The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-26 00:00:00

MAR YLEBONE VESTRY.

On Saturday, at a special general meeting of the
Marylebone vestry, Mr. Gomm in the chair, the ad-
journed debate on the final Report of the Oxford-street
experimental paving Committee, and the resolution moved
by Mr. Freeman in opposition to it, was resumed. The
report asserted that some of the blocks of wood laid
down by the Metropolitan Wood Paving Company, had
either wholly or partially failed, and that the Company
having refused to allow. the experiment to be tested for
a period of another 12 months, the Committee could not
approve of the specimen. The resolution condemned the
premature decision the Coinmittee had come to, declared
such a course not only unjust to the experiment, but to
the rate-payers of Oxford-street, and moved for a Com-
mittee of the whole Vestry to investigate the matter, and
report thereon.
Mr. BIERS supported the adoption of the Report. He,
was convinced that vegetable matter of any descriptiOn
would never answer as a road paving, let alone the slip-.
per.), nature of wood, which was so dangerous and
.liable to cause accidents. As far as its durability.
was concerned, he was convinced that it would'
not last six years, and all the expense would then
have to be incurred again. It was said the cost would
not be more than 12,000/. ; now he would show that
it would cost upwards of 21,000/. There were 33,000
superficial yards in Oxford-street, which, at 13s. per
yard, what the Company required, would amount to
21,450/. He had not the slightest wish to deprive the
Company of payment for what they had done, but he
considered there had not been a sufficient test of the ma-
terial to justify the Vestry in adopting it at once.
Mr. GIBSON contended that the main facts had been
studiously avoided by all the opponents of the wood
paving. Mr. Biers, in his
.calculations, had forgotten
that there were upwards of 4,000 yards already done in
Oxford-street. Ile would contend that the cost would
not exceed 12,500/. ; and whilst the annual cost of
cleansing and keeping Oxford-street in repair, for the
last six years, had been 5,6001., if the wood were laid
down, the cost, as proposed by the Company, would be
only 3,170/., and thus it would effect an annual saving of
2,4301. to the parish. Of the durability of the material
there could be no doubt whatever, and therefore he called
upon the true friends of economy to support it.
Mr. COMRANE really considered the Committee had
rather been led away by their own prejudices than by
taking a dispassionate view of the subject. One complaint
against the wood was, -that it would not bear so much
pressure as granite ; but gentlemen forgot that it had
elastic properties which granite had not, and was there-
fore much better able to resist concussions. It ought to
be the duty of the vestry to look at this important goes-
tiondispassionately. The inhabitants of Oxford-street
contributed largely to the rates, and they were entitled
to consideration. _ _

Mr. SODEN condemned the course the Committee had
pursued in charging the wood paving with eausing acci-
dents, without bringing forward any data, such as coro-
ner's inquests and such like, to bear their assertion out.
Mr. THOMAS thought the wood paving the most beauti-
ful he had ever witnessed, and desired to see it carried
out throughout London ; but still he thought the Com-
mittee could come to no other decision than they had
done. _ _ _ _

Messrs. GRANGE, JONES, and others having addressed
the meeting—
Mr. FREEMAN, in reply, showed that as a proof other
parishes considered wood paring no failure, the entire
of Holborn, St. Paul's Church-yard, and most of the lead-
ing thoroughfares, were about being laid with the mate-
rial. He objected to the Report, as it did not contain
facts ; it stated that the experiments bed been repaired,
whereas no repairs whatever had taken place.
After nearly four hours' discussion, the question was
put, when there appeared, for the Report of the Com-
mittee, 31 ; for Mr. Freeman's motion, 21 ; majority for
the former 10.

Mr. Joseph's motion, that the entire street be paved
forthwith with wood, stands for next Saturday. The Ves-
try then separated.

CORONER'S INQUEST.

On Saturday afternoon a highly respectable Jury was
empanelled before Mr. Baker, Coroner for the Eastern
Division of the County, at the Crown Inn, High-street,
Kensington, to inquire into the circumstances attending
the death of Mr. William Cleke, formerly a builder in a
large way of business, but latterly, and prior to his death,
living upon his fortune, at 30, Robert-street, Hoxton.
Previous to the evidence being taken, the Coroner
stated the reasons for his holding the inquest in the
district apportioned to his colleague, Mr. Wakley. The
death having occurred in his own district, and the friends
of the deceased, through their solicitor, having informed
him that rumours were very rife in the district where he
lived that his death had been caused by foul means, con-
sequent upon the unhappy way in which the deceased
lived with his wife, he had determined, so as to quiet
those rumours, on having the body, which had been
buried in the Kensall-green Cemetery, exhumed ; and in
order to prove the exact cause of death, he had ordered
a post mertent examination to be made.
The first witness called was police-constable Thomas
Quinlan, 240 N, who deposed that on or about the 3d of
June last he was on duty at the Robert-street station-
house, Hoxton, when an alarm was given of 'a disturb-
ance in the street. On going out he saw a great crowd
round the residence of the deceased. The street door
being open he entered, and on going into the back kit-
chen he saw the wife of the deceased, with her back to-
wards the fire, crying and greatly agitated. The de-
ceased soon after came into the room, and said that his
wife had threatened to stab him with a knife. She did
not deny it, but said that if he continued to aggravate
her in the manner he had done, she should do so some
day or another, at the same time taking a large knife
from the table. The deceased flew behind him: for pro-
tection, and shortly after accompanied him into the front
parlour, where he said that he went in fear of her, and
was afraid to take any tea or coffee without she
drank out of the cup first, and he was certain
that some day or other she would do for
him. The deceased, at the time he made the statement,
appeared greatly agitated and terrified. The deceased
Was sixty-five years of age, and his wife only thirty ;
and when he left the house the deceased was in the par-
lour, and his wife in the back kitchen. He had often
inieeenwcasalled in before when they were quarrelling. When
called in
health. the deceased appeared in very good
who was present to
of Njvualtcyhththe proceedings on
Mr. Nicholls, solicitor, of Cook's-court, Lincoln's-inn,
thatt h e deceased's e .ts.hseebehalf of
daughter by
showed
a former. marriage, stated
from the deceased
good health, and on the .13eotyhw
etrideetetyeht
that
teedch
ee.aivwceoa
sdmisuon
information
apparentcaa
tt
oonn
of his death. This, added to the rumour current in the
neighbourhood, had induced the daughter to call for the
present inquiry. It further appeared that the above
fracas alluded to by the policeman took place on the 3d
inst. and not in June.
Pummell, one of the beadles of Kensington, having
proved the exhumation of the body, and it having been
identified, Mr. R. D. Thomson, of Gower-street, sur-
geon, said he had made a post-mortem examination of
the body that morning, but was unable, without analysing
the contents of the stomach, to state the precise cause of
death. After some remarks from the Coroner and Jury,
the- Coroner adjourned the inquiry till to-morrow.

In 1674 the summer in Scotland was remark-
ably hot. It is related that one of the minions of tyranny,
who at that calamitous period harassed the poor Presbyterians
with captious questions, having asked a shepherd of Fife
" Whether the killing of Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrew's
(which had Intppenetrin May) was murder?" he replied "that
he could not tell, but that there had be en fine weather ever since."
The stormy weather during the week has con-
siderably delayed the arrival of the steamers from France,
Holland, and Relgiutn. On Thursday several vessels were six
and eight hours longer than usual on their respective voyages,
and three steamers expected ou Thursday afternoon from
Scotland, Dublin, and Rotterdam, did not arrive till Friday
morning.
ACCIDENT ON THE PRESTON—AND WYRE
R XILAVA Y. —P ROVIIDENTIA L Eson PE. ---ALI. the train,
which leaves Fleetwood at five o'clock in the evening,
was proceeding on Thursday by Kirkham ttu full speed,
the engine suddenly ran off the line and was overturned
along with the tender into a ditch, and the caniages ran
into each other, and were all more or less broken. The
passengers on recovering from the effects of the Pock,
extricated themselves from the ruins of the carriages, and
proceeded to ascertain the extent of injury ,done. To
their joyful surprise they found that not a single person
was seriously injured, though several received bruises.
It is supposed that the accident occurred from the points
not being properly turned.—Lancaster Guardiz'z. '

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF CHANCERY, July 24.
MILNER V. SINGLETON.
This case came before the Court upon appeal from the
,decision of his•Honour the Vice-Chancellor, refusing to
'grant a new trial of an issue which the Court had di-
rected. The only question in the case was, whether the
'defendant Singleton, in negotiating with the Dean of
York for the lease of a farm, occupied by the plaintiff,
acted as his agent or on his own account, On the case
coming on before the Vice-Chancellor, his Honour di-
rected an issue to try that question ; and the jury, upon
that issue, gave a verdict, to the effect that Singleton in
the transaction acted as the agent of the plaintiff. An
application was' then made to the Vice-Chancellor for a
new trial, which that Learned Judge refused to grant,
and from that judgment the present appeal was brought.
Mr. Wigram and Mr. Ehnesley appeared on behalf of
the appellant, and Mr. Richards and Mr. Smythe were in
support of the judgment below.
The LORD CHANCELLOR, without calling upon the two
latter gentlemen to address the Court, gave judgment,
refusing the motion with costs, thereby affirming the de-
cision of the Court below, refusing to grant a new trial.
ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVE PEERS FOR SCOTLAND.
In the course of the morning, the Duke of Richmond,
the Duke of Leeds, and the Earl of Marchmont, appeared
in Court, and took the necessary oaths to enable them to
vote at the election of representative Peers for Scotland.

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, July 24.
HERRING V. CLOBURRY.

The plaintiff in this case had been taken under an at-
tachment issued out of the Court of Chancery for the
non-payment of costs, which he had been ordered to
pay upon the dismissal of his bill, and having been
brought up to the bar of the Court, was turned over to
the Fleet Prison, where he is at present confined. The
solicitor for the defendant had been unable to find the
plaintiff for the purpose of serving him with the subpoena
for the taxed costs, which is necessary before issuing an
attachment ; and upon affidavit of the steps which had
been unsuccessfully taken to serve the plaintiff personally
by repeated application at a house, No. 66, in St. James's-
street, of which the plaintiff described himself, and also
at Tattersall's subscription-rooms, which he was said to
freqient, an order ATM made that service of the subpoena
on his clerk in Court should be good service, and upon
this order the attachment issued. _

Mr. WAKEFIELD now moved to discharge the order
and the attachment, on the ground that the defendant's
solicitor, being informed at 66, St. James's-street that
the plaintiff did not reside there, but that any letter or
message left there for him would be delivered, ought to
have stated to the person residing there what his object
for inquiring was, or ought to have left some letter or
note for that purpose, which he did not do, as the plain-
tiff would then have had an opportunity of making an
appointment for the purpose of meeting the clerk whose
business it was to serve him with the subpoena.
Mr. K. BRUCE and Mr. HARE, for the defendant, said
the order for the substitution of service was not ob-
tained ex parte, but upon notice served upon the clerk
in Court, and the plaintiff, if he had any objection to
the order, ought to have appeared and opposed it.
The VICE-CHANCELLOR said it was not probable that
leaving any letter or message at St. James's-street would
have facilitated the personal service of the subpoena.
Everything that could be done appeared to have been
done, and he refused the motion with costs.