The National Register. — London, England, 1816-07-07 00:00:00

JULY 7. ral Lent tieorge Beresford arts and the arl of Beetive defendant, for ci iminal conversation with the pla tiffs wife. Judgment was suffered to go by default, and the plaintiffs damages were laid at 30,0901. Mr. Corn mut read the declaration. Mr. Serjeant Best opened the Case ; and, after stating g ene. rally to the Jury the various considerations which they were bound to take into their inquiry in cases a this kited, namely, tke rank of the parties, the terms on whieh the husband and wife lived, and the nature of the seduction, proceeded to state hat was the rank of the parties in this particular case. The plaintiff was the soil of the Marquis of Waterford, the defend aut the son of the Marquis of Headfort, and the heir to large estates in Ireland. The former was a Major-General in the army, and had been married to the lady who was one of the un fortunate parties whose conduct cud .ted the present inquiry. By her he had I children, 3 of whom were now alive, and all danehtere. When he mentioned that those now unfortunate children were all females, it was obvious that he did so to !thew what timid be the situation of their father, tea find therm, by an art of seduction, deprived of the person on whom their educa tion the more particularly devolved, and thi single waren he had a right to capect that hereafter they should ,e introduced into life. In the last case in which he was COW , !sled in that Coma, there 'night have been Annie doubts cast as to who was the se deicer. In the present these could be none; t.r ice hail befine him a letter in the defendant's hand-writing. which clearly at fuelled that base art upon him. Lord George Bet t +ford and the Earl of Beetive, together a itia their respective femilies, had befit on terms of the closest intimacy. 'Flee former was, in the course of the last summer, absent with his In igaile in France. While there, he was laurelled that Lady George had become deranged iu her intellects. This intimation induced him, with. oat delay, to return home. Her Ladyship, on the birth of her first enild, had sittl'ered en indisposition of this kind; and he, of course, suspected that her present illness arose from a similar cause. It wit deemed advisable that lie should not see her Ladyship at once, lest the shock of the visit might increase her fever. It needn't , ' however, necessary that he should lay his hands upon some faatily papers, tie• which purpose he took possession of the keys that his wife had previously held. In pur suing this search, to his surprise and agony lie found a letter from Earl Bective to Lady George Beret:ford, which clearly ea pond the nature of the intercourse that hail subsisted between them. The Learned Serjeant here proceeded to read this let ter, which was es ithout date. It is as follows : " The unmeaning levity with which I spoke to you yesterday, though foreign to my heart, has made every hour since we parted up p ar an age, and other thoughts rushing on my mind have contributed to make me unhappy. Can you love me, whom you say you do not underannel? Want of confidence must diminish love. in you, my dearest Berrien, I have the most perfact confidence; it was not a speech I felt at heart when I said you might, in my absence, flirt with another : no man, presumptuous, confident, artful as he might be, would dare to think you lightly won. lam stink in melancholy despair, lest sophis try even induce you to think lightly of a crime, which I pray Heaven nn consideration whatever may ever lead you to commit with another. When i think what you have saeritical for me. the peace of mind you have toff iced, that recollection alone, independent of my love, my adoration for you, would titter me from inconstancy. Curses on the character some have given toe, but not undeservedly. I have been a profligate, deceitful, and inconstant, but never to a bring like my Har nett. Woman is tort and gentle as the mould in which she is formed. till man destroys Ow beauteous work. To you were it possible to be tresehemus, my creme would he enormous. I have this feeling to wards,you, that if the world, the London world, suspected one-tenth part of the affection I bear you, it should deem it impossible for my thoughts to he distracted for an instant from you to another woman.— &arch now that bonen, and question whether it loves Deceive as well as once he flattered himself it did, and still flatters himself it does. Has no feeling of pique within the last three weeks lessened that regard? —.I am interrupted, perhaps you arc not sorry for it.—Farewell. my love—My only love—only cherish my affectien until you find me un worthy of it. and I will perish sooner than give you reason to withdraw your regard." The Learned .Serjeant, after eloquently dwelling upon the enormity of the crime of seduction, and pointing out the pe culiar features it bore in the present case, front the intimacy ..itetween the parties. concluded by stating, that he felt he had established the tact of commission a :Athol by the preceding letter, and he would follow it up by producing evidence of the affectionate terms on which Lord George Beresford and his Lady lived antecedent to this seduction. Sir Richard Crofts fated, that he i 5.1411 accouehenr end knew Lord George Heresford and his wife, who lived on the best pos sible terms with each other. He attended Lady George on her first accouchement, after which she was affected in her mind, which is not unusual in such a situation. He on that, and every other occasion, observed the warm affection of Lord George to his Lady. In the month of A iteuet Iteet Lord George was ab road " with his regiment. He returned, however, and came to witness's bower before he went to Harley-street. He never saw a man in his life more distressed at the situation of his Lady. Cross-examined.—He cold.' not say whether he heard from Lord George Iteresforel that the Lady had beets mentally ill before her marriage. Her illness with her first child continued for several months ; and this last indisposition was a long time after the birth of the second child. The Marquis of Cholmondeley was acquainted for more than four years with Lord George and Lady Beresford ; they had been on a visit with Ithn at his seat in Norfolk; on which, as well us on either occasions, they up; eared to Ilse perfectly well together. He saw nothing to the contrary. Cenas-examined.—lfis Lordship's house was then full of cons pany. The Earl of Arran watt a relative of Lord George Baresford, and lie lead repeated intercourse with his family. Lord Genesi and his Lady appeared to live in great domestic happine..s. Welter Jones, Esq.,,is a first cousin of time Iterestord family, and spoke in the same manner as the last witness, of the domes tics happiness of the parties. Colonel ilryilges is Lord George's hrother-in.law„ and spoke or the exemplary conduct of Lord George as a husband, and his wife appeared equal) s affectionate. In his crossexamimation he slid he did not believe his Lord ship to be a gay man. The case here closed on the part of the plaintiff. Al r. Se rj.Vaugb an felt the weight of the dirty impend mem him in this case, after the colouring which his Learned Friend's evi dence had given to it. lie could not, however, concisr with him in thinking that the high rank of the parties was one of the circumstances which aggravated the present matter at issue; for moiety it was to insult the feelings of the plaintiff to imagine that pecuniary compensation could repair his wound ed honour. Realties. he meld never. as a general proposition, exclude the middling and loner ranks of society from their Pharr of claint, when their domestic facity Muesli happen to be violated. In this case, as indeed all others of the same complexion, it was not the conduct of the defendant that was alone to be inquired into: the plaintiff must also abide his trial; he must chew that he :Mewled, as he was hound to do, to the happiness nod comfort of his wife, and that he left her to ground of complaint in the interconrse of private lute. On Cis point, as his Leaped Friend bad said on a former occa- THE NATIONAL REGISTER' sibs, the absence of some witnesses spoke more eloquently than the presence of others. Great and illustrious person ages were caned to prove—.what—why nothing more than that L'ird Geor:m and his lady—that persons of their rank and breeding, had never quarrelled together in public company. Why a ere not the members of the family called ? Where was Ne nu titer or sister of the plaintiff? Dr. Croft, indeed, speaks of their domestic affection t but he was only a professional visitor, and had only seen them when the Lady was on the bed of sickness, and at a moment when a man must have men a Mute indeed, if he did not behave with kindnes. towards a p.rson so placed. But where, he would ask, were the see saws? Had, in fact, any testimony been given from those who must have seen the terms on which the pinny lived in private life, to shew that the Lady had a right to feel herself' at all times- - "Safest and seemliest by her linsbival's side?" The Learned Counsel. after commenting upon the circum stance that the Lady's indisposit ion was by no means attributable to the defend.int's net, she having been subject to her malady long befbre her marriage, proceeded to comment on the extreme youth of the Earl of liectiye and the little probability, from the good lierltO of his father, Of his inheriting any property f o r number of %Tars. He concluded by stating, that the case was altlgether free from any particular aggravation, and the Jury %%mild, he trusted, give their verdict accordingly. 'rite Deputy Sheriff ;lien summed up the evidence to the Jury, who retired for *bout ten minutes, and returned a verdict of Ten Thoußnod Poynds Danmges for the Plaintiff*. [Lady Beresfo d, who still remain! , in a state of mental de r oilmen', is, we understand, extremely beautiful. She was born in 19t36, and was inarrietr about eight yea's back. The Earl of itemise is an agreeable ,coung man, and was born in the same year with her Ladyship ; lie is son to the Marquis of Headfort.] POLICE. —oar— MANSIO N -NOUS E. Yesterday John Lyons, a character long designated npon the town as the " Prince of Wales," was finally examined, charged with robbing a gentleman named Noses, of his watch, seals, \c., on Monday evening last. The °Hence was committed in Ilishopsgate ; and the prisoner, who was seen drawing the watch horn the pocket of the prosecutor, being pursued, con. trived to knock down five of the officers who attempted to seize him. Sapwell, however, an athletic constable, passing at the moment, extended his arms and secured him in an almost exhausted condition. A holy accidentally passing, saw the prisoner throw away the watch, lie was fnity committed for trial. Joseph PoHand was also fully committed, charged with violently assaulting Miss Anne Sander.ett, and ro►bing her of her shawl, about a fortnight since, in New-street, Bishopsgate. The proceentrix eras most inhumanly treated on the occa aion in question being beat and bruised its all parts of her body, and so injured, that she had been in an hospita: for nearly a fortnight, and is yet in a dangerous state. GUILDHALL. Yesterday, Susan Lockwood was Nil , / committed for trial, charged with franokilently obtaining, and applying to her own certain sums of motley, the property oilier employer, Mr. Illeudon,olShoreditch. ROW-STREET. Monday, G. Thorpe, and T. Thorpe his nephew, were charged on suspicion of having broke open the house of Mr. W. Franklin, at lver, in conjunction with two others. It appeand, that the chamber door of Mr. Franklin was burst open ; when two men disg uised entered, armed with pistols, who threatened Mr. F. and his wife that it' they MIMIC the least noise they would shoot them, and then covered them over with the bed clothes, and took bank-notes and silver to the amount of about al.; when one of them said he must have some of his rusty guineas, as he knew he had got plenty of them, a relation of Mr. Franklin having told him he had got 800 in the house; and having found the keys in Mrs. F.'s pocket, he went to search for them, leav ing his companion to guard Mr. and Mrs. F. Soon after Mr. F. hearing . the fellow at the place where the money was depositesl, he sud denly lumped up, wrested the pistol from the sentinel, gave him several blows with the but-end. and ran down stairs amidst the rubbers (four in wimber); when a scat& ensued ; during which one of the vil lains find, but missed his aim and shot one of his companions, who exclaimed, " Let us be off, for I am properly done for;" when they accordingly retreated. The scene had such an effect on Mrs. F. and • her two female servants, that they jumped out of window in their night-clothes, by which Mrs. F. had a leg broken; but the servants escaped without material injury. At the time the two villains entered Mr. F.'s chamber, the other two went into a room in which Mr. Pon tifex, of Shoe-lane, brother-in-law to Mr. F. was sleeping, whom they confined in a similar nix ner.„ till he was nerdy suffocated, and robbed him of 91. in hank notes. Mr. F. displayed the shirt he had on at the time, which was literally covered with blood, which flowed from the fellow who was shot, he being engaged in a contest with him at the time. Both Mr. F. and Mr. P. swore to Thomas Thorp being one of the mflions. Mr. F. had known him for years, he being a resident at lyre; but they were not so cleat as to G. ThOrr. The former was, therefore, Billy committed, orel the latter remanded. It was suspected one of the robbers was a woman. The whole came in a one horse cart. :‘l.‘R 1 MO ROUG 11-ST R VET. Monday J. Smith and Ann Johnson. the latter a gorpsoy, was charg ed with rubbing J. Britten. a discharged seaman, of a suit of clothes and 91. .1. Branen stated, that on Saturday he, in company with his brother-in-law and another young man, went to Broker's-alley. 'Drury-lane, to buy a mangle, a bed and some chairs; and having got rather inebriated, they were inveigled hy !some girls into a boire in Charles-street. Drury-lane, which is kept by the moaner Smith; when they scot out foe some porter and ham and hest Soon after Johnson came into the room, under pretence of telling fortunes. and stayed there several hours. About 11 o'clnrk the landlady insisted upon their going out of the house. This the prosecutor refused to do; and suer using much scurrility she went away, faking with her most of the bed clothes, and muttering threats. Branen hay across one of the beds, and his brother-in-law fell asleep in a chair, in which state they eon tinitA until about two o'clock in the morning; when they were awakened. by a great mdse. i.nd immediately after the door was burst open, and the prisoner Smith, attended by about a dozen nthern. male and female, assaulted them in si most butte! manner, pinioning limmm to the bed and kneeling on his breast; and in all probability would have killed one of them. had not the watchmen come to their assisamce, headed by Jefferson. the Police Officer, and took them to the watA-house where the fortune-teller was, in custody. vyth the pro ' secutor's jacket ;rid trowscrs tied up in a handkerchivf.witl which she was stopped in Plurntree street by one of the watchmen. Smith said, in his deferce, so far from using any violence, he went up stairs to gull a riot which had ly_m made by the parties; and called one of his lodgers as a witness, who said he heard not the least noise, all the parties being waren—They . were remanded. J. Read, a habenladier, in Rathbone-'.lace, was charged with as !milting Sarah Sadler, hk servant. The ir-sseentrix delayed. that some m onths sinc e , the iletendant. who wastpiarrelling with his a ifs, struck her a violent blow nn the head, which shinned her, for having lighted a fire at her mistrsQ's desire, which he had imixted should not be done. (hi the day following she became addicted with a giddiness and violent pains in the heed, which grew worse. She was at length obliged to go into the Midilltsmat Hospital, where she had two setons cut in the neck, andunderwent many ~.her surgical operations, but wiCanit eff.vt; the Medial Gentkmaca bekoging to the Hospital havieg ail 17S declared her to be incurable, and that the disorder in her head arose solely from the violence of the blow. The defendant was ordered to find sureties. W. Cook, the driver of the hackney-coach No. RI. was charged by Mr. De Chemant, of Frith.-treet, with assaulting him in his house. The complainant had engaged the coach to take him to St. Paul's and hack; for which he offered him Ss. but Coachee demanded Gs. 6d.; complainant then offered him 4s. saying he had only paid three the day previous. The defendant liken/ion made use of the most abusive language, struck him several blows, and refused to have the house until he was actually forced out by the servants. The Magistrate convicted him in the full penalty of 101.; which not being able to pay, he was committed to Tothil-tields Bridewell for two months. To prove that illicit distillation is increasing in Ireland, eves under the present severe system, it is but necessary to ex amine the Clerk of the Crown's certificate of the informations returned to the last Assizes, the county of Donegal, for miss demeanors, being about double the number at the former Assizes. About la,oool. were imposed at the last Assizes, and the gaol was so crowded, there being five persons for every cell (intended for two at most), that the apprehension of lies. tilential disease induced the Judge to leave above 59 persona untried, because he had no prison to confine them in —the only punishment be could inflict. I n the gaols of Omagh and Derry, it was equally bail, and the increase of prisoners even vreater, there being seven to each eell in o.nagli. Such are the consequences of those laws which punish the innocent for the guilty! In a more retired part of the county, the ease of widow Itroomliall, a respectable woman. npwa,rils of 80 y e a r s old, seems particularly affecting. This anotlending widow, whose age ought to base protected her, after being twice or three times distrained, and her cattle sold, for an offence in the town bind, of which she was as entirely ignorant, as incapable o: preventing, was again stripped of the remainder of her little property, and her house plundered of every article it contained, even to her small pittance of oatmeal and poratoek, and to the most trifling utensil. Nuts% ithstanding which, a fourth time the Collector of Fines came to her house with sol diers. She pleaded in vain to spare her a bed, on which her only child, a sick dau,:hter, lay ; but that indulgence she could not obtain, without paying him 121. which completed ll* slim of 2001. thus extorted from her in the course of twelve months. __ _ . _ ....... Saturday se`nnight, the wife of John Turley, bailifi. at Shelve Farm, Lenham, was safely delivered of three fine female chil dren, which were baptized, by the Rev. Brooke Edward Bridges, after Jobs three daughters, Jernima, Kerla, and Kereml:appneli—we suppose in intimation that this was a visitation which required a considerable portion of Job's patience. The cause of the fire at Mr. Dunkin's, in Aldersgate-street, last week, still continues enveloped in mystery. Thursday, Mr. Dunkin complained to the Lord Mayor at the Matisim.- Hottqe, that insinuations of a most prejudicial Hanna., had been throwu out and "imitated against Wash—His Lordship said, he was anxious and willing to devote his time to further investi• gation, if any evidence could he produced; but it was impossi ble for him either to prevent or take cognizance of insinuations or reports, however prejudiefal. A writ of inquiry was executed on Tuesday, at the Gnildhaß in Poole, in an action for defamation brought by Mr. It. Wills, jun. against S. Johnson; the latter charged Mr. Wills with a detestable crime, vi Melt was proved to be a complete fabrica tion, and totally void of truth. The Jury found for the plains tiff--One Thousand Pomo!' Damages. Tuesday,~ morning last the Brecoultill telegraph, near Os prime, aaidentally caught tire, and was burnt down, notwith.- standing every exertion was made to save it. On Sunday afternoon a dreadful accident happened in Queen's row Brampton. A boy, about three years old, named Leacha having been left at play in the garden, unfortunately found his way to the privy, and fell through the seat. About ten minutes elapsed before the shocking cause of his disappearance was discovered; and, when extricated, the poor infant was quite dead. Mr. Anderson, a surgeon. for a long period, tried every means to restore animation, but in vain. 'file following melancholy accident happened a few days since :—As Mr. J. Limes, a respectable brewer, of Harpenden, Hems, was attending the brewery, and giving instructions to his men, lie imprudently leaned against a temporary rail over the mash-toll ; when it gave way, and precipitated him into the boiling liquid; he survived, in excruciating pain, only three hours. Mrs. Lines was from home, and did not arrive in time to see her husband :dive. fell into a vat of boiling liquor, at the. brewhatise of Messrs. Young and Co. of Norwich, and was so miserably scalded that be expired the next morning. On Tuesday J. Sharp fell down in the street in Leeds, and immedi ately expired. Ile had been dragging a cart, and it is supposed his. violent exertions were the owatsion of his death. The Duke of Beaufort met with an accident Friday se'nnight. which providentially was not attended with tbtal exinsequences. Ile had mounted, at his own dour in Grosvenor square, a favourite horse, high in blood; the twined suddenly reared up, and fell backwards. the Duke underneath. ilia t ;race, on being removed into the house, was imme diately bled by a Simseen, and put to bed. No bones were brokers ; but his Grace complains much of his ribs. Tuesday forenoon a bricklayer's labourer, of the name of David Shaw,, employ,sl at the building of the Institution, Moor-tishls, fell from the scaflithl, two stories high ; by which imeident his head was fractured, and he was otherwise so shoskinaly bruised as to be taken to St. Bar tholomew's hospital, where he lingered till Wednesday, when he ex pired. A melancholy act Meet happened on Tuesday last at Plymouth. As Rnowling, a fisherman belonging to Torpoint, and his two mns, were fishing bimetal Hameln:ad arid Penletspoint, a heavy sea earsteed the boat, which they sweeeded in regaiuing, but were earns washed off. and sunk to rise no more. A fire brnkc out about six &clock on Thureday sennight, on the premise. of Mr. Leach, of Barrowelvn, near Wallin]. which Vitally de stroyed the house, and the greater part of the furniture; happily no lives were lost. The cause of this dreat.bil accident is unknown. On Wednesday night last, a barge Laren with sante. belonaing to Mr. Gouge Poolly, of Maidstone, was untintunanly sunk in tl c Mid way. at Pincup, in Leng Reach, near Gillingham ; and the calamity wss dreadfully angmented by the less tit two men and a woman. (the wife of one of the men) who were en. board at the time of the accident; it is summed that these throe poor creatures were wiarimsl in sleep at the moment of the cowl going dawn, and only *eked when escape wee impossible. They were ull young. and the man and his wife 1 been married but a few montha. The unfortunate accident is auributol to the heavy rain els Wednesday night, which was absorbed by the stone, and by adding to its weight sent her to the bottom. Tuesday's Gazate coatained a proalarnation oaring a re •a7d r f Yin guineas for the apprehension et the persons who, with blacked. entered on Friday seastight the faatory of Messrs. /teethe.% t and Beaten, at Loaghborough. in the county at Leicester, lac traria lecturers. and. atter waunding on; of the servants (a pew!) in the said premises, demolished every frame in the buil din g , destroyed all the lace, aad did other damage. A shower of hail destroyed. on the 10 th of June, on the left lank of the Dann'ie. near Munich in Bavaria, all ill, hops of the agricultunst within a envie of to leagues. in the night bstwcen the 13th Aral Itaa. there a as in the environs of Bamberg so terrible a fall of rain, that d • fields belonging to 17 village; were entinly laid waste. Hon!rals of cattle penslied, several houses were , cried the n . latuatainf, ante 15 C.,it L.sa,