The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-18 00:00:00

18, 1852.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN ClRCUlT.—Liverpool. Aug. 17.
NISI PRIUS COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice
WIG LiTMAN.)
MELLOR V. LEATHER AND CLOUGH.
This action came on yesterday afternoon, and was
not finished until nine o'clock last night.
Mr. Sergeant Wilkins and Mr. Birnie appeared for
the plaintiff; Mr. Hugh Hill, Q.C., for the defendant
Leather, and Mr. James, Q.C., and Mr. Milward, for
the defendant Clough.
This was an action brought by a merchant residing
in Liverpool, who in 1849 bought a cream-coloured
pony in Brazil, and in the spring of 1850 brought it
from Pernambuco to Liverpool. The effect of the
voyage greatly deteriorated the pony, and it WES
landed in bad condition. A livery stable-keeps
named Balmer, residing at West Derby, was sent tor,
randina
rhye
surgeon,rec o tnm
esnhdoeudld be ci
that
iNraile2d iniidd.lehlh u'rs:'ptobeey,veutne--
der his attention, recovered, and, being a very beau-
tiful pony, excited general admiratiou. The pony,
however, soon after became again unwell, and was
spin p' iced under the care of Mr. Middlehurst end
Balmer. Balmer proposed that it should be sent to
a strawyard in Wales belonging to a brother-in-law
of his, named Harker, and to this arrange-
ment the plaintiff agreed. The pony was ac-
cordingly sent there. Some time afterwards
Balmer went to the plaintiff with a very doleful
countenance, and told him that the pony was dead,
and that he would take him to the tanyard and send
him one of his feet-to keep in remembrance of him. In
so doing Bulmer had acted bona fide to the best of his
information. A short time after this Balmer met the
defendant Leather, who is a surgeon, and from him
he ascertained that the pony was not dead, as he
(Leather) had bought him of a person named Came-
ron, who went by the name of Scotch Sam. The
plaintiff then saw Leather, who admitted that he had
his pony, but refused to give it up unless 30 guineas
were given to him for it. The plaintiff refused to do
this, but offered to give Leather 101. to cover the ex-
penses he had been at in medicine to cure the animal.
This the defendant refused, and the plaintiff was ad-
the plaintiff's directions Balmer,vised to get possession of the pony as he could. By
accompanied by a
man named Harrison, a bailiff, got possession of the
pony and took it to some livery stables out of the
borough. The defendant Clough, a detective officer,
Was employed by the defendant Leather to find his
; pony, and take into custody those who had taken it
away, on a charge of felony. This charge was beard
before Mr. Mansfield, the police magistrate, and dis-
; missed, and the pony ordered to be delivered up to
; Leather on his entering into a replevin bond.
For the defendant Clough, Mr. JAMES submitted
disc
hatrhgee jurisdictionofhis duty
of
; that there was no case against his client, as he was
L i
I merely n
doing
w actinghat inhe thehad
ordinary
done,
within
• the Municipal Corporation Act.
For the defendant Leather, Mr. HILL contended
that his client had mode a bond fide purchase of the
pony, not knowing it had been obtained by fraudulent
means. On Harker receiving the pony it got worse,
and, under the advice of Mr. Middlehurst, it was
ordered to be destroyed. The pony was, however,
sold to Peter Cameron for 205., and frcm him the de-
fendant Leather bought it for 305., intending to make
some experiments upon it, and, if he did not succeed,
to preserve the skeleton for anatomical purposes. He
gave the pony quinine,
and under his treatment it re-
covered ; and, as he had made A
a bona fide purchase of
the animal, be made no concealment of it.
Witnesses were called in support of this statement,
and

Mr. Sergeant WILKINS replied on the whole case.
Hisleft it to the jury
tosay whether
tleinplsauinmtiraffinhg uad
LORDSHIP,
given
Harker and Bulmer to sell the pony.
authority to
there was an end to the case - if not,
noT an
If he had,
and Harker
had disposed of it in fraud, ;he plaintiff Was arker
en-
titled to their verdict. The jury would also say
what damages they would give if they found for the
plaintiff.
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff--
Damages, 201.
His LORDSHIP said on the pleadings the plaintiff
could only recover 31., but he would give the plain-
tiff leave to move to increase the damages to 20/.
To-day the Court has been occupied until the
afternoon with the trial of an insurance case, to which
there was a plea of fraud, the question raised being
whether the vessel was seaworthy or not when in-
sured? The case was very uninteresting. A num-
ber of cases in the second list have been arranged and
disposed of.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Lord Chief Justice
CAMPBELL.)
Robert Bradbury, aged 31, was indicted for a rape
upon Anne Spirey.
Mr. Overend prosecuted, and Mr. Monk defended
the prisoner.
The prosecutrix had been sworn, and was proceed-
ing to give her eidence when she fainted away, and
a medical man was sent for to attend her. After the
Court had waited a quarter of an hour, the surgeon
said that the prosecutrix was wandering in her mind,
and incapable of giving evidence, and that he could
not say when she would be sufficiently recovered.
Mr. OVEREND, on behalf of the prosecution, then
proposed, under a recent statute, to put in evidence
the deposition of the witness taken before the magis-
trate, the witness being unable to attend and give
evidence.

His LOEDSHIP thought the depositions not receiv-
able as evidence under the circumstances, the words
of the statute, the 11th and 12th of Victoria, c. 42,
section 17, being, " that if upon the trial it shall be
proved that any person whose depositions shall have
been taken is so ill as to be able to travel" and give
evidence, his depositions may be read. Ilere the
witness had been able to attend the trial, but could
not give evidence. The best plan would therefore
be to take a verdict of acquittal ; and
,under all the
circumstances of the case, and from reading the dew
positions, he did not think that the ends of justice
would be frustrated thereby.
George France, aged 27, was indicted for having
committed a burglary at West Derby, at the house of
John Owen, on the Ist of June.
Mr. Blair prosecuted, and Mr. T. Atkinson de-
fended the prisoner.
It appeared that the prosecutor, who lives at West Derby, his family consisting of his wife, two maid-
)
servants, and four men-servants, had on the night of
the let of June last his mother-in•law and sister-in-
law staying with him. About one o'clock in the
morning the prosecutor heard some footsteps i
lobby of his house, into which his bedroom opened:
He called to his men, but receiving no answer be sarn4,
his wife got up and went to the bedroom door and
n the
bolted it. A voice in the lobby then cried
souiva,
re"edi_
your eyes, burst it open," and the door
ately burst open, and the prosecutor received
blow with an iron weapon,
masked and disguised then
the prosecutor cried out,
my life, don't kill me."
a nice sum of money,
let us have it." The p
sitting-room, and Fn..
one at the bedroom dotoes seven men
a violent
Sedixthe room, and
entered my men, spare
' then told them he had
fie
of them said " Then
antecutor then went to his
five men on the stairs, and
He took from his desk in
0 and gold, which he had
his room
received in 761. Manchesterin notes
the day before, which he
They then placed him on a sofa
gave to the
n f them then said, " Yon have more
wall, and ordered him not to look
moneY than i ns left in the desk, which they took
and he told them that there were
at tihhehniis:oavOceernriebeteo.o3l3„a
e Theyout bed. A man was watching the door, and a
then ordered him to go to his bedroom
nd go to . .
Inv fo
• near the bed, pointing a pistol at his
Ilowed him into his bedroom, and ordered him
- in a chair
to sit
d• The burglars remained in the house an hour,
head.
taking with them a gold watch, two silver watchea,
and some plate, besides the money. While this was
going
on two men went into the room where the
Plam labourers slept, and ordered them to lie still,
ointing at them something which they took for a
blunderbuss. All the men were masked, and none of
the witnesses could swear to the prisoner, although
they said his size and height and general appearance
corresponded with one of the burglars. After the
burglars had been gone some time an alarm was
given, and the neighbours got up and joined in the
pursuit of the burglars. At Walton they met a
policeman, who had seen six men get over a stile
into the high road. He attempted to seize two of
them, and the other four ran down Bootle•lane.
One of these four men he swore was the
prisoner at the bar. One of the two men he
had seized fired a pistol at him, the smoke of which
blinded him,
A police officer named Capstick met sixmen in
ehehree
and they both escaped down Bootle-lane.
direction these men had run, and asked
ithemanwd had
they were going? They said to LiVatril:t° they
had
been watching the brick-fields,
ancintry. Capstick
heard there bad been a row in the.
it themselves, upon
said he thought they had dnodnez
one of the men, whom
which they attacked him ;
knocked him down with
ell ran away. Capstiek
he swore to be the prisoner, knocked
a life preserver.
consequeeee of which the
mation to thepolice,
immediately wentltohweyaridns Liverpool, and gave mtur-
ferwards apprehended end identified
Dipstick as one of the six men.
prisoner was
r's defence, the Learned Counsel
For the prisoner's . ,
prisoner s identity was not satis-
factorily wad! 0 and he called two witnesses to
prove an alibi'having replied,
contended that the
ut ,
Mr. BLAIs
gis youpsule summed up, and the jury found the
Ina LORDSHIP ordered sentence of death to be re-
corded against him, telling him he would be trans-
ported for the
for life ; and advised that the witnesses
prisoner Guilty.
prisoner should be indicted for perjury. prisoners
Mr. Bliss, Q.c., has been sitting trying
in the Sheriffs' Court during the day.