Star.
London, England, 1815-02-17 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF RING'S BENCH, FEBRUARY N.
BOND V. VAVONAN.
'This was an action to recover £149, the price of a
pipe or wine, which the plaintiff alleged to have been
,sold by him to the defendant.
The defence set up was, that the nine was not
bought of the plaintiff, but of a person named Beby.
h appeared from the evidence, that the defendant, ac-
companied by Beby, went to the plaintiff's cellar, and
selected the pipe of wine in question, which was sent
in by the plainiiff, and •in due course of time a hill
was delivered. The first bill not being taken any ,
notice of, a second bill was delivered, and in reply to
this bill, the defendant said he knew nothing of the
plaintiff in the, transaction, but had purchased the
wine of Beby, Who was his debtor in a sum of £7O,
which sum he wished to set off in payment.
A number of witnesses were examined on both
sides, • and the plaintiff's books being produced, by
which it appeared, thaifrom the first credit was given
to the defendant. The Jury found a verdict for the
plaintiff.—Damages £l4o—eosts 40s.

colnkr OF COMMON PLEAS, FEBRUARY IS.
DITCHBURN v. GaLDMITH.
This was an action between inhabitants of Grave-
send, upon a wager laid by the defendant, who was
a preacher of the doctrines of the late Joanna South-
cott, of AVIV to moo, that she would be delivered of
a male child on or before the Ist of November last.
Before Mr. Serjeant Berr could state the plaintiff's
case, Mr. Serjeant Oicsurw, for the defendant, objec•
ted on the grounds of indecency and ludicrousness,
that this action ought not to be tried, and cited Da
Costa v. Jones, which was a wager upon the sex of
Chevalier D'Eon, in which Lord Mansfield held such
wagers void as would " affect the interest 'or the
feelings of a third person; for instance, that such
woman has committed adultery, ttr that an un-
married woman has had a bastard." In tl.at case
the defendant's Counsel objected at the trial, that
the plaintiff ought not to recover, because it Was
a wager upon a question tending to introduce inch:-
cent evidence ; to this it was answered, that the ob-
jection was upon the record, ;and Lord Mansfield
being of that opinion, over-ruled the objection ; but
afterwards, when the case came before the whole
Court in arrest of judgment, his Lordship said be
was sorry that the answer given to the objection
made at the trial di that it appeared upon the record"
had been so hastily given way to by 'him ;=for
though the indecency of evidence is no objection to its
being received where it is necessary to the decision of
a civil or criminal right, yet the witnesses should have
beat told that they might refuse to give evidence in
a case where two men, by laying a wager concerning
a third person, would compel his physicians, relations,
and servants, to disclose what they knew relative to
the sahjhct of the wager. The Learned Serjeant ad-
ded, dui the subject of the present wager, Joanna
Soutbeotto was a single womau.
Mr. Betiont Barr answered, that Lord Mansfield,
in the verysise cited, said, •• a wager whether the
next child gall be a boy or a girl, hurts no one ;"
aad be should be able to prove, that the defendant
bad, in one of his public lectures, declared that Jo-
anna Southcott waste be married prosy, that the
child might net be born a bastard. •
The Lord Chief Justice (Gins) said, his ditlicultY
was not whether the present action was maintainable,
but 'whether any lidge bad, on that account, refused
`to try a cause ?
Mr. Serjeant Ousi3Ow and Mr. Comm for the de-
' fendant, instanced Lord Loughborough, who, in an
' action upon a wager " whether there are more•ways
than'a of nickings7 on the dice, allowing 7 to be the
main and 11 a nick to 7 ?" ordered the cause to be
struck out •of the paper ; and the whole-Court of
Common Pleas afterwards refused leave to restore it;
and Lord Ellenborough, who refused to try an action
on a wager on a point of law in wh!ch the parties
have no interest, and the whole Court of King's
Bench afterwards agreed in the propriety of such
refusal.
The Lord Chief Justice Gums stopped further ar-
gument by saying, that he would suffer the cause to
proceed with 'a view of making an end of such cases,
out of mercy to the patties.
A Mr. Gordon was called to prove the written
agreement between the parties—was present when it
was entered into on the sth of September, at Grave-
send. It was in these words :
" I tut that Mrs. Joanna Southcott is delivered of a male
child before the Ist of November, 1814.
(Signed)

I' I. GOLDSMITH."

se2oo to ;efoo, with Mr. Ditchborn."

Dr. 'Reece next appeared.—He knew the late Mrs.
Joanna Southcott, and that she was not deliveresl of

a pale child.—Upon cross.examination by Mr. Ser.
jeant OxsLow, the Dr. said that he had never heard
-of her having a husband, and that she passed for a
single woman.
Lord Chief Justice Gfass—NoW that the wager in-
oblycs the question of a single woman having a child,
I. won't proceeds with the cause.
. Mr. Cts}rraat.s. (with Mr: &leant Rea) sngga.
ted, that ,the. woman herself gave out that she was
with-child; and prophesied that that child would be
a male born before the lit of NoveMber; Were she
alive, tserefore, she would have nO right toComplais
of her feelings being hurt.
Lord Chief Justice Gisas-8o I am to try the a-
scot of a woman's chastity and delicacy in an action
upon a wager. I chose to wait till the fact of her
being ft single woman came out. There is a wide I
difference between a wager, whether a married Wo-
man's next child shall be a bby or i girl, and whether
a woman shall have a child at el? C2l the next cause.
The Counsel then disputed how the present cause
should be disposed of, the defendant's Counsel pres-
sing for a gamut; and the plaintiff's proposing .to
withrawing a Juror.
The LOAD CHUN 'MICE declined to interfere,
sayAT: II I refuse to go on."
some further deliberation between the Coun-
sel, it was agreed to withdraw a Juror.
Mrs. Underwood. and a Crowd of she disciples of
the false Prophetess, were in Court.

-11
Mr. MAIMARING was yesterday ll:shafted csom
Asa of the Qoatter Sessions of Middles*: ;1
Wednesday Mt. Sorasamt ROinsnsoven took is,
"oaths as ow 'of the .Mazintates foi the cos*di
Middlesex. at the SisiieseHmisti

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