The Sun.
London, England, 1834-07-02 00:00:00

COURT OF KING'S BENCH.-(THIS DAY.)

(Sittings at Guildhall, befere the CHIEF JUSTICE and a

Common Jury.)
COOPER V. REEVE.
This was an action for slanderous words spoken by the de-
fendant of the plaintiff, by which the plaintiff had been injured
in his trade and character as a coach proprietor.
Messrs. POLLOCK and BALL appeared for the plaintiff, and
the ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Mr. tocnAans for the defendant.
It appeared by the statement of Counsel that the plain-
tiff was the proprietor of several coaches plying from
London to Bristol, and the defendant, a horsedealer, re-
siding at Marlborough, by whom the plaintiff's coaches were
horsed. In the year 1802 the plaintiff had, in consequence of
losses in trade, become a bankrupt, and subsequently paid 6d.
in the pound. After the bankruptcy the plaintiff resumed his
business, and the defendant continued to horse the coaches un-
til the month of March, 1833, when the defendant sod-
denly took off the horses, and in the presence of several
persons, stated that the plaintiff was a rascal, and that he
would spoil him from doing business at Robinson's and Dixon's
(other horse dealers), and would ruin him. These words were
repeated to several persons, and the defendant stated also that
his reason for taking off the horses was, that he could not get
a settlement of the accounts from the plaintiff, who he alleged
owed him 4 or 5001.
Seven or eight witnesses were called to prove the slanderous
words made use of by the defendant,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL addressed the jury for the de-
fendant. He contended that no proof of special damage had
been given, and the mere circumstance of a man having called
another a rascal, who owed him several hundred pounds, and
would give him no settlement for his account, could not be
considered slanderous, or entitle the plaintiff to damages.
One of the witnesses, Dixon, had stated that the plaintiff owed
7791., and that in consequence of the representations of
the defendant he refused to sell Cooper any more horses until
he had reduced his account. The plaintiff had two days
afterwards paid Dixon 3601., and he was then supplied with
the horses. It was therefore quite evident that the plaintiff
bad sustained no damage in his trade.
Lord DENMAN said the jury would decide from the evidence
the had been laid before them whether the plaintiff had been
injuresd in his trade by the slanderous words that had been
spoken, and to what amount, provided they were satisfied from
the whole a the evidence that these words had been used by
the defendanZ. They had nothing to do with the taking off
the horses front the coaches, as, if that had been done unjusti-
fiably and in breach of a contract, it might become the subject
of another action.
The jury returned It verdict for the plaintiff—Damages 5/.

The fruit crops upon the banks of the Clyde in the
Middle Ward may this year be considered a complete failure.
The only exceptions are plums in some places, and some cur-
rants, especially the black. The cause of the deficiency is as-
cribed to the frosts in the spring, and the warm sultry weather
in the beginning of summer, affecting the blossoms, which
were from the open wet winter, so early out. The apples will
be far from being an average crop. The pear crop will scarcely
be so bad. In some orchards there appear to be few or no
gooseberries, while in others they promise to be a middling
crop—Edinburgh Chronicle.

BERWICKSHIRE.--We perceive that in conse-
quence of GoFernment and the House of Commons being re-
solved upon the ,reformation of the Irish Church, and to in-
quire into whatevt'r abuses there may be in the expenditure
of its revenues, a number of the Tory gentlemen of Berwick-
shire have become infeseted with the cry—" the church is in
danger," and have called a meeting, which is to be held on
this day week at Greenlaw, to address his Majesty upon the
subject. We would never have thought of mentioning the
Church of Scotland in connexion with the Church of Ireland.
The Church of Scotland is not in danger,—but on the con-
trary,by the abolition of absolute patronage, has acquired greater
stability. Neither is the Church of England in danger,—but
its abuses are in jeopardy,—they are shaken and will be swept
away. If the address from Greenlaw pray for the preserva-
tion of what the country justly considers the abuses of the
Irish and English establishment, it will be as " feckless" as
the petition from Holy Island against the claims of the Dis-
senters.—Berwick Advertiser.

EFFECTS OF SCENERY ON IMAGINATION.—A
dull, uniform life lets the imagination sleep and become tor-
pid. I have no doubt that scenery and climate have a great
effect upon, the spiritual part of the imagination, as well as
on the material. Johnson, I think, became more imaginative
after he had visited the fiebrides ; at any rate when our minds
contemplate him carried about on the waves of the stormy
ocean in which those islands are placed, and sleeping with the
northern billows beating at the feet of the castellated rock
where he is hospitably received, we have a pleasing idea of
him, which revolts at the disputatious dreariness and vulgarity
of Bolt-court.—Sir Egerton Brydges' Autobiography.
COMPARATIVE GRAVITY—WATER versus A
LEARNED PROFESSOR.—The following singular, and certainly
use' mode of trying the gravity of water is related by the
Glasgow Argus to have been adopted by the renowned Pro-
fessor of Chemistry at the Glasgow University :—" A cele-
brated humorist of Glasgow, being a fellow-passenger in the
steam packet from Helensburgh on Monday last, with the
learned professor of chemistry in our university (Dr. Thom-
son), maintained the rather singular opinion that the water is
of less specific gravity in the centre of the estuary than near its
shores ; and prevailed upon the professor to draw a bucket full
from the slippery stage behind the paddle-box, in the view of
experimentally testing the accuracy of the opinion. The
packet was at full speed, and when the ship's bucket, which
was lowered by the professor, reached the water, he was
thrown off his balance by the resistance he suddenly encoun-
tered, and plunged, like a well trained Newfoundland dog,
headlong into the foaming surge of the paddle wheels. This
was more than the humorist had reckoned upon, and he in his
turn was overwhelmed by the screams of the professor's wife,
who stood close by, and most unceremoniously tumbled in a dead
faint into the humorist's arms. The packet, crowded with pas-
sengers, shot full quarter a mile a-head the swimming profes-
sor, before the engines were stopped and her boat lowered.
The professor, however, proved the superior gravity of the
water, and his perfect familiarity with fluids, by keeping his
head in sight, and when picked up he was found to have fast
hold of the bucket rope, and to be more distressed lest the
muriate of soda should corrode his watch wheels than in any
way alarmed for the consequences of as thorough a ducking as
ever scientific enthusiast received, or annoyed at the shouts of
laughter, which none could repress when the passengers got
him dripping among them.—Aberdeen Chronicle.
HORRIBLE MURDER.-011 Thursday, the inhabi-
tants of Beck-lane, Nottingham, were alarmed by cries of
" Murder." A concourse of people immediately collected,
and soon afterwards a man dressed in a fustian jacket, light
striped waistcoat, and corduroy . trousers, with a white shirt
open at the collar, saturated with blood, was brought out of
the house in custody ; he appeared much agitated, and was
conveyed to the House of Correction. His name is William
Hinckley, and he resided in Bold-lane, Derby. He was mar-
ried eleven years ago to the unfortunate woman whom it was
soon discovered he had just murdered. They had lived un-
happily together, and six years ago she left him, came to Not-
tingham, and cohabited with a man named William Bull, who,
we are informed, was acquainted with her previous to her mar-
riage. About Christmas last, the deceased returned to her
husband at Derby, and the latter set up a small eating-house,
but on Monday last the unhappy woman quitted him, taking
with her money and property, and returned to Bull, who lodged
on the first floor in Mr. Peck's house, in Beck-lane. The
husband, greatly irritated by the conduct of his wife, went to
Nottingham by the coach, and having gone into a house oppo-
site that in which his wife was, bitterly complained of her pro-
ceedings. He then went over to Peck's, and walked up stairs.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Peck went up to them at different times,
but there was no violent language or high words used. Soon
after one o'clock, as Mr. Peck sat down to dinner, he heard a
heavy fall upon the floor above, which was instantly followed
by shrieks of murder. He instantly hastened up, and saw
Hinckley, with a clasp-knife in his hand, cutting at his wife's
throat. Peck immediately grasped him by his collar, and in
his efforts to disengage him dragged them both towards the
window, but so desperate and determined was the infuriated
man, that he would not quit his hold, but kept stabbing and
mangling the throat of his victim till she ceased to exist. Mr.
Burrows, a constable, came in and struck him several times on
the arm, and at last stunned him by a blow on the head, before
he would relinquish the knife. He was then secured, and a
Coroner's jury having returned a verdict of " Wilful Murder,"
he was committed for trial.

THUNDER STORM.---BOY KILLED.—On Friday
last this town and neighbourhood were visited with a storm
of thunder and lightning, which is here a circumstance of very
rare occurrence. The air during the whole of the morning
was close and sultry, and about three o'clock a few loud peals
of thunder, preceded by lightning, were heard. At Alturlie-
point, near Culloden, on the shores of the Moray Frith, the
storm was severe. Between three and four o'clock, the
lightning was uncommonly vivid and the thunder tremendous.
The affrighted villagers fled for safety or ran about in the ut-
most terror and confusion ; and a boy who was herding cattle
in a field was struck down by a flash of lightning, and instantly
expired. Another youth was standing about twelve yards
distant, and was struck to the ground, but was not injured.
The cattle also fell, either from lightning or the effect of the
thunder. Several persons ran to the spot where the body of
the boy lay, and found it lifeless. The electric fluid must have
struck about the head or neck, which was disfigured ; one of
the ears was cut off, and the collar of the deceased's coat
burned away. It seems to have passed downwards between
his clothes and body, causing deep gashes in the breast and in
one of the legs, and burning his skin and under clothes. De-
scending the earth at his feet, the nails in the boy's shoes were
driven out, and- a large hole formed in the earth, part of which
was scattered about to the distance of seven or eight yards.
The unfortunate boy was i 4 years of age, his name was John
Burgess, and he was the son of a fisherman at Petty. About
the time of this melancholy occurrence, the lightning also en-
tered a house near Campbelten, penetrating it by the gable
end, when it shivered the bed to pieces, and broke the windows
with the exception of a single pane.—lnverness Courier.

- -
THE TENDER HEART.-<--" Although I'm the
finisher of the law," said Johnnie Milne, Qv hangman of Aber-
deen, ,c I'm the tenderest-hearted man in a' be:Aland." In
proof of this assertion, Johnnie, being once called on to exe-
cute a woman at Arbroath, whilst he was adjusting the rope
round her neck, she began to shrink, and manifest other symp-
toms of terror. " Diana be fleyed, my dear," said the feeling
hangman, " Dinna be fleyed, I'll be as canna wi' you as ever
I can. Aberdeen Herald.