Star.
London, England, 1821-11-26 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, NOVEMBER 24.
THE KING V. THE MAYOR OF CHESTER.
The defendant, J. Williams, Esq. laze Mayor of
Chester, was brought up for judgment, in conie-
quence of his conviction at the Assizes of Chester, of
acting corruptly in the performance of his duty as
Mayor, during the last contested Election. It ap-
peared that during the last Election, in which the
canalates were Lord Belgrave and General Gros-
venor, on the one side, and Messrs. Egerton and
Townshend on the other; the friends of the latter
candidates applied to make forty-four freemen ; that
the Mayor, notwithstanding the usage to the con-
trary at Chester, refused to comply with this requisi-
tion, and said that he should not make any freedoms
on either side, and that he acted by the advice of the
Town Clerk, Mr. Finchett, who happened to be the
attorney for the Grosvenor family. It also appeared
that, to avoid importunities, he (the Mayor) had se-.
creted himself in the house of a Mr. Harrison ; arid
refused, at the requisition of some of the parties, to
call a Court of Aldermen, to consider the conduct
he ought to pursue. It further appeared that the re-
fusal had given an undue advantage, and in tact the
return, at the Election, to the Grosvenor interest.
Mr. Justice BEST, and afterwards Mr. Justice llor,
Rolm, read the Notes of the trial.
The defendant put in an affidavit, setting forth that
he not being a man cf professional knowledge, and
being solely engaged in his own trade, he determined
to be guided by the advice of the Town Clerk, in all
matters of a professional nature. The Election fol•
Members to serve in Parliament for Chester took
place in March, 1820, and at the opening, the de-
fens!ant did not expect a great severity of polling:
tEs. boss ever' did occur, and the Sheriffs being
the Returning Officers, having no regular assessor,
employed the Town Clerk in that office. During
the heat of the Election, an application was made to
the defendant, as Mayor, to admit to their freedom
several applicaats ; he consulted Mr. Finchett, the
Town svlio advised him at such a time not to
grant their admission, and feeling that advice to be
honestly given, he abided by it, and equally refused
admitting the applicants of each of the contesting
Candidates. He most solemnly denied being ac-
tuated by any sinister motive in his refusal, and also
solemnly denied that he had used the expressions
imputed to him—of having said "we have done
them nicely."
Several other affidavits were put in, giving the de-
fendant an excellent character; and also one from
Mr. Harrison, denying that he had heard the de•
fendant use the expression " we have done them
nicely."
SCARLETT rose on the part of the defendant,
and urged, that he had acted at least equitably be-
tween the parties, for he had refused to make freemen
for either side. They would recollect that much
blame was imputed to the Mayor of Bristol for ad-
mitting freemen, in the celebrated contest between
the late Mr. Burke and. Mr.cruger.
CirlEV JUSTICE.--t think the objection at Bristol
was, that I:ei sons claimed their freedom by virtue of
marrying flee women of Bristol after the Election
commenced. It did confer a privilege of freedom to
marry a Bristol woman; but then in that case the
marriage took place during the Election.
Mr. SCAItLETT, in resuming, said, he remembered
when engaged with Mr. Dauncey, at a former Wor-1
tester Election, that the Mayor did the same thing
which had been done at Chester, and said he was
a4vised by "Jack Poillips," a Gentleman well known
at the Bar, to act so. He (Mr. Scatlett) at length
ccmpromised the matter, and the Mayor took the
votes iu each side. lle had hoped that the party
spirit of the Election wi,uld have passed away with
the time at which it originated, and that a prosecu-
tion like the present wouldaiot have been instituted.
Mr. PEARSON, also for the defendant, submitted
that the error of the Mayor was a very venial one.—
He might have had a predilection for the family of
one set of candidates ; that bias was natural enough
for a man whose family had raised themselves from
the condition of humble life under the auspices of a
family of rank; who had for generations closely at-
tended to the welfare of Chester.
Mr. JrAters, in reply, urged that the violation of
duty on the part of the Mayor WAS clear and indis-
putable. He (Mr. Jervis) hoped the Court would
take care to inflict upon him a punishment against
which he could not obtain any indemnity, and in a
place where he would be deprived of the indulgences
he might receive at Chester.
Mr. Justice BAYLEY, in pronouncing the judgment
of the Court upon the defendant, said, that although
he might not have been generally versed in the prin-
ciples of law, yet he must have been versed in the
usage of the town, which, he knew, was to admit
such an application as he had for an undue purpose,
rejected. The sentence of the Court, therefore, was,
that he should pay to the King a fine of £l,OOO,
and be imprisoned in the King's Bench Prison for
six calendar months; and further, until the said
fine was paid.
THE KING V. R. BLACOW, A.M.
Mr. DENMAK prayed the judgment of the Court on
this defendant, but owing to the lateness of the hour,
being nearly four o'clock, the case stood over.
This day Mr. Justice BEST committed a man to
Newgate for a month, who, on coming up to justify
as bail, was guilty of gross prevarication.
CON:ifsWHY cOuitT, NOVEMBER 23.
THE OFFICE OF THE JUDGE. PROMOTED BY DR. WOL-
LASTON AGAINST DR. CLARK.
In this case an application was made by the Proc-
tor of the Rev. Dr. Wollaston, to the end that the
Conrt might pronounce the Rev. Dr. Clark, who was
assigned to appear this day, in contempt of Court.
The office of the Judge had been promoted against
Dr. Clark, in consequence of his having refused to
admit the Archdeacon into .the Church,. in the ere.,
tution of his office; and this morning be had tailed
to appear, according to the terms of the assignation.
• Sir CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON said, that this WAS a
very grave and important matter ; and as he had
onlyJseeti a few hours before advertised that this ap-
plica:ion was likely-to be. made, he %could rather de.
• ter acceding to it on the present °ppm utility. If Dr.
Clark shouid not appear on the next Court day, he
would pronounce him in- contempt of Court.

POL ICE.

Bow-srazre—An unfortunate girl apreared at
this Office, last week, with a complaint-against Tho-
mas William Wise, a pay' nbroker, living in Broad-
street, St. Giles's. She stated that a HMI of her ac-
quaintance, named Green:M.ly, had pawned his sil-
ver watch with the defendant for 12s. and gave her
the duplicate. In a few days afterwards, the girl
weni to ti.e defendant's to release the watch. The
pawnbroker demanded 12s. of her, and 2id. interest,
which she paid him, and he handed her a watch in re-
turn. Upon examination, however, the watch she
received was discovered not to be worth two-pence;
and she therefore returned to the pawnbroker s, and
insisted upon having either the watch which Green-
away had pawned, or her 12s. back again ; but the
pawnbroker would give her neither. It turned out
that before the girl had presented the duplicate,
Greenaway having repented of his liberality to her,
had made an affidavit that he bad lost the duplicate,
and had actually redeemed his watch, having paid
the 12s. with the interest to the defendant. The pawn-
broker, however, imagining that the girl could not
tell what sort of a watch Greenaway had pledged,
received the 12s. again from her, and gave her the,
valueless article above-mentioned. wises shopman,
who attended for the defendant, admitted that Green-
away's watch was worth two guineas, while that
given to the girl was not worth sixpence ; but said,
that suspecting the girl to have stolen the duplicate
from Greenaway, he merely gave her that watch in
order to bring the parties together. Mr. MINSIIULL
observed, that if he suspected the girl to have stolen
the duplicate, he might have stopped it and given
her into custody ; but he had no right whatever to
have taken her money from her. It was clear that
the girl had been cheated out of twelve shillings, and
he therefore ordered him to refund it to her instantly.
The shopman said, that was very bard, as he had
merely taken it to promote the ends of justice. Mr.
Mrs:snuta. said, his intentions might be very good,
but it was evident he wanted to cheat the girl out of
twelve shillings, to which he could have no possible
claim, and, therefore, he should restore it to her be-
fore he left the Office. The shopman then talked of
the defendant's and his services to the Office ; still
hesitated to pay the money; and asked time until Mon-
day to see Mr. Wise, or he should be the money out
of pocket, he said, although he had no interest in it
but what arose from his wish to promote justice.—
However, at length, upon Mr. NlrssouLes directing
the Clerk to take the girl's depositions, for the put.
pose of committing the defendant, he, with great re-
luctance, paid the money, and withdrew, exclaiming
warmly against the want of indulgence he had expe-
rienced at the hands of the Magistrate.
William Leach, the informer, brought forward two
informations against Joseph Joseph, the pawnbroker,
of Drury-lane, for taking one farthing beyond the
legal interest on the sum of three shillings lent to him
(Leach) on a shirt, which he swore he pawned on the
10th of September; and the same on a gown pledged
on the 11th, the day following. Mr. Joseph's clerk
produced his book, and swore that he regularly,
every evening, entered all the articles that were
pawned in the course of the day from the duplicates
into that book ; never, to the best of his knowledge,
omitting a single article; certainly not intentionally ;
and Leach's name did not appear on either of the
days mentioned. He also swore that lie never saw
Leach in his master's shop, although Leach stated
that it was this boy who had taken the articles in.—
Mr. MINSHULL observed, that lie was not satisfied
with the reason alleged by Leach for not having
brought forward the information, sooner an interval
of two months having elapsed since the period at
which the articles were stated to have been released ;
and however possible it might have been that the
shopman should accidentally omit the entry of an ar-
ticle on one day, it was not probable that the same
accidental omission should occur with respect to the
same individual on each of two successive days. The
circumstances, therefore, not warranting him to place
credit in the informer's oath, in preference to that of
the shopman, be dismissed both informations ; but
cautioned the defendant against ever receiving more
than the lawful interest.
DUELLING. 'There have been more cases of duelling
before the Public lately than for a number of years.
A case of rather an extraordinary description (as it
was upon cross challenges) came on before Mr. MIN-
SHULL on Saturday, the subject in dispute being in
continuation from the 29th of October last, between
two friends and neighbours. The parties are Dr.
Thomas Hume, of Hanwell, Middlesex, who served
in the Peninsula under the Duke of Wellington, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Churchill, of the Ist Grenadier
Guards, who also resided in the same village, near
Dr. Hume. The circumstances, as stated to the Ma-
gistrate, were as follow :—Some time ago a misun-
derstanding arose between the parties, and Dr. Hume
wrote a very offensive letter to the Lieutenant-Colonel,
adding, that he should remain at home for the day.
This was in the end of October. The evident ten-
dency of the letter was to provoke a message from
Colonel Churchill. This letter was sent by a neigh-
bouring Gentleman, a mutual friend, and received
by • the Lieutenant-Colonel. The sister of Colonel
Churchill, and his brother-in-law, thereupon repaired
to Dr. BAND, a Magistrate resident upon the spot,
and at their instance Dr. BAND bound Lieutenant-
Colonel Churchill and Dr. Hume to keep the peace,
in their own recognizances of £5OO each. This busi-
ness became the subject of general conversation in
the village, and after a lapse of some time, a Gentle-
man calling himself Sir C. S—, waited upon Dr.
Hume on -behalf of Lieutenant-Colonel Churchill,
proposing a meeting at Calais, when the Doctor in-
formed him that he had laid the case before the
Duke of York. Sir C. S— applied again, and next
came a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Churchill him,
self to Dr. Hume, peremptorily demanding a satis-
factory answer to the message delivered by Sir C. S.
and concluded in threatening language respecting
the communication to the Commander-in-Chief. This
letter was dated so lately as the 19th inst. Dr. Hume
was advised, under all the circumstances, to lay his
case before Dr. BARD, the Magistrate who had bound
the parties over, and he did so. In the meantime,
Lieutenant-Colonel Churchill having removed his
residence to a street near Berkeley-square, a warrant
was issued from Bow-street, and the Lieutenant-
Colonel was brought up in the custody of Bilis, the
constable, to the above Office on Saturday evening,
when he underwent an examination before Mr. Mix-

MULL, when Dr. Hume attended also, and stated
the above case, and at the same time produced the
letter above-mentioned, received by the twopenny
post, which the Lieutenant-Colonel admitted to be ,
his band-writing ; and, from the threats contained in
the letter, the Doctor apprehended that he went in
danger of his life, or that he should receive some
bodily harm. The Magistrate read the letter, and
pfonounced it a direct forfeiture of the Lieutenant-
-1 Colonel's recognizance ; he therefore called upon him
for fresh bail, himself in £lOO, and two sureties in
ZOO each. lie was accordingly bound over, and the
required sureties found.
HATTON-GARDEN.—Saturday, two lads, dressed
like livery-servants, were brought up by the officers,
charged with being dog-stealers, and enticing dogs
from Gentlemen's houses in the neighbourhood of
Brunswick-square. It appeared that they were •in
the act of tampering with dogs at the moment the
'officers took them into custody; and upon search-
ing their persons they found bullocksiivet, prepared
in a particular manner, to decoy dogs from their
lawful owners, the smell of which is so powerful that
no fidelity can resist it. The animal will jump and
fawn on the person having the liver so prepared, and
continue to follow him any distance. They were re-
manded for further examination on a_future day.

Friday night, as Abraham Wood, a watchman belonging to
St. Ann's, lilackfriars, was going his rounds, apparently In good
health, he suddenly fell down, and expired.
Wednesday evening, about half-past five o'clock,
a servant girl, crossing from Goswell-street-road to
the City-road, was knocked down by a man de-
cently dressed. He seized a small basket she had in
her band, but finding it was empty, he again ill-used

her, and ran off.
A most serious accident had nearly happened
alongside his Majesty's ship NORTHUMBERLAND, in
the Medway, on Monday last. The fire-engine was
put into one of the boats, for the purpose of washing
the ship round, with the boatswain, six men ind two
boys; the First Lieutenant lay near, in a small boat,
with two boys, to direct. By some neglect, the fire.
engine slipped on one side, when several men moving
suddenly over to replace it, the boat filled and dis-
appeared, with men, engine, &c. for some seconds.—
On their coming up, the boys in the small boat
threw their oars to those in the water, which rendered
the boat unmanageable. Fortunately, those who
could swim reached the small boat and ship, and
were picked up : two (a man and a boy), unable to
swim, still struggled, and would certainly have pe-
rished, but that Mr. lionkiNs, a Midshipman, jumped
overboard after, and saved the man ; and Mr. MERE-
DITH, the First Lieutenant, jumped after, and se-
cured the boy, whom they held up for some minutes,
till a boat arrived to their assistance.
A Gentleman's servant, in the neighbourhood of
Newmarket, having received his wages, gave a part
of them, in two Bank-notes, to his wife, who, in the
hurry of business, one morning put her pockets into
the wash-tub, without thinking to take them out of
it, and was surprised when she saw two or three large
letters floating on the top of a stocking ; immeiiately
she recollectded the notes, and after straining the suds,
went to the Lady of the house in the greatest alarm,
with eight or nine and thirty little wet morsels of pa-
per, closely pressed together. The Lady endeavoured
to comfort her by saying, she would see what she
could do—and after several hours patient and close
attention, she succeeded in separating and arranging
all the essential parts, on the covers of two books,
such as the numbers, date, names of the London
Bankers, clerk's entry, &c. (what made it more diffi-
cult was, the notes not only being of different value,
but of different country banks); the Lady afterwards
pasted the fragments on plain paper, and when the
man presented the mutilated notes at their proper
Banks, both the houses honourably and readily ex-
changed them for new ones.
Tuesday morning, while some workmen were ex-
cavating the floor of a shop in the Overgate, Dun-
dee, they found a number of crowns, half-crowns, and
shillings, of the reigns of Elizabeth, James, and
Charles 1. The most of them are considerably cor-
roded; but upon some the face of Elizabeth is plain,
and on others James and his unfortunate successor are
represented upon horseback, wearing the diadem, and
with a drawn falchion in their hands. The impres-
sions are well struck, but the edges are extremely

rugged.
SINGULAR CIRCUMSTANCE.—An American Paper,
the Hampshire Gazette, says:-4, The following took
place on board the Brilliant, on her passage from
Fortune Island to this port: on the 19th August, a
large fish was seen alongside the schooner, supposed
to be a dolphin ; one of the crew felt anxious to
capture him, and, for the want of some other bait,
drilled a hole through a dollar, and fastened it to his
hook, which he threw over the bows of the schooner,
but it was soon discovered that both the bait and
hook were missing : the second hook was baited inthe
same manner, which shared the same fate. On the
21st August, the third attempt was made, with the
same success. Four days after, it being calm, and
the schooner having run about 300 miles, a shark
was caught with a bow-line, which contained two of
the hooks, baited with two of the dollars. In, about
fifteen minutes after, a dolphin was caught, which
contained the other hook and a dollar!!"
MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT IN AMERICA .—On the Bth
day of October instant, Judge FORSTER, of M.kean
county, was shot accidentally by his son. The cir-
cumstances relating to this melancholy event are as
follows :—The son had left home for the purpose of
hunting wolves : after he had been gone some time,
the father went out for the same purpose. As is
common among hunters, one of them set up a howl-
ing, after the manner of a wolf, and was answered by
the other. They continued howling in this manner
until they approached each other within a very short
distance. The father had hid himself behind a log,
placing brush wood upon his back to disguise him-
self, so that when the wolf (as he supposeds came near
enough to shoot, it would not be frightened away,
Having raised himself a little for that purpose, the
son, observed the motion, and fired, taking the object
fired at to be a wolf. The ball entered the right side
of the neck, and passed out at the left hip. The son,
on finding what had happened, took off his coat and
vest, placed them under his father's head, and started
home for the purpose of getting aid ; but his senses
Bed Wore he reached his fathers residence ;he be-
came deranged, and was found in that situation, not
knowing or having a power at that time to relate the
dreadful and heart-rending tale.