The National Register. — London, England, 1808-01-17 00:00:00

LAW REPORTS. COURT OF Cll.lNelinr, LINCOLCS•INN HALL, JAN. 12. P icr Ensu P DI TS. Th^ Court was occupied nearly the whole day in discussing Bankrupt Petitious. The mily question of any public interest was, whether joint creditors can prove their debts against th• separate estate of a joist debtor 1--A fter hearing Sir Samuel Romilly and Mr. Cook, the Chancellor observed, that ques tions between joint and separate Creditors had been frequently litigated during the last century, and various opinions and rules had been obtained. Lord Hardwick thought that . joint creditors could out prove against the separate estate of a joint debtor : Lord Thurlowi, however, deeply considered the subject, and ruled the coutrary opinion. Lord Rosslyn inclined to the for suer dictum, and said if there was any thing like a joint fund, were It only ss. the joint creditors could not prove against the separate estate of a solvent partner. Such (his Lordship said) be hail found to he the prevailing rule when he came into o ffi ce, and though he might entertain doubts with respect to the prin ciple, earrled to its full extent, yet he thought it better to con tinue the rule, and decide according to circumstances when the question should be agitated, rather than to weaken the precedent by introducing modifications that might ultimately lead to liti gation and confusion. In the ease before him, he thought the joint creditors could not prove under the separate estate of the joint debtor. The case of Purcell v. Marnamara, as far as certain excep tions taken to the llaster's report are involved, was decided, and the order made by Lord Erskine and his Honour the Master of the Rolls confirmed, with some trifling deviation. The case, in its present stage, embraces no public interest. It is merely a matter of account. i. t W.—Sittings appointed in Middlesex and Loudon, before the Right lion. Edward Lard Elleithorough, Lord Chief Jus tice, &c. is and after Hilary Term 180 b. IN TERN. MIDDLESEX. LCI N DON. Wednesday Jan. 27 Thur•tl.i. bin. 28 Tuesday Feb. 2 Thursday Feb. 4 Wednesday ‘ . 10 ThUrSdii) AFTER TERM. Saturday ..Feb. 13 j Monday . Feb. 15. Sitting appointed in Middlesex and I.mil!en, before the Right Newourable Sir James Mansfield, Knight, Lord Chief .Iti , tice of his Majesty's Court of Continua Plea', at Westminster, in and after Hilary Term 1508. IN TERM. MIDDLESEX. Monday Jan. 25 Friday Jan. 25 Saturday 3O 'l'm -day Feb. '2 Saturday Feb. 6 Al unda% 8 LONDON. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. A I'TER TERM. Saturday Feb. 141 Monday Feb. 15. ADMIRALTY SESSIONS. MURDIin. William Chapman, the Captain of a Liverpool Slave ship, was indicted for the wilful murder of Robert Dunn, by e posing him naked to the weather, by starving and by repeated acts of cruelty and ill-treatment. The Solicitor-General opened the caw, in the absence of the King's Advocate, when George Scott, the Doctor on board the ship, and principal evidence, together with several of the skip's crew, were called to corroborate the case made out. The sub startee of their evidence was as follows: The deceased was sent out by one of the owners of the ship. and it appeared that the Captain had taken an early dislike to him, from a suspicion that he was placed on board as a spy on the conduct of the ship's officers. The skip had not left Liver pool more than a mouth, when the deceased having spilt some molasses, received five dozes' lashes by the Captain's orders. From that lime, Sept. 1805 till the 31st of March 180 i, the de ceased experienced an uninterrupted series of ill-treatment and privation. Every fault, though of the most trivial sort, was visited with the severest chastisement :—lie was suspended hours together with a chain round his middle, and left swinging in an. horizootal position—he was tied up by the neck, Isis toes just touching the deck, till he was nearly strangled ; he was again suspended by the legs, with his head downwards, his fingers' eads racing upon the hatchways, till the blood, having over- JAN. 17. charged the vessels of the head and brain, :le became Again he was exposed naked to the weather. end cosapelkd, in the midst of a cold rain, to wring out the sw.bs, anti was em ployed to empty the tubs in which the slaves deposits:3 their 'nth. On one occasion, when he had upset one of these ttias upon the deck, the Captain beat him with a handspike, and bruised and lacerated his body in a most pitiahk way ; the blood flowed from his head and covered Isis shoulders. Ile w ise had Isis bead half shaved and painted. his body niar\ed with ei,la t sc, and suspended by his wrists, tied at the eAtresue end of a betenit,tick. In this way he left the slaves upon deck to lati4it at hint. liis daily allowance was .und of yam or it; ead, and three half pint. of water, Sind, of course. his boil, eeame emaciated, and his flesh and siren oh dwittciled away. Ile was also brat over the face and eyes situ the haedle of a cat, and these various acts of cruelty and chastiseincut repeated almost daily.—The last act of cruelty, however, was when the poor wretch was discovered Iv in g in the place where the pigs o ere kept. Ile again used the handspike. and beat him with it from head to foot. The deceased crass led to the forecastle, where he lay with a mat to cover hitn, incapable of moving. Pfe continued in that situation till he expired about three or four dass after. The Captain was told of his death, and ex claimed—" I)—n his eves, throw bins overboard. - rite Doc tor's description of the dead body was as follows :—" The face was so swelled that his eyes could not be seen, his head was also swelled, and his hair clotted st ith blood—his breast bone stuck out like a wedge—his back appeared to be humped —his belly was shrunk in—his . whole frame emaciated, and his body covered w WI bruises." The Prisoner, when called on for Isis def.'nee, gave in a written paper, stating, that lie had the miscorttee. to have a turbulent and mutinous crew, and that he NV :1 , ; Cala : hate recourse to severities in order to maintain hi- coin raztud. jib, the gunner, after disobeying his orders. said, he had the key of the magazine, and would blow up the ship ; and on :another occasion eleven out of twenty-live of his crew went on shore. In short, that the whole was a conspiracy to take away his life, and the charge had been made up by the Duette out of re venge. he (the Prisoner) haviug punished him for his mis conduct. Mr. Justice T.e Blanc summed up the evidence, and after commenting at great length, said it was a question purely with ; respect to the credibility of witnesses. if they believed the facts deposed on the part of the prosecution, they certainly amounted to murder ; but if they thought the facts had been overcharged, and the ease had been made out front motives of pique, rather than of public justice, then they would take thee improbability of the case into consideration, and say whether, under all the circamstances, the Prisoner was not. Intl lied to their avgaittal. The .1 ury withdrew at five minutes after nine at night, nod did not return with their Verdict until ten mioutes after three in the morning, %%ilea they pronounced the Defendant—Not The Pri.•nner appeared quite cool and indifferent during the Av hole trial ; nor did he seem to feel the least emotion when the sentence of acquittal was pronounced. OLD BAI LEI . Will/NESDA Y, J A N. IS. The Se,siong o: er and Teriajner for London and Middle sec commenced, before the Chief Baron Macdonald, and Juftices Hooke and Lan rence. Isaac Castle was capitally indicted for assaulting; and robbing 'Mary Little on the King's highway. In the COHrbt of the evi dence it appeared, that while the prosecutrix, in the evening, was turning out of Sloane-street into Ilans-place, the prisoner came behind her, and taking hold of one of her legs, pulled her down, and rubbed her of a silk shawl, with which he ran of. lle was, however, apprehended, carried before the Rev. H. B. Datile, awl committed. The 11se being no►v clearly brought home, he was found guilty—Dealb. The prosecutrix most earn estly recommended the prisoner to mercy. Eliza Crosbie was capitally indicted for stealing 12 guineas, awl 11 half-guineas, the property of Susanna Potter, in her dwelling house. It appeared, that Mrs. Potter kept a public house at Brent ford, and that the Prisoner had lodged in her house the night be fore the robbery. Mrs. Potter had made up the s um of money meleioued in the indictment in order to pay some of her hills, and had it put into a bag, which she deposited iu the till iii the bar.—lu the morning she happened to go out, and then left the 4.