The Sun.
London, England, 1822-05-29 00:00:00

CERTIFICATES-JUNE 18.

J. Thurbon, March, Cambridgeshire, draper.-1. Jacobs,
Bristol, glasstmanufacturer.—R. J. Tomlinson, Bristol, oil of
vitriol manufacturer.—H. B. Hall, Grosvenor-street west,Pim-
lico, carpenter.—T. White,. Brinklow, Warwickshire, inn-
holder.—W. and N. Baker, Portsea, grocers.--T. Windcatt,
Tavistock, ftilmonger.
PARTNERS IPS DISSOLVED.

R. 'Wilson and J. McCall, Grantham, linen-draper—J.
Hackett, W. Hover, and' T. Parker, Drury-lane, painters
J., E., and D. Armitage, Marsden, Yorkshire, woollen-cloth-
manufacturers=—B. Shillingford and J.- Purdy, Goswell-street-
road, house-painters—H. ]even andE, Pethick, Bideford, De-
vonshire, milliners—S. and W. Balmforth, Elland, Yorkshire,
woollen-manufacturers—R. Wolfe and J. Pilkington, Man-
chester, tea-dealers--E. Wilson and J. Russell, Manchester,
warehousemen—S. Taylor and J. Walton, Fenchurch-street,
upholsterers.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER, MAY 28.
LIBEL UPON AN ATTORNEY.
JONES V. STEVENS. -

This was an, action brought by the plaintiff. against the de-
fendant to recover damages for a libel. The damages were laid
at one thousand pounds.
Mr. Jervis, Mr. Taunton, and Mr. Cross conducted the case
for the plaintiff; Mr. Brougham, Mr. Bailey, and, Mr. Abra-
hams, for the defendant.
Mr. JERVIS stated, that the plaintrif was a gentleman carry-
ing on the business of an attorney, at Henley, in Staffordshire ;
and the defendant was a law-bookseller, in Bell-alley, and well
known to the profession. The libel, which was, contained in a
pamphlet addressed to the Master of the Court of King's Bench,
under the signature of " Paul Wilkinson," was one tending to
vilify a most respectable class of gentlemen, the Clerks of that
Court, (the Court of Exchequer,) whom it charged with fraudu-
lent practices, in drawing up declarations without stamps, and
charging the duty as if stamps had been used. The libel asserted
that they put the proceeds in their own pockets, and thus de-
feated the revenue. It did not stop at these foul charges, but
went oh to vilify even the Learned Judges them Selves in stric-
tures upon 'a case, where a party to a bail bond having, through
some neglect, fixed the bond, separate actions were commenced
against himself and his two • bail, and - treble costs incurred,
amounting to 211, I7s. upon a debt of ltd. and the Court re-
fused to relieve the parties until these costs were paid. This,
which was a common proceeding, over which the plaintiff could,
from the circumstances, have no control, was made the founda-
tion of -the libel ; which went on to hold up the plaintiff as the
attorney who had commenced treble actions for the sake of
obtaining treble costs; in the bills of which stamps were
charged that had never been used: that he had carried on a
" cheap shop" at Stafford, and one at Henley, and employed
as his assistant a man named Hammond, who was once a jour-
neyman tanner; arid that with him he long rioted in practices
of a most profitable nature ; but that ultimately they quarrelled
and abused each other ; when the plaintiff, having got the start
of his assistant, prosecuted and had him transported for inac-
curacy in his accounts. The libel said, that whilst concord
prevailed they were par nubile fratrum but that after they had
separated, the lion was without his jackal, and in want ofpro-
vender, which he sought for by advertising for business. The
libel concluded -by accusations against the charactei of the
plaintiff, and charging him with carrying on disreputable bu-
siness. The Learned Counsel said he could find no terms suf-
ficiently strong to express his feelings as to the malignity and
wickedness of the whole, which was only equalled by the con-
duct adopted in defence of the article, in making the records of,
the Court the vehicles of still fouler slanders. He animadvert-
ed at great length upon the pleas of justification, which asserted
that the whole of the libel was true, and that the plaintiff was
in the habit of carrying on business upon the principle of " no
cure no pay." There were certainly some. facts which were
interwoven in the whole, but they were distorted with the worst
design; for of themselves they were innocent. In conclusion he
called upon the Jury to appreciate professional character, 'and-
to protect it and compensate the plaintif by most exemplary
damages.
On behalf of the defendant, a long attempt to ,justify the libel
was made by Mr. BROUGHAM, who called evidence /13 speak

against the general character of the plaintiff; but the Learned
Judge (Baron Wood) over-ruled it as inadmissible. Two wit-
nesses swore that they considered the plaintiff' and his assistant,
who had been transported, as par nobile fratrutn or birds of a
feather. A long argument ensued as to the admissibility of cer-
tain evidence in Justification, and some questions were reserved
for the consideration of the Judges.
Baron Woon, in his charge, said it was for the Jury to say
whether the libel, which he believed to be-a most scandalous
one, had been fairly justified.•
The Jury, after a short consideration, returned a verdict for
the plaintiff—Damages 501.
The case lasted until half-past ten o'clock at night

OLE) BAILEY.
Yesterday John Newmhier and Thomas Crawley were in-
dicted capitally for assaulting Edward Bowerbank, on the
King's highway, and taking from his person a metal watch,
value 81.

The Jury found both the prisoners—Guilty.
The prosecutor begged to recommend the prisoners to mercy
on account, of. there youth and the good character they had
received. The Jury wished also to join in this recom-
mendation.

The two prisoners, who were both extremely young, the one
being only seventeen and the other eighteen, were not dis-
missed from the dock without a suitable, admonition from► the
RECORDER. At the conclusion of the Sessions, sentence of
death' would be inevitably passed upon them, and he feared
that there was little hope that in such a case as this the royal
mercy would be extended. It was, indeed, high time that a
stop should be put to these frequent street robberies, and that
others should be deterred by the punishment of those who were
detected. The prosecutor and the jury had humanely recom-
mended the prisoners to mercy, and it should be communi-
cated to the proper quarter ; but he strongly advised the young -
men to prepare seriously for death: