The Sun.
London, England, 1818-07-08 00:00:00

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JULY 7.

London Sittings after Trinity Terin, before Arr. Justice
ABBOTT, and a Special Jury. •

STOCK-JOBBING.

WICKS QUI TAM V. GORDON.

This was an action of debt upon the Stat.
c. S. to recover a penalty of 500/• against the de-
fendant, for contracting to sell certain Bank Stock
to one Joseph Lightfoot, he not being possessed
of, or'entitled to sell, such Stock.
Mr. GURNEY, with whom was Mr. COMYN,
stated the case to the Jury, and represeuted that
the defendant was a regular jobber at the Stock
Exchange, and had made several contracts for
the sale of Stock, knowing at the time that he
should not be able to fulfil his engagements. Such
was the present transaction.. The defendant had
,contracted to sell to a Gentleman, named Light-
foot :(oota jobber), on the 20th January, 1817,
3 per. Cent.. Consols to the amount of 50001.
which he was to transfer on the 27th of Februaly
following, but when that day arrived, he was un-
able to make the transfer, and, in fact, had no
such Stock in his possession : in consequence of
which Mr. Lightfoot was obliged to purchase of
Other persons at a considerable loss. About 12
months since a similar action to the present had
been brought in the name of Mr. Lightfoot's bro-
ther, hot the former having admitted, on his
cross-examination, that he had undertaken to pay
the attot trey his costs, a non-suit took place ; and
therefore this action , was brought by a total
stranger to the transaction. -
Mr. Joseph Lightfoot stated, that lie resided at
No. 2, York-street, Walwortb. Ott the 20th of
January, 1817, the defendant entered into a con-
tract with him to transfer about 50001. -Consols,
for the 27th of February following. Witness had
money in the bands of his bankers, Messrs. Mar-
tin and Co. to purchase the stock on the 27i h of
February. The defendant, however, did not com-
plete his contract on the day agreed upon, and
consequently on the 28th of February he was
obliged to purchase of other persons, at a loss of
212/. 10s. Ile had agreed to purchase on the
20th of January, at 63 per cent., but in conse-
quence of the defendant's breach of contract, he
was compelled to buy in at 674. When he ap-
plied to the defendant seven or eight days after-
wards, he said to hint, " 1 hope you will trans-
fer the stock into my name, or pay the difference.
You are a pretty gentleman ; you know I am no
speculator in the funds ; and if you do not pay
me the money, I'll bring an action against you."
The defendant replied, " You may do what you
like, for I have got no stock." On his cross-
examination, witness denied that he was himself
a stuck-jobber, but he admitted that he was
known in the Alley by the name of Joe Lightfoot.
' The contract with 'the defendant was for the set-1
!ling day, but the settling day it was known at the
time would be on the '27th of February. This
was known to every body connected with the
'Change, and could not be unknown to the de-
fendant. He was • not certain that the '27th of
February was'. speeisCally mentioned at the time
the contract was made, but there was no doubt it
was understood by the defendant that the stock_
was to he transferred on that day.
Mr. Penn, librarian and hook-keeper at the
Consols Office, proved that the defendant bad no
Consols in his name in the Bank books on the
27th of February, nor at any period during the
whole of the tear 1817.
Mr. Cawthorn, clerk in the house of Messrs.
Martin, Stone, and Co. proved that on the 27th
February, 1817, Mr. Lightfoot had in their hands
2,966/, to answer his checks. -
This was the whole of the evidence in support
of the plaintiff's case.
Mr. CHITTY; for the defendant, subinitted that
there was a variance between the declaration and
the evidence. The first count of the declaration
alleged, that the Contract had been entered into
'for the 27th Of, February, whereas the evidence
was, that it had been made for Ole settling day.
Now, the declaration ought to have set out that
ihe Contract was made for the settling day, and
then it might have gone on, by inuendo,Oaat the
settling day was the 27th of 'February. For this
objection he cited Paynde v. Hayes, Str. 74, and
Bull. N. P. 1,15, in 'which it was held to be a
fatal variance, where the contract declared on
was to deliver stock on the 22d of August, and
upon the trial the entry in the broker's hook was
a contract for the opening, thought it was -proved

to Ite notorious that tit tool:3 *ere to open tte
22d, and the broker swore tie took the 22d of
August and the opening to be convertible Milis.
Mr. Justice ABBOTT said, he should he sorry to
differ from any former decision, but his opinion'
" was, that the case cited was not law. That, and
other decisions of the like kind, had, no doubt,
taken place from very good motives, namely, to
get rid of such contracts. They seemed rather
to be cases founded on the times, to get rid of
South Sea contracts, than to be relied on as pre-
cedents in other cases:
Mr. TOPPING and Mr. CHITTY then submitted,
that this action was brought too soon. it was
admitted that in a former action Mr. Lightfoot
was nonsuited ; now they were in a condition to
prove, under the plea ot the general issue, that on
the very same day that action was tried, the de-
fendant was served with another declaration in
the name of the preseut plaintiff, for the same
cause ot action, before judgment of nonsuit had
been obtained in the first action ; consequently
the present action would not lie.
Mr. Justice ABBOTT %vas of opinion that this
matter ought to have been pleaded in abatement.
If there was another action depending at the time
this was brought, that ought to lißvZ!byen pleaded
in abatement ; and it the penalty had been re-
covered in a former action, it ought to have been
pleaded in bar to the present action. Such
matters were clearly not prOVeable under the ge-

•
ueral
Toppugo being without any other defence,
Tile Jury, uuder elpf Leartied
,Jud4e's direction,
found for the plainlitf on the second count—
damag,s Is., ch-hi 500/. On the other ,counts'a
verdict was recorde,; tor the defendant.

'ASSIZI.; COUR I OFI AIMS.

THE cot)NT on THE CONVICT ?

A curious case, founded on the following cir-
cumstances, is now before this Court :—ln the
year 9 of the Revolution, a man named toignard,
convicted along with several others of robbery,o.
Was condemned by the Criminal Court of the
Seine to 14 years' imprisonment. He was sent
from the liicetre to Toulon, to be employed ther'e
with the- other convicts. From Toulon he es-
caped to Spain, wheh he formed an intimacy with
a young and handsome female, who was attached,
if not by love :it least by gratitude, to Count de
Powes de Sr. Helene, a French emigrant. The
Count died, and Coignard having got possession
of his papers assumed his name, He removed
with the fair Spaniard to another province, and
they afterwards repaired 'to Madrid, where the
false Count solicited and obtained a Captaincy in
provincial regiment. He soon rose to the rank
of Lieutenant-Colonel, and was decorated with
the order of Calatrava. '

During the war itf the Spanish independence, he
kit his corps and joined the French army. Mar-
shal Soult readily received a deserter who sacri-
ficed rank and ittoluments rather than fight against
his countrymen, and appointed,him Chef de Bat-
talion in a French regiment.
lie.was one of the first to join the Duke of
Angouleme when he arrived at Bourdeanx in
1814, but solicited no appointment. Atter the re-
turn of Buonaparte in 1815, he was. employed
through the interest of a clerk in the War-Office,
,who had married a lady of the faMily of Pontes.
At the battle of Ileums, which preceded the
battle of Waterloo, be was severely wounded. He
then eepaired to the King, and stated, that be had
been the victim of his attachment to the Bour-
bons, and that he had received his wound from a
party of donaniers, while he was endeavouring, at
the peril of his lite, to join the friends of the
-Royal Cause.

IVhen the King returned to Paris, he was tip--
pointed to a depot of detached troops which were
assembled at the Petits-Peres. Ile acquitted
himself well in that duty, and was appointed
Chief of Battalion of the Legion of the Seine ;
but, as he secretly followed another course than
arms, it was convenient for him to retire on half-
pay, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. It is
said that he took advantage of the opportunities
which his rank gave him, to facilitate the admis-
sion of robbers, of whom he
.was the chief, into
respectable houses.
It happened, however, that one day, while
present at a grand review in the Place Vendome,
he was recognized by one of his fellow convicts
at Toulon,: Long success had rendered him con-
fident, and he was imprudent enough to repulse,
in a veryliade manner, his old friend. The Police
soon got information of the story, and the Count
was ordered under arrest, but escaped. He was
long,sought for in vain, but was at last taken, with
other depredators, in the act of breaking into a
house. He was yesterday brought before the
Court, where be insisted that he was the real
Count Ponies de St. Helene. • Witnesses were
called to prove that he was the convict Coignard,
long examinations took' place, and the further
hearing was postponed to Friday.

DREADFUL SUICIDE.—An Inquisition was taken
yesterday before T. SHELTON, Esq. Coroner, at
the house of Messrs. Curties and Cooper, Angel-
qourt, Friday-street,, on the body of Mr. John
Sdott, merchant, of Angel-court, Friday-street,
Cheapside.--Mr. John Scott stated, that thede-
ceased Was his father, and that he resided with
him. He had been very much depressed in his
mind ever sinee that day week, in consequence,
he believed, of an acceptance having become due,-
which he was unable to take up. On Saturday
morning last, hit did not come down stairs as
usual to his breakfast, and witness went to him
and asked him if he should soon come down ? He
said that.he was unwell, and should lie in bed a
little longer. Witness went to him several times
between that and two o'clock : about two o'clock
witness went to the deceased to inform him that
a gentleman wanted to see him, and he said he
should come down directly, and about twenty
minutes alter he went to him again,.. and found
him lying on the bed with his throat cut in a
dreadful manner—a bloody razor lay on the
ground.—Mr. Naples, surgeon, Cheapside, said,
that he was Called in to see the deceased, and
found he haticnt through the wind-pipe; and all
the vessels of the neck were severed ; in tact, the.
head was nearly separated froM the body.—An-
other witness spoke as to the deceased being in a
desponding way a few day's prior to his death.
Vet diet—lnsanity.