The Express.
London, England, 1848-05-03 00:00:00

which always governed courts, he was of opinion that the
rule for a new trial ought to be nude absolute.
Mr. Barns Rolfe wee of the rime opinion. It was per-
fectly clear the plaintiff was liable to pay the extra sum de-
manded of him, although it appeared, by the decision of this
court since pronounc.d, that the defendants were not aubt
thorised to take him into custody. There was so much dou
es to whether the defendants were authorised to make the
bye law in question, that, after three days' argument upon
the subject, even the judges had not quite made up their
minds. The company were, perhaps, e much to be
blamed for not apologising, especially v
eryhe decision of
that court, which showed they were not authorised to make
the byeelaw under which the plaintiff was arrested. It was,
however, inconsistent with every principle of law and com-
mon sense that the defendants' refusal to apologise should be
taken iuto consideration by the jury in estima•ing the
amount of con
were, under all tion to be aeircumstancee, so largewarded for an Min*
indicted. L6OO
damages—eo entirely beyond all reuon—that it was obvious
the jury were influenced by considerations which they
should not have entertained. He, theref.re, thought there
should be a new trial, and that the rule ought to be made
absolute.
Mr. Baron Platt said the court was called on to discharge a
very delicate duty. It they thought that the verdict was the
result of hostility or f to either party, they were bound
to interfere ; but if not, it was quite clear they should not
lightly set aside the verdict. He thought no case whatever
had been made out for the interference of the court. At
lewd he was not disposed to treat the mattermonstrous
to suppose that a gentleman of Mr. Chilton's
rank was to be treated as a pickpocket, and that he was to
be told afterwards his feelings would be well compensated I
by a few Alining'. The whole facts might be collected
from the correspondence between him and the company who
adopted the account of the transaction which Mr. Chilton
had given. Who could be better judges than the jury were
of the amount of dmosees that should he awarded t The
insult was a very gross one. Nothing could be more cour-
teous or torbenteg than the conduct of Mr. Chilton, while I
nothing could be more imperious and iceolent than that pur-
sued by the company. %When the case was argued on the
demurrer, and they knew that they were wrong in point of
law, they set the plaintiff at defiance, and refused even before
the jury to apologise, or even to admit that they were wrong.
The jury might, therefore, well say that such conduct should
be 'punished. He (Mr. Baron Platt) thought they were
quite right in so thinking, and that the damages they
awarded were not one shilling too much. On these grounds
he thought the rule ought to be diecharced.
The result of the difference of opinion is, that the verdict
will stand, and that the rule for a new trial falls to the
ground.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY. 1
Before Mr. Cornmewinner
THE. GENERAL MARITIME INACHANcE COMPANT.—W. 1
C. Strestfield, underwriter, of Cornhill, applied for his
certificate. The application was supported by Mr. Law-
ranee, and opposed by Mr. Norton (for Mr. Dawson, ship
and insurance broker), who asked that the granting
of the certificate should be adjourned till the
affairs of the company were arranged. The Com-
missioner said the case came before the court under
rather peculiar circumstances. A gentleman, by becoming
connected with the Maritime Insurance Company, came
before the court u a trader. No complaint what-
ever was made of his conduct as a trader, or as a director of
the company ; and what was alleged was, that the certificate
ought to be suspended till the company's affairs Were
arranged. The case was a very different one from the last
before the court (Mr. Lee's). Mr. Streatfield had no private
debts, and was only compelled to seek the protection of the
court in consequence of the liabilities of the company. A.
a holder of :lid shares, Lis own liabilities would
have been about 25,000/. ; se that he was paying more
than lOs. in the pound on this amount. The share.
holders were all made liable to the eat, nt of their shares;
but, looking at the way in which companies were now
formed, it could Willy be said that • person ought, under
no circumstances, to take up more shares than he
was prepared to pay for, especially in au insurance
company, where the risk was remote. Mr. Streatfield
had evidently taken a very active part towards getting
the company's affairs placed on a better footing; but
his very proposal for a call to be made had not
been entertained by the rest of the directors. It
was somewhat unfortunate that he should, in conse-
quence, have absented himself from the board; but it
did not form • ground for suspending the certi-
ficate. Finding that he was unsuccessful in his
efforts, and the bankers of the company pressing him, he had
properly taken the course of giving up all he had in the
world. Ile had thus acted the most honourable part which
• a man could do; his conduct as a director had been blame
' lea; and there did not appear any ground for aeljournin4 his
certificate till the company's attain were wound up, as bad
been done, under different circumstances. in the case of Lee.
' The certificate would be granted forthwith.

POLICE.—YEATEILDAY.
CLERKENWELL.—Sitammiso.—Jorie Murray was
charged with shamming illness. On Monday evening the
prisoner was sitting on the step of a door in Liverpooladreet,
Gray's-inn-road, shamming illness. On being questioned by
an officer she said that she bad taken laudanum. She was
removed to the Royal Free Hospital; remedies were ap-
plied with a view to extract the poison, when nothing but a
mixture of sin, brandy, and rum, was obtained as the re-
sult. She then became exceedingly violent and abusive, and
disturbed the whole of the establishment, and nothing, it
appeared, ailed her. From the incoherency of her answers,
it seemed that she was not in a sound state of mind ; and the
magistrate sent rto the workhouse, preparatory to her
removed to to a lunatic asylum.
WORSHIP•STREET.— SANITAItT MOVIIMENTA. Mr.
John Smith, a bone.boiler, in Thomas-street, Whirachapel,
was charged with having suffered a quantity of noxious
matter to accumulate upon his premises, calculated seriously
to injure the health of the surrounding neighbourhood.—
Mr. S. J. Birch, one of the medical attendants at the Lon-
don Hospital, stet di that on the lath alt. he inspected the
defendant's premises, where he found a large quantity of
bones heaped together in a shed, abort 110 yards from the
honpital. A portion of the accumulation appeared to have
undergone the process of boiling, but he also observed some
smaller heaps of bones with putrescent animal matter ad-
hering to them, in a raw state, and emitting a most offensive
effluvium, which he considered highly prejudicial to the pa
tient% at !the hospital and the inhabitants of the densely
populated streets in the immediate locality. The existence
of such impurities had a tendency to produce the disease
called hospital gangrene, erysipelas, and other dan-
gerous maladies, and generally to retard the recovery
of patients suffering under complaints of every de-
scription. He considered the process of boiling the
hones to he lees noxious than their subsequent accumu-
lation, but both practices were decidedly pernicious,
and evolved injurioue gases, which impregnated the atmo-
split re to the distance of at least 300 yarda—Messre. Byles
and Liddle, surgeon% to the parish, corroborated ,the preced-
ing evidence, and added, that, on again visiting the premises
on Friday last, although the offensive effluvium was con-
siderably abated, owing to the place having been saturated
with lime, it still continueilln a most detrimental extent ;
and they noticed on that occasion, in addition to the bones, a
large quantity of tallow, the odour of which clearly indi-
c uthat it was the produce of animal matter in a state of
perance.—Mr. Hammitt ordered the removal of the
nuisance within two days, and ale* adjudged the defendant
to pay the costs of the prosecution.
MARYLEBONE.—AN AREA Ssenx."—J. Priest was
charged with having stolen some plate, the property of J. G.
l'hillimore, Esq., 14, Alhion-street, Hyde-park.—The foot-
man of that gentleman said that on the same morning he
heard the rattling of plate in the kitchen, and on entering
he saw the prisoner in the set of making towards the door
which opened into the area. He (witness) collared him, and
found in his possession two silver forks and a silver butter-
knife, and, on a policeman being called in, the prisoner was
conveyed to the station-house.—The prisoner, who had
nothing to say, was committed for trial.
SOUTHWARK.—A Re NAWAY.—W. IVhitmarsh,
youth, 11 years of age, the son of Mr. Whitmarsh, coroner
for Chippenham, in Wiltshire, was charged with being
found nt a l hour the preceding night in a destitute state
in the streeta ate
—A policeman stated that between 12 and 1
o'clock that morning, while on duty in Illackmanatreet, his
attention was directed to the prisoner, whom ho had ob-
served for tome time passing up and down, apparently not
knowing where to go. But at length he went up and spoke
ti him, and, (rem his answer', learned that he had come up
from the country without the knowledge of his family, and
that, being destitute of money or the means of procuring
any, he was reduced to great distress, and had not the means
of paying for a bed, and that his intention was to have
walked the streets until the morning. The policeman added
that he then took him to the station-house, more with a view
that he should have an asylum for the night than as a punish-
meat.—Mr. T. Stow( 11, landlord of the Elephant, on Newing-
ton-causeway, stated that on Saturday morning the prisoner
railed at his house and mentioned that his father was a bar-
rister and coroner fir Chippcnham ; that they had come up
toguther from that place in order to get him an nppointment
as midshipman on hoard a man-of-war; and he added that
his father directed him to the Elephant and desired that he
would remain there until his arrival. From the lad's ap-
pearance he (Mr. Stowell) at once acquiesced, believing his
statement, and accordingly provided him with bed and board
untie the Monday following, when he expressed a wish to
have a drive in one of witness's omnibuses to Hackney, say-
ing he should return to dinner. On the way to Hackney
however the lad alighted from the omnibus and ran
away: and, upon being made acquainted with the facts,
he (Mr. Stowell) gave a description of him to
the police, and desired that if he was seen in
the neighbourhood he should be taken into custody. lie
added that be had not seen the lad since until he wail in-
formed that he was at the ilition-house, and he therefore
attended in order to detail the above circumstances.—Mr.
Cottinghsm questioned the accused, and, from the tenor of
his answers, it appeared that he had absconded from home
in the early part of last week without the knowledge or sanc-
tion of his father, Mr. Whitmareh, of Chippenham, and
that his principal motive in coming to London was to try and
get to sea, to which his family were averse, and that being
determined upon it himself he had resolved to follow the
bent of his own inclinations. Mr. Cottingham said that a
policeman should be directed to convey him home to his
father, and to represent the facts to him.—The lad seemed
very unwilling to accompany the policeman, who, however,
was desired not to let him out of his sight until he delivered
him safely into the hands of his family.
THAMES.—Aeskuti.v.—Andrew Spilling was charged
with beating William Hellen with a poker. The parties re-
side in the same house, in Lower Shadwell. The complain-
ant said he bad occasion to speak to a woman about some
ill usage to his child, when the prisoner fastened a quarrel
upon him and threatened hins. He thought no more of it,
and about three or four hours afterwards he was suddenly
attacked by the prisoner as he was entering the yard of the