Star.
London, England, 1826-05-31 00:00:00

SILLICK V. SMITH.

In this case, where the question was whether an action
under any circumstances could be maintained against
the West India Dock Company, of which the defendant
was the treasurer, after the expiration of three months,
under the statute of 39 Gto ge 111. c. 69, the Court
ruled that it could not.
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, MAY 30.
/Mint V. 31OCKDALE.

The derendant in this case now appeared, to move for

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a role to strew cause, in ti-e first place, why the verdict
for the plaintiff should not be set aside, and a nonsuit
entered; and in the second, why a new trial.should not
be granted. It was an action against him to recover
compensarinn in damage,, on account of the injury
arising to the plaintiff in consequence of a libel which
appeared in a certain work, called " Memoirs of Har-
riette Wilson." A verdict was found for the plaintiff,
damages 7001. He did not intend to make any apology,
for this application, as he considered he had a r ight to
'take this proceeding, First, as to the nonsuit, the de-
elevation stated that he ha] a wife and eight children,
whereas there were but three still living. Now the mar-
riage, be presumed, ought to be proved as exactly as
the nature of the fact would admit, as in the case of
bigamy. Again, the person named in the work was
Charier F. ederick Fisher, and the name of the plaint.ffl
I was Hugh Evans Fisher; and it was proved that no
other attorney of that name lived at Lyme Regis, by a
person who had only bet n there occasionally. He was
also mentioned as a Devonshire attorney, and Lyme
Regis was in Dorsetshire. This was what he would urge
on the first paint. Then, as to the second : The charge
of the Learned Judge who tried the cause was calcu-
lated to inflame the prejudices of the Jury ; and as a
proof of it, the excessive damages of u hich be com-
rlained were given. The Learned Mr. Serjeant
Vaughan, too, who bad conducted the plaintiff's case,
commented with very great virulence on the case, and
had referred to the case in which he was concerned with
Poplett. He had been designated in the charge of the
Learned Judge as the pander of a prostitute. Unless
such expressiObs had been used towards his conduct, he
was quke convinced no such verdict would have been
found against him. As to the instructions which it had
been supposed were derived from him, he disavowed

'them ; and he should consider himself ill compensated
by 20,0001. for the injury he had received in public opi-
nion, by its being supposed •he had authorized such a
defence. As to the dam rges to which the plaintiff -was
entitled in this case, the smallest damages would be
quite sufficient. Nn proof had been produced—no legal
proof that he had been mArtied.
Mr. Justice PA RIC —Lor d Mrnsfiehi has said, that in
no civil case, except in vim con. is root of mini:age
necessary. C•'habitation and reputation me quite.suffi-
cient in any other case. That: seers ti) civil cases; but
bigamy, to which you have directed our attention, is a
ciiiiiinal charge. _ _

The LORD Cnier,Juvracc—flave you any affidavit of surpriie?
-- - - • - -- - - - -

Mr. SrockdAc—No, my Lord, I gave [Hi.
Ti'e Louu CHISF tell you that you
can't move fora nonsoit, unless Oleic w:,. 1 point saved
for you. Now thtre was no point saved tor you at
this trial.

Mr. Justice PARK—As to the Allegation of the eight
children, that is quite unimportant. It was proved that
he had three children.

Mr. Stockdide—Then, my LorJ, he "Ys he *as very
much injured in hic good chAractei ; lout their wAs no
evidence of his good charade-.
The Loan Cum. JUSTDCII...-1 IC mull be taken as having a good
ghat:lc-ter, unless proof be given to the contrary._ _ _

Mr. S ockJale—The.i the chit ge said, thst he would
be preventrd from being engaged by the (-Amities in
the neighbourhood, whereas be has left the neighbour-
hood, and had left it the year before the publication
of the libel.
The LORD Ciii!? Jusrice—l referred rather to his
general practice as an Attorney. But by the evidence,
at the time of the trial, I was bound to conclude he was
still practising at Lyme Regis.
Mr. Stockdale—Then, as to the mentioning of names
in the work, I told the woman who brought me this
work for sale, that she had better send some confidential
friend to the parties, rather than publish. She told me,
that if she had a confidential friend in the world to whom
she could apply, she would not have applied to me.
Mr. Justice GASELEK—Wh st you have now stated
would have gone much more to increase the damages,
than any thing the Learned Judge could have said in
his charge. _ _ _

The LORD CHM' JURTICR—The hundreds would then have been
thousand,.

Mr. Stockda'e—Nlsny observations were made by

the Coutt, that this work was of an immoral tendency.
Now, 1 think, whether tight or wrong, Gun in heaven
knows, that it is of a very moral tendency, for no hook
that ever I saw is more calculated to cl►eck vice and

immorality. Now, in a letter I WAS reading yesterday
evening to Dr. llaa ker, on Methodism, there is a vei 5
warm attack nucleon a whole body of persons, and that
by a very moral and religious man, whereas this woi k
only Wets to particular persons.—After some further
remarks, Mr. Stockdale read the following lines :

" Distemper'd men there are, estraned front home,
Cold to an angel's kind embrace,
Cheerless, amid a blooming race,
And dead to comforts, in a princely dome:—
Men, in the lap of fortune mers'd,
With 311 her froward humours curs'd,
And teas'd by wishes, ever on the wing;
Who, wandering still through folly's maze,
In search of bliss, consume their days,
Nor taste her genuine draught, at N'ature's spring.
Yet such the men who lead the gay,
The pride and patterns of the day,
Whose high prii'd friendship fools and strangers boast :
Blush thou to court their barren fame;

Let home, sweet home, thy presence claim,
And those enjoy thy smiles who love thee most r

And concluded by observing, that he never until then

felt his nerves shaken, when he std before them as a

fa:her. with the expectation of a wife bringing to him
soon a 22,1 child. Had he not been conscious of the

injustice of the verdict, he might have been deprived of
his senses. Had the work been of that immoral and
blasphemous nature as had been represented, he might
have been indicted for it. He had now done; but
should he tail in his application, he would apply to the
L?gislature, and even to the Throne itself.

The LORD CRUM JugTsca--I think the grounds of this applica-
tion are as abstud as the publication is infamous.
Mr. JUSTICE PAKK—I think that in this case there
has been no ground stated to induce the Court to inter.
pose. As to the ground on which the motion for entering
a nonsuit has beets made, we have all eady expressed
our opinion. With regard to granting a new trial, it is
the peculiar province of the Jury to state the amount
of the damages which the plaintiff ought to receive.
The Court, it is true, have sometimes interfered on the
ground of excessive damages, but only on very peculiar
occasions. I cannot say that if I had been on the Jury
I should have given such a sum, but I cannot say I
should not. The Jury are the legitimate and consti-
tuttd judges of the amount of damages, and I can see
no reason why we should in this case interfere.
Mr Justice BURROUGH—If there was any one circum-
stance in this case which would justify our setting aside
this verdict, I am sure we should be most happy to give
the defendant the benefit of it. That this is an infamous
libel no one can doubt. Of the amount of damages the
Jury are the proper judges. The Court never inter-
feres, except when some very peculiar reason arises.--
Even in a case of seduction, under very peculiar cir-
cumstances, where the Jury had found damages to the
amount of 5,0001. the Court refused a new trial, because
the determination of the amount of damages was the
peculiar duty of the Jury ; and unless we sought to
destroy the whole jurisdiction of the Jury, I do not see
hoW we can disturb the •erdict in this case. I don't
myself think these was Is. too much given by the Jury.
Mr. Justice PACK said, that his Brother Gaxelee bad been obliged
a leave the Court, fur the purpose of going ta.Cliatnbers ; but he
had requested him to state, that his opinion was, that no reason
existed tor disturbing the verdict.—Bule rattan'.