The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-07 00:00:00

I

by the men who were employed in excavating for the
basin of the new London dock, and he went to the
spot and examined the soil. He explained that
b' sins was a term that had only recently
been made g
use of among antiquaries, and that they
were supposed to be articles worn by the monks in
the religious processions of the olden time, and also
when they made a pilgrimage to the shrine of any
particular saint. The whole of the articles were
Made of lead, and in addition to those which he said
would come under the designation of pilgrims' signs
there were other antiquities, such as belts, dagger
.heaths, the bosses of shields, and also other reli-
quaries, the whole of which, he said, he had no
doubt were genuine antiquities, and had really been
found at the place mentioned.
A box, containing a large number of the alleged
valuable articles of antiquity, had been placed upon
the table, and a good deal of amusement was created
by the extraordinary character of some of those
that were produced. There were warriors and
woman fashioned out in lead in the most rude
manner, and in all sorts of attitudes ; one of them, as
the learned judge observed, looking very much like
" Zarniel." One of the things that was produced
appeared sorely to puzzle every one. It had some-
thing resembling the appearance of a chimney-pot,
about eight inches long; but no one seemed
able to give the least guess what its original
object possibly could have been, and Mr. James sug •
gested that possibly it might have been the model of
some ancient extinguisher.
Various witnesses were then examined to prove the
genuineness of the articles ; but at the close of the
plaintiffs case,
Mr. CHAMBERS submitted to his lordship that there
was no case to go to the jury. He contended, in the
first place, that the evidence failed to support the
case of the plaintiff as laid in the declaration, and
also that, even supposing the article in question to
be a libel, which, however, he submitted it clearly
was not, there was not a tittle of evidence to show
that it applied to the plaintiff, and that consequently
there was nothing to go to the jury.
Mr. Justice WILLES, after a brief consideration,
said he was of opinion that the article complained of
was not a libel in the eye of the law. It had been
laid down by one of the sages of the law that what
a man said honestly and bonailde in the course of a
public discussion on matters concerning the publio
interest, no matter even if he spoke rashly, and what
he said was not true, still any statement made under
such circumstances would not be a libel. It had also
been equally clearly laid down that before any plain.
tiff could ask redress for a libel he must show dis-
tinctly that the libel complained of applied to him,
and to no other person. It would be a new doctrine,
indeed, if it were to be held that any person who said
that all lawyers were rogues might be sued by every
individual lawyer in the kingdom; and it appeared
to him that the article now complained of seemed to
apply to the particular trade of dealing in antiquities,
rather than to the plaintiff personally. It appeared
to him, therefore, that the plaintiff must be non-
suited.
Mr. JAMES suggested that his learned friend, Mr.
Chambers, ought to withdraw his plea which alleged
that the plaintiff had been guilty of fraud in the
transaction.
Mr. CHasnizas said it was never intended to impute
any fraudulent intention to the plaintiff, and he was
not instructed to make such a suggestion. He had
bought the articles, no doubt, under the impression
that they were genuine.
The jury then returned a verdict for the defendants.

MURDER OF A YOUNG LADY BY HER
LOVER.

'NE following are the latest particulars relative to
this shocking occurrence :—The deceased, who was
twenty one years of age, was the daughter of Mr.
Thomas Scaife, a well-to do farmer, residing on his
own farm at Fringhill, Darley ; and her murderer,
who is apparently a few years older, is the son of
Mr. Thomas Atkinson, flax spinner, of Fringill, a
man of considerable wealth, though rather eccentric
in his habits. The former was a prepossessing
looking young person, somewhat gayer in her de-
meanour than is generally found in so secluded a
dis,rict as the centre of Netherdale ; the latter is a
good-looking young man, of middle stature, but de-
termined expression, and of very passionate habits,
his temper frequently manifesting itself in perfect
Paroxysms of rage. Their parents live on adjoining
property, and have don,. so for many years, and as
the children of neighbonrs the deceased and the
Prisoner became acquainted with each other, and for
the last seven or eight years they were generally
coked upon as sweethearts, Atkinson's attentions
being very assiduous. His temper, however, (corn
pined, probably, with other causes), led to a suspen-
sion of the courtship a little more than two years
%go, Miss Scaife accepting in his place the addresses
lit a young farmer named Jeffrey Gill, living on some
.and in the adjoining township of Ketlesing. Shortly
after this Miss Scaife, with the view of breaking off