The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1804-12-04 00:00:00

Para nt „ Ir. e t ty;isf.ra,t, [r „ ti io furl asi"4. I; • !„„ .rest of t,:e not S:eil the Pn n , :e mired lid, may hare , neeessa t i: y s heir daul, t% vnulded Iq wing 4. 'wn'a ler Spike th e 3•n;, A, the lic k r, sp, t h s :opc 4. r d • aen. I; "r? force p GS silde, ently 'age acc! sided all vete too th to Cu nd Mn. titled to insulted irritative ry have Z,•4060ra praii• . whcre rt] her ine ad- I muck mate of tlm is not icukies )1) and Se!i.a IQ ~air walk r Po.. leness, is c ' LAM: • CRIM. CON. GEORGE CHAMBERS, ESQ. 00 5 KS CAPT. CAULFIgf.D. tad . t• COURT or KING'. BE NCI I, WEiTNIINSI ILR, Der. 3 Sittiags al Nisi Priors, &tore Lord EL Latiao ROUGH. This was an action to recover damages against the Defendant, for Criminl Conversation with thy: Plaintiff's wife. The damages were laid at TEN VIOUSAND POUNDS. Mr. Eareitie stated the case on the part of t' e Plaintiff, nearly as follows : e My Lord, cad Gewtlonch e(tLc Jall, " The Plaintiff in. this case, Mr. George Cham bers, is the son of the late Sir William Chambers, who was an eminent archited, and a Gentleman of considerable fortune. In the year 1781, the Plaint iff married the daughter of the noble and cele honed Lord Rodney : at that time they were both at the age of eighteen; and, in consequence of a mutual attachment, had taken a trip to the north, where they were clandestinely married ; they were alarwards pnbliely married with the usual ceremo nies, and with the consent of their friends. They bad issue of this marriage nine children, eight boys end one girl. Mrs. Chambers was a lady moss beautiful and accomplished, as elegant in tier per son as fascinating in her manners, and is at this day as lovely and bewitching as ever. The Defendant i s a young gentlemen, an officer in the army, of a good figure, remarkably handsome, and very much addifted to theatrical performances, and, mixing much in the gay world, was considered a man of gallantry. The first time he unfortunately met the Plaintiff's wife was at a ball at Huntington, where he darted with her, and paid her some att n tioe:: from this time her coneetet altered : soon atter Mr. Chambers oUserved a considerable change in her manners, and several disputes arose between them ; at this instant he confesses he has no reason to believe she had ever violated his bed with any other man than the Defendant. After this a scuffle ensued about a lett& which caused a separation; but the Plaintiff', fend of her to a degree, for who can live with her and not love her, desired to be re united to her. He was at this time called away wit', his regiment to the siege of the Held•', under the command of His Royal Highness Duke of York, bee from ill health,he was obliged to return much sooner than he otherwise would have dnue. On hi ar rival at his own house, Mrs. t'llamlsers an, alarmed, and, in u'uth, her affections by this time were completely alienated from him ; the moment of his return she lett his house, with an infant t nly seven months old. Since that time she has pill,- hely cohabited with the Defendant. I will not here enlarge upon the dreadful consequences which ge. aerially follow the violation of the marriage vow : I will not observe upon the magnitude of the offence, or the aggravations attendant upon it, as I was accustomed to do in my early practice at the Bar. I shall content myself at present with this one observation, that unless the Deter dant can alter the case, by shewing that the Plaintiff is not intitled to any compensation at your hands, and this can only be done by testimony ; I shall expeet such damages as you will be inclined to pronounce. Whatever evidence they have to offer, I shall hear ; and. mei shall have that pi ivilege, will take up a few moments of your time, by remarking upon it. Mrs. Cotton, the sister to the Pleintiff, was then called ; she stated, that she was present at the cele bration of the marriage of the Plaintiff 40.1 his wife, at the parish church of Cr eel, in the County of Durham, on the I^:h of September, 1781. The Rev. John lValker stated, that he was tutor to Mr. Chambers's children, fur eight years; he lodged in the neighbourhood, and occasionally dined with the family, once a week or so; at first, he had but two pupils. but afterwards seven or eght : at that time the family resided at ilertford, and lived for several years happily and comfortably t sgether ; he left them about Midsummer, two years ago, and recollecled Mr. Chambers quitting his own horse, to join his regiment on the Continent; any thing further, he could only relate from hearsay. Oa his cross-examination by Mr. Genes, he said to had never witnessed any disagreements between them ; he knew they did net live together for some time. While Mr. Chambers was absent abroad, Mrs. C. went do•.cn to Hartford to see the children: he returned before the expedition was over; but as I e was nor in the house, he could not speak to any thing particularly. He had seen the Miss Rodneys, Mrs. C.'s sisters, there, several times. Mrs. Mary Liddk was examined by Mr. Easel:4e ; she stated, that she had lived in the service of the Plaintiff and his wife, from the year 1797 to 1602, and had the care of the children, and ►ept the household accounts ; they appeared to live very happy, and Mrs. C. was apparently attentive and affectionate to the children. She first observed an alteration in leer manners towards her husband aid family, in the year 1;98. At that time she arced a great deal with other gentlemen, and was • ores absent from home. No fact came to 'mess's knowledge until the year MI, on which she could build a y suspicions; the Defendant a'oont that period began to visit at Hartford ; he was frequently there when the Plaintiff was from Lome; when be went abtoad, Mr. Caulfield on always in the house, and the witness fre taendy saw him and her mistrees sitting on the , pha together. She did not believe the Plaint iff knew or even suspected any thing between his wife and the Defendant previous to his flning to the Helder. He was a very fund and in dulgent husband. The intimacy with the Defendant commenced abut half a year before the Plaintiff went to the Continent, and while he was away, Mrs. Chambers, who had been in London, came down to Hartford : Mr. Caulfield soon after followed her, she, slipped together, and it was a very Lae hour lettete ire went away. Mrs. C. was in the habit of g her children in her bed-chamber every morn izeo net at chi: time forbade die witness to bring went in as usual. Her suspicions were first awoke 11 , Mrs. C. cc.rrs;rz cut of the bed-chamber one morning m her dressing gown, and shutting the 0. - er of the passage which was opposite to the wit ' scfnm, and separated it from the drawing. Immediately after, she sew de Defendant in tae dra wing -room wltere be had frequaulyafterwards Leen teen at an early hour in the morning, without the witness being able to ascertain how he got in. For three weeks lie was constantly there at a late hour at night, and the servants were all sent to bed by her mistress, thongh all the doors were bolted pre viously. She also observed that Mrs. C. about this time always kept her bed-room door, locked, which was a thing she had not been accustoined' to do be fore. One morning the witness went to her for some medicine for the children, and her mistress refused to let her in, and left the medicine in an adjoining room. From all these ci7cumstances the witness snspected something not right was on foot, but could not speak positively She WAS cross-examined by Mr. BL' Reowk.s ; she said, there was some disagree:nent between her master And mistress, about six months before the former left England ; there was an uneasiness on bot'i sides, but could not 'tell the cause. She knew nothing about a loaded pistol, but remembered one morning, her niistress coming into her bed room, about one o'clock, when she sat up the most part of the night, exc-pt now and then resting herself upon witness's bed: she did not tell her what was thecause of leav:ng her husband's bed. On Ls tollowin 7 , day her mistress went to sea rc h for the pistol, and found two in Mr. Chambers's dressiog-room ; but they were not loaded. this happened about six months b e fo re the Plaintiff went to the continent ; the next day Mrs. Chambers -left the house, and never re t tried to live there again. Previous to that time, they had some sculic abort a letter; but witless could not tell ally thing of t: a circumstances. When Mr. Chambers joined his regiment at the }leder, Mrs. C. went down to the country to see her children, nocomirsnied by her two sisters, the then Miss R idneys, one of whom was afterwards marri:d to Mr. Munay, and now resides in Ireland; the day after ra: Piaintiil's re torn the went away with Mts. Mundy, in a post chaise. Question. Were they ever reconciled after ? Answer. Oh ! No. She was re-examined by Mr. EItiKINE. She never saw any uneasiness betw , ea them till after the ilefenuant repeated his visits. She could not tell whether th:..se scenes of uneasiness commenced be fore or after She saw the alendant sitting pi iv.ttely or. the supha with her mistress, or what tittle the pisti i business happened ; the Plaintiff was a fond and indulgent husband, until he began to stispeet Mr. C.,ultwd. It was noz. by the Plaintiff 's consult she left him, as, on his return from the Heisler, he was two hoot zndeavouring to pet male her to stay with him and her children. Bing again examined by Mr. Bo ariowss, she said the Defendant was in the habit of going backward and forward, whether the Plaintiff was sit home or abroad : her mistress used frequently to go out with him. Mary Smith was examined by ?dr. GAR Row. She stated, that she was slime time in the service of Mrs. Chambers, and when she first lived with her, was in the year 1802; the then resided at Foraham St. Martin's, near Bury St. Edmund's. She knew Captain Caulfield very well ; at that time he passed fora lodger of her mistress's, and ivied to sleep by himself, an a room apart from the drawing-ro.im ; after that, she went to live in Princes -street, Han over-square, at Mr. Merlin's, but she did not think Captain C. was taere. They then went*, Fulham, where the Captain went in and out occasionally. Mrs. C. slept in a little closet, off the drawing morn, and the Captain in a room opposite ; iron thence they wont to Muit Farm, near Ryerate, when the Captain had one bed-chamber, and her mistress another, which were not far from cacti • other. Both beds ware slept in every night; bat she did not know Whether her mistress slcist alone or not. She was long enough a chamber-maid, to know whether one or two persons had slept in a bed she was to make. After her mistress lett Muit Farm, she went to ROM sea, when ionising pa:ti tular happened; and at List her mistress and the C aptain went to Chertsey, near Weybridge ; there they lived for some time, and some nights only one bed was used, and the impression of two heads upon the bolster in the morning: this was her mistress's bed ; there was no male an the house at the time, but the Captain, who was in habits of great familia rity with her mistress. Here the evidence on the part of the 214iatiir was closed. Mr. DALLAS, in opening the case on behalf of the Defendant. admitted that his client was an ele gant youag man of fascinating manners. and had lived much in the gay world ; but he trusted, when all the facts caste disclosed, the Jury would not find it a cause for considerable damages. From his learned friend Mr. Eastint's opening, it appeared that the Defendant had seduced this lady from her family, and induced the mother of eight children to desert her husband and home: he coincided with his friend. that if this were she case, the Plaintiff was justly entitled to exemplary damages ; but he ex pressed his perfect astonishment at the ternerit} of the Plaintiff, in bringing himself before the eye oi the public in this manner. He did not deny tile tact of the Defendant and the Plaintiff's wife cohabiting together ; but, from all the circumstaaces, it isi , uid be for the Jury to consider whether he was c-•••led to any damages whatever, and this must depend on the answer he should give to the charge as proved. If the Jury were to believe the evidence of Mrs. Liddle, the Plaintiff had uniformly acted the part of an amidst, husband; but if he were instructed right, be would shew that his condact had been most harsh, brutal, and barbarous. In this CAW Cap tairt,lC. was not the only person nn his trial, use Plamtiff's character was also in question. He then expressed his surprise, that the sister to the Plaintiff, who was the first examined. should be al lowed to retire without a single question asked her relative to the Plaintiff's general con dud towards his wife; it was a little extraor dinary that the son of Sir IVilliam Chambers, after cohabiting for sixteen years with his wife, could not produce one respectable witness t s speak to this point; to such persons as be then addiessed, who were all husbands, fathers, and men of the world, this must be evident. 'lle question, therefore. was. whether Captain Caulfield had alien tted the of of this lady from her husband ? and this he would put beyond a possibility of dolbt, from the evidence of the Plaintiff himself. waich appeared self convieted in a series of letters which be irniluc-d in the Plaintiff's own hand-writing.— He then adverted to those letters wiitten to Mrs. C. during her separation from the Plaintiff; in the first of Which, dttedin May I 7”8, he said, lam really au shocked, and ashamed at my own e on d u a, that I ttaanot come home ; aEt as you like in every respcf, and be assured it will meet with my appro bation ; fix your income at what you pleas 4 and 1 will en leavour to pay it, &c. The rent letter adverted to, begins---.. My dearest Jane, what sensations has you: lovely letter caused in me? if you only try me once more, be assured you shall not r- ceive any personal violence ; if you knew how I love you, you could not refuse me. I will place implicit confidence in you, I know I have been wrong ; pray come back, and I will be a pattern of goodness, you are absolutely ne cessary to me ; pray come, and, I assure you, I will not use you again with personal vio lence." The next letter expresses his regret at her persisting in not returning to him, and again pro mising that he never will injure her person. Mr. !)alias then observed. that notwithstanding all this barbarous treatment, and all this correspond ence, this pattern of a woman—he would say, this perfeft angel of a woman—did, in the benignity of her own mind, consent to return to him upon cer tain conditions. At that time Lord Rodney was alive, and she had sought proteCtion under her bro ther's roof, who was then Captain Rodney, and now upon duty in the East Indies. A deed was then en tered into, which t ricked, that differences had arisen between them, and, in order to induce her to return again to him, he stipulated, in a manner mast dis graceful tie himself, that he would treat her with all due kindness and regard, and, in case of future dif ferences, she should be at liberty to leave him. He then cited some other letters,which were written after his return from the fielder, all of which were in terms of supplication for pardon, and entreaties for her return ; assuring her that he should become an al tered eliaracter, and declaring, as to the business of the pistol, he had no intention of using it. This, the Learned Counsel observed, was not the language of a gallant soldier going to or returning from a fo reign expeditii in against the enemies ot his country, that though he made use of the pistols, he did not mean to lodge their contents in her heart. Was this the gentleman, he asked, who corn &tined of his wife's affections being alienated from him, and sought to obtain reparation in damages from an English Jury, who had given the most unequivocal evidence of his own barbarity ? Fur the sake of justice, for the sake of the public, he concluded, he trusted that a person of this description world not ' even receive one shilling damages from a i3ritish Jury. Mr. Boodle / then proved the execution of the deed of separation, or rather reconciliation, and the hand writing of all the letters. The deed and letters were then read. Mr. Eusetna, in a most feeling, impressive, and eloquent address, spoke at great length upon the evidence on both sides ; he declared, that so in my reports had been industriously circulated, so many stories spread upon this business, for the purpose of deterring the Plaintiff from appearing before the Court and Jury upon this occasion, that it had almost an effect upon himself, and he thought he had got a client of a most extraordinary stamp in deed ; he Was in so much astonishment, he did not well know how to express hinuelt, and, he trusted in God, the Jury would not feel the sentiments which his friend on the other side wished to impress upon them. He then said, he would take his text from Mr. Dassris's opening, who admitted, that if the Jury should think the Defendant was the cause of this separation, of this sedaCtion, of tearing a mo't beautiful and accomplished woman from the arms of an aikftionate and fond husband, from her lovely children, and from her home, they would give him exemplary damages. lie then, with his usual unrivalled ability, adverted to the whple of the evidence, and largely expatiated upon the conduct of the DefeMdant m pursuing the adul te: out course, who, when the time of trial comes, ransacks all the family secrets, all the private corre spondence between man and wile, in order to make a foundation firr an infamonsdefence. The Plaintiff and his wite,intheprime oft!. ei r youth,fiew into each others arms with mutual uffeaion, and were married clan destinely ; that marriage afterwards sanSioned by , their parents, and in the presence of their God ; the offspring of that union, eight most lovely children, and fourteen years spent in the utmost harmony and affection, until the adulterer stepped in, who blasted all their joys, and destroyed all their happiness ; who had cast a blot upon these children, the descend ants of a nobly and gallant Lotd, and marked his escutcheon with an indelible stain.. Any Sparring* and disputes which arose bet-seen them, were, he observed, to be imputed to jealousy, which was the bitter root of all these grievances ; and, though that jealousy called forth some ills of violence at times, yet lose was still at the bottom. It the Plaintiff had been attached to any other woman, or had rioted in debauchery, it might be some palliation on the part of the Defendant ; but there was not one tittle of evidence to shew this. The language of the Plaintiff sheeted him to be a man distraftedly fond of his wife, and the pistol busi ness was the only aft of violence in proof; and this might have had some other objed in view, which, although he did not give it utterance, yet—" Grief whispered to the tortured heart, and bade it burst!" He concluded, by involiag the jury, as Britons, to rec tlleCt they were haskialids and fathers, to give that compensation to his client which was the only one he could now receive. Lord Eci.caaoaouca, in snmming up the evi dence, adverted to the very brilliant display of talent which had appeared on both sides ; but ad vised the Jury to consider the matter coolly and de liberately. He observed that the letters were preg nant with expressions of the personal injury and hitshness which had taken place on the part of the Plaintiff before the introduction of Captain Caul field, and no suggestion whatever in the letters of any misconduct, or any foundation even to impute levity to her, which, although highly reprehensible in him. was no reason at all that the Defendant should have acted the part he had done; and if the Jury found that his interference had at all deprived the Plaintiff of the comfort of her society, they were bound to give such damages as they should con2ider him entitled tn. The Jury re:ired for a short time. and then folnd a veraict for the Plaint.h :n Tmo 1 ituusAso Por:c DS damages. Prommg...ww- MIDDLESEX SESSIONS. g Mary Baker, ElizsGet4 d.o e. Frowes Demi, Stowe nal: Ciaree, and a Otge G•114)481.11/, were indiete i at the suit of George Cracklow, for raising a Tigi! •tild mob about his hoese in St.„catherine'sdatre. It if,. peered from the evidence of the Prosecutor, and two other witnesses, that the Traverse - rs had assembled a mob round Mr. Craclrdow's doer, with frying. pans, kettles, tin saucepans, keys, and various other kinds of music of the Lame sort, pLnyilig up the Rogues' March, and Cracklow and his wife by various opprobrious names, and that the Defendant Mary Baker had dressed out a doll, 4 purporting to be the effigy of Mrs. Crack low, and having given it to the mob, at the tid , ll ; time distributing h ilfpence, desired them to burn the b—, Mrs. Cracklosv, or to blow up the 4 old accordingly, the e ffi gy was hung up against the window of the Prosecutor's house, wills the maiden name, and also the pre.-nt name of his wife written over it, and that gunpowd..r being set under it, it was blown up, the while ma), shoutipg ; out, thcre got-. the 01.1 b M. era.: 1.. u " .; at the same time play:is op the rough *rex as a was termed. On the part of the Defendants, Mrs. Prose'r le posed, that Mrs. Crackiow and her sister liad, ut the morning of the day in which the riot knocked several times a: the door of Ars. Baker, calling her different vile names ; that zhe had paid . a drummer of a volunteer association in that neigh- bourho sd, to play up the Raves' h before her dons, and that she hal stuck a cock oat of her win. dow, saying, that that was a sign she was cock .f .11 the walk. Mr. MAINWARINC dejectod the Defendants into the hands the Jury, who pronouuced them all They were then sentenced by the Owen s -Mar, Baker, to pay a due of lUi. 1 Elizabeth Biker, di I Frances Demo, 31. ; Susannah Clark, and G;torge Galloway, 40s. each. J , :!ra it ,it was indiaed, at the suit of di._ pa. • ii', for keeping a house of ill. hme, and, b" „ L aplacr . count, for keeping a disorderly house, iis sten street ; it was proved by several respenahle *keenes t that . house was inhabited by many vivmt , .l of very loose man ne rs, w h o were con zanily iasentit* every man who passed to go in, and it tt e ; i fendant had often gone into the house to collect rent. The Lolle,:lors of the different taxes pioyesi v t that Mr. Brit always pail Clem the :axes due on the house, though he did not live in it. Mrs. Higgins, one of the ladies who lived in the house, swore, th at she h a d a l ways pa id her reut ,to I either Mr. or Mrs. Brit ; ;hat the house was furnish ed by the Defendant ; that she paid him fourteen guineas a-month for it, he paying taxes ; that be well knew in what manner she was to earn t:ie money to pay him his tent. Mr. k stay spoke at length for tl.: Defendant, but called no witnesses. Jury found him—tin/04 Ha was accordin:.tly sentenced to six months' int prisoemenr, to pay 5.4. ti.te, and to find sureties lir two years, himself in ek/01. aad two sureties iat.loOl. each. • 1 TOM.G•ttb4ll6 On Saturday, a man was brought up on a ehaige ' of getting goods under false pretences. It 110:e3o-d that he had escaped from a prison in 1-lanitto.fh, and that, having arrived here, he ee.scrlied as an H.imhuign merchant, that he wanted s iarge quantity of goods for exportation, and a.:ltsally ob tained them to the amount of r.rne 11 WI 13 edi. 1 Some t t the goods had been storped at Gravesend. He had the address, when he wanted cash, to go in - a violent hurry into one of the hoes. s where he had ordered go ids, and requested the Lian of 501. or - !OA fora few ho Ist. His defence not being con. sidered satisiadory, he was comnatted for trial. DUBLIN. IC INC.'.s BENCH, NOV. 49. The K rya, at the Preuretion of Sir 1 . 110314 S JUDKIS FITZ GERALD, Bert. r. RO !ER I POl ILI'. Mr. Justice Liar, After a very el Tient add: ess. in the course of wnich he remarke,i, that whatever i ijury Mr. Potter had sustained in paint of tha— railer, by the aspersions thrown on his loyalty by Sir Thmnas, in the year 1793, w.ts entirely done away, and that charatier and that loyalty complete* vinaicatPd by the verdict which he obtained in the year 1799 ; and, that therefore, in the which he had off-red to sir Thomas • for which, to that hour, he had a ttem p te d neit h er apology nor atonement, he was aCtuated fav she most rancorous spirit of revenge; pr:...tee,ted to pronounce the sentence of the court, which w 4,, that Mr. Potter should be confined three mouths in Newgate. and be fined one mark, and that, at disci. piration of his imprisonment, he should enter asas a recognisance, himself in 10001. and two sureties ix 5001. each, to keep the peace for seven years. Ni. cholas Connolly Hussey, Esq. an cohere in the army, who w. s s conyicied of a similar cadence at the last assizes of Tfalee, at the prosecution of Dr. Moriarty, was, at the same time, s-ntenced to siz months ins prisonment, and to pay a fine to the King or' The Postern Gate at the Castle is now (pen. and the bartiers removed, so as to restore the usual com munication between Ship -street and Palace -street, through the Lower Castle-yard. Extr.di of a Letter harts Mr. WrssiaNt Hay. DON, an (kfiCer Of His MatJUTv's ship Ramsey, to his brother : " His Maj•nty's *sip Eagle, off th 2 " Di Ael /loonies, Texel. line. 24. "On Su .day la at we left Yarmouth to join Admiral It es. • set. Wm 's? morning we ran on shore the South off the New Deep, neu the Teitel. We lay without aan:. Lice; and, on Tuesday, as them was nu dwibt the ilt.p must be totally lon, we made atneral raft. of the mud. 1 dinusail bainas, 2c. and at eleven o'cl.ck p. 1 left the ship un one of then,, ancons;..aniod by twelve 1 1 l our men. At sunset 1 saw a Dutch cutter taking the ow*. from the raft.; but it corning dark, we were driven out le lea, and lost light of them ; but, thank God, about tea at nig* we hal the good fortune to fail m with the Alert cutter, who MIA au ud, nr we mutt hay • peruhed, as it blew fresh, alai Ike as nut very h•ah. The gre.tcst part of out crew art in Holland. Tae trust: upset almost unmed..tely after ta., Weft hurnet nut, •r .1 men were lost. I sin at roam so weak that I cm.. t give yea a ram fuel account of the oepeseibie germ ISt wets su.'