The National Register.
London, England, 1821-03-18 00:00:00

STEADMAN V. ORDELL.

This was an action for alanderons words, importing that
the plaintiff hail defrauded the defendant of a If. note.
Mr. Watford (with whom was Mr. Chitty) stated the
plaintiff's case. The plaintiff was a young tradesman,
and was overseer of the poor of the parish of Laimatich,
where lie resided. In the course of his employment as
overseer, lie applied to the defendant's father, a miller,
for some poor's rates, amounting to 41. as. The defendant,
• young man under age, paid the plaiutiff al. on behalf of
his father. In order to get some Riker to pay the remain-
ing ts, lie left the room, and on his return the plaintiff
counted over the notes again before him, and said there
was only V. upon which the defendant gave him another
note. It afterwards appeared that the plaintiff had mis-
counted the notes, in consequence of two of them having
attack together, and he returned to the defendant the note
which had been overpaid. The defendant afterwards
circulated a report that lie verily believed the plaintiff
had intended to cheat him, and publicly spoke of the mat-
ter in that sense at a Court Baron of the manor of Helling.
Several witnesses were called to prove the words, but
Mr. Baron Wood suggested the propriety of withdraw-
ing a juror, his lordship observing, that he never saw a
more trumpery action brought in a court of justice.
Mr. Marryatt, for the defendant, said lie hail no objec-
tion to adopt the learned judge's suggestio, althuugh lie
was prepared to contend, with coritidenp hat the words
set out Mille declaration had not been proved in evidence.
A juror was therefore withdrawn, each party paying
his own costs.
M•itcit 14.—Charles Lingard, William Hambleton, and
William Sans, wet e indicted for burglaiionsly breaking
and entering the dwelling-house of Elisabeth Smith, a
widow lady, residing at Springfield, near Chelmsford, in
the night of the 4111 instant, and stealing a considerable
quantity of silver plate and other valuable property. Ibis

. . _
was considered the moat heinous case in the calendar.
From the evidence of about 17 witnesses, the following
circumstances were disclosed :—The prosecutrix resides
in a detached house close by the road side, with a large
bow window in front on the ground floor, protected at
night by shutters similar to those of a shop window, and
fastened ru the like mariner by a bar and pins secured on
the inside. At ten o'clock on Sunday [rigid, the 4th inst.
the family, consisting of females, reined to rest, leaving
the house secured. About half past six on the following
rooming, when the servant got up, she round that one of
the shutters of the bow window had been forced from its
fastenings, the room entered, the cupboards broken open,
and titled of the articlea] ieutioned In the indictment.
The circumstances adMced to affect the prisoners were
these :—About live o'clockapf the morning of the 081, after
the robbery was committed, they were all seen together
in a lane three miles from Spriugfield, which led towards
Billericay, two of them having a bundle each in his hand.
In halt an hour afterwards they were seen together iu the
same lane without any bundles, and towards six o'clock
they were observed to separate on Galley wood Conunou,
two of them going the road towards Billericay, and the
other in the direction for Margeretting vu the London
road. The alarm occasioned by the discovery of the
robbery was soon spread in the neighbourhood, and the
last mentioned circumstances excited a feeling of curiosity
to search the lane whet e the prisoners were seen, fur the
bundles observed in their possession, and the result was,
OM in two dunghills in the lane were found congealed
all the different articles stolen from the prosecutrix's
house. In one of them also were found a dark lantern,
a pair of pistols loaded with ball, a pig-killer's large knife
of tumor iiiiii m sharpness, a picklock key, mu Large gine-
blets, a prizing crow-bar, and several °tiler instruments
of house breaking. In consequence of the informetion
that two of the men sa seen had gone towards Billericay,
they were followed and traced to that town, where they
catered a public-house' and, with the assistance of a con-
stable, Banibleton and Sans were taken into custody.
About two o'clock the same afternoon, shortly after the
soave mentioned articles were found iii the dunghills, the
isomer, Ling:rid, was seen to drive into the lane in a
cart, descend, and begin to switch one of the dmighills.
The persons who observed the transaction Caine up and
asked him if he had lost any thing; he replied that he
had, and on being asked what lie had lost, lie said," some-
thing that lie could not find.' At this moment lie appealed
somewhat agitated, arid lie joinped into his cart and drove
off at a furious rote on the wail towards Billericay.. A
titan on horseback followed him in hoot pm snit, and with
the utmost difficulty came up and desired him to surren-
der, and upon his refusing, the mall drew a double bar-
relled pistol, and said he would shout hint it' he did not
stop. Thin had the desired effect, the prisoner surren-
dered, and lie was brought hack in custody to Billericay,
where lie was searched. On his peison were found a
silver scoop, to which the.prosecittrix swore as being het
property, sonic tea and sugar, mixed together loosely in a
handkerchief, some gunpowder and bullets, a skeleton
key, and two giiiiidels. The three prisoners were taken
to Clielinsfou d, and committed for trial.
The Lord Chief Baron summed tip the case with great
miuuteness, anti the yury, after a short &lint:ration, tumid

the prisoners Godly—Death.
'l•he Lord Ciiiet Baron then pronounced the awful sen-
tence ut death in a feeling and nnotasoinc manner, telling
the urisoners not to cote win the slightest hopes of mercy,
but to prepare for execution, which would in a few days
inevitably follow their sentence.
George Soles and John Brilliant were al,o convicted of
burglary ; and Henry Hunt and James Horn were con-
victed ulsberp stewing.
CIVIL Slue.—Verdicts were obtained by four inha-
bitants of Ilford, for damage done by a riotous mole, for
relosiog to illuminate ou the 13th November, Lit triumph