Star. — London, England, 1803-02-15 00:00:00

- T DUBLIN, FEB. to. DCDLIN•CASTLE, FEBRUARY 9. His Excellency has been pleafed to appoint the following Gentlemen to be High Sheriffs: Armagh—John Moore, Jun. of Drumbanagher, Efq. Kerry—William Meredith, of Dickfgrove, Efq. Kilkenny—William Bayly, Efq. Mayo—Michael Cormiek, Efq. We tmeath—Jofeph Morgan Daly, of Cable-Daly, Efq. Wicklow—William Heighington, of Donard, Efq. His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant has been pleated to fign Commiffions for the following No. blemen and Gentlemen to be Officers in the under . mentioned Yeomanry Corps, viz :-- Glenarm infantry—Third Lieutenant Peter Mathcwfon, Cap tain. vice Stewart, deceafcd. Ballymaealls Infantry— the. Johnfon Smith, Efq. Second Lieu tenant, vice Duncan, who refigns ; Thomas Johnfon, Efq. Third lAm:tenant, vice Barnlby, who reigns. Murrikinfaotry—Firft Lieute.ant George Mahon, Captain, y;ce Brown, who reigns. CNfticbar Infantry—Second Lieut. John Thompforn Firit Lieu tenant, vies Blake, who reigns; Eyre Evans Kenny, Efq. Second Lieutenant, vice Thompfon, promoted. Rathdowny Infantry—Thomas Redmond Prior, Efq. Second L eutenant,vice Richard Prior. deceafed. Newtown Barry Infantry—H. my Goklough, Efq. Pirft Lieu tenant, vice Pallifer, who retigns. Portnabinch Cavalry—Earl of Portarlington, Pint Captain. Portarlington Infantry—Erni of Portarlingten, Firft Captain. Featbard Cavalry—Fidt Lieut. It. Cooke, Captain, vice Barton, who reaps. TEBRUAIRY to. Tuefday, a perfon was flopped at Mr. Bereford's Bank, where he tendered a polt•bill which had been robbed Tome time (ince out of the Wexford Mail. He was fent in cuflody to the Poil.office, and on being examined, mentioned his employer, and Paid he had been defired by him to obtain change. The employer was accordingly fent for, and immediate. ly appeared ; he had taken the bill for goods, hut defcribed very accurately the perfon who had paired it,who was in confequence apprehended andlodged in Newgate. Informations of the utmoft import ance have been given by this perfon, relative to all the recent Mail robberies. _ . Capt. Wilfon and a party of the peace officers, on Monda y apprehended a number of perforis, who, it is fuppofed, were concerned in robbing the Wick low Mail on Friday night lxR ; feveral of the notes were found in their poffeffion. A perfon of the name of Meals, Ms wife, and fon, have been alto apprehended, upon whom were found bank poll bills, and notes robbed out of the Mail on fame night. A point of law, referved by the Court of King's Bench a few days fince. on a verdia by a Special Jury, in fa-our of fhe Plaintiff, Thomas Dade, of London, Efq. againft Meas. Newman and Hay land. in which the former was adjudged damages to the amount of 39661. iterling, on a corn contra& determined to have been violated by the defendants, ia expelled to be argued in a few days, by the ffrongeft power of the hifh Bar. His Excellency held a Privy Council on Tuefday WI A proclamation was ordered by the Council, direiing Seffions to be held in Gort, county of Galsoay. in confequence of the increafe of popula. don in Paid county. The Circuits are expelled to take place about the soth of March. Friday, Saturday, and Monday, three divifions of the 79th regiment, under the command of 7...ieutenant-Colonel M , Ls an, marched into Belfafl from Donaghadee, where they landed on Wednef 4ay and Tburfday lafl. They are on their route for Londonderry, for which place the left divifion marched on Tuefday morning. On the zd init. mandamufes to reftore Sir John Newport, Mr. Ramfay, Mr.Weekes and Sir Simon Newport. to their places of aldermen of Waterford, were delivered to the Mayor of that city. The Hero of the North is the piece that is attri buted to a fon of Mr. Di MOND, the refpeEtable Ma nager of the Bath Theatre. Pe tcrr NC Gaon N DS. —We learn from Dumber. ton, that on Friday the 4th innant, a cafe was de cided by his Majelly's Junices of the Peace for that county, of centiderable importance to the menu faauring interefi of this country, wherein MelTrs. William Stirling and Sons, of Cordele and Deign. hurn Printfiehis, with concurrence of the Fifcal, were complainers, and certain operative printers were defenders. The complaint was founded on the Ad of the 39th and 4oth of his prefent Maier rv, cap. 136, for " preventing unlawful combina tions of workmen." In the courfc of the trial it was clearly ellablifhed, that a combination, confin ing of apprentices as well as journeymen. had eaift ed fur about a year paft, and extended to every printing ground in England, Scotland and Ireland. The combination had for its objet to transfer the regulation of prices and management of the hands trom the matters to the operatives. To accomplifh this purpofe, local dinrias were ellablithed, regu lar meetings held, attended by Deputies from each field, and officers appointed for the general ma nagement of its affairs, and who maintained a regu kr with the leaders of the different d,il,t throughout the kingdom. By the regu lations r.f this afrociation, any Member who con ceived himfelf in the fmallen degree aggrieved by kis employers, or who was offered by them any rice for his work, which he confidered inade quate, was dire fed inftantly to leave his employ. :mot. aod was from that moment entitled to re re; ye from the public fund an allowance of t as. per eck, unzil he fhould find a matter elfewhere who would accede to his demands. So& member was -ilfo entitled to a pals, figned by the Clerk and Steward of the diliria in which be was employ etto.ertifying that he had paid his full proportion ' , swards the general fund of the fociety, which pafs l'ifured him the good offices and friendfitip of the operative printers at any printing ground in Eng land. Scotland. or Ireland t whereas any perfon applying without a pafs. even if he fhould be of irnployment by the mailers, would be fo M r:re:tieand abufcd by hi. thopmates, that he could not poffibly continue at his work. Tilde has, with others of a (turflikr kind. being proved to the f.stif &ain't cif the Court. the defenders were conviCted npon the name, two of them fentenced to three rnNnths. and two of them. on account of fome fa ••o3r:l6le kirouuthaces, to OM mota's imptifoo ft.tot. LAZY INTELLIGENCE. SPRING CIRCUITS OF THE JUDGES. MIDLAND: Loßn CHIEF BARON and BA RON GRANAM. Monday, Feb. 28, at Northampton. Friday, March 4, at Oakbam. Saturday, March s, at Lincoln and City. Friday March ar, at Nottingham and Town. Tuefday, March z 5, at Derby. Friday, March tB, at Leicefter and Borough. Wed_ nefday, March 23, at Coventry. *Midday, , March 24, a t Warwick. OXFORD—Juftice LAWRENCE and Jadtice CNANBRIC. Monday, Feb. aB, at Reading. Wetinefday, Match 1, at Oxford. Saturday, March 5, ac Worettfter and City. Wed nefday, March 9, st Oloueefter and City. Saturday, March is. at Moamoutb. Tuciday, March id, at Hereford. Sa turday. Match 19,st Slarewfbury. Wednefday, March 23, at Stafford. WES FERN—Baron Tn,ataotr and Jultice Lc &awe. Tuefday, March s, at Winchefter. Saturday. March c, at Sarum. Thurfday, March to, at Dorchefta. Monday, March Exeter and City. Saturday, March 19, at Launcaton. Friday, March as, at Taunton. NORTHERN—Lord Et LINIOROUGH and Juftice Roo Lt. Saturday, March 5, at Ayiefbury. "l'hurfday, March to, at Bedford. Saturday, March 12, at Huntingdon. Wednefday, March 26. at C mbridge. Saturday. March 29, at Thetford Thurfday, March 24, at Bury St. Edmunds. HOME—Baron HOTH AM and Juttice HEATH. Monday, March 7, at Hertford. Wednefday, March 9, at Chelmsford. Monday, March 14, at Maid Stone. Monday, March at, at Kingllon. Monday, March aB, at Horthans. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, FEB. 14. COAL TRADE. PARISH, gni; tam, v. LUCAS AND ANOTHER. This and the following Cafe is of very great im portance to the Public. This was an anion to recover two penalties of Sol. each, founded on the 3d of Geo. 11. cap. a 6. for not felling two chaldrons and a half of Coals by the proper meafure. Mr. GARROW, who opened this cafe, obferved, that this offence was fo common, and had been carried to fuch an enormous height, that it was impoffible the interefts of the public could be pro tefted, but by Gentlemen in the; fituation of the Jury, faithfully difcharging their duty, which he had no doubt they would do, by vifiting offenders Lf that defcription by a verdid which might cub jed them to the penalties which the law had in fiided. Without that, there was not a chance of receiving that meafure of the commodity which the law had directed. There were two modes by which Coals were fold. The one was by the Pool Meafure, with which they had nothing to do in that cafe. The other was by Wharf Meafure, which was that by which the prefent Pale was made. The law required that the Coals fhould be meafured by a particular babel ; and, in order that no impolition might be praftifed on the pub lic, Officers were appointed, who were fworn faithfully to difchatge their duty as Meters; and there was a ticket, certifying they had been duly meafured, and that they had the articles they had Foirchafed. It would be difficult, one would think, after fuch provifions, to praCtife any frauds. But daily experience (hewed that there was no trade in which more frauds were committed, than lay the Dealers in Coals. The defendants had, in this in. Rance, cheated the buyer (for that was the proper word to ufe) aloft certainly by bribing the Sworn Officer of the Public. He fhould prove beyond all doubt and queftion, that thefe Coals never were meafured by any bufhel, but were filled into the lacks out of the barge, and that there was no bullet there to be ufed ; and yet the ufual Coal- Meters' ticket accompanied them, Rating, that they were meafured as the MI of Parliament di reeled. Tickets were either filled up by Meters, who were not prefent at the time, or by leaving blank tickets to be filled up by the Coal Dealers themfelves. This was the mode by which people in a great way of Wind's, carrying on a trade to the amount of hundreds of thoufands of pounds per annum, treated their cullomers and the pub lic. Many of the cafes of this fort were to be made out by the evidence of common informers, and that was a very unpopular and odious charafter, and very undefervedly fo. For how could penal laws be executed but by the evidence of thole who would profecute,and who were to receive either the whole or a part of the penalty ? If fuch evidence was not to he believed, thefe flatutes would be much more properly repealed. The defendants, in fuch cafes, called out, a common Informer ! a common Informer ! juft as when you called out a mad dog! every body was eager w have a blow at him. He was certain that would not be the conduEl of the Gentlemen of the Jury, under the direEtion of the Noble and Learned Judge ; and the Jury, who were immediately to return into the ranks of Society, would not do a thing which they could not juitify to their own confciences.— This cafe was rather fingularly circumftanced in that refpcEl. Mr. Parifh, the profecutor, was at the head of the Coal Meters' Office, and the learn ed Counfel thought this was a precedent worthy of imitation; he wiffied that people would prole- cute in their own names rather than in the names of others, who were fometimes not very refpeCtable, I and brought any thing they were connected with' into difcredit. Frauds had been pradifed to an ; enormous extelt. It was indifpenfibly neceffary to 1 the interefts of the üblic, that thefe frauds fhould he fuppreffed. He laid be had given great offence by an expreffion which he bad flied on a former occafion of this nature, and therefore, he repeated it, they mull endeavour to inoculate theca Coal Dealers with a little common honeßy. Mr. Bilbop, the frit witnefs, Paid he knew the defendants and their wharf, which was in Upper Thames-ilreet. He was prefent when Tome coals were put into tacks, that were afterwards carried to Mr. Lucas's, who is brother to one of the De fendants. They were put into the lacks with (hovels. They were put into the racks by what they called— Fill away. There was no babel ufed at all in putting them into the Packs. He followed thefe Coals, and law them delivered in Charter Houfe fquare. On crofs-examination, he Paid he could not (wear whether they were or were not thort meafure. The auxl ticket that accompanies Coals men 'tired br Wharf &feature, and which was fent along with there coals, was here produced and read. Mr. Lucas was next examined, He laid At was orother to Mr. Luca', the defaidapt. Hs laid* had not the lean reafon to fuppofe they were fhort in mcafure ; he, as the buyer, was perfeelly fa tisfied as to the quantity. He had not thefe coals re•meafured wilco tkre was an imputation on them. He was pc:fatly fatisfied they were full mcafure. Mr. ERSKINE, on the part of the Defendants, took two objelions to the Plaintiff's recovering -111, that it was out of the jurifdiflitm ; and, adly, that the 7 Geo. 111. which was fubfequeht to the 3 Geo. 11. enafted, that the coals fhould be mea fured by the bufhel prefcrihed by 16 and 17 of Car. 11. and not by the buthel of Qiieen Anne.— The learned Counfel obferved, that there was no intention in this gentleman to defraud his brother. The hicks were full, the meafure was complete ; but from the condition of the different Afts of Parliament on this fubjeCt, perfons who were per feftly honeft had been maid. And the learned Counfel faid he Should be very glad if the Legilla ture would repeal all the laws on the Subjed, and enaft, in their (lead, one plain intelligible aft of Parliament for regulating this fubjed, and for the protelion of the public. Lord EL LEN Er/ROLAu obferved, that whatever aft ought to be followed, the Defendant was not blarnelefs. He ought to have meafured by the one bulhel or the other, and he had meafured by nei ther of them. If the gentlemen of the Jury would follow his advice, they would find a verdia lor the plaintiff, with liberty to enter a nonfuit, pro vided Mr. Erfkine's objeetions fhould prevail.— That would be exaftly the fame as not finding the defendants guilty, and would prevent the trouble of coming down again, to afcertain the fads.— Said his Lordfhip, this is a matter of very ferious importance, and whether the Defendant-. ill be ultimately bound to pay there penalties or not, I hope the difcuftion of the fubjeft will induce the trade to do their duty, to do juftice to the public, and that we may not have tickets laid on the ta ble, purporting to be the tickets of fworn meters, that they had been juftly meafured, according to the Aft of Parliament, when, in WI, no meafure whatever had been applied to the Cale. Mr. ERSRINE—The very perfon who brings this aftion is at the head of the Sworn Meters. Verdi& for Plaintiff, damages Sol. with liberty for the Defendant to enter a nonfuit, in cafe the 7 Geo. 111. fhould be found to have repealed the 3 Geo. 11. and alto fubjeet to the objeCtion of the locality of the jurifdietion. PARISH, qui tam, T. BROWN. Mr. GARROV/ alio opened this cafe, which he defcribed as a cafe of fraud praftifed againft the law. It had been obferved by his learned Friend, that the anion was brought by Mr. Parini, who was at the head of the Coal-meters' Office. He could not be in more places than one at a time ; he was obliged to have (worn meters under him, and if thefe fworn meters would give falfe and forged certificates for the purpofe of impofing on the public, it was his bounden duty to become in former, in order to put the law in force. In honk dealing fometimes, one had heard of a man cheat ing his own brother, but in the coal trade the ha bits of defrauding were fo inveterate, that a man could not be Pure of receiving juttice from his own brother, nor a father from a fon. It had been Paid there was honour among thieves, but among coal dealers it appeared that did not obtain ; men loll ing, perhaps, on their Was in their drawing rooms, or driving along in their carriages, were guiky of thefe frauds upon their cuftonsers. This was a contra& for Pool meafure, founded on the 3d Geo. 11. c. 26, fed. so, where the penalty was tool.— A barge was divided into different chambers, or portions : one of theft, perhaps, contained so chaldrons,another ten, and another five chaldrons: that was the fnsalleft, and was called a room.— There was likewife the ingrain, which was one chaldron to every , ao. and fo in proportion to a (mailer or greater quantity. A retail coal dealer, of the name of Turner, ordered of the defendant, Mr. Brown, who lives at Wapping, a room of coals, which ought to have contained five chat drons and nine ballets, or one fourth of a chal dron for ingrain. When they were fent home, Turner fufpefted they were (hors of meafure, and employed a (worn meter to re-meafure them ; he ought to have had ;89 buthels, whereas there was a deficiency of is bufhels, except one peck. • Turner and his Wife were called, who proved this cafe. William Breadfiy, the Sworn Meter, who re meafured them, confirmed their evidence. Mr. ER2KII(I, who made a very able defence, raid, he fhould trace there coals from the (hip, (Alliflance) ; he fhould prove to his Lordflsip and the Jury, that all the coals which his client, Mr. Brown, had received from on board that (hip as a room, were delivered to Turner ; and as his client was as liable to be impofed upon as other men, he trolled if the Jury were fatisfied that he had bten guilty of no fraud, but that he had handed over to Turner the whole quantity that he had received from on board, and had paid for that quantity as a room, that they would let him free from this penalty. He propofed to call the Sworn Meter that few them meafured on board the (hip, the people who navigated the barge into wliich they were put, to the Chore, and thole people that loaded them from thence into the carts, and the carman who took them to Turner's houfe. He called all thde people, who failed to make out the cafe. Mr. Mafon laid he was a Sworn Meter, and had Peen thefe coals mcafured in a vat containing nine bufhels. A Meter could meafure an hundred-chal drone in a fummer's day, and he had 31. for every (core. He had betides viduals and drink, and come fpirits. He Paid be did not drink much liquor.' Another perfon of the name of Allan (wore he had carried 34 lacks and a piece. lie recolleeed that, though it happened in November lag, and yet lie could not tell how many lacks he had car ried from the ba►ge to the cart upon any other day in his life. He did not even remember bow many he had carried left Saturday. Aftrr a at deal more evidence for the Defen dant, which was extremely loofa and inconcluive, Mr. Gaisow in reply unleaded, that t 1::: de , fence was as infamous as the fraud which occatinn ed the adion. The defendant, he did not befitate . f() fay, had pillaged the plaintiff, and had nearly ruined him, as many other wholefale coal dealers had ruined little retailers who dealt with them,— That as to the morali:y of the mares, it was be- tween Goo and the defendant's cunfcience ; but he hoped that after he had repoki upon his pillow tonight, if he could repofe upon it, the defendant would tomorrow fend to the plaintiff a bank note of an amount equal to what he had defrauded the plaintiff of in the courfe of the tranfiaaions which had !wild between them. As to this verdia he regarded it as a cafe too clear to fay any thing on it. Lord Et.t.sasoitoucti obferved to the Jury, that this action was brought againti the defendant, Mr. Brown, for a penalty of tool. upon the hatute of the 3d of Geo. 11. c. 26. f. to, and the claufe of the Ad on which this alion was founded provided, that if any perfon fold coals by PoolMeafure (and the coals in this cafe were proved to have been fold by Pool Meafure), he Ihouhl juilly deliver, with• out fraud, the fell quantity of coals fo fold by Pool Meafure; and that if they be delivered fhort of that meafure, fuch palm to felling and fo deliver ing, (hall forfeit a penalty of tool. So, his Lord fhtp laid, that the quelkion in this cafe would be, " Whether the Defendant did ' ugly deliver to the Buyer, the full quantity fo fold 1" That quantity Gold was five chaldron Pool Meafure, which made five childron and a quarter of other mature and the quaint% in this cafe would turn on the Credit which the Jury would give to the tellimony of the witneffes. It was fworn by the witneffes for the defendant, that they delivered at the Plaintiff's houfe 68 tacks, which, by the way, implied that they were not filled, fusee, if full, 63 would have been fufficient ; but the queftion did not turn on the number of tacks, bet the quantity of coals which were delivered to the plaintiff. The (worn meter had meafured them, and by his evidence it appeared, that the quantity was fhort by eleven bulhels. It was contended, that when the plain. tiff determined on having the coals re.mcafured, he Should have fent notice to the defendant, in order that he might fend Tome body on his behalf to fee them meafured: perhaps it might have been as well if he had done to, and there would have been force in the objeilion, if the plaintiff had meafured thefe coals by hiinfelf and a friend of ti:s own, without the knowledge of any body cite; but here the plaintiff had caufed the fworn officer to meafure there coals,in which he had done all which the law required of him, and by that meafurement it appeared, that the coals delivered tr the plain tiff were t t boatels fhort of the real quantity , which the plaintiff purchafed, and which the de fendant, by his contra& undertook to deliver.— Here his Lordthip recited the remainder of the evidence, yid then proceeded to obferve, that the qucflion was a very Pimple one in this cafe— " 'Whether the man who bought thefe coals, had what he purchafed ? If he had not, but the coals were delivered to him fhort of what he bought (whether fraudulently or otherwife), the plaintiff had a right to complain, for not having what he contradted for, and what the defendant undertook to deliver to him ; and his Lord(hip raid, there was no hardfhip in this, for if there coals were delivered %bort of the proper quantity, the defen dant, who employed men to deliver his coals, Should take care that they were truft.worthy. It was the fame thing to the buyer, whether he was cheated by the actual fraud of the perfon of whom he bought the article, pr by any of his agents." Mr. ERSICIMI Paid, that, if this wast e h cafe and this the opinion of his LoreHhip upon the point of Law, a verilift mull pars againfl his Client, the Defendant, for he could not prove that the quan tity delivered was aflually tB9 babe's. He only underftood that the Plaintiff had all the Coals in the room, as the Defendant bought them of the Owner en board the vefel, and having done fo, he mull fubmit that he did not come under the pe• nalties of this all of Parliament. The ground on which the Defendant went was, that he fold and delivered the quantity of Coals as they had been delivered to him, and this, he fubmitted, fatisfied the provifion of the Aft of Parliament. Mr. Gaaeow (aid, that this court would net be of ultimate benefit to the Defendant, if the mat. ter was to be refereed on the Law as i• arofe oaf of the Aet of Parliament in thisCafe; it was, how ever, very well put by Mr. Erfkine. Lord Etcfmaoito you obferved, that the Aft of Parliament required the coals,fo purchafect,lbould be delivered without fraud, in the full quantity according to the Pool meafure, it would be for the Jury to fay, whether they were of opinion there Coals were delivered jultly, and without fraud, for they mull be both, or the penalty of the wet of Parliament would attach. Here his Lordthip went again over a material part of the Evidence to bring the matter Hill more clearly before the Jur), and obferved, again, that the firft queftion was. .$ whether the Defendant delivered this quantity of Coals to the Plaintiff or not ? If they thought be did not, then, to obviate any doubt that might remain, whether the penalty attached or not, if the Defendant aflually delivered the full meafure as it was delivered to him ; the Jury would fay whether the meafure wabfraudulently fhort ornot ? for, if fraudulently fhort, there would be an end of every thing like a doubt upon the whole cafe." The Jury found that the coals were delivered not according to P .ol meafure, but fraudulently, and therefore a verdift was entered up for the plaintiff. Damages tool. Lord E LLLLL ORA " Gentlemen, I did not make any obfervations of an inflammatory fort, which the cafe prefents, becaufe it might give a different complexion to the fads of it from that which the witnefres might have conveyed; but now the cattle is over, I will Gy I am very Oa.' you have found the verdift yon have done, and in the terms you have done, for I do hope it may be the means of affording forte relief to the ilarving poor of this metropolis, whole hardfltips art muds aggravated by frauds of Ibis Datum"