The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-21 00:00:00

COMMON PLEAS--(THIS DAY.)

CURLING V. JEFFERY AND ANOTHER.
This was an action brought against the proprietors of
the Exeter and Yeovil mail, to recover compensation in
damages, for injury sustained by the plaintiff, in conse-
quence of the overturning of the defendants' coach, upon
which he was riding as an outside passenger. It ap-
peared that a few miles beyond Basingstoke the horses
became unmanageable and ran away, whereby the coach
was partly upset, and the plaintiff thrown violently off.
The evidence was conflicting as to the appearance of suf-
fering which he exhibited on being taken up, and put
into the inside of the coach, and the defendants
proved that he for some time afterwards went without
his arm in a sling, and was active in the business of his
profession es a solicitor; but, on the other hand, the
evidence of his medical attendants, of his clerks, solicitors
concerned in business with him, and other witnesses, it
was shown that he had really suffered a severe sprain in
the tendons of the fore arm, which was followed by pain-
ful and alarming .symptoms of inflammation, and
that his whole system had received a violent
and dangerous shock, which prevented him for
several days from attending to business. His
having gone about for some time as if nothing happened.
was accounted for by his imprudently underrating, in the
first instance, the amount of the injury, and in his zeal
for business exerting himself too much, notwithstanding
the pain he must have suffered. The defendants offered
301. compensation before the action was proceeded with,
and this being refused, they paid that sum into Court.
Mr. Justice ERSKINE, in summing up, expressed some
dissatisfaction that, from the manner in which the pleas
were framed, he was obliged to allow the Court to be
occupied six hours with a cause which ought to have
been decided in one.

The Jury having retired for about an hour, returned a
verdict for the plaintiff, with damages 20/. over and
above 301. paid into Court.

BAIL COURT.—(THIS DAV.)
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)
WILSON V. 3IACLEAN.

This was an action brought by Miss Wilson, who
keeps a boarding-school in Russell-square, to recoiter the
sum of 25 guineas, the price of a quarter's schooling
given to two young ladies, &lighters of the defendant.
It appeared the daughters of the defendant went to
Miss Wilson's school on the 19th of October, 1839, and
left on the 13th of July, 1841. Up to the 3d
of April, 1841, the plaintiff was paid to the
full amount, and the question was whether,
the plaintiff, having calculated the year at nine months,
three being allowed for vacations ; and upon this calcu-
lation, the quarter having ended on the 11th of June,
was entitled to recover for the quarter commencing after
that time.

It was contended, on the part of the defendant, that
the year ought to be calculated in the ordinary mode,
upon which the plaintiff was not entitled to recover.
The Jury retired, and after some time returned with
a verdict for the plaintiff.

AFRICAN CIVILIZATION
SOCIETY.

A public meeting of the friends of this Society was
held this day in Exeter Hall. The meeting commenced
at Twelve o Cclock. Lord Ashley, MY., in the Chair.
Besides the noble Chairman was observed on the plat-
form the Earl of Fortescue, Lord John Russell, Lord
T ignmouth, Lord Mahon, Lord Sandon, Lord Howick,
the Bishops of Norwich, and GL ucester, the Ven. Arch-
deacon S. Wilberforce, the Rev. Dr.• llealtry, Sir R.
Inglis, Sir T. 1). Acland, the Hon. W. Cowper, the Hon.
IV. Laseelles, &c., &c.
The Rev. lir. DEALTRY and Sir B. LNGLIS read the
Report, a great part of which consisted of remarks on
the Niger expedition, and the disasters attending it.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved the adoption of the re-
port. The conclusion to be derived from that report
was that they ought not to allow the clouds which
had appeared at the dawn of their enterprise
to prevett them from going forward in the
great work which they had commenced.—(Hear, hear.)
Such was the impression with which he addressed the
meeting. If they suffered themselves to despair of the
ultimate success of their enterprise; which was as much
based in justice as in charity, they would be rebuked
by the history of those events with which the name of
Africa and of the slave trade were connected. They would
be reminded of the discouragements which were felt by
those who first attempted the abolition of the slave trade,
and yet how complete was the ultimate principle of those
who sought that object.—(Hear, hear.) And with re-
spect to slag ery itself in the West Indian colonies, how
great were the interests involved, how powerful
were those, who, in the name of the West Indian
Proprietors, called upon the Legislature not to abolish
slavery, yet those who were for the abolition of
that accursed crime—for an accursed crime he
thought he might now, at least, call it—(Hear, hear)—
did
not relax in their efforts, they were not discouraged
by the power which was wielded against them, and,
through the blessing of God, they, too, had ultimately
triumphed.—(Cheers.) Let them be encouraged by
these past succeses to make further efforts on behalf
of humanity. The object of that Society was
to discharge a great debt of justice and of charity
from Christian Europe to oppressed and• benighted
Africa. That debt had been incurred by the hon.,
rors which, for many centuries, were sanctioned
by the British Crown, by the British flag, and by the
authority of the British name.—(Hear, hear.) The
captivities and bloodshed of Africa—the manacles, the
mortality, the oppression, the whip, and the chain,
with all their accompanying ci cumstinces of disgust and
torture, had been protected, authorised, and even pro-
moted by the power which Great Britain wielded in
the civilized world. Was not that a debt which they
ought to endeavour to discharge ; andsto discharge not
merely by that which they had already done, not merely
by declaring that nu British subject should engage in
the slave-trade, or be at all concerned in that horrible
it a the ; not merely by declaring that no British subject in
our colonial possessions should be held in slavery. There
still remained the memory of those oppressions, of those
crimes in which they had had all been partakers, and
for these no sufficient atonement could be made unless
they exerted themselves actively and continuously for
t It e improvement and the civilisation of Africa.—(Cheers.)
With respect to the means by which that object was to be
attained, he was not one of those who thought that
it was to be effected in any one mode. He thought that
by various modes, and in various directions, they should
attempt to attain their object. lie could not but rejoice
at the success which had attended the efforts of our
naval cruisers on the coast of Africa.—(Hear, hear.)
By many that was thought an almost hopeless
.atterprise, yet from accounts which had recently
'deem received, it appeared that on some parts of the
eoas could now scarcely be said to exist. That was a
~ratifying proof that although their efforts might for a
time, seem to fail, success would at length attend them.
file report alluded at some langth to the progress of the
Niger expedition:- As the Minister of the Crown he had
done his best to secure that that expedition should be fitted
out in iateh,a manner as would be most. ;likely to secure
success, though knowing the danger to human life, that he
• I