Star.
London, England, 1819-04-20 00:00:00

SEDUCTION.
•
TOWN-HALL, PLYMOUTIT, APRIL 15-
• eltoist.
A Jury was assembled this day at our Town-ball,
before G. EASTLAKE, Esq. Deputy Sheriff, under a
writ of inquiry of damages. This cause was an
action brought by Mr. Peter Cross, of Torpoint,
against the defendant, John Budge, formerly a rope-
maker there, but now living at Callihgton, to re-
cover compensation in damages for the seduction of
his daughter, Tabitha Cross.
The case on the part of the plaintiff-was stated by
Mr. BozoN, who developed the whole.system of base
duplicity practised by the defendant, and from which
it appeared, that in the early part of the year 1813,
the defendant, then twenty-five yens of age, came
to lodge at the house of the plaintiff, with whose
family he was before that time in the habits of inti-
macy ; he had previously shewn attention to Miss
Cross, at that time only 15 years of age, and, avail-
ing himself of the facilities which the situation of a
lodger afforded him, effected her seduction ; the re-
sult of which was the birth of a child in the early
part of 1814. Ia July, 1813, he was detected in an
extensive traffic in King's stores, for which he was
tried at the Lent Assizes, in 1814, and received sen-
tence of transportation, in execution of which he was
sent to the hulks at Portsmouth. In the summer of
1817, he was relieved from the sentence of transpor-
tation by the effect of a pardon which had been pro-
cured for him; and during the whole tine of his
imprisonment he kept up a correspondence with the
unhappy victim of his base passion, promising every
reparation in his power if he should succeed in °b-
eaming a mitigation of his punishment ; but though
his business of a ropemaker was still carried on for
him at Torpoint, he had not contributed any thing
to• the support of Miss Cross, or the child, which
died at the age of five months.
The letters by which this correspondence had been
maintained were produced and read, and contained
the strongest expressions of affection, interlarded
with religion, and were pointedly animadverted upon
by Mr. Bozon. No sooner, however, did the defen-
dant obtain a pardon, than, instead of' fulfilling his
promise to this still confiding and affectionate girl,
he basely attempted, by every possible means, to
repeat an intercourse which had already proved so
destructive to her peace and happiness, impressing
upon hel• the belief that he intended to marry her,
up to the very time in October last ; at which, to her
unutterable surprise, she found he had become the
husband of another woman. _ _

This statement was fully confirmed by the evi-
dence of Miss Cross, and several' respectable inhabi-
tants of Torpoint; from whose testimony it appear-
ed, that up to the time of her unhappy connexion
with the defendant, and since that period to the pre-
sent moment, her conduct had been wholly irre-
proachable; and such was the sympathy excited by
her unhappy situation, and the inability of her father,
the plaintiff, to support her and her offspring, that
a subscription had been raised in the neighbourhood
for her relief.
The DEPUTY SHERIFF having summed up the
evidence in a most perspicuous and able charge, in
the course of which he more than once remarked,
that, except in her unfortunate intercourse with the
defendant, the slightest breath of tuspicion did not
rest upon the character of Miss Cross, the Jury re-
tired, and, having remained upwards of an hour
in deliberation, returned with a verdict for the plain-
tiff—Damages 1:200.

Friday night, jnei after dark, the Maidstone Coach
was robbed of a large parcel, containing property of
c msHerable value, belonging to a house in the City.
The coachman had placed the parcel on the top of
the coach, and all the outside passengers sat at the
front. A thief spying an opportunity, mounted be-
hind, removed the parcel unperceived, and escaped.'
Last week, on the arrival of the Guildford coach,
at Tooting, the passengers observed a man apparently
hanging from a tree. They hastened to the spot,
and found that his feet touched the ground. He was
soon able to state that distress had driven him to the
rash act, and was relieved by them and the Parish-
officers. The next day he was taken before a Magis-
trate at Wandsworth, where he was recognised as an
impostor, who had obtained money by a similar trick,
about N months since, at Fulham ; he was, there-
fore, committed as a rogue and vagabond.
Thursday night, a daring robbery was committed
on the premises of Mr. Nichols, cormmerchant, Bank-
side, near Blackfriars-road. The thieves, who were
at least four in number, entered the wharf from the
'river, having landed from a boat, and with the assis-
tance of an iron-crow they broke open the counting-
house door, which adjoins the dwelling, and rifled
several desks, drawers, and boxes ; from the desk they
carried off silver and copper amounting to £3O.
Ftae.—Sunday night, between seven and eight
o'clock, a tire burst forth with great fury in the lower
part of the premises of Mr. Nuaoaove, a butcher, in
Crown-street, Walworth, which originated in a quan-
tity of shavings taking fire in the kitchen. Before the
engines arrived, the flames had got to such a height,
as to render all efforts to save the premises useless.
The houses on each side, a baker's and a florist's, es-
caped with trifling damage.
Sunday se'nnight, in the evening, one of the wings
of Alderbrook Hall, Cardiganshire, the seat of J.
LLOYD WILL lAMs, Esq. was totally consumed by fire.
The conflagration is supposed to have been mali-
ciously effected by a servant in the family, who ab-
sconded after completing his diabolical purpose, tak-
ing with him an excellent horse of his master s.
LaTendcr, who was left for execution at the Sw'.
rey Assizes, for a highway robbery, is respited, some
circumstances having transpired which render his
guilt doubtful.
FLORENCE, MACARTIIIrk Fifth Edition of this.
new Work of LADY MORGAN'S scull appear in the,
course of the present week. It has been j•isdy ob-
served, that of all the. Novels of this spirited writer,.
Florence Macarthy is the one which has met with the
most brilliant success. It is a picture no less true,
than energetic of the political and moral situation of
Ireland, to which a simple and interesting fable has
been adapted. The picturesque descriptionq of thei
Country, the account of the manners, and above a 11,,,
of the sufferings Qf this worthy people, as well as the,
Portraits of a multitude of persons, ere certaiuly.,
traced in this charming Work with a rare talent of
obsertation, afi'd a vigoisr of style still still nitric un-,
daimon titiangfail* writers.