The Statesman. — London, England, 1818-04-06 00:00:00

r .~.,,.. r :--.. ~~ • . FURTIIIat PA . lenetiCAßT' OF' THE DISC CHA RT. Y AND ma AribitifsHENSlON OP o'4m Bott•rettrr.—Tba two men iilsded to in oar, t egoolot on Saterday,, Who went to Deddington on T we dsy night to the house of Poulton, from Woo{., Vercot, slept there, end gate Mr. Poulton informs t i q n,.that they were in pursuit of Charles Ilstssey. 2 .l Their description of his person was the cause of. Its being fresh in the recollection of Mr. Poniton when Charles Homey passed his house, and caused him to puree* and take him in Deddington, on his retorts from the farm-yard, the men from Woolvercot , having: told Mr. Poulton they had no doubt of Charles Hassey being in that cart of the country, as be had twee seen but a few miles off, as late as Suudoy or Monday . night. It was owing, indeed!, to• oust of the men at Woolvercot that Charles Hassey was originally suspected to be the man advertised. — Hussey, there is no doubt, was wandering about from place to place, without having any object in view. • .On the eminent .Saturday se'nnight Hussey at. I "rived at Woolvercot; a village but a short distance from ()afoul, where he had been. which was sacer. tained by his bill at an inn being found upon him. — lie went into a public-house at Woolvercot, which is 'kept by one of thp men who went to Deddington in pursuit of him, and gave the information respecting him to Mr. Poulton. At that public-house he asked if be could be accommodated with a bad, Which the landlord lamented he could not do. Hussey a pvear. ed much disappointed, saying he wished to remain in the village during the next day; a butcher of that place, who happened to be present at the time of the conversation, voluntarily offered to accommodate 1101%7 with a bed at his house, whit., he accepted and slept there on that night. At that time the land. land of the public-house, and the butcher, suspected Horsey to he e Collegian from Orford, he having a very respectable appearance. lie returned to the public-house to breakfast on the Sunday morning, and remained there during that day ; in the course of it he took nut of his pocket a gold ring, which the landlord by chance happened to look at, and oh. served the inscription on it " To the memory of sit children." In the infesting Ilus4ey presented a 11.1 Bank-note to the landlord to pay the amount of his bill, which the landlord declined taking, having ob., served several of his acts and his conversation to he, mysterious. Hussey then offered to sell him a pair of ear-rings, which the landlord declined purchasing. Hussey then proposes: leaving the ear-rings as a security for the payment of the amount of his bill, till became there on the Wednesday.fullowing, he being going to Oxford, which the landlord agreed to, and kiussey left the house, saying he was going to Ox ford. In a short time aferwards a neighbour of the publican going into his house, observed that he had had been out of the village, and had just returned, and that he had met a respectable looking man walking, dressed in blsck, and on describing his person, the landlord had no doubt that it was the same man who had just left his house. In conversation with his neighbour respecting him, he learnt that instead of his being gone towards Oxford, he was walking the contrary way. It then occurred to him, that he was liussey, who had been advertised to be apprehended as the murderer and robber of Mr. Bird, and hie housekeeper, at Greenwich. Ile referred to a news paper in which the advertisement appeared for his ap prehension, where he found the description exactly corresponded with the man who had been at his house ; he then started in pursuit of him, a.c companied by a neighbour of the name of Clarke. — They went in various direction', but without success, and returned to Woolvercot, when Mr. Clarke de clined accompanying him any more. The landlord Mien promised the lath-render to go /shit him. They beard of a man, answering the description of Hussey, baying slept on the top of a bean rick, and the laud lord had no doubt of his being the man who had been at his house, but he could gain no more direct information respecting him. From the information he bad received, he had a suspicion that Hussey was gone to Banbury, anti on their way to that town they stopped at the house of Mr. Poulton, at Dad. dington, as already mentioned. 011 their return from Banbury, they called at Mr. Poulton's house at Deddiugtun ; at that time Mr. Poulton had got ilussey in custody, and the landlord from Woolver cot identified Hussey as the man who hail been at his house on Saturday night and Sunday, and who he and the lath-render were in pursuit of ; these men were present when Hussey was searched at Ded dington, anti the gold ring with the inscription " To the memory of six childieu"—not being found on him, which the landlord of the public-house at "Woolvercot had seen him take out of his pocket when he was at his house, he enquired of, Hussey what he had done with it, to which he replied he had sold it ; but on his being questioned and cross esamined by Mr. Churchill, attorney of Deddington, be acknowledged that his statement of having sold it was false, and •he had thrown it down the •privy at the King's Arms Tap, where it was found. The ear.rings which Hussei left with the landlOrd of the public-house at Woo vercot, as a security for .the eulogist of his bill, and which I.e promised to redeem on his return from Oxford last Wednesday •to Woolvercot, are strongly suspected to be the property of the murdered Mary Simmons. However Fortune may he arraigned for her fickle ness, ww think to Bisu she has been most constant ; his sales in former bitteries are convincing proofs of this, to which it would seem she is \bout to superadd some still more steady marks of her attachment :—on the first day of the present Lottery he sold more than a third of all the Capitals that were then drawn, and upon the second day nearly half, amongst which was the only Prise of 130,000 then drawn. Thursday next will be the last day, when the remaining 37 Ca pitals must come forth, amongst which are Two of 230,000. In a former Lottery thin contained Three Prises of 130,000, it will be remembered that Bra sold them all, and that then the first was drawn (as now) epos the second day. ibersday night some villains broke into the elleighter-hosse of Mr. William Lindus, butcher, of 22, South Crescent Mews, cut up the carcase of a balleek, sad stole about 20 storm of beef ) with which ably got off oodiscoTered. . pliorowm.gs.m 7 : . 41. it _ L4NCASThR LENT 438113E5: ORFORD V. COLt, 041. , Mr. PARR. stated, that the Plaintiff in this 11100 was Mary Alice Orford, and the Defendant, Thomas 'Better Cole, Eaq. The declaration set forth, thiti in consideration the Plaintiff would promise to sherry the Defendant, •'tie, the Defendant, undertook to merry the Plaintiff, bet that, instead of s• thing, he had married another women. The Defendant pleaded the - general issue. Mr.•Totrzxa said he had the honour to ttlentrao Counsel for the Plaintiff in this cause; the nature of which the Jury had heard from the statement made by his Learned Friend Mr. PIA ; and if be should feel,a difliculty•ttt the opening of the cause, it would , : wise, he hoped, from no Imprnper or blamable feel ing. lie had known the family of which the Plain tiff was a part—he had known it frees his earliest youth, and that knowledge had continued to•ihis day. Of the Plaintiff he had no personal know ledge; hut from the accounts given him, he had no doubt that she well maintained the credit and re- spectability of the- family In which she belonged. She *as a lady of the '29; she was, the daughter of a person whom he had kdown in early life—Mr. Orford, a surgeon of real' respectability and . chs racter, who had *lived many yeers in IVarrington: her father was a melt in restentive business, sad whe had besides considerabfiteal and personal property. She was one of fear children. In 1810, her father died, and his widow*, Mrs. Orford, who had con anions in the town- of Liverpool, changed her resi dence from Warrington, where she was born, and went to lire at Liverpool. Soon after, an intimacy commenced between the Defendant's family and Mrs. Orford ; for Mrs. Orford was connected by marriage with his family, she being his mother's first cousin. It was therefore natural to suppose that an introduction between these families would take place, and that it would increase so as to be come a familiar intercourse. The Defendant, Mr. Cole, whose name was originally Butler, was the $Oll of a person of that name living at Liverpool. , ' The Defendant's father had been once a person of fortune, but of late years had only an appoint ment in the port of Liverpool. He was what was called one of the Searchers in the Customs. to consequence of this familiarity, intercourse, and visiting, the present Plain iff and Mr. Cole became acquainted. Mr. Cole had succeeded to a very large fortune by the death of an uncle. Lie had received an accession of fortune, and the mansion-house called Kirkland-hall, in the neighbourhood of Garstsng.— , The Defendant's ninther had the superintendence of his household; and the familiarity between the families having been continued, Mrs. Butler, in Feb., 18174 being then at Kirkland-hall, wrote an invitation tb the mother of the Plaintiff, pressing her and her daughter, of whom she had, a perfect knowledge, to pay her a visit at Kirkland-hall, and she accompanied her request by a statement that it was ou the part of herself and her son. Mrs. Orford had been for many years in a precarious state of health, and he was sorry to say that at this day it was doubtful whether she ass in existence ; lie regretted it the more, because her testimony would have been material for the Plaintiff. Mn... Orford bad declined the first in* vitation on account of the state of her health ; it Set renewed; and in March, Mrs. Orford and her daughter having received a second and third inviiation,l Miss Orford accompanied her mother to Kirland hall, where the mother of Mr. Cole was. She was received with more than polite attention—with all the sincerity of friendship. Every attention was paid to her—every possible civility shown her—every thing was done to convince the parties that the visit was not only considered as an obligation, but as a source of great satisfaction. Mrs. Butler bad lopg known Miss Orford and her mother; she knew, what nobody could deny, that Mi.s Orford was well educated, ac complished, sensible, prudent, and, he might add, a Lady of considerable beauty. The Defendant's mother seemed pleased at the visit of her two friends, and the Defendant, Mr. Cole, appeared not less so. After they had passed some days at Kirkland-hall, there could he no doubt, from the letter he would read, that Mr. Cole had become, and that long be fore this visit, in lose with this Lady ; and, ac cordingly, when Mrs. Orford had been one day taking an airing in her carriage, he availed himself of the opportunity of disclosing his sentiments to Miss Orford. This was commumcated to both their pa rents, and nes pettedly satisfactory to both. Miss Orford remained a fortnight at Kirkland-hall, dur ing which time it was understood by the Defendant's mother, that her son had been paying his addresses to Miss Orford, and that his addresses, so paid, had received the sanction of both their parents. There could he no doubt on that subject ; and, in the se quel, the Jury would be satisfied that the Defendant's proposals of marriage were with the approbation of his father and mother ; he stated this without fear of contradiction. The Defendant's father, he under ' stood, was in Court, and might, if he pleased, come forward and deny the fact on oath. The introduc tion, therefore, to that state to which the parties looked for ward , was made with the full assent of - the parerits of each. The Plaintiff and her mother left Kirkland-hall about the 24th of March, and came back to their place of residence at Liverpool. The correspondence was continued till the fat of June, when the Defendant, evinced by a letter of that date, a . great failing off in the warmth of his affection. Various letters were produced, by which it appeared that the Defendant had bees mach en 'gaged during his courtship in the purchase of an estate.; that he recommended to his intended bride to get every article of dress of a costly nature, and suitable for the mistress of Kirkland-hall, yet. that 1 he expected t hat " a man in his situation in life; on. , the point of marrying a Lady with 410 lortns;., ought never to he called upon tad hasisw a settlement, but should be left to his esejkiposser and generosity."—After the letter of knoleg r jana be had altogether withdrawn himself !rem the falsity, and had never subsequently writes a single lin% or ever been seen by the Lady or her friends? It ,was Cli toral to suppose, said Mr. Topping, that the distorts of this family would be excessive. Toe Ludt knew trot What had become of the sews who bad professed himself her lifer : she bad written a 'Flee to him, hicKle . talled upon his Learned Ftieud to produce. Nothing afterwards was haisrd of him tilt the event which concluded the business. On tbs 2 . 014 Attest, _~ - ___. • • _ .: gtATrs' - ' 4 M - A . 14. • • .•• ... : \ . J 7 larly of she• Lady, it was. publicly ea:wanted, MC this Gentleman 'haat Obtered Into the iitaiilage 414 with a lady, 4 libels be should .say 66thioll than that she was ilia daughter of Mr. Gritielaw, to : attorney of Preston. • Sech viers the cltchasstiamis of the present case, anti ha thought :t4wy - presented a very extraordinary ono. That the Defendant had promised his Client marilege, was ti propebitioa to which he need hardly Mk bjs Lordship!, 'sant ; it was equally clear that she had ceusented to become his wife. Ile had, however, deserted her, after hav ing left her the last monument of his affectioni—the letter or the Ist of Jane, which -contained no reason that could justify his desertion : .on..the contrary; it was a letter expressive of the happiness he espected on his intended union with bit. The Defendant was _~~µ~ ~ pow married to another lady, and consequently be tendered it impossible to keep the promise tie bad so repeatedly and sacredly seder to the Plaintiff. .• question left fur the lary to decide, mu, what . reparation should be made to the Pleintiffiu damages, for the injury she had received? He was aware that if any man could make an apology fot 'the Miscon duct of another, such apology would be made by his Learned . Friend';' bet lottrelleved it would be a task to, which herweerk apply hie gigatitie talents in atilt.. He might esomell,ittemilt to, remove mountains as to ' remove the impressiqn, which Inusitaser been made hy his Clieurs disbonoerehle.cotiduct. Ile supposed let ters would be read that proved misconduct on the part of the Plaintiff. Be understood the father and mother of the Defendant were both in Court, and he called on his Learned Friend to lay Were the Jury evidence that the cootrect of. marriage had nut the sanction of both, the Defendant's pa rents: if it bad,. where was the impropriety of It ? The family of his Client was equally respectable wilts that of the Defendant True it was, the De. fondant hid had the accidental acquirement of for. toile; his wealth was tint obtained by any act of his own; but unexpected wealth bad been poured into his lap, and his • viaduct showed how very undeserving he was of the forepart 6f - fortune. But did his accession of fortune fens any excuse for breakieg "a contract with a lovely woman ?•—But it would be said by his Learned Friend, there was-a disparity in years between these polies; this lady, it seemed, was silt or seven years older than the De. fetalant. Was that an improper disparity of years? What could be deduced from t h at circumstance?— The Defendant had made his selection of the lady, perfectly conscious of her age. - llad he onade.his choice unadvised or unassisted ? lie could make the Defendant's father confess that ehieh he would himself state without fear of cootradiction, that the dispatity of years can form no excuse; for it was a contract with a full knowledge of the lady's age, a,nl was formed with consent of the parents.— lie desired the Jury to look at the letters, and see if there was any thing of the weakness and untie ; 1 citify of infancy observable in them. The letters were full of matter, hon.rurable to the bead, but most d.sgraceful and dishnirourable to the heart. — The letters would be, in the course of the cease, more distinctly read ; they would show the Jury that there was no defect of intellect on the part of the Defendant- —no imbecility of mind—no weakness of underetanding ; bet that be wanted that, without which man was the meatiest reptile that crept on the face of the earth—a heart I. The Defendant had (loam her wrong, and he was happy the lady whom he represented had had the firmness to make her complaint to an English Judge and en English Jury, ' to award her a compensation in damages for the in jury she had sustained. -Their verdict could only be a pecuniary compensation; but the wounded feelings, the agitation of a female mind, their verdict could not heal. As far as they could redress her wrongs, he was persuaded they would ; and he was happy to assure them that, when they were consider., ing the amount of the damages, they had a bank to draw upon that would answer all demands; for he would prove that this man (the Defendant), if he deserved the name of man, had a clear income of not less than 8,0001. a year. 'this was the bank upon which the check of the Jury eat to he drawn, and he was sere they would not he limited in their draft, for he was addressing men on the part of an injured and insulted lady, and he was calling upon them to give damages against a man, whose desertion of her had beers übjustifiable, cruel, and dishonourable, and 'who, by his conduct, had proved himself altogether unworthy the name and character of a man. The letters were all proved to have been of the liand.writing of the Defendant; bat before they were read as evidence, Mr. Scarlett objected to them, and he submitted, that if they were intended to he put in as evidence of a contract of marriage, they ought to have been previously stamped. Mr. Reuse said, he apprehended his Learned Friend was not serious in the objection which he had taken. . Mr. Scaturrr said be was in earnest, and meant to rely upon it. Mr. l'astic remarked, the Stamp Act was only re lative to contracts of a pecuniary nature. Mr. Justice BAYLEY said he should not stop so , iespertatit a cause by such an objection, taken Si tine. ,• - Two letters were then read. It was attempted to he shown by dross-esamins. lion of the Plaintiff's brother, who proved the De fendant's hand-writing, that his sister. the Plaintiff, kept copies of the answers she had written. Thoniss Orford, the brother, deposed to the terms of friendship on which the families bad lived, and'to the familiar visits which the Defendant was in tub bedsit of making previous to, and at the period .when the eontoact in question wag entered into. He stated, Cat in a conversation with the Defendant, they bad referred to a projecteit juoreey to. Eyre. Mr. 'Or ford had expressed his determination te,r, in time, upon which the Defetidant asb4 Oat it 1110.**.. 1 7 —b o w would his sister like ilia( ? weeld not do for a newly-married man to leave his wife to soon— this was on the 23d of April. The soak witness stated, that the Defendant had visited his mother ;t Liverpool, aid bad beets uniformly received la the character of her future son-ia-law. The witness stated he bed treated Mr. cple BONI (stare brother-is-law ;he said, ;Wrist his 444 b 0e, ha q , had handed over to hiss the wills of htiist s and ' grandfather, with a view to ao arrangemeos,of the' property um the murder of Wesley ) and dait doe ~..---~ • s 'r +*•~ - -- 6 ..-. , ~. st WiresdaliThkadisidifitio &tort Its fethet''s Wilion Ind Sin, of Boltoe. • The witness suld;lste had ise;et heard the Defendant envie any ieisiti flee breaking it the match. ()pot) his croiewzaminitiori he statist, Anti the Defendant's accession of fAittiati had s he rcell al b e r e! I l e i; It' educa t ionle oo school eact"PcideeitOtiiaen su itabl e and ht t be l i evedo il b ir l i e a l f s i f°ll co i res t t t i na :1:8: e ho 6 c i The witness-sitted that the wedding to be so neural hand, that his sister's wedding cloihtni: were poreheied. Witness a4mitteB that upon the . mach hewing been broken olf, he'hatl iniehnrited Ma *sin, (;apt. Wilson, lova! tipiwit the Defendant for U eripleauje_a_ot . his Coudact, bUt the pride. An; .teeter of iltit . iiseisigo 'Conveyed by Captain Wilton • did not swear. The Witness had never heard that captain Wilson had, paid his 413resseko his inter. ;lies believed his lister, when she wrote letter's, wrote a colt) , first for the sake of Atticttless and correctness: che bad seed a Copy of that iiort which she hid pie.: eerie& The cOrtifial%te * Of the Marriage between the De; fondant and Miii GrimilirK tt by the Rev. Jo . sepli FLoWley, qffsciekng Minister Of Lapesiter, was broiled by Mr. Jeffiiiis t Clerk to Melina. Dried Sind Brook, of liverkel. Thornis Duncan, the Deferidant's strosierd, proved ' that the We:taint', rentals amounted to 50001. .war. t • James Crcipper, of Liverpool, one ri the trustiest eider the will of Mist Orfcred's father, deposed to the extreme respectability of the family, arid pie A very high character of the Lady : he 'had eter NAO.; dered her as exemplary in a very high degree. Both .the Plaintiff and the family associated jilt!) the first people of Liverpool. Isaac Blackborde, Esq. brother to the Mem .. h for the county, bore the aloft explicit testitudny to the character of the Plaintiff end her frithily. With re gard to the Plaintiff, he hid always rodsidered her as the most artless girl that he had bier. Seen In ,his life. lie described her as a veil beautiful *timer, and a woman of good sense end d scretion, Ifer con duct throughout life he believed to be ntsifurmlY corgi rect. Mr. Scaer.err addressed the Jury, oh behalf of thei Defendant; at considerable length. Mr. Justice BATLEY observed, tlhit the pieseet action was brought by Miss Orford, a young Ladd; of the age of 29, against the Defendant, Rotldi Cole, a young man, rather more than 22, t' vex cover satisfaction for the injury she had sustasid isi consequence of Mr. Cole not having performed a contract by which he bad 'bound himself to marry her. The first question was, whether there ever had been such a contract? If there hid, then the contract not having been perforated, and the De• Pendant having disabled himself from performing it by marrying another Lady, the Plaintiff would be entitled to a compensation, as far as money could compensate her, for the iojury she had leceited in being disappointed of her marriage. That there bid been a contract of marriage, was beyond all question. It was unnecessary to go through the evidence to satisfy the minds of the Jury in that respect. It did not rest on the evidence of Mist Orford's brother, but was proved by the letter of the Defendant in such a way as to leave no doubt. If he wag right in considering the contract of marriegt alt proved, then came the question, and it vies one Of grOt dif ficulty end magnitude, what was - the. measure of damages which such a Plaintiff, under inch thrum• stances, would base a tight to receive? The injury the lady had received was of this description : that Instead of being, as she expected td have both,: thd wife of the Defendant for life, with the fort* theg Ore Defendant possessed, to have supported her tint maintained her rank through life, dhe *at still in a state of celibacyo It had been Ingested that the marriage, if it had taken place, might bate been the foondition of unhappiness. Upon that sabjece it was oat for the Jury to look forward IMO the: book of life, to determine whether it would or *veld not hive been a rnerilige peodoctive of heopintise:: They could look only to 'probabilities; etaform ing their ideas upon that view, how faritippinesu was likely to have been the retell of such a Onion, the probabilities were, that it would hate been at tended with that mutual felicity to be expected from the marriage state. Thera wile a great deal of difference in cases of this sort. If a woman of d'idtti advanced age laid traps for a young matt; and drew him into a promise of marriage, the young . man might afterwards receive the prudent advice and 'Weide! 011 his friends, end withdraw from his prothiae. • Where a change of mind resulted from the accesaleo Of atti vice and prudence, that circsiontairce had iOrayill diminished the quantum of damages which he *tight to pay. Where, on the other hand, the. connective was brought about with the sanction of those periona to whom the young man ought t(look, and It did not appear to have been sought for by the woman, but was brought about by the friends Of the man, then the cease assumed a very different aspect. Its We case the Jury had been 'apprised of the a g es of the different parties. The young Man had lived occa: atonal? r! at Liverpool, from 1810 till the present pia stud, it'd he bed during that time frequent littera coursowith the Pidintiff's family, 'ln 1811, be hitt oceonntsilidekrnaban to be accession a o po f fortune, l w e ces of great pfoperty, or, at !Patt that he would be so when he came of at e age. Irilho irthoth of February , 1811, there came ffsor and stg, an irtvittlitiiir not from the young man himself, but 'from a person,. Who, of all others, was the proper person, to.give the invitation, and fatlCtidd the visit of the young women. It wee an Invitation proceeding fries the 'Defendant's lbotbey. It was couched its terms of Reset kindness to the Plaintiff's mother, moo 'kiting the visit of her daughter aid herself. It was addressed to the mother at her residence at Lifers pool, end entreated her to spend a fortnight at Kirk land ball, a :Alined of between 10 and 40 miles. — Whit would be one of the prehable consequences of 'visit of Ali description ? Here was a young men just arrived it 21; just master - of his fortes*, thou& perhaps not master of his passions ; that would orminbe the period of life when he would Wyk of fg to establishment for life. . It was wider these cir cumstances the Plaintiff and her mother Went to opportunities due gives t o the y oun g man end be lPel' iri ci tni a de r° r r ere is t, alft, Kirkland -ball. owfalithenortiMto, wrestle, and that thsre might be some thoughts on the "object of love. It had, in faa, trttovpited that . • Is 4. a_ ~ ~. , &Oct •;46,re115. • : ~` 1 - *il►` 4 .:~: I • 4