The National Register. — London, England, 1820-04-17 00:00:00

146- LA IV INTELLIGENCE. lik, COURT OF K 1 NG'S BENCH, Gut Lyn ato savettra, X 156, AND CO., V. THE 1111rCitla L •StiCKAPICIS SOCIFTV• was an action on a policy of insurance against tire, and Mthottgli it occuaied the Ceuta Militia three whole days, we belies , tic can in six Hee, 'lnfos-it cm readers perfectly as to the only mat , rial 1 tin question. which was, whether the pia:miffs, slat had effected en instil:ince for 7,50a1. on a b ea .,., trentendoust% haztirdou. premium of 14e. p. r cent. (the con lnrun rate of ihsarance hem;lint Vs. per en,) had vitiated flick . policy ti redurint; t h.. risk atten dant iii, their operatiom in the proportion of about three secentiw. It appeared in evidence, that at the little of ellectiag the insurance the shear %%as latticed in n suite of fasnat by the h ea t o f Mikan.; levier. contained in pipets launch" d b. I ,peiced circles into a body or raw sugar.— It was suli.eiptetalv found that the introduetion of oil in a srate of %Womb commie:Warty less as awe , and a half is to sit, oitm nave Inc-antceli tt with tlecraase of danger.' Niessis. S..voin, Klieg, and Co. adopted the improvement, mid because tiny dal so, without apprising, the Imperial A,4l•!*o.Ce their right in recover. II fire having oveurrad, was by the Otrecturs of that office.— We had liaised lii lie signal punishment that recently visitf..i triter, by the total destruction or their Metropolitan Palii i es, and a geo.eral distrast and incredible diuniontiou of their Provincial Insurances in consiametic.r of the generally lit diipiwition of the old dotard who a tts allowed to he " a poi% er abuse the vioul.l have had a good effect upen the tespectalae offices, and have taught them that ',oohing was la) dear:tett ve of the confidence that should nia ay s ea,a %seen tile insurers and the inured, as an up pe.ei to legal pro it, where le.; ii proof cannot iii one instance out 01 a ilui•ilied be pi niiin ;in the preseet instance, however, proof sufficient wss found to satisfy the Jury, nod though we well renteintor Mraring the late Lord Chief dustic,e, who, Chink God, is gon e to his a ccount, n here te em) meet more mercy than he skewed here, declared (and we believe it war good law) thht a mail wag not bound to receive a benefit if lie ilia tint clime it, yet the dory in the cuss we nun record, di:Cded that the policy salected by AteSSYS. SeVl•ra, King, um! Cm, a t I tg. p e e rent., w:;s not reacred null and void, Incense they had reiloced the risk of the;r insurance. In the proportion of nearly one third— the Jury therefore returned a verdict for the whole amount of the policy, and we beer, add ac hope correctly, that the other offices who have disputed the claims of the same house 011 thi: iame groutels, and who by some snaerinr generalship have pi evailed fin the Imperial OiliCe to be their cat's paw of experiment, OM 1/01% to this decision without subjecting theneeivea to the odium that may httend their coming into Coo i. We cannot quit this subject without mentioning a sings'. lat ity attending mie nffice n kit which we are totally uncon nected (asseept Mins far as the fart we are about to notice line idlloenced us, which is Amply so far as to cause us ad insure our offices and private residence in that office) we mean the COCINTY OFFICE, 'and that is, that since its estalilishmeut, a periturof more than 30 years, it has tioehad a single instance of litigation—an example stud boast which we should advise all other offices to emulate. BiIIDGEMAIS, V. BUZZARD. This was an action brought by the plaintiff, Edward BriAgeman, the patentee of the iron cuffin, to recover from the 41efendant, John Blizzard, one of the church wavlens of the parish of St. Andrew, !Joane', a com pensation in damages for false imprisonment. Itlr. Chitty opened the pleadings. lie stated, that in June, 18IS, the defendant had caused the plaintiff to be imprisoned on a charge of riot and disturbance, for which the plaintiff now sutight to tecoter a compensation in deMages The defendant pleaded—first, dial he was not guilty, secondly, that be was tt churchwarden in the parish of et. Andrew, and that the plaintiff brought a body io all 11' , 11 coffin to be buried in the church-yard, and ..the defendant requested him to depart ; that the plaintiff refused, and incited a riot, and diet lie was taken inte custody, and brought berme the Lord Mayor. Mr. Scat lett addiessed the jury fur the plaintif f . 'Clic object of the defendant in this case was to establish a new crime—a crime, with the existence of which, he lielecyed, the gentlemen of the jury were totally unac quainted. It was the crime of bringing a body in an ironpotlin; and the question which the jury hail to try was, %Theater by the laws of the land this was a crime or not e For has own part, lie never heard there was any crime of the kind. It was certainly, perfectly true, that the plaintiff did Ming an it on coffin to the church-pad of St. And, e that the defendant refused to admit the corpse O lieu it allayed at the church-yard. The question therelote was, whether this was an offence which, cusild justify a churchwarden to commit a person In mistral•. in the Conapter, and to detain hint there till twelve o'clock the next day. As far as be knew, he had no t iglu to con nat. on such grounds. The action therefore was tit recover damages for being kept in pri me; without ally pretence, mid jestificatian in law. He had no doubt that the gentlemen of the jury would show that a man was 110 t to be impi isoned with With out any charge a luck could pistil) the imprisonment. John Cole, a mourner at the funeral of Mrs. Gilbert, John Gilbert, the pert it tt !wit wile wits bionglil to be buried, AI intim' Hey kes, an attuiney, John SinlinOlis,one of the bearers, and Iteejantin mh, r : is, were called to prove that the retrial was brought* St. Andrew's, chinch on the I tali of Jeer; that no riot had been coniiiht:ed by the plaint if: and tIOII the pl.antiti m. as committed to the Comfit ei about nine o'clock Oil the evening of the teutla of .11111 C, and detained them fin 12 o'clock the next day. William Bererford, the clerk of the sitfing was then called to prove the chat ce pieleised before toe magistrate at (i11114.111A11. 011111.46 W SIIIiIII, John Melts, sexton of the parish, George Coe ley, beadles, John ialinotis, Chat les ii hand Saticoy, beadle. hobe,t Smell, and Ali xmider pas ishimiers, wen; tailed to ploys: that the plaintiff had be en guilty of in.icus conduct. Mr. Seat lett ripped jar an eltmment speech. The Land thief-J mince obsei keit, in slimming up the evidence, that the delimilant was a eliurchwoiden, as such !hat his Jill isdietion was coolined in the I' 11116 ell yard. The iptesitim on which the race turned was, te be ater the plaintiff a as, lit the time he was sent to the Couipter, uny disturbance in the church-)arel, or inciting others to du so. The Jury would confine theinselees to the evidvnee, and hot allow tliethstlet.% to bl cart itrtl away by the clognei.ec or the set y learned enamel they had now heard. Much had been said wt the • • THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Slibieet Of intrrrili in iron but that µa+ a stil)icct entirety of ecclesiastical, anti not of temporal eogni- The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff—damages ICO.. costs 40s. LIBEL—CLEARY I'. STOODA RT. This was an action brought by Mr. Cleary, the advocate for Reform, against Dr. Studdart, Edward Quinn, anti ----- Mitchell. editor, winter, and publisher of: the Neer Times, for the publication of an a'leged libel. The declaration charged the defendants with publishing in the above Paper, of the 28111 of November, ISIS, a letter, imputing that the plaintid had been guilty of a crime not to he mentioned, &e. The letter was addressed to Sir Francis Burdett, and signed Henry Hunt. Mr. Brougham, on the side of the plaintiff, stated the case to the jury. Ile described the libel to be one of great malignity, calling on the jury to give damages. It exceeded in sting any thing of the kind he his h ever ex. perks's:ed. The plaintiff was a young man, a r.-spertable Membrr of the Law. He. was a Conveyancer, and one cf the Members of the Inner Temple; be .vas in that situation likely to be known to the Editor of the " Noe Vines," Mr. Cleary was an Irishman, and it was almost unnecessary to ret aa iaa d the jury, that the crime with %%1001 he was charged was unknown to the natives of Ireland. He was charged with practices so vile and tomato; ol that Mr. Brougham could not enlarge on them, Hs understood it was to hr said of this coarse libel, that it watt ulr. Hunt's libel, and not Dr. Stoddart's. Admit ting it to be written by Hunt, it would be no answer in law to the action. Mi. Brougham concluded by call. jug i James Mallison, front the Stamp Office, who prodirced 1 the New Tim:s of the 28th of November, 1818. The let- I ter of Hunt was then pot in and read ; it was dated the 221 of kpril. It began by complaining of the condoict of Sir Francis Burdett, at the Crown and Anchor Ta vern; then alluded to the letter fi om Cobbett, and ac cused Mr. Cleary of forgery. He called Min by the name of " the kept come-pti.itress." Mr. John Wright ,aid, he had known Mr Cleary for some time. He knew there was such a person as Henry limit. The letter which Mr. Cleaty was accused of tinging was written by Cobbett. Cleary and Hunt had been writing letters to each other.—He never 'heard it said that Mr. Cleary was living with a mistress. Mr. Scarlett then addressed the Jury for the defendant. The alleged libel was not written by Dr. Stoddatt. It was Mr. Hunt's libel, and the plaintiff had omitted bringing his action against Mr. Hunt for the sole purpose of press ing heavy damages against the New limes. As well might Agamemnon, Achilles, and other Grecian heroes, com plain of old Homer (if' the parties were living) for libels uttered against them by Thersites. Hunt was the person of whom the plaintiff might to complain, and nut Dr. Stoddart. Mr. Scarlcit then contended, that the meaning the plaintiff had affixed to the letter was a false construction—the words kept most mistress implied that the plaintiff was admired by ladies, and in the habit of receiving pecuniary gifts from than. Dr. Stoddart at' inched no other meaning to the letter; be would have been the last niau to publish the letter had he supposed it would convey any other meaning, The charge the plain tiff endeavoured to set up never was made. He contended that the Jury ought in candour to dud a verdict for the ' defendant. The Chief Justice summed up the case, and said, be was of opinion, lookiug at the declaration, that unless the Jury were of col )i )) iou it was the intention of the Editor and Publisher of The New Times to impute to Mr. Cleary nonatural practices, the defendants ttttt st have their ver. diet. The plaintiff knew the letter to be written by Hunt, and it could not be disguised that he preferred bringing his action against the Editor of the Paper, rather Than ag ainst Huai. Under all the circumstances , the Jury had to ask themselves whether the meaning was that which the plaintiff had imputed. If it was, the plaintiff was entitled to their verdict, and they would give I' such damages as the case required. The Jou y retired horn the box at four o'clock, and at six o'clock sent a letter, stating, that they could not agree. The letter was read by the Judge Associate, who commu nicated to the parties. One party was willing to with draw a Jmor, but the other would nut, and a comu ttttt ice lion of that 'fact was made to the Jury. After eight o'clock the Jury came into Court, and found a verdict fur the plaintiff—Damages 1001. MAGENNIS AND BRUCE. Bruce, it is still expected, will not be executed. The firmness which he displayed on receiving sen tence, still remains to him. Placed in the awful situation in which lie stands, no man could behave better. He imputes no blame to those who doom him to death, but he calmly declares, that, sustained by conscious innocence, his solitary cell has no hor rors for him. His spirits, he says (he knows not how it is`, ore good, and God is ever with him. He speaks of his execution, not with levity or bravado, but with perfect calmness, and humble resignation. —Here a strong interest, not a factious one, is ex cited for him, a petition is preparing to be presented to the Judge in his behalf, which, it is hoped, added to the several circumstances which have ap peared in his favour, and the propriety of his con duct on the present occasion, will save him from the fate which he at present anticipates. firtitade which Magennis exhibited on his trial has altogether forsaken him, and he now appears profoundly penitent. He is busily em pluyed in writing a memoir of his life, which he places in the hands of a Mr. Keeling, and which v. ill, with copious notes, be published as soon as the execution is over. Mr. Ke , iing, who has seen hint at different periods during his con.inelaent, says, that Magenuis is a man of strung eaparit : ', and that he has evidesitly read, with atu•ation, many theological and metophysical works. Upon his first c onfinement I,e affected great sanctity, and said, that he had been a class-lender of the Methodists; babstoiwattly, how- • ever, he declared that he had been all the while masking his real opinions, and vehemently denied the existence of a God and the possibility of a future state, which tenets he maintained with the greatest firmness until sentence had been pronounced. He had an interview on Wednesday with Birch, at which he said, " Birch, I intended to shoot you ; but the ball which wounded you was intended fur Mr. Lloyd, of Stockport," the agent for the prose cution. He then added, " I merely considered you both, as troublesome people, who stood in the way, and interfered with my plans; and the sooner you quitted the face of the earth the better. But then I thought there was no heaven, nor no God ; but I have come to a belief now, and I would nut commit a murder for the world." _ _ _ The following letter has been addressed by Ma. Bennis to Mary Jones, Union Street, Stockport:— " April 11, 1820. " DEAR Fitiesins,—This comes to take my last fare well of you all, and I hope you will look on my last dying words of advis is the last, yes, the last of all. My friends, you all know well that my principles has been the cause of my death. You all know that I have denied the future rewards and punishments due to sin. Yes, strove to make as many infidels as I could. Yon have been eye witness to my tearless principles. You know that I feared neither God or man. My dear friends, lam happy to think . b at lam hear. I hope it will be a blessing to both you and me : let these words I am going to tell you, strack your kart and soul with delight,and when you hear . them believe it is true. I will tell yon no falsity now. After I was sentence to death I come out of the Court laughing, thinking I would be soon quiet. Thinking that . both soul and holly would be soon dead, all that grieved me was to think that a innocent man should suffer for my transgressions. My dear friends, I come into my sill, and in a little after a man come into me, and begun to speak to me about my soul. I laughed at him. He asked to play by me, but I told Imo I wanted 110 priestcraft about sue. He reasoned very fatly, and said he was no priest, and got me to consent to kneel down; lie prayed and pointed out Christ to me home. I have oftentimes denied in such a manlier that I ' begun to have a doubt of my own principals. After lie went wit of my sill, I neeled down at my bed side, and asked God for pardon, if I was sorry, and begged for the truth. My dear friends 1 said Ito more, for I was speechless. I fat down on my face to the ground ; and if ' ever Christ was revealed to man, he was revealed to me. I see the necessity of Christ. I see the. future rewards and punishments. I seen as it were Ilell gaping for Itle, and all this time I did not speak a word.— deluded that Day on the ground, for I dare say an hour in 1 was seized with such a horror to (Wok I had been so far such a state of madness as was most shocking to see; the tears run down my hardened check ; I sicd and Ironed, and seed all my sins before me. So my dear , friends, rejoice to think that God has been so kind to me, to reveal himself to such a Ratch nt the last boors.— My dear friends, trifle no longer. Look to me. Look to yourselves. Disbelieve no longer. Pray to God sincerely, for the truth. Pray for me, and think it a blessing that aaa eisior to everlasting happiness. If think of coming for my body again Saturday, I could wish you to bring me some old close to be executed in. I could wish you to have my close to; keep them in remembrance of me, and when you see them think on met Dunt grieve for me. Rejoice for my desease. and think of meeting Inc in everlasting bliss. You will have one thing to do fur me, and dont fail to do it, and that is, to pay Andrew Manson the sum of thirty shillings. You may pay them as you chase. He will ' take it at a shilling a time. Then my friends, I will dy happy. I stud my love to Mary Galamore, and to the other two men. and to all my friends, both small and great, and :takes pardon of those I have led astray by my false doctrine. So adue, adue, remember me. " JACOB 31 A GENN IS." LO NOON SESSIONS: Tuesday these Sessions commenced before the Lord Mayor, the Common Serjeant, Aldermen amiville, Glynn, Birch, Leighton, and Nlagnay. SEDITIOUS PLACARDS.—Thoinus Daehoo, a pub lisher of political pamphlets, who wa. some time ago convicted before the late Lord Mayor (Alderman At kins) of having printed bills relating to toe Address passed at the first Smithfield Meeting without being - duly licensed as a printer, amid fined 201. appealed against the cenviction. The COUIIIIOII Serjeaut state4l, that all the facts were admitted, and that the dekliditill was liable to the penalty, which it was, however, in the power of the Court to mitigate. The conviction was confirmed, and the full penalty demanded. The costs were remitted. ' Mr. Davison asked For time. 'file Act directs that the penalty be paid before the rising of the Court. Mr. Davison, publisher, of Duke-street, West Smith field, was arrested on Friday et ening by a Tipstaff of the King's Bench upon a JittfAe's fiat, for publishing a Was- Ominous hoe% coittaiiied in a monthly publication, called The Dthe's Maguzine. The officers ciitiveyetl their pri soner to Giltspor-street Conquer. Several of Mr. Da vison's friend; npldied (urine tile evening to he admit: ed to see him, hut were refused admission. The prosecu tion is at the instance of the Society tar the Suppression of Vice. - - -- • A machine has been completed at New York, for sweeping the streets of that town It performs the work of -10 men, and not only 3weeps the streets, but collects the dirt into heaps to be carried away. Such a machine is much wanted in England. On Monday night last two women, at Paris, one a cook, the other a chamber-maid, committed sui cide, by shutting themselves in a room, and pro ducing suffocation .with brimstone. Several letters were laid on the table, which led to the utotive for the desperate act