The National Register.
London, England, 1817-07-28 00:00:00

OXFORD.

The Absize• for this county co 1111 l icneed before Sir James
A !;an Pal k, Knt. and Sir Won Garrow, Ku t. whets Richard
‘Viddows, ter burglary in the house of Edward Vomit!, at
Finstock ; an• I Edward Watson aod '1 I iumas Miles, for break-
ing and entering the house of W; Wain (Immo, in the day time,
at ilia; were capitally convicted, and seldetteed to death,
but were afterwards reprieved. —John 130‘, and Thomas
Castle, charged ts itio killing a fawn, iu itbatheiai Park, the
poverty of the I)take of Mullootnuirli, %vete bentuticed to
seven years a iaaspin ta 'non--James chcr, clnnrgwl with a
rape on toe body of Jane at G. 41 tilt!, was jfijipig(.4l
two beats inapt isonitimil, and tined one shillilig.—•Wm. Itatt
was tried Ear the wilful murder of Thomas Clad dun, w hum he
Lilted in a basin: match. 'ramie appeared IluttIllit; 111114.11' imi
the battle, and the learned Judge observed, that altl gI.
bitaing and pi izt -lighting were certainly unlawful act-r vet
his Opilla)I1 the came amounted only to man laughter.—Thy
Juts returned a verdict to that tfleet, and Watts waa utticreit
to be 1111pelti011ed 31% moths.

CIVIL SIDE.
CRUELTY OF orncrns.
DISASTERS OF A WEDDING NIGHT.

cnomgrs V. JOSEPH AND Will. tANt TURNER AND OTITERN.

Mr. Taunton opened this arse, and seated that it was an action
to recover damages for an assault rmd hike iinpi imminent, to which
th.: defendants had pleaded not guilty ; there were several other
ap rcial pleas. in whirl; they Mstified their conduct, sitting that they
tr..,re in polsession of a particular house, into wliklt the piiiintifis had
o.,truded himself unlawfully. and that they had gently removed him
from thence, 4. they were authorised tor o in consequence of hiscefit-
eal to depart. these pleas there was a replication on the part of the
plarnmt., in which be alledged eat even if the dcfettoants were jus-
tifird in leturiving Min from the house in question, in doing so thq
hal assttulted him with more viidence, and owl done Lint more injury
• .laLtage than Was neccsary for the purpose sustal in their iiill4-
51:1 pleas.—l'pon this was jomml issue.
Ala Datineey said, that Of which the plaintiff complained was a
violent assault and false impri.onnient inflicted upon last by Ow de
fendants, under circtunstantes which were utorly without the slot
dim of a justification. 'fire defendants teat. Mhabitrints of tie pads.
of iMwell in th•s cerinty, in which palish ti Ii transaction in (location
took ralr.c. The plaiiddt was a young man who, on the ramming 0!
the day on Which he was /swanked. had ken married to a young
person of the name of Harvey , and who, previous to the perfonif-
oceof the cert moray hue acorn to his settlenkrt being in a parish
Calouctattealii:e. father 01 the lieW Urrinicti bride occupied a

TUE NATIONAL DEGISTER.

Imuse in Pim,:7l, where the violence complained of had taken place
To this house, with those fe,lings wl.heh were ratutal to a paren
upon such an uecas:em, he imitad his daughter and his new son-in-
law to partake of a welohme dinner, i.nol to pass the first night of
their marriage. hfr. Tomer determined that tut unfortuntiac plain-
tiff s'.lcruld net sleep in the house of lois futh.r-imlaw that night—he
went to the home of old I lams, and peremptorily commanded that
the rlatintitt and his sine should not be permitted to sleep there.
Finding the old man flisiindined to attend to at. unreasonable a man-
date, Mr. Turner em.! the other defendants thought proper to perform
a sort of pirrison duty upon the oecasion—to take po.isesi.it of the
house, and actually to place per,na within to prevent the cntraiwe of
the new married couple. Poor Coombe§ remonstrated with the de-
fendatots, Ltd hi vain. At length himself and his wife took refuge in
the house of the uncle or the latter; hut here 'rumor's
authotity prevailed and from thence too he was driven with eon-
trimly, and evo.seil with his win, to the inclemency of the weather,
eta late pet tool of the month of November. Thus matters rested till
between nine end ten o'cloek at night. when the plaintiff finding all
ingmss to his father's loam. stopped both before and behind,- at
length wiecreded in gaining admission by a window at the side, and
forthwith proceeded to bed with his wife. Short however, were his
joys ; for it person who hail seen him get into the window, lost no
time io carrying the intelligence to the commandant otfaxr, Mr.
Joseph Tomer, who was siationcal in a neighbouring public house.
Mr. Turner instantly determined to dislodge his innocent
and summoning his little regiment, searched with all the confidence
of superior strength to turn Inn! out. On his arrival at the premises
he ordered the wretched old tather-in-law to turn from beneath In.
sltelterivg roof his son-in law and his &tighter. lit vein did the old
man plead the affection as well as the duty which be owed to his
children, and the cruelty with ullich he should be deservedly charge-
able, if on on such a night end such a season lc were to thrust from
the doors those helpless beings who had sought refuge within his
walls. Mr. Turner was inexorable, and out lee must go. What
right helot to give this order, yet remained to be proved. Vow-ever,
finding I+l)44l4h:obeyed, he assaulted the ft -alibiing master of the
house, and throwing his farniture in the street, himself attended
by his guards, as he called them, rushing up stairs. Mr. Turner,
Mowed by the companions of his guilt, burst into the chamber of
tile new married couple. sod in defiance of their resistance—in de-
fiance of those agonizing attempts which the wretched wife made to
cling to the bosom of the mom to whom she hat? hen betrothed for life
—in defiance of that reeetrol which was due to every feeling of hu-
manity end common decency--this band of midnight ruffians wind
the objects of their pursuit, dragged- them frori the lowly couch,
handetifled the plaintiff with a pair of strong iron liandeidti, and then
forcing upon Imo his small clothee—thus attired. unticiat the chilling
aminstphere of it. Novainkr evening. cometeed hint to a distant
public-house, followed by his wife, lie timid not help thereby no-
tieing, however, what he understood to he the mod re of the extraor-
dinary proceeding which he had dmiled. It was this—an awl-
gusted notion had gone forth in the parish of Epwcil, that if a
couple slept in the parish on the first night of their marriage they
would obtain a settlement,

Mr. Pawn Gitrrow—" For the night ?"
Mr. Ditoncey--.. For the night enly could a settlement under
such circumstances beobtained. and ytt thi4 was the prolotuul principle
unon which so grossan outragehad been as,mmitted.
*John Callew wan then called, and examined by Mr. Taunton.
Hi:knew the plaintiff, and also knew the live defendants, Joseph
Turner, Willi.= Turner, George Watt., Thomas Lyele.iard, and
George Garlener. Joseph Turner was the churchwarden, and
'rhi;niasliard was the overseer of the parish of 1,.p well ; George
Watts was the parish constable. lle proved the faits as stated by
Mr. Dummy.
Cross examired by Mr. Jervis—Nathaniel Harvey was a pauper,
and lived in a parish house; the banns between Coombe and Miss
Harvey had been publi,hed twice in Epwell parish, but had been
forbid by Joseph Turner ; heard that the parish officers of Bridles
had married Coombe by Licence; Miss Harvey was pregnant. about
half gone; defendants km.w this. she had had a bustard child
before.

Sir tVilliarn Carrow—lt dill not signify if she had a hundred
illecithuate children, that would nut justify the conduct of the de-
fendants.
Witness in contintittioo--:Therc were two or three little children,
and old Harvey and his wile in the san...: rOJIII ;II which the plaintiff'
was in bed with his wife.

Sir %Vial= Garrour—i• it is sometimes a relief to Counsel that the
Judge shotiki intimate hisopinitm in the progress of a cause. In this
case it appears to me most clearly, th :t the only que.,tion here is
to pounds, siiillings, anti pence ; tbr inos: certainly I shall charge
the .lury, upon the cvidisice already given, to find a verdict for the
plaintiff."
Mr. l)aunccy said he had several ether witnesses, but should not
call zny more.
Mr. Jervis then nddres,ed 'the Jury in mitigation of damages.
The Learned CounsA proceeded to state all the circumstances:tut:tid-
ing the conduct of the plaintiff, particularly adverting to the disposi-
tion to violence which he had manifeited, both before he obtained
rolinissiim to his father's house, aml efterwerds, whet he said he
would not go tut, and added that murder would take place. 'f his
violence it was that led to the use of handcuff:.

Sir William Garrow, in summing np the evidence observed that
the plaintiff in this ease, a man in litintlele lit., complained that the
defendants had committed an ass alt upon his person, and forcibly
removed him from a Nawe in which be war, and at ..n inclement
season of the year. thrust him into the street almost in a state of
nudity. The defendants, in justification of their conduct. put in
certain pleas, in (vital' they solledged that the plaintiff was wrung
fully in u certain house ; that they were by law entitled to remove
him ; and that in doing so, lead only laid their hands gently on hes
person. To thew pleas the plain:Mined replied. and alledged, that
even taking the defendants to have the tight which they claimed,
they had used enure force and violence in asserting tent right than
was necessary, and by law allowed. This was the plain eutionion
sense of these pleadings : and in ruining to a conclusion upon the
ease, he apprehended that the jury would find a very hale, deny,
difficulty: for himself he could soy, that long since he had cute-
ski. red the inert question to be determined was. the amount cf c9lll-
- peva:Mon to which the plaintiff was entitled. 'flee Learned Counsel
for the eletinelant lead certainly, with great ingenuity. endeavoured to
ne:sleaul, he must say, the minds of the jury irons the real question at
issue, fry- mixing up the facia with a reference to the law, as bpplicabk
to these facts. It was his duty, lioweYer, distinctly to state. that, by
law, the defendant had no
fight whatever to lioy finger upon
die pluititirf, or to touch a hair of his head. The only apprehension
he hail in viewing what had just been peeved before bine, was, lest
he should say any thing which would lead the mind of those whom
lie addressed to give damages beyond what, in their sober,
deliberate, and hone st jtulgment. they were hound to give.
It had been truly said by the i.eaneed Counsel, who leads() eloquently
brought the circumstances of this extraordinary case before them,
that they could seat ee be credited; her a tissue of more outrageous
and unjtuaitiable oppression, had, lee believed, seam ever bethre
Mt' under the attention of a Court of Justice. 'flee law very pro-
perly gave to all-yublie officers wi.o were ent usted with list:l:rent:an,
the most temple protection when they kept width: the butinds of their
duty ; but a here they supped beyor.d their hounds—where they
used the khn.er wide which they were invested, to oppress rather than
prote t has Majety's suiteeta, no set of rneu deserved a more exem-
plary punishment tetin they dud. It was Lot to be endured that
offic ors of parishes should prostitute the sanctity of the marriage
ceremony io the manner to which allusion had been made on the
;nevem nceasion—and that a couple who firm accidental' eireetoo-
mance. might be supeosed to have lad an improper intimacy together,
shad re by them, without authority fmni die principles of law or mo-
rality. he forced into a state of matrimony, widen ill all probability.
could ouly lead to future misery aid crime.—'!'hat such conduct had
taken live, appeared from whet lad transpired tl at day, to the dies•
grace of the country in which it lad occurred. N ith regard tee the
.uwitssaml iucxctbai4e coutiact of the defendants, be was bound

STTLY Ali,

to say, that there was no ur.gistrate in the kingdom who c•fgdd have
lent the ruictiors of ....it name to such a proc,,eiling. 'There was no
authority Ua Ia It it could be Justif,:o. 'The Learned
C‘itnsel for the defendents had endeavoured to ralliete the barbarity'
which had Leen treed in thus draping avian feat Ids heti on the first
night of hid te,itiling, and taxi the arms of his wits. by refer:Mg to
the expres.sions a hirlt the wan ig..41 used, when he thus found hie
liberty and hi.: bruipinvt encroached upon ; and allusions liad teen
matte to the deelanttinn of the plaintiff, that hefts Le qu',thed his
father's him ;e that night municr wolikt be committed. Thnt ex-
pressioo, however, should he taken with its context; audit was his
duty to ~.ate, that (sun iftleath had ensued, from a rest: ranee to the
oppresion of the defendants, the man by whom it lied been Effected
would have been justithal in law. Such were the ronseceerces to
men who took upon themselves to dispense with law, and to act
igainst it sacred provisions. T;ie Learned Judge r_eavitalated
the short but atrocious facts of' the cas.e, mien whit:, he conitnented
in the most eloquent and feeling. manner; and in adverting to' thee
charge of indecency brought against ph•.intiff by 4r. Jcrvie for w-
tiring to rest with his Kite, in the same room in which his father and
mother and three children slept, do ired that it should be recolleet,d
that the parth:s were in humble life, and that the plsinrifr sooght ros.
the bed of voluptuousne,s, but a shelter fur himself and his wit.! front
inelemeney of a winter's night. In concluricm I..ordship observed.
that the jury were betted to rive the pla;neff damages ; by this he
did not mean excessive, outrageous, or vindietiie, damages, which
as sensible members of tociety, they conceisetl the outrage committed
ue the plaintiff demanded.
The ,:nry, after some consolidation. found a verdict for the plaintiS
—.Domain:a Putty l'ounds.