The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1807-08-08 00:00:00

!TIR'

P'7777-

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF OF CHANCERY, Ltescoties-lom-HALL, Am F.

Ex forte KAYS, in the Mater af Annie, it Bankrupt.
This was a Petition en behalf of the Petitioning
Credit 'r, for a new trial, under very peculiar cir-
, 'cumstances. A verdift had been found against the
validity of the Commission, before Lord Ellenbo.
rough, through the mistaki., as it was contended,
j of Sir Vicary Gibbs, the Counsel for the Pet.tioning
Creditor, in not producing the proper evidence, on
the trial, of the Petitioning Creditor's debt, at the
time of the alleged aft of Bankruptcy, in 1796.
The great hardships attending the setting aside the
commission, after I I years, was strongly urged oft
the one side, as leading to the ruin of the creditor.,
amongst whom the considerable p•operty of the
Bankrupt bad been distributed, as dividends, under
the commiss•en. The still greater hardship and ruin
of the Bankrupt, under an illegal commission of
bankruptcy, for so many years, without a satisfac-
tory proof, by the affidavits now read, of the exist-
ence of better evidence on the part of the Petitioning
Creditor at the trial, excited in the ChanceUor s
mind a seeming determination to refuse the appli-
cation for a new trial, in a case composed of both
law and equity, and of great ssispiciiin.
Alter a long Argument, his Lordship said, if an
affidavit were not produced tomorrow morning,
establishing the taft of such legal evidence being in
the Petitioning Creditor's possession at the time of the
trial, he would refuse the new trial ; and even with
such affidavit, he would not send it to a Jury, be •
cause tuch sending would prejudice the Jury; he
would, if such affidavit could be made, try the
cause himself, here, as he had done heretofore in the
cause of Mortis e. the Minor C.nnns of St. Paul's.

H19.11E CIRCUIT.
SURReY ASSIZES.
CROYDON, AVOIIIT 7.
SINGULAR RAPK.
Wi/fian.Wii.on was indifted for feloniously ra-
vishing, and carnally knowing, against her will,
Elizabeth, the wife of J. Palmer, in the parish of it.
.Nicholas. Guildford, on the 10th day of lune last.
Mr. LAWES, as Counsel for the prosecution, stated
that this case was attended with most peculiarly dis-
tressing circumstances. The Prosecutrix was a
young woman, just turned of the age of twenty-one
years, who had been married about a year and a
half, having bad one child, which was dead. The
husband kept a small ion, at Guildford, known by
the sign of the Greyhound, arid it happened, that
on the 10th of June last a cricket-match was played
in the neighboui hood of the town. After the field
sports of the day ••:ere finished, the party, of whom
the Prisoner was one, adjourned to the Greyhound,
where they spent their evening. 'lle parlour in
which they sat was detached from the house by a
small yard. At about eleven o'clock the Prosecu.
trix and her maid servant went to bed, leaving the
master of the house to wait upon the company.—
They sat late, and between the hours of ode and
two they were alarmed by a violent screaming and
a cry of " murder." Some of the company ran to
the house, and at the foot of die stairs they met the
Prisoner, who was running away. Mrs. Palmer
then stated what had passed, and which she would
detail to the Jury in eeidence. It had besn ob-
served, that the Prisoner had left the room not many
minutes before, and it was thought for some tem-
porary purpose ; bat he had aSualty forced his way
into Mrs. Palmer's bedroom, and had perpetrated
that fa& for which he now stood at the bar to an-
swer with his life, if. the Jury and the Court should
think, that, under thecircumstancee, it amounted to
the crime of rape.
Elizabeth Palmer deposed, that her husband kept
the Greyhound, at Guildford. On the 10th June
last, there had been a cricket match in the neigh-
bourhood, and some of the patty spent their even-
ing at their house ; she retired to bed about eleven
o'clock ; she did not know the Prisoner, except
from having seen him at the house once Or twice;
she knew him by the name of " the Tailor," that
being the trade which he followed. After she bad
been a-bed some time, she was awakened by finding
some one in bed with her ; she then described, that.
finding she person had his clothes on, she supposed
it was her husband, who had taken too much li-
quor. She said, " Palmer, what, are you tipsy—
if you cannot undress yourself, I will undress
you ?"—The Prisoner made no reply, but went on
to effeet his purpose, which he completed, and then
left the bed, and went behind the hed.curtains.
Still supposing it was her husband, she said to him,
" Palmer, you are nit going down again." the
Prisoner, io a feigned voice, which was an attempt
to imitate her husband's voice, replied, " Yes, the
company are not all gone, I must see things set to
tights." She immediately recognised the Prisoner,
an 1, jumping out of bed, seized him by the collar,
and cried out for assistance. He attempted t. g t
away. and before any body came. he broke louse
from her grasp and escaped.
J. Palmer, the husband, stated, that hearing the
cries of his wife, he ran to her assistance, and as he
reached the house door, he met the Prisoner running
away. He pursued him, and got the shortest way
to his lodgings, where he arrived before the Prisoner.
The nest morning he caused hintto be apptehended.
He asked him " hew he could have committed so
vile an a 3 as to debauch his wife 1" The Prisoner
answered, he did not know that he had done it, but
that he would make him any recompence, and leave
the town.. 'l•he Witness said nothing could he a re-
compence to him, and he would put him in the
power of the law.

The servant girl corroborated the statement of
her mistress's screaming out, and saw the Prisoner
run down stairs.
The Learned Judge (Lord Chief Justice MANS'
V/ LLD) said, this could not amount to a rape, al-
though the Prisoner had certainly committed a
most atrocious outrage. The woman, by her own
evidence, was consenting to the aet, although ber
consent was fraudulently obtained, as she aged un-
der the impression that it Was her husband who was
in bed with her. He consequently direded the Jury
to acquit the Prisoner of eau capital charge, which
they did. !'he Prisoner was afterwards indified
and found Gritty. of an assault.
It has been decided in the case of Dutch Saw e.
Tow Belcher, that the parties are to ight the battle
over again, on the day fortnight reckoning from the
date of their late contest.