The Express.
London, England, 1859-01-08 00:00:00

EOBBERY N7I7H VIOLENCE BY CAB DRIVER&

At the Stockport County Constabulary Office, on
Wednesday, two cab driven., named George Grabble and
John WO= Wyatt, were charged with wanking William
Parker, of Cheadle, and robbing him of a silver watch, •
gold Albert key, sad a sovereign and a half. Oa Sunday
afternoon the prosecutor was staying at the Red Lisa Inc
Stockport, and he then saw the prisoner Dribble, and told
him that he should want a cab at six o'clock to take bun
home to Cheadle, to which Grabble answered that it was hie
day off, brit that he would find • cab for him. About
six o'clock Dribble called on the prosecutor, at the Red
Lion, and told him that the cab wee ready. They then
went to the door, where the other prisoner, Wyatt, was
waiting with a Hansom cab. The prosecutor end Drabble
entered the cab, and Wyatt drove off. Alter stop gat
adrenal public-haves on the road they at length reac. the
Queen, at the entrance of Cheadle; here they had more
drink, sad the prinoners tried to Induce the prosecutor to
return to Stockport. Title, however, he refused ; but, on
the cab driving on again, baked of going in the dinettes of
the prosecutor's house, Wyatt drove down a lane trading
towards Manchester. Finding this, the prosecutor celled vas
to him to mop, when Wyatt threatened to knock his brains
out, and at the mine time Drabble, who wee inside the rub,
made a match at the promcutor's watch-guard. A struggle
then ensued, when both tell to the bottom of the cab. W alt
stopped the cab, and went to the stisietsuce of hie
and then both commenced beating the prosecutor, note/ilk-
'trading his cries of murder, and entreaties to them to desist.
Befog unable to get the prosecutor out of the vehicle,
Drabble got into tae cab again, and it was driven oIL On
arriving near • hones at the road side, occupied by • pima
named Senders, to whom the prosecutor was known, the
letter by some means managed to get hold of the horse's
reins, end before the prisoners were aware of what he was
about, he turned the horse to Mr. Sanders gate, sad drove
up to the house. He then called for assistance, when both
prisoners again assailed and tried to throttle him. At that
moment Mr. Sanders came to the door, and seeing the
position of affairs, he seized Drabble, the other person
making his escape ; he was, however, pursued and brought
beck. When roomed from the prisoners the prosecutor was
completely exhausted, his outer clothes end shirt ware torn
to rags, and his watch guard was found broken about his
neck ; the watch, Albert Key, and his money were, however,
gone. Subsequently the watch was found outmoded beneath
the driving box of the cab. The prisoners were committed to
take their trial.

DESTRUCTION OP CROPS AND FENCES ON
LINES OF RAILWAY.

A cue of considerable interest to agriculturists was
brad bet weak at the County Court of Tamworth, before
amTeased, Beq., the judge, and a jury summoned fee
pere, Mr. Hoary Lowe of Combleford, near Tam-
worth, farmer, was the plaintiff, and the London and North-
Western Railway Company the defendants. Mr. Mousiest,
et the Oxford circuit, instructed by Mr. Willington, of Tam-
worth, appeared for the plaintiff; and Mr. Chattier, from the
ethos of Mr. Carter, of London, for the defendants. From
the statement of the plaintiff's conned, which was after-
wards borne out by the evidence, it appeared that on the
10th of August last an engine belonging to the defendants,
and attached to one of the passenger down trains, passing
the plaintiff's farm at Comberford, on the Trent Valley Line,
ejected a quantity of red-hot coal or coke, which est fire to
the herbage growing on the slope* of the railway, which
being unusually dry, in a very few minutes onamannkated
itself to a quitheet hedge of the plaintiff's, end baying burnt
246 yards of it, destroyed shout three acres of barley which
had just been cut, mid the clovereeeda which had been 'Own
with the barley for • crop in the ensuing year. The Bir-
mingham Fire-office paid the plaintiff a 'um of 64;., the
amount of damage sustained by the loss ef the barley. but
the ineuranee not extending to growing crops, the Ellice,
though it was stated the directors acted most liberally on
the occasion, were not liable for the damage done to the
hedge and clovereeeds, and for this, amounting to 481. Bk.,
the proceedings were taken. Mr. Motteram stated that the
action was brought against the defendants for negligence
• so managing their engine that it destroyed the
pialatifFe property. He said that the defendants
were bound to adopt tuck' precautions as might be
reasonably expected to prevent damage to the property of
thew prisons through wnthe lands their railway parsed. He
contended that the tire itself was a sufficient prima loci*
case of negligence to call upon the defendant. to show that
proper means to prevent such occurrence, had been applied
by them. The evidence he intended to lay before the jury
would be sufficient to show that the injury of which the
plaintiff complained was caused by the eta:aloe of sparks,
or particles ail ignited coke, from the defeadents engine. At
the conclusion of Mr. Motteram 's statement, it was arranged
that the only point to be contested should bo the amount of
the claim, and this wee chiefly confined to the principle on
which the value of the clovereeede bad been wheeled. For
the plaintiff, Mr. Ingle, the surveyor, wee called, who said
that he eou.ideted the proper mode of estimating the plain-
tiff's ices was the probable value of the crop when it would
be ripe, and this be valued titt SI, en acre. The witness was
subjected to a rigid cream-examination by Mr. Claather, in
t.rder to show that the value of the seed and labour was the
true measure of the lose. The plaintiff was then celled, and
supported Mr. lngle'a view of the cue, and said on cress-
examination that he had, as an experiment, town the land
again with rye grim, but, being sown out of season, in all
probability it would be a feithre ; yet at any rate be thought
that any benefit which might be aerived from it titter paying
for the seed and labour would be counterbalanced by the defi-
ciency in the yield of next yeet's wheat, by ransom of the loss
of the clover root, so valuable as a manure for the wheat crop.
Mr. Clealter addressed the jury on behalf of the defendants,
and contended that the true measure of damage wee what an
Incoming tenant would have to pay to Mr. Lowe, provided
his tenancy had expired on the day the fire occurred. That
to look forward to whet the crop. would be in the ensuing
simmer was importing into the eatimateADLlernent of too un-
certain a character to be relied upon. The directors were un-
willing at once to pay any et 'flaunt claim parties might make
against them, as they were trustees for the shareholders.
The claim for the destruction of the fence he did not object
to, and ea it was; from principle the company revived this
claim, he hoped the jury would give the ce-v that considers-
, lion which, as men familiar with egrieultorel purenita, they
would be especially qualified to do. Mr. Motteram urged that
I the mode suggested by the defendants wee ftillaCIOUP, as Mr.
Lowe'm tenancy could not be considered in the way suggested.
If he were nearly an off-going tenant, be would have no rent
and payments to make in respect to the land given up, which
in this ease with the seed and labour was shown to he within
a trifle (taking even the defendants view as correct) of the
amount claimed. The mode suggested for estimating
the claim wee ingenious but uneound ; it put the
plaintiff in the position of an offeroing tenant with
• liability to a twelve month,' rent and payments for the
land, whilst it put the defendants in the petition of an In-
coming tenant, with pewee ion of the land, with no rent or
W yments to make in respect of it for the next twelve months.
The defendants celled no witnerwra, end his Honour maenad
up the case very carefully to the jury, intimating that he did
not agree in the mode of cal.:Welton stiegested by the de-
fendants' but leg the whole matter in the hands of the jury,
who (he said) were peculiarly well qualified to deal with a
CASs of that deseription. The jury, Ater retiring to consider
the casts, returned a verdict for the plaintiff fur 48!. 160., the
amount claimed; the foreman intimating t hut the jury onn-
eidered the claim to be a moderate one.—Modlood Cosmetics
Resold.

PRINTERS' BENEVOLENT INSTITCTIONS.—Mr. F.
Ullow, late of Alderthete-etteet, City, has just bequeathed
• legacy of 1001., to be equally divided between the Printers'
Pestles Society and the Printers' Almehouve Society, An
similes of the tlret named society will take place in March,
when eight additional pensioner. will be pieced on the fan&
A new pensio•, it is expected, will alon be then created, to be
called the Canton Pension, in honourable remembrance of
the dirt Entlith printer, which will entitle the holder to •
pension of 261. per annum for life. The highest male candi-
date on the poll who has swathed vizty years of age, and
enbecribed fur twenty-fire years, will be the recipient.