The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-10 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

COURT OF DIVORCE,
STONE V. STONE AND APPLETON.

This case, which was commenced yesterday, was resumed
at the sitting of the Court this morning. It was the
petition of Captain Steno for a dissolution of his marriage
with Matilda Catherine, his wife, on account of her alleged
adultery with Mr Robert Appleton, ag rinst whom he
claimed damages to the extent of £5,000. The respondent
denied the charge. The co-respondent, under somewhat
pecular circumstances, did not appear.
The leading facts were as follows :—The respondent was
Miss Slack, a daughter of the rector of Morton Hampstead,
Devonshire, and the marriage took place in March, 1861.
Capt. Stone and his wife shortly afterwards went to India,
where they remained till after the mutiny. The petitioner
then came home on sick leave ; and in the summer of 1858
he went to live at Bud leigh Salterton, near Exeter. In the
August of the following year the petitioner returned to
India, but the state of his wife's health did not permit of her
accompanying bins. She had previously had three children ;
and soon after her husband's departure she was confined of
a fourth. She had been left by the petitioner under the medi-
cal care of Mr Appleton, a surgeon, who was practising at
Budleigh. On May 2, 1861, the petitioner again returned
to his wife; and on the 2d of the following January—that
was, in 33 weeks afterwards—the respondent was delivered
of a fifth child. In the previous December her husband had
accused her of infidelity, and after the birth of the child,
in lodgings at Ex6ter, he filed his petition. Previous to
his return, Mr Appleton disappeared from Budleigh ;
and the suit having proceeded in his absence, the case was
taken against him pro confesso, the jury awarding £2,000
against him as damages. The chief evidence against the re-
spondent was the testimony ore surgeon named Webb, who
had deposed that the child at its birth was of mature growth.
A new trial was moved for on account of the great pre-
judice from which the respondent had suffered on ac-
count of the absence of the corespondent, and also on
account of the extremely unsatisfactory evidence of Mr
Webb, who had died before the trial, and who had been
examined by a commission. The late Judge Ordinary
refused the application, but an appeal was made to the
full court, which consisted of Sir Cresswell Creswell,
Mr Justice Wightman, and Mr Baron Channell. Sir C.
Cresswell died before the decision of the court was pro-
nounced; but the remaining judges granted a new trial as
prayed—this judgment being the only instance in which the
ruling of the late Judge Ordinary was reversed by his col-
leagues. In the meantime Mr Appleton, who had gone to
America, was found, and ho sent over affidavits stating that
he was not cognisant of the proceedings against him until
just before the trial; that the moment he had heard of
them he set off to return to England, but that before he
could take ship he was informed of-the verdict; that hav-
ing left England in the first instance to avoid his creditors,
he dared not return with a condemnation in damages to
such an amount hanging over him; that he was perfectly
innocent of the adultery of which he had been convicted by
the jury; and that his sole motive for leaving Budleigh
Salterton was one connected with his pecuniary embarrass-
ments.

The examination of witnesses to prove the case of the
petitioner occupied the court the whole of the day.

The case for the petitioners was concluded to-day, and
Mr, Coleridge, Q.C., addressed the jury for the respondent,
and at the termination of his address the further hearing
was adjourned till `Wednesday.'

The case is not expected to conclude until Thursday
next.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr Commissioner Winslow,)
IN RE J. IV. COLE.

This bankrupt was formerly a clerk under the Trinity
Board and in the Customs, and was granted by the Lords
of the Privy Council of Trade a pension of £3OO a year.
He came before this Court in July, 1862, owing £338, with
no assets except the pension, Ho was opposed on the
ground of excessive expenditure and extravagance in living,
ho having been insolvent in 1850. A conditional order of
discharge had been granted on the bankrupt undertaking to
set aside £lOO a year of the pension for the bem fit of his
creditors. He had since paid 115,.but being in arrcar was
now summoned for the amount.

The bankrupt attributed his failure in payment to ex-
penses occasioned by the illness of his family, and asked for
time to enable him to make up the deficiency.
His Honour said that an adjournment till the 14th Jan,
would be granted for that purpose, but in default the order
of discharge would be cf no avail.

SHERIFFS' COURT.
(Before Mr Commissioner Kerr.)

THE FENCHURCH- STREET MURDER,-EXTRAORDINARY
ACTION TO RECOVER FUNERAL EXPENSES FOR BURY-

ING MRS. GARDINER.- SURGUY V. DENIS

This was an action to recover £lB, balance of an acoount
due from the estate of Gardiner, the sweep who is now
undergoing a sentence of penal servitude for life for the
murder of his wife, in Northumberland-alley, on September,
1862,