The Express.
London, England, 1847-01-01 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 1, 1847.

WAR,

......
Taa DISTREISRD Ixtall.—There is a movement in Bir-
mingham to raise a fund for the relief of the furnishing
Irish. The following is extracted from a circular issued last
evening by the secretary:—" No comment need be made
upon the appalling and heart-rending distress now prevailing
in the sister country ; thousands upon thousands are starving
for want of food ; and whatever may be the cause, the duty
of us all to assist in the diminution of their misery and the
alleviation of their sufferings is undeniable: unquestionably
the cue is surrounded with difficulties of no ordinary de-
scription, but these must not be allowed to stand in the way,
when it is considered that the emergency is one of life or
death."—Some of the county gentlemen have taken the
matter up, and it is expected that a considerable sum will be
raised.

lath 'intelligence.

SHERIFFS' COURT.—YFSTEELDAT.
Baum Mr. Under Sheriff Burchell.

STRUTT V. FA MAR.—BREACH OP CONTRACT.—This wu
an action for the breach of a contract. Judgment had been
allowed to go by dcfault,and the present was a writ of inquiry
Masses. the damages. The plaintiff,' gentleman of fortune,h ad,
in June,lBl6, obtained a judgment for 2811. against the father
of the present defendant, a lady of considerable landed pro-
perty, residing near Turnham-green. Upon the judgment be-
ing sued out, the defendant, Mira Mary railer, entered into a
contract, whereby she agreed, on the condition that the
plaintiff stayed the execution until the following December,
to erect in British-grove, Hammersmith, a house, a lease of
which for eighty-four years should be given to the
plaintiff as an equivalent to the judgment debt.
The house was not completed until April, when the
plaintiff sent his surveyor to inspect it. It was then
found that instead of a full-sized seven roomed house, as had
been agreed upon, a low two story four-ro.imed dwel-
ling bad been constructed, which was worth less by 160/.
than the value of the one stipulated for. After the ground-
rent, &c., had been paid, the plaintiff would not have had
81. a year clear profit on the house, so he repudiated the
concern altogether, nod brought the present action.—Seve-
ral surveyors proved the house to be at variance with the
plan.—ln mitigation of the damages, it was contended that
in this action the plaintiff could not recover against the de-
fendant the full amount of the demand against her father,
but only the difference between the real value of the house
as built and the amount for which the defendant had made
herself liable.—The Under. Sheriff said that it was not im-
perative upon the plaintiff to accept the house as a moiety of
the damages, as it was proved to have been built contrary to
the specified plan. The verdict against the defendant would
release her from all further liability, but the original judg-
ment against her father would still remain, as in this case
she had violated an agreement into which she had entered on
her own account, and had thus rendered herself liable fur I
damages. Verdict for the plaintiff—Damages, 2811. 34. 6d.
One of the jurors asked if the plaintiff could now put the
judgment against the father in force I—Mr. Hawkins said
that probably when the plaintiff had obtained the amount of
the verdict from the defendant, the original demand would
be relinquished, as he would then have obtained the amount
guaranteed as the value of the house, and it would be •
breach of good faith to recover one debt twice over.

POLICE.—YzsrEaDAY.

OUTLDHALL.—Tai CASE or RICHARD Hate.—Mr.
Alderman Johnson was occupied the greater part of the day
with the further examination of Richard Keys, the messenger
of the Court of Bankruptcy, who stood remanded from Mon-
day, the `2lst Dec., upon the charge of stealing a large quan-
tity of valuable goods from the premises of Miss Wilkie, late
of Fore-street, wholesale milliner, where he was placed in
possession by the assignees under that lady's bankruptcy.
A boa, of the value of seventeen guineas, and a vast number
of costly articles were found in the prisoner's house, South-
street, New North-road. The case was further remanded for
the completion of the evidence, and the alderman proceeded
to inquire into one of the remaining charges against the
prisoner for similar robberies of the property of other bank-
rupts, which had been entrusted to his keeping.

WO RSH I P-S TRE ET. D ESTITUTION. Mr. Hanley,
the chief usher, who has been directed by the magistrates
for some days past to visit the habitations of poor persons in
the district, on whose behalf applications had been formally
made at this court, and to administer relief in the shape of
fuel, fond, and blankets, from the funds of the poor-box,
made a report, amongst others, of the following distressing
cases:—He stated that on entering • wretched hovel in
Willow-street, Shoroditch, he found a poor widow, named
Crick, lying almost destitute of covering upon a iserable
bed, to which she had been confined for eight weeks in the
last stage of consumption, during which time she had been
depending solely upon the labours of her three little sons, of
ages varying from ten to fourteen years. The little fellows
at the time of his visit were sitting round their mother's bed
busily engaged in the manufacture of lucifer match boxes, for
which they were paid at the rate of 2td. per gross; and as the
utmost number they could make was only about twenty-four
or twenty-six gross in a week, their joint exertions
produced no more than 4s. 6d. or 4s. 9d. for the
subsistence of the whole family. The officer imme-
diately supplied the poor woman with orders upon the poor-
box for fuel and food, and two pairs of warm blankets and
sheets, of which they were entirely destitute; and considered
it his duty to lay the case before the parish authorities to
secure the wretched creatures some permanent cut-dour as-
siatsnee, se the woman herself would not communicate her
distress to the parish, from a fear that she might be com-
pelled to enter the workhouse with her children. That
course, however, had not been rendered compulsory by Mr.
Ross, the relieving-officer, who consented to allow her 4s.
Lee week, and bread in proportion.—The next case the chief
usher had investigated was that of two orphan sisters, named
Jane and Mary Anne Baker, lodging in Finsbury Market,
who had been suddenly deprived of the scanty means of sub-
sistence they had previously obtained by shirt and waistcoat-
making, in consequence of their inability to furnish the
requisite surety for the safety of their work. Having been
several weeks without employment, they had parted with
nearly everything they pored; and their pale and haggard
looks painfully verified their assertion that they had not tasted
animal food for nearly three weeks. The place bore the
appearance of the most abject wretchedness, and to aggra-
vate their misery, they had just received notice from the
agent of their landlord, to whom they owed seven weeks'
rent at 3.. per week, that unless the amount was discharged
forthwith he should be compelled to turn them into the
• s . .

streets. Having adminbseied to their immediate wants,
the usher directed the young women to apprise him if the
landlord should adopt coercive steps against them, that he
might render them some further assistance to alleviate their
helpless condition. Mr. Hanley alluded to several other
cases scarcely lees severe in the amount of privation they
exhibited; but the above particulars will perhaps be suffi-
cient to indicate to the philanthropic persons who are in the
habit pf bestowing their bounty upon the poor boxes of
police courts, the wide.spread benefits which result from
their liberality.
Criaates.—We are requested to acknowledge the receipt
of the second half of a a note from "T. 8.," the first half
of which had been previously transmitted ; and also •
donation of V. from a gentleman who bad been summoned
by mistake for non-payment of parish rates.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.—GINTLIMANLY AllllSE-
msrre. Charles Br.adwood, gentleman, Cadogan-place,
and William Frederick Norman, gentleman, Norfolk-cres-
cent, were charged with disturbing the inhabitant of Jer-
myn-etreet by knocking and ringing at door.—Metcalfe,
one of the C division of police, said he was on duty in Jer-
my-n-street about seven o'clock that morning, when his at-
tention was attracted by a cry of " Police." He went to the
spot and found the defendants had been knocking at the
door of a how*, and that the alarm had been given by the
servant, who had answered the summons in her night-
I dress. Witness got the defendants out of the house,
I and they Immediately went to several of the adjoin-
ing houses, and knocked and rung at the doors. He
than took the defendants, who were the worse for liquor, to
sflefiksa-lacuse. The excuse of the defendants was, that
they knew a person in the street, and had mistaken the
brew. They considered that the police constable had mis-
represented the case.—Mr. Hardwick saw no reason what-
ever for doubting the entire accuracy of the evidence given
by the police. The proceedings of the defendants were very
discreditable, and therefore he should inflict a fine of 60s. on
each defendant. —The money was paid.
Ban Evoiancit.—For the poor-box, 51. from 0. H. C.

WESTMINSTER. LOWI IN LONDON. —Mr. Taylor,
en
inspector of the B division, attended before Mr. Burrell, ac-
companied by an Irish girl called Ellen Sweeney, and solicited
the magistrate's advice under the following circumstances
—lt appeared from the statement of Ellen Sweeney that
she left the Cove of Cork last week in company with her
sister, and came to Loudon in order to procure a situation.
They arrived in the ms tro on Friday, and took a lodging,
and on the following day, being in want of some necessaries,
she went out just before dark to purchase them, but failed in
finding her way back to the lodging. As she was
unacquainted with the name of the street in which it was
situated, and a perfect stranger in London, all her attempts
to discover her abode wore fruitless and after having wan-
dered about for hours she was directed to the station-house
of the B division, in Rochester-row, where Mr. Taylor, the
inspector, sent her to St. Margaret's workhouse, the master
of which, Mr. Elliott, kindly admitted her, whilst inquiries
were made with a view of finding her sister.—Mr. Taylor
said his endeavours to die:over the sister had as yet been
ensucoesefuL It the case obtained publicity it would. in all
probability, he the means of bringing the sister forward.
Mr. hill= havinir undertaken to afford her an asylum until
something was done for her, Mr. Burrell said he thought that
would be the best course under the circumstances, and the
poor girl, who appeared almost heart-broken, retired with
the master of the workhouse.
THAMES.—RarceaL or BunraL Rrrse.—Mr. W.
Hagerty, a broker and appraiser, of 124, Rosemary-lane,
came to prefer a complaint against the Rev.
Rector of St. George 111 the Best, under most
circumstances. On Thursday week his wife's eleterisliTZ
house, accompanied by her brother, saying she wee sag to
visit her relatives at Blackheath, and on 'Myles st the
railway, she told her brother he might leave her, delt he
did. It was soon discovered that she had OM eves le tor
mother's, and her family were in the utmost ahem At bar
fate. On the ensuing Sunday applicant read le the
the description of a young woman found in the Ls deeeieak
basin, which corresponded with the dress sad appeereaoe of
his sister-in-law. On applying to lespeeter Demspa, at the
Denmark-street station-house, his apprelleadeue wens far-
ther confirmed, and, or viewing the body the peer girl's
friends instantly recognised it. Applicant kistreeted Mr.
Cook, a respectable undertaker, to provide ea the decent
interment of the body, and, at the same time, asked him
whether there would be any objection to the perform-
ance of the usual rites, to which Mr. Cook replied,
that, having himself forwarded to the rector the coro-
ner's warrant to that effect, he had no doubt that no
objection would be raised. Notwithstanding this, about
five minutes before the body was lowered into the grave, the
rector's clerk cease sad infoneed them that the usual rites
weed eel be peraneele tbseek the flees had been paid and
readied. to the magistrate was to
know whether le= 21!"ewve°1 from the rector fees paid
far rites whisk bed set been perforened.—Mr. Yardley
What was the MOM Awe fur the refusal, was it that the
dimmed bed esuseitted ?—Applicant:seldde No rearm was
=the reeled was peremptory. applicant, had
applied to Mr. Baker, the coroner, to procure
cease redeem, but that gentleman told him that he had done
all in his power when he issued the warrant for interment,
end his functions ceased so soon as the jury, over whom he
presided, was discharged f—Mr. Yardley said that he had no
juriedfiction in the matter, nor could he give any advice, but

he apprehended that the ecclesiastical courts alone *odd
afford any redress for the alleged wrong.—Mr. Hagerty:
Could not your worship grant me a summons for the money
poid.—Mr. Yardley : No, this is not a court for the recovery
of debts, and I question whether fees so paid can be re-
covered at the Court of Requests.—Mr. Hagerty then
thanked the magistrate and withdrew, expressing his deter-
mination to seek any means of redress in his power.