The Express.
London, England, 1862-08-20 00:00:00

THE LATE CASE OF BREACH OF PROMISE.

It appears that the litigation of which the ems of
" Thoma e. Shirley" was the commencement is proceeding
' in another form. teas just named, it will be restem-
bared, was an action for breach of minims of . marriage
brought by a young lady named Thomas spinet General
Shirley, which was tried at the last Lewes Assizes, when •
verdict was found for the defendant. A woad action bad
been brought by the same plaintiff against the name defen-
dant to recover the sum of 139/. 17e., being the amount of
the expenses the plaintiff had been put to in the mainte-
nance of herself and child, of which the defendant was the
father, after deducting 3W. which the defendant had paid to
'the plaintiff at different times before and after her soooenhe-
meat. Thin cause having bean referred to the arbitration
of Mr. Patchett, barrister-at-law, came on before that
learned gentleman yesterday at the Law Institution, Chan-
cery-lane, when Mr. George Lewis, sun., of Ely-place,
appeared for the plaintiff, mid Yr. Pawle, of New-inn, for
the defendant.

Kr. Lewis, m opening the case for his client, recapitulated
the circumstances (with which the public are already
familiar from the reports published of the proceedings of
the first trial) under which the parties first met, termi-
nating in the ruin of the plaintiff by the defendant, a child
being the coosequence. Since the birth of that child, on
the 28th March last, up to the 30th June, when the action
was brought, the plaintiff had not received a single farthing
from her seducer for the support of herself and their off-
spring, with the exception of 101. lOs., which was sent to
pay the medical gentleman and the nurse who bad attended
her during her 000finement, and it was to recover certain
rams she bad paid on his authority during their cohabita-
tion, and also for lodging, maintenance, and necessaries for
the plaintiff's child and nurse, that the present action bad
been brought. He (Mr. Lewis) should put the plaintiff
into the witness-box, and on her evidence, coupled with
the correspondence he should produce, be trusted to be
able to establish such a case as to entitle her to an
award for the full amount claimed. He challenged the
defendant to come forward end meet his victim face to face,
as if the defendant should venture to present himself, be
should, by a cross-examination, extort from him facts which
would place him in a most unenviable position.
Miss Thomas was then swore, and in a lengthened exami-
nation detailed the history of her acquaintance and connec-
tion with the defendant, and proved that the outlay for the
first items is the bill of particulars had been made by her
under his express authority. She further proved that lodg-
ings at which she was confined bed been taken by him, but
that she bad been called on to pay the rent as well as the
veggie of the nurse, and for the maintenance of all, and
finally, that the defendant had offered to settle upon her
and her child a petty pittance. which Mr. Lewis described
as being mean and contemptible, and as adding gross insult
to the deep injury she bad sustained through hi instru-
mentality.
The plaintiff underwent a close cress-examination by Mr.
Pawls with greet firrnoem and self.possession, without in
any way being shaken in her narrative. At it. close,
Mr. Pawls applied for an adjournment, to enable him to
confer with his client, and after some conversation between
the solicitors and the arbitrator, the application wee se-
ceded to.