that such affidavits should be put in, if the par:ies thought fit. He would give no directions concerning them ; but he thought they would not alter the opinion he cot ertai ned. Mr. HART observed, that he had no objection that t , ich atFidavits should be put in. 'lne LORD CHA NCEL LOR then proceeded to give -jadgment, and commenced by stating, that he had caretidly looked over all the papers and documents connected with this case : he had also consulted all the authorities so far as re petted the jurisdiction of this Court, and its power of interference under similar circumstances to the present. Ile entertained no doubt t : ; , l t this Court had sufficient jurisdiction, and what ever pain he might cause to tile pat tiLs concerned, it would be still more painful to himself not to perform his duty. He eructed rather it:to a minute detail of' the facts of the case, as they have been previously e,isclsotl, remarking upon the app:ication of Lady Gresky, which appeared to him so extraordinary in its nature, requesting .that her son , might be sent back to -Oxford, rf,twithstanding an eminent profes sional man had given it as his opinion that it would impair Lis hcaltn if he resided at Oxford for any great length of time. He very much regretted that Lady Greeley had not thought proper to call fox the interference of this Court at an earlier period. Ap plication had not been made until all the mischief had been done, and when the powers of the Court were rendered. almost useless. Sir Roger had be- • come attached to the young Lady; and had been . allowed to carry that attachment farther, than under " the circumstances, he should have been suffered. He . 1 was a ward in Ch.,Mcery, and the peculiar circum stances of his case should have been recollected. It appeared but too plainly, that after Sir Roger had quitted Oxford, he had been allowed to wander ' where he pleased. He would not iMpute:any wilful I neglect to Lord Coventry or to any of his family, but he wished it to be clearly understood, that it was no excuse for any person to say, that he did not know that Sir Roger was a Ward in-Chancery. Nor did he think it proper (he could not help speaking his mind upon the subject, however pair.ful it might be) that Lord Coventry should have sent Sir Roger to his Solicitor, to shew his title-deeds.' The Solicitor, upon inspection of those instruments, ought to have advised the young man not to have proceeded any farther in the affair without the consent of the (.78 1 firt. With respect to Lord Ileauchmp, he did not think that any blame attached to him. His Lordship had only recently been appointed guardian, and had been abroad 'dm-lag the greater part of the time. As to the affidavit of Sir Roger Gtesley himself, he should say nothing respecting it, excepting . this—that he ought to be thankful to him for not permitting it to stand on the records of the Court. Under all the circumstances of the case, therefore, he had thought it expedient to make an order, restraining Sir Roger from leaving the country without leave of the Court, and also to restrain him from visiting at the house of Lord Coventry, without leave of the Court, until he had attained the age of • twenty-one years. To morrow morning he would probably dispose of the remainder of the case. TUESDAY, MARCH ss. Mr. WETHERELL, at the sitting of the Court, stated, that he was desired by Sir Roger Gresley (who was in attendance) to say, that he was ready to answer any question that his Lordship might .wish to put to him, relative to the letter he had written to his mother (Lady Gresley), or to any other subject in this case. The Lotto CHANCELLOR observed, he saw no ne cessity for such a proceeding. Mr. HART stated, that he had, on the part of Lady Gresley, turned his attention to forming such an order in this case, that, in his opinion, the Court ought to make. He had not been able to find a pre cedent exactly in point, although he knew there was one. The one lie alluded to was the case of a brick layer's daughter, at the town of Tunbridge, where his Lordship committed the father for allowing an intercourse between her and a ward who was heir to a large fortune. He therefore had to request that his Lordship would allow the case to stand over. The LORD CHANCELLOR-.—" lie it so." WEDNESDAY, MARCH t4l. • No mention was made of the case, " Gresley r. Coventry." MARRIAGE OP A LUNATIC. IN THE MATTER OF BAILLIE BIRD, A LUNATIC. Mr. WETHERELL stated, that this was a Petition to confirm the Master's Report in this cause. The facts of the case seemed to be as follow:—The father of the lunatic died in 1815, having in the previous year made his will, in which he entrusts to his wife, so long as she remained a widow, the receipt of his property, amounting to £5OO a-year. Of this in come, she was to appropriate the half to her own support, and with the remainder she was to support the lunatic, her son ; but if either the son or the wi dow married, then the widow's income was to be re duced to £2OO a-year, and she was no longer to have the management of the estate. In the event of the death of the mother, and of the lunatic without legal issue, the property was devised to Mrs. Ellis, a rela tive of the testator; and this Lady, it appeared, had a niece, whom she was desirous to-have married to the lunatic. To this marriage the mother of the lu natic was also much inclined, but the lunatic himself preferred another object—a young woman, to whom he was much attached, and to Whom he was married, in a village church near Norwrch, in 1815. Shortly after the marriage, Mrs. Ellis and the mother took out a commission of lunacy, and Mr. Bird, who was then about thirty-five years old, was committed to the care of proper persons. The next step of the mother was to institute proceedings for the dissolu tion of this marriage, upon the ground of the lunacy of her son; and she now applied to the Court, that she might be furnished with the expenses to enable her to carry on the suit, out of the lunatic's estate.— The question here was, whether the lunatic, under the circumstances, was capable of contracting a mar riage? and if not, whether the Court would order the expenses of the Ecclesiastical suit to be paid out of an estate at the utmost not exceeding £5OO a-year? Mr.' WETHERELL and Mr. GARROD contended, that the lunatic was not incapable of contracting a marriage at the time this marriage was contracted. His disease was never of a violent nature—being rather an imbecility of mind, than a derangement of ideas. Ile had sense enough to understand the duties imposed upon him by his marriage; he loved his wife in the tenderest manner, and for the child, the result of their union, he always expressed the strongest attachment. To separate him from a woman whom he thus so dearly prized, might have the most detri mental effect upon his health, and a still more disas trous consequence of - such a separation would be to bastardize this child, whom the parties were taught to look upon as their legitimate offspring. The par ties opposed to the lunatic had a lively interest in the annulment of the marriage—the mother would then add to her own income, would be in the receipt of the whole £5OO a-year, and might easily suppOrt the lunatic for less than the sum assigned for that pur pose. Some of these parties were also a little jealous, perhaps, that Mr. Bird did - not prefer the person; whom they wished to make his wife. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Mr. CCLLI JSON, on the other side, contended, that the lunatic was not capable of contracting a marriage, and they referred to the examination of the Commission, to skew the. state of his mind. When he was asked his age, he answered, I am fifteen. Are you a single or a mar , tied man ? I am a single man. And this examina- Lion was taken after the marriage. How then was it possible that such a per son could have any conaciou.- ness of the obligations of marriage, who should mate' such replies as these? The LORD CHANCELLOR thought it very singular, ' that, if this Gentleman was really so imbecile •in bis intellects as it was represented, his father should, in his will, have provided, as he did provide, for his fu ture marriage. It was also to Le observed, that the Commission of Lunacy was not taken out until after the marriage. Why was it never asked for before ? Did not such a proceeding look like the result of I disappointment in some quarter ? Nor could he for- I get, that in this case the mother of the lunatic was 1 an interested party, in a pecuniary view, in the- dis solution of this marriage. However, the first thing the Court had to do was to inquire whether any such marriage was had ? and his Lordship asked. whether his mother was ready to take upon herself the ex penses of that inquiry ? To this vestion no answer was returned, and his Lord3hip desired it to stand over to the last day of Lunatic Fetitions, in order to ascertain that point. OXFORD CIRCUIT. The Miming cause at the Nisi Prim: excited considerably intcrest : THE KING V. PACE. This indictment was breu2,ht under very peculiar circumstances. Mr..JErtvls stated to the Jury, that '.%riss Elizabeth Edwards, the prosecutriz in the case, was a Lady of fortune, beauty, and accomplishmerts, residing at Tewkesbury ; and the defendant was an attorney, dwelling is the same place. Mr. Pace having been employed prc;essionally by the family of Miss Ed wards, was acquainteil with that Lady's fortune, and had taken upon himself to address her in the way of marriage. These addresses, however, had not proved agreeable to Miss Edwards, who, in order to avoid the importunities of her suitor, retired, in September last, to Aberystwith. - To Aberystwith she was followed by Mr. Pace, and there those circumstances took place which would appear in the evidence. Mr. Richard Gittins said that he was a maltstcr, residing at Tewkesbury. On the 10th September saw Mr. Pace; at seven in the morning, standing near the lodgings of Mrs. Edwards, at Aberystwith. Between eight and nine o'clock he was walking upon the Matine Parade with Miss Edwards' and Miss Walsh; Mr. Pace came up and spoke to the ladies, who made no answer. Witness told the defendant he treated the ladies ill. Defendant left them, but in a few minutes returned, and again addressed Miss• Edwards. Witness kept between defendant and the ladies, and said,'" the ladies shall not be insulted." Defendant then fell behind ; in a minute after witness turned his head round, and saw the defendant with a pistol against Miss Edwarch's shoulder ; the ladies ran away ; and witness at tempted to wrest the pistol from the defendant, who fired at him, and missed him. Defendant then produced a second pistol, which was taken frOm him, and. which was found to be loaded with ball. Miss Elizabeth Edwards proved that she received a blow on the shoulder from the pistol of Mr. Pace. On her cross-examination she admitted that the de fendant had paid his addresses to her. The young lady, whose personal charms justified the account which had been given by her Counsel, gave her evi dence modestly, but with firmness. Mr. TAUNTON, for the defence, took a formal objection to the description ; it was one Elizabeth Edwards; it should have been Elizabeth Edw*ards, junior. The point was reserved by the Judge.— The Learned Gentleman then contended that it was impossible to believe that the defendant had in tended to injure Miss Edwards, because if he had really intended any such purpose, there had been nothing to prevent him flom executing it ; the assault, if any, had been committed against Mr. Richard Gittins. Mr. Justice HOLROYD thought that the whole con duct of the defendant had been unjustifiable, and that the assault had been fully proved. Verdict-Defendant guilty. SURREY ASSIZES, MARCH 21. James Alldis and John Bunn, Esq. were indicted under the late Lord Ellenborough's Act, the one as a principal, and the other as accessory, for felo niously, wilfully, and maliciously shooting at Sarah Mitchell, with a fowling-piece leaded with powder and shot, at Chertsey, on the 27th of December last, with intent to murder her. There were other counts, laying the intent to maim, disable, or do scme griev ous bodily harm. The case proved in evidence was in substance this: The prisoner, Mr. Bunn, was a respectable .and wealthy gentleman, living at Chertsey, and the pri soner Alldis was his coachman. In the evening of the 27th of December last, the prosecutrix, a young woman, a servant out of place, had been out with another woman and two youths to see a friend at Weybriclge. Betwen ten and eleven o'clock she and her companions determined to return home by a dif ferent route than that by which they had set out, owing to the roughness and disagreeable nature of the latter, and they chose to adopt a path which led through Mr. Bunn 's farm-yard, and which was stated to have been, not more than three years since, a pub lic way. It seemed that there were two gates at op *polite sides of the farin-yard. The first they en tered without difficulty, and upon coming to the second they found it was fastened. Whilst trying to open it, and at the same time determiningtoretnra back, a dog began to bark. At the same instant the prisoner Alldis,. who lodged in a lone house about a quatter of a mile froth his master's, opened the ease ment of his window and cried "Ho!" It was moon light. One of the young men answered, " Inc ! mnte and before anything further passed, the prisoner dis charged a fowling-piece"at the group, the contents of which wounded the prosecutria dangerously in one .of her thighs, and slightly touched the rest of the party. The prosecutrix fell u!;on the Shoulder of cne of the young men, and the other fernaleaddressing the prisoner, told him that they meant no harm—that' they were wayfaring travellers--,that they had often' gone that way before, and thought there was no hat:m in doing, so again. The prisoner wilt ned.Clem to be gone, and - said, if they did not lie would fire was giv en by the prosecutrix', or any of her companions, nor any explanation given where they lived e nor was there time, from the sad denness of the 'transaction, to do so. The prisoner, was in his thin t, and had apparently started -from. his bed in conixquence of the .I.unt ziven by the dog," and discharged Ws piece under the impression that ••41 there were thieves in his mlster's yard. In come , quence of the menace given by the prisoner, t!-e prosecutrix and her companions immediately made the best of their way out of the farm-yard to avoid any further danger, and with great &fficulty she was got home. She was confined a considerable time from the wound she had received, and appeared none to be an incurable cripple. A few daye afterwards, the . prisoner, Mr. Bunn, 1s as applied ,to by two of the same parry for some relief for the prosecutrix.-_ 1 He told them that the other prisoner was an honest and faithful servant of his, and that he had eehe acted by his orders, and that he (Mr. Bunn) xrculd have done the same, under the like circumstancee— In consequence of an application to the Magisti rt :s at Chertsey, Mr. Bunn, however, ahreed to maintain the prosecutrix clueing her illness, out he afterwards repented of his kindness, and said that shy must look to her parish. It appeared that no complaint had ever been made by the prosecutrix against Mr. Buns, as an accessory, the charge being confined to tlee servant Alldis ; but at the Assizes both were indicted before the Grand Jury. Mr. Baron GARROw strongly reprobated the prosecution against the prisoner, Mr. Bunn, and charged the Jury that they must acquit both Fr:- !niters, for if even death had ensued it wculd ret have been murder. This was the criterion be which • such an indictment could he supported under Act in question. His Lordship, however, lamented that Xr. Blinn shoulel hare suffered his pity for the suffering of the peosecuttix to abate under any eie cumstances. The Jury found both prisoners—Net BIRNARD v. A'_:STIN. This was an action ahhinst the defendant for a re sauce, in ereeting a steam -engine at :tiitcham, , :vherchy •the plaintiff's huuse became uhinhabitable. Tire trial in this case lasted the wh“le day. The plaintiff is a widow Lady residing at Mitcham, any the defendant occupies cotton-mills in the same place: The case went to the Jury, under the Learned JVDGE'S directions, upon all the evidence on both sides, and .the Jury found for the defendant. Two of the criminals excLuted yesterday, for Ut tering • forged Bank -notes, were quite boys in ap pearance. Kepion had noc attained his 17th year, and Ves;, his companion, was only 18. They 1;;;;11 wept bitterly. On the 1(..A1i instant, an inquest was taken at the Dovcr • Cattle Inn, Dover, on view- . of the body of Chailcs M.Dougal, of the; Veteran Battalion, who was found dead in his bed by the bursting of a blood vessel. Verdict—Died by the Visitation of GOD. Corent-raiden-mayket had, on Saturday last, a small spew of cucumbers and rrenzb beans for sale; the form.!r at the int.- derate price of three shillings each, and the latter at half-a-grow:a the hundred. Perhaps the annals of horticulture have never txhibited a more extraordinary occurrence than BLit of the Bromelia Ana r.as, or Pineapple plant. front At hich Mr Robert dluck,garde:.tr to Lord 11Atior, at Plitf.old, St:fort:shire, last year prOduced, of tLe seed of OPZ fruit, raised the rrecedin3 year, 725 pit:- plants, and from another, ;:t2l plants ; the former sal:posed to be the largest increase of the kind ever known in England. _ _ BIRTHS. Friday se'nrigilt, at the Vicarage, Bolton, the Lady of the Rev'. Prebendary Slade, of a daughter. At Fothard, the Lady of Mr. William Mnikan, sorgeoz, of a daughter. Wednesdny week, at Arthuret, in Cumberland, the Lady of the Rev. Fergus. Grahame, of a datsghter. March 16, at Perth, Mrs. Latta, Wire of Dr. Latta, phy sician there, of a still-born son. MARRI :March 22, Charles Jacomh, Eso,.. of Walthamstow, to Cathe rine Elizabeth, etily daughter of the Rev. J. Wood, of Herne. On the 6th instant, at Newmarket, in the county of Cork, Captain. William Hamilton Waters, late of the 59th Regimert, to Rebecca, ynurgest daughter of the late Leary Lindsay, ii,c. of IN:ayshall, :n the said county. DIE!). Of fever, at Trini.lad,pn December, 1819, a few days after his arrival there, Lieutenant William Henry Souper, of his Majesty's late ligiment of Yolk Chasseurs, a promising young Officer, beloved and regretted by all who knew him. At North Thoresby, near Louth, the Rev. Robert Powley. At Shropharn Hall, Norfolk, in his 9.5 th year, the Rev. James Thnrlow Tompson. March 22, if apoplexy, Thomas Cuncliffe, Esq. Commoner of Christ Church, Oxford. March 12, after a few hours illness, Ann, the wife of the Rev. M. £edgwick, of Batley. March '2O, the widow of the late Rev. Ralph Baeyd, LL.B. Rector of Jevington and West Ham, Sussex, Precentor of St. Asaph, and Domestic Chaplain to the Prince of Wales. At Market Raisin, March 2, in the 2 d year of her age, Frances, eldest daughter of the Rev. John Robinson. Sunday, in Grosvenor-square, in the 14th year of his age, Arthur Kaye, youngest son of the lion. and Rev. at. G. Legge. Saturday se'nnight, in Lteis, in his 75th year, James Richard son, Id. D . _ . In his 2Sth year, Mr. Ameers, surgeon, Stockport, late o: Manchester. March 22, in his ll4th year, George Hawkins, Esq. He was father of the Corporation of Abingdon, having been a mem ber of that Body upwards of sc) years. Feb. 15, at St. Petershnrgis, Mr. Brown, a Eing's Mes senger. He had been sent out with divatehes to the Russian Government, annonneing the death of our late Kin, and the accession of his present Majesty. Satuiday se'nnight, Mrs. Harper, wife of Mr. 'Men I:Tar per, if Sutton, near Skipton ; and, neat day, Mr. Harper w.:s found dead in bed. March 14, at Knislitsbridge,.aged $4, Dr. Michael Under wood, many years Physician to the British Lying-in Horpit,il, and the Accoucheur who was tmgaged at the birth of her 14,:e Royal Highness the Prince§s Charlotte. A fLw tlz-rs ago, cn Clerkenwell-green, aged 85, Sasannah Niem , .n. Titit oLt Lady had for many years been an object t f curiudty to her neigi.banrs from the singularity of her baits, which were principally characterized by a close adherence to a rigid economy. Sunday se'nnlght, Mr, Nathan fieward, of Abbey Mill, near Brampton. •lli3.death was ,tzcasioned by a fall from his horse, • near Crosby, about a fortuight before, in r oia g from Carlisle. Monday se'nnight, aged E;, Mr. John Horosey, of Scarbo rough, author of nt...ny useful works on education.—an ardea3 • friend, anti ninst 1 .1:2,.....int companion. On the llfh iostatit, at Salutation, near Darlington, in his 105th year, Mr. lientc:nin Garnet, He never experienced oi:e day's iUnerr, and la...lkesl,lAout tit! a few hours before his death, and had the, use of.h:s faen:t.',is to the last. _ 1 Mourn f•:I !cane WAS iritnessod on Saturday at Brighton, in the funerals of Ily.oty Fa sie.yit .Wniri.e, raw. of Walwortli, Serrev, and b.s daughter, ULLA Faxtrois; bolts of whom exoircd let their residence iti 1.7.t. , ...-stceet, a few days before. 'heir r - nwhiswere costecyed in scratate hearses to the rarish Chtit..:';, i folli..iyed by tlle distressed y-idow and mother, the I:cv. G. 1 ' Cr AYTON,ef WAINVOrth, r-arti numerous frie,:ds. in an etyrded li-e of *cartiartes. 'Pie s7et•tacie was solemn, and irrtres,g,ve,. and ex:Cit.:A a cerresponding interest whit the spectators._ ('UAL MA!? K MAacu Shirs at M:sicet. Sbi l ' SJld: Newcaftle • I 9 Suntier; ! nd 3 Price. 1c 15.1 to 4:14 Di Z 443 NI to .16s 9d • 1 bzotell Gut _ 1 31. Od to Vs Od . _ rt!Slished rT Lzy l p KW; Is:itch rt.t‘r, Icrakle-Dar