The Sun.
London, England, 1839-11-02 00:00:00

CURIOUS CASE.-CARVALIIO V. STARR.

This was an action brought by Mr ..-Carvalho, book-
seller in Fleet-street, against Ann Starr, sued as Drewett,
a stationer and keeper of a public library in the Qua-
drant, Regent-street, to recover the sum of 181. 19s. 9d.,
for books supplied. A plea of coverture was recorded.
Mr. Gaselee (with Mr. Lock) appeared for,the plain-
tiff; and Mr. Cary for the defendant.
An application was made on the part of the defendant
to postpone the trial, on the ground of the absence of a
material witness through illness. The party in question,
a Mrs. Abercrombie, was to prove the plea of coverture,
she having been present at the marriage of the defend-
ant at Trowbridge, in the year 1809. The defendant
in her affidavit stated that she was a married woman,
and that her husband was living. Three weeks time was
required to substantiate the plea. The plaintiff in an-
swer made an affidavit that the defendant had repre-
sented herself to him as a widow with three children,
and he did not know until he sued her that she alleged
her husband was living, or that she had passed by an
assumed name ; he considered, if that was the case, his
goods bad been improperly obtained.
The point was discussed at considerable length, and a
number of law authorities cited on the subject.
The Learned JUDGE was of opinion that the affidavit
used on the part of the defendant was not sufficiently
strong. It did not disclose where the husband was
living, nor whether the material witness could prove
that he was now living. The application was refused.
Mr. GASELEE, in stating the case, expressed his sa-
tisfaction at the result of the application. He ob-
served that the plea of coverture was getting into
vogue. It was a monstrous doctrine (but such it was as
the law stood) that a woman should represent herself
as a widow, and refuse payment for goods on the plea
that she was a married woman, and should be able,
when it could be proved, to deprive the creditor of his
just demand.
An errand boy, named Black, in the employ of Mr.
Carvalho, proved the delivery of a number of fashion-
able novels and other books. He said there was one
Shakspeare and " one Cabinet Minister."—( A laugh.)
The LEARNED JUDGE—What is the price of the ca-
binet minister F Boy—One pound three and ninepence.
—(Laughter.)
The witness proceeded and mentioned the novel of
" Births, Marriages, and Deaths!'

Mr. GASELEE—We prove our marriage legally, but
the defendant could not. We say her husband is in the
deaths.—(Laughter )
Mr. CARY admitted that he had no answer to the
demand.

The Jury found for the plaintiff to the full amount.

CONTESTS FOR CIVIC OFFICES.

The hardest contest fora civic office in the gift of
the Court of Common Council fought for a great many
years, was fought by the present Lord Chief Justice of
the King's Bench and Baron Bolland for the office of
Common Sergeant in the year 1822. Mr. Bolland was
then one of the City Pleaders and one of the most
eminent practitioners at the Old Bailey. He was much
distinguished from the majority of the Sessions' bar by
his legal knowledge, and the abhorrence he entertained
for anything like ruffianism. He never meddled with
politics, but Mr. Denman was taken by the hand by
the Radicals who had great power at that period in
the Corporation.

The numbers were—
For Thomas Denman
For William Bolland
Majority for Mr. Denman
Number of voters present, 250.
The next severe contest to the struggle we have men-
tioned was that between Mr. Mirehouse, the present
Common Sergeant, and Mr. Matthew Hill, the Queen's
Counsel, in 1833, when Mr. Mirehouse obtained the
situation by a majority of 15. The numbers being--
For Mirehouse
For Hill
Majority — 15
Number of voters present, 235.
The next in severity was that between the Hon. Mr.
Law and Mr. Hill in 1830, when Mr. Law won by a
majority of 18, the numbers being—
For Law llB
For Hill
Majority
Numbers of voters present, 218.

The contest for the office of City Solicitor on Thurs-
day ranked last as the chances of the unsuccessful can-
didate, the majority for Pearson being 28 out of a
total of 230. It is calculated, however, that no man
ever made so hard a struggle in one week as Saunders
made. Nobody knew that he was a candidate for the
office, or supposed that he had an eye to the situation,
until the resignation of Mr. Newman was regularly de-
clared in the Court. He then, as the Members were
leaving the Court, canvassed them with a great deal
of zeal.

The Duke of Newcastle, with the Lords Pel-
ham Clinton, is shortly expected to leave Hafod,
Wales, for Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire, where his
Grace will pass the winter.
DEATH OF LORD GEORGE BERESFORD.—
Lord George Bcresford, who had been for some time
previously on a visit with his distinguished relative, his
Grace the Lord Primate, expired at the palace,
Armagh, on the morning of Saturday last. The
Lord Primate, accompanied by his nephew, Lord John
Beresford, has been passing the last week at Newcastle, in
this county.—Newry Telegraph. [Lord George was in
his 59th year ; he was a Lieutenant-General in the
army and Colonel of the 3d Dragoons, a Privy Coun-
cillor, Custos Rotulorum of the County of Water-
ford, and Colonel of its Militia, He married in 1808,
Harriet, daughter of a gentleman named Schutz, by
whom ha has left three surviving children, the eldest
a daughter in her 30th year. His Lordship was a son
of the first and uncle to the present Marquis of
Waterford. He represented for a long time the county
of Waterford in Parliament on the Tory interest until
he was ejected from it by Mr. Villiers Stuart (now Lord
Stuart de Decies), aided by the influence of the Ca-
tholic Association. This was the first great blow
struck at Toryism in Ireland, and laid the foundation
of the series of victories which soon ended in the at-
tainment of the Roman Catholic Relief Bill.]
UNITED SERVICE BENEVOLENT INSTITU-
ToN.—On Thursday afternoon the adjourned goner al
meeting of the members of this association was held at
their rooms, Carlton Chambers, Regent-street, for the
purpose of discussing a code of rules and regulations for
the government of the institution passed at the former
meeting. Admiral the Right Hon. Sir G. Cockburn,
G.C.8., was called to the chair. One of the members
is reported to have said that her Majesty had been
ap-
plied to through a certain channel to become patroness of
this Society. Her answer was that, before she could
become patroness of the institution, her Majesty should
obtain the leave of her Ministers to do so ; but as her
Majesty was of opinion that her Ministers might throw
cold water on the proposition, she begged them not to
press her to become patroness. (The announcement was
received with great apparent astonishment—[We don't
believe a word of the story]—and evidently created a
feeling of disappointment, if not of deep regret.) Her
Majesty was also stated to have expressed her con-
viction that the institution would go on very well by
itself.

The number of prisoners under 17 years of age
confined ir, the prisons of England and Wales, in the
course of the last year, was 11,441 males, and 2,1.56
females.

Her Majesty's stag hounds will commence hunt-
ing for the season on Monday next. They will throw
off at Salt Hill at eleven o'clock ; but in the event of
the weather proving unfavourable' the " meet" will then
take place at the same hour, and in the same locality,
on the following day. A similar arrangement, in this
respect will be adopted throughout the season. The
hounds will throw off on Wednesday at Winkfield
Church, and on the following Friday at Willingdon.
It is arranged that the hunting shall take place three
times a week. Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg, and
several of her Majesty's distinguished visitors at the
Castle, and suite, are expected to be present at Salt
Hi l on Monday.
_ _

A woman of Priziac, in Morbihan, lies in the
prison of Pontivy, waiting her trial for the murder of
her stepson, a child only ten years old, whose skull she
first fractured by beating him with her iron-shod sabots,
then hung him up to a tree, and afterwards tore out his
nails by the roots!