Star.
London, England, 1803-07-16 00:00:00

jArTRAY 4. 1411.3111 KM AND OTHAAS.

Mr. &SKI MR flitted that he was Collide' in this cafe
for the Plaintiff, who is a merchant at Glafgow, and
who had to complain of nearly a rstal accident in eon.
fequence of a grofs negligence of the (errant of the
Defendants, who were Proprietors of a reach which
went from Carlifle to Glafgow. The Plaintiff having
been engaged in force bidinefs in England, and re-
turning to Glafgow, took a place iu this coach at
Carlifle. Independent of the negligence of the coach
man, he travelled a road to Moffat altogether unfit,
which he was not authorized to el- fince a new turn-
pike road had been made through the level country,
in order to avoid the dangers of the old road. which
was extremely hilly, and was attended with many in-
conveniences to pfengers. An AEI of Parliament
was procured to make a new Toad from Moffat to
glwandfautite. pals through the level country, and to
avoid all the hills. The new road had been travelled
abort a year and a half. It occurred to tome people
of high rank this might be an inconvenience to Mof-
fat to have the new road to pals at fume little dit.-
lance from it. They were attaid this place might
Puffer in its interefh, having inns fur the accommo.
dation of travellers. The Proprietors of this coach
thought fit, at their own peril, without giving any
notice to the public of the danger they 'WC 74: in, to
travel this road, and by that means fared about a
mile and an half. The Plaintiff took a place in this
coach along with Mr. and Mrs. Grant, to convey
them to Glafgow. One unfortunate circumftance
was, that this part of the journey was always to be
accomplilbed during the night, and this unfortunate
Gentleman returning fsom Liverpool, thinking he
was going to the bofoM of his family, had no con•
ceptinn of this new ad, as it was called, which raved
a mile and a halt; and which ended in a precipice.—
He had no idea of it whatever. If they were deter.
mined to go that way, they ought to have apprized
the pallingers that they might have judged for them-
felves, whether they would go or not. Th:s coach
was drawn by four horfes, without any polliltion on
the leaden. He fubraitted that there ought to have
been a man to have direaed the leaders till they got
over the very dangerous place where the accident
happened. In coming out of Moffat you attend a
hill, and when you come down the other fide of that
hill, there is a precipice extremely fleep and danger.
ous to travellers in the night. The coach went flow ; y
up the hill. When they got to the top they went
quicker, and then they began to go flower and
flower, till at lift they flopped. The Plaintiff look-
ed out at one of the windows of the coach, when he
perceived the leaders with thcir heads turned back
towards the coach. If the coachman had been at.
tentive, even then the accident might have been
avoided. If he had detained and flopped the horfes,
every thing would have been well. But, inflead of
that, he tottered them to plunge down the preciptce.
The Learned Cooed raid he !Munk back from (lac-
ing the reft, which Ms Lordfhip and the Gentlemen
of the Jury would hear from the witneffes. This was
caufe of very great importance to the public. Men
of large fortune might travel at ;heir cafe in their
own carriages. But Gentlemen of the Commercial
world, who were travelling through different parts of
the country, upon their lawful bufinefs, could not of
ford to do that. It was a tax which commerce could
not bear. Such coaches as that of the defendant's
were intended far the convenience and accommo-
daticn of the public ;—anA, therefore, it was of the
utasoft importance that they fhould be driven with
caution and attention, and that a proper degree of
care fhould be paid to the fafety of his blajefty's
tubjeas.
Several witneffes wera called, who proved the lead-
ing faas of this opening. The coach was completely
overturned, and fell upon the Plaintiff, who was fo
dreadfully- bruifed and hurt, that he was fpeecblefs,
and groaned moft grievoufly. It was tome time be-
fore be was found by Mr. Grant, who bad gone for.
ward a little, and did not know that the Plaintiff had
been fo much hurt, but on returning back, to the
place where the accident happened, he found him in
that deplorable Hate. At that moment another chaife
was fortunately returning to Moffat, and carried this
gentleman back to that place. The next day he and
Mr. and Mrs. Grant took a polUchaite and let nut for
Glafgow ; and Mr. Anderfun, the furgeon, blamed
the plaintiff very much for not remaining for tome
time at Moffat, and getting tome medical advice there.
He laid, when he examined the plaintiff's body, he
at firft thought his leg was moft injured, being per-
tally black ; but he afterwards found that his back
bad received the greateft injury. The plaintiff was
confined to his bed for a fortnight, and it was two
months before he could walk : he is lame stow, and,
it was probable, that lamenefs would continue for life.
Thomas Lothian was called, to prove who were!), ,
proprietors of the coach, and on the crofs.exarmisito.
don of Mr. Carlow, ft appeared that i young Lady,
a Mitt Black, wbo was about eight years of age, mak
one of the proprietors. The other defendants bad.'
pleaded her infancy, which the plaintiffs admitted,
and entered a ma I pvfevai as th her.
Mr. Gaartow contended, on the authority of a
cafe that was decided at Ay Prism, by Lord Kenyon,
and repotted by Mr. Efpioiffe. that inftead of a iss6
',Om, they ought to base dircontinned that action,
and been ht another.
LordEa.t.asaoeoooa fanCtioned the objettion, and.'
nonfuited the plaintiff. His Lordthip laid, the de•
fendants, he thought, ought to be put under tome
terms in cafe of another trial. If any of the wit-
saes who had been examined that day fhould die
before the next trial, his notes Ihould be read as
evidence ; and that the next trial &odd take place
at Carlifle, where it ought to have beat tried at fitit.
Plaintiff nonfuitecL .1

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, JULY is.
• SEDUCTION OP A DAOGHTIR.

SLACK V. H a mesa scm--The Plaintiff is a•Wel"1-.
The Defendant was by trade a carpenter, 'and *ten:
come huufes in Booth itreet and Montagne•Rreet6..r:
Sir Charles Poole. • The aftion was•that which •inn
the law gives in cafes of &dui:tine, namely, an of►irn
by the father !or the lofs of the fervices of his ch:iii
un.ler curh ciicurnflances. • •

Serjeant SKETIIERD (fated the cafe, and the relativ.:
fituation of the parties. The Plaintiff Was a poets
man, who had e iticated his children vitsnoully an:
decently. but was oblit,, tto put his danghtei to ler.
vice. The defendant was ..is Landlord and nest door
neighbour, a man of Come property, and above the
middle age. Under thefe circumtlances, the Plaintiff
allowed his daughter, a very young girl, to wait upn:l
him as his (avant. The Defendant, however, feized
an opportunity of debauching her and getting her
with Child. The learned Serjeant pointed nut the
enormity of taking fuch an advantage of a tenant's
daughter and a neighbour's child ; and alas Rated
from his inftruelions that there was a !nonlife of mat-
riare on the part of the Defendant.
Elisabeth Ann Slack (the girl who had been de-
bauched) was the firtl witnefi: She Rated that the
defendant was a tingle man, living in a houfe etrirely
by hincelf ; that (he is now but 18 years of age, b,:t
that at the age of 13 the defendant employed her as
his fervaat, to clean his room, make his bed, &c. a.
the wages of as. a week. She frequently gave h'm
his tea in bed. She generally dined and lived at his
!mule, but flept at her father's ; ab.'ut three years
ago, when Ilse was 15, the Defendant railed her wages
from iv:is/billing: to half a crown a week. Soon al :e ,
he began to make love to her ; and one moi Mnz,
when (he came to clean out his room, he Licked the
door, and accomplitbed his purp4es : he told her
fometimes he would marry her; the b. came p. egn.tx
by him, and her father maintained her in her preg-
nancy, and her child, who is now al; ye.
Mr. Slack, a woollen draper (I.rothei to the la(l
witnzfN) proved fomething like a promile of marriage,
when he afleed him how he could injure a child ?.

A number of witneffes attended to give her a cha-
rafter as a difcreet and properly condueled girl heft.:
this accident happened to her.
Serjeant Cocitec firti took an objeaion, that this
anion did not lie, becaufe the girl was really the fer-
vent of the Defendant by a regular contra t, and al-
though The might chute to it:ep at her father's, yet
he had no right to claim her fervices as a hrvant.
Lord Accowter overruled the obj:Clion, and
thought that although the was partially the fervent
of the Defendant, yet that living with her father, he
had a right to bring this anion.
Serjeatit COCKS'. then obferved to the Jury, that
this was the only fpecies of civil ation known to the
law, where the perfons (coking damages might be
witneffes in their own caufe ; for this eCtio. although
brought in the name of the father, was clearly the
action of the daughter. If it was to be confidered
the Father's anion. he thought the father had been
highly blameable in allowing his daughtei to be er•
poled to loch danger; when he allowed her to take
tea to the bed fide of a fingle man, to fit down by
his bed fide and fo forth, dalliance end all the other
confequences might naturally be ex peeled to follow.—
This girl was not only full of fpirits, but in the bloom
6f youth, and full of attrattions, (the girl, who was
well-looking, was then in Court) ; this being the cafe,
the ought not to have been fort fo often with to to
the bed fide of the Defendant. She ought net to have
been allowed to go fo much into his bed chamber
when he was there—Beth and blood being often re-
bellious, he thought In attentive parent fhould have
guarded his daughter from too great opportunities,
inflead of allowing them. Upon the whole, he fub•
mitted that this was not a very aggrevated cafe, and
that no very !peat damages ought to be given.
Lord At.voscar Paid, the quellion was, whether
the Defendant was guilty of the fedudion, as the law
of England !aid, the feduaion of a daughter &mid
not be confid:red, unlefs in the father's houfe i he
was lorry to lay filch did not appear to be the cafe,
but fortunately the daughter appeared in the prefent
inßance to be the fervant of the Defendant, who
therefore had a right of aaion. It bad been deter-
mined, that a daughter &Auld be the fervant of a
parent, confequcntly if be was deprived of her fervi-
tude, it became the foundation of this salon. The
Jury had therefore to confider, es to the behaviour
of the girl. If the appeared forward, the Defend got
was not bound to pay damages; but the coedit& of
the young woman en this cafe was otherwife tate had
been fedueeci by a promife of marriage, which he did
not, however, think of fufficient importance to ia►
prefs upon the minds of the Jury, as The hid not made
any communication on the fubjeCt to her mother and
father, they would, on that account, not fast the
idea to interfere with the damages they mi ht
With refpett to fending the girl into the Dcl gloat'.
houfe, he certainly thought the father and *whet
ought to have had their eyes open; but at the fame
time it did not imply tnifiondult. Poor people
might.he obliged to (end their children out, but no
man on that account ought to take advantage; he
was not to plunge a family in diarefs becaufe he had
a young girl as a fervent under his roof. As to
what had been faid of human pitons, they were not
to be indulged to trees; if men would indulge their
paifions. they inuftply for them; they mull endedge
them within' Wor. ms the Atelier of others. It was
an aggvavaied cafe, he obkned, which called arm
the Jury to give fuels dentists as they believed the
Plain di had (*Raised ; they pre to confider that
gel was not irteplar is att coached fines the
trantattion took plate; and be thought if the parents
had been a little more watchful h would have been
much better; that fu4ed was however left to the
Jury, who would de Oa accordingly.
The Jury retired., ae on their tries gave a vet.
di'l for the Plaintiff— aroaseie talA

The woritenen hawse begun to reps* the roof 4
Weaurinfter Abbey. Divine Service is no'n performed
in nary the Vll.'s Chapel.
The re-building of the Piil ar opon Bluth Marfh,
commemorating the death of King Esswaan the Firli ,
was began WI week, by order, and at tbe nitrite of
Lord Lowrs. sa.
A waiter belonging to a tavern in Dublin, fwins.
ming, on Monday, in the river, near the Long Ks-
dams was unfortunately drowned.
Monday a clerk to a linen-draper was takes sot
of the River, at the North Wall, Dublin.

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