The Sun.
London, England, 1824-12-22 00:00:00

•
bolt of the principal taverns In town, and associated with
'men who knew a great deal of life—none more so than his
friend Mr. Best. Yet he was held up to the Jury as one
-Utterly ignorant, and who almost of necessity fell a victim to a
waman's fascinations. Look at him engaging in this cause,
while his attention was constantly directed to those transactions
in which Colonel B. was concerned; and refusing to resiew his
addreases until all connexion with Colonel B. was broken off.
It was astonishing that he should direct Ida Counsel to describe
him as he had done--to degrade hini so low in the scale of
him= beings for the purpose of saving his pocket. There was
another point in the speech of his Learned Friend, to which it
was necessary to reply. The mother and sister had been stated
se he adverse to the marriage; he (the Attorney-General) would
admit they were adverse; but was it tliey.who, on the clay preced-
ing the one appointed for the marriage, locked the door of the
' apartment in which the young man sat, made hiM intoxicated,
-and plied hint with wine at seven the next imbruing, for the pur-
Foeeof rcnderin g him incapable ofperforrning hispromise to 111iss
oot ? Were they the parties who did so, or was it done by a
art of persons who knew him to be rich, and who were anxious to
1 share his property ?—who kneW that if he were under the dime-
! timid of a women of sense, this ratistaltngetheecease ! Look at
the else as it refers to the connexion' of the lady with Colonel
Berkeley. His Learned Friend had charged him with re-
vealing the nature and circumstances of )liar whole life. But
it should be remembered that Mr. Hayne himself inserted two
letters in the public papers, charging her with having had two
children by Colonel Berkeley: How then could her Counsel
he accused-of havingexpoeeti her ? It should be taken into se-
waint, as a material point, that when such a case as this came
wore a Court of Justice,' every act was laid open, and every
tens:mice brought for Ward, that could in any way tenth to
• • Ow, applicant for damages less deserving of them. But
the exception of the single affair with Colonel Berke-
-I‘•*. slander had invented no charge against her, and her
e•:aracter had been stained in this respect alone, He (the At-
torney-General), had before atated that en this account she was
'ore an object of compassion than of blame. She had been tie-
dortal by Colonel Berkeley under a prannise of marriage, which
bail been reiterated over and over again. This had been stated
to Mr. Nape; yet Mr. .Scarlett did not believe that any pro-
: nrise bed been made. It was competent to call Col. Berkeley,
that he might prove this, and not let it remain an empty asser-
tion alone. He (the Attorney-Geneial), thought this a full
answer to what had been stated on this point on the other side.
Was not the lady an object of compassion, after having re-
mained fns fire years closely attached to the person who had se-
duced her? It was not until the birth of her second child obliged
her to see that the consequences would be fatal not only to her-
,self; but to her offspring, that she consented to a final separation
'this'Pertion. Yet the Counsel of the defendant had de.
sexibad fyir as a. woman who wanted natural affection—with-
out feeling even for the children to whom she had given birth.
Could it befor a moment conceived that she even imagined
the coUld be prevented from seeing her children, or that,
knowing Colonel Berkeley as she did, she could ever have
suppOstal that he would have prevented it ? The thing was im-
Possible, and the idea must he dismissed, He (the Attorney-
liieneral) did not think that the. evidence brought forward on
the Part of the defendant could in any way affect the case,
and he would state the grounds of his opinion. Did the let-
ters from Miss Foote, that had been read, in the least trench
41500 the case? Or was the other set of letters, that were
"am without the knowledge of Alias Foote,
Juryto induce the
to cut down the damages of his client ? IVas her cha-
se to impugned, because another person had acted per-
'3l'6 improperly ? The Jury could aever make her suffer for
Sit act of which she had no cognizance. But, after all, what
effect had those letters ? Mr. Hayne was•made to complain
that air. Foote .had not informed hint in any of them of
the peculiar situation of his daughter ? But how could he
bare done so with any feelings of common propriety ? It
should be remembered that all that time Miss Foote was
elfezishing the hope and expectation that CoL Berkeley would
not so far forget his honour es to refuse to make her his
'we're- If he had so done, what would he have said when lie
rew that his secrets bad been revealed ? Until Col. Berkeley
had decided on the course he intended to pursue, it was the
bounden duty of the father of Miss Foote to keep the circum-
stance% lie had alluded to from the knowledge of any one. It
'las at least his duty to conceal the affair until after the 23d of
June, the day on which Col. Berkeley was to decide. When
all communication with Col. B. was at an end, then ceased the
correspondence between Miss Foote and 111 r. Hayne • at least
no letters from her, written after that period, had been pro.
Pled. All the circumstances that were now known to the Jury
;were known to Mr. !Jayne. Ile knew that Miss Foote had
had two children by Col. Berkeley ; he lied read all the letters
that bad been produced; and, after this knowledge, he en-
tered into an engagement with the lady, which he broke off in
• itt:) extraordinary a manner. The Learned Counsel for the de-
' 'coolant had made many ingenious, many eloquent remarks, but
the Jury would throw them aside, to consider again the evi-
dence that had been adduced ; and if nothing lied been done
to destroy this evidence, they would return to the original
lineation as to what damages the plaintiff was entitled to re-
cover. An observation wee made by Mr. Searlett, which was
repeated in three distinct places in Ilia speech, why,llliss Foote
had not brought an action 'for breach of promise of marriage
against Colonel Berkeley ? but this question would be set
at rest when it was recollected that she had not the power
of doing so after her engagement to marry Mr. 'Layne.
'Was
Miss Foote' to blame, he (the Attorney-General) would
ask, for being beautiful, or for being amiable, or for making'
impression on the hearts of those who•knew her? Was she
to blame even • for going to Marlborough under the circum-
stances in whidli'she was placed ? But was it she who wrote
• after her return ? No: 'from Mr. 'Layne came a letter—a cau-
tious and a guarded one, and not the production of the ideot chit-
• teeter he had been described by his Learned Friend. Then he
of his own free will renewed his offer, which she accepted ; the
Proceedings then went on from time to time until a licence and a
ring were bought, and every preparations was made. What is
then tho conduct of Mr. Bayne ? Again, without assigning
any cause—without un attention -to the common civilities
that pass between man and man, he retired into the coup
try, and takes no further notice of the lady. His client had
no other 'way than the 'one she had adopted to preserve her
character; if' she had not done so, every calumny would have
beets out against her (and there were enough already) • she
Pad, however, been left this appeal, and he was sure it would not
be Made in vain. In it Court of Justice, a Jury was not to award
damages for an injury to feeling, but to dojustice. And it should
no reeollected.that Miss Foote had lost the rank and station in
iociety to which She would have been entitled If she had been
nude the wife of Mr. Rayne ; and she had also lost the bene-
fit of that settlement about which his Learned Friend had
said so much ; but it was a settlement' made, as had been
Proved in evidence, by the own free will of Mr. Hayne. He
said, without any interference by any party—" My pro-
Deny is so and so, and I will settle so and so on her." He (the
4ttorney-General) had now gone:through the whole of the case,
and he felt assured that the Jury would do what in their
opinions justice retittired they should do, and in .their judg.
'tent award to eac of the parties what cash of the parties
deserved.
The Loan Ciller JUSTICE recapitulated the evidence, and
Charged the Jury. He obierved that although a woman could
not be considered in a Cdurt Of Justice as prevented from forming
inatrbiumial engagement, because she lied children by another
num, it should be recollected that such a person could n o t be placed
precisely in the same light as a pereortorsustained character. The
:fury, however, would con Sider the evidenee that had been
4rought before them, and the speeches of the Learned Counsel
d4oth sides ; but whatever they might give in the way of
mtnages, should be done with temper arid moderation.
_,At a few minutes after eight O'clock the Jury retired, and
after an absence of about a quarter of an hour, returned with a
tlict for the plaintiff—llimiages, THREE THOUSAND
I "1 INDS.
et_ll:hen the verdict was delivered, a very general buzz of sada-
"'ton passed through the Court.

The following are some of the letters that were read in the
course of the trial. The whole mass i such as no person wuld
think of wading through. We haves therefore selected ao few
°t; the most interesting, as a specimen of the whole. Our
Vera
eat wale asily, and perhaps more satisfactorily, guess what
e r :