The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-02-15 00:00:00

GIBRALTER, JAL 17.

(Extras of a Letter.)
To-morrow being her Majesty's birth-day, there
will be a grand review of all the troops in the garri-
son, and a superb entertainment given afterwards
by his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, on the
occasion. The Spanish General ('astane/, and his
suite, are invited, and all the Field and Staff Offi-
cers in the garrison, with the Officers of the Navy
now here.

The wind is still westerly, so that no ship has
been able to sail for England this month past.
The gas'rison is all in good health, notwithstand-
ing the uncommon severity of the weather lately.
Nothing but heavy rains and violent gales of vrind
for these five weeks.

The following are the names of some of the ves-
sels which were drove on shore at the bottom of the
Bay, in the last storm : the English brig Killerry ;
the English brig Nile; the English polacre Fortune;
the English polacre :Vary; the American ship Anna
Maria • the American schooner Dolphin; the Impe-
rial polacre Bona Ventura ; the Spanish polacre Duke
Nombre de Maria; the French brig la Bien Aimee
Adelaide; the French brig POnzieme; the French
ketch l' AB& ; the town vessels, the Pearl and For-
tuna. Eight of the above are still on shore.
The garrison is all perfealy quiet and regular.
SUICIDE.

On Sunday the 7th instant, ARTM:R BARRY
SHEARS, Est. an Irish Gentleman, arrived with his
wife, an English Lady, at the Bull-Inn, Burford,
from ChelteAam, where they had passed all the last
year in a pleasant circle of acquaintances. About
ten o'clock ti Lady retired to her bed-room, when
Mr. SHEARS immediately locked the door, and dis-
charged a large pistol at his head, lodging the con-
tents a quantity of grape shot, in the brain. He
languished till the following afternoon, and the i ex-
pired, in great agony. Mr. Thier,r,s had consider-
able property in Ireland, but dwinz to some irre-
gularity in his remittances, was reduced to some
temporary pecuniary embarrassments, which pro-
duced a desponding state of mind, and drove him to
the fatal a4l. Mr. S. served formerly in the navy,
and since held a commission in the South Cork Mi-
litia. He has been married little better tlr,,n
year, and what is very extraordinary, seemed so
easy in his mind as to amuse himself with adjusting
his wife's hea&dress a few minutes previous to his
committing the rash a& He was a gentleman of
light, but very Inoffensive manners. He was first
cousin to the unfortunate brothers of that name,
who were executed at Dublin for high treason, dur-
ing the late rebellion in Ireland.

A great change has taken piace in the French
National institute. 7he Class of Morality and Po-
litics, is entirely at an end. Hence many distin-
guished charaaers in France arc excluded from a
place in this Philosophic Society ; such as
LAREVELLIKR, ME:IiCIER, VOLNEY, GARAT, GRE-
GOIRE, GVINGUENE, LAKANAI., RCLIDEREII,
The Literary and Philosophical Society of. New-
castle have, very much to their credit, passed a
resolution, to institute a Leaureship on Natural
Philosophy. Such an Institution, liberally sup-
ported, might be very advantageous to the rising
generation, if established in most of the capital
Towns throughout the British Empite. Classical
knowledge is taught to boys, rather than natural
and scientific truth. The former may qualify them
to be Critics, and is a proper ornamental knowledge
for people of fortune ; but Natural Philosophy af-
fords useful praaical truths, calculated for the ge-
neral body of the people, and the interest of the
State.

According to the report Pf Mr. Asmacws, the
Surgeon attending 'Town -end, the Bow-street Pa-
trols, who was wounded about a fore,ight ago by
the robber in St. Giles's, we find, that notwith-
standing the alarming symptoms, of the escape of
blood from the woundexi lungs by the mouth, and
that of air from the wound so as to inflate the
skin on the trunk of the body, he is already out of
danger.
His Excellency the French Ambassador gave his
second grand dinner on Saturday, at his house in '
Portland-placC. It was one of the most sumptuous
and most costly of this season. The dinner and de-
sert were served up in a most superb set of porce-
lain, richly gilt and ornamented. It was made for
the service of the Ambassador at the new Porcelain
Manufactory, in France, and arrived at his Excellen-
cy's house on Friday last. It is, perhaps, the rich,!st
and most costly that evet- appeared, the manfaeturer's
charge amounting to 2,7001.
Colonel DESPARD is preparing a petition to the
fountain of mercy. At present he and his six con-
demned associates who were not recommended to
mercy, are chained together in a string, the chain
strongly fastened to the cell in which they are con-
fined. No one sees or speaks to them but through
a grating, Many of their friends went to the pri-
son yesterday to take farewel ; and the anguish of
their wives and female relations was very distressing
to behold. It is expelled that the KING in Coun-
cil will, to-morrow, at St. James's, finally decide
•their fate. On Saturday a few disorderly persons
assembled at Lambeth, where EmtLyN, one of the
chief witnesses, lives, and burnt him in effigy. EM-
eivx applied to the Policc.office, Union-hall, for
protellion.—,iforn,ng POI/.
On Sunday it was stated, that the LORD MAYOR,
and the rest of the City Members, had waited upon
the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Tor
the purpose of communicating circumstances which
materially concerned the health of the Metropolis.
We are happy in having it in our power to state,
from authority, what is precisely the tact to which
the statement alludes :
The Right Hon the LORD MAYOR, Sir JOHN
ANDERSON, BROOK WATSON, Esq. Sheriff WELSH,
and Mr. Ki a av, waited upon Lord Pct.,l am, on
Saturday last, to lay before him the state of the
prison of N,..vgate, which, for a length of time, has
been overburthened with prisoners beyond example.
Newgate at present contains no fewer than 800 per-
sons ; some of the prisoners have lately died, and
about i J now remain sick. It was submitted to his
Lordship, that it was proper that a proportion of
the prisoners should be removed. In consequence
of this representation, Lord PELHAM agreed that
80 should be removed this day, and 70 to-morrow,
to NV4aolwicli ; and, after the Old Bailey Sessions,
100 more. Proper cloathing has been provided fur
their removal, and a physician is to inspect them,
that none may be sent away but such as are in per-
fect health."

~

• •
LAID INTELLIGENCE.

RINGS' BENCH, WESTMINSTER.
FLO.RI) ART 14

Suliagi after Turns, &fore Lord Et.t.znaoaoton.
TURNER (qui tam) V. BROWNE.
This was an aaion brought by the Plaintiff, the
proprieter of a coal-shed in Tottenham-court-road,
against the Defendant a 'wholesale coal-merchant, to
recover the penalty of 1001. given by statute 3. Geo.
IL for an unjus.: and fraudulent delivery of a quan-
tity of coals, purporting to be five chaldrons with the
ingrain. It apEeezed the Plaintiff had for a consi-
derable period been the habit of dealing with the
Defendant, but it was with as much astonishment
as }egrets he observed, that so fir from gaining a
profit upon the re-sale of the commodity, he was a
loser. He could account fc.r this in no other way,
than by supposing that the measure was deficient.
Upon the five chaldrons in question being sent
in, the Plaintiff 's neighbours remarked, that the
sacks did not appear to be near fulL This
communication induced the Plaintiff to have
the coals re-measured. The deficiency was of such a
magnitude as to be no ways reconcileable with the
honesty of the Defendant. There ought to have
been 189 bushels, instead of which there were only
178 ; the Plaintiff therefore found lie had been de-
frauded of eleven bushels.
Mr. G ARROW conduCted the cause, and was not
sparing of those forcible, but just remarks which the
dishonest and fraudulent conduct of the Defendant
so well merited. He observed, that no venial mis-
take in the adme:;surement could account for such
a deficiency.
Mr. ERSKINE endeavoured to infer, that although
the delivtity was unjust, it was not fraudulent, on
the part of the Defendant.
Lord ELLENBOROUGH addressed the Jury, and
desired them, in-order to avoid any future question
of law that might be raised, to say distinaly by their
Verdi& whether the delivery was fraudulent or not.
The Jury returned a verdict for the Plaintiff; and
the Foreman said, they were unanimously of opi-
nion, the Defendant had acted fraudulently.—Da-
mages 1001.
Lord ELLENBOROUGII." I do not, in a penal
action, like to say any thing to Juries that May be
calculated to inflame their minds ; but 1 am glad
you have found the verdia as you have returned it;
and I hope it will have some effea on these people,
who, by their infamous conduit, aggravate the mi-
series of the starving poor!'
This observation was succeeded by an expression
of popular feeling, very unusual in a Court of Jus-
tice. The auditors were so sensible of the propri-
ety of it, that they gave vent to a general burst of
applause.

MCI. I. ET T against rovrox.
This was an thion to recover damages for a de-
famatory libel. The Plaintiff W;ts a straw-manu-
faaurer at Hammersmith, and the Defendent was a
writing-master at the same place.
The Plaintiff was in treaty with a Mr. Salter, for
house in Angel-court, Hammersmith, and had
provisionally agreed to give 321. a year for it. In ,
the mean time the Defendant sent a letter to Mr. Sal-
ter,
something to this effeft : " I have only this mo-
ment heard who is to be the new tenant of Angel-
court. I presume you are not acquainted with the
particulars of the newspaper reports concerning him,
otherwise you would not admit into your house an
acknowledged felon, a debauchee, and a seducer,
not to mention the probability of his converting
your int us. into what may be deemed a brothel."
This libel was followed by another, which, as it was
not proved, we will forbear mentioning. The
feet of it was, 'that Mr. Salter was indifferent as to
letting the house, and he only agreed to do so upon
an ads anced rent of a year for seven years.
The libel having been duly proved,
Mr. likSK IN E addressed the Jury for the Defen-
dant. He stated, that the Defendant had not been
aatiated by malice, but had merely reported what
he had heard from common fame. He admitted
the Defendant had acted indiscreetly, in applying
the term Felon to the Plaintiff : it was a charge he
certainly could not support. With regard to his be-
ing a debauchee and seducer, it was but too well
founded. Mr. Erskine was proceeding to detail a
story of the Plaintiff's havin'r,, debauched a young girl
who was put apprentice to him, when Lord ELL LN-
so aouou interrupted him, and expressed his opi-
nion, that it was a species of evidence which could
not be received. The malice of the Defendant might
be repelled by producing The newspaper from winch
he had inferred his information was derived.
Mr. ERSK IN E had nu such Paper to produce. He
therefore continued his observations, solely with the
vie's' to the mitigation of damages.
The Jury enquired whether the Plaintiff was in
the house, tor the occupation of which he had treat-
ed with Mr. Salter ? The answer was in the affir-
mative, stating only that the rent was advanced
from 32 to 351. a year.
The Jury, therefore, considering this advance as
the utmost extent of the injury sustained, returned a
verdi& for the Plaintiff. Damages '2ll.

COURT OF COMMON I'LEAS, FEB. 14.
Siting: Frio:, before Lord AL VANI.C.%
LADEN, Esq. agdrut MORDACIFT, tSQ.
This was an aaion brought against the Defendant
to recover damages sustained by the Plaintiff, by
means of the Defendant's coachman driving his cha-
riot on the wrong side of the road, which occasioned
the Plaintiff to drive against it, break his chaisz to
pieces, and kill his horse. The Plaintiff's case was,
that on the 23cl August last he was driving from
London through Mitcham, when he espied the I)-
fondant's chariot chariot at about one hundred yards dis-
tance, on the side of the road on which the Plaintiff
was driving, and which was his proper side. 1 he
Plaintiff's servant, who was with him in the chaise,
and a Capt. Head, and Capt. Tun, who were in
company with, and just behind the Plaintiff, swore,
that the servant first, and afterwards Mr. Emden
called to the Defendant's coachman, and beckoned
for him with their hands to get on his proper side of
the .road, which he not doing in time to give the
Plaintiff room to pass by the chariot and a tree
which stood on the other side, the Plaintiff was ob-
liged to run against the hind wheel of the chariot,
by which means the chaise was totally destroyed,
and the horse, breaking away from the chaise, with
the splinter-bar at his heels, run against the sign-post
of an inn in the town, which occasioned his death.
On the part of the Defendant it was given in evi-
dence, that the chariot was returning empty from
Sutton, and the coachman driving at a inuderar

pace of. about four or fire miles that the ,
rl.tintiT and his companions, in the miter ctiasse,
were driving at a very fufious rate, and, just before
the Plaintiff's chaise met in conta.f with the chariot,
it was very near running over an inhabitant of Mit-
cham, who was only saved by a friend's pulling him
out of the road ; that the Defendant's coachman
was in the very act of turning out of the Plaintiff's
way when the wheels met, and several of the Dc.
fendant's witnesses positively swore, that there was
plenty of room for the Plaintiff to have passed be-
tween the chariot and the tree, if it had not been for
his tr.en carelessness.

This cause took up the attention of the Court dur-
ing the whole of the day; and a number of witnes-
ses were examined on the part of the Defendant ;
but as the question was merely as to the locality of
the spot where the chariot stood when the chake
came in contael with its hind *heel, in 6rder to as-
certain the fad whether the Defendant's coachman
did all in his power, from the fast drivin.F, of the
Plaintiff, to get out of the way, a detail of the evi-
dence can be no way interesting to our readers.
Verdi& for the Defendant