The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-06 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feb. 5.
:Sittings in Nisi Prins, before Lord ABINGER and a
Special Jury.)
REVENUE CAUSES.

Two causes only stood on the list of to-day, the At-
torney-General v. J. Dean, and the Attorney-General
v. W. Scriviner. The latter case was postponed, and
the former proceeded with.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL V. J. DEAN.
Mr. Dean, the defendant in this action, formerly car-
ried on the business of a silk-mercer, in St.: Paul's
Church-yard. The action was brought against him to
recover certain penalties, for having removed goods to
his warehouse, knowing the duties thereon to have been
tmpiltd.
The Attorney-General, Mr. Jervis, and Mr. Thesiger
appeared for the Crown ; Mr. Montague Chambers, and
Mr James for the defendant.

The goods in question were foreign silks, imported
from Boulogne, by the steamer City of Boulogne, Cap-
tain Tune. They were landed in three cases at Cox's
Quay, on the 21st of August, 1840. Two cases were
marked E. S. and C., Nos. 11 and 12 ; and the other
V. T., No. 43. On the part of the Crown, several wit-
nesses were called who held appointments in various
departments of the Custom-house. Their evidence went
to show how the blue books were stamped and sealed,
and the routine of office in other respects in-
volved by the action. When the charge-book was
produced, the required leaf was wanting. For some
time the missing leaf was not accounted for; when, to the
amusement of the Court, a witness discovered that they
had been looking in the August of the wrong year. The
blue book, in this case, was thought, on good grounds,
to have had the inside of another substituted beneath
its covers. It was also shown that this might have been
accident, in the case of a red book. The quantities of
silk are 3301b5., duty 1901. I Is. 6d. ; and 241bs. Boz. plain
silk, duty 129/. 135., which duties, with 14s. agency,
amounting to 3201. 18s. 6d., was paid by a cheque of de-
fendants. If the cases in question had been filled with
silk (as the Learned Counsel for the Crown contended),
their value would have been 2,877/., and if with satin
4,3901. The first of the nine counts set forth the un-
shipment of 2,0001b5. foreign silk, value 4,233/. 12c.
(penalty 12,700 L 165.) ; and the second, that they had
been harboured, and kept by the defendant, knowing the
duties to be unpaid (a like penalty). The penalties from
all the counts would be 63,000/.
Mr. CHAMBERS entered on a masterly defence of his
client. He urged the impropriety of punishing the de-
fendant for fraud, when, perhaps, the Custom-house offi-
cers were guilty of neglect. He next urged that there
was no reason to infer that the cases had been filled with
any particular description of silk enumerated in the
duties list.

At this stage of the proceedings, the ATTORNEY-GE-
NERAL allowed the cause to stand over till the sittings
after next term, if it should appear that the defendant
was unprepared.

Thisioro-position was acceded to, as the Learned Coun
sel for the defence had had so short a notice.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Feb. 5.
Middlesex Sittings at Nisi Prins, before Lord Chief
Justice TINDAL and a Special Jury.)
GOSLIN V. CORRY.
This was an action of libel.

Sir Thomas Wilde and Mr. Hogging conducted the
plaintiff's case. Mr. Hill appeared for the defendant.
The plaintiff had been formerly in the employ of the
defendant, a timber merchant at Preston, as a sub-con-
tractor on the Preston Railway, and had become in-
debted to him in a sum of money, which being unable
to pay, the defendant, it was alleged, wrote a letter to
the editor of the Hue and Cry Gazette, inclosing an ad-
vertisement, charging the plaintiff as having absconded,
and imputing to him famud. The advertisement subse-
quently appeared in' the Gazette, and the plaintiff was
apprehended in London, but, on being taken before the
magistrate, no person appeared to make a charge, and.he
was discharged. The defendant denied that the letter
containing the advertisement was in his handwriting,
and the whole question in the cause rested upon whe-
ther it was so or not. The evidence was conflicting on
the subiect, some of the witnesses affirming, and others
denying, that the defendant had written the letter.
His LORDSHIP left the jury to decide, and they, after
having retired for a short time, found a verdict for the
plaintiff—Damages 2002

CENTRAL CRI VIINAL COURT.
OLD COURT.
_

Elizabeth Brown, 32, described as a widow, was in-
dicted for stealing a gold watch, a gold chain, three
rings, value 1801., a silver coffee-pot, two silver sauce-
boats, two gravy spoons, two 101. Bank of England.
notes, eight W. Bang of England notes, thirty sove-
reigns, thirteen half-sovereign!, a quantity, of velvet, a
cashmere shawl, and other property, valued at upwards
of 500/., the property of Robert Cleveridge Savage ;
and Maria Mailer was indicted for receiving part of the
property, knowing it to be stolen.
Mr. Ballantine defended the prisoner Mallen
Mr. R. C. Savage deposed that he resided in the Wel-
lington-road, Marylebone, and the prisoner Brown had
been in his service some years ago, but left it, and re-
turned to his service a short time back. On the 26th
of December he found she had absconded, and, on look-
ing over his property, he found that the plate chest had
been opened, and the property mentioned in the indict-
ment stolen therefrom. He identified the articles pro-
duced as those that were stolen.
Cross-examined—Witness lived on his property. The
prisoner first came to be his servant at the time of the
French revolution, and when she left he took lodgings
for her, and used to visit her for about two months.
Mr. BALLANTINE—Did she not, in point of fact, live
with you as your wife ? Witness—She performed some
" functions" in my house.
Mr. BALLANTINE—Did she perform the functions of
a wife, Sir ? Witness—You may have it so, if you please.
The, witness then, in answer to further questions, said
he believed the prisoners were sisters, but he had never
seen the younger one, and knew nothing about her.
Some evidence was then adduced to prove that, shortly
after the robbery was committed, the prisoners were
taken into custody, with the whole of the stolen pro-
perty in their, possession.
The prisoner Brown, in her defence, said that the pro-
secutor had been the cause of her ruin, and after she
left his house he would never let her alone, but always
hunted her out, and had prevented her from getting
married. He had induced her to go back to him, and
on the night she left the house he told her he was going
to meet a married woman, and this occasioned a quarrel
between them.

The prosecutor got into the witness-box, and with
great violence declared it was not true that he had
sought after the prisoner. He had not seen her for six
years. As for the statement that he was going to see
a married woman that was quite true ; he admitted that
part of the statement was true.

Mr. BALLANTINE addressed the jury on behalf of the
prisoner, and commented in severe terms upon the con-
duct of the prosecutor who, he said, there could be no
doubt had first initiated the prisoner Brown into vicious
courses, and had been the cause of her ruin.. As to the
other prisoner, he submitted that the evidence was not
sufficient to warrant the jury in convicting her of the
specific offence imputed to her.
Witnesses were called, who gave the prisoner Mailer
a good character for honesty and general propriety of. conduct.
The RECORDER having summed up, the jury, after a
short deliberation, returned a verdict of Not Guilty with
regard to the prisoner Mailer, and found the other pri-
soner Guilty, but at the same time strongly recom-
mended her to mercy on the ground that the prosecutor
had been the original cause of her ruin.
The prosecutor got into the witness-box and recom-
, mended the prisoner to mercy. lie at the same time
handed a letter to the Court, from the contents of which
he said he inferred that his life was in danger.
The RECORDER having perused the letter, told the pro-
secutor that he ought to take some steps to trace out
and prosecute the writer.
Sentence upon the prisoner was postponed

Henry Mel rc4 S 6, wiii convicted upo4 very clear

testimony of an assault, with a felonious intent, upon a
young man named Morgan.
Mr. CLARKSON, who defended the prisoner,:• adnutted
that the name he had given was an assumed ;:o* and
that he had made no intimation to his friends Of the fact
of his deing charged with this offence, and that they
were at present ignorant where he was, the prisoner
preferring any alternative rather than allow his connec-
tions to be made acquainted with his being under such
a charge as the one made against him.
The RECORDER sentenced the defendant to a year's
imprisonment in Newgate.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
CLERKENTVELL.

Edmund Thompson, James Heath, and Wm. Thompson,
young men; the latter enveloped in a fashionable blue
cloak, with a fur collar, were charged with having been
concerned in the robbery of wearing apparel from the
house of the Rev. William Barton, a Wesleyan minis-
ter, residing at No. 2, Chesterfield-street, King's-cross,
also on suspicion of being concerned in other robberies.
Police-constable Williams, 31 B, being on duty at
King's-cross on Saturday evening, between seven and
eight o'clock, saw the prisoners from time to time con-
versing with one another. As their appearance was
suspicious be watched them narrowly. They separated,
and soon after, hearing a door slam in Chesterfield-street,
he saw the prisoner Thompson running out of No. 2,
with a riding cloak, a great coat, and a mackintosh on
his shoulder. On seeing the officer the prisoner imme-
diately took to his heels, but was speedily arrested by
Police-constable 62 E. He threw away the garments in
his flight. Heath was; apprehended in a few minutes
after, and on his person were found four keys, one of
which opened Mr. Barton's door. Hopkin's was appre-
hended on the same night in Heath's house, No. 3, Sea
Lion-street, New-cut, Lambeth.

The Rev. Mr. Barton identified the property seen
upon Thompson as his property.
Police-constable Gough, 831., deposed that on search-
Heath's house he found there a writing-desk, a drawing
box, a quantity of chimney ornaments, and other articles,
which a gentleman in Court identified as his, and which
had been stolen from his house on Friday night last. Wit-
ness perceiving one of the floorboards more elevated than
the others, raised it with a chisel, and found underneath
27 skeleton keys, thirteen picklocks, and a crowbar
were found hidden. On a woman in the house, who
gave the name of Smith, and who, it subsequently turned
out was the paramour of Heath, 57 duplicates relating
to various descriptions of property were found. Thomp-
son had been tried at the Surrey sessions by the name
of Peter Nimmo, and was sentenced to twelve months'
mprisonment, which he underwent.
Hopkins was discharged ; the other prisoners were
remanded ; but Heath was admitted to bail to the
amount of 200/ to appear in this Court on Thursday
next:

Thomas Bichett was charged with maltreating a horse
by Ratcliffe, one of the officers of the National Animals'
Friend Society.
The officer being on duty at King's-cross on that
morning saw the prisoner driving a horse and cart. The
poor animal was so feeble and emaciated, that he was
scarcely able to put one foot before another. In addi-
tion to his weakness, Ratcliffe, on inspecting the horse,
saw a large wound under the saddle, and which was as
raw and bloody as if the flesh had been: cut out of it.
There was another wound on the shoulder, and the
knees were boken. He took the prisoner into custody.
Ratcliffe, in answer to a question from the Magistrate,
said the Society to which he belonged were about apply-
ing to Parliament fora new Bill. _ _

;fir. GREENWOOD thereupon observed that it would be
a great improvement on the present law, if the owners
were made liable, as they were frequently the most
blameable.

The prisoner, in reply to the charge, said the animal
belonged to his father.. The horse was to have been
slaughtefed on Friday last. - .
He was fined los., or seven days' imprisonment.
William Kirkland was charged with feloniously at-
tertlpting to stab Richard Bowles.
The prisoner, prosecutor, and other young men were
playing at skittles in the skittle-ground of the King's
Arms public-house in Rawstrone-street, Clerkenwell,
yesterday. The prisoner lost a game and refused to
pay the sum forfeited. A dispute arose, in which he
took his penknife from his pocket and opened it, the
young man with-whom he had been playing attempted
to prevent his egress by crowding round the entrance,
the prisoner rushed through them and made a thrust
of the knife at the breast of the prosecutor who had
offered no opposition whatever, the blade passed through
the left breast of the coat which was strongly padded,
but fortunately did Hot enter the flesh.
The prisoner was committed for trial to the Old
Bailey, but bail was accepted for his appearance there.
A poor demented looking creature, who gave his name
as Robert Smith, was charged with having been found in-
sane in the Chapel of Ease, Holloway.
The prisoner, on Sunday week, placed a note in
the hands of Mr. Robert George Steele, one of the con-
gregation at the Holloway Chapel of Ease. The note
was given by Mr. Steele to the police, and on Sunday
the prisoner was apprehended in the chapel.
Mr. Steele, who resides at 6, College-street, Hollo-
way, deposed that he received the note from the priso-
ner,. whom he had never seen before.—(The note was
handed in to the Magistrate, but its contents were not
made public.)
Mr. Semple, surgeon to the N-division of police, de-
posed that -he had examined the prisoner, and believed
him to be insane. He told witness that he had been
persecuted unceasingly for the last forty years, and that
he would have committed suicide if he had had the
courage to do so.
Police-constable 172 N said he had been at the pri-
soner's residence, No. 2, Philip-street, Kingsland-road,
and learned from the inmates thatle refused to use any
other food than bread and water ; they believed him to
be labouring under a delusion.
The prisoner was remanded for the attendance of the
parochial authorities of Islington.

MARYLEB ONE.
Elizabeth Todd and Sarah Trussell were again brought
before Mr. Rawlinson, the former charged with having,
by means of a forged order, endeavoured to obtain from,
the Marylebone Savings' Bank the 'suer of 1161. 9s. 7d.,
deposited in the name of Mary Todd, and the latter
(Trussell), with having certified the identity of the
former Elizabeth with Mary Todd. The prisoners are
both servants, the first at a house in Gloucester-place,
the latter is Wilton-crescent, Knightsbridge. •
The case, which has appeared fully in The Sun of
Feb. 1, was but very little entered into this day ; and
Mr. Rawlinson, upon the evidence adduced, informed
Mr. Wilkins' the barrister, who appeared for Todd, that
he felt it his duty to commit both prisoners for trial.
Mr. Wilkins was going to reserve his defence for a
jury, and would, therefore, have no objection to the
Magistrate's decision.