The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-29 00:00:00

COMMON PLEAS.-(THIS DAY.)

There was nothing in the Court of any public interest,
the CHIEF JUSTICE was occupied the whole of the morning
in hearing a case of trespass, which is likely to occupy the
entire day.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER.-(THIS DAY.)

THE RING V. JOHN THOMAS.
Mr. GREY opened the pleadings, and the ATTORNEY_
GENERAL stated the case to the Jury. He said it was an
information filed against the defendant, a candle•maker, at
a village near Swansea, for using false weights, and so
making false returns to the Excise, by which he defrauded
that part of his Majesty's revenue. Some of the weights
seized on the premises of the defendant were too light,
with those he (the Attorney-General) had nothing to do,
but he supposed they were used by the defendant in his
trade ; some agai❑ were too heavy, and those were
the ones of which he complained. The Crown had
brought forward the present prosecution i❑ order to deter
others in the same trade from pursuing such a nefarious
system ; in fact, he wondered how any one in his senses
could do it, for the profit was so small and the risk so
great, that in the end it must turn out ruinou..
Thomas James Marks was then examined by Mr.
_ _

CLARKE, King's Counsel—Was surveyor-general of Ex-
cise. On the 16th of February, in the present year, he
wentto the defendant's premises at Clay's lilonck, and found
a young man weighing the candl-s which had just
been made. He examined the weights and tried two

2Slbs. with a 561bs. and finding they did not agree,
he seized them. He saw the defendant, John Thorns.,
and told him of it, who said they were the same ao
he bought along with the business from John Griffiths,
of Swansea, and which Le used for three or four years.
He took the weights to the Town-hall, at Swansea,
where he found the 561bs. generally short, by about half
a pound, and the 281bs. over; one of them weighed 3014 a.
60z., and the others little short of being as much over. The
281bs. were those standing at the machine used for
weighing at the Excise. He gave the weights into the
hands of an officer.
George Alexander Evans was called, and produced the
weights in the same state as they were seized.
J. Marks again examined—One of the weights in the
band purported to be 281 b., but was actually 301 b. six
ounces. The bottom was filled with lead.
Cross-examined by Mr. RICHARDS-Never saw weights
adjusted in any other way than by lead, but these had
too much.

Mr. RICHARDS, after speaking with the Attorney-
General, ;aid be for the defendant could not resit this
case; he had thrown himself upon the mercy of the At-
torney-General, who had acted with great kindness.—
Verdict Guilty.

THE KING V. WM. MODEL.

This was an information against the defendant, who is

a paper-maker at Grinstead-Green, for sending out paper
from his mill which had not the proper sumps on it.
The same parties appeared for the prosecution as in the
other case: _ .

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that in this case the
act was done by the wife of the defendant, but he would
he able to show that she was the general acting person at
the mill. On the Bth of December last she went to th.
shop of Mr. Sherrin, at Halstead, who is a grocer,
and of him borrowed five pounds, for which she
left six pounds' worth of paper, which he was
to keep, if the money was not paid by a
particular day. He then called Samuel Richards, an Ex-
cise-officer, who had surveyed the defendant for three
years, and in general found the wife in the mill. He pro-
duced eighteen notices which he had received from her
in her own hand-writing.
James Jessop deposed that on the 27th of January,
Mrs. Riddel came to him and borrowed 5/. for which she
left paper.
Cross-examined by Mr. FOLLET—He had reason to be-
lieve that the paper was not made in the defendant's mill,
but in London.
Samuel Bowyer, a supervisor of Excise, gave the same
evidence, as to the wife of the defendant giving
notices, and that she had paid his collector
on several occasions for the duty. On the
30th of December he went to survey the stock of
tea and tobacco of John Sherrin ; he saw two reams of
paper which had not any mark upon it to chew the duty
had been p lid. He seized it, and found it had been
pledged by the defendant. It appeared first class paper,
the same as made by the defendant.
Cross-examined—He had never seen Mr. Riddel inter-
fere further in the work than merely giving notices.
John Sherrin was called, and proved the visit of Mrs•
Riddel ; hut Mr. Follet, who had objected several times,
now objected, that as no agency bad been proved on the
part of the wife, his client could not be fixed with her
illegal acts. This question having been argued by him
and the Attorney-General,
Lord LYlsniruasT was of opinion that Mr. Follet was
right, and that no evidence of conversation could be re-
ceived at which the defendant was not present.
A verdict of Not Guilty was then returned, and the ob-
jection of the Attorney-General saved for the opinion of
the Court.

` •j.~

COURT CIRCULAR,

A Cibinet Council was held yesterday afternoon at
he For,,ign-office, which sat in deliberation during three
'lours and a half. The Ministers present were the Mar-
luis of LANSDOWNE, Earl GREY, Viscounts MELBOURNE,
PALMERSTON, GODERICH, and ALTHORF, the Earl of
CARLISLE, Lord HOLLAND, Sir JAMES GRAHAM, Lord
F. RUSSELL, the Duke of RICHMOND, and Mr. STANLEY.
TT.e Austrian and French Ambassadors visited Vis-
count PALMERSTON on Sunday, at the Foreign-office.
Earl GREY entertained tbe Duke of RICHMOND, Vie.
'ount ALTIIORE, Lord JOHN RUSSELL, and a •,elect party,
it dinner, on Sunday evening, at his seat at East Sheen.
The Nohle Earl came to town yesterday for the season.
The Loan CHANCELLOR left town on Sunday for
Brighton. Mr. STANLEY, the Secretary of State for Ire-
'and, arrived in town from Dublin.