The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-01 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 1, 1866.

LAW INTELLIGENCE—(This Day).

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
(Before Mr. Justice Willes and a Common Jury.)
MILLS V. UNDERWOOD.

This was an action brought by William Henry Mills,
the proprietor of a paraffin oil warehouse, to recover a box
of trinkets and some silver spoons.
The case of the plaintiff was, that being very much en-
gaged in business, and his wife, who had been a widow
with two children by a former husband, being very ill, the
property in question was entrusted to the care of Mrs
Underwood, the defendant, who was a cousin of Mrs. Mills.
The plaintiff also gave the defendant £2O, but there was
no question about the money against which there was
a set off which was not disputed. Last year Mrs.
Mills died, and the defendant refused to deliver to the
plaintiff the property she hell, on the ground that it was
entrusted to her for the benefit of the children of Mrs.
Mills by her first husband. The plaintiff admitted that
the property was given into the care of the defendant by
his sanction, but he denied that it was given for a specified
period.
Mr. luderwick appeared for the plaintiff, and M. D.
Seymour, Q.C., for the defendant.
His lordship said that the only question was whether
a trust so created was recoverable or not. Ho did not
know of any authority bearing on the question. The
Lord Chancellor had considered the subject, but he did
not know what was the decision.

After some discussion, it was agreed by counsel to take
the decision of the Court as to the point of law.

His lordship said that ho considered the trust was too
loose to be binding on the plaintiff, but he had no objec-
tion to the question being discussed before a full court next

term.
A verdict was then entered for the plaintiff.

COURT OF PROBATE AND DIVORCE.
(Before Sir J. P. Wilde.)
JENNER T. JENNER AND BALLINGER.-JUDGMENT.

His lordship delivered judgment in this case, which had
come originally before his predecessor. It was an applica-
tion on the part of the petitioner for an order of the court
enabling him to obtain a portion of a sum of £7OO, which
had been settled on his wife at her marriage, with a rever-
sionary interest to her children at her demise. Ho said ho
had carefully read the notes of Sir Creswell Cresswell,
and saw nothing in the circumstances of the case to take
it out of the general rule applying to settlement of property.
It appeared that the wife had been duly served with the
notice of the present application, and did not offer any
opposition, but seemed desirous that her husband should
have the money he required. The Court did not feel jus-
tified in any way dealing with a fund ultimately settled on
the children, but the trusts might be administered as if
the wife had died during the lifetime of her husband.

LORD MAYOR'S COURT.
(Before Mr. Boden, Q.C., and a Common Jury.)

IMPORTANT ACTION AGAINST A FIRE INSURANCE OFFICE-
CUMBERLAND V. THE ALBERT INSURANCE COMPANY.

This was an action to recover damages in a case of al-
leged trespass by the defendants, after a fire had occurred
on the plaintiff's premises, and a point of the very greatest
importance 3vas raised as to the right of insurance com-
panies to take possession of the property of their insurers
when a claim is made under the policy.

Mr. Telford Salter (instructed by Mr. Steadman) ap-
peared for the plaintiff ; Mr. Shaw (instructed by Mr. Wal-
ker) representing the company.
Mr. Salter, in opening the case to the jury, said that his
client sought to recover damages for a trespass committed
by the defendant, under circumstances of very great im-
portance. The defendants were the Albert Fire Insurance
Company, and the question for the jury and the. court
would be whether a fire insurance company had a right to
put a man in posse ssion upon the plaintiff's premises after
a fire had occurred. No doubt a fire company was entitled
to look after the salvage under certain circumstances,
but the learned counsel contended that they had
no right whatever in law to put a man in posses-
sion, much less against the will of the insurer. Now
the facts of the case were these :—The plaintiff was a bird-
stuffer and dealer in bird skins, of London Wall, and he
had insured his premises with the defendants for £550.
His occupation consisted of a ground, first, and second
floors. On Nor. 28, 1865, a fire broke out and consumed
the first and second floors, leaving the ground floor com-
paratively uninjured. On the morning after this fire no-
tice was given to the company, and they put a man in
possession, and that person kept possession for two months.
Plaintiff considered himself very much ill-used by this,
and he brought his action to recover damages.
The claim of the plaintiff was considered by the insur-
ance company as excessive.

Mr. Shaw, for the company, urged that there had been
no unreasonable occupation.
Mr. Salter said that although it was reasonable for the
company to enter premises, there was no law under which
they were entitled to do so. He trusted the jury would
give substantial damages.

His lordship, in summing up, said in the first place the
jury had to say whether plaintiff could recover at all, and
in the second what damage he had sustained, supposing
that the jury should consider that he was entitled to re-
cover. In point of law, in the abstract, the company had
no right to go on the premises at all, but when a fire oc-
curred the jury would say whether they had a reason, and
a good reason, for going in to investigate it. If the jury
thought that the defendants kept the man in an unreason-
able time, then the jury would say what damages he had
suffered.

The jury conferred and found a verdict for the plaintiff,
£5O damages, the full amount claimed.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—This Day.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

COMBINATION AGAINST A FOREMAN.—David Ryan, a la-
bourer, was charged as follows :
Mr. George Rotten, foreman in the employ of Messrs.
Scrivener and White, builders, at some works going on
in Riding-house-street (the building of the Portland British
Schools), said the prisoner was employed at the works as a
labourer, and he had to discharge him in consequence of
absenting himself from drinking. On his doing so prisoner
said, "You —, you discharged me, and I'll knock your
brains out," and then struck him in the face and turned
him out of the office.

Ifugh Facey, another foreman in Messrs. Scrivener and
White's employ, said that he was going to pay the pri-
soner for what work he bad done, when he said, " I'll
knock your brains out," and the prisoner then laid hold of
Hotton and struck him a violent blow in the face, and
afterwards incited a number of the labourers to leave the
job.

Thos. Rosekilley, ono of the warrant officers, said that
when he went to execute the warrant ho was surrounded
by the friends of the prisoner. The prisoner, who was
very violent, made a rush at the witness Facey, who would
have been violently handled but for his (Rosekilley's) in-
terference.

In answer to the charge, the prisoner called two wit-
nesses out of a number of labourers in attendance, and
from the rambling statements they made it was clear that
they were actuated by far from friendly feelings towards
the complainant.

Mr. Tyrwhitt said he considered the assault a very bad
one, inasmuch as it was setting a bad example to the other
men, and was likely to create a feeling of insurbordination
amongst them. He should therefore fine the prisoner £5
or two months' imprisonment.

ELECTION COMMITTEES—This Day.

Mexico.

WHAT AN AMERICAN TRAVELLER SAW AND SAYS.

• A correspondent of the New Orleans Picayune,
who left the city of Mexico on the 13th February,
furnishes some late and interesting information as
to the state of the country. The Picayune says
He travelled in his own private carriage to the
city of Mexico, and thence to Paso del Macho,
where he left his carriage and took the cars for
Vera Cruz. He passed through the great cities of
Queretaro, Mexico, Orizaba, Puebla, &c., and met
with no casualty whatever. The whole country
was quiet and apparently prosperous. Corn and
wheat were both up and promised excellent crops.
The corn also was everywhere rich and abundant,
as also fruits of every description. New cotton
was likewise up on the Rio Verde, and promised
well. The cotton factories in the vicinity of San
Luis Potosi, Saltillo, and San Juan de los Lagos
were all thriving, and had as much business as they
could do. Also the woollen factories of Queretaro.
The city of San Luis Potosi was very dull,
because of its
.being cut off from communication
with Tampico and Matamoras. The city was full,
however, and rents unacountably high. The French
kept the road clear to Saltillo and Monterey ; but
with the Mexican Gulf seaboard, or Rio Grande,
there was no safe communication. Our friend and
informant preferred to make the entire round-about
trip to the States by way of the Capital to Vera
Cruz rather than risk the journey to Tampico or
Matamoras.
The city of Mexico he found dull, but fuller than
he had ever known it before. There were, how-
ever, but few Americans there. They had almost
all gone to Cordova, the Confederate colony.
He passed, however, between San Luis and
Cordova, many other American colonies or resi-
dences, and generally our compatriots domiciled in
that country are doing well. Agriculture especially
was very prosperous.
The mines in. the vicinity of San Luis Potosi,
especially the celebrated Real Catorce mines, were
all being assiduously worked and prospering.
During the last eight months $1,500,000 of
silver was coined there. Our informant also
learned that the Real del Monte mines, near the
capital, were doing well. He brings along with him
a piece of the new imperial coinage. On one side
is the Mexican coat of arms—the eagle, the ser-
pent, and the cactus—on the other the handsome
face of Maximilian.

As to the political state of the country, our in-
formant does not think it to be yet perfectly settled,
though much better order prevails than in former
days. But the future is uncertain, and to us a
blank. He thinks there are about 30,000 French
troops and employees in the country, and I;about
10,000 native Mexicans in the Imperial service.
Mejia was Maximilian s most trusted General. Of
other foreign troops—Belgians and Austrians—he
is unable to make an estimate.