The Express.
London, England, 1860-04-21 00:00:00

PHI APISAL CAMP OP CAUNT AND LANORAK.

The court sat to-day, specially, at the Guildhall, Wee!.
minster, to bear the appeals of Benjamin Cunt, of the
Coach and Horan, St. Martin's-Line, and Nathaniel Long-
horn, of the Cambrian Stone, Castle-street,
Leioaeter-
quare, against the refusal of the licensing justices to re-
new their licenses. There were present The Assistant-
Judge, presiding ; Mr. Pownall, chairman of the bench;
Mr flutrien3, M. 'Misr.. Mr. An•rolom, Ka. Woolsoey, Mr.
Parbury, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. IL H. Hanwood, Sir James
pier, Mr. Rankine, Sir R. W. Carden, Mr. Baylis, Mr.
eisill, Mr. Griffiths, Mr. Heiprth, Mr. Husky, Mr. Ger-
, ford, Mr. A. Ballantine, Major Lyon Mr. Cox, Mr. Wyatt,
Mr. Alderman Salomon; M.P., Mr. 'Thomas Cotterell, Mr.
' Stilwell Mr. Pepys, Mr. Mr. W. P. Bodkin, Mr.
'Amadei., Mr. Kensahead, Mr. Mr. Fowler, Mr.
R. Wynne Williams, Mr. Tubb', r. &velum, Mr. Gould,
51 John Hauler Mr. Armstrong Baron de Min, Ac.
The case of Hauler,
wan taken first. Mr. Keane and
Mr. Tindal Atkinson appeared for the respondent justices ,•
Mr. Edwin James, Q.C., Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Poland
were for the appellant; Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Le Breton
appeared for the vestry.
The Asaistant-Judge ruled that the vestry had no locus
Audi in court, the only respondents being the justices.
Mr. Keane opened the case, and said the appellant was
a tolerably well known prise-fighter, and the magistrates
below had refused to renew his license as a publican, not on
any personal ground with respect to Langluun himself, but
for very different reasons, which he (Mr. Keane)
would submit fully justified the decision they had
srrived at longhorn having been in the prize ring,
his house had been made a great centre of attrac-
tion • vast numbers of persons who took an interest
in matters relating to the ring, comprising persona of the
wont repute and disorderly characters of every description,
assembled about the house, not only on days when
fights came off, hut on the day before—the weighing day—
and also on the day after the fight, which it was presumed
wu the settling day, causing great disturbance in the
street, destroying the peace of the neighbourhood, and seri-
ously diminishing the trade and the value of property
thereabout ; in fact, the place had been • nuisance. In
March, 1858, Langham received a warning from the chair
man of the licensing magistrates, in consequence of reports
made about the way in which the house had been con-
ducted ; that caution had proved ineffectual, and the Lune
proceedings went on as before, and
theinhabitants fre-
quently complained to the local authorities, and also to the
police. Matches for fights were made at Langham's ;
and though no actual fighting took place there, it
woe a place of rendezvous for the lowest characters,
to whom such matters lad interest ; and as the
magistrates only licensed houses to be conducted with good
order and propriety, and not for the furtherance of uulawful
purposes, which prize.fights undoubtedly were, or to create
• nuisance in the neighbourhood in which they were situate,
they hail refused this license, and he thought the court
would affirm their decision. There were noise*, singing,
shouting. dancing at all hours of the night ; the language
to.ed in the street by persons leaving lAirigham's, or congre-
gating thereabout, was of the vilest description; sham-
rights were got up outside, evidently to attract persons to
thespot iu order that they might be robbed ; and altogether
it was a house of that disorderly character which it was not
the intention of the law should have the sanction of a license.

A number of witnesses were then called, chiefly ;;;sons
living or retrying on business near Langhanes, and they
spoke of disturbances and riotous conduct outside his
house, particularly on the occasion of fights of
more than ordinary interest, such, for instance, 111
one between Tom Sayers and Bob Beattie, fought
in September last, and one just before that, between
Travers sod another. In answer to Mr. James, the wit-
nesses said there would be uo doubt that these assemblages
of persons met for the purpose of learning the results of
fights ; and the learned counsel Reid there was nothing
more in that thanpersona rneetingat Tattenall's and throng-
ing Grosvenor-place to know the result of sonic greet nice,
or nougregating round Bell's Life offico last Tuesoboy to bear
the news of the recent match. The witnesses stated, gene-
rally, that the house was very disorderly conducted, no
much so as to break the peace and destroy the rest of the
neighloourhuod. The police said there WIWI not the least
personal complaint against Langham.
Mr. James address of the court for the appellant, and said,
though he had not hail much experience as to the jurlsclic.-
tem of the nuogististes in these matters, he confidently sub•
witted to them that there had been no case whatever made
out upon which they would act and refuse the appellant
his license. There was no use disguising the fact that this
was what was termed • fighting house, and that
Leinglieru had been a pugilist, and that his house
was resorted to by persons engaged in matters
connected with the prize ring, but the house was Creased
1 with full knowledge of those facts, aud such houses had
been licensed since the days when Byron and Mr. Holohouse
went to spar at Tom Cribb's. But with respect to the way
in which Laughano had conducted his house, not even the
police hod any contplaint to make ; all the complaint wall
with respect to what took place outside his house, net in,
and that was a matter for the interference of the police, who
load charge of the public highways, and were responsible for
the preservation of order ; and had Lsngham interfered to
I molest any pasta outside his house he would have been
bible to proceedings for assault. It could not be alleged
that Loongliam had br ,ken the tenor of his license, and why
should the license be taken away now, to bring ruin upon
I au iudivioluul, when it had been granted by the magistrates,
l'year after year, with • fall knowledge of the way
in which the house wee conducted, and that the
house was one where numbers of persons went
to seek information upon pugilistic matters. Laugh=
bad no interest in these persons who aseemloled in the street,
near his house ; it was not by them that lie made the prodit
of Lis lousiness. His customers were of another class of per-
sons, and would it not be idle for a moment to say that the
event of last Tuesday— the contest for the championship—
was nut talked of in every quarter from the highest to the
lowest. He knew it was talked of in the house ; it would
be the lowest hypocrisy not to avow it—the prize ring was at
present a recognieed fact, and licenses were granted and
transferred to men who were known to be prize-fighters,
who looked forward to the poessesion of a public-house as
• sort of haven for their life, after they bad smote them-
selves some notoriety, fur the ready purpose of bringing to-
gether those with whom they had been assecuoted—
those of kindred pureuit, who took an interest
in tights and other sports, which was not confined
to that chess, lout reached to dukes, member* of
the houses, and even cicrn, Lien. Isuighano had never been
(laity of riotous oor olisonlerly conduct to his house ; he
had never incited the 'wrens& who met rimed his Loins to
disturbances ; and if the magistrate.. granted hint the re-
newal of his oveae-- which there Lad beau no reason for
forfeiting, as he submitted - any condition they might at-
tach to it would he faithfully observed ; and it was hoped
that in mercy, if not justice, this bench would not single
out cue individual from a class sad send him to utter rum
by taking away from him a license granted and renewed
from time to time with a full knowledge on the part of the
magistrates of the habit. mod associatione of his life and the
conduct of his house.
. _

The Assistant...fudge told the bench that they mud de-
cide upon this question without the least preutlie.. as to
any class of individuals, but simply upon the evidence.
The appeal MAY I ejected by 19 votes to B.
The case of Count was then proceeded with
Mr. Serjeant liallautine, Mr. Metcalfe, and Mr. Poland
were fur the appellant ; Mr. Keane, Mr. Tindal Atkinson,
and Mr. Le Breton for the respoixlents.
lu this case there were the sane general complaints
against the appellant's house, that it wasfrequented by
fighting men, and it was alleged that Caunt had been
charged with offences against his license, hut one only was
provelauelthat resulted in a convictionina penalty 1431. The
nUidinlen complained of hail continued down to last Tuesday,
when mote collected to ascertain the result of the fight
between Sayers and Heenan. The magistrate. below hail
refused the license on the ground of gambling being openly
allowed in the house, of Client himself being addicted to
habits of intemperance, and of disorderly priceediup,
creating an annoyance and a nuisance to the neighbourhood.
One ca.. was brought before the court ; it was that of •
person named Garnet, who was alleged to have been drugged
parlour, cheated out i 4 user 501., then ill-used,
and when the case was reedy for trial • compromise was
entered into among the parties concerned, and the com-
plainant withdrew the charge.
Mr. Sierjeant lleilantino made an able and eloquent appeal
to the bench on Cellist's behalf, entreating them nut to eon-
' firm the refusal of the lice use after it had been granted to
hint as a tiglitiug man, and the home as one frequented by
person. iiiteioited in the ring for the lung period of 18 years.
It would l- a 671tVel and crying in,justice for the ~urt to per.
petrate. With respect Caunt • alleged habits LA intem-
perance, there was this to be said in extenuation, that he