The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-06 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

ACTION FOR DAMAGES FOR FALSE IMPRISONMENT.—In
the Court of Exchequer an action was brought by a Mr.
Biddiscomb against a Mr. Phillips for false imprisonment
in wrongfully giving the plaintiff into custody on a charge
of felony. It appeared that a Mr. Norfolk carried on the
business of a brewer in the neighbourhood of Greenwich,
and he had entered into a contract with the defendant, by
which Mr. Phillips purchased and became entitled to all
the grains produced in the brewery, and after each brewing
'le was accustomed to send his cart and carry them away.
the tunman at the brewery was, however, allowed as a per-
inisite to have and sell the sweepings, and, as some of the
witnesses expressed it, the leavings of thebrewery. These the
human sold by contract to Mr. Biddiscomb, the plaintiff,
who used to cart them away. Mr. Phillips appears to have
lad some information given him which led him to suppose
that Mr. Biddiscomb was in the habit of carrying away
as sweepings considerable quantities of grains which he
himself ought to have had. Upon this he went to the
%-irewery with a policeman; they watched the plaintiff's
;art arrive and remain some time (Mr. Phillips's cart
caving previously been there for the grains) ; and as it was
leaving the yard they stopped the cart and questioned the
plaintiff, and found ]5 bushels of grains in the cart. After
tome discussion the plaintiff was taken to the police-office
and given in charge. He remained in the cell all night,
and was in the morning brought before Mr. Maude, who
remanded him on bail. Ultimately, the case was allowed
to drop, it was said, through the influence of 111 r. Norfolk,
who did not wish any charge brought against his tunman.
For this arrest and imprisonment the present action was
brought. According to the case for the defence the utmost
quantity of grains that could have been removable as the
sweepings of the day would have been a bushel or a bushel
and a half, and, therefore, the plaintiff, in carrying
away 15 bushels of grain as he did, must have acted felo-
liously. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant.

THE AFFAIRS OF THE ORIENTAL BANK COMPANY.—In
Vice-Chancellor Giffard's court the case of this bank, ex
-parte Maxondoff, came on for hearing. Mr. Maxondoff,
as holder of certain bills of exchange which had been
Clra,wn by a Liverpool firm, since bankrupts, on the
hank, and accepted by the bank, sought to prove
against the estate of the bank (which is winding up under
the supervision of the court) the whole amount of the
bills, although after the date of the order for super-
vision, and before he carried in his claim, he had
received from the estate of the drawer Bs. 6d. in the
pound on the bills. The liquidator sought to have the
proof reduced by the amount of the dividend which had
been received by the claimant from the drawer's estate.
Übe 'Vice-Chancellor held that the claim must be reduced
,y the amount of the dividend which had been received by
the claimant from the bankrupt drawer's estate. The
payments made by the drawer, or his estate, must be as-
ann ed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have
peen in satisfaction pro (onto of the bills. He did not mean
to decide that in all cases the rules in bankruptcy were to be
applied to winding-up cases, but here the rules in equity
and in bankruptcy were the same, that a man could not
prove against an estate for more than was clue to him.
Costs of the liquidator out of the estate.
THE DISPUTED TICIIBORNE BARONETCY_— The well-
known case of Tichborne v. Tichborne comes before the
court upon the question of the right to a grant of admi-
rdstration of the estate and effects of the late Lady Tich-
borne, who died on the 12th of March, 1868, a widow and
intestate. The plaintiff claims to be Sir Roger Tichborne,
3art., the natural and lawful son of the deceased, and the
iefendant, who is an infant, appearing by his guardian,
ienies the plaintiff's identity. Dr. Tristram, for the plain-
tiff, moved that the cause might be tried by a special jury.
Mr. Coleridge, Q.C. (with whom was Mr. Bayford), for
the defendant, said that the issue raised in this case—viz.,
the personal identity of the plaintiff—was precisely the
same as that which was raised in two suits now pending in
the Court of Chancery. The value of the property affected
by the Chancery proceedings might be roughly stated at
C 20,000 a year, and the property affected by the suit ill this
court might be roughly stated at £1,500. The defendant's
advisers did not wish to incur the enormous expense of two
trials of the same issue, and he therefore moved that the
proceedings in this suit might be stayed until the matter
had been disposed of in Chancery. The Vice-Chancellor
would, no doubt, direct the question to be brought, in one
form or another, before a jury, and it would be necessary
to issue commissions for the examination of witnesses in
different parts of the world, in order to test the truth of
various statements which had been made by the claimant.
Dr. Tristram opposed the application to stay proceedings,
which was made, he said, for the purpose of harassing and
annoying the claimant. The court thought that the
claimant had a right to administration if he could make
out his case. The court therefore ordered the case to be
tried by a special jury, and made no order to stay pro-
ceedings or to delay the hearing.
SINGULAR CHARGE OF THREATENING TO MURDER.—
At the Mansion House Police-court, a somewhat singular
case of threatening to murder came before Alderman
Finnis. The complainant, Mr. Jackson, a merchant,
-esiding at Enfield, was (with Mr. Drinkwater, of the
Bank of England) trustee under the marriage settlement
of the defendant, Mr. Harrison, a London stockbroker.
The trustees had refused to allow Harrison to deal with
.he funds under the settlement as he pleased, which led
to an exhibition of much ill-feeling on the part of the
defendant, and which eventually found expression in
several threatening letters. The threats were of the most
murderous description, and the prisoner seems to he con-
scious that his thirst for vengeance is so uncontrollable
that it is better for him to be under restraint. The pri-
soner was remanded for a week, with the view of making
inquiries into the state of his mind.

Captain Horatio Ross has addressed a letter to
the riflemen of Scotland, intimating that he proposed
having a competition for admission into the Scottish
Eight, at Irvine, on the 2nd June.
TJNIVERSITY OF LONDON.—At the matriculation
examination in January last one-eighth of the candidates
were between the ages of 25 and 30, and of these 59 per cent.
were rejected. The smallest percentage of rejections
occurred amongst those between the ages of 16 and 17.
Natural Philosophy : n 1 Chemistry were fatal to the largest
number. More than a quarter of those rejected failed in
at least six subjects.

A DEATH STRUGGLE.-An extraordinary affair is
reported from Bridgwater. A few mornings ago a farmer
named Pollard and a fish hawker named Driscoll were
found lying on the road fast in each other's clutches, the
former dead and the latter insensible. Driscoll, on be-
coming conscious, alleged that he knew nothing of the
plight he was in beyond a recollection that some one had
struck him with a whip or stick, and that be and the
other had then fought. The deceased had both eyes
dreadfully blackened, a cut on the back of the head, and
various other injuries. It appears that about midnight be
drove from Bridgwater with a horse and trap, which at a
very early hour in the morning arrived at Canningtou
without a driver, the step of the vehicle being broken off.
Drisc,)ll was coming from the opposite direction to
Bridwater, pushing a small handcart, which was found on
the road, having also sustained some damage. DriEcoll
wag taken into cui-tody.