The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-04 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE

SHERIPPS COURT—Arrat 3,
PEMBERTON v. HAMILTON.
Cant. Core—ln this case Mr. Thesiger and Mr.
Austin appeared for the plaintiff, and the Hon. Charles
Ewan Law and Mr. Gurney for the defendant.
Mr. AUSTIN stateethat the action was brought for
criminal conversation, and the defendant had suffered
judgment to go by default.
Mr. THESIGER observed that he rose to address the
Jury with feelings of the greatest pain and reluctance—
his duty pressed upon him with double weight as he
happened to be acquainted with some of the parties who
were connected with these proceedings, and were await-
ing the result with that pain and sorrow which must
always be felt by persons so unhappily situated. As the
defendant had suffered judgment to go by default, many
revolting circumstances would be withheld from the Jury.
Mr. Pemberton, the plaintiff is a highly respectable
member of the legal profession, and a partner in the
firm of Pemberton, Crawley, and Gardiner, of White-
hall-place, his brother is a barrister at the Chancery
bar, and one of the brightest ornaments of the profes-
sion ; his wife is the daughter of Mr. Cox, a Master in
Chancery, and a trustee of the Foundling Hospital,
upon whom the grave closed but yesterday, and happily
he ended his earthly career, unconscious of his daugh-
ter's misconduct. The fathers of Mr. and Mrs.
Pemberton were contemporaries at the Chan-
cery bar, and they had been acquainted with
each other from their childhood, which grew into
an attachment, and unfolded itself, as they ripened in
years, into a warm and ardent affection, which was ap-
proved of by the parents of both. In the year 1820
they were married, and the ceremony was performed by
that excellent man Archdeacon Pott, the maternal
uncle of Mrs. Pemberton. Mr. Pemberton, at the
time of his marriage, was 26 years of age, and his wife
was three years younger. He was a man of the
kindest character—of the most amiable and generous
disposition, and thoroughly domestic in his conduct.
She was of a lively disposition, but without levity, and
had an artlessness of manner which seemed to bespeak
her kindness and candour to every person who ap-
proached her. Their union was blessed with nine
children, and every succeeding year appeared to bring
them an additional tie to the affection that seemed
deeply rooted between them. The eldest daughter was
between seventeen and eighteen years of age—old
enough to feel the shame of her mother—and the
youngest was between three and four. For the whole
period of their union, he (Mr. Thesiger) could refer
with the utmost unshaken confidence to the conduct
of Mr. Pemberton, from the beginning to the end.
He was devoted to his wife, was kind and affectionate
to his children. There was apparently corresponding
behaviour on the part of his wife, which latterly, how-
ever, was most treacherous and deceitful. He could
refer to every servant, and to every inmate of the house,
to satisfy the Jury that it was impossible for a man to
discharge the duties of a husband and father more scru-
pulously than Mr. Pemberton did ; and his happiness
was undisturbed, until in an evil hour he became ac-
quainted with the party who is the defendant in this
cause. The persons who were received as articled
clerks in the office of the firm to which Mr. Pemberton
belonged, were usually above the common order. Mr.
Hamilton, the defendant, is the son of a gentleman who
for many years was Under Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, and subsequently an Ambassador at the Court
of Naples. In the month of November 1832, when the
defendant was 18 years of age, lie was articled to Mr.
Pemberton ; he was a gentleman of good education and
agreeable manners, and was introduced and received
into Mr. Pemberton's private establishment, and
up to the latest moment previous to the dis-
covery, Mr. Pemberton was most kind and in-
dulgent to him, and assisted him in every way he could
by his advice and experience. In the Spring of 1838,
Mr. Hamilton, entered as student to Mr. Christie, of
Lincoln's Inn, and afterwards entered into partnership
with a gentleman whose name it was unnecessary to
mention, which partnership was, of course, abruptly dis-
solved. Persons were not generally apt to be suspicious
during the advent of such base acts as the defendant
had been guilty of ; not the slightest grounds had the
plaintiff to be jealous, and, therefore, no person had a
right to say that he had not been sufficiently
cautious. On the one hand, he had a wife,
with nine children, who appeared as so many ties to bind
her to her duty, and she exhibited every fondness
towards him. On the other hand, Mr. Hamilton was
a gentleman of good education, and apparently of re-
fined feelings, and possessing a nice sense of honour,
and bound to him by every tie of kindness, friendship,
and gratitude. If under such circumstances any per
son was to be taunted with not exercising proper
caution—if they were to live a life of suspicion and
jealousy, tbey had better shut up their doors and
their houses. They had better at once close their
hearts and denude themselves at once from society.
No suspicious circumstance transpired that led Mr.
Pemberton to distrust the defendant until the 28th
of February last, when the fatal secret was disclosed,
At the period be had stated Mrs. Pemberton's writing
desk was seen open by the plaintiff, and he discovered a
letter from the defendant to Mrs. Pemberton. He
(Mr. Thesiger) would leave the Jury to imagine the
agony which followed such a discovery. He could not
describe it, and therefore would not attempt. Mr.
Pemberton saw that all his hopes—all his prospects were
annihilated at once, and with the dawn of the morning
the unhappy lady was removed to her friends. It
would not be necessary for him to lay before
them all the correspondence that had passed be-
tween the parties, but he would read to them
a few extracts from one letter, as a specimen.
The letter had evidently been written before criminal
intercourse had taken place, and as many were in a
similar strain the offence could not be said to hare been
committed in a rash and unthinking moment. In the
month of September last the plaintiff took his family to
Tonbridge Wells, and the very day he returned to town
Mr. Hamilton went down there. The Learned Coun-
sel here drew the attention of the jury to a letter ad-
dressed to Mrs. Arthur Richards (the assumed name
under which Mrs. Pemberton corresponded with the
defendant), Post Office, Tunbridge Wells. It com-
menced, " My dear Charlotte," and the writing occu-
pied three pages closely written. The extracts read by
Mr. Thessiger, were to the effect that he (Mr.
Hamilton) had just returned from his cousin's, where he
had been dancing, and that he had received a previous
letter from Mrs. Pemberten, which he complained of
being written in a cold strain, and afterwards continued,
" Oh! might thy long-treasured letter have told me to
fly to thee.—Oh, what bliss, what joys, might
then be ours !" He then requested her to direct
an answer for him to "‘ Arthur Richards, Esq.,
at the George," which he would receive on
his arrival at Tonbridge Wells, and the conclusion of
his letter proceeds :—" Tomorrow night I sleep with
thee. God bless thee, my own beloved. Never. never
was thee so dear to thine own husband." It appeared
(continued Mr. Thesiger) that on the night as arranged,
Mr. Hamilton went down to Tonbridge Wells, but he
was not seen at the house by the servants, as he retired
from it before the morning's dawn, but the next day Mrs.
Pemberton's bed and room was discovered to be in
such a condition as to leave no doubt of the guilt of the
parties. He would not trouble the jury with painful
details as the defendant had admitted his guilt. It was
under these circumstances Mr. Petnberton sought the
miserable and paltry reparation of pecuniary damages at
their hands, although the defendant was in America,
and was far removed from the consequences of their ver-
dict. The plaintiff did not ask for heavy damages, and
be had only laid them in the declaration at 1,000/.
and be (Mr. Thesiger) was only anxiousthat the charac-
ter of the plaintiff should stand clear, and unaffected by
their decision.
Archdeacon Joseph Holding Pott examined—l am
the maternal uncle of Mrs. Pemberton, and I performed
the marriage ceremony between her and Mr. Pember-
ton, in 1820. Her father was a Master in Chancery.
He died lately, and I attended his funeral yesterday.
I have been on intimate terms with her since her mar-
riage. I believe she has eight or nine children. I bap-
tized them all, but don't at this moment recollect the exact
number. I have had every assurance which any man could
have or desire to have of the mutual affection of Mr.
and Mrs. Pemberton. I apply that remark to the
whole of the time up to the bitter moment when I was
acquainted with the circumstances which led to this
action, which was in the beginning of this year. I
also observed that both were most affectionate towards
their children.
Cross-examined—l never observed any change in
the conduct of the lady.
Mr. Robert Pennington, Surgeon, examined.---I
have attended Mr. Cox's family medically for the last
fifty-three years. I have known Mrs. Pemberton ever
since she was born, as I brought her into the world.
I was at the birth of most of Mrs. Pemberton's chil-
dren ; I have on all those occasions observed that the
most perfect affection existed between her and the
plaintiff. That affection continued up to the last time
I saw her at her house, which was in December, 1838.
Cross-examined.—l think Mrs, Pemberton is about
forty-two years of age.
Mr. Robert Jackson examined—l am a partner in
the house of Taylor, Sharp, and Field, of Bedford-row.
I have been acquainted with the plaintiff for the last
14 years. I was introduced into his office as managing
clerk, in the latter part of 1824. I remained there un-
til the Ist of January, 1838, when I joined my present
firm. Soon after entering the office I was introduced
to the plaintiff's family, and in the. course of a year or
two I became very intimate with them. They lived
upon the most harmonious and affectionate terms
that I bad ever seen. I should say that it
was the most happy family that could be met
with. Mr. Pemberton appeared to be proud of
his wife. The eldest child is between 17 and
. _

... ................
18 years of age—the youngest was three years old last
February. I last saw Mrs. Pemberton about Christ-

mas, and up to that period not the slightest thing had
occurred to alter my opinion of the happy terms on
which Mr. and Mrs. Pemberton were living. Mr.
Pemberton's offices are in Whitehall-place, and his resi-
dence in Russell-square. His offices were never at his