The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-08-17 00:00:00

OIFORD CIRCUIT.
ASSlZES—OLouctleira. A crovfn

LIBEL.
Sonfis s. at•Ciles.
Mr. Catistitt.ft opened the pleadings.
Mr. Tat/meow stated that this action was bresslkt • tiawirsibe
character of the plaintiff ftoen oalownies east spar the de-
fendant, in • letter sent by hies to a pes•011 . It
would be ntceasaty that they &meld kadiw iv tamed
• Smith, who resided near WOlCelliff. had see eat of
whom married a person also named Smith, and b • married
Mr. Woodley, the person to whom the letter was strat. re had
been for a considerable time an attachment between the plaintiff
and Miss Mary Smith, one of the daughters of Mrs. Smith; and in
the lattet part of last year the plaintiff' visited I'd?, Woodley.
About this time it was reported that a daughter of Mts.iiintith, who
had married • person of the same name rear Bridgenorth. fix/
eloped with a Captain. Jones. It was to that circumstance the
letter referred. (The Learned Counsel read the letter.] Such a
libel required no comntenu—the defendant was an opulent man,
carrying on business as a wiommerchant at Cheltenham. The
plaintiff had also been in that trade, but had retired. and was living
on his property. He should prove the libel to he of the defendant 'a
handwriting, and should ask such damages at the hands of the
Jury as would vindicate the character of the plaintiff.
Mr. Thomas Woodley said—l live at Cambridge. lam the
brother-in-law of the defendant. We married two of the daugh-
ters of Mrs. Smith, who resides near Worcester. She has a daugh.
ter named Mary, who is unmarried ; another named Sophia, mar.
rilived to Mr. Smash, e
ineorw thatliri the ge erthp.lailotff had paid attention believe
lta that
she
edrion to Hirstnotnw
Mary Smith fot seven years. She is a daughter of Mn. Smith. I
invited he and also the plaintiff to visit me in Cambridgeshire.
They came on the 21st of October 1824. They came together.
The plaintiff stayed three weeks, and Miss Mary Smith stayed se_
veto] months. I received this letter (the libel) by the post. while
Miss Smith was in my house, the plaintiff' being gone. It Is of
the handwriting of the defendant. I heard from Miss Smith that
her sister at Undgnorth had eloped with a Capt. Jones, who is the
brother of the plaintiff:
Cross-examined by Mr. WIllORT—The courtship between the
plairtiff and Mies Smith was of seven years standing; It wss not so
long on account of the plaintiff's youth, he being about 50. The
first wife of the defendant was my sister. I considered the letter to
be written in confidence. I received it on a Sunday morning, e hen
teas dressing to go to church ; My wife asked to see it. 1 told
her she simuW not, but she said she would never rest easy without
she did. I told her It contained something very unpleasant, and.
she must not let her sister see it. She promised she would not, and
I went to chord). On my return, the first thing I sate was the
letter on the Mantle...piece, and my *ire and her slater standing by
the tire. Miss Mary Smith said, " Here is a pretty' Ref out.' and
I said, " Mrs. Woolley, have you let Mary see this letter ?" she
'said, " Mary teased inc for an hour and a half, and I could not
help it, but she has proniised not to tell Mr. Jones."
Mr. Justice au a ROUSH—HOW could you be So foolish es to
trust • woman with a secret ?
The letter was put in and read. It was to the following effect, and
addressed to Mr. Woodley :
" Dear Thomas, " Cheltenham, Nov. 11, 1824.
" I quite expected you to have-replied to ours. Mr. Thomas
Smith is at the Illythe, 1 saw him the other day, and he said that
Mr. Jones had called upon him in town, which we were surprised
to hear; whether Mary was with hire or no we could not learn, as
I was from home when Mr.. J. called. I suppose he has left you,
if he has it is quite as well, as it has come out he is, and has been,
playing a double and deceitful part. You are no doubt aware of
the circumstances between Captain Jones and Sophia.
" Will you believe it when I tell you that Mr. J. it at the hot.
torn of every thing, and was the cause of that unhappy business.
14'ill you believe it, the Captain threatens to expose him, and you
may rest assured that what I tell you is fully proved and substan-
tiated. I have not heard and cannot tell half the diabolical
schemes he has put in practice with regard to the above affair, and
if Mary did but know what he says and how lie talks bf her, site
would never see or speak to hint again. Mr. Longmore says he
shall never enter his hottse, and Mrs. Smith says the same.
All this I tell you in confidence, act as you please. Mamma
desires her kind love to all, and to tell you that she intends to write
soon. I remain, dear Thomas, yours, most sincerely,
" J. BistOxts."
Mr. 0. PRILLIPII addressed the Jury for the defendant, and
contended that the letter having been written in confidence could
not be considered a libel.
Ilr. Justice Be ano uoit gave it as his opinion that the letter
was clearly a libel. The defendant In the letter asserted that
these matters had been proved and substantiated, and not merely
that he had hbard them. If the defendant had only stated it as
hearsay, or had now ptoved it as fact, the observations would
have had great weight, but instead of that, he takes upon himself
to state that the plaintiff had been guilty of diabolical Conduct,
Ind that he does hot know half of what he has been guilty of. As
it was not justified it must be taken to be false; and on the mere
publication of such matter the law implied malice. The publica-
tion was proved, the damages were a question for the Jury; and the
amount of them ought to he a fair and moderate compensation for
the injury done.
The Jury having deliberated for a considerable time, found a
verdict for the defendant.
Some other eases of no interest were disposed-of'.
This evening the business of the Oxtord Circuit was brought to
a conclusion.

_ .
- MUNSTER CIRCUIT.

-TIPPERARY AS3ISES, CtowitiL, A. S.

Jelin Keily was put to the bar. The indictment ran thet lie
did murder one W. Hackett, at Ki!wink on the ad April, by
giving him one mortal wound, of which he died.
Edward Cleary exantlned—Knew the deceased, end saw him in
Clonmel, in the house of Matthew Looby. publican. Witness, his
brother, and deceased had been there. The deceased desired wit-
ness to call him into the house, where he had drank some porter
with them. The deceased and prisoner went out first, and witness
and his brother followed, after settling for the reckoning. Witueot
heard no more of deceased till the Tuesday following, when his
corpse was found. Witness passed on to his residence at Abbey,
and on arriving at Medfield saw Colonel Bagwell's and Mr. Stein's
workmen going to the hurling.rnatch, after their work ; they stop
at six. On being asked how long they remained at the public-
house, tile witness answered, while they were drinking a half-gallon
of porter.
Thomas Sully examined—Lives at Ratlikeevan, two miles and a
halt from Clonmel. It is on the road leading to Caber. Was
brought to where the corpse of deceased was found on a Tuesday.
On the Saturday evening preceding he saw tile prisoner and de-
ceased go along the road together. To the best of hie reason it
was about half-after six o'clock in the evening, for he had not long
returned from his day's work. There were others before and after
them on the road. Witness spoke to them at his own door, and
took notice of them. They passed witness to go to Caller or Cashel,
whichever they pleased, and appeared to be coming from Clonmel.
Witness saw the body of the deceased half a mile from where he
saw him in prisoner's company. He saw them approach the finger-
post leading to W'oodroofe ; the body was found at Kiln-toles!).
Pat. Phelan examined—Lived in Other, and knew the lends of
Kilmolash. Recollected having, on a Saturday evening, been pro-
ceeding from Clonmel to his residence, in company with • boy
named Thomas Walsh, when he four.d a hat at Kilmolash Wit-
ness heard of deceased having been found, but could net tell how
long after the Saturday on which he found the hat, which he
brought to Caber without having taken any particular notice of it.
After it was about two days in his possession, however, he looked
at it, and found the name of Wm. Hackett written in it. At the
time the hat was found on the road a post-chaise drove by, to thu
driver of which he mentioned that he found a hat,-but he passed on
without making any observation. At this time witness saw a man
in a field, who was near enough to hear witness, but he made no
answer. He kept the hat safe in his box for two days, endt senor.
log to find on owner for it, when he at last gave it to Mr. Chief
Constable Percy, of Caher.
Margaret Hackett, widow of deceased, was placed in the witness
chair with diiticulty, and the poor woman seemed far advanced in
pregnancy. She was examined. Arc you widow of the late W.
Hackett. Witness, sighing deeply, said, Oh ! I am. She lived,
she said, at Derrygnith, about five mites from Clonmel, on the
Caher road; Mr. William Hiatt was her landlord, and lived there
about twelve months; her husband was employed by Mr. NAB as
driver. Do you know the prisoner? Answer—Oh ! I ought to
know him, which expression she accompanied with a scream. Iler
husband was employed as a keeper over Keily last harvest ; saw
the prisoner atter house the Sunday morning after her husband
was killed, between seven and eight o'clock ; her husband had
left home the morning before for Clonmel, to go to hlr. Mall, and
hrd not returned; the prisoner asked. witness if it was late when
Billy came home last night ? To which witness replied, that he had
not returned at all, and questioned him if he had seen him ; the
prisoner said he had, ebont one or two o'clock, In the streets of
Clonmel, with his brother Jack, who was selling aload of cabbage:
the prisoner added, that he asked the deceased to come home, anti
was answered by him that he would not, as the night was too cold
the witness was induced to believe that her husband had gone
to Mr. Alan's seat at Annerville, and MRS joined in that opinion
by the prisoner, who asked for a needle to mend his emalielothes.
which was all torn, as well as his suspenders. \rime** charged
him with having been in a fight on Saurday, which h• denied,
observing that he had come home very early from Clonmel.
Prisoner lived but a quarter of a mile from witness ; he hail been
in the habit of coming to witness's house until her husband hail
served hint with an ejectment; was, however, friendly for sic
weeks previous to her husband's death. at which time, he was em-
ployed as keeper on Keily's lands. Prisoner said he hail come 1.1
witness's house to •look for one Mara, a country carpenter. to re-
turn him a cost which he had borrowed. The prisoner had. On
the Monday preceding, corns to witness to borrow some clothes of
her husband's, which she refused, but referred him to her husband
outside the house. The prisoner did go out, and resumed. when
the witness gave him her husband's cravat, which he hail taken oil'
the evening before. A short time previews to the prisoner's yid:
with hon. W itness
named Murphy, who lived in the same yard
that morning, he had sent her
did .not get the cushion of it. This she remarked to Kelly, whit
asked if it had not come home. and. if not, that he must ave it
husband's cravat home v.n be
at his house, and would send it over oi. his return. Witness was
present when the body of her husband was taken out of the
di searched his pocket in presence of every person there,
anti found the cushion—in fact, ft was the first thing she did eta
mon
making the search. White wi netts hail the einveraation whit
Knits'. et her bootie, her father. nullity and brother.ialaw were in
the house • t e old man was in the room, and his son about tha
I boom, and were therefore within hearing of what passed he.
tween horse it Kelly. 'rite hat produced was her husbantra
hat Oval tun) Was ; was looking at it since she came 00 Os