The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-12-07 00:00:00

own sheep. I saw the rem omi. Philhy's premises.
and I'll swear to it beton • Magistrate." For
these expressions the Learned Cosine& said the Jury
ought to give the Plaintiff an silspli esoipeosatiou
in damages.
. Nosh Heath celled aNd examined by Mr. Goa-
NlY—lie proved the words spoken precisely as
Misted in the declaration.
Mr. ADOLPHUS addresiied the Jury in mitigation
of damages. He could not InSiq Oil the jitcsfication
Winch bad been pleaded. The mat,er charged by
the words wig. in 1110. nut a grittily, but the subject
of an action of trover.

The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE Ch■rgerl the Jury.
who. immediately I.bund r verdict fur the Plattaittl
Dyntages 40..
EECIR AND ANOTHER, ASSIf}NEES, &c. N. MAT.

The Plaintiff tit this action (Dr. Reece) had
some time since an action against a Mr. Clarke, nn
which the Defendant in the prevent action acted as
his Agonies,. On the morning when that cause
came on to hr tried, a malarial witness was discover-
rd to be absent, in consequence of which the Plain-
tiff Mit notisuited, and hid lint only his own, but
the costs of Mr. Clarke to pay, amounting together
to 811. Mr. Clarke, immerlistely on the nonsuit
being declared, settled by paying a sum to the
thereby acknowledging that there had
been cause of action. The Ines of the costs, it wit
contended, arose from the neglect of the Attorney,
whose duty it was not to have gone to trial in the
absence of a material witness, but rather to have
withdrawn the recoud.

Mr. SCaat.EL.T, for the Defendant, contended,
that as the Plaiii:iff ithilertook to have the witness
in question, who had beers los shopmaii, fool).
coining at the Pine of the trial, null told the De-
fendant to look and have the town witnesses ready.
he was not liable. It appeared that the Plaintiff
sent a confidential person of his own down to Col-
chester with a subpoena for the witness (Firmin)
whose preaelice was to material, and that person
left the office of the Defendant on the preceding
day at three o'clock, took the •tape for Colchester,
returned post, and arrived at Westansister-Hall the
next morning an hour alter the cause had been
tried, and the Plaintiff nonsuited. The Defendant
on the morning of the Pia! saw a clerk or shopinsn
of the 11,4114 in We.amitister-1101, and imme-
diately asked him if Finnan was arrived ? Hr re-
plied, that lie made no doubt he was arrived and
was perhaps breakfasting at one of the coffee-
houses. In the confidence that he would arrive, the
Defendant la the trial proceed, and the Plaintiff
was, in consequence, nonsuited.
The I.OIID Curia .lus•rlcE charged the Jury,
that if they thought, under the circumstances, that
the Defendant might have ascertained if the wit-
ness had arrived, by going to the Coffee-house
where the witnesses assembled, he had exercised
that degree of diligence which lie wits hound to do,
they would find a verdict for the Defendant. If
they thought he had not, they would find for the
Plaintiff; allowing in their estimation of damages
a sum which the 111 •tf must have paid had the
record been withdrawn

The Jury, after a short consultation, found a ver-
dict for the Plaintiff, &images 30!.
Mr. SCARLETT said, in justice to the Defendant.
he must say, that he recollected his mentioning to
him (Mr. Scarlett) the absence of the witness, and
the circumstances, and he had advised him not to
withdraw the record.
The LOAD CHIEF JUSTICE said it was a ir
useful verdict. It was the duty of an ■ttorn •
to go to trial without seeing, either by la •
his clerk, that big witnesses were all readr.i
•