The Express.
London, England, 1850-04-16 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.—YssnaDAT.

The court eat yesterday at Clerkenwell, fur the purpose of
hearing appeals against the refusal of the divisional Initiate
to grant and renew public house licenses; Mr. Serjeant
Adams, the essiatant judge, presided. The magistrates pre-
sent were Mr. Pownali, Mr. Wilke, Mr. Witham, Mr.
Tubbs, Mr. Devon, Mr. Laurie, Captain Carpenter, Mr.
Rose, Mr. Brooking, Mr. Maniott, Mr. Halsweii, Mr. Tur-
ner Mr. Warner, Mr. Woodward, Mr. Armstrong, Mr.
Heitley, Mr. Hammack, Mr. Arden, and Mr. France.
ILLEGALITY OP BITTING Lists

The first ease on the list was an appeal by Samuel Searle,
against the refusal of the justices of the divisi m of St. Mar.
do-in-the-Fields to renew a license under the 9 Geo. IV.,
e. 01, to sell mu:imitable liquors in the house called the Salis-
bury Anne, Durham-sireet, Strand.
Mr. Ballantine, in opening the ease, said he had the
honour to appear before the court on behalf of the j notices of
the division in which the appellant's house was situated,
and he thought it would only be necessary for him to state the
facts upon which the justices had acted in refusing to renew
this license, to convince this court that they had taken an
extremely proper course, and therefore to induce it to ap-
Note and confirm the course they had so adopted. The
appellant wan the landlord of a public house, called the
Salisbury Arms, in Durham-street, Strand, and at the last
meeting of the licensing magistrates for that division, they
thought it right to rawest* renew the license to that house,
for what the court would soon see were perfectly valid
reasons, but they did not adopt that measure until abundant
warning had been given to him, which warning he had dis-
regarded ,and they, therefore, in the exercise of that discretion
given them by the law, had refused to renew the license, in order
to enforce a discontinuance of what they unanimously
considered to be a violation of the law. The charge against
Mr. Searle was that he had knowingly suffered gambling in
his house in contravention of the terms of his license—a
species of gambling from which great evil resulted—namely,
betting lieu. It had been decided by competent authority
that betting lists " cams within the meaning of the term
"gambling," and as the license prohibited gambling of all
kinds being carried on on the premises the justices had no
alternative, when they found these betting lists being per
sided in despite the repeated cautions that had been given,
bat to carry out and enforce what they con-
ceived to be strictly the law—namely, that
no publican who suffered this kind of gambling
to be carried cu in his house was entitled to have
his license renewed when the proper time for withholding it
'united. If in this view of the matter the Justices were
wrong, it was for the legislature to interfere and modify their
disonstioa. In the refusal of this license they had acted upon
a principle whisk under the circumstances, and under the
present sine et the law in reference to matters of this
desoription„ the mart would not, he thought, hesitate to
adept end cenine. The question was one of great impor-
tant*, and V the court darned what had boon done by the
some bebew, the elect no doubt would be a very beneficial
one to Mee public geserally.
Mr. Chaltese them addressed the court. He did not in
any way deny that it was entirely is the discretion of the
magistrates below to refine to renew or grant a license for
any nano, and It was of little avail for a publican to appeal
to that court against a grievance inflicted upon him by the
exercise of that disereties if he did not sneak his mind freely
and fully. For ten years had Mr. Smile kept this house
and that, daring that period, he bad conducted it most
respectably, there wee a memorial hem his neighbours to
the mut to testify ; Mere was not the slightest imputa-
tion upon his character se • responable man, and the
only possible reason that Kehl be set firth foe the refusal of
his lionise was that the megiserates had, erroneously and
mistakenly he would WWI ameisdesisisoed then betting
line to partake Si 6111 dismiss of sweeps. When
Derby sweeps wen so mush in vogue a rt time ago, the
°phloem of some of the mast maned men at the bar were
taken as to their legality, and those opinions, be would in.
gym the mart were, that the sweeps mote within the ope.
ration of the Lottery Act, and consequently they were
repressed. That Dabs sweeps were lotteries there could
zttrible doubt. What was a Derby sweep ? It was
by a Inaba of persons subscribing a certain sun,
and taltinj the abeam of receiving a much larger amount
than MU mineription, or nothiay at all, ia re-
turn, essording as they might or might not, draw a
ticket hewing*, sane of a successful horse, but between
tide promeding and a men bet upon the issue of a race,
nothing mald be more distinct ; the one was perfectly illegal,
the legality of the other mud not be impeached, and there-
fore nothing could be more mistaken than the notion that
betting lists were of the IMO *homier as Derby sweeps.
The Learned Judge said their could be no doubt but that
Darby sweeps were illegal. The simple question before the
court was this, was it gaming for • publican to allow a list
of • state of the odds, copied ham Tattersall's, and published
in the newsmen, to lie on hie muster ler the inspection of
his customers.
_ _

Wilka said it was is the discretion of the waffistratai
to refuse or grant a license, and he thought this was a
matter of fact within their discretioe.
[ Mr. Clarlmon so far from deny that, would admit that
I it was so, sod though magistraths had it in their dim:anon to
rolholl or grant licenses, they must recollect that in the
opinloe of Englishmen, oppreedoe, tyrasny, and absolutism
were not the fair and legitimate mercies of that discretion
the law had given to the magistracy. They had that dia-

credo* given them—to see the law eatr:efi eat and obeyed:
here that discretion bad been eke:reified when there had
been no violation of tie law. Horse tabs was made legal
fur the enonuragement of the breed of test beams, wad who
would say that the making of a bet epee tie sums of a gees
was unlawful, or that the exhibition of a Het hi a pantie
house was an act is illegal as the keeping of Derby sweeps
In some eases when bets were made the landlord became
stakeholder, but he bad no profit directly or indirectly, ex.
°opting the custom that the lists brought to his house. He
thought that the legality of these betting lists so palpable,
that he had nothing to answer. The refuel of his license on
that account was at least an unsound exercise of disc:silos,
bat, of course, the appellant must submit to the principle
the court might adopt, and if the court made the condition,
that if bit limns was renewed he must discontinue the
lists, of course be would conform.

The Learned Judge end the ca., now wore a different
aspect. Mr. Clarkson had said that the landlord brume
stakeholder, thereby he became a party to the transaction.
Us certainly thought betting gaming, but a landlord could
not be held responsible for the act of any two persons who
chose to make a bet in his house, but when he became a
stakeholder between those parties, it sppearid to him that be
wee knowingly suffering gaming in his house contrary to the
terms of his license.

Mr. Clarkson—He derives so profit whatever by becoming
stakeholder.

Several magistrates unaided that he profited by the
custom brought to the house by the hotting lists.
Mr. Purnell sold the words of the act were emphatic and
decisive "No gaming whatever."
Mr Cue:keen said as this was the decision of the bench,
his eVent must submit. If he persisted, and had his license
refused, he might then keep his house ea a beer shop, end
then there was not the slightest power on the part of any
authority to interfere with the betting lists if they were con-
tinued. If the bench, therefore, would renew the license,
he would promise to discontinue betting lista for the future.
The megistretes renewed the license upon this promise.
The learned Judge said the bench was unanimously of
opinion that these betting lista were "gaming," and there
fore try the publicity given to the proceedings there, the
trade would have a eiisiinct intimation that the licenses of
; those who persisted in keeping betting lists would be
endangered ; and the magistrates below had taken a very
judicious course in bringing the matter forward. Any
future infraction of the law in this respect would be severely
dealt with, and this the bench wished to be understood-.
This licence was granted, with 101. costs to be paid by the
appellant, with this intimation also, that he must discontinue
the betting lists.
In the cue of Joseph Derr, of the Windsor Castle, and
the case of Salfory Middle:on, of the White Swan, ug-
acre, the renewal of whose licences had been refused on the
same grounds were then granted, upon promises that
betting lista should be discontinued en their houses, each of
these appellants paying 101. cost,.

THE POLICE COURTS.

CLERKEN WELL.

Santora A.PFILSI7.—J. ifKin:Pi: an ;thistle Seetchman,
who supported himself into court upon two crutches in con-
sequence of • broken leg, he having been brought from the
hospital where he had been in charge of the police, was
charged by Thos. Taylor, an active intelligent sac. r, No
230 0, with basing assaulted him, by which his life was
plated in great danger. Taylor, who was in an extremely
weak nit*, was allowed a seat while he was giving his en.
di ace, and said that on the morning of the lath of Feiruary,
about 3 u'cl.ick, he was on duty is Hatton-wall, near Hatton
Garden, when the prisoner, who was &rusk, came up to him
and struck him a violent blow on the cheat, kos eked him
down and jumped upon hi-n. He pursued the prisoner when
he again attacked witness, and they tell down together ;
on which the prisoner minuted that his leg was broken,
and he was conveyed to the hospital in a cart where he had
ever since been under medical treatment. Caner, 38 G con
armed this evidence. Tailor had tr. r since been C,Liilled
to his bed until yesterday. A certifilive from Mr. Taylor,
the divisional 0 police surgeon, was produe d, pronouncing
Taylor to be in crest danger. lailammation of the lungs han
arisen. The prisoner said he was in'oxicated and forgot what
had happened. He was remanded until the fate of Taylor Is
known with cirectiona that that officer should be paid every
possible attention to.

WESTMINSTER.
RUNNING • Itlcc•. Wilrions Scale, a powerful Irish
labourer, was chererd with committing a series ot &spank
mulatto with a hatchet.

One of the complainants, a young woman, was so seriously
injured that it was stated by the police that she was unable
to have the Westminster Hospital, whither she had been
conveyed.
The prisoner lodged in the house of a Mrs. Hefferman, 3,
Old Pye-street, Westminster, and on Saturday night last,
having had a squabble with his tanclady, he commenced an
indiscriminate oaelaught on the other inmates with •
hatchet. Several of the persons presene during the scuffle
were struck by the prisoner, but the only one seriously injured
was Ann Heffernan, the daughter of the landlaq, who re•
ceived a cut on the forehead which rendered her removal to
the hospital nece-sary.
The police handed in the following rertticite, signed by
the Wine Surgeon of the Westminster Hospital:
"1 heti by certify that Aan Heffennati is an in-patient, and
at pr. seat suffering from a scalp wound, but in no immediate
danger.—April 1.5, 1850."
The prisoner was for the present remanded until Wed-
nesday.