The Sun.
London, England, 1801-10-07 00:00:00

Lil'V REPORT.

COURT OF KING's BENCH.
TTINCS BErOI4E LORD KENYON Ai'lo A SIECIAL JUI

IN GUILDRALL, LONDON

THE KING V. OwEN AND A*OTHER."

Linz:: tided fi ciK cur Pater of Mmutly last.)

Mr. ERSKINE addressed the Jury on behalf of
the. Defendant, Owenand,,made some observations
on the value of reputation, and, of the improba-
bility .f the Defendants, who. stood so high_ in
trade, forfeiting that reputation, and -consigning.
themselves .to ignominy, as assuredly they did, if
they were guilty. But he was instructed they.were
not, and .to call evidence to shew they purchased
great part of this copper in the usual way of trade.
He acknowledged the proi,riety of prosecutions like
this, fol the purpose_ of heating down the enor-
, moils enihezzlenients .rif the Public Stores, which
be-. admitted to ,be as the Attorney General had
stared, but he trusted his Client would
,be found
innocent in this case.
Mr; GURNEY then followed Mr. ER,KINE, and

-a(i-lressed the Jury on behalf Of the Defmdant Mar-
el , submitted, that, at all events, there was
nothing in the case to fix on his Client a guilty
knowledge that these stores, found in the warehouses
in his absence, were stores belonging to His Majesty.
The Learned Counsel then proceedert7to call Wit-
nesses, some to the charaaer of the Defendants, and
some to fans supposed to he important in the cause.
Mr. Pembryn said—" I know Mr. Owen ; be
-was in my 'uncle's counting-house. I do not re-
member Me whole of the time, but I believe for
upwards -Jf Runty years ; he was there .until he
went into trade for himself, I believe. do not
know how long he hay been in business in Hounds_
ditch. lam perfenly ignorant of his charaaer. I
never heard my uncle speak of his charaner."
Thomas Wood—" I know Mr. R. Owen, I have

been acquainted with him, I should suppose, better
than-twenty-five years—l knew him before he was
.clerk to me. He conduced himself perfectly to my.
satisfadion ; he was_ clerk to 'me fourteen years
ago. I hove sometimes semi. him since, and, as far
as I know., he has preserved a good charader."—
cros3.examination, the Witness said, '6 Mr.
Osvt:n is an intelligent man, a man of busineSs; per..
fealy so, one of the first in-the trade."
Mr. John 161)415cm-7" I have been acquainted
with Mr. Oven about twentv.two years. His.
charaiFter has always been exceeding good; as a mo_
ral good manond an honest man." Cross-examin-
ed, he said, !! be agreed with Mr. Wood, in think-
ing that. Mr.. •wen was a very intelligent man of
t)tOness, certainly so."

. .
Mr. Lodge—" I have been acquainted with Mr.
Owen about twenty-six years, during which time
be has borne the chardaer of a very upright ho.
nest man,"..,

James Shears, • a copper-smith and brazier—" I
have been in trade forty years, or somewhere there-
away ;;I am a copper-stnith,f but as to the King's
mark, am not very, well acquainted with it; but
Ihave seen it to - this'sort of copper and the
mark I have seen that before—but not these pieces,.
except before the Lord Mayor." CroSs-%!xamined,
he said, '6. I have seen thr, mark (the broad arrow)
bout I have bought but little of it myseif. I have
seen it.ar ..MesA.s..Wiliiiutts's, in Thinnes-streer,
they are contradors ; at Miles and Co's. they are.
contractors too. I do not dei.l with other .ware-
houses. I Will not swear I never saw this marked
topper in any other -warehOuse than at that of these
contradors. I have not frequently seen such copper
as this at the warehouses of Messrs. Owen and Mar
-dell, for I have not frequently been there—l. have
seen it there." [Here the Learned Counsel repeat -
edly put the question to the Witness, whether he
had-seen souse of the copper now exhibited frequent
ly in the -Defendants' 'warehouse, and threatened to,
have his answers taken down, for the purpose of
.ha dog him indiaed for perjury if he did not an.
saver direaly.]. He said he had not, for he.had not
often been there. ;

The Learned Cnunsel then made the Witness
_point out some pieces ofcopper on which the King's
mark had-been defaced, and made him describe the
way in which it was done. The Witness said:—
" the way it is done—l never do it myselfHthe
mark is beat out—this was beat'out with a hammer
(pointing at a piece), God knows how they do it,
I never saw one done ; I never purchased any Cop_
per from Chatham, I dn, not recoiled I ever did,
I do not recoiled I had ever any froM there in my
life." Neither sheets or bolts7-nor any From Apt-
ford—nor from Portsmouth? said Mr. GAttßow.
—No.

- Q. What is the name of your last Correspondent
of whom you bought copper ?
. A. The last I bought of was Mr. Missing. [The
same,as the Defendants were charged with dealing
with unlawfully.] - -
Lord KENyON-" You cannot ask the Witness
qtie'stions to convict himself."
The Witness was further examined,-and he would
not' swear that he ever saw at the house of Williams
and Co's. or any ocher house that had a contraCt with
Government, copper with the mirk of the Broad
Arrow, and the month of the issuing it from the
Dick.yard as' in this case, March qpi.
Mr. GARROW said, he could not. see it, for
.they
never had i,ny such. •
- Mr. Ware—" I have known Mr. Owen between
nine and ten years—What I have known of him I
-always unders•ood to be veil good."
Mr. GURNEY called a Witness to the charaaer
--of the Defendant nada—

Goodenoup--7‘, I lived in. Bishopsgate-
street, just where Mr. Mardell served his appren-
ticeship. I knew him an apprentice ; he was a
friend of mine many years ; between zo and 3o
years ; he has borne a very, honest, just charatier—
If he had wanted any money, he should have had it
of me at any time."

The ATTORNEY GE NER AL—" Gentlemen of the
Jury, I 'shall trouble you. with but a very few
words indeed by :'way of reply ; for I will not de
grade your understanding so much, nor that of any
person -who hears me, and who has heard the Evi_

dence, so far as to suppose that much by way of
reply i necessary, or by supposing that, there Can be
the least balance or hesitation in your minds, re-
speding the guilt of the two individuals whose
cases are now_ before you.—l cannot however, stiffer
a case like this, which is such a -fiand'crfon.the Pub-
lie—such ap utter defiance of moral duty in the So-
ciety in which we lis c—such a staring as l'of
fiigacy in individuals; endeavouring to enrich
selves by plundering the Pub]:;., to pass , without
another word.—As to the readiness with, which the
Defendant slimed his warehouse, on which.there is
so much stress Itaid, I would say, that while conceal-
ment was in the Defendants' opinion, available to
them,.in a state of concealment they kept the pro-
perty.—The Defendant Owen did not resist the
search of the Officer it is true, hut he knew that
resistance would be fruitless, for the Officers.",;vould
have searched whether he , was willing or not, and
the readiness with which he apparently acquiesced'
.in the search, is only one of the-features which
belong to the compound charader of fraud by which
the whole is denominated That fraud in its
upon the *Nation is enormous, and calls'alo,:d for
suppression.-7[Here he made some' observations on,
the &trader that had been 'given to Mt: Owen,
and also some strong animadversions on . the Evi_
dence of one of the Witnesses, as 'it related to his
own conduit, and took occasion to observe that the
offence charged in this IndiCtnient was ope in which
too many tradesmen of a „certainscresc:ription were
concerned, and those too of a'high class.]---:He then
-took a view of .. the case as it applied -to Mr.
-Maiden, and insisted that the letter signed " Paul,"
at Maidstone, found' in Mardell's pocket, proved
his guilt. He reprobated, in , the strongest
terms, the contents of that letter, implying, in
one part of it, that_ Paul expected his acquittal
dirough, the. iniquity . Of a pack'd Jury fron.i. the
neighbourhood of Chatham—an insult on. the
administration of Justice,. and, at the same. time,
a proof that the offence here complained•or was a
thing growing out of an extensive Confederacy
among persons
.in a certain trade, some, of which
only had appeared to:day ; but .the objed of which
trial was to put an end to such practices. He ad..
mitred, thatt if this Case had, any doubt about it,
the Jury might acquit the Defendants'; but he con-
tended, not only that the' Defendants were mani-
festly guilty upon the Evidence, but that it was
also a Case of enormous wickedness ; for the more
extensive this fraud was committed, the more must
necessarily be the burthen'of the State upon the ho-
nest and inthistrious part of the community, in their
contribution towards the support of the State, and
which the People of this Country bore with an
alacrity aid vigour proportioned to the exigency
by which it was Occasioned,*but which they, could
not be expelled .to continue if suck radices' as
those of which the Defendants were accused, and
now proved to be guilty, were to pass' unnoticed,
and Th.t delinquents were to remain unpunished.—
Tie Defendants had had the advantage of an able
defence; but no talents or skirl of an 'Advocate
could hide the gUilt of the Defendants, and the Ver-
did of the Jury•would.be that which toe justiceof
the Case demanded.

Lord K E Y.O N said, he had taken' -notes, of the
whole of the EvidenCe in this Case, which he would
read to the Jury if :hey thought necessary ; but the
Jury signified to his Lordship that they wished to
spare hint that tyeruble. lii Lordship then made a'
few observations on the irripovtanee of this Pfosecu-
tion and of the utiliiy °fit' to the Pubiie, and left
the test entirely to thejury—who found the De.
fendants
Lord KENYON—" The-Legislature has, fromlinie
to time, perhaps, done the best that-could be done
for the public. interest at large upon this as well as
upon other sublets. But, upon my word,, I do
think that an end should he put to the dealing with
these Dock-yards, for, 'at, all events, it is a dan-
gerous dealing. These Stores should not be sold at
all under any pretence : but I need say no more—the
affairs of the Admiralty are in very good hands."
The ATTOR NEY-GENERAL—" I believe, my
Lord, that a Bill- will bc proposed in Parliament
early in the next Session, to put an end to all deal-
irig with Dock-yards for any of these Stores."
One of the Gentlemen of the Jury said—" It
cannot be an honourable dealing at all."

NAILOR V. STOKES.

This Mtion, according to Mr. ERSKINE, was
brought by the Plaintiff w recover the alue of t+
bags of coffee, which were brought from America
by the Defendant, who was the Captain of an Ame-
rican ship, and consigned to the Plaintiff. This
coffee was lost by pillage, after it came into the
River Thames.

The Plaintiff had-employed a Lighterman to go
alongside, to bring on shore a large quantity of
coffee. The lighter was detained alongside three
days, before an the coffee was deliVered into the
lighter; and it appeared, that during all that time
no person belonging to- the lighter .attended, in
consequence of which the loss happened. - The
Plaintiff contended that, by the custom of the River,
the coffee was under the care of the ship till it was
all delivered into The lighter ; and that the Lighter-
man, who only received 3d. per bag for carrying it
from the ship to the shore, was not liable for pil-
lage, but only for any misconduet in the navigation
of his craft, or far any injury the goods might re-
ceive while they were on board .such lighter. -
Mr. MINGAY, on the part of the Defendant,
contended, that as .this lighter was sent by the
Plaintiff, he ought to have sent men to watch the
property in the lighter till it was all delivered ;
and that the Captain of the ship, who knew nothing
of the Lighterman, had nothing to do with it, after
it was out of his ship:
From the evidence, however, it clearly appeared
that, by the custom of the. River, the Plaintiff was
entitled to recover.

Mr. CHAMPION, one of the Gentlemen of the
Jury, said, it was the uniform. custom ; but he
thought it was a very bad custom.
Mr. MINCAY said, since the Gentlemen of the
Jury were clear as to the existence of thecustom, it
was in vain for him to contend against it.---Verdi
for the Plaintiff; 931. is. 6d. •

PRICE 0

VEATE

STOC'KS,

Bank Stock slrut,
Navy's per Cent. toz i 102
5 per Cent. t 79.7, shut"
Irish 5 per Cent. 96 ex. div.
4 per Cent. Cou, shut
3 per Cent. Red. shut
3 per Cent. Con. 674 71.4
Ditto Scrip
Bank Long Ann. shut
Ditto Short Ann. shut
Ditto Scrip _

RDAY.

India Stock
Excklequer Bills6s. tos. dis.
New ditto
Mew S. S. Stock
3 per Cent. i7.;t,
Omniurn 2t 20.:s a 1 .
Imper. 3 per Ccnt. 66/ 7
Ditto Atm. 12. 13-16 /5-16
Bank for Op. dz
India for Op. 2ii;
Consols for Oct 68 6&

WHEN Professional Men of Education and
Responsibility deviate from the .general System by
the selection of a peculiar branch, the sandion of .kng con-
tinued success is 'the best criterion of superiority.
Light years have I devoted my pradice to the exclusive
treatment of Three Disorders, and the successful result of
my plan gives me additional ardor to oppose, as far as I am
abk,, the ravages of those Complaints which are thetnost
important in the Catalogue'of Human Infirmities.
After initiation- into every Branch,' as alt Army Surgeon,
I formed a wish at an early period of Pradice to rescue in-
dividuals from the ignorance of uneducated men, or the
equallY dangerous precipitancy of general Praditioners.
The Three Disorders, to the Cure of which I have de
voted my attention, comprise every species of. VENE-
REAL I NFECTION, Avhether of a recent or bong du,
ration 2dly, All kinds of debility, whether arising from
the habits of school-hlys, or the indulgences of mature
age And, lastly, that derangement of the systein in wo-
men which is called BARRENNESS, or ST ER I LIT Y.

•Numerous-Diseases are the result. of ignorance, or haste
in the ticatment of a simple Gonorrhcea; and it not tm-
frequently happens that the seeds of Life are pOisoned by
the indiscretion of an unguarded hour.---By a'superior me-
thod such Coinplaints are easily cured; and, even where
others have failed, I trust that I imay presume to
radiCal re-estittilislimcnt.
Few, however, arc the cases of Complicated distress in
this :disorder, compared. with the calamitous situations of
Men, i'ho, from an indulgence in a_ solitary, vice, or the
prevalent gaietieS of a' fashionable life, acquit& that State
of Debility, which is the unavoidable consequence of such
pernicious habits.
Where the unhappy sufferer broods over his misery, but
carefully cone eals his misfortune; it may be some conso-
lation for to know, that although it be an object of•
doubt or uncertainty with other I.'-raditioners, the removal
of these Deficiencies by the gradual progress of Renova-
tion, is the acquirement of Tay Experience. If the rites
of Bacchus or Venus,. have 'began to reduce- Manly vigour,
much 'anxiety will 4e 'prevented -by[ an early Counterac-
tion of this languid State ; and in these caws, no great
difficulty will occur. •
But where this Deficiency has for years existed, a proper
perseverance is indispensably requisite to revive the slum-
bering Sparks of Lite, and to re-animate the COnstitutibn.
M ARR I ED WOMEN, whO have long been disappointed
in their expedations of a Family,. may be assured, that in
most instances, such defeds are curable by Medical skill.
The 'secresy which' is so essential to my undertaking, .
and the qualifications which 1 have presumed to state, tiarin
the basis of my pretensions, and in coincidence with such
this intimation is given, that Mr. B. may be consulted
personally, or by ,Letters (inclasing a small Note), at his
house No. 29, Mu-mid • street, Strand, near Temple Bar,
• --t4-1.-There is an additional Entrance in Water-street,
adjoining, and the Name is on both the doors.
M. Member of the Royal College of SurgeonS.