The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-18 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.-(THIS DAY.)

HOUSE OF LORDS, JUNE 17.

(Peers Present—The Lord Chancellor (Chelmsford), Lord
Brougham, Lord Cranworth, Lord Wensleydale, Lord
Kingsdown, and other Peers.)

FIRST AND SECOND APPEALS-LIVINGSTONE OR FENTON

V. LIVINGSTONE.

The further hearing of these important Scotch appeals
was fully heard, and their lordships adjourned the further
consideration sine die.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER.

(Before Lord Chief Baron Pollock and a Special Jury.)

LAWS V. THE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.

This is an action of damages by the plaintiff, captain of
the ship Alison, sailing from England to India, for injury
and damage sustained by him, his wife, and child, by the
falling down of the winding-up stairs at the Polytechnic
Institution (leading up to the great hall, composed of iron
treadle, or iron trellice work on the left hand branch stair-
case) on the evening of the 3d of January last.
Mr. Huddleston, Q.C., appeared for the plaintiff, and
examined the plaintiff and his wife and medical attendants
to prove the amount of damage sustained, and the work-
man who constructed the staircase, to prove the cause of
accident.

The Lord Chief Baron was of opinion that there was no
absolute warranty here, but if the staircase fell down with
a small number of persons, and not a great rush of a crowd
upon it, that was prima facie evidence of negligence, for
which the defendants were liable. The allegation is that
they did not use dud and proper care in the selection of a
Person to put it in a proper state of repair, and that the
person employed was guilty of negligence in the perform-
ance of the work, for which want of skill and work the de-
fendants are liable.
The workman was examined and attributed the accident
to the cutting away of the stone steps, the end of the iron
step being left in the wall. There were double flights of
eighteen steps 3-Bths of an inch thick. A jobal joint on
the landing ought to be composed of two large stones
jointed and cemented into each other, but the landing here
was composed of she-jobals without joint or cement.
Thomas March Netton, architect, was employed to exa-
mine the building, and was of opinion that the cause of
the accident was the giving way of the lower landing on
the upper side marked letter D on the drawing, and the flight
of the upper stairs immediately on the lower landing giving
way. There was a natural crack or flaw in the stone where
it broke off in the wall. There were also cracks visible on
the portion remaining, but not natural. The flaw in the
landing would not be discovered by vibration. He consi-
dered that the landing was not sufficiently supported. It
should be solidly supported, and ought not to rest on an
iron beaver or jobal joint. If used in a private build-
ing it would have been sufficient, but not for a pub
lic building. But he would not have hesitated to
construct such a staircase before the accident hap-
pened, and no architect would have objected to do so
The landing was supported on the one side by an iron
bearing, and a jobal joint on the other, instead of having a
solid bearing on the iron girdle there was an iron joint.
The side of the feather steps was not sufficiently supported
for such a staircase. If he had constructed this building
he would not have considered it sufficient. It was this
flaw that caused the accident. The central landing was
supported by iron bearers. It was like the other. The
right hand one was much worn, and vibrated ; it would be
communicated to the jobal-joint landing. He did not con-
sider that the spiral staircase was sufficiently supported,
and the steps had been broken, and mended, and cracked.
They were on the steps and landing, but cannot tell
whether they were there anterior to the accident or not, but
they might have been there as the accident happened. The
alteration of the steps had nothing to do with the cause of
the accident. The falling of the landing was the cause of
the accident.

Mr. Lush, Q.C., said the company were not liable. That
they never received one farthing of dividend, and made a
subscription amongst themselves and paid plaintiff upwards
of £5O. He was willing to take a verdict for the defendants
and forego all claims of costs. The stair had stood twenty
years and there was no apprehension of danger.
The counsel on both sides declined to address the jury.

The Lord Chief Baron summed up the evidence, and was
inclined to think that the company were not bound to do
more than what could, reasonably be required to be done
before the accident happened. The architect proved the
accident was caused by an invisible flaw in the stone, which
could not be discovered.
The jury found a verdict for the defendants.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-(THIS DAY.)

MARLBOROUGH-STREET

THE KNIFE AGAlN.—Catherine Casey, of 3, Smith's-
court, Great Windmill-street, a court that is a source of
much trouble to the police, was charged before Mr.
Bingham with assaulting her husband with a knife.

Michael Casey, a decent-looking man, who said he was a
porter, and that the previous afternoon the prisoner, his
wife, having a knife in her hand at the time, made use of
some expression towards him, and then deliberately made
a thrust at him with it, inflicting a wound, which fortu-
nately, owing to the knife coming in contact with one of
his ribs, was not so serious as it would otherwise have been,
the doctor at the Charing -cross Hospital stating that had
the wound been half an inch in another direction it would
probably have been fatal.

Murrell, 80 C, said he was called to the court en the pre-
vious afternoon and told that the prisoner had stabbed her
husband. The prisoner had the knife in her hand at the
time. She was very violent, and said she would have her
husband's life before she was done with him. The husband
was bleeding, and he took him to the Charing-cross Hos-
pital, where he was to attend that morning again.
Mr. Bingham said he would remand the prisoner for a
week to see whether the man lived or died.
APPLICATIONS TO THE MAGISTRATE..--In the course of
numerous applications for advice to the magistrate, a de-
cently-dressed female wished to know how she ;was to
find her son, who, seven years ago, went up the country,
and was then 700 miles from New York.

Mr. Bingham, having remarked on the numerous appli-
Lions (and certainly many ridiculous ones), said she had
better try a "mesmerist ;" he might assist her, but he (the
magistrate) could not.