The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1804-12-21 00:00:00

BAST INDIA HOUSE. A ballot was yesterday taken at the East India . House, for the Deßion ttf a DireCtor of the Com pany, in the room of William Adair Jackson, Esq. d ec eased. The ballet commenced at nine in the morn, w hen the following Gentlemen stood as candidates: John Jackson, Ea+ of Br' a d a u r e u t B u ildi ngs jd u , Lbh, E.g. formerly in the Civil Service, at Bengal. Mr. James Pat te:o4l, of King% Arms tarl, CO1C.:1481 street. Captain George Miltett, late a Commander iti the Corn pany'a Service. The crowd in the early part of the morning was very great, and we do not recollect for many years !,Allot so fully and so respeCtably attended. The Marquis Ccnnwahis, Lord Castlereagh, Lord Keith, Lord Galloway, Earl St. Vincent. and several ot h er Noblemen of distinction, attended early in the morning. A considerable interest was excited the whole day, in c onsequence of an expeCtation by the candidates that the slumbers at the scrutiny would be nearly even . Messrs. Jackson and Bebb were, however, the favour ite candidates doting the morning ; Mr. Pattison they considered the next. At three o'clock 1500 prpprietors had polled, and at six the total numbers were lliFto. At six o'clock, the hour appointed, the glasses w..re finally closed, and delivered to the scrutineers, who. at half past nine o'clock, delivered in their •; , c•Jt that Mr. John Bait) had the greatest number of votes, and was consegoently eletted a Direaor of the East India Company,'in the room of Mr. Jack deceased. The Report was read from the Chair in the Ge nual Court, upon which the Court adjourned. The numbers for the several Candidates for the Direction were as follow: Fur M r R•h 656 Mr Patti:no . 404 392 Capt Wirt. 248 LUBLIN, Dec. 15. This morning, the remains of Lady Catherine Stnpford were hurl] ed in St. An Irew's Church-yard. The funeral was attended by a great number of gentlemen's cattiages. In consequence of private information having been received from some part of the provinLe of Ulster, a Magistrate has gone thither in quest of the villain who was the cause of poisoning the two blind men in Simpson's Hospital. Sir William ‘Vorthingion.—On Tleirsilay, the Board of Aldermen sat in close conclave for more than two hours. The result of their deliberation was, that a Letter should be written by the Lord Mayor to Alderman Sr ‘Vm. Worthington, rcqnesting he would resign his gown. 'l'll4 resolution passed with a single dissentient vote. COMMIStiION INTELLIGENCE., Dar. John Whelan and Mich. Marr stood indiaed fur the murder of Mary Stevens. Mary Barry swore, that she lay in the bed with the deceased on the night she was wounded : that she was awakened by the cries of the poor womhn, and oa a light being brought she observed her to bleed, and two balls tell from her breast, which had passed through her body; that she lingered two days in Stephens's Hospital, and then died. It appeared that the prisoners were yeomen; had been on a visit in the house, and on coming down stairs, one of them fell accidentally, in consequence of which, a pistol he had with him went utf, and un fortunately woundee dye deciased. The Jury, without leaving .the Box, brought in a Verdift of Aopivat. • Tuesday, a privateer, suppo s ed to be the General Praia, appeared off Newbiggin ° near Hull. Two ships from the Baltic off ere d her battle, but on viewing them, she thought proper not to engage. The same nigh; an express arrived at Shields, giving information that such a privateer was off the coast ; and on Wednesday two of His Majesty's hired armed ships sailed as convoy to a large fiert of col hers. A paper of yesterday says,—" Private accounts were on Tue-alay received by a respeaable Batik ing-house in the City, con:inning those received a tew weeks since, that in consequence of the de parture of Sir J xxs Ca avvetto from France, BONAPASTS had caused orders to be given to the Bankers, Ste. not to pay any remittances to the English prisoners in France, who for the future are to subsist upon the allowahce of 6:1. K day made to them by the French Government. per day made to them by the French Government. Ve do not think that a just respett for the feelings of Sir JA so ES CRAWFURD warrants this statement on these precise words. The Editors of the Paris Papers admit that BOSAPASITZ is more enraged than ever a g ai n st England. This is the real cause of this new measure of severity. The departure of Sir J AMES CA AIIIIIVRO can only be the pretence. Accounts from an Officer on board the Node* frigate, dated Bencoolen, August 7th, state, that the unfortunate Major DAVIES who commanded the detachment wloch was surrounded by the na tives of Ceylon some time since, drags on a miser able existence as a menial servant to the King of Csmov, deprived of his tongue and ears, and other-' U-15:: barbarously mutilated : and that the P/safftin, Lasecater, and 71,psichere, were ju st .:nout to sail to Batavia, in pursuit of Admiral Litous.—/ Bath Chromicie.) The fall of snow has b.:en so great in most of the Northern counties, that several of the mail--coaches were detained in many parts, till passages had been cut for them through the snow. There is at present upon the town a female swindler, about forty years of age, who states her self entitled to considerable estates in the West Indies; that she is besides entitled to prize-money in right of her deceased husband, an officer cf the navy. She usually carries fidlitious bonds of from sixty to two hundred . pounds with her, executed according to form, which she pledges, and, on en quiry, noue of the subscribing names. are to be J.nnd ; and also checks upon bankers. Several per suns have been duped by the artifice of this woman, who, it appears, is the widow of an artilleryman, who died some years ago at Gibraltar. It also ap oears teat this woman has traversed Ireland and S cwilitud, pra.ftising the sane coot= of fraud and s.ception. L COURT-Or ICING's BENCII, Gus Loa au., Dec. 20. &Wags at Xis/ P - rear, &fore jordIEL LENEOROOOI4, and Special juries. STRONG V. THE 3151101 , OF ST. oissru. This was an aelion brought to recover a sum of 50131. against the Bishop, for not confirming a lease made to the Plaintiff. In this case, the Plaintiff, Mrs. Strong, held certain premises in St. Paul's Church-yard. now oc cupied by Messrs. Green and Pellett, under lease from the Defendant, as Prebendary of Caddington Major. On the 17th of May, 1794, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Winstanley, after having been incumbent for nine years, was admitted to the Prebendary of Caddington Major, vacant by the translation of the Bishop of Rochester. Some time after Dr.Winstailley came to the Prebendary, he discovered that some leases made by his predecessor, the Defendant, had never been confirmed, by which neglect those leases became void. Among which was thou of the Plain tiff. Dr. Winstanley then determined to assert his rights, and evicted the Plaintiff; in consequence of which she was obliged to take a new leaee, and pay a heavy fine of 50001. and 131. expences. The Bishop, by whose default the Plaintiff was under the necessity of paying this sem, had due notice of Plaintiff's situation. Several witnesses were exa mined, to prove the appointment of Dr. Winstanley to the Prebendary of Caddington Major ; the man date from the Bishop to induct and instal him, &c. Mr. Robert Morrill, the Agent for I )r.Winstanley, proved that he entered the premises its question, and demanded possession as Agent for the Dodor : he did not ask his authority. but consideied that he had it.: he applied to Mr. Arnold, the Plaintitis Attor ney, desiring he would inform her that her leases were void for want of confirmation. Mr. Green, the tenant, appeared very uneasy when he entered, but he told him it was merely a matter of form, that he would not be turned our, but in future. was to pay his rent to Dr. Winstanley. It also appeared by letter's produced, that a corre spondence had been carried on by the Doctor with the Plaintiff, wherein he stated that he hail consulted a very able Professional Gentleman on the subject of the leases, and found they were invalid, that therefore, being attentive to the interests of his family, he found it necessary to break the leases, ice. Mr. Arnold, the Plaintiff's Attorney, stated, that he had entered into a negociation with Dr. Win staaly, relative to this business, when certain terms were proposed; and not immediaely agreeing with them, the negociation was nearly broken off, and an vjedment threatened: finding this to be the case, be thought it bette to agree to the terms, and con sented to the payment of a fine treble the value; and in consequence thereof, he wrote a letter on the subject to the Bishop of St. Aniph, informing him that the Do3or had demanded possession of the premises, or the payment of the fine. The value of the premises was then ascertained. Mr. Guiana, for the Defendant, made several preliminary observations upon the statement of Mr. EaselNe, for the Plaintiff; and then stated, that he thought Mr. Arnold was not justifiable in submit ing to the exorbitant demand made upon his cli ent, and agreeing to put a certain sum in a certain place. He ithstr ved, that it was an old adage that " a little learning was a dangerous thing ;" but he understood the Reverend Doctor was a gentleman of great and deep learning, rather too much so for the present Plaintiff. as, otherwise, the 50001. would not have been taken from Mrs Strong, nor now souglst to be NOCOidielillgaiest the Bisbitp ; how ever, lie had no doubt but that the moment the Rev. Gentleman was told of the Jury finding a verdict for the Defendant. notwithstanding his at tention to the interests of his family, notwithstand ing the temptations of 30001. be had no doubt. but that he wou d instantly refund the whole of that sum ; he would immediately run to his Banker's, and never stop until he should be found knocking at Mrs. Strong's door with the money. He had often heard it said, that "Charity begins at home ;" how ever, it sometimes turned out, that she turned house keeper, and never stirred abroad ; but he could not suppose this was the case with the Rev. Gentleman, of whom he had a very different opinion. He con cluded by contending, that as the lease was void, the Plaintiff should have been considered as a te nant from year to year, and was, therefore, entitled to notice ; upon which grounds he conceived the Jury ought to find for the Defendant. The Jury found a Verdid of 43p01 for the Plaintiff. CW141111.10 C. THOIIIPSON. This was an aCtion upon a polity of insurance on the ship If,rh hound from Barbadoes to Cork,which was lost by tile perils of the sea. The policy was effeCted upon the 10th of April, 1803, and the warranty was, that the ship was to sail by the Ist of August; but it appearing, that a letter, dated in January, stating, that she bad sailed in February, having appeared to have been with held or concealed, the Jury found a verdid for the Defendant. SIESTAER IL GILLESTIC. This was an issue from the Court of Chancery, to try whether MeaSTA. William and Joseph Beetson had wilfully and wrongfully prevented an indorse men' from being made upon the certificate of regis try of the ship Ales. Mr. Essen , 4s, for the Plaintiff, stated, that this was a question is which all mercantile men were deeply interested. It chiefly rested upon that Aft of Parliament, generally known by the title of Lord Liorrporeo Aft, which was intended for the most beneficial purposes of mercantile marine transaaions. This Aa required certain ceremonies to be per formed, before a biil of sale of a ship could be valid. The bill of sale should be endorsed on the register itself, ten days after the ship's arrival at the port to which she belonged; and this could not be done without the consent and concurrence of the owners. In this case, the Plaintiff had entered into a negotiation with William lleetson, and agreed to accept bills for his accommodation, to the amount of l I,oaol. upon assignments of his property, in the ships Abase and Duce; however, it afterwards ap peared, that his shares in these ships were already disposed of; and it was then agreed, he should make a bill of sale of another ship, called the Allem, belonging to the port of London, and then on her voyage from China, under the command of Captain Musgrave, laden with teas, for the East India Com pairy. This bill of sale was delivered, and the usual endorsement made upon oath, on the 9th July. 1803, upon which the PlaintilF accepted bills, to the amount specified. On the 17th Decemheriol. lowing, the 41/er arrived in the Thames, and was enteled inwards, at the Cu ;tom-Howe. Nothing then remained to be done. hut the endorsement to be made Upon the certificate of nu iginal registry, which was not executed- until the 29:1!„ two days after the time specified by the Ad. Beetson became a bankrupt, and his assignees, the now Defendants, 'nought an adion ut truvei against the present Plaintiff, who held the lull of sate, for the money he had ado ally advanced ; and, notwith standing there was no neglect on the part of the Plaintiff, AA though, it appeared that Beetson had refused to bring the register to be endorsed, yet the law was positive, and the assignees recovered in that a9ion. In consequence of this, a bill was filed io the Court or Chancery, by the advice of an eminent Counsel in that Court, who thought the Los CiiANCELLORILKI a jurisdietion in su,.h matters; his Lordship thereupon had direCted the present issue, ' which was to try whether it was by the !aches of the Plaintiff, or the fault of Beetson, that the en. dbrsement was not made in due time ? • After some observations upon the evidence of Beetson on the former trial, he proceeded to caU witnesses. The bill of sale, Ste. were admitted. William Beetson deposed, that when the shin ar rived in port, he waited on the Plaintiff, and ex plained to him his situation, with respect to sever.sl bills of the Plaintiff's, which had been more or less dishonoured : he had been arrested, and an ezecu. Cos threatened to be put upon his house; that if this matter seas not settled, he must inevitably become a bankrupt, which in the end would be destrus&on to the endorsement upon the register. He pressed him exceedingly to have the matter settled: on the t Ist or 22d, he called on him, and shewed him what bills most affeCted him : he proposed that he should have the first instalment of the freight to take up those bills ; part of them amounting tol,oool. were his own acceptances, for a debt aaually due by him to the Plaintiff. A part of this first instalment of the freight was to go to pay seamen's wages, and the rest to pay the bills, in order to release the hares of the Juliana. To this the Plaintiff assented ; and they were to go together on the 22d or 23d, which were two open days at the Custom-House ; he told Captain Musgrave his intention, and desired he would attend with the registry ; but he answered, that he should first consult his Solicitor: he went alone, and waited till after Custom-House hours, but the Captain did not come; he then went .to 'Change, where he saw the Plaintiff, and told him of his disappointment: he never willingly absented himself from home, and it was extremely his desire to have the business settled. On being questioned by Mr. GI sac, he said, he would have made a con dition with the Plaintiff, about the bill, outstanding, before he would endorse the registry : he thought it was the duty of an honest broker not to give a conve/anee for "bad paper ; he bad entered into an agreement with the Plaintiff; that the acceptances were first to be paid, and he would not go to make the endorsement because they were not paid. This was the only condition on which he would make it, Which the Plaintiff well know. _ On his cries.-exArnination by Mr. CARRON, he declared. that if his existence depended no n ► it. he could not press the matter more on the Fianna than he did. Mr. Cs A aitow was proceeding in a statement of the defence ; whei, Lord EI.I.V41101tOUC)1 observed, that this was a subsequent condition not contained in the original agreement ; it was the duty of the party to carry into eff!ta that which was formerly agreed upon, and not to annex conditions afterwards; then address ing the Jury, his Lord , h;p told them. the only question gas, whether 13..tetson had wilfully and wrongfully prevented the endorsement to be made un the certificate . of the registry t The Jury immediately found a Verdi& for the " That Beetoon had wilfully and wrong fully prevented it." %ILLS V. It•INIMIDGI. This was an anion to recover the freight of goods from Malta to Liverpool. Mr. ERSKINE. for the Plaintiffs, stated, that the Plaintiffs, Messrs. Mills and Hunter, were eminent merchants at Malta, and had been employed by Go vernment to supply them with flour. The aftion was brought for the freight of 786 barrels of raisins assigned by the Consignee of the Plaintiff to the De fendant at Liverpool, who received them, and, after keeping them two months, sent a letter, stating, that they were of no value, and that if the Plaintiffs re fused to take them back, they v.•ould sell them by aution, and commence an aEli In fur the recovery of the loss, also declaring, that no part of the freight demanded would be paid. The Plaint iffs, for the conveyance of these goods, pur chased the ship Lrevine, which was the identical ves sel that carried Bonaparte to Egypt ; he understood it was a complaint of the Defendants, that she was not sea-worthy ; he wished heartily she had proved so when conveying that great personage across the Mediterranean ; but, unfortunately fur mankind, it had proved otherwise. However, to make the mat ter shert, it had been always decided, that the freight should be paid ; and, it tie Defelidant chose, he might bring his adion for the damage the goods sustained. This being the opinion of the Court, the Jury found a Verditet of 4171. Ss. BJ. for the Plaintiffs. - - •es of the Edward and Jeer, previous to her last vo3i-. age ; but, in consequence of a dispute with lierywn ers, he gave up the command. She was a very tight vessi.l.perfeßly sea-woi thy, .and had s!loitly be fore underg•ine a coinplete tep.tr. II • saw he: safe moored, without the Mule Head, ;it MAIAZI, on the evening he 1..•!t Iler. Ile in th. nigitt, attd lie saw h.r upon the reeks le.ixt moriiiiig, where. she went to pieces. lie was examined by one of the Jury (Mr. ft Barb), who had been in that quarter of the globe, .134 some variation as to the wrod appeared M his testimoily. The defence was, that there had not beewsuifi- elent proof of the cfuse of the loss, of the statb of the weather, &c. Lord ELL.eenottovoa WO the Joey, that the question came to a mere matter of Ltd, whether the weasel was lost by the perils of the sea,, or the negligence of the peipli• on board ? and it was open w the Defendant to shew the Lute:, if he could. The Jury, after some totwatatiag : retired, wel,, in :Wow an hour, returnee t t ascertain, Iron ai t. , BALI.; if there were s:ifracient. hands naluvuJ p work the ship ? and, being alswereal in th.: adirina live, they again retired for near halt an hour, when they found a verdict f the Plaintiffs of !UM above the money lodged in Court. His Lordship then disposed of two Common Jury causes of nu moment, which closed the Bitcingt at Guildhall. COMMON PLEAS, GuiisitA„ - 71 , Siltinzs et Niti h I ?Ur Myatt ice Cu amino' sad a *row - . erw 4 01 HART v. wirier. ' • , This was an altion on a chimer iirty .hrougtt by the Captain of die ship Wiltiam;lo recaaer the, freight of the vessel from the Defendant, wilt) ;141 chartered it, to proceed to litjfikhael's, al.d take al, a cargo of oranges solely fddlith and not to carry any other merchandise. LL. Serjeant Sit EP H ten, for the Plaintiff, stated,.that in this case tnere were several issues joined, nut, he believed, net more than one or two would be fur the consideration of the Court. said, Ore De fendant, who was a merchant in t foreign fruit , line, had chartered with the Plaintiff, who was Caa tain of a small vessel, to go to St. Michael's, and there to take in a cargo of oranges, and immediately return with them to London, without taking itt any • other goods or merchandise whatever. He said it would be his first business to prove the charter party, and then he would prove that the ship did arrive at her place of destination, that she had gut :' part of her cargo on board, and that, Sefore her load leg was completed, she was blown out to sea, where she remained tossing about for a considerable time, and, at length, being unable t regaia St. Michael's, she ran into Lisbon, and was certainly obliged to rem.tin there a long time, on account of the very slow . progriss made by th e P o rt ug ue se shipwrghts, who were repairing her. Ile said, he would prove also, that he left Lisbon as sore: as the neve, :try re pairs were finished, and that he went to S. Mi chael's, hut was there informed, by the correspondent of the Defendant, Abet he had sent the oranges by another vessel; in contequence of which, he was obliged to return to London in ballast. The Learn ed Serjeant concluded by saying. that heruncleistood the defence set up br the Defendant was, that the ` Plaintiff had taken in other goods, contrary to din eh trter-party, and that the ,lsip had been under seiz ure at Lisbon, enactment of tnese goods hetet.; eon ' malaria; but, he trusted it would appear, that these goeds.were only a small present, left in his care by the Captain of another vessel, to be mitre's, no the first opportunity, to the American Voastil at St. Michael's, and that he was blown out of ehe har bour there, before he could deliver it. Robert Preston, Mate of t!'e driveled—. that she war registered for sixty-three tons burden; that she had got eightyeeevea boxes of (images on • board, when she was blown out ; that she was fifty. eight days endeavouring to gain St. Midaters, but could not ; that they rau into Lisbon on the 3d of February.. He then proved, after detaining the Court for near two hours, looking over his log-sook, that every exertion was made to repair thojthip, and that she was not finished until the 12thissf April, when she dropped down the River, to wait for a wind. On his cross-examination, he said, thoughoshe was readyto sail on the 14th, and though the wind was fair, yet she did not sail until the 22d, and he could not give any reason for it. He then prayed. that they had gone back to St. Michael's. *here, not being able to get a cargo, they were obliged to come to London in ballast. Two other witnesses were called, who pro% ed merely that they saw the workmen employed a!grar the ship. Serjeant BUT, for the Defendant, spoke at very great length, resting his case entirely on the un necessary delay of the Plaintiff at Lisbon. A see% demur of the Jury observed that that delay ruum4 have been occasioned by the Plaintiff's wanting money to pay for the repairs ; and that he knew it was the custom at Lisbon not to let a vessel it :r, aced she could pay or give security for the a contraifted by her. Mr. Justice Cit•staire summed up the evideencill and pointed out to the Jury the particular points Sir their consideration. The Jury retired, and in about a quarter of an hour returned a verdict for the Defendant, not on a,couut of his taking goods on board, but because he delayed at Lisbon longer than was necessary. SHOCKING ACCII)/Ll4 T.—A shocking accident happened tta Wednesday, Ahtnit four o'clock, at Woolwich : AS some men, employed on the Elabo rotary, were tilling a thirteen inch shell, supposed to be on some new experiment ; in ramming the shell, unfortunately it burst, and wounded seven of the men employed, three mortally ; one of the three died about an hour after he was taken home ; the other two are not espeaed to survive the day, being shockingly mangled. During the night of Friday sennight, some *ban donedmiscreants broke into the stable of Mr. Josses* PA Y 14 of Illiarten-en-thr.W4ter, and stole a able mare, whizh, after taking a short distance ;ct the premises, they tied to a tree, and thea cut it; throat ! t ! BRANDON O. POTTS. This was an aaion upon a Policy of Insurance upon goods on board the ship Edward and .Inn, lost by the perils of the sea ; the policy was effeaed on the 29th of Sept. 1795, subscribed for 1001. Mr. ERSKINE, in stating the Plaintiff's case, ob- served that they were resident at Malaga, and this aition was brought originally in the year 17911 ; but unfortunately, being foreigners, great delay occurred ; a bill in equity was filed, answers put in, exceptions taken, and so it continued till 1800. Some of tit: solicitors died, some were changed, and after all these obstrunions it came at last before the Court. The ship in question was bound from Malaga to London, and lost by the perils of the sea, and after so many years, the only witness they had, was the Captain who commanded her before her last voyage. The policy, &c. were then proved, and it ap peared a sum of money had been lodged in Court. Captain Bustle stated, that he had been Captain ---~-