The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-04 00:00:00

t tfitiOn

SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clock.

COMMON PLEAS.-(THIS DAY.)
iii,ting3 at Nisirrius, before Lord Chief Justice WILDE
and a. Special Jury.)
CIIFFLEY V. BONE.

This case, which occupied the Court a part of Tues-
day, was resumed this morning. It was an action
brought by the plaintiff, who sued in forma panperis
for damages sustained by the seduction of his daughter,
by the de.,s' ndant, Mr. Bone, a bookbinder, of Fleet-
street.

Mr. Sergeant Shim and Mr. Browne appeared for the
plaintiff; Mr. M. Chambers and Mr. Maynard for the
defendant.

Mr. Sergeant &HEE opened the case for the plaintiff,
reciting the evidence which he was about to offer. The
fi'a't witness called was the young woman herself,
Ann Cuffley, whose evidence was to the following
effect :—She had been a booktolder in the establishment
of Messrs. Bone, employed in folding sheets for the
binders. She had also been often employed in doing
little matters in the counting-house of Mr. Bone, jun.,
such as lighting his fire and sweeping his room. He
had always treated her with more attention and favour
than the other girls, often giving her fruit. He had also
taken her to Greenwich,and once to Sadler's Wells Theatre.
On the 16th of October, 1848, the defendant met her on
the stairs in the warehouse, and desired her to go up
stairs and light a fire in his counting-house, which was
on the second floor; he followed her up stairs, and
fetched her the coals and firewood for her to light the
fire. After that he brought up some walnuts, and gave
her some thing out of a bottle which he said was wine, and
which made her stupid and sleepy; she also drank some-
thing out of another bottle. which he said was gin. , He
then threw her down on the floor, and began to take impro-
per liberties with her, and afterwards effected her ruin she
resisting and crying out at the time. He would not allow
her to leave the room, but kept her locked in for three
hours, until five o'clock, when the porter brought up Mr.
Bone's tea to the counting-house. She then went into
a cupboard while Mr. Bone went to the doer, unlocked
and took the tea from the porter. She had some tea
with him, and afterwards went down stairs, creeping
under tb e counter to escape the notice of her fellow-
workwor.nen, and got out of the warehouse without being
seen. fine was questioned ou the following morning by
the foreman as to the reason of her absence, and said
that she had been locked out and could not get in in
time. About a month after she told the defendant
that she was with child, he told her it was only a cold;
but, at any rate, he would give her something to take.
On the 14th of July, 1849, her child was born; and she
afterw..irds went to the de'endant with her mother and
brother, to try to prevail on him to allow something for
the child's support.
Her cross-examination, by Mr. M. CHAMBERS, elicited
that she bad been in the habit of often going to public-
houses with young men and drinking spirits with them,
also of going to theatres and concert-rooms unknown to
her mother. She had also made assignations, and had
mwde an appointment with a gentleman to take a ride
wi th him in his gig to Kew; but she did not do so be-
cl.use it rained on the day appointed.
William Cuffley, the brother of Ann Cuffley, was the
next witness, and he deposed that having learned that
his sister was in the family way, he went with her and
his mother to the defendant to prevail on him to make
some provision for the child. The defendant, however,
refused to do anything in the matter, denying that he
had ever had any connexion with witness's sister. At a
subsequent interview he still persiated in his denial.
Harriet Pounceby and Maria:Peacock were called and
deposed to the attention which the defendant had paid to
Ann Criffiey. The former witness had heron in her com-
pany ou one occasion when the defendant had taken
them to a pablic•house called the Blue Hart, and treated
them to some refreshment. The second witness de•
posed. to the defendant's having given the girl fruit
on vrtrious occasions which she brought down into the
warisbouse, and shared with her fellow-workwomen. Also
to tb a tact of Ann C 41,7 having been discharged from
the service or' Messrs. Bone some time after by the fore-
m s n fir some alleged misconduct.
Mr. MONTAGUE CHAMBERS defended in" a speech of
c rnsiderable length. The tale of Ann Cuffiey, was, he
contended, a palpable falsehood, and after commenting
'at some length upon it 4 probabilities, he left it to the
jury to say whether they would by their verdict destroy
tne character and position of the defendant on such
evidence as had been adduced in the present case.
His LORDSHIP summed up, and the jury, after a short
deliberation, returned a verdict for the defendant.