The Sun.
London, England, 1832-04-27 00:00:00

SMITH V. SAINSBURY.

This was an action brought by the plaintiff, who
is a livery-stable-keeper, against the defendant, a
bookseller and clerical and medical agent, residing in
Red Lion-square, to recover the price of a horse
and other articles alleged to have been sold by the
plaintiff to the defendant, and also for money had
and received by the defendant to the plaintiff's use.
The cause came on to be tried before Mr. Justice
Rake at the London Sittings, when it appeared
that the horse, &c. in question had been sent to the
defendant, to whom (according to the plaintiff's evi-
dence) it had been sold for a given price; but, ac-
cording to the defendant's evidence, it had been only
sent for the purpose of being sold on the plaintiff's
account. A memorandum to this effect, purporting
to be signed by the plaintiff and witnessed by his
wife, was produced by the defendant, which was
affirmed by the plaintiff to be a forgery, and by the
defendant to be a genuine document. Upon the
suggestion of the Learned Judge, the matter was
referred to a gentleman of the bar, with liberty to
examine the parties themselves ; and the learned
arbitrator having accordingly examined the parties,
awarded that a verdict be entered for the defendant.

Mr. Sergeant Jons now moved for a rule, calling
on the defendant to show cause why the award
should not be set aside ; and the Learned Sergeant
founded his application on affidavits which set forth
that the defendant, although described on the trial
to be a person of condition and reputation, carrying
on the business of a respectable bookseller and cleri-
cal agent, in Red Lion-square, had, in 1812, been
indicted at the Old Bailey for uttering forged Bank
of England notes, when, having been allowed, as
was then usual in Bank prosecutions, to plead guilty
to the minor offence of having the forged notes in
his possession with a guilty knowledge of their being
forgeries, he was sentenced to fourteen years' trans-
portation ; that he had, without receiving a pardon,
as the deponents were informed and believed, re-
turned to this country before the term of his sen-
tence had expired; since when he had lived in vari-
ous parts of London, and carried on the different
trades of a green-grocer, a tobacconist, and various
others, before he had set up that of a bookseller and
clerical agent ; and, lastly, that he had changed his
name after his return from transportation. from
" John Davies Saintbury," by which he had gone
before his conviction, to that of " John Sainsbury,"
which was the name in which he had been sued in
the present action.

Air. Justice PARK, referring to his notes of the
trial, observed that the Learned Sergeant had gone
very much into the defendant's character and way of
business, for he perceived that he had cross-exa-
mined a witness named Banner at great length, and
put a number of what appeared to him (Mr. Justice
Park) unnecessary questions on that point.
Ml'• Sergeant JONES certainly had cross-exa-
mined the witness at some length, as he conceived
it his duty to do; and he recollected well that when
he had done with him, the Learned Judge took him
in hand, and further examined him at an exceeding
great length.— (Great laughter, in which the Learned
Judges joined.)
Mr. Justice PARK had certainly examined him at
some length, because lie had found it necessary to
bring him back to the point from which the Learned
Sergeant had led him so far away.
The COURT granted a rule to show cause.

Letters of the 21st inst. from Hamburg
state, that a meeting had taken place of the creditors of
the house of SILLEM and Co., which failed lately, and a
statement of its affairs was laid before them by Mr.
PA Rail and Mr. OPPENII EIMER, who had been appointed
to act as provisional trustees. Those gentlemen proposed
an administration, or trusteeship, to wind up the affairs
of the house, in order to avert a public bankruptcy, and
as the most eligible proceeding also for the interests of the
creditors. This was assented to by some of the principal
creditors in Hamburg, who had accordingly signed a deed
for that purpose ; but whether that course will ultimately
be adopted or not, must depend on the other creditors, and
on those resident in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and St.
Petersburgh. It is stated that the dividends are not likely
to exceed 6s. in the pound.

A CAT SUCKLING FOXES.—A gentleman
of Thirsk has at this time a cat suckling and bringing up
four fox's cubs, which she attends with the greatest parental
York Courant.