Star.
London, England, 1811-02-22 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

The I.oria.Matoa stated, that the Court had wafted
the PR I CR Reamer on'Thurslay last, with their Address, any
were received very graciously. The answer was read, arid or-
dered to be rotated on the Journals of the Court. '
The Committee of City Lands presented a Report for Widosing
and Improving Hart-street, Crutched-fdin, which was read;
agreed to, and ordered to be carried into execution.
Mr. TRONA S JODKINS was appointed a Ooveraor of St. Bar.
dtolontew's Hospital, and Mr. MANDIR, to be Governor of
Christ's Hospital.
The Court agreed to a Petition to Parliament against tho
Wevern Junction Canal Bill, and the Sheriffs were requested to
present the same.
A Report was presented front a Special Committee, who had
been appointed to inquire into the reasons why a non-freeman et
I.endon had been returned as a Common Councilman, by Mr.
Alderman Wood, for the Ward over which be presides.
The report states, that be had suffered rook Norr.Fatgattell
to be nominated, contrary to the advice y. doe Teen Clerk and City
Solicitor; owe of whom had a majority of votes over other Can-
didates who were Postman. It appeared, that the Common"
&MIRAN is together with the above City ()Seers, deemed the
election illegal, and that they had never seen on record, or heard
of, a. single previous instance of an attempt to introduce a noir.
fros)wan into the Corporation ; that such attempt was clearly
against the prescriptive rights of the Citizens of London. And
although several protests had been made by the inhabitants to
Mr. Alderman Wood, he persisted in swearing in the said Note.
Emmy+, but that upon their appeal to the Court of Aldermen,
the Election was by that body declared void.
A debate ensued, in which Mr. WAITEMAN contended, that
Alderman Woo D, as Returning Officer, was justified in allowing
any description of persons to become Candidates; st,Kl as the
report inaugurated blame to attach to the Worthy Alierrnan. it
ought not to be adopted by the Court. Upon this ground it was
negatived without a division.

Wednesday morning, before day-light, mt. of' the
Portsmouth coaches coming to town, I'..Rs overturned
in a ditch, in the lower road, near Guildford. A sailor
en the outside was thrown off, and had his lag broken
in three places ; he was immediately put into another.
coach that was passing, and conveyed back to an hos-
pital. Three women were also much hurt. and an nfant.-
about a month old, was nearly-killed. The coachman .
and gvard escaped with some slight contusions.
Wednesday, Davenport Sedli, and another, /Tres
hended breollingbourn an/ Wortley, -underwent an
examination, at Union flail, charged with obtaining,
by false representations, near £3OOO of a Noble Lord.
'They were recommitted for another, examination. •
IV. Kelly was charged with obtaining upwards of
46 of a poor woman, named Todd, under ptetencc of
getting her husband, who was imprisoned setae time
since,- and is itovi at sea, discharged : he was com-
mitted for want of bailr '
Yesterday V: Jackson,: alias Crowd" R. Beistnire.
and Mary erovoder, were fully committed froth Wei-
ship-street Office, charged with breaking and 'entering
the dwelling-hotise of Mr: Aibury, in Little Moor-
fields, and stealing'a beds bolster, pillows, &c.
On the evening of Mondayseinnight, 'else runner .
between Lanark and Milntown of tesitnahagow*,wai
attacked, near Stonbyre Dike, by a man about
high, knocked down and robbed of the mail, contain-
ing the bags of letters from Edinburgh, Glasgow, and
Hamilton.
COI N Esc WA NG t, MARK-LAN tvfer.42.—There are consider-
able cusntities of Wneat on band to-do/ sales heavily...made, and
seconds, with inferior, again lower ; Barley in plenty, and a f.. 11114
article, Malt aho, and about 2s. per quarter cheaper; White Peas
on the advauce ; new Tick Beans 225. to 22t.; the remaining sup-
plies of Oats are likewise considerable, many expected, and-taloa
rather lower. Flour continues at our late quoted priers.

.

--11.1... n-

417 ~7.NiELr;ffiENcz.

COURT-eV KiNG's rESen,4ll6ll. •
" -eaohie.e..csnoWiet. •
• • This was an-action brought by Robert Crook and
* hicwilei against Charlet Cotway and Mary
-,hie wife, by which the 'plaintiffs :Sought to recover
rihtn, the defendants a compenshtion in damages feral
sokilitiottsly holding 'the Plaintiff,. Sophia; to bail, for
'
a gapposed riot mid •ahsault, .ciarlotsittetiby her and
t woodier persons, named Mary. Wright and James
-Hymns, on the said Mary, and for Which riot and as- '
aault a bill.hf indictment was afterwards preferred at '
e4e Quarter Sessions for the County -Of Middlesex,.)
against the said Sophia, and she was brought to trial
at the Sessions after Easter 1809, and was acqltitted.
Mr. PARKE having stated the case on the part of
the Plaintiffs, the record of the acquittal of Sopfiia
Ctook was given in evidence.
An officer belauging to the Public Office, Hatton-
garden, proved Mrs. rook'e having been served by
him, at thealeendant's - desire; with the copy of -the
warrant taken out against her at that office, in conse-
•quance of which she attended at the office, and gave
bail to take her trial. Two other witnesses also swore
to the fact of Mrs. C. having attended the whole of a
• Monday, and the greater part of a Tuesday at Clerk-
Sessions, for the purpose of taking her trial for
the riot and assault, with which she was charged by
the defendants ; that, on the latter day, the defens
dents ancLaheir witnesses were in Court till within
elar.ut five minutes of the time when the case was
called on ; that not then appearing to prosecute, Mrs.
C. was fotind not guilty ; and that, on going dpwn
the stairs leading from the Court, Mrs. Crook and her
- friends were met by Mr, Conway, who; addressing
her, said," You have escaped from my clutches once,
but I am not done with you yet."
Mr. Getneow submitted to his Lordship, that,•un-
der the decision in the case of Purcell and Mama,
:natal, the plaintiffs must go a great deal farther to
make eta their case.
Lord ELLENBOROUGH was of opinion, that the wit-
nesses for the plaintiff had proved words that im-
ported malice, and it did not yet appear that the de-
fendant had probable cause of holding Mrs. Crook to
bail. There was, therefore, at present, case enough
to be left to the Jery.
A Witness was then adduced for the Defendants,
who proved low and disgusting language to have
passed, but no act on the part of Mrs. Crook which
amounted to a riot or an assault.
Lord Eat estaottovottatherefore, held, that the two
great requisites in such cases as the present had been
complied with, namely, specific malice, in the words
uttered by the defendant ; and that there was no pro-
bable cause of holding Mrs. Crcok to bail.
The Jury found-for the Plaintiffs—Damages R 5.
THE KING O. WITHERS AND OTHERS.
Mr. Tommy; stated this to be an indictment charg-
ingW. Withers and Phillips, two Sheriff's Officers,
Mr. Carter Draper, an Attorney of Ceuta ; Mr Fea-
thers, whose name the Jury had already heard during
the present Sittings, as being keeper of the Guildhall
Coffee-house, and two persons named Siddons and
Duke, who were Bailiffs' followers, with breaking and
entering the kitchen garden-gate of the prosecutor,
Josiah Copland, with pursuing him out of his pleasure-
grounds, which were between his house and his kitchen
garden, to his dwelling-house door, the outer door of
%s lick he having secured by bolting it at the top, they
forced, by bursting off the cap of the bolt, which also
carried with it part of the wood-work of the door;
and having thus gained admission, under a real or
pretended execution against the goods of the prosecu-
tor, with beating the prosecutor in a most violent man-
ncr. The Learned Counsel need hardly tell the Jury,
Oat nothing could justify any Officer, or any other
v erson, in breaking into any man's house, • far less in-
assaulting the keeper of the house after he 14AI so
broken in ; and if it should appear that Mr. Draper,
who was the attorney in the business, had the super.
intendatice of it, and though he might not be origi.
nally present, was concealed in the pigeon-house while ,
the breaking and entering took place, he must be
equally responsible with ail the others concerned in
the viul,nce thus committed.
Josiah Copland said, that he lately resided hi Lower
Edmonton. -On the morning of the 21st of May last
be went out from his house to his garden, for the pur-
-1 pose of unlocking the gate of it. In his kitchen-gar-
• den he observed six men concealed, who immediately
rushed towards him, on which be, with equal expedi-
iiini,t tired to his house by the side door, out of which
he had prOcteded, which was equally with the door
in front on outer door to his house. Having got into
his house by this door he fastened it, and bolted it by
means of the upper holt. The men followed him, and
burst the door open, In consequence of which the cap
of the bolt was forced off, and part of the upper part
of the woad-work of the door gave way. They then
knocked the witness downatelling him if he made any
. resistance, that drat would have his bloody melt or
his .hlaraly gut. When the .witnesshad recovered, he
followed the men into the kitchen, where lie saw them
with some plate in their hand, and also with a £lO
tai.k note, which he had just given to his servant to
get changed. He told the men that he did not con-
eels e they had any business with his money, on which
two of them dragged hint to the-stairs, against which
they bent him upon his back, whiletwo others of them
be.it hint, telling him they would murder him: The
witness at this time felt quite exhausted, and begged
they would spare his life. Mrs. Copland then came
down in her night clothes—one of the Officers threat-
ened to knock her down, but Siddoas., one of the thh
• lowers, pi everaesi him, observing, they had done
enough already. In consequence of the assault made
•
on the witness, be, was blind for three days—his jaw-
bone was dislodged, the Imhof which he still retain-
ed, and he verily believed at the time that be should
have lost his sight. When he came to himself he was
all covered with bkod. Withers was the first person
* who struck him, Phillips was the other ; Siddons he
knew was also there, and from him he knew the names-
. of the other defendants.
Cross-examined— He believed, but would not swear
that Mr. Draper, whom be knew well, was one of the
• six. Ile confessed having two guns in his house, one
of which•he always kept loaded ; but denied that he
had presented either of them to all or either of the
party who thus visited his premises. In particular, he
denied that Phillips, one of the officers, having run
from his garden head along with the prosecutor, had

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