The Sun.
London, England, 1815-11-20 00:00:00

Cf11.91.1',-01r, KING'S BENCH, N0v.:1%

krxo v. 11-1 E INHABITANtS OP:MI-VET;
'This was -au appeal-froai thstorder-of twO,ma-.
gittrates for the removal of 'a female pauper. The
iiEStiort referred t - the Court from tlke.Qtarter
Sessions'of 'Warwick .was; simply,,, whether
settlement hAd•bcen gained by a hiring, firm for
51 'Weeks, and afterwards for 'one weeks ~so as to •
complete the 52 wee_ka, of which 'they supposed a
year to cOnsist.
:111r READER, its support of the order of re-
vt as proceedit4,,, by observing, that the
prescnt was a mere arithmetical 'question, *hen
be ivas stopped by the Chief Justice, who re-
marked, that arithmetic, on the contrary, would
be the bane of Mt'. Reader's case, ,arkicSs he could
shCve that 52 k,t•Lteli§ 'wide' a complete year. ``
Supposing it to be a
-liring for 52 weeks, yet that only consists of
361 days.
Lord ELLEsncitiou6n.--The case sent from the
SCision rim' the Opinion of this Court is, how many-
days 111;re are in a year. 'The Sessions say, that
there are 364 only.
READER •observed, that the Quarter, Se's,c-
s'ons of•Warwick' had considered the' hiring. for
.52 week§ as equivalent to a hiring 'for' a
Lord•ELLENaocouoit.-----ln future the Magic'
Irptes of, the Quarter_ Setsiats- of Warivick will
kh6w, and may Safely act upon it,.: that a year
daeltrot consist of 36'4 daysz-Ordel; •L,
The' Court rose early • for .klie:iplapOse 'Of going
to -the ExChcquer Chamber:

„EXCHEQUER CHAW}EIt, Nov. O.

TEE KING V. IrlAbbtiCKs'.

argument was. heard in this case before the
twelve Judges.---The prisoner Was convicted, at
the last Old Bailey Sessions, nponiih indictment,-
CliargiAg him with forging an infibrsement to
Iliauk Post Bill. 'The bill in cOe.S.tion was indoo;
0 to ,Mr.
,Falcon, of the',Tcmple,- ;11101 came to
the hands of the prisoner, who x-as his clerk. The
wisoner went to the 'Bank of England, and re-
ceived the- amount, upon writing 'the following
iudorsemcnt : —" Per prOeuration, for Robert
Vali:on, George Maddocks." The questiop foe
.cOnsideration was, whether thiS was, legally
speaking,, an indorsement,or a yeecipt ?
Mr. ALLEY, for the prisoner, in an argutnent'Of
gicat length and ingenuity, contended that it was
-orilY.a receipt ; riliile
Mr. BosANqueT, for the prosecution, held d
.contrary argument.
•.
1 he Court Old not give judgment, nor will the
result of .their dOher.ations be kno4n until the
ricxt Old Bailey Sessions.

TOE uaNDON.Ap4pußN,Ep,.s;ssross.
OAS INDICTED .AS,A,NLTI,SANCE. ,
Saturday there'was a Special Adjournment of
the London Sessions, held before the Recorder;
Aldermen; etc. at Guildball,'-for. the. purpose of
•tryink a iiue:stion of cimsiderble importance. to-
Ihe scientific world, as•-Well as:the-1'01)1kt at Urge:
It was an •indictment preferred against Frederick.'
Nfuirrimv and • 'William Kitight,• laid in the ruonrh ,
idst, -end charging t.hem.,with 'a -public
nuisance, but postponed to .thewesent period.—
.1b i§. occitsion, botrtver, Mr. Sparrow only
iripe:;re:t in Court as the defendant, when the fa-
lowing Most r6pectahle4itry•xero,3liyurn
• rtirymui GoidsantkiTiacr ii is Jtichts}s,
,l,„
• .TolT.81:0:cli:n$ •
CatT, •
n 'Ucri. Cohi; Mt*ire,•
• .7*()svph 44:A6 .. Ltitb,
Ttol)crt Tretieb, • 'samw•elThorotighgood.
.• •
Mr. Apoqui stated tyeinnictinent, which charg-.
ttl the diifodaut aeblic nuisance, by means
of a ceiltAin.manufactory of .gas; itl, Dorset-ptf.eet,
fialishu.,ry,s(plare. -•
Mr. 6 ..0 N'E Y stilted the .case to. the Jury. tie
observ;("!d, that the trestiop.was one of the most
'lt al .irup.o.rt4rkc,e,
.uot ahitie tO the .todividnalts
iAlzu wcie eipecialetitally engaged theiOn'„,and

to
the public gee-rtally,; but more partiotlatl.,s
that class of Sortery,. whose fate it' was to reside:
in the preeinets of...the manufactory, which was'
now so justly preferred to the consideration of
the Court as a cominnon nuisance and.public of-
fence. 'The utility of the gas lights none would
have the hardihood to,deny—its beauty and bril-
liancy' was equally apparent. - The lucrative ad-
vantages derived from its establishMent let:re, no
doubt,-of a very considerable nature with the de-
fendants ;- yet, under all these circuit-Ist:titres; it
-was highly-necessary that the comfort, the health,
and -the. lives Of their fellow-creatures were not to
be endangered. The' present-case, he'considered,
one-of a mostsflagrant HlA•OtltnigeOßl nature, be-
,eause-when mischief hail beeu,done; and realm'-
, strance made o the evil, the complaint instead. of
being removed, was rather increased.- Thegus ma-
nufactory of the defendants was first establi'hed
in-Fetter-lane. There it was cowl-acted, as norm',
by. a joint stock (loin-patty ; but the inhabitants of
that -district finding' it necessary.to have the es
tablishroent indicted a nuisance, the proprie-'
tors-removed-their manufactory to Dorset-street.'
' where it %yes commeneed upon a more extensive
sealc. Here the prOcess becaMe equalty offensive,
and in proportion as the systeat.enlarged, so the
a
effects became ,more obnoxious nd; dangerans.--=-
It appeared that in" mitt? 15-resent manUfactory there
were foor retorts of -Considerable size. Beneath'
these there were fires constantly burning„the'va-
pour from' which' was tonducted -by/ several iron
'tubes into fa globular' vessel called a Gasometer..
,The.smell front this part of• the
ma-
nufactnry was' of ainast. offensive nature. Therel:'
was also' mt procesi of coke, Which likewise _
&iced an insufferithle.slench "by means of tithes
wllicla carried of -the effluvia, mind was coaducted
.to the river ThAnmee. '1 his was not. alone Offers
live to the inhabitants and passenger's, bat even
to the bargemen npon the -river, in that cnarter.",
Complaints of the evil were Made on all side's, and;
while, in sonic instances, the most shaineftil
in-
attention was ManifeStedi i-a-rithe'rS the injured
applicants Were received in a -cavalier sort of way
and altboug,h•promises had been made ofrerneily-
ing-the-nuisanee so bitterly Mt, still nothing had
been effectually dOtie' to remove it,'and it remain-
ed in pernicious foree.
An imiiii-Ctment however, being preferred in May
last;• bl,- the inhabitants of the district, the de-
fendants, it was 'understood, had at a consider-
able expense, adopted experiments by way of iin-
provement. These, howeyer,'• (rad not time iicsit-
ed effect, and the nuisance still exi4tett in a minor
degree:bat still with such contagititri effects,
that the comfOrt, the health, and the lives of the
jnliabitants; were-. exposed continually to danger.
:Under these circumstances, :he was convinced the
.Court would feel • it their duty to pronounce a
verdict of comte(iinettiti anon tne,party, and if
the hitter could not succeed, in so tar improving
their•manttfuetory, as to obviate the evil in ques-
tion,' they must then abandon their scheme alto-
getlsiee, however lucrative to themseßis, ur how-
ever beneficial to an admiring public, with whom
the live's, the safety and Convenience of a respect-
able part of the -community ; was not to be com-
pared. - The Learned Gentleman concluded by an
appeal to the'4lfry, in justice of his ease, which
he :should rally estahlisk by the most respectable
-and disinterestedtestimithy.
John lliil, eXainined by Arabin, deposed,
that herwas iii imphiilsterer, residing' in Crown
Court, Salisbury-sqUare, :about, -200 .yards from.
the 'building lrehnOng to the 'Gas-light Coin--
an the-motiths of pebruai•y and flay
last,-,.„when the deletidants.were'indieted, he oh-
servedWillething daily issuing front-the establish-
mart ..eXceetlin,,,,,ly offensive : it Was a kind of
smoke.vorlacing a.saline etilhVia, which operAted
upon- his senses., ancrionsiderably affeeted his ye-
'spiration :Atte smell was '.of a sour and acidina-'
tore; partly sulphurons,..aud avas altogether most
offensive.: witness:•wav-minwell - in time montits-of
.December. and j'aettitY last, and ivaB advised.
his ntlysieian to open _his windoWs _occasionally
'when' he-did so;-hu'wever, -he-fon-ad himself worse
froth the affects,' of Vapour froth the Gas..:.
'obliged to go into the,street, he was also violently-.
• affected, and his health became so bail, that lie
was eyentually',obliged tci 'go'into the, cOMitry:'
this was solely in cons.equenee.of the :nuisance in
,qtiestion t the smell and snioke which issued from,
the building, night and day, and the'opifteSSiYe''
beat accompanying it was insupportable.—Was
-convinced that_this
.arose from large fires, which
discovered themselves by immense columns of
flame. \Vbcu i.n ,bed at night has often wished
to get up mid quit the house ; even on Sundays
,was as winch, if not more affected than any other
clay. - Witness frequently remonstrated with Mr.
, Sparrow, and stated the. nature of his health.—
The defendant told him two or-three times, some-
: .thing would be' done ; at another period he was
told cavalierly, that if he did not like the situa- •
tion, he had better leave it.. Believes nothing
was done prier to the indictment being preferred
towardS reMoving the nuisance, or until the burn-
ing doWn of the premises in March last.
Cross- Eianiined by Mr. POOLEY.—ltemembik
the burning down ot the building, and knows dm
it semi since erected upon a larger scale to obviate
,thi nuisance. A column or funnel -of extensive
height had been raised to catty the smoke higher.
up. Admits having Com-plaided of a lead manu-
factory at the rear, ot his house, about, a year
since, but did riot COmplain of a distillery in Black-
friars_ Thittl'he remonstrated with the defend-
, ant spariotr'sO•late'as- July or August last.
Examined by Mr. GURNitY.—The column is
raised 'Much higher, but in thick or windy wea-
' titer the smoke still comes down, and there are
number; bf ...tut)es .%•liich carry off the. vapour from
-.the gasometer, and prove excessively
The tubes are
.about 53 feet from the ground, and
its damp Weather the noxions effects are strongly
inhaled._ Has felt an_ineopettienee front lead,
bat it would be ridiculous. to compare this to tber
offeimsiveire,sc of the. gas: •
William Burnes, examined, by Mr. GuitNEv.—
Resides in Water-Street : a wall divides his house
from the yard of the gas light, concerti,- fortning.
the east side of the mantmfactory, at the rear ot,.
)14 house: From the month of February-to May
be experienced the utmost inebnyenicnee and want
of cOinfolt frOM the procegs of the gas manufac-
tory, There was' a constant effusion of ;spins-
; t• .tently kittgritr,,w in'inciP,lolbil.L 0140 not sad

what these were, .unt ilavlug-aecOss, to the inte- .
riot. When the- efiluv•ia. is-.isstlitqad he could not
open his windows : thiS, however,. was not hour-
ly, though lie daily, when in the house,' was ef-
fected, but .in a lesser -degree; and the smell
proved exceedingly injurious to his appetite, and
that of! his wife, . who had .beett effected wit
dreadful cough in consequence. His On lungs
were hurt, and there was a certaiw
n nausea- pro-•
duced Upon the stomach. A taste was, also con-
tinually in' his Mouth; like sulphurewirs
There was an immense quantity of smoke pro-,
reeding from excessive large 6i-es, and when these
appearettla.be at work, he %vascompelled to close
uN his doors-andsvindows. Crown-court is situate
at the north side•Of•the mauttfactory;and appeared
most affected. The south side. being'bren
,to the
• river, the wind nsitally drove the smoke in. that!
• direction. The Court was frequently filled with
smoke to that degtee, that inhabitants OrlibaSSen---
gers could not walk throagh it. Could compate•
the, nuisance to nothing but the bilge triter of
,a
ship, but the stench from the gas was infinitely •
:more excessive. Thinks the evil .had increased
:since the erection Of.the new .building ; Was con) -
'welled to move his larder from the yard, to the
upper part of his house., on the eastern side,,
as
=he discovered that. by leaving it exposed to the va-
pour from the gas, the victuals .becaina -putrid--;
had given notice 4),..leaye his hotte,.. .).4:,t0, the •
:present moment could not procure a situation ta.
:suit -him---would not remain an liditrin
;ter if he could ren:ove -with -any ptissiblis tO.tive
'nience—never halm of the,least step being taken-
• • •
.to abate the nuisance, until
.the indictment was
preferred against the' defendants.
,WilliamtSonxell :resides in pOrset•street, his
house fr.oar.the gas.ma-
nufactory. From. February; to gay-last, the mOsl
offensive smell was exiwtieuced by himself and
family,: and. so greit. iyag the stench, that. he has
frequently been obliged tivtitiit big !dinner in .nlie!
room, and haVe the table-laid in another. It was
eqttally.offensiye.,by night-,as by day, and .was as
well subsequent, as :Wore. the ne.w building Was:
raised. Thinks however it ivaS'a little diminished
of late. In thick weatherit Was intolerable,,and
instanced she late. Lord May Or's day, as being ex-
ceedingly offensi!se ~:and, distressing to the irthabi,
tanptand-passengers. Mr. Hill, the first- witness•,;:
is,bis lodger, and gave hiM..nntice that. he: svonitt-
leave the -house in consequence of the nuisance: •
He had promised however, to reniain, hearing that'
there was to be an abatement of the 'The
drains which carried off the Water' froin the nia-
nufactory was peculiarly ::stagtiant; and lie.was:
obliged to contrive -which it:
might escape his premises. • - •
!Thomas Fidgety is a-coal-merolrant,. and }vas *•1
iVnarf adjoining the Gas-light Mansilactory„ and !
from which tbete is a-cOnstant. stench. This
arises principally from the whieh is set off-
in the drains, •and runs beneath his counting-
'Ouse into the Thames. The effluvia. about the
coneetn.c.anses a smell, andgives.a sort of taste'.
like copper to the tumult, seizes upon the palate,
and destroys the appetite for a time. • Never re-
members to • smell any thing:So 4.4ensivelichis
life ; even the coal-heavers eompl:ain.and are sick-
ened by it. Believes it is no easy matter tits
turn a coal-heaver's stoniach." -Had often
complained .as if affected by verdigrease ill his
'mouth, and. a'n indescribable-nausea-upon the sto-
mach. Several persons hadthreatened to deSert his
wharf, in consequence of rite wnsluice, and persons
on business were afraid to come there.. At. time of
highwater it was scareelysohad, Ina at low water
the offensive smell wasbeyorutdeseript ion; He had
remonstrated upon the business. it lit he defendants,
and was very politely told:ever.y slsould.be:.
done to abate tkenuisance. Since•the.inclictutent
was preferred something. had been done, but. 'die
evil. appeared to hint as,-great aseeer„ There was -1
a quantity of •tgr lirnduce(l;.,fr9nolle .cok,t; -and
this bein gesincis-ed tss,t.he, stits.,•tensltd :lunch to
'-crease the nuisance. , That:had, flsoivever; lie uir-...!
derstood, been removed. There was, he tho.taglis,
-rather 4 Igssei)ing of the evil,. with respect to`-tire''
"vaipony -tindsmoke, -since the erection. Of tWe Ix
.sent. building, butt with reward Ass the-44160r
drains not the, least..' Will not,say positively that
.he remonstrated with the defeirdants:,Knightsand,.'
'Sparrow., before the,aetv,slstilding was raised but,
thinks he did ;is positive s- • • .;
William Ste Wart i!lst sittie;nraker, also -living in
Crown-court ; has been considerably. asnyotied -
since February last. from the- effects ;of :the .Etas
manufactory. There was a constant noxious •
smell, and appeargd of 'a sulpherons. nature., -
which, made himself ..ankilis family very unwell:.
His complaint !Was a sickness in the stomach, ac-
companied with' a Cough, -which occasionally seiz-
ed ititn,.and lasted about half an hour. His wife
•Was affected in a similar way, and both were more
attacked in that way now, than before the new
building was4ereCted.—The effects of the smoke
• and vapour; particularly.w.hen the wind was at
or S.W. were dreadful ; and the. stench from
the'sewersor drainS was often worn than that of
putrid carcases. Is obliged to keep all hii win-
-dews closers, and!pasSengers complain Vtterly as
they pass thi-otrgh the court..
Mr. GURNEY. was...p.mccefling to call other wit-
tresses,.. when Mr. POOLEY, OA the part of the
defendant, rose,.and observed, that after hearing
such it body of evidence from the most respectable
individuals, and which he was not at all prepared,
to controvert, it windll be at once disrespectful
and -a waste of -tithe to the Court, to enter into a
defence, and subthitted that a verdict must be re,.
corded against his clients. He would, however,
beg lenve to observe, that the defendant, Mr.
.Sparrow, had little or nothing to do with the!
'concern in question until the middle of March
last, and that the evileomplained. of WAS, rather
before' than,,after that period., Thif; Gentleman
,bad since then manifested the most anxious desire
to remove everk4roUnd of contplaint, and had
gone, to a most- enbratons expence, in adapting
plans for din purpose_; sonic of these had sue-
ce'e Foil, for those other improvements that
were'.ineditated, he
:contended there had not been
time.
:In stibinittingalso on the present occasion
to a verdict of conviction, he promised that the
evil Complained of datum be most effectually -re-
moved within a given time, and busters that the
Court would forego judgment upon the party un-
til at least tine Ses.-ions to 3anuary next. • Mr.
1i.111611t,
_45 %yell as .Mr. Sparrevirj.

4 tAnt
eunvicticrr' bath Ger -then
ti woritti antic
ei•er-y ineiii s Whie C.OUICI effect I,
0151/lathy; thoiiiirs,inct.. This iYai an ()Vert,'"
dear to the,mselves as their existence, in as intidli
a•tlieestahlishment,protnised to be one of a ma.s!
111,c.rative Ilattife. To obviate any serious grotina.
,of opposition to their pursuit, must•be,thereforeo
an object, of vital interest.
,INfr. GURNEY, CH the part of: the inhabitant*
who had preferred the intik tineht, consented that
the judgment Of -the .defendant might he resrifel
until January next, when, if the nuisance ‘yag
not removed, he would certainly pray the sew'
• tence.of the Court upon them. He .had no horei
however, that they would be enabled to effect the
•proitiised ithprovenient, the aperture's from wbenc4
,issued the foul air, the extensive fireSeUd the cony
s'i-'quent bodies of smoke; were -so
,contingent with
the very nature of the establishment t
The REcoanaa shortly addressed the JurY;inC
onbosuc!ircve,el
.t, that it only r
Verdict,
the
etained for thou Prdk
justice of
worild satsatisfiedw.ien he read to ti,et!
the opinion of Lord Mansfield upon the-qtlestil
of a nuisance.. This was delivered in the case 0E
two men who had commtmced a chemical proces.
in Whitechapel, the effects of Which-had caused-
noxious vapours and smel;s.- On tiiist- occasiow
his Lordship held, that it was not -actually ne"
they
cessary that the nuisance be unwholesome, or
tending to indisposition ; it was quite sufficient:
to pn)ve-.that it rendered the life of any intlividoal
or.family, uncomfortable.
'fhe defendants„ were theh, found Guilty
oilteee-it to be respired 3 ant 4
itha-64gem'
selves ordered-10- appear at'the-SeSsibris iri.t,
• airy nex.t. -