Star.
London, England, 1809-07-26 00:00:00

ASSIZES.

HERTFORD, JULY 94. •
..ZING..--GEOROE EARL OP ESSEX V. THE IiON..
AND REVEREND WILLIAM CAPEL.
Mr. Serjeant SHEPHERD addressed the Jury on the
part of the plaintiff, in a most able and eloquent
speech. He lamented that the Jury should be called
upon to decide a question of this nature, between two
persons who stood in so near a degree of relationship
to each other ; but inasmuch as the Earl of Essex
was under the necessity of balistrg this action, for
the purpose of protecting hi in the enjoyment of
his. property, and as Mr. Capel had stood forward as
the manager and principal person of the Berkeley
hunt, he had rendered it absolutely necessary, that he
should be the first person attacked by the Earl of
Essex. The complaint was, that the defendant had
committed a trespass in breaking and entering his
grounds, called Cashiobury Park, and with horses
and hounds destroying the grass and herbage, and
breaking down his fences. Ile defendant
,Justified
himself- this way—he said, that he had started a fox
on other- ground, which was not the property of the
Earl of Essex, and that the fox being a noxious animal
and liable to do mischief, he for the purpose of killing
and destroying him, and as the most effectual means
of doing so, broke and entered the Park with hounds
and horses, and bunt 4 the fox. The answer of the
Earl of Essex to this was, that the defendant's object
was not to destroy the fox, and that if it was so,
hunting was not the most effectual means of killing
the,animal ; but that cn the contrary, his motive was
the amusement and diversion afforded by the chace.
The Learned Serjeant observed, that the object pro-
fessed by the defendant in his' plea was perfectly ri-
dictflous and absurd ; he would have it supposed,
that himself and the Gentlemen, composing the
Berkeley hunt, had associated themselves, not for
their amusement or diversion, but for the pure patri-
otic. desire of destroyisr, these noxious animals ; the
defendant would have °the Jury believe, that Cler-
gymen were descending from their pulpits, Bankers
neglecting their counting-houses, Brewers running
away from their breweries, and all flocking from
London, for no other purpose than to confer the obli-
gation on the people of H.erts of freeing the country
from noxious vermin. Sost;ar from it being their ob-
ject to destroy foxes, he rather thought if they were
to start a fox, and some man happening to have a
gun in his hand was to fall in with their patriotic me-
tiv, and was to shoot the fox, he would meet with
but! lent.rs entertainment. In fact, every one knew
that their object was the diversion of the chace, and
that they did not care three farthings whether the fox
was( killed or not, except for the triumph of his
bruSit. The object of rooting them out of the coun-
try was absurd, tor every one knew they wished to
increase them, in order to have the pleasure of run-
ning.them to death ' • but to put it beyond all doubt
in this case, he should prove that Lord Essex, as one
of the Proprietors of land, had employed a man to
take the most effectual mode of killing foxes, which
was by catching them in a trap, or -shooting them
with a gun ; these two modes Mr. Capel did nut like,
and he spoke to the man upon the subject, but the
man was steady, and he went on shooting wherever
his bullets would reach, and catching wherever his
traps would take. Mr. Capel then said, "I do not
ask you not to destroy the foxes ; but I-will tell you
what, I will send you a barrel of ale to drink success
to the Berkeley hunt." Now, when a man said •to
another, " I do not ask you to do a particular thing,"
it was generally the most expressive way of indicat•
ing a wish to have it done. It put him in mind of a
_story of a Quaker, who being on board of a ship—a
merchant ship : the Master observed to him, that
there was a French row-boat coming towards them,
no doubt with a design to bciard them ; but, added
the Master, with an appropriate oath or two, 44 I'll
run the fellows down."—the Quaker said, 66 Oh !
surely, you won't do such a wicked thing as to de-

FOX-111

,

qty inelit pool. tre6plek ri-0.4 • Yeti tuft
etclained the bfaeser-;.“ I itauhi nut." re=
plied the Quaker, for the world; but I will tell the 6
what, friend, if I was inclined *Co Jo stich a thing, I
would iiarbeardety Iseks.":—the Master did starboar4
the helm, and the boat was run do*n. The Learned
gesjoani repeated, that the ohjeteiet- the defendant
and the Berkeley club,. *as, to pl,* foxes in or-
der to hunt them-i-Very like raising the Devil finr
the purpose of laying him: After some other general
observations, he concluded by, expressing his perfect
confidence, that the verdict of the. Airy would pre•
vent a repetitiouof the injury.
Two witnesses, one of thciatne df Richard Pugh;
his Lordship's Bailiff, and. Jelit,,Hollinshead, his.
Lordship's Game Keeper, clearly proved the fats of
the case, and the last witness distinctly stated, that.
he had been -asked by the defendant, MK Capel, not
to destroy foxes.
Lord ELLRNBoROUGW interrupted the further pro-
gress of the cause, observing, that it was a contention
against all nature and conviction. Could it be sup-
posed that Gentlemen hunted for the purpose of kil-
ling vermin, and not for their diversion ? Could the
Jury be desired to say upon their oaths that the de-
fendant was actuated by any other motive than a de-
sire to enjoy the pleasures of the chace ? He had
wished to suffer the cause togo to a certain extent
before he expressed his opinion upon the subject.L-
Even if the doga-sniicht be allowed to run, was there •
itiy pretence for saying, that where the dogs; did not
gO any person could ride and break down the fences?
The defendant said, that he had not committed the
trespass for the sake of the diversion of the chace, but
'as the only effectual way of killing and destroying
the or. New, could any man of common sense he-
sitate in saying, that the principal motive was not
the killing vermin, btu the sport It was a sport the
law of the land would not justify, and there should
not be a new law of the land accommodated to the
pleasures and amusements of these Gentlemen. The
pleasures of the chace might be taken when there was
the consent of others v‘ho were injured by them, but
they must be subservient to such consent. There might
be such a nuisance by a noxious animal as would
justify the attempt to destroy him, by running. him to
his earth, but that would not justify the digging fc•r
him afterwards—that had been settled to be law—
but even if an animal might be pursued with dogs,
it did net follow that fifty or sixty persons had there-
fore a right to trespass on other people's lands. He
could not see what there was in the case of Fenthrinf
v. Grundy, Ist Term Reports, to warrant the opi-
nion that any person might follow the hounds over the
lands of another: He had looked into that case, and
had referred to the others quoted in it. Even in the
case chiefly relied on, it was stated that a man might
not hunt for his pleasure or profit, but only to destroy
such noxious animals as were injurious to the com-
mon weal ; therefore, the good to the public must be
the governing motive. He would. ask the Jury,
whether that could have been the motive of the de-
fendant ? the last witness had expressly stated, th..t
he wished rather to nourish these noxious aniMall
than destroy them.
Mr. Serjeant Bmr-....After what your.Lopiship has
said, I will not occupy the time of your Lordship or
the Jury with one word more.
Lord ELLENBOROUGII.--There should be nominal
damages ; it is only meant to quiet a right—the
'plaintiff's Counsel tell me they will be satisfied with
nominal damages, therefore nominal damages will
do. If this trespass is repeated it will be a different
thing.
The Jury consulted a short time and returned a
verdict for the plaintiff, with 40s. Damages.
The FORMAN stated, that it was the wish of the
Jttry to give exemplary damages, but understanding
that his Lordship and the plaintiff acquiesced, they
had only given 40s.
• Lord ELLENBOROUGH.-:-YOU do very right to find
forty shillings—though in this case; as there is a spe-
cial justification on the record, one shilling damages
would answer the purpose of carrying the costs, &a.
I should, however, still advise the damages to be 40s.
but that there are seven-other actions depending, and
the effect of your verdict would be not to give one
forty shillings, but forty shillings seven times over.
One Shilling damages will answer every purpose, and •
I shall, if necessary, Certify that the trespass was wil-
ful and malicious.—The Jury then altered their ver-
dict to One Shilling Damages.
THY RAM. or ESSEX V. GOSLING, ESQ.
This was a cause of the same description, and the
' Counsel for the defendants consented that a similar
verdict should he recorded.
This trial finished the Assizes.

ManutottouniksTßKET.—Yesterday, J. Heath was
charged with obtaining, of Madame Purneil, 61. by
fiklse pretences. Madame Fumed, a milliner, in Ber-
wick-street, stated' that the prisoner called at her
house, on the 10th ult. and represented himself to be
Mr. Reeves, from the Alien Office ; and that, in con-
sequence •of an information having been given by a
female, that she was an unfit alien to remain in this
country, he had called secretly to apprize her of the
fact, as well as to 'advise her to give 101. which was
what the. informer wanted, to keep her quiet ;—at
which she became much alarmed, lest any evil dis-
posed person might have given any misrepresenta-
tion of her. Influenced by this fear, she gave him
41. being all she had in the -house, and he appointed
to call for the remainder on the subsequent Saturday,
having given her a strict caution not to let a second
person know of the affair, as he would lose his situa-
tion if the fact got to the Alien Office. Instead 6f
Saturday, he called on the Friday, and told the pro.
secutrix, how vigilant the persons at the Alien Office
were. This embarrassed her still more, and she gave
him 21. more. At length it was suspected that he
was an imposrot, and a young lady was placed be-
hind the door to hear the conversation. Onisturday
last he called again, and talked about the ismnediate
necessity of stopping the mouth of the informer. He
was then desired to give his address, when he said his
country house was at Somer's. Town. Madame P.
kept him in conversation, while an assistant went for
an officer.; and, on her telint hint she must suffer
the law if he persisted in askmg for the other 41. he
said that she should not stop is the country five ,hours
longer, but the officer soon stripped the prisoner of his
assumed authority. The prisoner behaved with the
greatest audacity at the office, and wished the prose-
cutrix had the jewel" (the:ming the iron of his I •t;),
through her nose. He was fully committed.

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