Star.
London, England, 1827-05-30 00:00:00

ORPWO:)D V. IA RK;2.

This was an action for slander. The facts of the
ease were, shortly these:--The plaintiff was a I;yery
stable keeper, cat rying on business in Holbora I tibtdeo
fondant was s licensed victualler, residing next door tv
the plaintiff It appeared that the parties were not
altogether-opon the hest terms, and that the defendant
had, on various occasions, dropped expressions to stran-
gers teirdiarto injuAr the character of the plaintiff;
among other things it was proved, that in a conversa-
tio:i with Mr. Borell, the corn merchant, who supplied
• the plaintiff with' corn, he'asked him whether he served
the plaintiff? and upon Mr. Borell answering iu the af-

firu;ative, the defendant .said, war-bawk,iwind what
. you are about in that quarter." Mr. Borell, in conse-
quence of this, refused to let the plaintiff have any mote
corn,,till the old bill,' amounting to 150/. should be dis-
charged. 'These facts were proved by Mr. Borell.
The plaintiff's daughter proved several other malicious
• expressions made use of by the defendant, and -also,
that her father's business was reduced almost to nothing,
he ocly having two or three horses in his stable, where
• be used to have thirty or forty. Other witnesses were
• called, who confirmed the truth of these facts.
MT. Sergeant Wrenn addressed the Jury for the de-
fentani, and contendrd that the expressions com-
plained of were only meant in caution to Mr. Borell,
add not in malice to the plaintiff: He called no witnesses.
Mr. Justice GAULS/ summed up, and the Jury, after
a short consultation, returned a verdict for the plain-
tiff—Damages 15C1.
COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Mar 29,
. 111100GLIKG OP GURAtoma•TUZ KING MUM? gear"
Mr. WALTON opened: the pleadings. This was an
information tiled by Isis Majesves Attorney Oesseral,
against the defendant, for having imported a large
quantity of coral, without having paid the duty. A
second count charged him with having assisted in the
importat on ; and a third, with having harboured the.
coral so fraudulently imported. For each of which
offences he was liable to penalties amounting to three
times the value of the coral.
The Souctroa-GaNzam, stated thou'', to the Jury.
The defendant was a Genoese, and had been for some
time engaged in smuggling coral into this country, by'
means of a fraud very ingenious in its contrivance, and
extensive in degree. The Jury were aware that beads
and other coral ornaments were liable to • a duty upon
importation into this country. There was an Italian,
of the name sit Mazzinchi, residing at Stepney, who
was a dealer not only in beads and other ornaments,
but in those Italian eatables which were generally so
agreeable to the palates of epicures in this country.
Another Italian, of the name of Brambani, came to this
country, from Rotterdam, where he resided; and find-
ing that Mazzinchi was a dealer in coral, he pro-
posed to him a method by whith coral might be ins-
pbrtEdeißthout payment of duty. Mazzinchi, being
only a small dealer, was unable to take advantage of
the proposition, but communicated it to the defendant.
It was,,after some consultation, agreed that coralshould
be pechased at the Custom-house Docks, in London;
and Oat this bonded coral, which had paid no duty,
and Was liable to wit upon exportation from Ibis

country, should be exported to Rotterdam, and con-
sired to Brambani, there to be by him reimported into
this country, concealed in casks of butter. The butter
casks were- received at the Custom-house by Mazzinchi.
amid from thence conveyed to his house, at Tratelkita
'agnate, Stepney. There were five transactions of this
kind between July, 1824, and January, 1825. The
,quantity of coralsso fraudulently imported was between
7,000 and B,ooolruncet. and the amount of duty of
which the Crown was thus defrauded was 4761. The
transactions were successful up to the latter period, but
4 long as the pitcher had gone safely to the well, it catne
home broken at last." In Jan. 182.5. the fraud was dis-
covered by the awkwardness of a revenue officers. Whilst
in the act of weighing one of the casks, it slipped from'
his hands, and tell upon the ground. The head came
loot, and the heaviest part of the contents fell to the
'ground: This was a tin case fitted with coral,. which led
to the discovery of the whole transaction. The butter;
was directed to Mazzinchi, and he having extracted the
coral, disposed of it for the defendant. He wag aware,l
that as Mamenchi(the principal witness for the Crown),
was as guilty as the defendant, he was, therefote, unde-
serving of credit; but, in such cases. it was impossible'
to procure any other evidence thin that of-persons who
had been guilty themselves; and, in the present cast,
be would be'corroboiated in all the material points by
other evidence, to which no such objectons could lie, as
that which may be urged against Mazzinchie .
Joseph Maizinchi was then called, and examined b
Mr. Clerk.—ls a dealer in cheese, oil, paste, Ike.
Mr. JARVIS, for the defendant, here asked the wit*"
iftbere were nit it suit pending against him foralar
1,6001. being the vice bt this eery coral, rind if he bad
not been arrested for this demand.
The witness halving replied in the affirmative,
Mr. It 111/13 4jected to the reception of his testimony,.
' as the fact of a eardict being given against the defendant
in this case, would be an answer to the action which he,
bad instituted against the witness in another Court?
The CUM' BA RQI4 over-ruled the objection, and the
examination proceeded. Witness knows else defendant;
has known him for five years; and had frequent deal-,
ings with him during that time on commission. The
defendant dealt, ,attiongst other things, in coral,
which. witness soldjce him at 2i,per cent. This con-
nection existed for seem or eight-months before the
smuggling commenced. Knows a man of the na
of Biambani ; became acquainted with him at Amy's.-
dam. In 1824, Brambani came to London, a lieu witness
met him. In consequence of something ',which passed
between witness and Brambani,.witness told defendant,
that a friend of his had come from Holland, who said
that it was a foolish thing to pay so large a duty lot
the importation of coral, when it might, with perfect
safety, be smuggledinto the country. Gnecco said,,
[that he expected two cases' of coral from Genoa in a
Sew days, and that, .according to the scheme prpposed
ley Brambaqi, it could be reshipped from bond, and
seinspoited is the manner agreed upon. The coral
ante from Genoa in July, 1824. and was, in a day oe
tiro after. its arrival, teshipped and consigned to Bram- ,
bani, at Rotterdam. In August followiag, the witness
lepeeised four casks of butter, sent by Brambaisi. from
otherlinghen, in Holland; witness received them at tin'
Custom House Docks, and having paid all expenses,
exiled them to his house at Stepney. There were two
,bunches of coral in each of them. The total was in
'bladders. wrapped round with cotton, and sunk into
die middle of the batter. in the afternoon witness went
to the defendant, and told him that be bad received the
ht bunches; witty** having no scales of hir me% de•
ant sent his porter to bring the e, sal to his (de-
teadant's) house to be there weighed. The parcel con-
tained about 68 ounces; witness next day took it to '
tikewws. Ceti and Co. fled Lina-street, liolbosa, and
'sold it to them at 4s. 6d. an ounce. The witness then
detailed a variety of similar transactions, with erhich ja
is unnecessary to trouble our readers; they only varied
in the circumstances of time and place.
Cross-examined by Mr. JARVIS—Never had the
honour to be a gens 'farmer ender Napoleon. An in
formation has been filrd against him by the Orman for
the transaction in question, and he c..nsented to a Ter-
diet for 2001. which..he has never been called upon to
, pay ; set up in business with a capital of sixpence ; has
been always, to the best of his knowledge, an honest man.
Several witnesses were then called, who proved some
formal and supplemental parts of the case, as the im•
portation and exportation of the coral ; the connection
between the defendant and witness during the periA
in which the speculation was cartied on, and the seiz-
ure which led to the ultimate discovery of the whole
transaction.

Mr. JARYIS stated the case for the defence, and the

SOLICITOR•WWZRAL replied on the pact of the
Crown. The Learned Gentleman, in answer to the
reflections which had been cast by Mr. Jarvis, upon the
testimony of Mazzinchi, produced a remittitur, by
which the Crown Mad released him from all the penal-
ties to which he had been rendoed liable, in conse-
lisence of the base which lie had in the transactions,
and of the verdict to which he had consented.

Upon inspection of this document by Mr. Jarvis. it,
appeared to be signed by Sir JAMS Scarlet; and to
have issued on Saturday last, _ _

, .
r The LORD CHIRP BARON having summed np the
evidence, the Jury retired for about twenty minutes,
and found a verdict for the Crown; but Of- Foreman
moat earnestly recommended the defendant to the
mercy of the Law Officers of his Majesty. It was at
last agreed, between the Counsel on both sides, that
the defendant should pay, in atonement of his offence,
4001. to the Gown.