Northern Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-06 00:00:00

~... ~, E; ,...___ ~......___,..____.._..._..____ X-TRAORDINARY LIBEL. •TYRER v. M'CLELLAN p ri T his was an action for libel, tried yesterday, in the Nisi j ur .,, 118 before Mr. Justice Byles and a special in ' l44 h the parties' in the action are well known . " 1 4 An effort was apparently made to settle l a t ' a and the leading counsel on both sides (Mr. tne a, Q•C Mr. Wilde, Q 0 ) ~ • • / withdrew, and enturtadted for , sandw minutes. They soon, however, re tr t ett into court, and the case proceeded. Mr. b e t opened the pleadings. It was an action brought ilel- "illiain ItenrY yrer aga . inst David M'Clellan. The tion stated that, the laintiff being an attorney and selici th/ the defendant . imputed p to him unlawful conduct, libela d published of him a foul, scandalous, and malicious . The defendant pleaded first, that he was not guilty ; i a il lid See elld, that the libellous matter complained of was true substance and in fact. =fir. Edward James said : May it please your Lordship, It th inY painful duty to lay before you the details of one of toe most foul and calumnious libels that it has ever fallen Tn.. 1 t 0011 .' t j O to know to be brought before a jury in this 4 r I have a difficulty in knowing how to charac terise t hat ther f matter which is for great . consideration. I will, e are endeavour, shortly as I possibly can, to call yourate' • as of , ention to the facts upon the distorted statements died v e.ieh this libel is founded. In the year 1848 there th e 2 4 ll l the neighbourhood of Liverpool, a gentleman with highl y aa le of Richardson, who had for years carried . .on a tow n, spectable business as tailor and draper in this Plain'ti ff ° ta ng ago as nearly eleven . years. Mr.. Tyre e r e , n th in e t ra ct .' 2 who is an attorney in this town, having b Ice for now some twenty years' had been employed, ern the fe ss i n ~ very earliest commencement of his practice, pro th• " nu tlY by Mr Richardson. Mr. Tyrer, the plaintiff . in ts anti • years His Lordship : iz,„ oa, so lone. ago as eleven y eelo,7e,h Years ? Ar. - James : Yes ,• the circumstances to l), the action refer, arose nearly eleven years _ag . o. Whether th e death of Mr. Richardson, applications were made by Wh et ° ll ll e , AIL Robert Richardson, to the plaintiff, to know th.. r or not he had a will of the father. It is obvious Was knob an inquiry might be made to a gentleman who 4 aown to have been the legal adviser of the father. ehiriPriehardson had been married twice. He had several" by hise grown up to man's estate by his first wife,.. and 1,4 second wife he had three children. Ample provision 484 unquestionably made for the second wife, and for the Y ou ef that marriage. This was known to the family. e fa x r aaY Judge, therefore, whether or not the issue of tll I rouhr arr iage/ with that knowledge upon their minds, rn ,, be anxious to discover whether their father had 4 2 a will in order that the first offspring might not be in s chirp% condition than the widow, and the widow ere n , . said that , U p o n that enquiry being made, Mr._ Tyrer prepare he ae had no recellection whatever . of having that . a will. Mr. Robert Richardson thought Ty re i r ?°ssibly, i n the multitude of the engagements of Mr. iotter: sac a thing might have been overlooked for ,kor gentl 4e/ therefore, urged upon Mr. Tyrer . to search tr ace f , Y in his office, and see whether such a will, or any 4 v ,as th a e. t an Y will, could' be found. He did so, and the result `aere T n° will, nor trace of any will, could be discovered the re ' l lowin ilat Was upon the 9th January, 1848. U 17he I IPeil l ' Mr. M'Clellan, the defendant in , this p a o c n tion, t a nPari v ~,,74 e , Was a friend of Mr. Richardson s, called,. in Z• Tyrer, - T l ,,a gentleman of the name of Thornley, upon th e minc -11" aa uounced that the object of their call was before, ' as th m at of Mr. Robert Richardson on the day If‘e lellan anci c i ,"'eY pressed upon him—particularly Mr, trobahair he if he would make further search, in all Will M dr taight discover something of the kind, because i t ''' wi:' h - 1 11 stated that he had seen the draft of a '''`r• Ty:- he believed to have come fforn the office of draft r' Rowever, no such will—no traces of any such Nfr. --se . °ll ld then or , at any time be found. The funeral of 1 1th Richardson was fixed, and took place on the Yon ~,,?! January. Mr. Tyrer, not unnaturally, as so tfl'gilt suppose, having been the legal adviser for for, a a „ n Y years to Mr. Richardson, received, unsought and -Linvitation to the funeral. He attended the funeral, til e r a e ukr the return from the grave in the ordinary . way, as e ho rest st 1 9f the guests departed so likewise he b loft t c arob . 1- t Was there that upon the same day, I +ye in t heiw il l; Probably, with Mr.. Robert acr l a t i i n ch Richardson, while made ar as to the Will, and 4ed together, an enquiry was , Alr. lias to what was to be done. They were anxious— Prete bent Richardson was anxious to do what he could to 4 ine et f hi alself, and his own whole brothers -those by the kne w her and mother—and 'applied to Mr. Tyrer to d that Nvhichwhat course was to be adopted. Headvised w enid , I believe any attorney under similar circumstances „,re at "have advised, as a precautionary measure, that a 4, Yre r C,Nd be entered in the proper court in Chester. t lN w l a r s . euteredeueves that, upon that occasion, before any . ca veat ree eni / another most respectable attorney in this It was the same course, and that course was adopted. e Pap e ; stated that the widow had been destroying . some t entl , and it was su ggested that she might either math er ha d iL er w n ilf ullY have destroyed the will. With that Mr. Tyrer li Nath nl ,: re to do than any one of you gentlemen. It was Ilr ged, th a 'at% ta ternent being made, and those fears being rilem ed Alr. m llobert 14 - , -yrer, as a professional gentleman, recom la,_t course ' to be adopted. I believe that Mr. turPose Veuardson himself went over to Chester for t the_ ei eye _ .J. instructing a proctor there to enter a cavea_ l r ri ac eoinn „ I , ap not quite sure of the fact - that Mr. Tyre 7, th a -e u him. lt was entered. Upon the following ° e , -e 12th, Mr. Robert Richardson came to Mr. Tyrer's e frielledsaud stated that, upon the recommendation of some N,...0 believe Mr. M'Clellan, the defendant, among b o b bedi ti e r , had determined. to withdraw the caveat, and in ~,4 4e h e d g e to the directions received from Mr. Robert ''' wilthrd°ll, -4 r. Tyrer there and then wrote to the proctor Wbeut to Lan do the cavea t. Upon the same day Mr. Tyrer w " i a t tn t ii - at 44 4 4 °T fur There h can h b e e no mistake upon that pomt. has documents which he w a l il Tr that his un, memory is not defective, that ~.4 a Y of-1,14 London on the night of the 12th, and the 'alit, w t h `te 1 3th of January, 1848. Gentlemen, it is impor- 1 li eAl Udit , ell i the question involves elves the professional persona - Pon et i," 4 an attorney, to see how things have been done. and wh en Ith of January, whilst Mr. Tyrer was in London, v lit as ,. ,ei ell o p lie ~B u Pposed that the whole thing, so far as he tb'' -ii. ille-Ileci, relating to the will, had been set at rest, she at°tx,lrt Richardson called at the attorney's office, saw 'Rauh' VleY's clerk, and again requested that the . caveat h " sg e 1 r l e 1;e-entered because he had changed his mind. aui e en e t - ; -, in the absence of Mr. Tyrer, without any col:t.i 'eercrea with him in the due course of business, and i t n th e „aace with the instructions of the client, wrote off o y4ector, to re-enter the caveat and it was re-entered. Mr. vPilate' f ro to tlie day of the funeral, had no communication fil e wvaest witMrs.lt' ichardson, the d; bear that in mind. e i c %itn n „aever at the house• he never saw her; he had no 3 4 4 the Zcatioa whatsoever' with her for good or for bad. h ,_` t . It - f,, n l rse of a few days a will, which had been made by b 7rri dTa,rdson in the Isle of Man, from whence he IL e Per e t v 'IS second wife, and in which island he settled Z"ned', 11 1 )01 1 the wife, and the children by the second wife, 'eatb;P; No further proceedings were take n. The t-c,,tellinef3rfthr. R ichardson—not by Mr. T — yrer, for . he had r'fth. Cr to do with the matter was withdrawn. ak• • Al i o l eabl. g Proceeded in the family, I believe, in the most Ai ll '" t ble' Wa Y. Mr. Tyrer until last year never heard one ' r j , kore k . o a R . e su s upon th 1; ject. He had been emloed by in t . Rob e leYardson, the deceased- he was employed by zad i ll n i,:tew ?It?. -.l4lchardson for years after that time as his legal ofess_ioenal adviser. He prepared that gentle -444 eouti n - _ l t was and had been for some years, N „,,, er 0 , ite6 to the present . moment, the legal ZVile hent the firm of which John Richardson bi g e ( l_eue eo d ; 11,_ e therefore had the full, entire, unbounded Of taut of a :f ,_4l. those gentlemen. Mr. A syllable upon the tl eves _e trans,p.uoing connected with Tyrer, in respect Of 1 p I b el ,' . , ti Ils connected with the will, and the caveat kr .' l° vero t tev e, was breathed by man until in the month tio n J ohn ilf:2 185 8, almost eleven years after the death of fonl B 1 4 444 ebardson, and the occurrence of the transac rna`est iih'°_lted, there is issued to the t world one of the lie.. Y _ itua f ,.;,7_ 3 :s,vhich ever man publish.veptured be o en You disseminated, Ine'sfsar rode the extent to which it not, and of t ' l of k no , a _,al • Tyrer knows . and can never have thence lib el 'ing. Mr. Tyrer received one of the copies see to a in an envelope. Others likewise received . the What ve ry considerable extent, and we will now th e tr ait are the contents of them by reference to rue,,Plain — ull a s .of which I have ' l e . liscl disclosed to you, ', l'e, I,"rauvoarn!shed facts. The ibel n bears as its 4ilpegal Vill ** is stranger than fiction." Its title is 4 Detective at n : The Story of a Lawyer and a Widow; eh the" Ishall fortt ge whole re ad tis write r th* no t read the doggrel rhymes with _ inks proper to set ou . t. Mr. James then / and is as ol the libel, which was printed in pamphlet folio s A LAWYER AND A WIDOW. "'Tomas well enough When Goodenough • Before the Peers did preach ; ‘‘ For, sure enough, It 1, Right th e 1 ~s, alwa were those he had toteach." g ., e g al profess s been a favourite pastime with the sharks of 4 theon, 'Pr • estate to. fix. their fangs, by fair means or foul, ~, acti ce / of a rich man dying intestate ;. _and this een s to h ave l4 especial' to their taste when the widow hap °ftell been. t„,.„ afford the i';‘,ly their a the the aYsecond wife, for then circumstances means of indul still more effec ,4 few days,Peetite for ' devouring widow'sdescription, It upptort of this nefarious descripi silawril,)e held ' b ade.," t he foll gpneral detestation and abhorrence. The that shall .1 4 ,,, - ..ou g h 0 ,. „ r ovfl_ng true statement may l be th c e a m lle o d nth M o r f . t i ,:',a e ary , is -. 1. . Too-bad-for -anything. 4,, scrian whohere departed this life a worth and and wealthy . n ' 4 be en .' may be designated as Mr. Richenough• He lic l had In the habit of employing many different . attorneys, Illale fr eque ti be en l ag hi s .... 11 Y spoken to them and his friends about ea e hi s e will. Re had requested two of the latter to Paei ) ~, xecutors, and they had consented to act in hat if allNi nted. At the Wile of his , death, and for a fortnight afterwards, neither they nor the family knew whether a will had ever been completed or not, and for a time, therefore, all the parties interested were in a state of anxious doubt and uncertainty. Immediately on the,death of his father, the eldest son inquired from all the attorneys in the locality whom he thought at all likely to have been entrusted by his father with this important business, whether they had ever been so employed or not. These inquiries were made—anxiously made—before the funeral, from a supposition the family entertained, that most probably the will might contain some directions respecting the place of interment, which, of course ' they were very desirous to ob serve and obey, if any such directions had been given. The young man then inquired from the two gentlemen, friends of the family, who, he knew, had consented at his father's request to act as executors of his last will and testament, but with the same result as that which had attended all previous inquiries. They knew nothing further than that they had been asked, and had consented to dis charge that duty, if entrusted with it. As no will could be found or heard of, it was, therefore, concluded that none had ever been finally completed. The story now darkens and deepens, for Mr. Badenough appears upon the scene. He had, doubtless, heard of the numerous inquiries that had been made in many quarters about a will. No application, however, had been made to him ; and he appears to have thought that it was high time —as something might be made out of such an estate—to get his foot over the threshold of this bereaved but united family. With that view (he could have no other object) he called at the place of business of the deceased tradesman, and, to one of the clerks in the establishment, he expressed his deep regret at the death of his friend and client, Mr. Richenough. He was a man, he said, for whom he (Mr. Badenough) entertained the greatest esteem, and he should like very much to be invited to the funeral, that he might pay - that last mark of respect to so worthy a man. This message obtained for him the coveted invitation. Up to that moment there had not been the remotest intention of asking him to be present on the mournful occasion. It is most likely that, in the first instance, his object in fishing for an invitation was limited to the consideration that the fact of his being invited to the funeral of Mr. Richenough - the only lawyer, perhaps, there —would indicate to the friends and to the executors, if a will should be found, that he enjoyed the confidence of the deceased and of the sur viving family, and might possibly, in consequence, be employed in winding up the estate. This was, perhaps, all the mischief he intended at the outset ; but such a man is always ready to improve upon anything that may appear to be within his grasp. The reader must know that Mr. Badenough is one of the obsequious, smiling, smooth spoken, plausible, oily personages met with sometimes in novels and on the stage, but, fortunately, not so often in real life. To give an illustration of this peculiarity in his character—when he drives into the town in the morning, or walks the streets, he keeps constantly a sharp look out on all sides, that he may not miss any opportunity of politely bowing to any respectable man whom lie has the slightest ground for pretending to know. He thus conveys the impression,- or hopes to do so, that his acquaintance is almost universal ; that, in fact, he knows, and is known by, all the men worth knowing. To see him drive into town with one continued bow from right to left, and left to right,• a la mandarin of the tea shops, it would naturally be supposed, by every one not acquainted with the cun ning knave,' that he was known to all, esteemed by all, and in all respects on the best terms with himself and everybody else. The writer has, to his great annoyance, been thus cheated out of a nod of recognition about half a dozen times ; and he has consequently now made it a rule never to return any bow from any one, without having first distinctly observed from whom the recognition proceeds. But, leaving this illustrative digression, let 'the case' proceed. The facts of the message having been left at the place of business, and, in consequence thereof, an invitation to attend the funeral having been sent to Mr. Badenough, came to the knowledge of the two friends of the family already alluded to. They thought it was a most extraordinary course for a professional man to adopt. They are both tolerably clear-headed men, and in a right cause, against a wrong-doer, not to be frightened or much puzzled either with trifles or tricks. They laid their heads together on this singular message from a lawyer, under such circum stances, to a family with whom they knew he had not been previously on intimate terms. The friends could not under stand such conduct, nor guess what could possibly be the object Badenough had in view. It was just possible they thought that he might be in possession of a will, and had taken this strange mode of bringing it to light. They therefore determined, after a little consultation, to call upon the lawyer, and ask him distinctly the question, whether or not he had ever prepared a will for the late Mr. Richenough. Mr. Badenough received them most blandly. He pretended to think upon the subject, his head first on one side, then on the other, with an immediate glance or two at the ceil ing. He next brought down a bundle of papers, pretending to look for a will, or some draft or paper that might possibly throw some light on the matter. He then called one of his clerks, and asked him whether he recollected such a will ever having been prepared in the office. The clerk replied that no such document had ever been there in his time. Mr. Badenough then said, ' It appears, 'gentlemen, that I did not prepare a will, although I think I was spoken to on the subject by Mr. Richenough. The question, however, you have asked, clears up a curious circumstance which has puzzled me not a little, but is now clearly explained. The family must surely be under the same impression that you appear to have entertained, for very much to my surprise I have received an invitation to attend the funeral, which at the time appeared to me rather extraordinary, as I did not happen to be on terms of intimacy with Mr. Richenough or his family.' The eyes of the two friends met for a moment, with an inexpressible twinkle of intelligence. They wished to hear no more, but bade Mr. Badenough good morning ; and the moment they were outside his office one of them exclaimed to the other, What an unprincipled fellow this is.' The other said nothing, but shook his head in amaze ment. It was clear that Badenough meant mischief of some sort, and the friends determined to watch his move ments closely, in order to foil him if possible. In order to baulk his intentions, whatever they might be, they . agreed that on the day of the funeral they would remain at the house, after returning from the church, until they saw Badenough safe off the premises. This, however, they failed to accomplish, as he appeared determined not to move from the field of his intended operations. After staying till the morning was advanced, the company departed, one by one, until there remained of all the guests only the sorrow ing Mr. Badenough. The reason why' he stayed will presently appear. A sense of propriety would have induced him to take his leave with the other guests, but a pkssion for business in his line caused him to 'stick like a leech' to the bereaved family until he had the field to himself, and the game, as he fondly imagined, in his own hands. But ' There is many a slip between the cup and the lip.' Early on 'the morning of the next day, one of the friends, whose suspicions had been strongly excited by what had occurred, called upon the eldest son to warn him against asking or taking advice or counsel from the plausible and insinuating Mr. Badenough. The friend urgently recom mended the youth to go over at once to Mr. Goodenough, one of his late father's attorneys, (and a most respectable man,) and try to get it arranged that he (the son) should, jointly with the widow, who would have the pre ference, take out letters of administration. The youth, a well-meaning young man, but knowing nothing of law, and never having, till then, come into contact with any of Badenough species, had fallen for a moment into the toils of the unscrupulous schemer. The s2n said, ' Perhaps it is too late now to take that course. Too late. !' exclaimed the friend, how can that be ? The funeral was only yesterday. Nothing surely can yet have been done in the matter by any body ?" Yes, there has,' he said. What, in the name of goodness or mischief, has been done ?' rejoined the friend. Why, you see, Bad enough remained until all the friends had left ; he made no sign of going, and we did not like to tell him to go, and so he joined us in making a regular search through the house, in every likely and unlikely place, to find, if possible, my father's will. We did not succeed, and then Badenough walked into town with me. On the way he advised me, as there appeared to be no will, that, under all the circum stances, the best thing I could do now was to go to Chester without delay, and enter a caveat against my mother having letters of administration granted to her, and, acting under this advice—supposing u it to be the usual and correct course to adopt when thereis no •will—we went together yesterday afternoon, and I did as Badenough recommended me to do.' The friend was thunderstruck at such down right knavery in a professional man, and spoke with a vehemence and earnestness that immediately induced, or rather forced, the young man out of such a false and in all respects such a terrible position. Go across to Good enough,' the friend almost commanded, ' instantly ; tell him of this outrageous proceeding, and follow the advice he ' gives you. Badenough knows well enough that your mother will obtain letters of administration, in spite of all the opposition you or he can raise, unless you can prove that she is either insane or of immoral character.' The young man became frightened at what he had been tempted to do, and took the friend's advice. He went to Good enough, and of course the caveat was immediately withdrawn, the son going off, post haste, to Chester, for the purpose. Thus Badenough lost his hold of his first victim, and it was hoped that here the attempted villany would have ended. But not so. He had scented prey, and his next step was still worse than all that had gone before. Having lost his grasp of the son, he next tried to seize the mother, not caring who was his tool, so that he could only, by some means or other, get his paw into the strong box of the estate. As soon as he heard that the caveat had been withdrawn, he walked direct up to the widow's house, and told her what her step-son had done on the very day of his father's funeral, carefully omitting, however, to inform her at the same time who had been the son's adviser in the business. There is a deep blackness about Badenough's conduct in this affair that none but professional mei4 Can fully understand. In addition to the fact that a widow has always a prior claim for letters of administration to her husband's estate before all other applicants—creditors or relatives—the lawyer also well knew that, even In the event of its being necessary to contest a widow's claim, it is not requisite to throw down the gauntlet on the very day of the funeral of the husband, seeing that no letters of administration would be granted to any body in less than fourteen days after the decease of a person dying intestate. This Badenough knew right well, and hence arises the almost inhuman villany of his conduct. None but the strongest words in the English language can adequately characterise such infamous behaviour in such mournful circumstances. Was it not diabolical, fiendish, devilish ? What milder terms can any man use, or allow to be used by others, in such a case ? Here is a lawyer forcing his way by fraud and falsehood into a peaceful, contented, and united family, and with malice aforethought ' advising the son, on the very day of his father's funeral, so to act towards his stepmother that an irreconcileable quarrel might certainly be established in the family, for no other object or purpose than that, while the mother and children were quarrelling and litigating, he might the more suc cessfully and effectually transfer a portion of their estate to himself. If such a incident as this had been given in a work of fiction, the novelist would have been charged with gross exaggeration. The readers would, one and all, have said, such villany is far beyond all human probability ; and yet it has actually been committed within the last few, years, and can be established against a solicitor in extensive prac tice at this moment in the north of England, beyond all possibility of 'doubt, denial, or dispute. It is indeed a melancholy truth that it is impossible to exaggerate the occasional villany of mankind. Such men in the legal profession are a disgrace and a scandal to the whole class, as well - as . a terrible scourge and pest to society. It is inipossible to foresee or calculate the amount of evil such characters are able and willing—nay, most anxious —to commit, if it answers their purpose, in the existing state of society. The profession, however, could very soon rid society and themselves of such brothers-in-law if they as a class had any public spirit. To drive such practitioners merely from one town to another, thus allowing them to continue their villany in a new district, would not be doing to our neighbours as we would wish them to do unto us. Right and justice will not be satisfied —society will not be sufficiently protected—until such men as Badenough arc absolutely prevented doing any more mischief to mankind—in the highly honourable, influential and most responsible position of one of her Majesty's attorneys-at-law.. If he could be driven to the boards of a minor theatre, his bad character might be of use to the management, as well as to himself, without inflicting the slightest injury on any of the audience. When he played, for instance, the parts of the smooth-faced, plausible, designing villains of the stage, it might always then be announced in the bills'of the day, that Mr. So-so would appear until further notice 'in his original character.' Thus the play-bills, even, would speak the truth and shame the devil ;' Why do members of Law Societies or Guardian Societies neglect to take up such flagrant eases ? It is difficult to guess for what public purpose or object such societies exist, if the members have not the honesty, the ability, and the courage to deal rather summarily with such disgraceful and dangerous personages in the profession as Badenough. If the lawyers only associate themselves together for the purpose of increasing . and preserving . the game for liff ° itimate or legal sport, even in that selfish view it would be to their own narrow interest to protect the manor from the poachers of the profession ; and unless they do so the public will have some ground to think that they are ' all birds of one feather,' and that they, therefore, as far as practicable or possible, flock and act together. This is not really the fact, perhaps, but it may be suspected by many who, knowing the number of rogues on the roll of the profession, hardly ever hear of one being unrolled. Law Societies have far more power over an unworthy member of their class than any constituency has or .can have over an unworthy repre sentative ; for they can unrobe or unwig him whenever they have a good, - that is 'a bad case,' and have courage and firm determination to bring the delinquent before the constituted authorities. Let them as a body exercise their power in all clear cases, and they will deserve and zeceive the approbation of their own consciences and the thanks of the whole community. It is, perhaps, necessary or desirable that it should be stated, in conclusion, that in about a fortnight after the funeral, the will of Mr. Richenough was found ; the villainy that had been suggested and attempted by Badenough vas exposed; the shark being foiled, the intended mischief was prevented ; and, as a matter of course, the family continued to be united, remaining in peace and harmony with each other." Mr. James, while reading the libel, stopped to comment upon several passages of it. At one point, he said : Why does this man, eleven years after these transactions had taken place, and so many of the friends who knew of the truth of the facts had gone to their last account, why does this malignant libeller rake up from the ashes of the past transactions such as these ? What motive has he ? I will glance at it. In the year 1846, this gentleman, being married, separates from his wife. The interests of the unfortunate lady were entrusted to Mr. Tyrer. Mr. Tyrer vindicated her rights and privi leges against the husband, and succeeded in bringing him to terms—much, much against his will ; and hence you have the vindictive feelings of this man, which have led him on, day by day, week by week, and year by year, to attempt to ruin Mr. Tyrer in the estimation of his friends and the public. That is the reason why you have this libel brought before you this day. When Mr. James had concluded reading the pamphlet, he said : That, gentlemen, is the libel. The imputations are of the foulest description. It is imputed that Mr. Tyrer, for his own vile and sordid pur poses, had inhumanly thrust himself upon this grieved and afflicted family, set them at loggerheads with each other, solely for the purpose, whilst they were quarrel ling, and perhaps litigating, of obtaining the means of gratifying his own sordid inclinations out of the estate of the deceased Mr. Richardson---imputations of so grave a nature that, if true, one holds his hand in astonishment up to find a man of such public spirit as this repose upon the fact for eleven long years. It was the duty, the bounden duty, of Mr. M'Clellan, if he knew that Mr. Tyrer had been conducting himself in such a way—it was his bounden duty, as a member of society—it was imperative upon him as a friend of the family—to have dragged to daylight the infamous conduct of Mr. Tyrer, and to have brought that conduct before the tribunals of the country. Upon that there can be no doubt. Why then did this man not act so ? Possibly in that box to-day he may himself tell you. If he does not, you, gentlemen, will know what estimate to form of him, and of his conduct, who, after eleven long years of knowledge of such scandalous and infamous conduct upon the part of a professional man as ought to have exiled him from society— then, when the matter is brought forward at last, shelters himself under the name of "The Detective." He has not the manliness at the last moment to avow that he who knows of the fact, as he says, is the man at length, and at this late period, to drag from his hiding place the individual who could be guilty of such atrocious conduct. Gentlemen, I have laid before you the facts relating to this most painful case. Need I tell you that the professional existence, the comfort, the welfare of Mr. Tyrer, depend upon the result of this case ? What must be his feelings, day by day, when subjected to the taunts and stings of such a malignant slanderer ? What must be the feelings of his wife ?—the feelings of his grown-up family? Are they not retorted upon him? Gentlemen, If, when you have heard the case, you are satisfied that it is a foul, malicious, calum nious slander, prompted by the vindictive feelings of Mr. M'Clellan, mark by your verdict your sense of his conduct ; and by that verdict place Mr. Tyrer in the position to point to that as a full vindication of his character, If Mr. M'Clellan, who, under the name of " a detective," pours forth this foul, envenomed slander, does not venture to go into the witness-box to prove that which is now upon the record in his own name, and he says is true, mark by your verdict your sense of indignation at the condnct of so foul and calumnious a libeller. Mr. James It. Jeffery examined by Mr. Brett : I am a magistrate of the Borough of Liverpool, I know the de fendant, and believe he is a woollen draper. The defendant sent me the pamphlet requesting I would read it, and return it to him as he had only a few struck off. I saw him subsequently. I spoke to him on the subject of the pamphlet. I don't remember the conversation pre cisely. The substance of it was : He asked me if I had received such a pamphlet. I said I had. It was in my place of business that the conversation took place. I was so conversant with the facts of the case previously by Mr. Thornley, that it needed no special information. He said Mr. Badenough was Mr. Tyrer. He admitted himself to be the writer. Cross-examined by Mr. Wilde : Independent of anything the defendant told me I knew to whom the pam phlet applied. I knew of it at the time of the occurrence. Mr. Tyrer called on me about a fortnight since. He pro duced the pamphlet. He asked me if I had seen the pam phlet. I said I had. He asked me if Mr. M'Clellan had wrote it. I said I had no doubt about it. He asked me to accompany him to Mr. M'Clellan to see if I could induce Mr. M'Clellan to acknowledge the authorship. I said that was unnecessary, as I believed if Mr. M'Clellan was the author of such a pamphlet be would at once acknowledge it. He then produced a letter, and read it to me, and said he would send it. I said he would, no doubt, receive a fair answer to that letter. He asked me if I had received any unfavourable impression of him from that pamphlet. I said I had merely received a pamphlet, and asked him not to mix me up in it. He said he understood that I spoke disparagingly of him. I said I was not aware. I said had received no unfavourable impression from reading that pamphlet, but I said I had an unfavourable impression of Mr. Tyrer from a circumstance that happened some ten or eleven years ago, in the case of a tradesman of this town, who came to me and told me that Mr. Tyrer kept £lO for cysts and refused to give lAiru a bill of particulars, Mr, _ THE - NORTHERN TIMES, :,WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 1859 Tyrer said. I did not know all the circumstances, and that he had acted under the advice of two friends of this person, and that it was a matter which he could explain. By Mr. James : I am not prepared to say that the persoa who gave me the information was exaggerating. He might speak without thinking. W. K. Tyrer examined : I am the plaintiff in this action. I first commenced my practice as attorney in Liverpool in 1839. The late Mr. Richardson was one of my earliest and best friends. He commenced to employ me in 1839, and continued to employ me up to the time of his death, and paid me large sums of money. I was employed by members of his firm, and also in his private capacity. I remember his death. I did receive an invitation to his funeral. I did not solicit an invitation. Before the funeral took place I saw Mr. Robert Richardson. Mr. John Richardson was married twice. He had three sons by the first wife, and two sons and a daughter by the second wife. He was out the same age as myself then —about 33 or 34. Mr. Robert Richardson asked me if I had a will of his father. I told him I had no memory of any will of his father, but I would look my journal. I looked, and found no trace of any. Mr. Robert Richardson and Mr. M'Clellan called on me on the 10th January, 1848. Mr. M'Clellan asked me whether I had made a will for Mr. Richardson. I told him the son had made the same enquiry, and I could find none. He told me that Mr. Richardson had submitted a draft to him and he was almost certain that it was my producing. I told him he was mistaken, but that I had received au invitation to the funeral, they thinking, no doubt, that I had a will to produce. I attended the funeral. I returned about twelve or one o'clock. I left with the guest whom I accompanied to the house, Mr. Joseph Crossly. I did not remain until all the rest of the guests were gone. I made no search in the house, nor know of any being made. I was only in one room. Robert Richardson called on me on the 11th Janaary, 1848, and said that he was informed by Mr. Cabbin, his stepmother's brother, that a will had been made at the Isle of Man by his father. He told me also that his stepmother had been burning some papers, which she said were her private letters, but he thought by inad vertence or design she had destroyed the will. His father, he said, had settled an estate on the second wife and family in the Isle of Man, worth £lO,OOO. He said, he was almost certain that a will could be found ; but, before it was proved, he would like to know how it was executed, and under what circumstances. I told him he could enter a caveat. After some other conversation, I recommended him to go to my proctor at Chester, and consult him, as I was going to Landon the next day. He then asked me if I would go with him, and I did go with him, and we con sulted-together., It was after the consultation with Mr. Ayerton that Mr. Richardson gave him instructions to enter the caveat. On the morning of the 12th Mr. Robert Richardson called on me, and said, Mr. M'Clellan was furious at me having entered a caveat. I told him I would withdraw it, and wrote a letter to Mr. Ayerton. I went to London on the 12th, and returned in the middle of the night of the 13th. On my return from London I saw Mr. Richardson on the 14th, and found that a caveat had been re-entered by Mr. Richardson's directions. I asked why he did this, and he repeated his anxiety, and said he would not mind what Mr. M'Clellan said. Mr. Richardson told him on that night that a will had been found, and I consequently wrote to Mr. Ayerton to withdraw.the caveat. I had nothing to do with the will after that, directly or indirectly. Robert Richardson, about five or six years ago, died. I was his professional adviser up to that time. I never saw old Mr. Richardson's wife after his death. Mr. Payne, the attorney, was introduced then. I never saw anything more of the occurrence till this pamphlet was published. I acted as legal adviser for Mr. M'Clellan's wife for a separation in 1846. Lowndes and Robinson made a draft deed for separa tion; I mdae some alteration. Mr. M'Clellan agreed to give her £75 a year, if she would reside within fifty miles of Liverpool. I got that condition withdrawn. I received a copy of this libel in an envelope directed by Mr. M'Clellan. I am a married man, with a large family. There was one copy of the pamphlet sent to my wife, and one to the schoolmistress where my children are. Cross examined by Mr. Wilde : I believe the direction was in Mr. M'Clelland's handwriting, in a disguised hand. I don't know in whose handwriting the others were addressed. Mr. Lowndes conducted the case of separation for Mr. M'Clel lan. The negotiations were conducted in a friendly spirit throughout. Mr. M'Clellan has boasted that he would ruin me for this. I heard this. He did not say so to me. I had a March for the will before the funeral. Entering a caveat might have been done by letter. Letters of adminis tration could not be executed before fourteen days. I have known caveats entered the day after the death of the deceased. Where a will is inexistence, it is an ordinary step for the elder son to enter a caveat. It is not ordinary to take out a caveat against taking out, a letter of adminis tration where no will is in existence ; but in this case a will was supposed to be in existence. On the 17th February last, I believe, I had made a complimentary call. I did not soe Mrs. Richardson. I might have left my card. It might possibly be that I made that compli mentary call a few days after the funeral, if at all. I never made any search for the will in the house. I searched through the papers of Mr. Richardson at my office for the will. I made a search on the 11th. This search on the 11th was a very short one. I was engaged by a person named Yates, seven or eight years ago. Mr. James objected to this matter being gone. The judge over ruled the objection. By Mr. Wilde : Mr. Yates came into difficulties. He had several creditors. I became his attorney. I did not recommend to him the notable scheme of marrying a wife and settling his property on her, in order to evade the creditors. He did marry a wife, and I prepared a deed of settlement. Mr. M'Clellan published a libel on this case. He said there was an advertisement for a wife. The advice I gave him was in writing. After reading that letter handed, Mr. Wilde asked if the witness still persevered in his statement as to advising Yates to marry a wife. The Judge objected to this question. Witness : I saw Yates once on the subject of a settlement, and also on the snbject of an award which was disputed. I knew Yates was • about to be married, and so did his family. The award was paid. There was an item of some £1,400 which was disputed. " At this very time were you not preparing- the marriage settlement." The question was overruled. The whole award was paid. Yates became insolvent, I paid no part of it. I sent £2OO to me Harmood Banner, the accountant. James Simcock examined by Mr. James : I was a clerk in. Mr. Ayerton's. Have had considerable experience in the office of Proctor. The ordinary practice, with respect to caveats, when a will is supposed to be in existence and not forthcoming, is to enter a ca v eat forth with. Thomas Cubbin said : I am the brother of the late Mrs. Richardson. I was at the funeral. I was at the house some days after the funeral. My sister died four years ago. Mr. Tyrer was at the funeral of Mr. Richardson. I never saw him after that day. I never heard Mr. Richardson mention Mr. Tyrer's name to my knowledge. She had no concern with any law and did not want any. Cross , examined by Mr. Wilde : I stopped in the house. Search was made in the house for a will. I do not recollect whether Mr. Tyrer was there or not at that time. Mrs. Richardson was in the house. Mrs. Richardson was not to his know ledge with Mr. Tyrer that day. I never called on Mr. Tyrer in my life. Maria Crossley cross-examined by Mr Brett : I was an intimate friend of Mrs. Richardson. I saw her the day after the funeral, and I think I saw her from day to-day afterwards for some time. She never men tioned Mr. Tyrer's name to me. I never saw Mr. Tyrer at the house. I recollect Mr. Tyrer calling at my father's house on the day of the funeral. He lunched at my father's house on that day. Examined by Mr. Wilde : " How far have you come to tell us all this ?" Witness : From Paris. (Laughter.) His Lordship : You may go back again then. This closed the case for the plaintiff. Mr. James, in reply, said : I am called upon to address you again. Do you know why ? I am quite certain you do not. My learned friend is to have the last word—and why ? Because he dares not put into the witness box the foul calumniator—the man who placed upon the record the plea stating that the libel is true. But he instructs the learned counsel to say : "I will libel. I will calumniate. I will slander as much as I please. I will take the name of a detective. I will lurk in secret places and pour forth my foul slander against whomsoever I please. I will ask a jury to believe that these slanders are true, although I avow my disinclination to go into the witness box. And, upon my oath, pledge myself that what I have deliberately put upon the record as true, is really so." What can he expect in a case like this ? Does he expect that you will believe that Mr. Tyrer, who has not shrunk from openly sheaving so far as he can, all the facts of the case, is not to be believed upon his oath ? , Does he suppose that you will discredit that gentleman and believe the unsworn statement of that man contained in the libel ? If he does he forms, as it seems to me, an erroneous judgment, as to the minds and the dispositions of the twelve gentlemen whom I have now the honour to address. He forms a very erroneous opinion of the sentiments and the judgment of all mankind, if he supposes that for an instant a man who has presented himself as Mr. Tyrer has done, to meet the charges made against him, is upon the mere statement of a concealed calumniator to be discredited and disbelieved. I wonder whether the defendant is now in court. Possibly he is not far off. Possibly he may have heard the whole of this case, and he shrinks from telling you who he is, and what he is, and what his antecedents are. I see some one shake his head. [The defendant sat not far behind Mr. James, and nodded when the allusion was made to him.] Not my learned friend, oh, no. He is too grave for that. (Laughter.) But I should like to have se en that individual, wherei a n n s t t e e e a e d dl e no should s. sh shaking his al h ds i k s le id h k eehaitdmo, somehgaetv e into afeskw e dc t i that i tmi w o uw i s t hnae as t s h s t - : b r o hs e x i ensue. nuo assailingsdt u e h e. he t rselay everybody o p prrpeoefoekr whonoani tayle falls f e t hu underm th n a i a te t a o ha r wei sticking;l displeasure, beea aff a o en afforded utterly Yon will judge of the document itself. You will say whether there can be any doubt that this is a foul, calumnious, and malignant libel. Can there be any doubt of that ? Is it an attack upon the professional cha racter, reputation, and position of Mr. Tyrer ? Can any man in his senses for one moment doubt it ? It would be a waste of time, a waste of trouble, and a waste of your patience were I to comment for one instant upon the fact of its being as foul a libel as ever was penned. Is it true that this man has vindictive feelings ag ainst Mr. Tyrer ? My learned friend cross-examined Mr. Tyrer upon some former transaction, which Mr. Tyrer would most gladly meet in the eye of open court, as he has met the other charge, were but the opportunity afforded to him as has been afforded to the defendant to-day, nor would he .dread the consequences of the most open discussion. Mr. Tyrer said, in answer to my learned friend's question—" All I know of the transaction is that I believe this gentleman has threatened to ruin me, and has foully slandered me before." Mr. M'Clellan dared not get into the witness-box to-day to deny that fact, and you may, therefore, take it that this is not the first time he has indulged in a malevolent and malignant libel against Mr. Tyrer. My learned friend asked Mr. Tyrer whether the envelope which contained this malignant libel was addressed to him in the handwriting of Mr. M'Clellan, and he answered, "I believe it is Mr. M'Clellan's handwriting, although disguised." Could Mr. M'Clellan not have told the truth upon this point, ? Could he not have said whether or not it was his hand which sent, with a malignancy the most diabolical which man can conceive, to the schoolmistress where this gentleman's infant daughters are receiving their education, this foul, malignant, filthycalumny upon the parent of those children. Would he not have said, if he could, that it was not so at all ? What think you of the man who can shrink when he is charged with having, to the wife of my client's bosom, obtruded the malignity of his feelings ? What think I you of the man who is not content with spreading over the masses of society his foul slanders, but who must invade the sanctity of the household circle ? Mr. Wilde : There is no evidence of that. His Lordship : No ; we do not know where it came from. Mr. Wilde : Mr. Tyrer did . not venture to state that. Mr. James : We have the fact, that one was received at his house and another at the school ; and we have the indisputable fact, uncon tradicted, that he sent one to Mr. Tyrer himself, who publishes it. 'Who discloses it but Mr. M'Clellan ? Search through the land, and it will be difficult to find a more malignant, a more venemous, more diabolical man than this. Is it to be supposed that anyone else, unless by his directions, and by his advice, or at his instigation, would have sent those libels hither ? It is impossible to suppose it. Would not anyone who was innocent of such a deed have got into the witness-box, and indignantly denied that he had been guilty of such a desecration of the family hearth ? He did not dare to do so, but he trusts to the eloquence, and the ability, and the zeal—of all which he will have the full benefit—which belong to my learned friend, than whom no man living is better able to make a speech in favour of his client, although he has no facts upon which he can found hig speech. Gentlemen, on the one side you have facts —on the other a speech. It is for you, and for you only, to say whether you have any doubt that this is one of the most malicious hbels which were ever published upon any professional man, and that there is not the slightest ground for saying it is true ; and having come to that con clusion, it is for you, and for you only, to say what is the amount of damages--not that Mr. Tyrer wants the money, far, very far from it--but I appeal to you for this reason, that the amount of your verdict may be, perchance, here after assigned by him and by his friends, to show that he has been grossly, foully, and malignantly libelled. If you are desirous, so far as you can, in the ab sence of the testimony of the man who might, if he pleased, have given testimony as to the truth of this libel, and who has not done so, mark by your verdict, your sense of indignation at conduct such as that of Mr. M'Clellan. Gentlemen, I have done. I have called your attention to the facts and the circumstances of the case. Mr. Tyrer is before you now, upon his character and his reputation, and through me he earnestly, most earnestly, entreats you, the proper tribunal to try a case of this kind, to vindicate his character, and set him right in his own estimation and in that of his friends. Mr. Wylde, for the defence, said that his learned friend had laid the ground for a most serious disappointment, be cause he had led them to expect that he should- address them in what he was pleased to call terms of eloquence, and make a great speech about nothing at all, having no basis, as he said, or facts to rely upon. He did not require any facts to rely upon, or to be proved by witnesses, on the part of the defendant, because, as he would show them presently, the substantial defence which he should lay before them had been amply proved out of the mouth of Mr. Tyrer himself. This was a great day for Mr. Tyrer. He (Mr. Tyrer) had there a grand opportunity of defending himself against a transaction which took place some years ago, and which was perfectly well known at that time to all those concerned or connected with the parties. Since that time the witnesses, those who would have been able to speak of the details of the case, had all died, and Mr. Tyrer was now in undisputed possession of the ground and the eloquence of the learned counsel. Mr. Tyrer came into court that day to say, give me grand and exem plary damages for a libel which his friend called a " foul," " devilish," "malignant," " diabolical," an d, h e thought, "filthy" libel. Every word that could be invented which expressed anything that was bad, was applied to this libel. Mr. Tyrer came into court to ask them to give him damages upon which he might take his stand for a high reputation among his fellow-men. They would see presently how far that which was the substance of the account given by Mr. M'Clellan, in this so called libel, was justified by what Mr. Tyrer had himself proved. Then they should be able to estimate upon what just grounds Mr. Tyrer brought this action upon which he was to take his stand in future rank so high among his fellow-men. Sometimes it was that persons who came into court, against whose character and reputation there never had been the slightest whisper, took advantage of the first opportunity that offered, if a word was said against them, of vindicating the character which had hitherto stood above suspicion. But again, people sometimes come into Court to re-establish, and place upon a high footing, a reputation which had been somewhat tarnished by previous transactions ; and it the evidence was only such that they could steer clear of some of the charges brought against them, and gain a verdict from a jury, and thus be enabled to say, I went before a jury in 1859, and they set my reputation free." It was true that a man's character was dear to him, and that an attornies character was dear to him was essentially true, but it was because he was placed in a position of trust and confidence. And if, on the one hand, an attornies cha racter was essentially requisite to him, so on the other hand it was important that the public should know from time to time whether they had acted so as to deserve confidence. If a man had acted so as to be guilty of any breach of confidence, it was fair and reasonable that any such transaction should be brought to light. And a public inquiry of this sort had a public end. On the one hand, it was somewhat of a lesson to those who might have misconducted themselves, to put a restriction on himself in future, and on the other hand, it put the public on their guard as to those who might break confidence. His client courted inquiry. It was on public grounds alone that his client first drew attention to this matter, and it was on these public grounds alone that he thought it was important. His learned friend ought not to have brought charges which he could not substantiate. He who used such words as "filthy," ought to be aware of making such charges as he could not prove. His learned friend was very careful of his (Mr. Wilde's) client's good name, when he suggested to the jury that Mr. M'Clellan had been animated by a bitter hatred to Mr. Tyrer, because he acted as attorney in the separation that took place between Mr. M'Clellan and his wife. Mr. Tyrer had not hesitated to bring before them the painful circumstances of the separation between John M'Clellan and his wife. As a matter of taste, particularly in those who sought to stand so high in their estimation, Mr. Tyrer might have for borne this, and as a matter of fairness, what right had he to bring it into that court at all. It was to prove a thing which Mr. Tyrer himself when put into the witness box disproved. When he was asked if there was anything unfair in the matter of the separation, he was obliged to admit that there was not. There was only a slight alteration made in the deed by him, and that was the condition that Mrs. M'Clellan should reside without 50 miles of Liverpool ; and there was not the slightest pretence that out of that transaction there arose anything to produce any ill-feeling whatever. The whole matter passed off amicably, without any suspicion. And yet he found his learned friend, who professed to come there solely to protect the character ` of his client, throw this matter into it against Mr. He hoped the jury would look upon the question in the W light in which he looked at it. as there a violation of the confidence which a professional man should carry into the bosom of a family into which he was called ? That was the question they would have to try, whether Mr. M'Clel lan had done right in bringing the matter before the public ? What were the facts ? lie would not trouble them by reading the publicati on over amain. The charge lay in the narrowest possible compass. Mr. Tyrer said he had been invited to the funeral, and on the very day of the funeral he proceeded to Chester with the oldest son, who was the stepson of the widow , to enter a cave a t aga i nst any letters of administration being taken out by the widow. The charge which Mr. M'Clellan made against Mr. Tyrer was, that he was called upon to put hims e lf i n t o the position of an adviser of a family who was the n pl unged into grief by the death of its head, e and Mr. M'Cl e ll an said h helped . to search for the will ; hewever, that was unimportant , and on the same day proceeded to Chester, with the stepson, to enter a caveat against the mother (M'Clellan) out a probate He m , or letters of administration. ell stn) said that was a monstrous evil. Th ey a ll knew that, if there was a ' will,• it was, of course, proved • and if there was no will, the next of kin was en titl e d to take out letters of adminis tration; and if there was no will, Mr. Richardson was Unquestionably entitled to take out letters of adminis' tration, which could not be taken out for 14 days, and thus Mr.. M'Clellan said, he (Mr. Tyrer) caused a family quarrel and created family differences on the very day of the funeraL He said this was a most wicked thing to do, and a thing that ought to be made known. That was the charge—and how had it been met ? He thought the jury would be of opinion, after seeing the manner in which Mr. Tyrer had conducted himself in the witness-box, that Mr. Tyrer did examine the ho use , t h e day of the funeral, for the deed, al; had been stated by Mr. M'Clellan, and that he did make a search at his own office before the 11th. Mr. Tyrer said, he must have made a search on the 11th, although he positively swore previously that he did not, so that he may have wail.: a search at the house. He commented on the fact that, Mr. Ayerton was not called, and proceeded to say, that Mr. M'Clellan was indignant when he heard that Mr. Robert Richardson had entered a careat, and got him to withdraw it. They had, therefore, on the day of the funeral, the fact that this disgraceful a c t was done, a violation of that mediating character which ought to have been exercised in such a case as that. He could well understand why Mr. M'Clellan was indignant. That was a transaction which Mr.. M'Clellan at the time thought monstrous, and it was a transaction which Mr. Jeffery, the defendant's first witness, heard of at the time. That was a transaction which filled these gentlemen with indignation. The wit nesses were dead - Mrs. Richardson, Mr. Robert Richard son, and Mr. Crossley—and he had no means of distinctly proving the interview Mr. Tyrer had with Mrs. Richard son. Mr. Tyrer first swore positively that he never bad seen Mrs. Richardson after the funeral. He then said he did not recollect; and then, after a letter of his own was put into his hand, he said, "well, I think I might have paid a complimentary visit," and then he reverted back to his original position, and said he never made any call. With reference to the envelope, enclosing a copy of the pamphlet to Mr. Tyrer, Mr. Tyrer said first it was in the defendant's own handwriting, and on being cross examined, he was obliged to say " Yes, I still think it is in a feigned hand " That was another attempt that he made to blacken Mr. M'Clellan, in order to render himself of greater purity. His learned friend had made a complaint because he did not call his client, that he might question hint as to his antecedents ; but his learned friend was very prompt to jump up when he called upon Mr. Tyrer to tell something of other transactions. But he did learn from Mr. Tyrer that he advised a certain Mr. Yates, and that Mr. Yates did enter into a transaction to purchase a wife, in order to get rid of his creditors; that he suddenly married, and got rid of his creditors, and, somehow, £2OO, which had reference to this transaction, got out of the pockets of Mr. Tyrer, but after hunting after, he could not find where the money had gone to. With refer ence to the story of the pamphlet, it was written with such names as " Badenough," and nobody reading it would ever imaeine that the great M r . Tyrer, the man of unexceptionable character, a man who was to have exemplary damages because he was a professional man, whose character was so high that nobody would ever imagine that this was him. It was a matter of conscience to himself, and the other parties knew all about it—Mr. Jeffert and others. It merely said that there was an attorney in the north of England to whom this incident occurred. Mr. M'Clellan's object was to make known, if he could, and to shame if he could, those who were engaged in transactions of this description, and there was no use in that ? Was a man not allowed to do that ? What was it that controlled professional mens' misconduct, but , the publications of the press. They talked about the re sponsibility of their political men, and other public sues, but there was no responsibility outside the courts of justice except that control exercised by the public press. The learned counsel concluded by repeating this was bat an opportunity taken by Mr. Tyrer of asserting his character, which had been previously before the public. His Lordship then proceeded to sum up the evidence, and in the course of his remarks observed, That it seemed difficult to assign a motive for the publication in this ease. If it were public duty, the idea of duty seemed to have slept unaccountably for ten years. If on the other hand it were ill will to the plaintiff on account of the part he took in the unfortunate separation of the defendant from his wife, then one must wonder why the malice conceived in 1846, should have slept for twelve years, until 1858. One could not help surmising that there must be sonic other • motive which was not apparent. In reference to the send ing of the letters to the plaintiff's wife, and to the school mistress, his Lordship said h e should not be discha r gi ng hi s public duty if he did not say that that was a most improper act whoever was guilty of it. Counsel for the defendant had intimated that his client had nothing to do with it. All his Lordship could say was, that he very much hoped so. His Lordship went very carefully over the evidence, and observed that if the jury were of opinion that this publica tion was a libel about which they would probably have very little difficulty, the fact that, for some inexplicable reason, the matter had been revived after ten years delay, would be looked upon probably by them as enhancing the damages; and the fact that the publication had been sent to the wife and the schoolmistress, if they believed the defendant had anything to do with it, would be viewed by them as having a similar effect. He added that, if the jury should award contemptuous or ignominious damages in such a case, instead of giving substantial damages, it would be in vain to tell people to apply to the law for redress when they were maligned ; the law would have a show of justice, but would deny the power. The jury then retired to consider their verdict, and, after nearly an hour's delibera tion, returned into court with a verdict for the plain Damages, "Forty shillings and costs." TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN DAILY TIMES. Sir,—With the report of the trial in the above case, which will, no doubt, appear in the NORTHERN DAILY TltEs to-morrow, permit me to make a short explanatory statement. The counsel for the plaintiff, and the plaintiff himself, insinuated that .I had been guilty of the unmanly offence of sending a copy of the pamphlet to Mrs. Tyrer, and the schoolmistress of their daughters. That insinuation was entirely baseless, and utterly false. I did not send any, nor did I know, directly or indirectly, of such copies being sent, nor did I authorize copies to be so sent.—l am, sir, yours, &c., D. M'CLELLAM. Price-street, April 5, 1859. ANNUAL CAIt.RIAGE LUCAS'S REPOSITORY. CLARENCES, PARK PILETONS, BROUGHAMS, ALBERT PH/ETONS ' DRAGS, Light and Elegant Gios, WAGGONETTES, BASKET CARRIAGES, FAMILY PHZTONS, Two and Four-whee:o 1 B RIT SE AS, N &C., &C. By Messrs. LUCAS and Co., Thie Day (Wednesday), the 6th instant, at their Repository_ Great Charlotte-street, Liverpool, 300 CARRIAGES, 70 sets HARNESS. Order of Sale.—Ten to Eleven o'clock, Harness ; Eleven to run o'clock, Carriages. Mr An inspection of this splendid stock of Carriages is earnestly requested. S ALP, -- - OUTRAGE ON BOARD Slim—Yesterday, two men went taken into custody, and lodged in the Birkenhead bridenell, on a charge of having seriously assaulted a coloured wan oar board the ship Manhattan, of New York. The nam es of Haganthe prisoners are and Carrigan, and it is stated they were passengers on board the vessel. They will be brought up for trial to-day. CORONER'S INQUESTS. —ye sterday, the coroner held the following inquests :—On the body of John Evans, 15 yearn of age, who belonged to the schooner Margaret Jones, in the Prince's Dock. It appeared that on Thursday the deceased was left in the vessel, and in the evening the captain came on board and missed him. His body was found in the dock on Saturday. Verdict, " Pound drowned." On the body of John Fallows, tie driver of the ginger beer shandry, who was killed in Park-lane on Saturday. The details of this case were published in our paper of yesterday, as it was before Mr. Mansfield at the police court on Monday, and the evidence given was the same, so that it is not necessary to republish it. The ju r y, after hearing the whole details, returned a verdict of a Accidental death." [This is at variance with the decision arrived at by Mr. Mansfield, who sent the accused _ pu um GARSTON BOARD OF H o E fa : mle l e ' r es for trial for manslaughter. Who is right ?) ly is Gcrs rlefaesd.smniejr. meeting of the new board was held Oyledst_erday afternialoollain, memberstheboard - room n o t of iN th e e re p_ub l l i ic r - . A. Thine, Chaloner, Morris, L. acintyre, J. A. D. Wang, occupied by Mr. Morris, Castellain, Chidson, and ightbody. The chair was been conducted in who certified that.the election had Grant Morris, Will'our Health Act. The f new arrison. Mr. conformity with the terms of the Public William n an o d w members elected were Messrs. John. tam Drury Chidson, Alfred Castellaine, Alderman Cooper said, that HEALTH. —The ae otpoe fir s t The omissionw idnugt y. board was assembled, he felt reminded of a which That ought to have been performed at the last med al a v i v n o g t e occurred,of t hank s he to e the eou c l chairman a iornnli only n expre s s(app l (applause) e h l T Te b o et to the board that it should have been so. He should new move that the thanks of the board be given to Mr_ Morris, whose untiring patience and sound good sense had conduced so much to the gratifying mode in which the business had been conducted. In addition, he would move that Mr. Morris be re-appointed chairman. Mr. Tim seconded the motion, which was unanimously carried- Mr. Morris, in appropriate and feeling terms, acknow l e d g ed the compliment of re-election, believing, as he did , that that was the truest encomium the board could pass upon his efforts. The meeting next proceeded to elect members of the finance committee, which was constituted as follows, viz. :—Messr. Chaloner, Chidson, Sutton, Tinne, C oo p er, Castellaine, and Harrison. The health and works co in _ mittee were next appointed, to consist of Messrs. Chidson, Chaloner, Macintyre, Lightbody, Watts, Cooper, and Castellaine. There was no other business befor e the board, and the meeting separated.