Star.
London, England, 1824-03-04 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, MARCII.S.
PEYTON AND OTHERS V. WILLIAMS AND OTHERS.
This was an action to recover a sum of 19,0001. being

the value of some goods which had come into the pos-
session of the defendants, under circumstances hereafter
mentioned. The plaintiffs wete the assignees of a bank-
rupt named William Grenville Peyton, and the defend-
ants were bankers, at Chester: Some time previous to
the 28th of Jane, Nit. Peyton borrowed a loan from the
defendants, and deposited with tbem, by way of.secu-
rity, some Dock orders, which authorized the delivery
to them of goods lying in the London Docks, to the
amount of 19,000/. On the 28th of June, Mr. Peyton
stopped payment, and On the 4th of July a commission
of bankruptcy was issued against him. After he stopped
payment, and before he became a bankrupt, he wrote
to the defendants, directing them to take the goods out
of the docks, s iiich the defendants accordingly did.
The question to he decided was, wheelie' the property
svlsich the defendants thus possessed themselves of wa,

not the property of the assignees'
The Jury found a verdict for the defendants.
The CH: EF Josrtoc intima:ed, that as the gnestion
was one of gre.tt import,in,:e to mercantile men, he
ould take tic opinion of the Judges upon it.

SECONDARIES OFFICE, MARCH 3.
PINN ET V. BEST.

A Jury was summoned to assess damages in this
case,, which referred to two orphans, and in which CAI:-
Lila Best, svhd is remarkable for the fatal duel with
Lord CameHord, was the defendant.
Mr. ARABIN, for the plaintiff, stated, that his client
had long lived in the humble capacity of butler to a
respectable family, and had brought the present action
in behalf of two orphans, in the character of adminis-
trator to the effects of a man named Newman. The

amount sought to be recovered was '2531. Captain Bet
was well known as a • man of fashion, and was in cir-
cumstances of great atillence. What the motive of the
Captain was for refusing to pay the debt due to two or-
phans formed no ground for speculation in the pi esent
case. Their father had been valet to the defendant, and

was, in truth, his factotum. As was common with the
servants in the fashionable world,-he had, in the courie of

his service amassed money; and, as was equally com•
mon, lie lent what he amassed to his mas:er, and kept
an account with the defendant, as would be seen from a
hook that would be produced. In the year 1821, New-
man was found dead in his bed. It was known to a man
who TV as in the habit of keeping the books of the de-
(leased, that the latter had advanced much money to
his master, and-it was remembered by others that the
deceased had mentioned that he had made to the Cap-
tain a particul it loan of 2006. It was with much diffi-
culty that the accounts between the Captain and the de-
ceased had been obtained: Upon a Judge's order, one.
book had been produced; but the defendant said that
another, in which the particulars of the loam of 2001. had'
been made, was not in his power, as Mr. Harrison, his
attorney, had it in his possession. Mr. Harrison had
since died, and "de nwrtuis nil »isi &mum" was a
maxim by which a Counsel should ke controuled upon
all occasions. He was a deter man, who would not
easily give up a book that might be fatal to his client's
interest. In the book produced, there was foundan ad-
mitted balance of 23/. oa the deceased for daily dis-
bursements; but in that book, as the Jury would-per-
ceive, there was one item on which he grounded his
claims for the orphans. On the debit side was the kl-
lowieg entry—" Paid for interest 101." There were
entries of precisely the Arne sum due to the deceased
for three years previous to his death from his master.
Coupling this fact with the declaration made by the
deceased, of his having made such a loan, and the ob-
stinacy on the part of the defendant in withholding the
book in which the entry had been made, the Jury;
whatever ingenuity might be exercised by his advocate,
could feel no hesitation in pronouncing him to be in-
debted to the otphans in the sum of 2001. with the ad-
mitted balance and interest. •
The book produced by the defendant upon a Judge's,
order, was then produced. There appeared in it the
successive entries of 101. per annum, as paid by the de-
fendant from the year 1818, " for interest."
Mr. ARAB'S then called upon Mr. Adolphus, Coun-
sel for the defendant, to produce the book containing
the original entry of the alleged hian for 2001.
Mr. ADOLPHUS strenuously objected to the production
of the book—fit st, on the ground that the notice to pro-
duce it did not specify it with sufficient distinctness;
and, secondly, that proper titre had not been allowed
for the purpose, the notice having been only served on
the previous eight.
These objections the SECONDARY over ruled.
Mr. ADOLPHUS then said, his client had not the book
in his possession. It was in the hands-of Mr. Harrison's
executors, who would not give it up until they had ex-
amined their accounts, and seen whether anything was
due to them from the defendant.
Tire SECONDARY said this was an insufficient excuse.
The possession of the defendant's attorney was the de-
fendant's possession, and the former might have been
subpoenaed to attend and prt•dtice the book, notwith-
standing any exiting account. Evidence might now be
given of the contents of the book.
Mr. ADOLPHUS then addressed the Jury for the de-
fendant, and said it would be proved that the defendant
had borrowed 2001. for the loan of which he paid inte-
rest, and that interest had been paid through the bands
of the deceased, in such a manner as to make it pro-
bable that the items were those of payment by the de-
ceased in behalf of his master.
Mr. Richard Lowe, an o.fieer in the Guards, stated,
that in 1817 he obtained from a Mr. Butcher a suns ssfl
2001. for Captain Best, on his promissory note of a
month's date. A year afterwards Mr. Butcher com-
plained that he was not paid. Witness induced the de•
fendant to pay interest on the sum, and received from
his valet the 101. for that purpose.
The SECONDARY expressed regret that the book calltd for had
.not ben produced. The person who held it might have been sub-
pienaed by the defendant. •
The Jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, damagem 2001, with
interest and the admitted balance of 231.—Total suns 2431. 14s. 7d,

Mr. THELWALL'S forthcoming Lectures at the Hay-
market Theatre, on SHAKSPEA 14E and the Drama, are the subject of
muck literary expectation and conversation in the higher eircks.
ACTIVH BENEVOLENCE.-1n cwwequence of the pub-
licity given to a case of distress, as reported in the STAR
of Thursday, several Ladies and Gentlemen have come
forward to contribute various sums for the t el& of the
family alluded to; and an anonymous letter µas yes-
' tit day received at Ilatton-garden Police Office, inclos-
ing a note for 101. to be applied in the best manner for
that purpose. Real distress seldom fails to excite a pro-
portionate sympathy with the British public.