Star.
London, England, 1802-08-12 00:00:00

SUFFO: zr.s.

BUR Y Sr. Eui :i's, A IN: t. .
t youth iit 19 yeats of age, belonging to
the i 3:h Regiment of Drag.ions, teas i:,dieted for
roh.,ing NM, Ann But kim.thani on I!.e King's
highway, in the pari st of Ker;.v.svz, of a tilk ;mire,
containiog one gainea in gold and five !hinting,
and lb pence in tilt cr, oil the t till of May La.—
appeared on the vial, that the prifoner was rid-
ing on the turnpii.e road, %%hen he acco:ted
Buckingham, ao.l another fondle with her, and
requeded Inc homer ho ,rive him a :billing, but
The iaid, the :tad nor onc,..:.latked her companion
to lend her .me ; this the pill titer (who teemed at-
trait:A by her ;:el l m) f. id, would not do; as he
niud have rm.? trom he! ; he then laid his hands
on her Iluatlder, and polled her (tom n ; the laid,
if he would let her get up, the would give him
one, whir i he acoordingiy slid ; and, when the
took nut her runic for that pa rte, he (hatched it
from her, but the thatched it again from him, and
returned it into her pocket ; after sibich Mils B.
quietly luffered him to pin hi• hand itglll her poc-
ket, and to take out her purte ; this he had no
koner dor.e. than the m6l coach coming up, he
galloped ofF with the fame, and a hue and cry be-
ing iitilantly made, he was loon after apprehended
in Ipfwieh barracks.
On the part of the priibner, it was very ably con-
tended, by Countelior Attn R SON, that the capital
part of the indiament would not hold good, as the
lady confelfed bedsit', dining the whole time, not
to have been under the lead influence of fear of
her life ; bathe Judge was of opinion, that the
taking of any thing from a 'whin againfl their
content juttified the formal words of the indict-
ment in :Itch cafes. Captain Morris, of the t3th
dragoons, gave the lad a molt excellent charac-
ter for 'tonally and integrity; and related, that the
pritimer, who had iuliticd into a fencible regiment
at Southampton, ism employed on (hip board as
a fervant to the onicers in their [mirage to St. Do-
raingo, in the Welt Indies,' and: bad condantly
flept in their cabin, where lie might have had ma-
ny opportunities of pilfering ; that Capt. Morris
had afterwards taken him as a fervant, during
which period he (Captain Morrie,) labnured under
the afilinior of the yellow fever, which deprived
him of his 4tifeA, and that the prifoner was then
eotrittled with his property to a very conliderable
amount ; that at the particular Iblichation of the
Islaj.or of die regiment, he parted from him in or-
der that he might accompany the Major from St.
Domingo to North America ; du: ing which pal-
1-age his mailer died of the yellow fever, leaving
the prifoner in foie poffefliou of all his property, to
the amnunt of nearly Bcool. all of which he faith
fatly delivered up to the proper claimants there-
of, although i.: a ftrange country, where he might
elfily, if he had hten dilhonettly dilpofed, have
fequellered it to his own ule. Captain Morris
further declared, that he would, if acquitted or
difcharged, take hirn again into his fervice,in pre-
ference to any other man in the regiment.
There circiimftances, together with the appear
ante of the prifoner, who was a handfome, well-
grown young man, naturally excited the comnii-
Utation of the Court; and Lord Acvaw Lev, in
palling fentcnct upon him, which he did in / moll
vowel:live manner (the neceffity whereof he point-
ed out, from the determination of his Majcity to
wake examples of the military whenever guilty of
violence, theft, or outrage) was himfelf fertlbly
afftetcd, that at the conclulion his Lordthip burg
into tears, and neatly all preterit participated with
him. The pl ifoner was alto to deeply affeCted, that
he fell down, and fainted in Court.

Previous to the Judges quiaing the town, the
prifoner was rep:;:ved.

THE REV. 14. JAMES V. THE E!V. W. rivtEr.
- _ _

This was an aflion brought by tha plaintiff, cu-
rate of St. Peter's and St. Gregory's, Sudbury,
"Taint} the defendant, who is incumbent of the
fail parifhes, to recover fatisfn9ion in damages
(which were laid at ic...;c1.) for fcvcral libels pub-
lithed by th 4 defendant. The declaration con-
tained twelve counts, in the fir(' of which, the
general words publifhed were flitted, and in the
remainder the fever al detached parts thereof ; two
of which cliaTed the defendant with canting and
procuring letters to be written to himfelf, and
then malicioufly puhlifhing the fame with a view
to hitt: e the piano ill's chara&er.—Mr. beijcant
SF LIMN addrefreei the Jury at confiderabk length,
in fappot t of the anion, Hating the injurious and
malignant t;ndency of the letters publillied, to the
chataaer if his client, both as a man and a der-
lyman, who, previous thereto, had gained the
ove and admiration of his parithioners.

The IA witrefs tailed proved the admifnon of
the plaintiff to the Deacon and Priett's orders by
the ilithop of Sodor and Man, in the years 1796
and i 797, in the file of Man.
The Rev. Richard Snape, of Bolton, in Lanca-
-11.1:-_, tlated, diet he had received a letter from the
Rev. Mr. Fink. ; , (to whom lie had formerly been
Cu-ate), inquiiing into the general charaeler of
Mr. Jan:cs, who had retided at Mancheiter, but
which ltit,:r from Mr. F. be had de(lroyed with
many rilhrs, it being his en:km not to preferve
any but thofc material to his own coacerns—he
acknowledged die letter now thi:wn to him in
Court tote his own hand-writing—he laid that he
ii.‘d not becn ins iced by Mr. F. in his letter to give
an unfavourable account of Mr. James, but metely
to make iv.quiries in die neighbourhood refpefling
atid to write the refoilt thereof to Mr. Fin-
ley ; lie recolleeled that the Rev. Mt. Newman's
name was made ufe of in Mr. Finley's letter to
him, and that the letter had mentioned an
inti-
mate conneloor having taken place between Mr.
James and Iviifs Nrv.man, a young Lady about
19—the witti.AS faid Mr. J. was a widower, and
that lie under rtond !t: had ken Chaplain on board
a man of war, io Fir Edward Pellew's fhip. The
letter of Mr. Snape was then read, and contained
anu.r.g nther things, the words charged in the de-
claration. viz. "That lie (the plaintiff) had treat-
ed his wife in a molt inhuman and brutal manner

tr...

.. ___.__.__i__.._.. __ t__

nefly=that he was a, notorious liar, even to a
provetb--that he was an artful and dcligning
I,in, having collated fabfcriptions for building a
chapel and tun away with the money—that he WA •
C'intinually drunk, and a w..rie character could
not exiit." The conclution of Mr. Snapc's letti:i
warned the Rev. Mr. Newman againd admitting
him into his bottle, and his daughter against en
con raging his addreifes, as there were few places
or frmilizs into which he once gained admittance,
but what had caufe to repent thereof.
. _

Dr. Maclean laid he knew the Plaintiff and De-
fendant, and that the former came tecommended
to Mr. F. as a citrate at Sudbury a little before
Eager 18ol—that at that time and fubfequently he
appeared to be approved by the pal ilhioners; that
he remembered being at Mr. Finley's at dinner
when Mr. James was the fubjed of converfation—
that he ceafed to be Curate loon after 1802—that
he remembered a difpnte about the Sidefmen, and
Mr. F.'s telling him Mr. James had behaved ex-
tremely ill in the church, by ufing language un-
becoming of a clergyman, and lwearing at them—
that Mr. Finley (hewed Dr. M. a letter he meant
to fend to Mr. James, advifing him to quit the
curacy withnut giving further trouble, in confe-
quence of his mtibehaviour—the witnefs laid that
Mr. F. had afterwards (hewn him Mr. Snape's let-
ter, but in confidence, as a jullification of his own
char:after, and produced the fame to others with
reludance, Mr. J.'s ft iends having excited a cabal
in the parifh, and thought Mr. F. harlh in dill
milling him from the curacy without a reafon; this
was in the autumn of iSo t. Dr. M. was pre fent
at an interview between the two parties in March,
I 0102, and recollects a letter being limn n from Sir
Edward Pellew ;—that the Plaintiff at firti denied
or doubted its being from the Captain. bait after.
wards acknowledged part of its contents to be true.
[ !she letter was then produced, but there being
no witnefs to prove the hand writing, it was not
fir tiered to be read in Court.] Dr. M. laid, that
he had figned the certificate in April iflox, hoping
that the Plaintiff was a man of character ; that the
meeting was held at the regale(' of Mr. James,
Metirs. Clark, Froll, Crofs, Strutt, Mr. \V. Oh.
ver, Mr. Baynes, hitnfelf, and the Plaintiff, being
prefent. He Paid that he knew the Rev. Mr. Ncw.
man, and that he was extremely averfe to the
Plaintiff's conneCtion with his daughter from firli
to lag ; had heard that Mr. James came to Bury
in a poll chaife with Mifs Newman without her
father's confent. [The certificate of the meeting
was then read, which let forth that Mr. Finley was
iidlifiable in making inquiry refpeCting his curate,
if the documents produced were true, but unu ar-
Tamable in the mode he had adopted refpeCting
them—at the fame time Rating Mr. James had
conducted himfelf with propriety as Curate, whilft
at Sudbury.] Dr. M. laid, a little ref •Ation had
convinced him that he had done wrong, and he
repented of figning the certificate ; but on Mr.
James's producing a number of letters in his own
behalf, he was pleated to find he could produce
any thing to jultify his charaeler. [Thele letters
were propofed to be read in Court, but were ob-
jetted to by Mr. MACKINTOSH, the Defendant's
Connie!, unlefs Sir Edward Pellew's was firit read
(none of the hand writings being attelted), oblerv.
ing that Mr. James's letters were from Methodist
preachers belonging to Lady Huntingdon's chapel,
too of which might eafily be procured, but would
have no weight with him.]
Mr. Strutt, merchant, of Sudbury, was prefent
at Mr. Finley's dinner, when the converfation took
pl ice about Mr. James, but never law the letter
till produced at the meeting—that Mr. Finley, in
confequesce, (hewed him a letter from Mr. Booth
of Mancheller, it having been alledged that Mr.
Finley had tiled Mr. James ill.
Mr. Frog, attorney, and town-clerk of Sudbury,
laid he was in the church at the time of the difinite
between Mr. James and the Sidefmen, but laid that
part of Mr. Finley's letter to Mr. James, which
Rated his having (worn at them, was untrue—that
there had been a noife in the church, and he ac-
coled the Sidefmen of not having done their ditty in
keeping filcnce—that the latter were rather imper-
tinent to him, and Mr. J. laid, " you are a let of
fcotindrels, and ought to be fent half way to hell."
He had pill left the pulpit. Mr. Finley never
(hewed him Mr. Snape's letter, but he underftood
it had been (hewn.
The above is the fubllance of the evidence which
came out on the examinati .n and crofs-examina-
tion of the Plaintiff's witnelFes.

Mr. MACKINTOSH then role, and in a fpeech
which hiked upwards of an hour in the delivery,
entered into a moll brilliant and eloquent defence
of the Defendant's conduCt, which he juilified as
truly continent and proper, in inquiring into the
former charafter of his Curate,after the difgraceful
and fcandalous manner in which he had conduCted
himfelf in the difpute with the Sidefmen at the
church—he laid the tendency of Mr. Snape's letter
had been fully confirmed by that of Sir Edward
Pellew and the Rev. Mr. Booth, of Mancheller,
though not permitted to be read—that he was a
Wolf in Sheep's clothing—had been a Methodiß
and field preacher—arid that he had attempted to
dettroy the peate and happinefs of aw•orthy clergy-
man in the fame town, by alienating his daughter
from her obedience and reverence for a venerable
parent ;—he then, in a moll pathetic and feeling
manner, warned the deluded young Lady (who
was prefent) againn countenancing the addreffes
of a man fo completely depraved, as the regarded
her future happinefs, or thole connefted with her.
After much very fevere and pointed remark on the
conduct of the Plaintiff, he contended that the Jury
could not continently give him one farthing da-
mages, as he laid the publication of the letters was
not done in a manner that constituted the leatt de.
gree of malignity on the part of his client, but only
in felt-defence.

The learned Judge (Lord ALVANLEY) briefly
formed up the evidence, Itating the law on the
fubjeel, and left it to the confideration of the Jury,
whether the Defendant had wantonly expofed the
letters in que(ion with a malevolent intention to
injure the Plaintiff, or only in Pelf-defence--obferv.
ing that the count charging the Defendant with
procuring there letters to be written to hirnfelf had

they might have been thewn to more perfons than
was thecctrat y.
The Jury, without the leak hefitation, gave a
vet did tar the Defendant ; and at a quarter bzf: rc
hrce on Sun Jay morning the Court bruk.: up, and
du: Allizes concluded.