The Sun.
London, England, 1807-08-06 00:00:00

SLISSEX ASSIZES.

;

. LEWES, MONDAY, AUG. 3.
elm sun.--Before Sir I. MANsr!ELDr

SPILSTIURX MICIILEWAITE.,
This was an a6tion• of a,,sault and false imprison-
ment, 'brought by the '.Plaintitr, a shopkeeper, of
tewes,_ against the present High Sheriff of the
,
County.. •
Mr. LMVES stated the 'pleadings, by which the
'Defendant justified the imprisonment; averriit, tha't
he, ag' High Sheriff or the County, presided at the
Contity Court:, lield for the Election of Members to
'Serve in Parliatnent for this County; and that the'
Yttintiff -assaulted and obstru6ted'him in the' execu-
thin of his duty, for which lie caused him to be app
prehnded,.,with intent to carry` him before a Ma-
gistrate: •

7 Mr. Serjeant 13tsr, for the Plaintiff, represented
this as a case or thegreatest iinportance, inasmuch
03 it involved the•rights of every Freeholder in the
exercise of his constitutional prerogative of choosing
Ms rtliim Representative in the great Senate of the
nation. Defendant, as holding the very emi-
nent station of High Sheriff of the' County, was,
frotn situation, more bound to reverence the laws
than a man in an ordinary station of life,' and not to
be himself the breaker of them, particularly in a
hlace where he was by every principle ofjestice and
onour bound to preserve the strictest impartiality.
,The Plaintiff, he said, was a respectable inhabitant
of the Borough of Lewei, and a Freeholder of the
County of .Sussex, At the last Eledion he did that
'lnch* every Freeholder had a right to do; which was
not only to vote for whom he thouebt fit, but to
espouse the cause of his favourite Candidate with
all the' .warmth which usually interested men on
those oceasions. It
.happeued that the politics of a
j)articular voter was nestakenby sot'UC persons at the
last election; he was brought up by the friends of
one party to vote on the last day of the eleEtion, but
;when he gut on the hustings, wishing to vote the
other way, his vote was objected to by the persona
who concluded him to the tinstings in the expeda-
tion*ofbis voting in their favour. It might, indeed;
Ea.esuspeeted that this was done with a view to de-
fearthe vote, for. 'after 'discussing the point befbre
the assessor, when the voter retailed; it was said
,ie4as too late to be, received. This prednetd a
gear sensation among the crowd, and many persons
cried out that the Sheriff was acting prtially. He
believed his Client, that Plaintiff, might do so, and
this was " the head and front of his offending:l--
110 r this.offence the Sheriff ordered him to be taken
ihto immediate custody, in•wlitch h was detained
for the apace of an hour, but instead of attempting
to prove any sueb.charge. as he hitd now put upon
the record, namely;' that the Plaintiff-thud assaulted
bill] iu the execution of his duty, he was content to
let him..go without any attempt to take him before
any. Justice of the Peace. 'The Learned Serjeant
contended, that this conduct in the High Sheriff
was so extremely reprehensible, that be was sure the
Jury would mark their ssenst.of. it by most exert.),
platy damagec, • . • •

Mr. Miles; the head-borough of Lewes, proved,
that the Plaintiff was at Theinistingi on the last day
of the election. There was a great deal of noise and
confusion. Lie remembered that seine vote was ten-
dered aild refused.. There was 4;great tty,o(
partiality," and he belived.the Plaintiff might,j.eirt it?
it: ; After. sonic whispering. between the Sheriff and
another Gentleman,' the:Sheriff ordered the Witness
to take the Phrintiff'into custody. He did
.so, end
teolchini to' the' Court-house,' where Mr. Partingtoit
was sitti►►g as assessor to the Sheriff. Ile continued
hi.citsiody•dbmt '4O minutes, and was then dismiss..,
:ed. This witness said 'he did not:hear him threaten
the' Sheriff, nor shake .his luirsewlfip at him. After-
itt custody the Plaintiff did bind his own hand
and leg With a silk hanclkerchief; Nit did not hear
to the mob, See, here is a freeholder
bound in fetter:ill your Sheriff." •
Several, other witnesses proved his 'having 'been
taken into; custody,' and detained for near nit hour..
.Ivir. Serjeapt Safi ARP, for the Defendant,
,made
a mist eloq:nent speech.
,He reprobated the aC:tion
as one. of the most,unTotinded that cVer was, brought
intoa Court of Justice. • He. said he would- most
willingly look with
,the utmost indulgence:on:all the
unusual vehemence with which men condu6ted
themselves at a General Ele6tion. It arose, lie would
admit, from the spiritiof English' freedom-; but the
conduct 'of the Plaintiff, he must.sayi had been Most
wicked ;, he had done all in his power to create the
most serious commotion ; and-if the limy of the mob
bad been roused by his falsiinsintiations, theylnight
have gone to excesses which probably might have
ended in most serious and fatal calamity. "He asked
for what, purpose did the-Plaintiff:fetter his own limbs;
but to excite the indignation of the by;standers, and
to have it supposed that the High. Sheriff had viqn-
tonlY. And arbitrarily treated in that manner a free
holder of the county ? - It- was to insinuate a false-
hood, though not to'say it in words ; and hia motive
was to excite the indignation of the speClatorii against
the Sheriff. He. contended, that to accusetbe Re,
turning Officer of partiality was to ObstraCi hini iri
the execution of his duty, and that'the Sheriff was
warranted. in taking. the Plaintiff into cuStoslY.:
Several, witnesses were then Called, whp proved
that. the Plaintiff had-been very violent in his con-
thiC.t that day, and he had shaken hi whip
at the. She.riff, and threatened to trounce him, before
the Sheriff' ordered hiM to be takeninto custody,.
• The Learned Judge reprobated thy. action, and
thought the Jury, would do: well to treat it with
contempt.

Verdict for the Plaintiff—datuagi:s is.

• TuESDAY, AUGUST 4i
CROWN, SI I) 0. --ticfore r ju4tice 4Tn.

Llii47was'ioclitled for forging :end utter-
ing Engitilid.,llo:fi at Eastbottpte., on
A. ,
the 1 trtu, (). tit)(4. last,

Me, GAIL r\uw opened the rase for the prosecu-

ir._Thontas Bliss ckpused, that be was Itispec-
tG' of .1 titt Notes„,. In consequence of :t set of
foJ;ged nOto3 corning into .the Bank, 'be was sent
dLiwn into Suq,;:x, h}t order to trace a '5l. note, to
.kviiieh he 11,,,1 L;otFrom ,elue. 'offal-Illation he
ttaced it,to the Lands of .a person of the •natne.ef

Iced, wY;o. kept a.)itatVie;litluse at Eastbourne; by
his dire&ionst be went to ..Lewes, to the„ Office of
Mr. Cooper,: an Attorney, with whom the Prisoner,
Ball; lived a's'tlerk. He there saw Thomas Cooper, „
the nephew 0f Mr: Cooper, and the Prisoner at the
bar:- fie a:;ked Mr.TliOnias Cooper where he had
reeeived'the 51. note whio-the had paid to Mr: Reed,
on the Sunday before,, at EaStboirrne.• Cooper
pointed to the Prisoner, 41.14 said -he had it of him.
The. Prisober admitted the 661, and said he lead
received it'from his wife That she had been in
towivirom -ihd-ld to the 6th of June, and had
brought it from London. The note Was- Strewn, and
theyrisoner said,- he knew it to be the note, bp-
cause there were the initials..of J. G. in red ink on
the face of the.note, The witness desired, the pri-
soner to go,, home wife, and learn from her
where she had taken it in town, and at what shops she
• had been, and to 'write doWn- her information,- and
bring it back to..him inabot4.an hour! Tie Prisoner
went away, but the Witness did trot wait the hour
for his return, for in about half 'an hour; after he
followed him to his lodgincrs. He foUnd the Pri—
soner and his wife there, and had some conversa-
tion with them. The wife said ,she had' received
two 101. notes from,ber husband' when site wen to
town. He replied, No; you received but •one.
While they 'were talking, Mr. Bliss saw a small
writing desk in the room, „piton which was lying a
small bit of silver paper, just half thesiiesof a bank
note, he took it up, and saw the faint impression of
the word, " seriE," such as is on the, top of the one
' pound bank notes, and on it was Written the words,
"G. Bacchus; Esq." This much astonished him,
and .heasked the Prisoner if.it was his hand writing,
who said it was. (It after-Wards appeared that eno-7
ther forged: .note for 101. had come into the Bank,
witlt"the words G. BaCchus • on it in the same hind-
writing.) The witness found in the same. desk India
ink,
„camel's hair pencils, and other materials which
would prOduce the Water-mark.- 'ff
Thomas Cooper stated, that the ;Prisoner. lived
• Clerk with his uncle, an Attorney, at Lewei. On
-Sunday theith.of June they agreed to spend:the
day at East Beurne; they.went in a gig, and it was
agreed the Prisoner should pay the day's expences,
and they were to adjust the account when they came
home at night. After dinner the bill was brought to
him, as be sat nearest the door: The Prisoner gaVC
a 51. note to him, with which he paid the bill.
Mary Chapman, the servant, proved that she
handed the. note to her master; and Reed, the rues-
ter, said lie gave the note' the same eietting to his
daughter-in-law, who was Ong to London.
RebecCa Moggridge, the datrAhter-inAaw, proved
that she paid it to Mr. John Fenwick, a linen-draper,
in Oxford-street, by whom it Was paid to thelank,
when it was discovered to lltt a forgery. - •
Glutei Terry; the Engraver to the Bank, proved
that the note' was a forgery, that it was not—en-.
graved, but that the whole was written and drawn
by the pen or camel-hair pencil, - He 'also stated
that the water-mark 'might be made 'with other Ma- i
terials'fbUnd at the Prisoner's lodgings, and produced
a .cernplete fire simii of the water-marks, of a bank.;
note Made ly himself from. the paper and liquid
which Mr. Blis had found at'the Prisoner's apart-
ments. • • •
Eviderite'wnthen given. of two other notes ut-
tered by the Prisatier; one on the 2Otii of March
before; and•whleh. were proved hy Mr. Terry to-be
forged ones. . .
With respe& tb this evidence, Mr. Justice HEATU
Observed, that it was carrying the •principle further
than it had ever yet.been extended. Other utterings
had been' reeeived as evidence, -quo ',mini°, that the.
note in the indietment was uttered; but they must
form part of the same act. 'Thus, if aman.Went front
London to York, uttering forged notes all the
it was one continued a&. But here waS, the inse- .
Infect fa& of an uttering no Way,conneCied with the
tael 'charged in the ind?&ment either'by time or cir-
cumstances.. But, 'he, said, it the Counsel for the'
`Crown-felt any.conlidenee in the lativ, lie would re-
ceiye theevidetibe;:atid Make a case eat() the legality
of such, evitlenee. . • '
The evidence was accordingly received; 'snbje&ito
(hti Qpinioti of thelirdges -' • , •
, Twenty other forged 'notes wereprodticed, in evi-
dence, all of which. were- proved to bare passed
through' his' hands, froi Ike eircuMstance, of. having
IfiSAtand-writing an all' of them;
'::Tl2,he Jury foend the Prisoner Guilty, but lits,sen-
tence will be respited, in 'cansequericeot the point
law as to the propriety, of reeeivillg the evidence
above alluded to.

TRU JUNG V. GREGORY, PHILCOX, THUNDER, AND
''EFIRER 4)THEIIS,
RIOT,AT• BRIGHTON.

. .This was an indictment against the Defendants
for riotously assembling and • pulling.down the rail-
ing. on the road east of Brighton, leading from:thence
to Rottendeatr, -and obstructing the Surveyors. of the
Road in the:execution of their duty. . •
. .This case. arose put of thettettident•of tha,falling
of the clitilaSt autumn. Thesurveyor of the,Road
thought if necessary to carry.: iu the ,railing, and
trenched upon the ground :of the three tirit-named-
Defendants they considered that he had done more
than was necessary, and resisted. his altering the rail-.
ing. in consequence of This, on the), Ith February
last, they employed men toeut down the posts and
rails which had been ereeted,hy,the Surveyor of the
Road, The next day the. Surveyoi: employed men
to re-erect. them, and the Deteudants'anothor party
to pull then) down.: a riot ensued,' the one set pull-
ing down as last as the other erecied, until at last the
4urveyor's party were the viclor4.
Te Jury sound them all guilty. The three prin-
.cipals were fined 201. each, and the three w.ork.Men
bi each,

- the. Civil Court an, action was tried arisirjg out
of the same transActioo,. ict ‘yllicl) the Plain tift.had a
verdict against the s.4urveyor. Damages seven guineas.

Yhe Crown liide finished .at I,llige
prisontx.was,lo,ll innexecution... , „

• SUICIDE.—•-•A' female servant.at the Mogul
Jtouse, in Drury lane, poisoned herself last Friday;
by taking .spirits of vitriol.. Part of the.tiery potion
she spilled on• her neck andbreast, which burnt them
in. a shocking hlancrer: She lived, however, till the
•following.tnorning, and then expired in t'Ae 'greatest
Dikappointed „love 'supposed. to., be .the
cause' off hbr caittnitting the rash ad. • -