The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-01-30 00:00:00

A PAINFUL MATTER.

In the Court of Queen's Bench, tile cause of
" ex parte Frewen, in the matter of one John Pattison,
a medical practitioner," has been brought forward, and
was an application on the part of Mr. Charles Hay
Frewen, of Oakham (at one time a member of Parlia-
ment, and at the last election a candidate) against one
Dr. John Pattison, lately of 20, Welbeek-street,
Cavendish-square, London, for a criminal information
on account of certain letters and publications by him
directed against Mr. Frewen, and alleged to be
libellous and tending to a breaeh of the peace. The
matter, which was of rather a peculiar nature, had
arisen thus:—
From the affidavits it appeared that in the latter part of
the year 1266 Dr Pattison was called in to attend Mrs.
Frewen, who was suffering from cancer, and he attended her
until the 9th of February, 1e67, when she died. Dr. Pattison
had already received the sum of 150 guineas for his atttend-
ance, but he claimed a further sum of 100 guineas, n hist/ wag
refused. In May. 1267, an action was commenced to
recover that sum, as the balance of a claim of 250 guineas,
but that action had not been prosecuted. Various
letters, however, had been sent since by 1/r. Pattison
to Mr. Frewen, couched in terms extremely offensive,
and casting upon him the reproach of shabby and disrepu-
table conduct in disputing the demand made upon him. In
one of these letters, moreover, in October, 1208, Or. Patti-
son sent an account of the case of Mrs Frewen, which he
hinted that he intended to publish in a profeseional Journal,
entering into very painful details of the sufferings of the de-
ceased lady. Mr. Frewen bad, in the meantime, referred
the doctor to his attorneys, and in order to tree himself from
the annoyance, he bad returned the latter lettersthrough the
. dead-letter office. Upon this the defendant bad sent them
open, so that any one could read them, and in his last letter
threatened that he should have the next written upon card-
. board and gent to Mr. Frewen's club.
The Hon. George Denman, Q.C. (with him the
Hon. Alfred Theinger), on an affidavit of these state-
ments, moved on behalf of Mr. Frewen for a rule for
a criminal information against Dr. Pattison. The
learned counsel mid he had a difficulty in reading the
statements of the case which the defendant had
threatened to publish, entering as it did into all the
painful details of that most painful disease under
which the deceased lady had suffered. But there
was, he submitted, amply enough in the expressions
used by the defendant towards Mr. Frewen to justify
this application. They imputed to him the most
shabby conduct in disputing this demand, although
, Mr. Frewen had already intimated that he was ready
to meet it in any proper way. The language used
towards him by the defendant was of the most offensive
character, and he had actually sent his latter letters
open, so that anyone could read them, and he
threatened that the next would be written on card-
board and sent to Mr. Frewen's club.
The Lord Chief Justice. -You have stated quite
enough, Mr. Denman, to entitle you to the rule.
Rule nisi for a criminal information against Dr.
'attison.