The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-09 00:00:00

have gone out that way and pulled the door to. The
deed would, therefore, seem to have been done by some
one conversant with the premises. Now, gentlemen,
these are the points of suspicion that bear upon the pri-
soner Hatto, and I should remark to you that, though
there may not be direct evidence against a person sus-
pected (and you must know from experience how difficult
that is to be got at), that many a person has been con-
victed on circumstantial evidence only, and that this
kind of evidence is sometimes most to be relied on ; as
it is possible that the testimony of only one person to
the fact sometimes is faulty, whilst circumstantial
evidence is like a chain, linked together and difficult to
be broken. You must, therefore, now lay your heads
together, and say whether the circumstances I have;par-
ticularly adverted to, and the whole of the evidence
given, will warrant you in thinking there is sufficient to
put the prisoner to his trial, bearing in mind that this
is only a preliminary inquiry, and that, if you pronounce
a verdict of guilty, it does not follow that conviction
may ultimately take place. If, on the contrary, you
are of opinion that there is not sufficient evidence to put
the man on his trial elsewhere, then your verdict will be
one of wilful murder against some person or persons un-
known. I beg that you will discard from your minds
all that you have read and heard elsewhere with refer-
ence to this matter. It has been stated in the news-
papers that I said there was no legal evidence. I said
no such thing. I said there was no direct evidence, and
I say now that everything you have heard, taken to-
gether, is evidence in this case. I now leave the matter
in your hands.
The room was then cleared, and after a lapse of about
ten minutes, on the court being re-opened,
The foreman announced that the jury were unanimous
finding a verdict of " Wilful murder against Moses
Hatto." _ _

The verdict appeared to have been anticipated by the
majority of those present, and it was stated that the
prisoner manifested no surprise on the fact being com-
municated to him.
The usual warrant of committal having been prepared
by Mr. °hearsley, Hatto was conveyed last night, in
custody of Superintendents Symington and Thomas, to
Aylesbury Gaol, there to await his trial at the ensuing
assizes.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.—Nov. 8.

SCRITLTZ V. LEIDEMAN.-THE COAL TRADE OF NEWCASTLE,

The plaintiff in this case is the captain of a vessel
called the Triton, which was chartered by the defendant
to carry a cargo of coals from Newcastle. It happened,
however, that some delay took place, and the ship was
detained in the Tyne. Upon this state of facts the
plaintiff commenced an action to recover damages for
the detention ; and in the County Court of Newcastle he
recovered 501. The defendant, however, was not satis-

fled with this result, and he appealed to this court upon
the ground that the judge below had been guilty of mis-
direction. The point-involved in the appeal was said to
be of very great importance to persons engaged in the
coal trade of Newcastle.
Mr. Bovill appeared for the appellant, and Mr. Udall
for the respondent.
Mr. Bovill said he should only call the attention of the
court to two of the questions raised upon the case which
had been sent up, viz., whether the judge of the county
court was right in rejecting certain evidence ; and
whether his construction of the terms of a charter party
was correct. The learned counsel stated that in the
Tyne there had been for some time great contests as to
the loading of vessels, and it ultimately became neces-
sary to pass an act of Parliament to regulate the turns
of vessels loading in the Tyne ; that act being the 8 and
9 Vict., cap. 73. Although, however, there was a sta-
tutory regulation as to the loading of coals, this does not
affect coke, the loading of which article is regulated by
the custom of the port. By the 11th section of this act,
the "fitters" are to keep four lists—one, containing ves-
sels for foreign parts ; two, home vessels ; three, those
to be loaded by spouts ; and four, those to be loaded
from barges ; and the 12th section forbids vessels to be
entered until they are within two miles of Tynemouth,
and provides that each master shall take cargo from the
place, and in the manner, and the same kind of coals for
which he has entered. The charter party now in ques-
tion was dated the 11th January, 1853, and by it the
defendant chartered the Triton, which was stated to be
then in London, and ready to leave for the Tyne, and on
her arrival there she was ready forthwith "in regular
turns of loading, to take on board a quantity of coals
and coke. The body of this document was in print, but
it was important to notice that the printed word " turn"
had been altered by the pen to " turns." The kind of
coals and coke to be shipped was to be left to the discretion
of the charterer, but it was provided that he should not
load higher up than at a place called Howden. The
judge of the county court held that the term " turns of
loading" meant that coals should be put on board first,
and coke afterwards ; and he was of opinion that there
was no ambiguity about the meaning of the term, and he
refused to receive any evidence to explain the custom of
the trade as to " turns." It frequently happened that
vessels were kept in the Tyne for a month, and if the
decision in the county court were correct, the conse-
quence would be that the charterers would be liable to
pay enormous amounts for detention. The Triton left
London on the 19th of January, arrived,"at Newcastle on
the 25th, and was entered on the 26th. The coals had
been waiting for her from the 20th of January, but it
was not until the 3rd February that she was ready to
take them on board. Three or four days after the date
of the charter party, she was entered on the coke list of
a particular colliery, and when she arrived there were
only two vessels on that coke list, so that but for the
delay in her getting ready she might have taken in both
coals and coke at once. But having delayed to take the
coals until the 3rd February, it was found when she
went for her coke that a vessel, named Fourteen, was
in course of loading. Before her loading was finished,
the frost and snow prevented the coke being brought
from the colliery, and so she did not receive the whole
of her cargo until the 3d of March ; and the Triton was
obliged to wait until after that time. The plaintiff pro-
tested against this, and after some negociation the pre-
sent action was brought to recover damages for the
delay. The plaintiff contended at the trial that the
Coals Act did not apply to coke, and that as to the last
named article the custom was, that it should be put on
board in a reasonable time. The defendant then offered
to prove that the custom in the Tyne was to wait the
turn, as the Triton had waited, but this evidence the
judge rejected, and then directed the jury that the cargo
should have been put on board in a reasonable time,
and that it was not sufficient that she had taken her
turn. This ruling the learned judge adhered to, not-
withstanding he was referred to the case of Robertson v.
Jackson, 2 Q. 8., 412. which it was submitted was pre-
cisely in point. In that case the charter party was that
a person should take coals from Algiers, for the French
marine service, and there deliver them "in turn," and
the court admitted evidence that the phrase "in turn"
had acquired a special meaning. The learned counsel
contended updn the basis of this decision, that there
was nothing to warrant the ruling in the court below,
which was clearly wrong in law.
Mr. Udall, for the respondent, addressed the court
shortly, in support of the decision in the court below.
The Chief Justice said that this appeal was in the na-
ture of an application for a new trial for misdirection,
and not to enter a verdict or a non-suit. He was of
opinion that the appeal should be allowed, and the action
tried again ; and for that purpose it was only necessary
to advert to what was really the only question in the
cause, without reference to what might ultimately be the
liabilities of the parties. The simple point was, whether
the judge was right or wrong in rejecting the parole evi-
dence, and in constituing the charter party. He thought
that he was wrong. The judge below had read the char-
ter party as meaning that the coal was to be first put on
board, and the coke afterwards ; and if that was the
meaning, he was of opinion that the vessel was to be
loaded in a reasonable time. When there was an act of
Parliament regulating the loading of coals, and when it
was known that the Tyne was full of vessels hurrying to
get cargoes, there was enough probability of ambiguity
to let in evidence to show the meaning of the words " in
turns," and that evidence ought to have been admitted.
The case was very similar, in his opinion, to that of
"Robertson v. Jackson," and he thought the judge of
the County Court was mistaken, and there should be a
new trial.
Appeal allowed with costs.
Sittings at Nisi Prius in Middlesex.
(Before Mr. Justice Cresswell and a Common Jury,)
BARTON V. TRUSCOTT.
This was an action to recover 761. 135., the balance of
an account for advertising the Ardennes Mining Com-
pany.
It appeared from the statement of counsel, that the
plaintiff's carry on business under the firm of Abbot, Bar-
ton, and Co., as advertising agents in Wellington-street
North, and thatL theml) defendant
Lombard-street.
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Kings-court,
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the mining company in certain newspapers, and subse-
quently they received, on account a cheque signed by
the defendant. After this, Mr. Watt, the secretary,
wrote to the plaintiffs another order for advertisements,
and- directed them to charge the amount to the de-
fendant.
Witnesses were called on behalf of the plaintiffs, but
they failed to make out the case, and the consequence
he was that a nonsuit was entered.

CONSISTORY COURT, Nov* 8•
(Before Dr. Lushington.)
CIOCCI V. CIOCCI.
This was a suit for a divorce, by reason of cruelty and
adultery, brought by Mrs. Jemuna Mary Bacon Ciocci
against Raphael Ciocci. The parties were married at
Brighton on the 15th January, and they separated on
the following 14th of March. The defendant was a
teacher of languages at Brighton, where it was asserted
he had an engagement to teach at 20 ladies schools.
He had also been employed to translate "Jewell's
Apology " into Italian by the Society for the Promotion
of -Christian Knowledge, and had since 1848 been an
active member, from his own statement, of the Female
Aid Society, established in Red Lion-square. At the
time of his marriage he was about 27 years of age, while
his wife, then Miss Frank, was considerably older, and
was possessed of a fortune amounting to 40,0001. The
charge of cruelty was almost entirely grounded upon the
fact set forth in the libel, that Mr. Ciocci, knowing
himself to be affected with „syphilitic disease, did, in