The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-03-16 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

TICE CHANCELLOR'S COURT, LiNcoLm's-Tior,
31womir, TlAncii rr.

I.OCRIN C. FOWLER.,

11r. Cta.t, aimed, that he bad to 'thew canoe why
the issj •lion which had been granted in this cause
5),,,,, Ist he es. ~, i , med. The circumstances were, that
ti .e Plaintiff purchased from the Defendant his in-
teseiit in the lease of a farm iu Lincolnshire. nod
the stock then growing on it. aml in payment gave
him his promissory mite for 384/. But before the
lease was assigned over by the Defendant to the
Plaintiff, the Sheriff seized on the farm by virtue
r•f 311 exeention for a judgment debt doe by the.
Defendant, The Sheriff sold the Defendant'*
interest in the form to a stranger for 341. and the
had to become the lessee of the purchaser.
The Drfendant brought his action in a Court
~1 L:to to recover 3841. the asiboinit of the pro-
missory note given him by the Plaintiff, and ob-
tained a verdict. The Paiiiitiff tiled a bill in that
Court, for an injunction to ►entrain the Defen-
dant from eiteming tip judgment, which was
granted. The Defrnilant now, on witting in his
answer, ansiLtlit that the injunction should Ire ',is- •
a dwell. The mower did not deny the allegations
of the bal. a.,il he (the. Learned Counsel) had no
doubt but his Ilotoitir would he of opinion that the
injusietissa shorild he comiiiiitied, for it woold be
severe toilreml im the Plaintiff. if he had to 'my
31531. without haiing received any consideration
fur it.
Mr. AGAR. Counsel for the Defendant, said that,
unfortunately fur his client, he was a very poor
num, and, in the year 1816, finding that he was
not able to keep his Grits on from the pressure of
the times then on all tleMll% following agricultu-
ral pursuits. he sold the remaining terns of his
lease to the Plaintiff, and the crop in the ground,
for 3841. and agreed to take his promissory note fur
the amount ; when it became due it was dishonour-
ed. The lease, however, wits not assigned to the
Plaintiff, as it was part of the agreement that it
should .not be aiwignert until the promissory note
was paid, the sum-payment of which had much dis-
trritsest the unfortunate Defendant. and on his
pre-sing the Plaintiff for it, he was determined to
hold the farm and crop, which he was in posses•iom
of. without paying any remuneration for it, and at
the same time to get rid of the Defendant; he got.
for this purpose, a person to sue the Defendant,
who, front his poverty, was not able to defend the
action, and 1w was obliged to let judgment gn
by default. The Sheriff then 'old the farm under
the execution ; and who was the purchaser ? not a
stranger at 341. but the brother-in-law of the
Plain-
and the latter pretends. that he became the
lessee of this pretended purchaser. Hi* Honour
would see from these circumstances the stature of
the Plaintiff's case, that it was merely a tt umped-
up tale.
The VICS-CHANCILI.OI-41 I cannot say so,
• without •IwulJ appear so in hearing the came on
it* merits."
Mr. AGAR stated, it was clear to every person of
the least discernment. that it was a mere trumped-
's') story. and Rot such a one as ought to entitle
the Plaintiff to equity : the agreement was made
its 1816, and if the Plaintiff had fulfills rl his part
of the agreement. by paying the purchase money
at the time be promised, he could not lave been
affected by the Sheriff's sale. Under those con.
'Aeration* he trusted his Illoinnir would lie of
opinion that the injunction ought to he dissolved.
51r. Ilvt.t. replied.
The VI,E-CIIANCELI.On—" Let the injunction
he etionnued on the Plaintiff's paying forthwith
the •tBl/. into Court."
Mr. IlEtt—" I hope your Honour will give us
time to pay the money into Court, as my client
ri-ailes at Lincoln?"
The VicL-Cii•ticELLon—" What time do you
W3lll
51r. 141.1.—t, A month."
'l•he N•iCE CIIANCELLOR--" You must pay the
nuiiot hi before that tune. Your client, Mr.
!tell, is nut entitled to moth indulgence. Let it
1„. L..ml lulu Court in a foirilight, mid in case it is
us•t, ii.joialion to be iharolved."
Alotion granted condstioisally.

POLICE.

%AL

STattT._

Sir Heigh Montgomery *barged his moron., Hugo BrierEy,
with ►ahlwry. The hiol been discharged; and on
sir II ugh retiiriosig brown the opera on Saturday night he
found him crestiiig a distuilan r in die house; and some
su•pici ---- having been excited against him, lois box was
seen 6..1, and a pair or silver epaulets, and various articles
of a ppmel, the property of the Prusecatue, were fidisid.—[be
P. 'sinter was remand' d.

It is at length determined that a Commission of
Oier and Terminer and General (idol Delivery,
•IsII issue into the four Northern Counties, end
Air. RAIN E, the King'. Counsel, to to iireside on
the occa.ion. The following are the days and
places appointed :
DUE nUlPl—Nloutlay, March 22, at the Castle of Dattata.
Nortkupabcriaarf—liaturday, March 27, Cl the Castle of

ewcastlr.ispn-Tyne.
Taira of Aswan/le aid County of the same Tote—Sun
Jay, at the Guildhall of the .ante tura.
Cumberland—April I, at the City of Carlisle.
tresisseirkisd—Tatelalay, April 0, at Appleby.

(hi Monday night last a young keelinati, named
NV•if 14 AN, was precipitated from the
gallery into the pit of the Sunderland theatre, and
in his fall was caught by the iron spikes iu the
front, which tore open his side below the ribs, and
severely I werated his thigh. Surgical aid being at
hand and immediately applied, he is now doing
well. It is a too common practice in that house,
fur young idle fellows to throw themselves upon
the heath, id the people on a full night, in hopes of
getting a flood seat at half price, and it Is not unwual
tor she audience, in ridding thecristlwee of the bur-
den, to push the offenders on till they are thrown
over into the Int.—(Durham Advertiser./
1.0. d Vo,cotint A'ALLETuarr arrived at Mount
Edgcuanhe on Tuesday last, and on the following
(Ivy loud his personal respects to the Electors of the
bolougli of Fowey, soliciting their votes and anterest.
The favourite vehicle called a buggy takes the
had of every other, in cousequence of Lord SIiFTON
and Sir JOHN LADES having adopted them ; den.
Lets 8.4 ttlimaries are ping out.

YORKSHIRE LENT ASIIZRS.

YORK CASTLE, MONDAY, MARCH 8.
CROWN SIDE.
Brfdre Sir G. WOOD, A-night.

The Court opened at twelve o'clock.
The proclamation for the ruporefairm of vice
haring been read, Baron Woon detvereil the fol-
lowing charge to the (;rand Jover—
" Gentlemen of the. Grand Jory-11 am sorry to
observe so numerous a list of prisoners in the ca-
lendar—a number much larger than osnal; but I
believe that this increase is not peculiar to t his
county, but is unhappily too general throughout
the whole country. Gentlemen, it is certainly un-
necessary for me to give any instructions to person,
of your experience and knowleilge of the law, with
respect to the discharge of your duty as the grand
Inquest of this county. There are, however, two
or three offences; on which I will say a word Or tWO.
There is iii the calendar more than note case of
child murder ; on this charge I would eibm.evo, ►hat
formerly the concealment of the birth of a !tartanl
child by its mother was by an Act of Parliament
•made evidence of its murder. This A; t war
thought too peters; and the law 1)y which it wag
repealed declared, that the fact of the murder was
to be !Droved in the same way and liy the sante rvi-
deoce as any other fact 1 and therefore Juries can-
not convict. nor Growl Juries fool true bilk, on
the single circumstance of the colicealinent of the
birth being proved. You most be satisfied that the
child was born alive, and that it died in conse-
quence of violence, before you can find a trite bill
egain►t the party se•cused. The same Act, which
made the concealment of the birth no longer con-
clusive evidence against the mother, provided also,
that in 01l these cases where, on a trial for murder,
the mother of the child was acquitted of the murder,
the Ju►y might, if the fact was so, Jimd her guilty of
concealing the birth, which would subject her to
any punishment, not exceeding two years' imprison-
ment, which the Court in its discretion might inflict.
But this can only be on a trial, by the Petit Ju►y,
on a charge of murder; no indictment caw he found
by is Grand Jury for this offence solely ; amd they
would not be justified in finding a bill for reorder,
merely that die purr! might he punished for the
concealment or the birth. About fourteen years
ago, a new capital offence had been created by Act
of Perlis:tient. by wind' itisliciour etalibing, with
an intent to kill. to thimble, or to do any other
grievous bodily harm, became punishable with '
death. But it is not any stabbing or cutting
which comes under this designation ; fur Mitotic,,
out a stabbing arising in the heat of the moment
out of a quarrel. It may be difficult, indeed, to
determine what is meant by ' grievous bodily
harm ;' but the term ' disable' is sofficiently intel-
ligible ; and the Act provides, that in all prosecu-
tion, under this Act, if the Judge should he of
opinion. that in case death had ensued, the offence
would only have beets manslaughter, the party
should he found not guilty."
His Lordship then made some observations on the
case of a persim violating a female child under the
age of ten years. In this case, his Lordship ob-
served, consent or
female were immaterial circumstances, and did not
alter the nature of the offence. Its one of the cases
he alluded to, two years had elapsed beim e any cost-
plaint had beet► made; this was ■ circumstance
which was extraordinary, and which would deniaud
the attention► of the Grand Jury.
His Lordship said, that the state of prisons was a
subject which had of late much occupied the ;atten-
tion of both Houses of Parliament, and it was one
to which he would wish to call their particular at-
tention. He trusted that they would carefully exa-
mine the state of the prison, and retina therems to
the Court; though, from the character of the Go-
vernor, he had no doubt that they would find every
thing to be correct—at least he hoped so. His
Lordship further observed, that it war very desirable
that there should be a particular class made of
young offeliders, and that they should be kept
apart front those who were matured in iniquity ;
for, by being allowed to associate with characters of
this description, instead of being reformed by the
punishment inflicted on them, they came out of
prison worse characters than they weut in—with untre
inveterate habits of vice, and wins ass augmented
capacity of being mischievous to society.

TUESDAY.

HIGHWAY ROBHERY.
nowets Hickman and William Hickman (father
and son), were charged with assaulting Thomas
Serie and William Lord, on the highway between
Pontefract and Wakefield, puttisig them iu bodily
fear, and taking from their persons six provincial
bank notes, and a quantity of silver coin.
Mr. NIAUDE stated the case on the part of the
prosecution, and called the following witnesses :
Mr. Thomas Serie stated that he was a linen
draper, and lived at ‘Viskt field. On Saturday the
9th of January he attended Pontefract market with
goods fur sale, and received in the course of the day
six pound or guinea notes ;he had al-u a considera-
ble quantity of silver upon him. Wit litab left Pon-
tefract, on 116 return to Wakefield, atom a titvir-
ter of au hour before five o'clock in the afternoon ;
he rode iu a cosered cart drawn by a single horse ;
he was overtaken on the road by a perom of the
name of Lord, who mbar lives at W'aketield, and
who was travelling iu the same manner. When they
got to the Nash Beck, in the Crofton Fields,
which the witness described as a lone place, and
very likely to be the scene of a robbery, lie was
alarmed by two men rushing across the head of his
horse ; at the same moment he heard a voice ray,
" Stop!" and immediately two men presented
themselves, one on each sitle of him, hods of whom
held a pistol to In. head, and demanded his money ;
witorss bring considerably alarmed, put Ins hand
in his pocket and took nut some Weer, which he
gave to the lesser man, who Wllf the younger Pri-
soner, hut nut content with this booty, they rifled
his pockets, and took out the six notes lie had re-
ceived at the market, and a considerable quantity
of silver. Both the men had masks on, and aver
their clo. hes waggoners' frocks. In the mom e,
Mr. Lord, who had drivers hastily away, to give
himself en opportunity of conceiding his wittney,
returned to the enigma* of Mr. Serie, but lie had
ins sooner uttered an exclainatior. of surprise, then
the rubbers hid Inas stand and deliver his money ;
he readily give them au eighteen-penny piece,

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