The National Register.
London, England, 1818-07-06 00:00:00

L IV INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF CHANCERY.
AC COMPTATIT GLNERAL.
Uismt the motion of Sir A. Piggott, it wait ordered, as vernal,
that the Accomplant General's Office shmilei he shot from
the Ilth of August to the day of the First Seal before the
tiet Michaelmas Term, in order to give him 'MK to tuoke
up his accounts.

VICE CHANCELLOR'S COURT.
15tritovEmpAT IN PRACTICE.

In the course of some observations which thellee Chan-
cellor made, in refei elle& to a upon of the Master, in whet.
the Master gave his opinion against the validity of a title
an t state, his liononr said, that he thought it would be a
great improvement in pra:•tiee. if the Master, in his report,
►honld always state the grounds of Cs opinion. The Court
might then effectually judge of those grounds for itself. lie
arruidingly ilesiroti the Itegisisar to snake a memorandum un
this subject, that he• might suggest Etta the Lo►d Chaim I lor.
Groileuien ef the Bar who were then present concur-
.ced. in the Mita) ot Honour's suggestion.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, ‘. t .E.IONICSIII %V. JLLY.I.
JOHN ROGER 3 V. PARR POI.K IN.
Trespass-ri et gnosis for an assault and false imprisonment.
'The declaration stated,that on or about the tad' March, Isis,
the defelidant made an assault upon the plaintiff, and inipri•
soiled hint for a certain bee of days, by means of ,which
the plaintiff wee tunable to carry on his lousiness, O:c.
The
'defendant pleaded not gnilty.
Me. Gurney observed, in opening the facts, that they would
.demand the must serions attention of the jury. The plain-
tiff, a jets eller, sought a compensation for a treat injury in-
flicted upon him by the defentlaut, an attorney of the Court.
There had beets dealings between the parties long before the
date of this transaction ; and in the spring of Itll7, Mr. Ro-
gers, who resides in Pall Mall, became indebted to Mr.
Popkin, of Peam street, Soho, in a considerable sum upon bills
of exclingg. The latter took :the security of a *anent of
attornev to-confess a judgment, empowei lug him to Atte oust
exec:tithe' against the plainties person and property ; but in
the coarse of that year the iehole sum due to the defendant
was discharged. Mr. Popkiu •had, however, taken the pre-.
caution of enterifig op his judgment, and had lodged the war•
rant of attorney in the sheriff's office, that his claim, if any,
might be prior to that of any other creditor. In Nov. Intl..
all aremints between the parties were closed, and the
not °u sing a shilling to the defendant, required that the war
relit of atzoriley should be given up to he canrellsid ; hut
Pupkin evader; the demand, observing, that it hail brcu
filed and could not be removed, bust the plaintiff need not be
under any appreliew•ion about it, as it was dune with. The
plaintiff and defendant up to this period had been on terms
of friendship, but b,tis cell Nov. Isl 7 and larch-Isis they
differed; the jots world he ao3le hew dangerous it often
was to excite the enmity of an attorney arierA v.ith power,
and disposed to exercise that power unjustly and ; at
lea:t the facts of this case proved that it was extremely pe-
rilous, for on the !Mit of Minch last, without the slightest
previous intimation, or a siousent's notice, without china even
of the smallest amount, the plaintiff aas taken into custody at
4he suit of Mr. Popkiu, on a writ for Ili H. ',ethics the sheriff's
poundage. This conduct could nut but excite the utmost
aratouiehment, and it proved of the utmost inconvenience to
the plaintiff, who was in trade, and A% hose presence must be
'necessary to the due conduct of his a& A. No bail coned he
given, fur it was not an arrest upon menne process; and it was
a month before the e iencesur tit of the term, when the
plaintiff might have been relieved by appaeation to the Court
of hints Ilesich. This Mr. Popkin well knew--his purpose
'.I. to keep the plaintiff di long as pore ible in confinement.
and, it possible, la ruin him by it. He refused to enusent
that the inoiley should Ise placed in the hands of dm sheriff,
to abide the event of any proceeding ; and the plaintiff was
compelled to take out three mons ))))) Ira a at a judge's chambers,
before lie .could he released from his state of durance. It.
Popkin had only wished for the safety of bus debt, he
.night have appeared to the first, and consented to the dis-
charge of the party : bathe delayed to the utmost estent (net
being voider the necessity of appearing before the third silo,
mons), and at last resisted the application. Lord Elleillm-
rongh (the only judge in London, floe not of the bench thine
upon the circuit,) however, directed that on depositing the
money, the plaintiff should be set at liberty. This proceed-
:re °mailed iw less,..hasi eielit days, from the,l3th to the 20th
of t larch, during which the plaintiff was in a lockotpd se
in IVarwick-court, it,dhoin. As the plaintiff was perftetly
certain that .he did not owe a farthing to flue defendant,
either aspoe tire warrant of attorney on a hick he bad taken
out exec .1110t1, or otherwise, lie applied very early in the
term to s,:t aside the jniinteut. and after some discussion it
was deemed exoedient to refer the matter In MI. Reader, the
barrister, who linally made Isis award; declaring that there
was not the least pretence for the debt on which the plaintiff
had been arrested anti imprisunid by the dethiolant. What
teen could be said tot) severe of Who had been milli,/
Of Bach unheartLesf Oplire•44oll ? above all, a hat „„id b-a
said of an altos ney of the Court. alio had proceeded against
Lis better knowledge, merely fur the gratiticetion of his own
dark malice? that malice had actuated Mr. tropkni, was ohvi.
oils from the whole transaction ; hut if any thing wi re want_
ing :11 1111/1e it beyond COiltrilltiCtitill, flue deli udaut I self
hues sniiiiiied the evidence; for he had avowed to a Mr.
Kelly (the' next door neighbour to the plaintiff) that his pur-
pose was to unit, Mr. Roger-, and that faillire mast be the
consequence of his iwpti.ouuscnt. The plirtifitl, therefore.
Lad a triple claim to compensation ; tint, the 'slimy and sof.
tiering lie had sustained ; next the consciousness of the de.
froulaid that he was acting illegally and missal rantably ; am'
lastly, the black and inveterate malice by which it was clear
he had been actuated.
Mr. Alexander Kelly, of No. 5, Pall Mall, depneeds that
never having seen Mr. Popkin before, he called upon him
respectiiia two bills for 501. each, which haul been presented
Ws brother, and %%Inch were accepted by the wrinega the
the plaintiff: for one of them the Wiillol3, had expected that
the plaintid would have ps us iils ;I. Ile saw Mr. Popk in at
his house in I)eamatreet, Sohn, woo advised him to pay both
the hills, as four action* soould be brought upon them, and
lug
would ultimately be tailed upon to pay the expl'ller!.. 'flue
witness asked alt. Popkin if he a ere not on friendly thins.
with the plaintiff; to which lie replied, " N 'pith the ri
ycrse ; root to enmities: )on, a hid I 4111 gs.iug to do." He
these pinitured a writ, °WA iviiig, that it was an execution
against the and that lie .!towed it to the witness in
conlids nee that lie a ould tell icdsorly. lie added, that the
plaintiff had used a Mr. Mos:land very ill, in seising I • with
a copy of a writ for tIl." Allow use to observe, (Itu eoutinued,)