The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-10 00:00:00

THE "TIPPLING ACT."

. The case of Ogden v. Heywood was heard on
Friday in the Salford Court of Record, before Mr.
Sergeant Wheeler, LL.D., and it excited consider-
able interest. Mr. Holker appeared for the plain-
tiff and Mr. Torr for the defendant. The action
was brought to recover £39 19s, the balance of an
account owed by Mr. Peter Heywood, a retired
grocer, residing in Patricroft, to Mr. Wm. Ogden,
landlord of the Wellington Inn, Eccles. Mr. Holker
stated that the original debt was £43 19s 11d, but
,that amount had been reduced by one or two pay-
ments by the defendant. The account began in
Feb., 1861, and closed on the 17th of the following
June. The plaintiff said that the defendant was
in the habit of visiting his house; and on several
occasions he stayed there day and night. De-
fendant was a bachelor, about 40 years of age. The
greater portion of the amount claimed was for spirits
which the defendant had either consumed or given
to persons who might happen to come into the house.
In March, 1861,*the defendant stayed at the Wel-
lington several days, and all his ordinary refresh-
ments, with a large quantity of liquor, were sup-
plied to him. March 26 an account for £9 Os. ld.
was rendered, and the defendant paid £2, and pro-
mised to pay the residue. About this time the de-
fendant was paying his addresses to Mrs. Birch,
a widow, who kept a draper's shop in Eccles,
known as the London House. In April he stayed
at her house three days, but she was then married
to a man named Taylor. During these three days
he supplied the defendant with £6 19s worth of
spirits, principally gin. The Judge—When he pro-
mised to pay you, was he sober or drunk ? Witness
—Well, I have never seen him sober, as I know of.
Mr. Holker—l believe he is rather an intemperate
character. The Judge—l dare say your client
knew that well enough. In cross-examination the
plaintiff admitted that one of the charges for £1
4s 4d was for a single dinner and spirits. In addi-
tion to the company in the house, Charles Smith,
the waiter, used to have a glass of grog as often as
he fetched liquor for the defendant and his friends.
On this particular occasion the spirits alone came
to £l. The items were entered in a memorandum
book, which had been destroyed. On the 4th March
the defendant's bill for the day was £1 is 6d; on
the sth, £1 5s 6d; and on the 9th, 18s sd. This
was a fair sample of the whole account. On the
18th, 19th, and 20th April, while the defendant
was staying at the London House, and when £6
ps worth of liquor was charged to him, the spirits
were fetched from the Wellington by Sarah Gre-
gory, who at that time was servant to Mrs. Birch.
Since then Sarah Gregory and Mrs. Birch had mar-
tied two brothers, named Taylor. The gin was or-
deredin Peter Heywood's name, and as many as 22
Or 23 pints were fetched in a day. The Judge—l
should think that quantity would have made the
whole village drunk. (Laughter.) A juror—Am I to
nnderstand that you made 20 deliveries of gin in
one day on the defendant's account ? Witness—
Certainly, I have. The Judge expressed his sur-
prise that the counsel for the defence had not pleaded
the 24th George 11., cap. 40, sec. 1, or what was
generally known as the " Tippling Act." Sarah
Taylor, the servant before alluded to, corroborated
the last witness's evidence as to her fetching the gin.
She always did it by Mr. Heywood's order. She
went so often that the factory girls in the streets
used to hoot after her. Portions of the spirits were
drunk in her mistress's bedroom, to which the de-
fendant had free access. The Judge—l hope there
are not many such widows in Eccles. The witness
further said that she had never seen the defendant
sober. Her mistress's husband was from home
while the defendant stayed at the house the three
days. Her mistress used sometimes to indulge rather
freely ; and the night before her marriage she was
drunk. The judge gave the counsel for the defence
permission to alter his plea, and take advantage of
the act he had quoted. He did not do this in mercy
to the defendant, for a more disreputable man he
had never seen in a court of justice. In fact, the
whole of the parties concerned were involved in
equal shame and disrepute, if, indeed, there was any
shame in them. He would make to terms at all,
but alter the plea as a matter of public justice. Mr.
Torr, in addressing the jury, observed that the land-
lord of the 'Wellington, shameful and disreputable
fellow as he was, must be paid for the board, lodg-
ing, and beer the defendant had had. It was for
them to assess the amount. The defendant him-
self was put into the box, but his answers were very
indistinct, both as regarded utterance and substance.
The judge, in summing up, severely censured the
conduct of both the plaintiff and the defendant. He
regretted that such a low state of morality existed
at Eccles, or, indeed, in any other civilised corn- '
munity. He believed the habit of drunkenness was
at the root of nearly all the mischief in life ; and if
it could be got rid of, there would be an amount of
happiness introduced into society, and a degree of
respectability, ccmfort,and domestic peace, to which
thousands of families in this land were now perfect
strangers. The jury retired, and upon their return
gave a verdict for the plaintiff; damages, £lO.—
Manchester Guardian.

Two MEN DROWNED IN A DIVING BELL.—
For a number of months past operations have been carried
on by the Clyde Trustees for the blasting of the rock at
Elderslie, which is so dangerous in the navigation of the
river. These works have been conducted with much rapi-
dity and comparative safety ; but on Wednesday afternoon
a most unfortunate accident occurred, by which two of the
men employed there have been suddenly deprived of life.
It appears that these men, who are named respectively
Hector iso7Therson and Hugh Campbell,had been working in
No. 1 diving-bell for two hours in the afternoon in ques-
tion ; and at five o'clock, while under water at a depth of
22ft., and engaged in slinging stones which had been blown
off the rock and hoisted on board the bell, the pipe which
supplied them with the necessary air from above suddenly
burst. In one instant the water rushed in with such
velocity that they must have been carried to the top of
the bell. To escape was impossible, and in a very short
space of time the poor fellows must have died, if that were
possible, both from suffocation and drowning. This me-
lancholy accident created a great deal of excitement
among the other men employed at the place, who did
all they could to render assistance to their unfortu-
nate comrades, but without avail. An immediate
search for the bodies was made, but it was not until about
half-past 1 o'clock yesterday morning that Campbell's
body was recovered. The efforts to regain hers on's
body have as yet been unsuccessful. Tke cause
of this unhappy catastrophe has been the subject
of considerable remark. The mind naturally refers, in
the first place, to the state of the air pipe, the rent in which,
created by the bursting, is 4 inches long, and about 12 feet
from the pump• We are informed that, though the pipe
was pretty thin, it was considered sufficiently strong for
the purpose. The whole subject is wader judicial investiga-
tiou.—Glasgow liercad.