The Express.
London, England, 1863-11-12 00:00:00

COURT OF EXCHEQUER.

Sittings in Banos.—(Before Lord Chief Baron Pollock ow
Beams Bramwell, amassll, sad Pigott.)
PICKLIII T. lOCIDALI CANAL COMPANT.--.II7DGIIINT.
This adios was brought to recover compausetne
damages for the death uf a woman who slipped tutu tEr
canal, and 1,11. drowned, in nonseque•os of the alleimi
negligence of the defendants. It was tried at York without
• jury by Mr. Justice Blackburn, who (owed a verdict f
the defendants, sad during the preseet term Mr. Tam*
Q.C., moved for a rids to set aside that verdict, and to
eater • verdict for the plaintiff.
The court having deferred Menet.
The Lard Cbief Baron now mid that the mart wore of
opiake that so liability Wean' to the defeedanto, ald
that the verdict had been properly mewed for them.
Ride refusal

COURT OF PROBATE AND DIVORCE.
(Before the Judge Ordinary.)
SCOTT 0. wane..—lllV TRIAL 111,17111 D.
This morning, Sir James Wilde gave judgment on the
motion of the Queen's Advocate for • rule nisi. The nit
had originally been brought by Capt. Scott for • restiertice
of his conjugal rights ; and the answer of Bra. Scott me
that he had been guilty of acts which satisfied the legal d►
finition of cruelty. This was the only gumshoe in the ONO.
It was tried before Sir Creswell Creswell and a me,
Dial jury, and the result had ben a verdict
for the husband, which the court was askei
to eel aside on the ground that it bad bus
spied the weight of evidence. It was a very 11116008 re
sponsibility which he (Sir James) was invited to memos.
Of ell the questions that the legislature had submitted to
the determination of a jury none approached in difficulty
to those which arose out of quarrels between husband en
wife. They were questions which could receive little elan.
dating from documentary evidence ; and the time which
married penons spout in quarrelling being' rarely the
mod public, there was very little extt•nom
evidence at all which could apply to it. If a
witness were called it was generally. servant ; and mean
were often embued with the spirit of parthasehip as the
one side or the other. It was, thereferig, ehiedy la the ea
dibility of the parties themselves, sad their deeseamer
before the court, that they most seek far materials to
which to form • &Mean. With them =tan thee
was probably so body of men so well qualified to hal es
• jury—thoogh it we. dominion not to be expected the
they should not occasionelly faiL But it it was so difficult
for • jury to do right, how much more difficult WOG le le
protenne that they had dome wrong New trials in thew
mine were • greas evil ; although then were d
coarse tens in which the interests of justice demanded that
they should be granted. No element wen so d►
droetive of public confidence in the admininstia
of jerkin at macertainty ; and within wee felt to be m
great • grievance to suitors sea result which snatched say .
the fruit of their gnome at the very moment of its near
meat. The court, it mod be remembered, too, did mot u•
mein the fuoctions of • mere appeal from the jury. It mat
see its way plainly, and be satisfied with tolerable mastery
that there had been • miscarriage of justice. Failing that, it
must accept the verdict as correct. In this case the was'
had at fiat lived together on satisfactory terms, then they
quarrelled, and at lest they had become completely
*stemmed. The chief foundation of these diagraming
was one discreditable to the husband ; for it appeared to te
greed of his wife's moon and of the money of he
wife's mother. He alleged, however, another came—though
that was denied by the wile—nainely,:that she had dread
herself in a manner which he considered extravagant end
unbecoming ; and that there had also been frequent inter
ventiona on the part of Mrs. Morris, the mother•in
lee years of such married life had produced a long record of
injurious words, and of violent and unmanly deeds,
from which it had not been difficult for the Quees's
Advocate to paint the conduct of the husband is
very unamiable colours ; but, on the other band, it was pro
bible that ► liken= of the lady, drawn by an adverse head,
would not have been much more attractive. The pontim
seta of violence complained of were six, and no mote--1,
beating a child after marriage before its mother in as suer
save and cruel manner ; 2, threatening to shoot her with a
pistol ; 3, giving her an unprovoked blow ea the legs walla
stick, ►t Inverness ; 4, giving her three blows at Samna ;
5, twisting a piece of velvet round her throat, at Edioberth;
and, 6, giving her • blow on the face woes
she refused to leave the window in London. All taw
one rested on the evidence of the wife alone, and they
were all absolutely denied by the evidence of the hued,
who said that some of them were altogether lumina. sal
other pose exaggerations. The wife's evidence re cm'
tradicted in some pinata by independent wanner., ad the
husband had also given general evidence as to hit cadet
Captain Scott bad, therefore, presented a nee to the lei
which was well deserving of their attention ; and d the/
bad thought proper to believe him, who could assert that
they ought to have believed his wife ? Saida bad thee
ben so contradiction of the wife's Magnum Colon'
Simmons, K.C.8., said that he had seen a good deal of the
parties in 1860 and 1861; that Mrs. Scott tea
very fashionably dressed; that that had seemed
to outrage her husband ; and that he had spoken to her or
the subject. In her owe evidence Mei. Scott not coil
denied that he had ewer made complaint, on the subject.
but stated that he had threatened not to walk out with
her unless she ends herself more smart. The point, it we
true, was not a very important one, but it might have bad
its effect upon the minds of the jury. At any rats
the court must decline to interfere with the
verdict. It might be that he (Sir J. Wilde) "
affirm* a conclusion that wee erroneous, but the earn
might have been said if the opposite result bad been ar.
need at. He felt bound to accept the decision which had
been arrived at by the jury, after a long and patient tru4
under the guidance of a most learned and impartial judge.
Rule Ma refused.
DOULTING T. BOULTINIL—NEW TRIAL.
This wee • moan for a new trial, on the ground of mil•
direction, and of the verdict being against evidence. The
parties bed lived apart, the husband making the wife a
weekly allowance; and the jury had found coonivance, on
the ground that the wife had continued to receive the ma,/
after she had hoed that the respondent was being we
another woman.
Sir J. Wilde said that be was perfectly atisfied with
Sir Cresswell's definition of connivance itself ; but as
he was not sniffled that the evideuce had bees aulticien
to support the plea, there must a rule nisi.

Mr. Harrison was for the petitioner, the wife of Vain.
tins Edward Love, who sought • dissolution ce
the ground of cruelty and bigamy. She was marred
to the respondent in 1858' . At that time be
described himself as the son of an officer in the army
and of no occupation ; but he bad afterwards become A
draper's assistant, a dealer in cigars, as saw, end a
In these various occupations be wandered over the three
kingdoms. He treated his wife with gross neglect sad
cruelty, using much personal iriolesce to her, and earliestl
affecting her health by his own prod igacy. In .Isewirf,
0162, while acting it 'Wolverhampton be married Martha
Bamford.
Decree nisi with costs.