The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-20 00:00:00

ROLLS' COURT.-(THIS
His Lordship sat at ten o'clock, and proceeded with• the
hearing of son e very important motions.

EARL NELSON V. LORD BRIDPORT.

Mr. TINNEY, on the part of the-plair,Tilf,;eplied at great
length to the arguments on the other side, which occupied
the remainder of the day.

EXCHEQUER.-(THIS DAY.)
Sittings at Nisi Prins, in London, before the LORD CHIEF
BARON and a Special Jury).
HEATH AND AND ANOTHER P. DURANT.

This was an action of aasumpsit, brought to recover
10,4001. upon a policy of insurance effected upon certain good's
by the plaintiff with the defendant, who was an underwriter
at Lloyd's. The defendant had placed upon the record I
number of pleas, amounting in all to twenty-nine, denying
his liability, on the ground that the vessel in which the
goods were embarked, and the goods themselves, were seized
by the Portuguese Government, and condemned as being in-
tended by the owners to be used for the purposes of carrying
on the slave trade.
The Attorney General, Mr. Crowder, Mr. Martin, and
Mr. Bovill appeared for the plaintiffs, and the Solicitor-Ge-
neral, Sir Thomas Wilde, Mr. Jervis, and Mr. Greenwood
for the defendant.

The plaintiffs are African merchants, and the defendant
an underwriter at Lloyd's. The action was brought to re-
cover 10,4001., the aggregate amount of a policy of insurance
effected upon three distinct parcels of goods which constituted
the cargo of a Brazilian vessel called theVirtuosa Maria Aldine,
and the policy specified that the goods were' to be insured
for a period of twelve months, extending from September.
1840, to September, 1841, during which time the vessel was to
sail from Genoa to Pernambuco, and other ports on the coast m.
South America, and thence to Angola and other planes'
en the coast of Africa. The vessel sailed in due course from
Rico do Janeiro for Angola, her final destination,and intended
port of discharge; but, in order to avoid some exceedipFl9
heavy export duties which were imposed on vessels sailing
from the Brazils direct to the African coast, the captain, an
Italian, named De Moro, cleared her at the Rio custom-house
for Pernam buco ; but, without touching at that port, he steered
direct for Angola. In the course of the voyage he put in fq
Benguela, a Portuguese settlement on the African coast, an
there she was boarded by the crew of a Portuguese slooP-m"
war, called The Eighth of July, when the fraud committed 11
the captain upon the brazilian custom-house was
discovered, and it was found that the Virtirlt
Maria Aldine had an unusual number of pipes
of water, as well as 160 bags of Mandahosea
foin on board, which induced the Benguela authorities to
fancy she was intended for, or about to embark in the Oa"
trade, and the crew were arrested, and the vessel and earg°
seized and condemned. The plaintiffs, however, denied that
this was so, and contended that it was the valuable nature of
the cargo, which consisted of silks, velvets, and cotton goods,
that instigated the crew of the Portuguese sloop of wq,
capture the Virtuosi' Maria Aldine, because it was mann es"
from all the papers in possession of Capt. De Moro, that sa°
was engaged in a legitimate trade. Nevertheless, the 40-
fendant refused to indemnifythe plaintiffs against the loss, in
asmuch as the policy did not provide that the Virtuosa Ma.
;
Aldina was to be insured against such a capture, and i'
present action was brought to determine the question whetted
it did or not. .

The case occupied the whole of the day and had not ter-
minated when the Court rose.

CRIMINAL COURT.—(THIS DAY.)
OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice PATrEsoN and Mr. Baron ALDERSON, Er)
STABBING.— f/Pm. ill‘Carthy, a corporal in the Roys.,iit
rives, was indicted for stabbing a young man named M°
geridge.
Mr. Payne conducted the prosecution, and Mr. Bodkin de-
fended the prisoner.
Wm. Henwright, an omnibus conductor, residing 12.0
Grafton-court, Marylebone, stated that on the day named,/
the indictment he was standing at the end of Grotto-pg-;;
There were two girls standing there also. 'ad
prisoner, who was very tipsy, came uP, Wys
spoke to one of the girls, whose name ;ay
Elizabeth Debly. Her companion said to her, " Cone,ll...ve
from the soldier, or I will tell your mother, and she will
you a good thrashing." The prisoner said to her, "
do you mean ?" and struck her a blow on the face
instantly returned. The prosecutor then came up sted told
Dibley to go home and if the soldier attempted tom e
her he would b—y well drub him. The prisoner st:
" What do you mean ?" and Muggeridge repeated the !":1
pression. The prisoner then drew his bayonet and stabs",
him under the eye. The prosecutor screamed out seci
across the road, but the prisoner remained standing wbeire
was until a policeman came up and took him into custrogibe
which s
The prosecutor confirmed this statement, as did lb°
girl Elizabeth Dibley. A OW
Mr. BODKIN made an able address to the jury, en-
tended that the act was one, not of premeditated violen
but a sudden provocation and anger. The Learned Coac'st
also called several witnesses, who gave the prisoner an e%
lent character.
Mr. Baron ALDERSON, in laying the evidence before Atbe
jury, remarked that the counsel for the
prosecution_rt
opened the case as if he intended to screen the prisoner. he
was not the way to conduct a prosecution, and he hoped
should not see it practised again. loon
The jury returned a verdict of Guilty of a cern
assault. ed and
Mr. Baron ALDERSON sentenced him to imprison
kept to hard labour for three calendar months.

CLERKEN WELL.—(T HIS nk Y. )
A little fellow, about ten years of age, named Franks, wis
charged with begging.
Mr. George John Garnet, residing in Newington-street'
Somer's-town, deposed that on the previous night he if,edis
going home along the St. Pancras-road, when he was accost_
by the prisoner, who asked for something for God's 511`;
saying that he had no food, and was utterly destitute.
was about giving him some money, when a aentlenonon
formed him that he had just given him a shilling, and °Jot e
further inquiry Mr. Garnet learned that as soon as the "4 a
rascal got the money he went into a public-house and cal et
for some beer and a pipe. At the time he told cow/bliss
he was starving he had lOid. on his person.
The prisoner acknowledged he had been rigged out in
present wretched habiliments by his father, whin vas.d
farrier, living in Windmill-street, Tottenham-court-road,
that he had been sent out by him to beg.
The case was remanded for further inquiry.