Star.
London, England, 1820-12-22 00:00:00

ROTIIRELL AND PARKINS V. DEMAIN.

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This was an 'action by the late Sheriffs of London,
to recover the amount of a bond executed by the de-
fendant for £l7O. The defence was, that at the time
of executing the bond, the defendant was under the
age of twenty-one years.
Mr. GAZELEE said, he should be able, in this case,
to prove his client an infant in the eye of the law at
the time of executing this security, which was a bail-
bond entered into as security for a person named
Leigh, with whom he had unfortunately become in-'
timate. The law had wisely provided, that infants
should be liable for nothing beyond necessaries ; now,
he was inclined to think a bail-bond was not an ar-
ticle of that description. He would prove that his
client was not yet twenty-one. To do this, he would
put in the register of his baptism, dated February 11,
1800; but as this would not of itself be evidence, he
would prove, by the testimony of his maternal uncle,
his father trod mother being dead, aid TIC hewing

tuider that uncle's care from the tide he was oft
old, that he had not yet attained the age of 21.
The register of births, deaths, and marriage', and
catrat of a remote parish in Yorkshire, situate
of Mallone Moor, were examined by. Mr. GAZELEE,
for the defendant, to prove his infancy.
Mr. GURNEY, for thlaintiffs, submitted that this
evidence was not satisfactory to him, as he would
prove that the defendant had been carrying on busi-
ness as a warehouseman in Cateaton-street, since
September; 1819, and had all the appearance, both
in person and manners, of a man" who was fully of
age even at that time. If he was not of age, he was
now, by holding himself out to the world as being
so, carrying on business, and describing himself as a
warehouseman, committing a fraud on all mankind.
It would be better for himootventif he was a minor, to
pay this money, and see-llimself alums £l7O in cash,
than to see himself, by thus evading payment, de-
stroy his- character as a tradesman in the world.—
Mr. Gurney called several witnesses who stated the
defendant to be a full-grown man, having the ap- ,
pearance of four or five-and-twenty.
The CHIEF JUSTICE thought, if the Jury did not
give credit to the proof of infancy in this case; the
interests of mankind would be placed in great jeo-
pardy. Here was the evidence of the parish register,
on the face of which there appeared to be no fraud
whatever, corroborated by the evidence of the uncle,
who had good data to go by, and he saw no good
reason to disbelieve either. It might be a fraud on
the Public for It minor to hold himself out as of full
age, but it was riot uncommon, and the law protected
those who did so. It was the place of persons to take
care who they dealt with.
The Jury found a verdict fit the defendant.
ASSIGNEES OF PRORERT C. GREGG.
This was an action of trover to recover from the
defendant the value of forty-four dozen of Port, six
dozen of Sherry, and six dozen of Madeira, obtained
of the bankrupt, after the commission of an act of
bankruptcy. It was proved, that the act of bank-
ruptcy was the lying in_ prison two months. pe
bankrupt went to prison on the Bth of May, on vlhich
day the forty-four dozen of Port was purchased by
Gregg ; the rest of the wine was delivered on the
1 Ith or 12th of May.
Mr. SCARLETT, for the defendant, contended that
the plaintiffs were not entitled to recover, as his client
was protected by the Statute of James, relative to
purchases made openly in the shops of London as
purchases in market overt. It appeared, however,
that Probert's shop was in Holborn-without-the-bars,
and that market overt did not extend beyond the
City of London. Mr. SCARLET? then objected that,
as regarded the purchase of the forty-four dozen of
Port on the Bth of May, there was no proof of the
time at which Probert went to prison, non constat, as
regarded this quantity of wine, the purchase and de-
livery might have been made before the defendant
was at all in custody ; the custody being the founda-
tion of the act of bankruptcy.
The CHIEF Jusucc said, he would save this point
if the plaintiffs desired it.
Mr. BROUGHAM, for the plaintiffs, requested his
Lordship would do so ; and then consented to take a
verdict for the-twelve dozen of wine delivered on
the 11th, at which time Probed was actually in cut.
tody. Verdict for the plaintiff.—Damages £S2.l4s.
—Costs 40s.

The death of poor NALDI, the singer, is con-
firmed by private letters from Paris : his daughter
WAS by his side when the fatal accident happened.
Friday last, during a very violent storm from the
110. E. the large chimney of Captain HtcumaN's
house, in Clare-street, Limerick, was blown down,
which, falling upon the roof, it broke in with a dread-
ful crash, and carped down all the back rooms to the
ground floor. Captain Hicuma.w's family are in Eng-
land, and the house was occupied by a cook, named
Mary O'Connor, two children, one eight, and the
lather eighteen months old, belonging to Mr. HICK..
MA N'S servant, and an old woman named Mary Kelly,
their grandmother. The cook was Aug out of the
ruins most dreadfully bruised, and there is but little
hopes of her recovery; but the poor old woman, with
the two infants, were killed. The parents of the
children are with their master in England.
Tuesday morning, about seven o'clock, a distress-
ing accident arccurred at the house of Mr. PEPirs,
No. 22, Poultry ; one of the porters, a middle aged
man, named Thomas Caus, raised up the cellar flaps,'
which open in the shop, in order to admit some
coals; having made the necessary arrangements he
proceeded to the door to order the waggoner to de-
liver tke coals, but unfortunately, in returning rather
in a hasty manner through the shop, sot recollecting
that the trap-door was open, he fell through it into
the cellar, although he had previouslKplacecflights
on each side to prevent any accident, it being quite
dusk at the time. The unfortunate man was instantly
taken up; but quite speechless, bleeding profusely
from themouth, nose, and ears, and conveyed to St.
Bartholomew's Hospital, where the necessary reme-
dies were applied, but without effect, as he never af-
ter recovered his speech, and died in a few hours.
Tuesday se'nnight, a small wherry, belonging to
Lochgoilhead, with three men on board, was opposite
GouroCk, on her way to Greenock, heavily laden with
-fresh herrings; the wind blowing very strong from
the eastward, she swamped, and two of the hands,
both young men, perished. It is somewhat remark-
able, that a young man and a woman, from a vague
apprehension of their danger, had left the wherry but
a few minutes previous to the accident, and gone on
board another boat which had the wherry in tow.
Last week a most destructive fire broke out in the
sizing house, near Water-street, Blackhurn, belong-
ing to H. Somali., Esq. an 4 Occupied by Mr. W.
HALTbN. A strong easterly wind blowing at the
time, tended to strengthen
.the flames, which raged
with irresistible fury,
.The whole of he interior. of
the building was consumed in a short time, together
with the utensils, warps, &c. One part of the build-
ing was occupied by Messrs. R. and R. RAILTON,
machine-makers, the whole of which, including their
valuable machinery, shared a similar fate; also a
small engine of one horse power, which had just been
completed, and was to have been fixed up this week.
A fire broke out on 'Thursday se'nnight, about
three o'clock, at Lord SPENCILR'S venerable and nsi
nificent mansion at Althorp, but it was extinguished
after the destruction bnly of one of the offices whets
it originated. Thus, probably, the most magnificent
private library in Europe has been sacred.