The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-06-06 00:00:00

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LAW.
COURT or KING'S .SENCH, Wistaarimine, Jul's b.
Sitlin:: el Nisi Priti;, Irfort Lo►d ELLEMBOROVGH.

THE. KING V. FiavtEeT.
This was an inditiment for an assault. The De-
fendant was a barber, .residing at Putney, and the
Prosecutor was a boy living in the same village.
It appeared that the Prosecutor used to stand op-
posite to the Defendant's shop, making wry faces
at him, calling him names, and turning him into ri-
dicule ; which, at last, exasperated the barber to
such a degree, that he seized him by the shoulder,
and drove him away from the place.
Lord ELLENVOROUGIi thought, that if the De-
fendant had merely taken the Prosecutor by the
shoulder, and turned him away from his shop, with-
out using any other violence, he was justifiable in
doing so, as no man had a right to be annoyed in
such a way. His Lordship, therefore, direaed the
Jury to acquit the Defendant, which they did ac-
cordingly.

THE CM; T. ALETANDER CASSAISO.
This was an information for ate: ing a bribe to a
Revenue Officer, in order to entice him to a viola-
tion of his duty.
The Defendant, who was in custody, was a Book-
seller, residing in Pall Mall, and the prosecution
was instituted by order of the Commissioners of
Excise.
The evidence, on the part of the prosecution, was
John Short, the Excise Officer, and a Carman, who
carried the goods in question; from whose testimony ,
it appeared, that, on the 3d of November last, Short,
who held the office of a Tidewater, was put on
board a brig from Rotterdam, called the Young
Ageba, lying off Greenwich, part of whose cargo
was four cases of new books, belonging to the De-
fendant, who came on board in the morning of that
day, and appeared very anxious to get his goods
landed. He procured a wherry, and put them
on board of her. On their way to London,
the Defendant proposed that they should land the
goods, and he would carry them home, empty the
rases of the books, and fill them again with old ones
and rubbish, in order to send them to the Custom
house, where they might lie for ever ; and by that
nieans, he should escape the duty, which was con-
siderable. In order to entice the Witness to assent
to this, the Defendant prornised to reward him li-
berally, and at the time gave him 51. not for (as tie
Witness emphatically expressed it) consent:rg to
this imposition on the Excise, hut for lettiiT him
land the goods before they came to the king's
wharfs. Between Greenwich and Deptford, how-
ever, the wherry filled with water anil sunk, the
passengers were saved, the cases floated, and were
picked up aid landed at Duke's shore; the carman
was called, and the cases put into his cart, and the
Witness desired bin; to drive to the Custom house;
when the D-fendant repeated his wish to have them
carried to his own house, in order (he said) that
they miet be 'dried, as it would ruin him if those
books were spoiled. When they (AM, to king's-
lane, the Defendant eirdered the carman to drive to '
his own house ; and, upon his engaging to send the
ease, and books the next day to the Custom house,
and promising to pay the duty, the Plaintiff per-
mitted him to take them home ; he called on the
Defendant the Monday following, and saw some of
the books hanging up to dry, and others still in the
cases; the Defendant again repeated his intention
of filling the cases with old books and waste paper,
and gave the witness 51. more : however, he atter-
war& recolleaed he had committed a breach of
duty, told the Commissioners of the circumstance,
and the information was filed.

The carman proved the delivery of the goods at
the I>efendant's shop in Pall Mall.
Mr. Drinkwater, a Revenue Officer, stated, that
goods were always landed on the key, and carried
across into the King's warehouses.
Lord EL er; so ROUGH hers interposed. He said,
he thought the information did not state any specific
appointment of a place to land the goods ; it merely
recited the words key or wharf, without stating the
place; whereas, from the evidence, no specific place
appeared to Dave been appointed.
The Sor.ictsoft-Gesrea 1., for the Prosecution,
offered some arguments in support of the informa-
tion.

Lord ELLENDORJUGH replied, he was sorry to
turn them round upon this point, if he could help
it ; but he WAS very unwilling to strain the law upon
a penal Al of Parliament, such as the present. His
Lordship therefore dire led the Jury to acquit the
Defendant.

MILDLY V. MITCHM.
This was an action upon a Bond. is the penalty
of 1001.

It appeared that the PlaintiT was a master Smith,
and the Defendant his journeyman.
From the very high wages which are paid to
journeymen in this trade, it became necessary for
the masters to bind the men in a penal Bond, in or-
der to compel them to execute their work regularly.
The Defendant became very negligent of his busi-
ness, and spouted a set of coach springs, by which
the Plaintiff lost a sum of upwards of 121. and ac-
cordingly this adion was brought.
Some difficulty arose in the proof of the value of
the work spoiled ; but, in the event, it was found to
amount to 101.

On the part of the Defendant;
The Soticiroe-GeNeaa t. stated that he was a
rung, raw Scotchman, wholly unacquainted with
the prillices of this city ; and he was therefore
drawn in to sign this bond. which was binding as
well on the master as the Journeyman, as the former
thereby agreed to instruct the latter in the art and
mystery of his trade. which he never did; and the
Defendant was so disheartened by this conduit of
the Plaintiff, that he natu•ally became negligent.
With respeCl to spoiling the springs, the Defendant
had never seen such things manufaCtured in the
course of his life, and the Plaintiff might as well
have set him to make a pair of breeches, as give him
such work to do.