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London, England, 1810-04-30 00:00:00

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staxitLibk. ottonoz aDWARD DIXSDALI4 over.
This action, for false imprisonment, was tried ilk-
frore Mr. Baron Tnomesow, at the Lent Assizes fbr
the County of York, on Tnesclay, the 13th instant.
Mr. Serjeant Cocicxoti in an eloquent and impres-
sive speech, to the Jury, began by observing, that he
bad no doubt by that, on bearing the circumstances of
this case, and thehardship and oppression under which
Mr. Harle had laboured, through the malignant and
vicious conduct of Dinsdale, they-would award con-
siderable damages ; and that, unless he received at
thetr hands compensation for a most serious injury,
that of being falsely imprisoned, he was ruined and
undone for ever. The plaintiff, he said, was a young'
man, of the profession. of the law, of good character,
and a man of integrity, but without fortune. The
defendant, Dinsdale, was a Gentleman in the same
profession, and a man of considerable fortune. That
Dinsdale being engaged in other pursuits, having en-
tered on the turf, and in horse racing, in the year
1805 applied to the plaintiff to become a partner with
-him, in consideration of his paying, or securing to
him, the sum of three hundred pounds. The plaintiff
acceded to this proposition (unfortunately he might
say for him) and became Mr. Dinsdale's partner.—
They commenced partnership accordingly, which, by
their articles, was to continue for fourteen years ;
they practised together till August, 180 S, when Mr.
Dinsdale absented himself from his profession (the
business of which had been increased through the in-
dustry and exertions of Mr. Marie) in pursuits totally
unconnected and incompatible with his professional
engagements ; neglected to take out his certificate to
practise as an attorney, from the month of August,
1818, to February, 1809, and refused to lend any as-
sistance whatever to Mr. Hark. Mr. Harle, dissatis-
fied with Mr. Dinsdale's conduct, told him, he should
no longer tonsiderhim his partner. What did Mr. Dins..
dale, on hearing this, do ? Why, it could scarcely
be imagined, when he said, that, actuated by the
most hateful malice that ever disgraced a man, he
made an affidavit for £l2OO, and upwards ; cause('
A writ to be issued thereon,. directed to the Sheriff of
Yorkshire ; on the 10th of May, 1809, the warrant
was granted to arrest Mr. Harle ; and, on the 12th
of May, (the return day of it) he sent for a Bailiff.
and told him that the warrant was returnable, but
said to the Bailiff," You must stay all night ; by the
morrow's post I expect another, and on the morrow
you are to arrest Mr. Harle." The morrow comes :
what did Mr. Dinsdale cjo ? It could scarcely be be-
lieved. He sent one Jacob Walton, his clerk, with
the very same warrant that was returnable the day
before, to the same officer, and desired him to tell the
officer to arrest Mr. Hark upon it ; the officer re-
fused, and reprimanded this Jacob Walton, for at-
tempting to deceive an officer. What did Mr. Dins.
dale after this do ? he sent two days after to Ridley
another officer (and one of the defendants in this
cause) and put the same warrant into his hands ;
Ridley went to arrest Mr. Harle at his olvn house ;
he, poor fellow, expressed his surprise, and said, with
a heart almost broken at the idea of his character
being ruined by being dragged to a miserable gaol in
his own neighbourhood, " Do you come to arrest me
at Mr. Dinsdale's suit for £l2OO ? let me look at the
warrant?" He does, and told the officer it was out
of date, and advised him to go back to Dinsdale and
get some indemnity, before be took him to gaol ;
endeavoured to convince Ridley of the illegality of the
arrest, by producing his Term Table : Ridley was
advised, and went back to Dinsdale ; Dinsdale said,
" the warrant is not out of date," and produced hitt
some book to convince him that the warrant was
right ; " now, (said the Serjeant) could it be believed
that Dinsdale did not know, when he had been told
that the warrant had been out of date three days be-
fore, and on that account a former officer had refused
to execute it ? No ; this was not sufficient for Mr.
Dinsdale, he must go further ; he insisted that the
warrant was right, and to gaol Mr. Harle must go,
whether right or wrong, and thereby have his charac-
ter and credit as a professional man ruined fin. ever.
He was in consequence taken to a most miserable pri-
son, in the neighbourhood of Richmond, and detain-
ed there twelve days ; most falsely imprisoned, at Mr.
Dinsdale's suit, and no other person's ; Mr. Breare,
who was the Deputy Chief Bailiff to the Duke of
Leeds, in whose district Hark was art ested, sent for
Mr. Dinsdale, and told him the arrest was illegal,
and advised him to release Mr. liarle. Mr. Dinsdale
said " no, he shall be kept there, and he would spend
one-half of his fortune, sooner than he should be re-
leased." Mr. Breare, finding Mr. Dinsdale actuated
by malice, and determined on the ruin of Mr. Hark,
sent to town for advice ; and as soon as he received
it, released him without any further communication
with Mr. Dinsdale on the subject, on the 26th of May.
" Now, (observed the Serjeant) any person must
know, with one grain of understanding, that the law
will not allow one partner to arrest another ; and Mr.
Dinsdale knew so too ; but no, says he, I must, and
lam determined to arrest Mr. Harle. I know he I
has no fortune ; I will ruin him in his professional
capacity, and to gaol he shall go. But thank Gon,
(said the Learned Serjeant) thank Gon, that we have
Courts of Justice open to us at all times, to which
our British Constitution suffers us to appeal in cases
of this nature ; and I hope that through the Jury, Mr.,
Harle will receive a compensation for the most seri-
ous injury ever sustained by man."
Witnesses were called on the part of the plaintiff,
and the case was proved to the satisfaction of the
Jury, who were addressed in the most able manner by
Mr. RAINS, on the part of the defendant, and after a
most impartial charge from the Judge, they retired,
and brought in a verdict for the plaintiff, with 8:.500
damages.

A. singular circumstance occurred, last week, at
Lingfield, in Surrey. The wife of a labourer named
Davis, having gone out early in the morning, left an
infant, fourteen months old, in the cradle. On her
return, she found the child dreadfully mangled; one
eye torn out of the socket, its arms, face, and neck
much lacerated, and struggling for breath as if op-
pressed with a weight. On turning down the clothes,
the agonized mother perceived it was occasioned by
the cat, which With her kitten had found the way into
the cradle, and probably being annoyed by the play-
fulness of the infant, had reduced it to the aboTe state,
and would by its weight upon the child's stomach,
have speedily deprived it of its life, but for the timely
succour of the mother.