The Sun.
London, England, 1832-09-05 00:00:00

LONDON SESSIONS.-(THIS DAY.)

This morning these Sessions commenced before the
Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, Recorder, Sheriffs, and Al-
dermans Brown, Farebrother, Flower, and Wilson.
On the Grand Jury being sworn the Recorder addressed
them, and said he was sorry to say he could hold out no
prospect of an early termination of their labours. It was
a melancholy circumstance that in less than two months
the commitments on the London side amounted to eighty-
nine, a greater number than he ever recollected to have
appeared in the calander during the many years he had
sat in this Court, excepting during the riots in the year
1780. There had been lately considerable alterations
in the Criminal Law, but none of them af-
fected the duty of the Grand Jury—they all referred
to the punishment of the parties after conviction. There
were several cases in the calendar of considerable import-
ance, five of which were charges of forgery—one being
of a capital nature. Should such evidence be given in any
case as only amounted to P strong suspicion, it would be
the safest way to throw out the bill ; that step did not
acquit the party of the offence, for if he were really guilty,
sufficient evidence might be afterwards obtained, and if he
were really innocent, every one would rejoice that he should
be put to no further inconvenience by being imprisoned.
After some further observations upon the law regarding
some cases of receiving stolen goods and perjury, which
were in the calendar, the Learned Recorder dismissed the
Grand Jury to their duty.
James Whitehead was indicted for assaulting Sarah
Martin. The Jury found him Guilty, and he was fined I Os.
John Chafer, a porter, in the employ of Mr. Marsh,
of the Bull Inn, Bishopsgate, was indicted for assaulting
George Rawson, a ticket-porter.
This case arose out of the frequent contentions between
ticket-porters and other persons about the right of un-
loading carts, and carrying goods in the City. It appeared
that, on the 4th of June, the defendant drove his master's
cart, laden with meat from the country, to Leadenhall-
market, and was about to take out one parcel of meat di-
rected to a salesman, when the prosecutor came up and
claimed the right as a licensed ticket-porter to carry the
meat from the cart to the customer. High words arose,
the defendant made use of very gross abuse, and kicked
the prosecutor several times. The prosecutor admitted,
on cross-examination, that the defendant's master had
brought an action against him for assaulting one of his
(Mr. Marsh's) men and imprisoning him, which action
was still pending.
Mr. ALLEY addressed the Jury for the defendant, and
said the real question before the Court was, not whether
an assault bad been committed, but they were called upon
to uphold an illegal claim of the ticket-porters in the city.
RECORDER-Have you any decision Mr. Alley to show
that it is an illegal claim, for it has existed for one hun-
dred years.
Mr. ALLEY ,aid, very fortunately for him, the claim
had been decided both ways : first, that the claim of ex-
clusively carrying all goods coming into the City by wag-
gons and coaches was a legal cne ; and secondly, that no
such right existed ; and the matter had now reached
the Court of King's Bench, where he hoped it would be
decided next term—that is, if Mr. Marsh, the defend
ant's master, could prevail on the ticket porters to put the
real question in issue. That action was brought by Mr.
Marsh, against a ticket-porter, for locking up one of his
men, and the ticket•porter had offered to apologise; Mr.
Marsh had refused to accept an apology, and proposed to
the porter to put the real question in issue by justifying
the assault on the ground of his right to carry the goods.
If the ticket-porter would even now consent to do
that, and thereby put the question at rest by the solemn
decision of the Court of King's Bench, he (Mr. Alley)
would undertake that if Mr. Marsh succeeded he would
neither ask for damages or costs against the ticket porter.
It was a question of vital importance to all the innkeepers
of London, and it was also of great importance to the
public at large. The question bad hitherto been decided
by the City Judges, but, however respectable they might
he, they ought not to be the judges of their own privi-
leges. Corporate rights should never be decided by cor-
porate bodies, not that he thought any intentional wrong
would be committed, but there was a natural bias io
every man to uphold Isis own rights and privileges,
and therefore the question should be decided by another
equally competent, but more disinterested tribunal.
He believed there were only 500 or 600 ticket porters,
and was it to be endured that that small number of per-
sons should claim the exclusive privilege of carrying every
description of goods that arrived by ships, waggons, and
coaches in this large and populous city, without showing
any authority? These was no authority to show for such
a claim, either by Act of Parliament, by Charter, or by
any law of the Common Council, and yet those men exer-
cised the privilege of putting a man's servaets aside, and
doing their duty, for which they made a charge, although
others were employed and paid to do the duty. The Learned
Counsel after detailing the pirticulars relating to the pre-
sent assault, as be proposed to prove them by witnesses,
and differing from the evidence of the prosecutor and his
witnesses, said he hoped the Jury would not encourage by
their verdict the claim set up by the ticket porters.
Witnesses having been called for the defendant, who
swore that no kicking took place, although the threats
were used,
The RECORDER summed up the evidence. As to the
right claimed by the prosecutor, that was a question to be
decided in another Court, the only question for the Jury
being that for the assault.
The Jury found the defendant guilty.
The RECORDER sentenced the defendant to pay a fine of
10s. to the King, observing, that the Court believed the de-
fendant had no malicious intention towards the prosecutor,
hut only believed he was asserting his master's rights.

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On Tuesday last there were heavy gales all
round the English coast ; here the only indication of storm
was a great and sudden depression of the barometer.—
Glasgow Herald,