The Sun.
London, England, 1804-08-14 00:00:00

CORNWALL ASSIZES.

[ln our Piper of Yesterday we gave an Abstraa of.this
Cause:—as it has excited much interest, we think
tailed Account of it will be acceptable to cur Readers.]

The Cause which excited the greatest interest at
Nisi Pt ;us was that in which Edgcoine was Plaintiff,
against Rodtl, Esq. anti Carpenter and Mason, Doc-
tors in Divinity, Defendants. This was an action
for assault and false imprisonment, tried before a Spe.
rial jury.
The cireumstances were these, the Plaintiff is a
Methodist or Dissenter, and with a multitude of
others at the saMe.Seet, attended. the tuneral of his
brother at a Church in the neighbourhood of Launce-
ston, of which the Rev. Mr. Marshall. is • Minister.
Some of the company sung and prayed over the corpse
prior to carrying it to the burying ground. The
Minister did not think proper to have the corpse
carried into the Church, but read tie ceremony in
the church.yard. The. Plaintiff considered this as
,disrespedful to his brother, expostulated with the
Minister, and interrupted and disquieted him in the
execution of his sacred cffiee.
The Plaintiff was then summoned before the De.
fendants, who are Justices of the Peace of this Coun.
ty ; and, the char,.e of interrupting the Minister he.
jng peoved against him, he was committed to Bride..
well, where he suffered three months har.l labour,
in consequence of his refusing to find security to Ap.
pear at the next Quarter Sessions. The Plairuitf
was committed umirr the following clause in the
Toleration At of \ViI. and Mary, r. 18.
44 That if any person or persons at any time or
times, after th' I,t day of June, do and shall wil,
lingly and or purpose rnalridously and conremptu.
0113ly tintie into any C .theriral .0 Parish Church,
Chapel, or other Congregation permitted by this
Ad, and disquiet or disturb the same, or misuse
any preacher or teacher, such person or persons,
upon proof thereof, before ens, Justice of Peace by
two or more fullicieni witnestec, shall find two
sureties to he bound by recognizance in the penal
sum of fifty pounds ; and in default of such sureties
shall he committed to prison; there to remain Jill
the, next General or Quarter Sessions; and upon con.
stiaion of the said offence at she said General or
Quarter Sessions, shall suffer the .pain and penalty
of twenty pounds, to- the .use of the King's and
Queen's Majesties, their heirs Red successors."
Mr. Serjeant Le NS and Mr. BuRROUGH appeared
for the.Pleintiff ; and Mr. IiALLM, Mr. Seejeant
Pit MD, anti 'Mr. Dithfrlllg for the Defendants.
Mr.' BURitOUGII opened the case on: the, part of
the Plaintiff. •
_ .

---
Mr, Serjeant Leto tben rose, and in a neat and
elegant speech, fairly and liberally stated the cir.
cumstances of the case. He admitted the Defend.
ant, Colonel Road, to be a man of the highest re.
spetiability, as honourable. and as upright a man
as any in this County. The other two Deic,neants,
Dr. Carpenter and, ni„ Mason, *treats() Gentlemen
of great respectability. He ittivesred to the extensive
powers of Magistrates, and the consequence of
their abuse of them. 'ile'expatiated largely no our
excellent COnstitutioni and its salutary laws for the
security and proteelion of the persortal freedom of
the sub" He then called the attention of the
Court to the injury his Client had sustained by his
unjust and illegal imprisonment, and hoped the
Jury, from the evidence he should lay before them,
would make to tie PLtintiff such sitisfadion and
compensation in damages, ea' the importance of the
ease required: He then .proceeded to call the wit.
nesses for the plaintiff.*
Mole!, Clerk to Mr. John gdwards, At.
torney for the Plaintiff, was called to prove the
handwriting of the Plaintiff to the nolice of ruing
out the Writ, served upoo the
,Defendentsprevious
to suing out rite same, as direfted by Mt of Parlia.
When Nil-. PALLAR begged his Lordship's
attention to certain objettion!," Ist that Mr. John
Edwards, in signing his name on the back or the
notice had omitted _the 6ddititln ofjkniee, which eva3
necessary to identify-the Attorney for the prosecu.
tion, there being other persons of the same come
but, it arreoring that there wits no other Attorney
Of that mate' hi Tulip, this ()Neaten was over.
ruled; Another objestion Was, that the indorse.
meet on the bck•of the notice being that " John.
,;wards, 'Attorney, Truro," did not -clearly state

went.

that the resident? of the said John Edwards was at
Truro, though it might imply that he was there itte..
the-time ot indorsing such notices. This Objettion,
was, however, after a few words from the Counsel
foe the Plaintiff, also over. ruled by his Lordship.
James Chapple, keeper of the County Prison,
proved that the Plaintiff was delivered into his cus-
tody on tilts 16th of Oaoher, I fiaz, and remained
in Brtiewell till Epiphany Sessions, 1863.
P. C. Hocken proved the hand-writing of the,
Defendants to the. Warrant of Commitment.

John Ifusband, deposed, that. .that he saw the
Phintiff before the Justice (the Defendants). on .the(!
14.11 of Odober;
,18oz : heard Dr. Carpenter ex.'
press his dislike of Dissentersond say, " I am dryer;
mined to send him (meaninre. e Plaintiff) along,
and to set my face agains, ',issenters as hwg at
am on the Bench ;" saw Plaintiff delivered op to
the Constable, who • had the warrant of commit.
mem,

On his oross.examination, Witness said, be was
-a friend of the Plaintiff. Magistrates suggested to
Plaintiff that he had behaved ill at the funeral, and
recommended an .apoldgy ; and as it was a matter of
_public concern, they thought the apology should he
made public in some Newspaper, when the matter
. would be at an end. Plain-tiff said, "If I have of.
.fended, I am sorry for it." Dr. Carpenter said,
" No more of your ifs :"—here the matter ended.
Mary Perkin corroborated most of the points
sworn to by the preceding Witness.
Mr. DALLAII now addressed the Court.on behalf
of the Defendants, in an eloquent and animated
speech. 'He commented at large on the evidence:
given for the Plaintiff, and dwelt upon thegrear
charaCier and high respeEtability of the Defendants,
particularly of Colonel Rodd, who, for the last so.
years, had aCted in the commission of the peace with
credit to himself and honour to .his country ; and
from thence inferred the improbability of malice or
intention of Oppression towards the Plaintiff-3 that
Magistrates ought to be protected from vexatious
prosecutions, and supported in the execution Of
their duty ; and that in a case like the present,
where no malice was attempted to he imputed to
the Defendants, and the error clearly an error of
judgment, no serious damages ought to he given.
The judge now. summed up the evidence with
great cle'arnlss and impartiality. The Jury retired,
and after an 110'11'4 deliberation, returned 'a verdift
for the Plaint iti.—Damages 403.

At Hereford Assizes, an Aliun of Eje/Iment . of
considerable importance was brought by Mr, and
Mrs. Williams, of Briflgewater, the latter of whoM
claimed to bethet.qternal heir cf the late Thn.Mor.
Ran, Esq. of Swansea, against H. Evans, gsq. ':f
Eaglesbush,. near Neath, to recover a large t Estate
in Glumorganshire, of which Mr. E. had taken poi..
session under a similar claim. Mr. MELIA,' J..ead-.
ing Counself for the Plaintiff, after observing
,on the
great importance of the case, entered into the par.
molars of his Clients' claim in the manth of
March last, he said, Mr, Morgan died intestate, and
the Defendant took possession of the Estate, stating
himself to be the 'heir at law. Mrs. Williams's
grand-father and the Intestate's grandfather were
brothers. The Intestate dying without issue,and the
lineal descendants of his grand-fattier being extinet,
Mrs. Williams, as the granddaughter of the other
brother, claimed the' Estates in question ; in support
of whose title several aged persons were called as
witnesses, who proved, that about go years, ago the
father of the Intestate and the father of Mrs. Wil-
liams declared that they were first cousins, being
brother's children ; that Mrs.- Williatus's family
visited the Intestate's family, and was always treat.
ed as relations. it was als, proved, that about four
years ago, Mr. Morgan hat acknowledged Mra.
Williams to. he , his cousin and next of kin. Mr.
SerjeantWH.LrAms commented very ably on the
Plaintiff's case, and stated, that Mr. Evans, his
Client, claimed, the Estate as heir. at-law of the In.
testate. He denied that Mrs. Williams was con.
netted with the family of Mr. A/Logan; said he
should prove that the Intestate hail repeatedly
.ac.
knowledged Mr. Evans to he his Leir-at-law ; and;
called several Witnesses who proved the Intestate's
.declaration to this effeet. Mr. Mit.t.s, with his
usual ability, in a spvch of an hour and a half, ie.:
plied to the Defendant's case ; and after noticing the
leading features of the Plaintiff's claim, -and the
strength of evidence with which it was supported, he.
observed.on the inconsistency of Intestate's declara.
tion, and insisted that greatest. weight, should be
given' to she declarations of his father 'fifty years
ago, who must be supposed to have been better ac-
quainted with the family.
Mr. Justice LAWR tic a summed up the evidence
in a Very able manner; and the Jury returned a Vet.
dirt fur the Defendant.

Counsel for the Plaintiffs---Messrs. MILLS, Aa.
volt, PEA , and j6mea ; fur the Defendant—Mr.
Strjeant VVItt.tAMS; Messrs. BEVAN and'DANCEY.

On Tuesday last, a common beggar, known by the
name of Swell lane, passed through Liskeard; on
her. way to Falmouth. She bad a line,. girl, about
three years and a half old, with her, wit*, from the
dreadful usage she gave it, it was supposed she had
stolen. She was taken up, by, order of the Mayor of
Liskeard, and separated, irons the child, whu then
talked of her own mamma at home ; said she had' a
garden, but the goosberries, were gone from it ; that
.she had been at school, could tell her letters, and..
spell a little. She was sent for to dinner bya Lady.
of Liskeard, where she sat at table, and behaved as
one used to such a situation ; said, upon being told
she was going to dine at a Lady's, 'She should not go
with the old 'things put upon her !)i, the nasty new
mammy that had her now. Wheoasked her name,
said it was 44 Ann Grey," or'" Crey ;" and upon
seeing a bonnet, said it was like'her own manna's
at home. After being kept one night, the Woman was
examined, and, the child given up to her, the grounds
of suspicion not being thought strong enough to re.
lain it, and she went on toWards•Fahnouth. The
child is cleanly, has light flaxen hair, ,speaks eitre.
rently from the beggar, who. talki broad Scotch t
says her mamma is at home, but this is her new
mammy. When asked, where -site Jived ?
" over .theref by. ttee..barracks."" . .