The National Register.
London, England, 1814-12-04 00:00:00

THE NATIONA L REGISTER:

DEC. 4.

LAW /..\"/ EL LIG it:Al.; E.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, SATURDAY, DEC. 3$

rnisp P. Iltsunr.-

This was an action in which the Plaintiff qiught to recover from the
Defendant a compensation for false i.upri-unitieitt, under the follossieg
rircl;mteaners the Deland:int era,. managing del kto Aressrs. Barnard
mild Eagle, weep makers. the Plaintiff was 'a junior clerk in the same
gaturday the Soth July, the Defendant had received 351. iu
Batik notes, to defray the exnences of the day, amongst the notes in
question was a 101. note. Early in the day he deposited these notes
in a beater in the tomnit;f-house, near the Plaintiff's desk, lcvd
the drawer and laid the hey on the desk ; at night the ifft. note wait
.no persoo haviog been in the. countieg-house dui it g the day
except the Plaintiff and Defendant, the Delendant'A soil, the won kirett,
and u woman, named Wdson, to vileeo a bill of 131. was paid. Ott
miisieg the note the Defendant went to the Plaintiff's lodgings, told
him the circuntstanee, and desired he would submit to be searched; thi-
the Plaintiff refused, unless a regular peace officer was present.
Next morniug the Dtfendant, accompanied by a constable, went again
to the Plaint:e's lorkin., and tot:k him into custody, on a charge et.
felony. MI Suit lay anal Sunday eight he remained in custody ut the
watch-hoase, on Minday morning he was taken before a magistrate at
Lambeth street, end examined, 811(1 he Defendant stating that he had
evideece to produce if rote were given, the 11004 was re-
ntitided to Clerkenwell pricon till the Wednesday ; he was then taken
before the magistrate a second and no further evidence being
produced he ayes discharged,, awl brought the present action to reco'-vr
a compensation fur the injury lie had sustained.
These facts were proved by the Attorney-General, on behalf of the
rlsiut;ff.
Mr. Park for the Defendant submitted, that to maintain this action
tlie Plaintiff must prove that these was no rebut& cause for the arrest
and impvisoninent, and that the Defendant was actuated by malice
against the Plaintiff; he would prove by evidence that there was pro-
bable cause, and he would show that so tar froM the Defendant having
any malice towards the Plaintiff, he bad done him many good offices.
The Learned Counsel then proceeded to call several of Messrs Ber-
nard's workmen, two of whom stated, that they had observed the
Plaintiff alien is the counting-house alone, rummagtug the drawer in
which the notes had been deposited.
Lord Ellenbineugh here interposed, and observed if the Jury be-
lieved these two witnesses, the circumstance they had mentioned added
to that of the PLintiff's refusing to be searched, though it did not
establish the Plaintiff's criminality, yet Warded probable cause ; he
should so direct the Jury and state to them that the Plaintiff 'mid nit
have a verdict.

The Attorney-General said, after this opinion delivered by the
Learned Judge, he would be c,Jled—Pl:►intiff uun•saited.

The following, action was tried in the Court of King's Bench. on
Tuesday :—Brown v. Callan.—This was an action fur slander. The
defendant said to the plaintiff, " Yon are a humbug, an►t a nuisance
to the neighbourhood ; you are a villain and a d—d scoundrel ; you
Lave robbed and murdered your lather ; your waggons and horses
are not paid fur; your wile is a d—d w—e; you have sent her to
Margate to get money by her prostitution, to enable yon to carry
on your buriness."—Lord Ellenborough held, that these words were
not acti►►n.ible, but were merely the effusion of a law and vulgar
mind.----The Jury found a verdict for the plaintiff—Damal es,
One Shilling— APer the above ►lrelaration of the Noble Chief Jus-
tice, we -think -no one can deny that Engiblimen pusiess the liberty
of speech.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

MAJOR SIAIPLE.

On Friday, the celebrated JolorGt-ork!'e Semple 1.;41e. mare F.,ene•
rally called Major hips., was ehargrtii wi!li haviny, obt:,ined two
pieces of baron and some butter by fraudulent itscan, from Theo-
Grouttear, in Devonshire-street. Queen-z:ipiarc, in Muy
Nis ciAiiisol for the prosecution appeared.
Mrs. Grammar stated, that the pi.i:Anier came to her shop, and
desired licr 10 tend the butter end bacon, which he had looked out.
to 412, Gloocestcr-street, as be had taken a tir:4 floor their, and he
would rettii II the money by the boy. She could not is!entify tl,e
koner till lie saw him on seven.' examination at tlw Hatton-
4arden Office.

SO 7

'Mrs. G,'s son deposed, al,o, to the order given by the prisoner.
As witness tray carrying the -articles, the prisoner 'Met him, anti
said, "yon most go hack and fetch some eggs." The prisoner
knocked at the door, and rang the lien, and immediately that the
door was opened took the bacon and butter, saying " that's right.
my boy, now go and ti.R.4l the eggs," and instantly shut the dom.-
011 rtturning to the house with the eggs, he was; told that the
~oher was not tin re, That he was no lodger in the house, and that
lie was not even kinJwit there. The prisoner was the perm w!to
took the articles from him.

- Mrs. Stickier, Illi.ucester-street, related, that she had never
seen the prisoner till lie appeared at her door with the bacon in his
hand ; an.' that lie had no lodgings in her house. On the door being
opeue4, by way of exeloe, he enquired whether Mr. Montgumety
lived il‘Cre. She would nut h wear to the prisoner's person.
John Hutt, a polive-officer, stated, that after-having been itt
search of the prisoner for several months, he discovered his retreat,
and went to his lodgings hi Marylebone, on a Sunday morning,
as a countryman. On meeting the prisoner, witness said to
So, Major, you are fond of bacon and !unto ?" He seemed
1111hil alarmed, and then witness said, " 13ut why did you not wait
for the eggs ?" on which prisoner observed, i‘ Oh, is that all yeti
are come about?"

Mr. BA [IPA, far the defendant, called on the Court and Jury to
observe the difference in the evidence; and where the identity of
the prisoner's person was so imper:Ctly established, to let him have
what was Ids just claim,--the advantage of say doubt. Unfortu-
nate as he now wag, " he had done the State some service, and- they
knew it," and he bad been beneficial to mankind ; and these were
circumstances which it was hoped would not be forgotten.
Mr. WATSON summed up the evidence, and expressed his convic-
tion that the Jury would not find a verdict against the prisoner,
unless they were satisfied that his person was identified, adding,
that they could not have failed to observe the demeanour of all the
witnesses, which was unobjectionable.
The Jury almost instantiy returned a Virdict of Guilty.
The CHAIRMAN (Mr. Watson), in pronouncing sentence, whirls
was to him a most painful task, expressed how Innen the Court Jar
mented that a person, ciremnstanced as the prisoner had •been,
sbould prefer to get a miserable living by the vilest means, to gain-
ing the regnisites of life by honourable exertion in his profession.—
Sentence—Transportaion for sewn years.

OLD BAILEY.

YESTERDAY

George White was capitally indicted for fro-;;lnf.r. the acceptance of a
person named Charles Larkin; and fur uttering the same, kndming it to
be forged.
The prisoner, it appeared, was a farmer, residing near Rochester,
and applied to a person named Russell, in London, to discount the bill
in question, which was fur :;91. 10s. Mr. Russell di,counted it ; but,
on its coming due, it was not paid. Alr. Larkin's heing atteris anis ap•
plied to, said the acceptance was nut lii. The prisoner war iii cane.
qa,•nce apprehended, when he stilted, that tieing in great distress, he
had given the vote to his wife to carry to rslr. Larklti to get it dis.
counted, and she had hrou;Tht it to him in the state in which he had
jive': it to Mr. Russel 01 this there was no proof ; and the JUII
bound the pri,oner guilty-- 0, ath.
Manuel John. a to:eigo was indicted for mtealinr., 1661. it
Baok of England n.tes from the dweiling-huuse of Francli Comotivo
on the 4111 of Oct.)b.r last.

A. man named Sattovitiili,- with whom the prisoner was intimately au•
qualified, it appeared, lodged in the louse of the iyrosectitor. On the
day stated in the indictment the proAcitti,r went from home, and, on
his return; missed 76f!., in cot:•8, from a ibfix stotA in his bpi).
num.. Among these notes oue for TOL, No. 4.770. A note of h s
number .wns strlprted at the Bird:, mid traced to the posses,ion (4 the
ntisoner, but it was proved that not t.s of the same amount, of the same
nutn!)er, but not of the sane date, iniz;lit be in cireulation.—The pd.
saner was ;:cquittcd.

T!mrsaac Er tz. ilntt r 7rc was it,rld.:t`d for "feeling le the dwelling-
house of Mr. Durham, a Dank of England N,,te of lot. The prisoner
lived servant in the farudy ot the prosvciitor, in Broad-street, Curnabv,
market, and Mr. Dur!,ain had often been robbed, and he had once
b‘ffore clitected the• prisoner, but he still kept her in his ser' ice in
hopes she would retrieve her character. The 101. note, the sobjvct of'
tHs indictment, wilt missed from the apartments of the prosecutor; and
the theft was di:covered under the following circumstances :—The
suner deposited the note in the hands of a shoemaker in the iiiglibour.