The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-29 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

IZE INTELLIGENCE.

CIVIL SIDE.
(Before Mr. Baron PARKE.)
BROWE V. SCRACE.
This was an action to recover damages of the de-
fendant for having, as was alleged, wantonly defamed
the character of the plaintiff, and a plea for special da-
mage was also set up.
Mr. Thesiger, Mr. Platt, and Mr. Charnock were
for the plaintiff, and Mr. Sergeant Shee and Mr.
Creasy for the defendant.
Mr. THESIGER said the plaintiff in this action was
a respectable medical man, carrying on business at
Brighton, and the defendant was also a tradesman and
headborough of the same town. The defendant had
thought proper upon the public race-course to make
use of such language, and cast imputations of so offensive
a character upon the plaintiff that he was compelled in
his own vindication to adopt the present proceeding, and
his only object in so doing was to vindicate himself from
the imputations cast upon him.
Mr. Richard Peilew deposed that he was a surgeon
at Brighton, and he knew the plaintiff, who was of the
same profesbioo. On the sth of last August he was
with a gentleman named Collins, at the Brighton races,
and he heard the defendant tell the plaintiff' that he had
come home drur k and had " whopped" his wife, and
dragged his dead child out of the coffin, and he repeated
the same expressions a second time. Witness, in con-
sequence of these expressions being used, declined to
meet the plaintiff at the time.
Cross-examined—He said at the moment that he
should decline holding any communication with the
plaintiff, but after consideration he should not now ob-
ject to it.

John Goldsmith deposed that he was an innkeeper at
Lewis, and he was present when the occurrence took
place. The defendant was acting in his capacity of
headborough, and he ordered the plaintiff off the course.
They both appeared rather excited, and the defendant
said, " There's a pretty rascal, he went home t'other
night and beat his wife and pulled the dead child out of
the coffin."

Cross-examined—Did not bear the plaintiff say " Who
are you Mr. Pinchcrust ? you had better go home and
sell short weight."--(Laughter.)
Mr. F. Collins deposed that he went with plaintiff to
the races, and while they were standing together the
defendant came up and pushed roughly against them,
and told the plaintiff that he must leave the course.
Plaintiff civilly refused, and asked for his authe-

rity to remov.? him, and he produced a staff,
and said that was his authority. The plain-
tiff then said that he might have asked him
to go in a more civil manner, and the de-
fendant then made use of the expressions imputed to
him. Plaintiff had attended witness and his family
professionally before this, but since that event he had
never been in hi: house, and he told the plaintiff that
he could not allow him to do so until he had cleared his
character.

plaintiff's 'aweahrio,nnugeshei
ne ra
t Cross-examined—He told theplaintiff that h
o go into Court, and offered to be
hi s
witneuse„.. oughtH e
ha I been in
g , 'a' neighbourl a ginr
u and
drank some
ant called out,
Sarah Kin
at the time the plaintiff's
heard no noise or
have done so, she said, if any such thing
ucvzte,ratlhetibmaekse,r.ln d some-
timeswacthoteitridhweipthlahinimtiff., Tphroevde(cifethmal:
This being the case for the plaintif,
SHEE submitted to the Court that there
to go to the Jury. e;
;and
occurred.
This mu
his hwoauss lying
dead,
she
, and the
Mr. Sergeant
was nothing
Baron PARKE expressed a similar opinion
plaintiff was accordingly nonsuited.
The sentence upon the Messrs. Gell for assaulting
Mr. Fullager, has created a very great sensation in them
town of Lewes, and our correspondent was informed
that another application wa: made to the Learned Judge
to rescind the sentence of imprisonment, but he refused
to do so, and the only amelioration of that sentence
has been that the defendants were ordered to be sent to
the debtors' gaol at Horsham, instead of the House of
Correction. If they had gone to the later prison they
would have been compelled to wear the prison dress and
to have the prison allowance, and this must have been
felt most severely by persons in their station of life.

- -
ARMY AND NAVY.—The April _urnber of
The United Service Journal and Naval and Military
Magazine contains, among other important papers :—On
the Present Numbers and Organization of the Army—
The British Colonies considered as Military Posts, by
Lieut. Col. Wilkie—Naval Recollections of the late
American War, No. I—Action of the Sr. Fiorenzo and
Piedmontaise—Narrative by Lieut. Fred. J. White, R. M.,
of his Capture and Imprisonment by the Carliits—
Sketches from Military Life, No. ll.—Memoirs of Edward
Costello—Reminiscence; of a Light Dragoon, No. VIII.,
IX.--Justice to the Army—Memoir of Lieut.-General Sir
S. F. Whittinghast—St. Helena, Removal of the Re-
mains of Napoleon—Stations of the British Army and
Royal Navy in Commission—Sir Lowry Cole and Colonel
Wade on the Movement of the Fourth Division at Albu-
hera—The French Navy—The Peace Complements of
our Sea-going Ships—Hints on the :Management of a
War with
rdnanc th
e—e AmerWithicans—Estimate of the Army, Nav,C,
and O all the Naval and Military Intelli-
gegoo of tho momb.

ROLLS' COURT, Me nere'27.
PENNING V. lIUMPFIERY.
The arguments of Counsel upon this motion, which oc-
cupied the greater part of yesterday, were resumed this
morning. It was a motion to discharge for irregularity an
order directing the plaintiff, Mrs. Fennings, to elect
whether she would proceed in her suit in equity for the
specific performance of an agreement entered into with her
by the defendant, Alderman Humphery, M. P., or in
her action at law for damages occasioned by the
non-performance of the agreement. The agreement
was entered into in May 1837, by which Alderman Hum-
phery agreed to let to the plaintiff, at a certain yearly
rent, a cellar under the warehouses at Hibernia Wharf, on
the Surrey side of London-bridge, and to excavate and
form a vault contiguous to the same, within eighteen
months, from the 24th of June in the same year. The
defendant having violated his agreement, the plaintiff
prayed by her bill for its specific performance. Each party
had brought actions at law against the other—the plain-
tiff for damages for the non-performance of the agreement,
and the defendant for rent due to him from the plaintiff.
Mr. Pemberton and Mr. Jommett appeared for the
plaintiff in support of the motion, and Mr. Bethel' and
Mr. Dunn for the defendant.
At the conclusion of the arguments this da the
Master of the Rolls stated that he wished to look inty o the
pleadings, and would deliver judgment on Wednesday.
ASS

ROME ClRCUlT.—Lxwmr,feitcm 27.
The business of this Assize concluded last night, and
the Learned Judges left Lewes this morning for town.
CROWN COURT.
(Before Lord DENBKAN.)
Robert Fuller, the man who pleaded guilty on Tues-
day to a charge of aggravated assault upon his wife,
under such circumstances as to leave very little doubt
that his intention was to have murdered her, and whose
judgment was respited, was brought up to receive the
sentence of the Court.
Lord DENMAN addressed the prisoner in a most im-
pressive manner, and said, that although the prosecutors
had consented to allow him to plead guilty to the charge
of assault only, it was the duty of the Court to look at
the evidence, and upon the depositions a more aggra-
vated case never could be made out, and it would ap-
pear to have been almost a special interposition of Pro-
vidence that his unhappy wife had not become a victim
to the attack wade upon her, in which case his own life
would most certainly have been sacrificed. Under the
circumstances, the Learned Judge said that he felt his
duty to the public compelled him to pass the most se-
vere sentence affixed by the law for the offence of which
he had been convicted.
The prisoner was then sentenced to be imprisoned
for three years ; and the Court also directed that the
last fortnight of each three months he should be kept
in solitary confinement.