Star.
London, England, 1808-01-08 00:00:00

WASTif iltiilol6i •

The Sessions for. the City of Westminster eom.
menced yesterday, before Wm. MAIKIiARII4O, Esq.
Chairman, and a Bench of Magistrates, at Guildhall,
Palace-yard. The Court was principally engaged in
the following trial :
William Baler, the groom of the. Earl of Stair,
stood indicted for an assault on Nathaniel CouliOn, the
lessee and collector of the turnpike tolls, at }tyde-
Park-corner. _ _

Mr. KNAPP, on the part of the prosecutiort,
opened the case, and then proceeded•to call the pro-
secutor. .

Nathaniel Coulson, the real prosecutor in this case,
is one of the renters f Hyde. Parkturnpike, who stat-
ed, that on the 18th of June last, between four and
five o'clock in the afternoon, the Defendant, who is
groom to the Earl of Stair, was passing through
Grosvenor-gate, when the witness asked him for the
toll, which he refused, saying,. he had paid it before;
upon which the witness laid hold of the bridle to stop
the horse. The Defendant struck him twice with a
large stick, and laid him senseless under the horse's,
feet ; during the time he was deprived of his senses,
he heard the other toll-man tell his brother on the op-
posite side, that he had been knocked down, and to
go to his (the witness's) assistance. In the mean
time, the groom rode away, and in a few minutes
returned again, with his master Lord Stair, when he
asked leave of his master to flog the witness, which
his Lordship gave him, by saying--“ydu may do as
you please." Immediately the Defendant alighted,
and assaulted the witness, by beating him with a stick
most unmercifully. Next day he was taken up by a
warrant from the Magistrates of Queen-square, when
ate acfmowledged beating the witness.
John Coulson, the prosecutor's brother, and a toll-
gatherer, corroborated partly the testimony of the for-
mer witness, but particularly stated that the Defen-
dant called out the letter Y, and that the stick with
which the Defendant beat the Prosecutor is as thick
a. stick as ttic head of Sir William Parsons's umbrella.
Mr. GURNEY made an animated speech on the na-
ture of the evidence, and commented forcibly on the
general and proverbial insolence of the collectors and
its employed at turnpike-gates.
Earl of Stair stated, that on the day mentioned
-Iclictment, he had gone back and forward,
. the Hyde-parkgate, three times. When the
took place, he Itrais on his return to town, and
far as Park-lane. Missing his servant, he
~ and saw a munbeir of gentkmen and their
..its assembled at Hydelearklate. One of the
idemen, Sir J-ohn Dashwood, told hint his servant
very ill treated by the gaterkeepar and his
His Lordship called to tlie. Traverser,
engagekin a scuffle, to come off. His Lord-
tively swore that he never did desire hint to
to claim he pleased, as sworn .by the pro-
His Lordship was in the .habit of pass;ng
. that gate at least five times a week. He did
,inuate the slightest wish to his servant to strike
Irosecutor, but, on the contrary, called him off.
which the groom rode was a remarkably
one and spiritedanimal.
;JoltDashwood said,, he was riding towards
wenprilace, at the period of the scuffle. He saw
-venom and his assistants treat the traverser in
..4plertt. and unwarrantable manner. They
hins off his horse, struck hilts various blows,
the spirit of the horse, it was surprising the
Dot much injured. The conduct of the tra-
, both cool and temperate ; he made no
)ut.' in his own defence. So struck was Sir
the propriety of his conduct, and the ill-
, he saw him receive, that he had given him
ass, and had actually come from a distance of
00 miles, to attend the present trial. • The
ita.ir and his servant were then strangers to
be felt solely actuated by a sense of public

Palmer, coach and saddle-iron manufac-
)xford-street, happened to pass at the time.
is of the turnpike men strike the Defendant
of. his head, after he was done fighting
ther.

rporals belonging to the Ist Regiment of
sought the groom was very ill-used. One of
ieved that the groom was feeling for the
ten the turnpike-man laid hold of the bridle ;
ing of the horse put the man in danger of
,wn, and then he struck the turnpike-man
switch, but did not knock him down,—
saw the blow g►ven to the Defendant from
im, after the fight between him and the first
s-man, who had pulled him off his horse.
flttniwAniNG observed, that the present cause
,rially interesting to the public. It was essen-
acconimodation of travellers, that turnpike-
id be persons of decent and. quiet demea-
it was likewise highly desirable that those
through toll-gates should do so in an inut-
ile. It appeared that the prosecutor,. instead
,et. had used for the day the letter Y. This
tinly an improper practice, and might upon
eery ocasion,,generate such squabbles as the
With regard to the law on.the case, the Jury
lecide whether the fact of Coulson having
e bridle.cf Baker's horse, did not constitute
assault—a person who did commit the first
-as always the aggressor, and of course liable
rerdict. He therefore thought• that Baker,
4* being the aggresior, h4d merely stood in
iefence, the first assault being cortniutted upon

Jay were of the lame opinimi, and found the
(dant-Not Guilty.
Bainbridge was indicted for asstrul. ting Thomas
a Constable of the parish of St., Anne, Soho,
mention of his duty ; but it:aPpearing that the
le had most egregiously! exceeded his own
Fen from the testunOorof his own witnesses,
acqUitted the defendant.
Sexton was tried '-upon three indictments,
tog her with assaulting a French..fzunily of the
Freville, father and two daughters ; but,
~forincr CAW, the aggression actually appeared
comm enced. with.the prosecutor himself and
ity,. and: the defendant was of course ac-
. .
Sawyir took his trial on a charge (4.. pulling
ming the nose of Thomas Atkins. Froyn.the
it appeared, %hit the prosecutor h 4 made

.-~.

use of very indecorois language to -the defendant?
which he resented, and told the prosecutor-that if h
repeated die same again he would wring his nose; an
-that the.prosecutar not regarding the warning, th
defendant did twice pull his nose. This happened a
a public room in Westminster, where several persons
were present.
• `Many of them were called, who corroborated the
foregoing circumstances, and the Counsel for the de-
fendant observing; that as the prosecutor was one of
those men, who, coming into a public room with a
mouth full of slander, having neglected to soap his
nose as a precaution against offending individuals,
deserved all the pain and all the anguish which such a
circumstance produced, to say nothing of the disgrace
attending it.
No evidence being brought forward on the part of
the defendant, he was found Guilty.
The Court, howi_ ver, in mild consideration of the.
Icrovocation altogether, sentenced him to pay a fine
of 6s. Bd.
A wretched object of the name of Jones was charged
with pot-stealing ;it was proved. In his defence it
appeared, that extreme wretchedness and infirmity
prompted him to the offence, and being found guilty,
he was only sentenced to seven days imprisonment.

Yesterday the tervant girl of Mr. Fisher, butcher,
next door to the Stin and Last, in Newgate-market,
was nearly burnt to death, in consequence of her
clothes catching fire, while attending her domestic
cbncerns.

INQUEST.—An Inquisition was taken on Wednes-
day, a few miles up the River, on the body of a young
lady of the name of Booth, who met her death by
falling off a plink. The deceased, aged 17, was in
company with a lady and gentleman at the time of
the accident, and, it is supposed, her death 'was has-
tened by fright or suffocation, as she was not more
than a minute under water.—Verdict, Accidental
Death.

LONGEVITY.—A Mrs. Mary Thrapson is now
living in Kent-street, Liverpool, in good health and
spirits, at the advanced age of 110 years, having been
born in Scotland the Ist of January, 1698. She has
lived in the reign of five successive Monarchs, begin-
ning with King William. She bore a distinguished
part in the battles of Dettingen, Culloden, Fontenoy,
&c. under the Duke of Cumberland.

A MANIAC.—On Monday afternoon, a man of re-
spectable appearance obtained an interview with the
Hon. Mr. VILLIERS, at his residence, at Cranbourn
Lodge, in Windsor Park, and applied to him for his
interference to procure him an audience of the KING,
stating that he had several plans to lay before his Ma-
jesty, and that he wished to expose to him a number
of abuses and corruptions that were committed in
Woolwich Warren, and likewise to lay before his Ma-
jesty some personal grievances.
Mr. Vurtos soon discovered that he was deranged,
and in consequence agreed with all he said, promiied
to get him introduced to the Kiva, who, he had no
doubt, would attend to all he said, and gave him a
letter to a gentleman at Windsor, who would settle
his business. He accordingly wrote a letter to Mr.
Dowsett, one of the resident police officers, at Wind-
sor, describing the conduct of the man, and his opi-
nion of him—the man took the letter to Mr. Dowsett,
who informed Generals FITZROY and MANNINGHANI,
his Majesty's Equerries, who directed him to take care
of the man, at an inn, during Monday night, and to
bring him to London on Tuesday morning.. Mr.
Dowsett accordingly made preparations for setting off
with the man on Tuesday morning, but when the
time arrived, he discovered that the man had neither
shirt nor stockings to wear, having contrived to
send them to be washed without his knowledge,
which prevented tbem from leaving Windsor till the
afternes
The man travelled very quietly with Mr. Dowsett,
he having told him he was taking him by the com-
mand of the KING to Magistrates and others, who
would attend to every thing be had to say—he at
length confessed that he had broke out of a private
mad-house on Bethnal-green, which he thought was
no harm, as they had ill-treated him very much ; and
if it was any sin, he was very sorry for it. When they
ai rived in London, Mr. Dowsett took him to the
Brown Bear public house, and gave him into the care
of two men, when he was provided with some re-
freshment and a bed, and Mr. Dowsett went to Mr.
Read to inform him of the directions he had received
from his Majesty's Equerries, Early on Wednesday
morning, Mr. Read dispatched R. Limberick to the
mad-house on Bethnal-green, to make inquiries re-
specting the description the man had given of him-
self, when he found it correct, and one of the keepers
set off with Limberick to the Brown Bear public-
.house, Bow-street a and took the man back with him
secured in a straight waistcoat. During his confine-
ment in a room in the Brown Bear public house, on
Wednesday morning, he broke open the room door,
and was fighting his way out of the care of two men
with a broom, and would have made his escape out
of the house,, had not Dowsett come up to their assis-
tance, who eras pbliged to use great violence, by
knocking him down, and getting his foot upon his
neck before he could put on him a pair of handcuffs.

dant called
• which the 1
a. StiCir as d
Mr. Gui
• ture-of the
1 'general and
servants en
Tl'a Ear
thp: inch
through the
scuff* toFiii
had got as.
returned, a
servants as
gentlemen,
had been v,
assistants.
wlo was ei
ship
fight, or t
secutor. ]
through th
not insinua
the prosect
The horse
inettlesope
Sir?*
Gips.veapp
amPF9sl
ut9st
• .hi
ijut7fr6m,
4.9411-Wai
cerwr vas
Option bu
John with
treatment
his address
at leat 101
Earl, of St,
him, andi
ju§Lice•
* 31r. F.
tuier in 0]
He saw om
on the 'bac]
with the of
Two cot
Guards-th
them belie
ticket, !On
the caperin
being throt
with his s
They alit
hahind bin
turnpike-rti
Mr. MA
was materi
:id to the
men shout
nour, and i
who pass
tensive styl
of a ticket
was certai
almost eve
present. V
would dee
seized the
the Jr.': a!
assault wa
to their ve
instead of
his own' de
him.
The At
Defendan
John .8
Henry, a
in the tie
Qmstable
duty,. eve
the Ant
lonia
•
nTille-roT
like;tbif
to have (
his tamil
quittee.
Henry
anti twtst