Star.
London, England, 1825-07-12 00:00:00

LORD mAyors COURT. •
POTTER E. VER CITY OF LONDON.
In this case a Special Jury sat to estimate the da-
Magas that might be sustained by Mr. Henry Potter,
an herbalist, residing sr No. 4; Stonecutter-street, by
the removal of his trade from those premises, which are
required for the building of the new Fleet-market.
Mr. Serjeant Wane had been retaine .1 to conduct the
case on behalf of the plaintiff, but had not made his
appearance when the cause came on. The junior Coun-
sel retained, were Messrs. LAW and Mr nestorse,. who
requested that the Court would wait until Mr. Wilde
could attend. The RECORDER said, that neither the
Court, nor the Gentlemen of the Jury, nor the wit-
nesses and parties on the other side, could be thus
detained for the accommodation of any Gentleman of
the bar, and his Lordship ordered the cause to proceed.
Mr. LAw rose, and took an objection to the form of
the proceeding, as it was ()petted by the City. This ob-
jection had been overruled a short time ago ; but Mr.
L tw, whose object manifestly was to detain the Court
until Mr. Serjeant Wilde should arrive, proceeded to I e-
argue the matter. He repeated the forma arpmews
in so slow and measured a manner as to make every
one in the Court yawtr. Mr. Mtecnnuse followed, and
encleavc=e l to render the delay less intolerable by
starting a wild hypothesis and arguing upon it. He at
length was stopped by the RECORDER, who said, that it
such a practice was repeated, or if the Court we:e in
future delayed by the non-attendance of Counsel who
belonged to ether Courts, reluctant as he was to deprive
suitors of the talents of those Gentlemen in whom they
were most confident, he must certainly confine the
practice to the Barristers of the Mayor's Court.
The ColtAtoN SZRJEANT, for the City of London,
stated that Mr. Potter, besides his shop in Fleet-market,
had a house or warehouse in Stonecutter-street. It
had been agreed to give him 7401. for the lease, and
351. for the fixtures, but the City differed with him as
to the value of the goad-will. The Learned Common
Serjeant then described the business of an herbalist,
and contended that Mr: Potter could not suffer ma-
terially by the removal of his warehouse to a place
at a reasonable distance.
The Counsel on the other side described with great
minuteness the nature of the articles kept by the
claimant, and represented that his losses might be dread-
ful. In the first place, his collection of plants must
necessarily suffer by the removal. He had vegetable
poisons enough to destroy the whole City, and they
could not be removed without great injury. His chief
article of trade was leeches, which required a pecul.ar
spot in which their life could be sustained wholesomely.
Mr. Mirchouse represented that the claimant's parlour,
and some of his other rooms, were incompatably
adapted to the nourishment, vivacity, and propagation
of leeches, and that they could not be removed with-
out infinite hazard to their health.
A number of Medical Gentlemen and dealers de.
posed, tln.t in their opinion the claimant might suffer
greatly by the removal. His herbs might be injured
by carriage, his leeches might be killed, or might die
a pining death in a cellar not adapted to their con-
stitutions. His trade also might suffer.
The Commas Simmer ridiculed the idea of giving large com.
pensation for the risk of removing the leeches, and depriving them
of their " senserdssesousici," the parlour.
The Jury assessed the damages at IOOf.
The Committee had offered just one-half.
Mr. &leant Wade had not made his appearance when the
trial concluded.
The ROOM= then asked the Jury whether the Court would
not have been wild indeed to have waited for him ?
The Jury Immediately assented.
SHERIFFS COURT, JULY 9.
A Commission having been issued, directing certain
Commissioners to ascertain whether Antonio Pontani
Romano, formerly of Mount-street, Grosvenor-square,
was chandler, was an alien? a Jury was summoned to
ascertain that fact ; and also whether, at his death, he
was not possessed of certain freehold, leasehold, and
copyhold property, which had become forfeited to
the King ?
The Caws COMMISSIONER observed, that if an alien
became possessed of such property, it devolved to the
Crown, as he could not legally hold it in this country.
If he were a legal tenant, it devolved to the Crown ; but
if be held it in trust, it required some legal proceedings
before the Crown could take possession of it.
Mary Ann Colesly, who lived in Mr. Romano's fa-
mily many years, said she had heard Mr. Romano say
that he was a native of Spoleto, in Italy, and that his
father was an Italian. Several persons who were at-
testing witnesses to certain deeds of conveyance were
called to prove the signature of the grantor, and who
had conveyed certain property to Mr. Romano. The
result was, that such property was declared to have
been 'rested in Mr. itomano, and it was therefore for-
feited to the Crown.
The next cue which was brought before the Jury I
was respecting the property of a young man named
George William Hipkins, who was convicted at the Old
Bailey Sessions in April, 182.5. It appears that Hipkiras
and another youth having received information that a
Gentleman and his son, possessed of considerable pro-
perty,
bad engaged apartments at the Dundee Arms,
Wapping, previous to their departure from London.—
' Ilipkins and his companion also engaged lodgings in
the same house, and in the middle of the night they en-
tered the Gentleman's room and robbed his pockets of
1:227. The young men were tried for the offence, and
transported for seven years. It further appeared that,
Hipkins's father, by his wi;l, left him 5001. and, pro-
vided the death of a natural child took place, he was to
receive 5001. more. The child died when six months
old,and thus this property,which theCi own now claimed,
became vested in the convict, and by the verdict of the
Jury it was awarded to h;s Majesty.