Star.
London, England, 1810-07-13 00:00:00

Plim

i, .

LAW INIELLI6EIVLt.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JULY 12.

bee that all the parties should enter into a rule to let
some person see bow matters actually stand, and into
whose hands the money has found its way. There
was in the case as it now stood, a mixture of simpli-
BETTING ON FOOT-RACES. city and of something like fraud ; but his Lordship
THE ICING v. WALKER.—Mr. Gannow stated this was of opinion a reference to some gentlemen at the
to be a foul conspiracy on the part of six persons ce bar would cure all.
the names of Walker, Nelson, Pollest, Best, Jenkins, The Counsel for the different defendants, for their
aid Fennicks, in conjunction with a seventh, named respective clients, came under a rule to this effect,
Jones, not comprehended in the indictment, to pick , and the whole matters in dispute were referred to Mr:
the pocket of a plain simple Welchman, also named Selwyn.
Jones, of a considerable sum of money, on the pre. LUKE V. LADY ANN BARBARA FRANCES WYNDHAM.
tence of betting on a foot-race. This trade, there This was an action against the defendant on a bill
was reason to believe, was not new to those parties. of exchange for £250, granted by her to the plaintiff,
The object of their present pillage was one of the and the defence set up was that she was a femme cou-
simplest men who had ever come from his country. verse, or married woman, at the time of granting the
He kept a public house, to which the defendants had bill in question.
come, some of them as if by accident, and pretend- Earl JERSEY was called, who proved that he was
ing to be strangers to each other. Here they began present at the marriage of the defendant with the Ho-
to discourse of fights, of foot.races, of betting, &c. nourable Charles William Wyndham, in Gloucester-
and the great sums thereby to be made. They stated place, in February 1801.
Jones, who was one of their party, to be one of the Mr. PARK, for the plaintiff, contended that it was
finest racers in the kingdom ; that he had been pitted incumbent on the defendant, the marriage not hay-
against Pollet, who had not yet made his appearance,ling been performed in church, to produce the autho-
to run a foot-race at Epsom for 1000 guineas, andrity for its celebration.
I
proposed to this unhappy Welchman to take a part The Clerk of the parish of St. Mary-la-bonne pro-
of the bet, assuring him that he was certain to win. I duced the register of the marriage between the Hon.
These defendants were handsomely dressed, represen- C. W. Wyndham, bachelor, and Lady Ann Lam.
ted themselves to the simple man as persons of inde. beth, widow, dated February 4, 1801.
pendent fortune, and, like other gentlemen of fashion, . Mr. PARK contended that this was not the person
did not fail to sport their quizzing-glass. Nelson, .on the record, and that it would not do.
who they pretended had, till then, been a stranger to . Mr. GARROW said this was simply a question of
them, was to be the stake-holder. They prevailed identity.
with this unfortunate publican to become a party with i Earl JERSEY was called back to prove the identity,
them to the extent of £lOO, and having got a depo. but it appearing that the declaration was against La-
sit of £4O down, seduced him on the settling day, dy Ann Wyndham only, and that it was in the plea
last his own money should be forfeited, and also in that the defendant was set out under the name of
consequence of the deceptions practised on him, be- Lady Anna Barbara Frances, whereas the bill was
sides his own payment in cash, to give his note for signed only in the name of Ann, Mr. Park consented
a deSciency of the payments to be made up by the to be non-suited.
rest of the gang, t the amount of 0225, which he I BAKER v. SWAINSON.
was obliged in two days to raise, by a loan from his I This was an action against the defendant, who is
brewer, on the security of the lease of his house.— the Collector of Customs at the port of Liverpool, for
When the time for determining the bet arrived, on go- not answering to a subpoena of that Court, in an ac-
ing down to the Rubbing House at Epsom, where the tion in which the plaintiff sought to recover from a
race was to be run, he found that his namesake, Jones, clerk of the present defendant penalties under the Act
the racer, so far from being in a course of training, of Henry VI. prohibiting persons who hold offices in
preparatory to the intended trial of skill, was in the the Custom-house from acting as agents for mer-
habit of lying in bed till mid-day, and was constantly chants who may have business to transact at the Cus-
drinking, so much so, that the man at the Rubbing tom-house.
House declared, that he would engage, that his sow 1 The plaintiff had fully made out his case, and had
should perform the race as well. On Jones, the pub- proved a loss arising to him from the non-attendance
lican, at length seeing that all was not well, and pro- of the present defendant on the previous trial, to the
posing that the race should he postponed, the de. amount of £2ll Bs. 11d. ; when it appeared from
fendants said, they believed it might be put off for a the cross-examination of the witness who had served
month, on his consenting to forfeit £lOO. To this " the subpeena, that it had been so served on the de-
he would not agree, thinking, whatever should be the . fendant at his country house, two miles from Liver-
event, that it would be better it should be ended.— pool, on a Saturday, at the close of day-light, in the
A sham race accordingly took place, in which Jones month of February, his pi esence being required in
was said to have been beaten, the poor simple man : London on the Monday morning following, at a pe-
was pillaged, and the defendants put his money in riod too when there was sickness in the defends nt's
their pockets. i family. His answer was that he would not come, be
John Jones the publican was then called, from ithe consequences what they might.
whom, after great trouble on the part of his Counsel, I Lord ELLENBOROUGH held that such answer would
the greater part of the facts stated by Mr. Garrott-, have been an aggravation of the contumacy, if the
were drawn out. Walker, Jones, Best and Fennicks, , thing demanded had been practicable ; but to hold
were the persons who had principally transacted the ; that a man was obliged, in any circumstances of dis-
business with him, £5OO it was latterly settled should itress in which his family might be involved, to set out
be p-aid down. This was to be divided into five lon a moment's warning, on a journey which with the
shares of £lOO each. The witness was to be one, utmost expedition he could not expect to complete
and Best, Jenkins the cricket player, Fennicks, and within the time required, would be a manifest hard-
Jones the runner, were the other four. On the night ship, and would go to convert what was surely an in-
ahen the deposit was to be made at Nelson's, tl-e wit- cumbent duty into a grievous burden. His Lordship
ness stated that he had no money, but the others said spoke only as he should feel had a motion for an at-
they would put it down for him. Next morning Jones tachment, in such circumstances, been made in Bance.
and Best called on the witness for the £2O, and also for The plaintiff was accordingly non-suited.
another sum of £2O, which they told him he had bet- HARRIS V. SHEPHERD AND MUNDAY.
ted with another man, and which they had also paid This was an action for an assault and false impri-
far him, the witness being then somewhat in liquor. sonment. The defendant, Shepherd, keeps a public-
This £4O was paid to Jones and Best by the wit- house, and the plaintiff was there on the evening of
ness's wife, they telling the witness to recollect that the Fast-day, when some dispute arising beta een
the whole of the money must be made good that him and the landlord, the latter went into another
night week. On the night appointed, all the parties room, where Munday, the other defendant, was, who
met, except Jenkins. Best and Fennicks stated them- is a constable, and bringing him into the room where
selves to be very much disappointed, not being able Harris was, desired him to turn him out. This, how-
to make up their payments. The witness expressed) ever, Munday found himself not able to do, and went
his readiness to pay his share, and as the hour of ten , out to call two other peace-officers to his assistance.
o'clock advanced, when the others told him the de. I On their arrival, however, they refused to interim e ;
posits must be forfeited if the whole money was not 1
and Munday proceeded to procure a file of soldis!rs,'
forthcoming, he began to express his uneasiness.— with whose assistance the plaintiff was conveyed to
Best and Jones then told him that Nelson would be Tothil-fiel,:s Bridewell, where he remained from seve
sotind as to take his (the witness's) note for the de- o'clock in the evening till eleven the next morning,
ficiency, if he chose to give it, by which the deposits when he was taken to Bow-street, and dismissed by
would be saved. The witness at first would not con- the Magistrate.—The Jury found a verdict for the
sent, but, on growing a little more mellow, granted i plaintiff—Damages £lO.
his note for X 225, (afterwards paid), besides laying TOPHAM V. THE OVERSEERS AND CHURCH-WARDENS OF
down on the table, in cash, a sum amounting, with GREAT DRIFFIELD, YORKSHIRIL
his former deposits of R4O, to £l2O. This was an appeal against a rate, laid upon a',
Ou his cross examination by Mr. Serjeant PELL, money payment, as rent for tythes ; and which had
the witness said, that be had, at the desire of the de- never been made a claim of, till the appellant, as we
fendants, signed papers in writing, by which it was understand, as a Magistrate, presented the high-roads
agreed that Jones should have £lOO for winning and of the township in question. After such claim had
Pollet £7O for running. He did not know what the lain dormant 60 years, the right of it was thus,claimed,
papers contained. He could not read small writing, on an idea that the precentor, under whom the estate
with or without spectacles. He signed his name at wasformerly held,had paid, as rates, the sum of 6s. Bd.
the desire, and atter the example of the others, being After hearing arguments from Mr. CONST on the
informed by them that Pollet should be paid for run- part of the appellant, and Mr. PARK on the part of,
ning as well as Jones. the respondents, the following Rule was laid down
On reading the paper, however, it appeared that by Lord Chief Justice ELLENBOROUGH: "To contend
the £7O was to be paid to Pollet for losing the race. that the appellant is bound to reduce the rate, is go-
t4rci:Eeeeesoeoveit—e Why was Jones to have 4g a most extravagant length. You prove that he
- • than Pollet ?"—A. ,g He was to win, and the had property in the parish to the amount of 6s. Bd.
tier to lose." and you assess him at the sum of £250. You might
Lord ELLENBOROUGH--." Such extreme folly I as well have rated him at £lOOO. But Church-war-
have seldom witnessed. It seems extraordinary that' dens and Overseers cannot be permitted, without rea-
such a man should have lived, as he says lie has done, son and without proof. first given by them, to rate a
for twenty-eight years in London, and have a coat on person at random, and to leave theta to work his way
his back. With extreme simplicity, however, there out of it the best way he can."
seems here an inclination to something of roguery.
Mr. GAMOW-66 It is not quite so bad as thatbszy
Lord. This case is more like that of a ring:droMr,
whose foolish pigeon pays him £2O for the ring, with
the expectation of some gain to himself."
Lord ELLENBOROUGH to the witness—" Did you
know who were the parties against whom you were
betting ?"—A. No • but I was informed by the whole
of the defendants La Jones, the racer, was sure to
win.
Lord ELLENBOROUGH.-46 And to make assurance
doubly sure, you tie up the hands of the ether party,
supposing that there is one, by tempting their in-
strument ? I wish, however," said his Lordship,
66 with the extreme folly which is apparent, and even
with the improper conduct which may be attributes'
to the prosecutor in this case, that he should have his
money back. To effect_ this, the better plan would

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