The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-05 00:00:00

QUEEN'S BENCH.-(THIS DAY•

(Sittings in Banco.)
THE SWORD WORN DV LORD NELSON AT TRAFALGAR.
EVANS V. LAWSON.
This was an action tried last term to recoveY com-
pensation in damages for an alleged libel,
the Times newspaper on the 4th of Decemb,er•
plaintiff is a curiosity•dealer in Maddox-street, and
the defendant the well-known printer and puOlisher
of the Times. It appeared that the plaintiff had iced
a sword to Lord Saye and Sele for one hung
lrect
guineas, for the purpose of being presented to Gre,r-
wich Hospital, but it appeared that that national ilk'
stitution had refused to accept :the present front
doubts which its authorities entertained respecting its.
authenticity. Sir Harris Nicolas was the author Of
the letter in question, which stated simply that the
manufacture of Nelsonian relics, such as coats,
swords, and -buckles, seemed so profitable, and thee
folly of the persons imposed upon so culpable, that it
was the duty of every one to set the public on its
guard ; but when it was attempted to foist upon a
national institution such an article as this sword, it
was the duty of every Englishman to step forward
and to prevent such an imposition. The writer then
went on to say that it was necessaryr to make a bold
attempt to palm off the sword as the one actually
worn by Nelson, and that a letter whi,-th had appeared
in the Times some time '',!.fore, saying that the writer,
a Mrs. Smith, had received Nelson's coat (which had
been purchased by Prince Albert, and presented
and
and
the Hospital), the sword in question,
several other articles from Lady.
Hamilton,
was a forgery, Mrs. Smith having subse-
quently written to the Times, stating she had
never written, or ordered to be written, a letter yff.
any newspaper in her life, and that, therefore, tr
letter in question was not written by her. Sir Ilan&
Nicolas proceeded in his epistle to say, that it _lvas
well known that Nelson did not wear a sword I"'
Trafalgar, and that he supposed Mr. Evans meant to
urge that it was the sword the hero would Ito°
worn had he felt the use of such a weapon necessa'l'
besides it was not the sword of an English Admit."'
of the period ; and the whole evidence on which finP
tbenticity was claimed for the article, vsas a forgery.-
The verdict was for the defendants.
Sir FREDERICK THESIGER now moved for a nev4-
trial on the ground of misdirection on the part the,
Learned Judge, and on the account of the verdict
being against the evidence. He called two witneesesr
prove that the letter applied to the sword of tile.
plaintiff, (which he had bought from Mrs. Smith for
1/.) ; and their Lordships could not fail to see that_
the document conveyed a serious imputation upon
,the character of the plaintiff as a tradesman, vvii.ciff
very existence dependd upon his customers hoe&
able to put implicit faith on his assurances that to
articles of vertu he disposed of were genuine. O
the 21st of January the plaintiff's solicitor wrote to
Mr. Lawson, calling for a contradiction or apologio
or to place in his bands the means of enabling Dl*
Evans to proceed against Sir Harris Nicolas Mr
the same facility as against himself. On the 251"
Mr. Dobie, the solicitor to the Times, required tilt)
days to come to a determination on the Wl-
ter; but the plaintiff commenced the action within
the time required. Now he (Sir Frederick
Thesiger) contended that there could be no proof
that Mrs. Smith had written such a letter to the
Times, because the only plea placed upon the record
was not guilty. His Lordship- put the case W the
jury in this way, " Did the plaintiff sell a sword,
knowing it was not the one in question ? If so, thel
would find for the plaintiff; but if they thought that
he had sold a sword which had been purchased br
him as the veritable sword of Nelson, and believed i;
to be so, then they would give him a verdict?' t
Mr. Justice COLERIDGE said it did not appear tna •
the plaintiff had. •
Sir F. THESIGER said this was stated in the latter
part of the letter. His Lordship (Lord Denman)
remarked to the jury, that considerable delay had
taken place between the publication of the letter and
the application to the defendant, and added, that the
delay did not look as if the plaintiff wished to clear
his character, but as if the attorney was pleased to
proceed with the action. Such a statement, he sub'
mitted, was likely to influence the minds of the jury
Lord DENMAN said, waiting till the 21st, and pr°-
ceeding on the 26th, looked premature; but he never
laid this down as a rule.

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Sir F. TIIESIGER said the action was not COr -;
menced until five days after the first intimation, and I
seemed to him that Sir Harris Nicolas ought te.
have been in a position to meet every explanation that
might be required of him. •
Lord DENMAN said the doubt upon his mind Wilt?!
whether the letter, looking at those published on t'i„—
Bth and 11th of December, implied any acts nt. 3".
improper and fraudulent kind as set forth in the de,"
claration. Ile asked the jury if they collected thl' ,
from the letter it could not fail to be injurious, to the..
plaintiff in h s bu3iness. The Learned Counsel asked
him to give Us opinion on the libel to the jury., but
he declined to do so, and left the whole question to
them. He ;onsidered the bringing of the adios
premature. It appeared that the attorney took up a
matter which had appeared in a newspaper—a metier
which appeared to him a matter of controversy, fairly
raised in this case; and they must give some creditA
to persons vtho took part in such controversies, and
who brougb some knowledge to bear upon the sub-
ject. The ((Hirt would, however, look at the &cis'
ration.

CHARTER V. GRAHAM AND ANOTHER.
This was an action brought by the plaintiff, Nancy
Charter, to 'ecover compensation in damages for false
imprisonmeit. The case was tried at the last York
assizes, am the jury, under the direction of the
Learned Judge, found a verdict for the defendants,
who are migistrates in the West Riding. The
plaintiff anc her husband were tenants of Sir Henry
Boynton, aid had been so for many years. They
received notce to quit on the 6th of April, but before
accedel to it the plaintiff cut down some frill.t
trees which had been planted many years before by
either herser or her husband, after having been un
successful ii obtaining compensation for them, PI

was charged with the offence before the defendants,
and committed to the House of Correction for one
cakndar month, but no formal commitment'was made
out at the time, which imprisonment she underwent
with hard labour, Baron Rolfe having refused the
day before it expired to liberate her. At the ensuing
sessions two former commitments were offered in
evidence, an appeal having been carried there, and it
was held that these documents were a sufficient de-
fence, to the action, and an acquittal was directed.
1\ ow he contended, on the authority of Coke upon
Littleton, that the record, which was upon paper,
ought to have been on parchment, as a " memorial
and remembrance of the acts of courts of justice."
Lord DENMAN—What of the proof of former con-
victions?
Mr. KNOWLES apprehended that they must be on
parchment.
Lord DENMANI never saw one on parchment.
Mr. Justice COLERIDGE—Those produced in Court
are merely copies, and are upon paper. The original,
the record, are on parchment.
Mr. KNOWLES said the second conviction was only
hied a few days before the other which was on the
and before the Court, which he contended was
clearly indefensible, as decided in Channey and Payne
and other cases ; and the Act itself said that the
been
must be recorded and filed, and as one had
°een returned another could not be filed after. The
conviction he held was bad in law. He obtained a
rule for a new trial.
CON-

-AMON PLEAS.—(THIS DAY.)
(Sittings in Banco.)
POWELL v. BRADBURY AND EVANS.'
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said this case was tried
before Chief Justice Wilde, at Guildhall, on the Bth
°,f July last, and a verdict was found for the plaintiff
damages 500/. ; and he had now to move for a rule to
show cause why the verdict should not be set aside
and a new trial had, on the ground that the verdict
Was against evidence and the damages excessive.
this was an action of assumpsit, and the declaration
alleged that the plaintiff had entered into an engage-
//lent with the defendants, who are the proprietors of
the Daily News, to serve them faithfully in the character
of sub-editer'lat the rate of 15 guineas per week, and that
Le had been wrongfully dismissed. The defendants
Pleaded that they did not wrongfully dismiss the
Plaintiff from their employ, and inasmuch as he did,
t the request of W. Alfred Waring, also in the
employ of the defendants, write to the correspondent
of the newspaper at Bristol, and requested him to
report certain proceedings about to take place in the
Bristol Court of Bankruptcy, in the case of a bank-
rupt named William henry Smith, he knew that
a prsonal hostility existed between Waring and
Smith. That in consequence of that application the
Bristol correspondent duly sent a detailed report, and
that the plaintiff did suffer Waring to have pos-
ses!ian of the same, in order to enable him to insert
it in the newspaper, and that such a report was inserted,
and was a garbled and not a properly condensedreport
He (the Attorney-General) contended that the whole
facts alleged in the pleas had been clearly proved,
with the exception of one, which alleged that the
report had been garbled.
Mr. Justice MAULE—What is the meaning of
garbled ?" I find in an old Act of Parliament
ttlat persons are prohibited from selling "garbled"
spices,,—(Laughter.)
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL.--Yes, my Lord, we
F?lllPlain that the report is " too spicy."—(Laughter.)
,The Learned Gentleman then continued to say that
the Learned Judge who tried the case was of opinion
that all the pleas were proved, with the exception of
the " garbled" report.
The Curisr JUSTICE—I left it as a separate fact
to the Jury to say whether they found the report
pleas64bled or not, because, if they found the rest of the
...
Yr:wed I said that was not material ; but the jury
foundvv_s for the plaintiff, and also found that the report
not
wr garbled. I am of opinion that the verdict
on
,xce gs and that all the pleas were proved with the
ption of the "garbled " report.
The
ATTORNEY. GENERAL said the case stood thus;
that
the verdict was against evidence and against the
kr4eten of the Judge.
After a few observations from Mr. Justice MAULE,
The Court granted the rule.
.i.s
33AG UEEREOTYPE.—BEARD V. EGERTON.
rains is action was tried at the last sittings at West-
all alter, and a verdict was found for the
plaintiff on
verdieet Issues raised except the 12th, and upon that a
action was found for the defendant. It was an
for th_ the infringement of the plaintiff's patent
1-./guerreotype as an " invention."
,_; for THESIGER applied, by leave of the Judge,
a rule. to show cause hy a verdict should not
alsTaili3ee
Co
for the plaintiff on the 12th issue.
nurt granted a rule.

tANKRUPTCY.—(THIS DAY.)
(Before Mr. Commissioner PANE.)
IN RE RICKETS AND JAMES.
TAll'ese bankrupts were described as silk merchants,
f•Aoorgate-street, City.
r• LAwRIANce said that the bankrupts had now
thuernasis_h,ed full accounts, which were satisfactory, and
aignees had no opposition to offer to the bank-
uPt•B passing.
1-441141,riS ...,./-roxouß then, on the application of Mr.
the
ence, appointed the 20th of December next for
application for certificate.
SECONDARIES".—(THIS DAY.)
This Court sat this morning, but the only business
uon.,
was swearing in juries for the next two months.
'sr, assessing damages 2 under writs of inquiry above
2'it., and for hearing extent cases. The principal
Ilk)rtion of the business has been transferred to the
,-.oadon Sheriffs' Court, under the new Small Debts
4et,

WORSHIP-STREET.—.(THIS DAY.)
I SIN'S, 111, lit DEATEI.—A middle-aged, respectable-
Arnold man, nian, was this morning placed before Mr.
some' "nit the sitting magistrate, under the following
-whitt peculiar circumstances :
~r,r:tr- Inspector Gravestock, of the G division of
R 7, Line, stated that the individual now before his Wor-
,-;1,111)., accompanied by a. policeman, entered the
:mtl°ll house last evening at about half-past ten
e,'-`,°64:- He then learnt that the former had in the
n'YbP.art of the evening met with a female on Lon-
Isoprn-ethriiring_e, whom he invited to a public-house to have
6to drink. She did so, and, together, they
tailiterwards went to another public-house, and. from
Oleo to the coffee house of Mr. Best, opposite thed
',astern Counties Railway, Shoreditch, and engaged
a the femaleand complained of sudden indisposition,
Inouth.most at the same moment began to foam at the
The defendant. gave the necessary alarm,
and Mr. Wilbore, surgeon,
the •
thervital promptly attended, but
spark was extinct. The defendant has hi-
to refused to give his name or address,
due t h' but it is
self ohi to state that he voluntarily placed him-
if in the hands of the police, and expressed a desire,
the
thought proper, to be detained by them until
ths coroner's jury shall sit.
tenk, r. ARNOLD, having ascertained that a post nun..
' examination of the body of the deceased female
Would this day take place, addressing the defendant,
said that he (the magistrate) did not call upon him to
!,tate
this name and address there, but that he would
find would be obliged to do so on the inquest, or,
p%.sibly, he would be committed.
The defendant (evidently affected) said, I am now,
Your Worship, redyand willing to give you both, if
You think it necessary.
Mr. ARN OLD---I do not call upon you to give
l'ither, but I would advise you to give both to the
Inspector who has got the case in hand.
The parties connected With Mr. Gravestock with the case then retired
the inspector.
CLERKENWELL.—(THIS DAY.)
William Price, a young man in the employment of
of Mrs. Sarah Cordwell, pawnbroker, of Exmouth-
street, Clerkenwell, was charged with robbing his
Inistress of various sums of money.
It appeared that yesterday evening he took half a
crown from the till, and a short time before he was
observed with his hand in the same drawer, to which
Fle had no rightly missed to go. .
Several sums of money had
been previous
lie was fully committed for trial.
GUY FAWKES DAY.—A number of firework-
rnakers and small shopkeepers were brought up and
Indvarying from is. tolOs., for selling fire-
works, although 6sums,
ugh they pleaded hard the immemorial
Custom of dispensing the means of loyal manifestation
to the juveniles, and their abhorrence to his Holiness.

'4,CCIDENT ON THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.-011 Thurs-
_ morning a fatal accident occurred near the Wood
fbrd station, about six miles from Leeds,. on the
itidland line of railway. The Manchester train, which
ealres Leeds at half- t at came in contact
pas seven .
lice a truck whick was being removed from the main
nn to a siding. The engine struck the truck before
It had cleared the main line, and a porter named Henry
clacaster was thereby killed on the spot. The deceased
wasfaa sober, cautious man; he has left a wife and small
4111 Y. No blame is attached to the engine-driver.
PPE/JUNG OE THE OLDHAM EXTENSION RAILWAY.
forme
thr:Monday last the new portion of railway lately
°,..ed from the western to the eastern part of
Krivn of Oldham, connecting the populous suburb of
,rorerneac.res Moor. the lines of the Lancashire and
wi'crhire Railway Company already in operation, was
led for the first time for passenger traffic. The event
first not marked by any characteristic ceremonial, the
; train in the morning departing from Mumps, or
Gregaix,
fiacres Moor at the hour fixed upon, a quarter past
hund the ordinary manner, amidst the cheers of the
istau,sred of spectators who had assembled all round the
41
so ", and particularly on the elevated ground in front,
1,,,:t0 command a view of the proceedings arising out
irt,qeparture of the fir:A train. The succeeding trains
rep„l'l.4ed their time throughuat the day with tolera,hlc..,
litre aritY, and proceeded alon the new orion of mid through the tunnels atg a steady easy rate. the