The Sun.
London, England, 1806-03-11 00:00:00

II ESTMIA STER MEETING.

INT consequence of \.a public requisition, a consi-
derable number of the Ele&ors of Westminster as-
sembled yesterday in Westminster Hail Mr.Bilowx-
ING, the' High Bailiff, took the Chair soon ater one
o'clock.

Mr, WisnAnT, of COventry:street, opened the
business of the Meeting, 'which .he stated was for
the purpose of framing an Address of Thanks to His
Majesty for having .formed an Administration that
enjoyed the confidence of the People, and whose
measures 'were likely -to give new vigour to the
State. He paid some high 'compliments to .Mr.
Fox, whom he represented as the firm friend of' his
Country ; and he also spoke in warm terms of his
Official Colleagues. He then moved a,ltesolution
similar in tendency to the general substance of his
Speech. •
A young Gentleman, whose name we understand
ISTIEWLINGS, came forward and apologized for pre-
,suming, at his early period of life, to take up the
attention of the Electors. . He, however, declared,
that he thought it an at of duty to oppose a mea-
sure which he could not but consider at least pre-
mature. He' avowed that he had hitherto been a
staunch- friend to Mr.• Fox, but that he could not
be suto,the present Ministry, as that was composed
of a set nv4n whose principles had always been dis-
cordant, and- thei•efore from whoth little harmony
could be.6xpe4ed. He compared the new Admini-
stration to au'.union of Italian and German music--
• the softness and delicacy of the one_ being wholly
overpoWered by the force and violence of the:other.•
lie then, in order toik get, rid of the question, moved
that the Meeting. should 'adjourn.
Mr. PRIMA' stood forward in opposition to what
Mr.HEWLINGS had said, and commep.',:d upon the
youth of the last. Speaker,- alledgiug, that Mr. Fox
had been tried in his political charaiiter, and had
excited the admiration and esteem of the public for
a longer period • than ,Mr. FIEWLING4 had been in
existence. lie their entered more at large into the
political .career of Mr. Fox, proclahning him', the
sincere and consistent friend of freedom: He,, of
course, gave his hearty assent to Mr. WISHART'S
Motion.

Mr. HE\VLINpS, in reply, declared that he had not
attacked Mr. Fox individually, but had spoken ge-
nerally of the present Administration as an hetero-
geneous compound; from which nothing great, splen-
did, and cordial, could be expected. He. accused
Mr. PERRY of having had recourse to personality,
When he.should have brought forward something in
the shape of argument and fact..
,The question being then put, the Motion for the
Address was agreed to with a few,dissentient voices.
it was, resolved that the Address be sigued by the
High Bailiff, and by him presented to kits At:testy.
The Thanks of the Meeting, were aiso. vorte4 to .Air.
Fox, for his constant attention to the illteres.ts, cf
the City of Westminster, and to the Highßailin
for his impartial conduCt in the haoine4s of the day.

L:1 IV RIEPO-:iT.

oy KING'S MARCH S.

CRIB. CON.

GILLESPIE V. LEADER,

Afterlhe general nature of the declaration had
peened by Mr. GURNEY,
Mr. Gaittow, for the Plaintiff, said—:-." the Plain--
is a respe6table person engaged in, trade, who
-,\::s.fortnerly a coal -faaor, and was also in extensive
busie ..ts as a salesnym. He some time ago lived
in Wapping, where his business was conducted, but
as his emoluments increased in proportion to.his
tegrity.arid industry, he removed to America-square.
In 1788 be married the Lady whose misconduft
brings cis here. She is of a respectable, family, and
at the time'of their conjugal union was only twenty
years old,:he being at that time of the age of twenty-
seven years. They lived together for a long while
.ina state of, perfect connubial felicity ; \but at the
time when it might be expected that the ardour of
love had
,ripened into friendship, some impediments
.were thrown in the way of their reciprocal enjoy-'
ment. ~.I shall call a Gentleman as a witness, whom
ipregnine. to be perfaly acquainted with this in-
- terruption, but, I shall not think it necessary at this
time to enter into the long train of-circumstances,
which- my Learned Friend, if he please, may ex-
tract from that witness. Perhaps the grievance will
be found to be that the sister of the Plaintiff, mar-
rying a young Gentleman of fashion and fortune,
'Louses were eMbellisbed, and' equipages were con-
, strrieted, v.'hich excited the jealousy, of the wife of
the Plaintiffs, and some ill-humour was occasioned
fOr focir and twenty hours, the painful effOs of
which were, •hoWeyer, removed without the inter-
vebtion of a' third peron.." More serious disputes
afterwards 'arose ; an filegant Villa,wasthe 'obje& of
her ambition,' and a country residence was provided
for her. The Plaintiff; found his frequent absence
from town to interfere *ith his commercial engage-
mem, ; he' therefore, in 'the sequel, ltft her to enjoy
her rural, pleasures,, whilSt., he continued in the a6tive
discharge of his duties, to'provide the means-of her
accommodation. Posterior to this time the same
:" disinclination to live together remained, and, when'
be resided in America-square, a house was provided
•forher at the west end of the town, where he_paid.
occasional visits to her, and where she \sas attended
by two old servants of the family. There is ade
eision in a case (in which. I Was Counsel) , by a
Noble and Learned Judge it was, that of absolute.
;separation between the parties, and yet. it was held
that any violation of the Purity of the wife would
support an action for serious damages. ,Your Lord,
ship will recollect the case of Weedon and TimbrelL
Inane present instance, all the comforts of the con-
jugal state were not resigned ; there ,was
,a hope
that some happy circumstance, or, perhaps, even
some comiuon calamity, might restore them toeach
other. There was, it is true, a deduction from the-
' -connubial enjoyments ;,she was still, hoWever, the
protediress of their offspring, 'and it would be bar-
barous to say, that the door to their reconciliation
might he closed with impunity by any lawless pro-
digal.
" The Defendant, for the first time, became ac-
Oainted with this' lady'in May or June of the last
year. He was at that time a married man, and was,
invited to a party where Mrs. Gillespie was present,
in the circle of some of her own relations. 'They
dined,- I believe, and spent the' evening together,
and when the company was withdrawing, he pro-
posed to see the lady home, which -is neither incon-
sistent with established custom-or stria propriety.
After he.had attended her to the house, he continued
a short time in conversation with/her, and then re-
tired, Ile subsequently communicated the particu-
lars of his interview to the common friends at whose
house they had :visited ; who, froth motives of
'friendship, gently Catitioned him on the reserve that
was due to that lady, as she had not the good for,.
tune to be under the immediate proteaion of her
husband. Although," said they, ".you are inca-
pable of intending to injure the peace of your own
family, or to violate the person of this unfortunate
lady, yet there are situations so extremely deli-
cate, that as nuich'unhappiness may arise from mis-
apprehension as from the commission of -actual
crime."
" Soon after this visit; the wife of the Defendant
died ; audit there be a period in which a man feels
most disposed to indulge the moral sensibilities of
his nature, it is the time of such an afflicting. event.
We haVe been told ii-orn the highest authority, " it
is better to go tohe house, of mourning than to the
house of feasting," and this preference is to be' gi-
ven, because,, for an interval at least, the unruly
guit irregular passions of man are brought into sub,
je6tien, 'and the finer feelings of the heart are in
full exercise,• It was at this solemn season, that the
Defendant, diSregarding the: awful instructions' that
be had received from the hand of death, took' the
opportunity to Seduce and debauch the wife of the
Plaintiff; I say the manoer, the time, and the
'casion when this excessAvas committed, point this
man out to you 4.the subject of your severe ani-

madversion.
*4 The term allowed for the Midsummer holidays
bad closed, and Mrs. G. attended 1)-r.son to a schc;ol
atWoodford, whither the Defendant accompanied
her ; and will it be believed, that from the door of
this seminary, where she parted with her own child;
that be might be imtrilEted in truth,.hononr, and
virtue, she -proceeded to
,Epping-place, where she
slept two nights with he Dtitendant, and eommitted
the crime for which he is now brought before you ?
He afterwards repeated this offence 'on numerous
'occasions, and tlie; parties are, at this moment,
living together in a state of avowed adhltery." After
come general observations,
• .Mr. CaSsel., a Genzleman at tbe.pay, and brother
to the lady, was called. lie said, that his sister was
married to Mr. Gi4v.sle on the 3(1111 of April, 1788,
'that they had bad :-,.!ven children, five of 'whom
were now alive; --They continued together in peF-
' fed harmony until, 1798 ; and as far as he saw, Mr.
concluded himself as an excellent husband.
The wlthess remembered- some differences at tirat
time, out nothing conveying any imputation upon
'tin honour, or involving any breach of morality, in
either party. ,Afterwards they attempted to ,con-
verse with the witness on the propriety of a 'separa-

tion; but he would Dever lision .to any such pro-

posals. -
Mrs. Fleming said, she met the Defendant and
Mrs. Gillespie at Mr. John Cassel's in last.
Mr. Cassel had ordered his man to go home with

the Lady, but the Defendant sent back the servant'
and attended her himself. In the course of the,
sahle.wee„ he informed the witness, in-a manner
Of iinusual*Warnith and interest, that 'he was going
to the play the same night with Mrs. Gillespie. The
witness told him tO take care
_what he was doing;
she was a married-woman, and although she did
not live _with her lawful prote&or, yet she was
clothed with a husband." The Defendant
thanked her-for her good advice, and Withdrew.
The servants at the. Inn at Epping confirmed the
fad of the adultery.
Jane Smith deposed, that she had been in the
service of Mrs. Gillespie for eleven years. She said
the boys were, during the holidays;- generally in
_ America-square, and the young ladies with MI-is.
Gillespie. The husband sometimes came to drink
tea, in Park-lane, with the wife and daughters. She
remembered one of the young gentlemen being
-taken to school, at Woodford, about a month after
the fir9t visit paid by the Defendant. No one but
the Child went with her mistress, and no person re-
turned with her. She left sword that she should be
absent one night, and she did not appear from
the 'Wednesday to the Friday folloWing. The De-
fendant afterwards was frequent in his • visits, and.
sometimes. was -at the house when Mr. Gillespie -
called ; iu such cases he always went up stairs'to be -
concealed. The Defendatit,occasionally slept at Mrs.
Gillespie's. The chamber, of her mistress. was on
the first floor, and on the same floor was the apart-
ment of the Gentleman, a narrow passage inter-
.vening. Before she, was acquainted with the De-
fendant, the lady used to rise at nine or ten o'clock;
her hours were after Wards altered to eleven or twelve.
The Defendant repeated hiS visits until the Plaintiff
came to the house, and broke up the establishment.
While the Plaintiff was there. for that pnrpose, the
Defendant sent up his name, was .admitted, an al-
tercation ensued, and he was turned out of doors.
• One Friday evening befbre, the Defendant was in the
house when Mr. Gillespie was there ; the former
went up stairs as usual,' and'the witness understood
Mr. Gillespie looked through the l:ey-bole, and saw
him in the private apartment.
,On her cross-exatnination by Mr. Serjeant BEST,
she said that she did not herself see him peep, but
that the Plaintiff told her -be loOked through the
door, and saw the Defendant : her mistress, some
time before, had a residence -at Hampstead :
Gillespie often came to the place, and sent for his
• children to another house. On the-occasion of the
death of their son, 'the husband and wife were re-
conciled, and lived
.together for a few months :
after thin they lived in Wapping, where they were
again very unhappy, in a state.of continual dispute,.
but they slept together- everruight. Subsequently
. she returned to Hantstead. in 18035 and when he
moved to America-square, she lived with him for a
short time, but on the same bad terms she had done
in 'Wapping. At intervals she went to 'Bristol and
Brighton ; but always when she was ,at home
. they were in the same-condition -of reciprotai mi-
sery. One night they had gone to bed at the usual
hour, raid about two o'clock in the morning the
Witness heard her Mistress crying upon the stairs.
• , The Lady .said she had been forced out of bed; "and
went into hysterics. After this she continued in-the
house for a month, but they always occupied se-
parate beds, and when that time was expired she
weut'to Park-lane. The Witness said she had often
seen het Mistress in tears in the morning when she
quit Ced the bed of her husband. Mr. Gillespie nf.'*r
ende:ivoured to soothe her under her affliaien ; his
- •
conduit} was quite the reverse, tending to aggra-
.
vate,her grief.

.Ile-examination by Mr. GARROW.
Q. I know it is very difficult to satisfy a Lady's
maid on the subje& of the conjugal duties. Do not
tell me of hysterics, which may be managed-at any
time, but tell me of a single, a& of unkindness of
which the Plaintiff was guilty ?—A. 11y mistress did
not explain to me the source of her anxiety.
Q. Then you do not know.whether the cause of
her sorrow was the want of a gay equipage, or a
splendid villa, or what occasioned this sobbing and
pouting ?--L.A. I cannot tell.
In'reply to some questions by the Chief Justice,
she said, that the motive of her Lady's vexation was
never explained to the witness, and that she never
knew the Plaintiff employ either course reproach or
personal violence.
Mr. Thomas was extremely infirm, and attended
the Court in a sedan chair, in which he was exa,

'mined. He deposed, like Mrs. Hewing, to • the
.
animated eulogium which the Defendiint delivered in
to the beauty and taste of Mrs. Gillespie; --
and received from the witness the same caution, .as
the-Lady was " clothed with a husband." rho
answer .of the Defendant to the adfrionition was ex-
pressed in terms of ridicule on the conduit of Mrs.
Gillespie. The witness was then interrogated as to
the- property of the Defendant, which being re-
stated in the speech of the Learned Counsel in reply,
'we shall not notice it here.
Mr. Serjeant •Egs.r, for the Defendant, said, that
considering the whole of the evidence he was fully
persuaded that •the Jury would be of opinion, that it
was an ad of great indiscretion to disclose these fa-
mily differeeces in. a. Court• of Justice. The case
had been opened by his Learned Fri9nd as if the de-
Sign'of the verdi& were the punishment of the De-
fendant. 'His Lordship would tell the Jury, that to
intliet punishment- was no part of their duty ;
..the
only object which should occupy their minds was,
to assign
.to the Plaintiff a just retribution for any
•injury he had sustained. By the faCts it appeared,
that he had suffered no privation of conjugal happi-
nesS, because he possessed no portion of that felicity,
and therefore the smallest coin would exceed the
compensation he deserved. When the parties
.live
together in the fiall exercise of connubial love, and
in the fond intere.kang,e of natural affection, no sum,
however extravagant, that could be assigned, would
redress ,the loss the husband had sustained by
the profligate who violated his bed. But when
none of .these joys subsisted, and when, as in the
present instance,- the husband was himself instru-
mental to his own dishonour, he was neither en-
, titled toprivate compassion or to public remuneration.

On the evidence of the brother of the Lady, A a-a- /
geared, that ever since the year 1794 they had been
living in a state of utter hatred-and aversion towards
each other. Under what qircumstanc2s it was (le-
termined "to separate, and what -were those mehn-
choly disputes- which led to such a separation, the
Jury were not informed ; but one thing was certain,
that this Lady was turned out of the bed of her
husbknd ; and if a man drives a young woman
of thirty from his embraces, out of his -own bed,
he ought not to be surprised to fnd. her in the
bed .of a stranger. With this provocation she
left the house, and, with the' knowledge of her
husband, lived in . a fashionable part of theloWn.
—ln that situation she met with a young man
of her own age; accidentally, without any for-
mal sedbitlion ; the Lady afterwards accompanies him
to the Play, and seemed willing to join in all his
proje&s. If the fruit fall without plucking, the hand
which receives it commits no theft. In the exami,
nation of one witness it was -attempted to-be shewn
that the Defendant was possessed of a large fortune.
What was the' fa& ? with his wife the Defendant
Acquired two thousand pounds, and at her death he
became possessed of one thousand pounds by an in-
suranc4; on her life. Then in the whole, with the
improvernenta made in a cottage ornee, he had
32001. and his Learned Friend, Mr. GARROW;knew,
,as well as any ,man how inappliethle such em-
bellishments were to 'answer the claims of aver--
diet. Then Then it was said he had .been selling plate,
Carriages, and furniture, as if this should be an indi-
cation of his wealth, althoUgh, in every other case, it
would he an unquestionable proof of poverty. The
Defendant had been educated in the, Navy, where
the service of his Country had precluded the oppor-
tunities of Orly instruction.
,On the Whole, the
. Learned Couniel trusted that the Jury would find
the husl)aud deserved no retribution; that the error
of the Plaintiff- was venal, and that the smallest
damages ought. to be assigned. • • • -
Lord ELLENBOROUGH, after 'stating the, nature of
-the action, and the law applied to it, commented
on the various parts Of the eVidence.—Verdidt for
the Plaintiff, -WI: