Star.
London, England, 1817-10-29 00:00:00

paml=llolM
LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, OCTOBER WA
WILDHAN V. GLOSSOP.

This was an action against the defendant for the
non-performance of a contract entered i
oi n
Ito
by him
for the purchase of a quantity of sperm and head
matter. The declaration contained three counts, set-
ting out the contract specially, and there were the
bsual common counts for goods bargained and sold.
The defendant pleaded the general issue to all the
counts. At the trial before Lord Ellenborough, at
Guildhall, in the Sittings after Hilary 'Perm, an ob-
jection was taken by the defendant's Counsel, that
the contract given in evidence varied from that set
out in the declaration, but• the Noble and Learned
Judge, withnut giving a decided -opinion upon the'
objection, soloed the plaintiff to recover a verdict
on the count for goods bargained and sold. In Eas-
ter Term the defendant obtained a rule Nisi for set.
sing aside the verdict, and obtaining a new trial,
whcrt his Counsel made two points, first, on tl.-
ground of variance, and secondly, that the contract
being special, the plaintiff could nut recover upon
the common count for goods bargained and sold.
Mr. scattearr now skewed cause against the rules
and submitted-that it must be discharged. The
cemstances of the case were these :—The plaintiff,
an oil.merchat,t, had imported a cargo of sperm osl
and head matter from the South Seas, in a vessel
called the Wildman, atter his own name, and through
the intervention of a broker, sold the whole to the
defendant, well known as a contractor for lighting
the Haymarket Theatre, .and several parishes in the
metropolis. At the trial the defendant totally denied,
by his Counsel, the fact of his having entered into
any such contract. The execution of it was, haw.
ever, positively sworn to by :lie broker whb had made
the bargain, and it appeared that immediately after
its execution, some other vessels had unexpectedly ar-
rived in port, containing the same species of com-
modity, which operating as a sudden depression of
the market, the defendant was the less inclined to take
to the supposed bargain. The declaration contained
special counts, alleging that the plaintiff being pos-
sessed of a certain quantity of sperm oil and head-
matter, to wit, 315 tons and 122 gallons; the defen-
dant had contracted to purchase the whole, at the
rate of £69 18s. 9d. per tun, to be taken at the end
of fourten class, and to be paid for
-by approved
the
bills at two months date, after dam of the deli-
very. On the production of the bought-nine, it ap.
pealed that that instrument, superadded to the above
statement of the contract, the words all the head.
matter, &c. per the Wildman," when the defendant''
Counsel submitted that this was a fatal variance, inas-
much as the plaintiff having professed to set forth
the contract in his declaration, he was bound to state
the whole of it. Lord Ellenborough, however, wait
of opinion ( without expressly deciding upon this
point), that the count for goods b rgaiued and sold',
was well sustained, by rearm of its appearing, that
at the time of entering hito the contract, the plaintiff
was in a condition to deliver the goods, although he
had subsequently sold them in pursuance of a notice.
to the defendant (who had repudiated the oils) that
be had intended' so to do. The Learned Counsel (Mr.
Scarlet') submitted, that. although the special couflts
had not set forth the whole of the contract, yet that
what appealed was not repugnant to the pre‘ise toils
of the bargain; and, consequently, that the objec-
t:oil on the ground of variance could not be sustained.
Had the declaration gone on to state that the oils were
on board a ship, which had not been truly named,
then the variance-would have beers fatal ; Mit not
having condescended upon the name of any particu-
lar ship, the declaration, that the defendant was pos.
sewed of a certain quantity of oil (which could not
be disputed), was quite sufficient; and therefore,
without troubling the COW t as to the other objection,
he confidently contended, that the special counts were
well made out, and that therefore the mule must be
dis Charged. In furtherance of his argument, he
cited the cases of Cotterell v. Car, 4 T. R. 284 ;
and Gladstone v. Never:, IS E. R. 410.
Mr. Tammy, in support of the rule, argued with
much ingenuity, that it was not sufficient for the
plaintiff to set out a contract, not repugnant to the
. instrument given in evidence. but that having pro-
re.sed to state the contract, he was bound to set cwt
the whole of it. Here he had not stated enough,
and therefore the variance was fatal. It was a ma-.
teratesture of the contract, that the oils were im-
ported per the Wildman, and for want of that aver-
ment, it was impossible to say that the contract was
truly stated. He endeavoured to diringuish this from
the cases relied upon by the plaintiff's Counsel; but
The Conn weic unanimously of 'pinion that the
plaintiff could recover upon the special counts, for
although the,y did not set forth the whole of the con•
tract, yet as Viere w.ts no repugnance., and as they
were not devoid of certainty, the objection on the
ground of insufficiency was not maintainable, and
therefore the rule was discharged.
MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, OCTOBER r.s.
Java Kin: was indicted for receiving a quantity of
silver stolen from the Mint, knowing at to have been
stolen.
Mr. Mushet, the gentleman in whose care a part of
;he silver was deposited during the late coinage at-
the Mint, stated, th..t he discovered great peculation.
He received information that the prisoner had been
selling silver in a crude state at Messrs. Williastss
and Co.'s, seho suspecting the prisoner, gave infor-1
'nation against. him ; he was in consequence appre-
hended, and he said he had bought it of a Spanish
sailor, and afterwards he said lie had it from a per-
son named Levi. Levi being apprehended, said he
got them from a Spanish sailor to sell to the defen-
dant s . but It: did not know who that sailor was, and
had never seen him since. A bill was found by the
Grand Jury. against Levi, bin he was not tried.
Levi was also called as a witness, who said he had
received the silver from the prisoner; but on cross-
aeamination,•it appeared that Levi.hisnself was under
indictment for the same offence : the silver was also
diffieillt to be identified.

• An ettreordinary circumstance took place before
tip Grand Jury, on which Mr. Axts-xv, as Counsel
for the defendant, commented with much force, ch-
arting, that it was a gross and hitherto unpreceden-
ted breach of the valuable rights of a Ilritibh subject.
The tiefeadani bad, it appeared, been a witness be-
imielhnenuid Jury, where he bad been examined,
sad bat fa that examination, there would not have

been to slightest shadow even of suspicion against
him. The prosecution against Levi was abandoned,
and the defendant brought to trial. This (as Mr.
ALLEY contended) was contrary to the immemorial
usage of the law, which certainly never required
a man to convict himself, and he trusted in Goa he
would never have cause again to reprobate it in a
Court of Justice. He was happy to say, however,
he had a cloud of witnesses as to character, who
would at once chew the defendant to be a different
man from what he was charged to be. The learned
Gentleman concluded his address in behalf of the
defendant, by calling i number of respectable wit-
nesses, who had known the defendant for six, ten,
and fourteen years, as an honest, upright man.
The Jury retired, after an impartial charge from
the CHAIaMAN, and in twenty minutes returned a
verdict of Not Guilty, which was received by the
loudest applause: of the audi-nce.
The defendant, who was extremely well dressed,
seemed deeply affected, and shed tears.

BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE.
Smoke V. bray.

This was an action fora breach of promise of mar-
riage, which came on at the Castle of Exeter, on Tues.,
thty, the 14th inst. before RALPII Banses, Esq. Un-
der Sheriff, and a Special Jury, to assess damages,
judgment having gone by default.
The defendant is a Clergyman, and at the time of
the promise, which was in 18;2, was Curate of
Southtawton ; the plaintiff is the daughter of afar.
user in that parish ; both about the same age, 2s. It
appeared in evidence, that the acquaintance corn. 'I
menced soon after Mr. Spry's coming to Southtaw.
ton in 1810; Mr. Moore asked him to dinner, and I
Mr. Spry was way attentive to Miss Moore; he I
called the neat day, and presented the Lady with a
tippet, which she rather declined accepting, but it
was left. Mr. Spry continued his visits and atten-
tions until the Easter parish meeting, 1812, when he
called out Mr. Moore from the room where the far-
naers were sitting at dinner, and asked Isis consent to
marry his daughter, and offered to settle on her
81000. Mr. Moore said he would give £500; the
parties shook hands to the bargain, and Mr. Dunning
was called out by Mr. Spry to witness it. Mr. Spry
continued his attentions to the Lady during the time
he remained, which was not long ; he quitted South-
tawton that year, and went to his father's, who is a
Surgeon, at Dock. About two months after, he
came for a day or two to Soutlitawton, and called at
Mr. Moore's; he did not see Miss Moore ; and in the
conversation between him and Mrs. Moore, her mo-
ther, nothing was said about the engagement, only
Mr. Spry observed that lie had sent ward to the fa-
mily from Dock that his uncle was dead, and left
I him £2OOO, and he had, in previous conversations,
represented himself as independent of his father. The
offer to the young Lady. it rppeared, was made
when the parties :were riding together from Oak-
hampton, in company with Mrs. Dunning, her aunt.
Mr. S. s lid, " I have made Miss Moore many offers
of marriage which she has nut accepted ;" and then
addressid the Lady-86 Now give me your hand in
presence of your aunt."—Datuaris (this was the
Lady's name) said—" If you are in earnest, Mr.
Spry, I will accept you ?"—And Mr. Spry replied—
" This is a legal agreement in the presence of your
aunt; after my uncle's decease I will make you my
wife." It appeared that atter the second visit to
Soutlitawton there had been no communication what-
' ever between the parties; and in 1810 the defendant
married another Lady. Here the case rested tats the
part of the plaintiff:
Mr. Serects, Connsel on her part, stated, that the
damages were laid at £)00, and that though he did
not ask the whole sum, he did ask, at the hands of
the Jury, ample damages.
Mr. TANONED, for the defendant, called no wit-
nesses, but observed open the great length of time
which had elapsed since the supposed promise, the
action having been otily commenced in the present
year; and upon the times and occasions when the
promise was made—particularly on thelather of the
Lady having said nothing to the father of the defen-
dant. when he had admitted he visited him at Dock,
after the defendant had quitted Southtawton.
There was no evidence of the circumstances of the
defendant, more than his having stated his uncle's
leaving him £2OOO, and something about his being
entitled to two larded estates after the death of his
mother, and that his father had bought him a living.
The Under Sheriff left the case to the Jury, with
sortie observations on the nature of the promise,
which was honotsrable—khat there did not appear any
conduct in the Lady to induce a breach of it; but
that it appeared the defendant had clearly abandoned
Isis intention at the time of his second visit.to South.
newton, and yet the parents never required any ex-
planation until five years alter when this action was
commenced. The Jury, after some consultation,
gave £lOO damages and costs.
It appeared, in the course of the enquiry, that
Cupid, the God of Love, had occavioned the breach ;
and that the reverend defendant had not been actuated
in his second attachment by pecuniary considerations.

Harrow Gannsw.—Yesterday William Kelly, a
man with a wooden leg, was brought up by a Con-
stable belonging to the Liberty of the Roll., charged
by Mr. Matthew Young, of MAr! Ad-street, Mill-
pond.lane, with robbing him of a slyer watch, his
procerty. The prosecutor, who is an elderly gentle.
man, deposed, that at five u'c!ock on Monday after-
noon, as he was walking along Carepstreet, the pri•
corer, who was accompanied by two other persons,
came and walked close by his side ; on a sudden, the
prisoner putted him up against a post, and pulled
his watch from his fob, which he handed to one of
the other two, both of whom ran off. The prisoner
still kept walking close by Ns side; the prosecutor
charged him with robbing him of his watch ; the pri.
sorter denied having any knowledge of it. A gentle•
man coming up at the time, assisted in securing the
prisoner, until be was given in charge to a Constable.
The prosecutor being positive to the person of the
prisoner, he was committed to Newgate for trial.
. Ma R 411011017011-111111 am— Yesterdil y Wilkeme
and Jeha Malty, boys under fifteen years of age, were
charged with robbing the lodgings of Sophia. Payne,
Liar Windmill-street, of a quantity of wearing ap-
parel; and a man named Sai sr, his wife, and tbeir
eldest son, who was tried at the last Old Bailey Bes.
sioas, were charged with receiving the apparel, know.
ing it to have-been mien. It was stated to the Ma-
gistrate, that this gang, who rattail, amextbled in

New•strtet. Braiditreeti.C.Aroabl ktt,in the af
ternoon, consisted of more than-fifty of both suet,
the eldest not appearing to be more than 14 years of
age. They made no secret of the depredations they
committed by night and by day, and seemed to vie
with each other who should excel in vice. Toe trades-
man who gave this information identified the two
boy thieves as belonging to the gang, and he stated
that young Sullivan was at the head of them. The
boy Jones mile a voluntary confession of the robbery,
as follows :—He lived in the frost gatret in Wind-
mill-street, and the prosecutor occupied the back
gatret. The other boy, Manly, had instructed him
how to commit the robbery, and he opened the lock
with a fork twice on Monday, and took away all he
could get upon both occasions. Jones was detected
yesterday morning in the act of opening the door
with a fork. He confessed to Plank, the officerohat.
Manly had sold the articles to the Sullivan', who re-
side in Peter-street, and sell milk. They received and
shared four pence for two pair of stockings, and a
like proportion for a chemise, gown, &c. Plank
proved, that on going to Sullivan's house the woman
prevented his entrance by holding the door. He got
' in and perceived a great bustle, young Sutlivan hav-
ing concealed himself behind the bedstead. The of-
, ficer searched the bed, from the movements the pri-
soner had made, and he there found a hot mass of
pewter which the prisoner had just melted down.
The stockings were round in the house, and the wo-
man Sullivan had the lost chemise upon her back
The husband was drunk, sitting by the tire. 'l he
prisoners, with the exception of Sullivan, sen. were
remanded for another examination. During the exa-
mination, the elder Sullivan burst ituo tears, when
the son upbraided him thus:—o I)—n ye tt.r a tool,
what are you roaring about?'