The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-08-20 00:00:00

Ile was army he had written the letter in question, and he was
satisfied there was not the slightest ground for the imputations um-' in it. Vntler these circumstances, he believed the Jury
would only have to find n verdict for the plalotilf; the defendant
entcrlt.g into a rule to pay such damages as Fight be agreed
lx.tweee the partite.
A. verdict was accordingly taken for the plaint ;ft

. •• IiOUSTON, JUN. V. LET (cattae).
t . filr.-Enskint stated to the Jury, that in this cane John Heus-
i totajan. was plaintiff, and the Rev. J. her defendant. The de.
duration rated, that the defendant had made an assault upon the
plaintiff; and had infticted several Mows on his back and loins • to
which the defendant hnd pleaded, first, that he was net guilty ;
I and, secondly, that he was under master of n grammar sehool*in
ll this county. and that the plaintiff being a scholar, under the age of
121. bad behaved himself in an improver manner, and tint the blows,
bad been itttliet.d for the purpose of punishing him. To this plea
the plaintelied replied, that the defendant had assaulted him in a
metre violent nit:niter than was necessary or proper under the dr.
euttintanees, and upon this issue wan joined.
Mr. Sergeant PF.LL addressed the Jury on the part of the plain- I
tiff', end observed, that the question they had to try was, whether
the defendant had or had not inflicted a more severe chastisement
O'l the plaintiff than his relative situation to the you:..", person jus.
titled. lie approached this C.r..^ with pain, both as it referred to
the plaintilT, who was very young, and to hie father, and he might
add, es it referred to the defendant. whom he knew in early hte,
and at whom he would say, that at that time he considered him, for
learning, humanity, and tight feeling, an ornament to the honour.
able profession to which he belonged. The father of the plaintiff,
use a respectable surgeon and apothecary at Tiverton.lle lied
five children besides the plaintiff', who was about 14 years of age. t
Thodefeadant had been many years the second master of the gram.;
nise wheel at l'iverton, whit s stood an high as any school ao the I
kingdom, and had centelbuted es Iturgeiras any establishment ofi
its size, to that moral in I intellectual improvement to which Eng-
land was mainly indebted Ibt the protiatinetien she had c.tained. ,
Ile had a painful duty to discharge in informing the Jury, that at 1
this moment the lather of the plaintiff apprehended that his son I
would be a cripple tor the reincinsier of his days, in consequence of t
the treatment he had experienced from the defendant. But Ic I
would not prep this point further, wishing as he did to obtain the I
verdict of the Jury without exciting their feelings, which dwelling I
on this topic must do. The Learned Sergeant then, after giving
an outline of the tare that would be proved by evidence, called
John Candy-a-1 am apprentice to fir. Houston, surgeon, of Ti.l
tenon. He bas six children; John is the eldest; I have known
him well for three years and a half. Before the beginning of this
year he was weakly, but healthy. On Saturday, the 7th February. I
I saw John run up to a boy of the name of Berne, and. after some j
convereation, Hemmen gave him Il slap in the face. On Tuesday, i
the lath February, in the afternoon. I saw he was very faint when
he came from school. lle went to bed, and I went into the room
where he Was in bed. It wail between two and three o'clock in the
day. I examined his loins and bark, and found the blood had
been draws from 69 places, and he appeared to have been daffiled
severely. The appearances were on the small of the back. I went
to him frequently during the evening. Dr. Hutchinson attended
him. I particularly examined his back on Friday, and it was then
I counted the 141 places. He got up on the liunday following for
two hours, but he lay on the sofa. Ile gut up on Monday and
Tuesday for a short done. Since that time his health has been very
bad. He has complained of a pain in his back, and a alight pain
in his head, and is constantly taking medicine. He complains
sometime* of a deadness in his limbs; he has likewise been very
faint.

Cross-examined by Mr. ADAN.—The school hours are ova. be.
tweet+ twelve and one o'clock. I sal plaintiff after his return from
school. I sow him about two or three o'clock, in bed. He asked
me to look where Me. Ley had birthed hint. Doctor Hutchinson
came rt seven o'clock.
Elizabeth Halkham, a nunie—l went to attend John Houston
on the 10th of February. I eaaniined his beck, and found be had
been very much flogged. The back was edt acmes and stabbed. I
assisted an changing his linen. His alibi Was bloody in the tail.
Witness attended him seven days anti nights. The boy was very
bad when she was with him, and cried out when she applied the
lineament to his loins. Lut Sunday she examined his bath, and
found a hollow in it where she could lay her finger.
Crosaexamined—Doctor Hutchinson 'wait in attendance all the
time. Plaintiff's beck was perfectly straight.
Edward Houston sworn-1 am brother to the plaintiff. 1 was
at school with his en the 7th of February, when he was punished.
Mr. bey asked his why be struck Ma-ter Beane? lie said, be.
cense he told lies. Mr. Ley told Master Alexander Critlard to go
out and fetch the ;dam pudding which he had left in a chair, lie
brought a birch rod. My brother WAS then kneeling with hie hoods
against a desk. Hide's:l-Ley. two boys, then held his shirt anti
hands. His tampers were down. Mr. hey whipped him. Ile
struck him five times, and then lie stopped. The birch wail broken,
and then he took the little twig to make the bitch wider. Theo lie
gave him five cuts more, and ran the birch into my brother's back.
My brother then got up and adjusted his clothes. Mr. bey said to
my brother, ~. you are acting Too and Jerry with a vengeance."
Crou-examtned.-1 was about seven yards from my brother when
he was beam. Master (Joss was timed just before my brother.
lam quite sure Mr. Ley ran the birth into my brother's back.
Dr. Hutchinson sworn-1 MI a phydelin at Tiverton ; betwezn
seven and eight at night, on the 10th of February, I wee called to
ase the plaintiff'; I saw two or dime snipes an the lower part of his
body, sod I found nutty more en his body; the skin was cut in
many places; he shrunk when it wee premed- I prescribed a
lotion; he complained of his loins; on the I IthAis pulse was as
low es lint be mat very weak, and complaient of head-ache, pain
in the bowels, and numbness in the feet. On the 17th, he com-
plainedef the Weakness in the back ; I saw him again in July ; I
then found a continued spinal disease, accompanied with dis:ortion
and debility, and exquisite pain ; before February, I knew the boy
was perfectly ate:tight.
Ceespeniandedii-I ordered an emollient lotion and a Strengthen-
ing *hear ; these were all the external applications I ordered.
Mr. AD** addressed the Jury for the defame. His client for
nearly half a century had been engaged in his present occupation,
and had conducted the school at l'iverton with the greatest credit
to himself., and die best proof of that was, that it was equal to any
other establishment of its size in the kingdom. He should by the
evidence he was instructed to call, completely answer the charge of
the pleitatifil' The Learned Gentle:nth then called a number of
iritneseee who negatived the statement of those of the plaintiff.
'f be Jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff--Damagea di.