The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-08-20 00:00:00

SHEPHERD V. WHITEHEAD

The plaintiff is a flour merchant, and the defendant a flour
dealer in Liverpool, and the action, which was undefended,
was brought to recover £34 16r., the amount of goods sold
and delivered. Verdict accordingly.

YATES AND OTHERS V. MASKEW

An undefended action, to recover the balance of an account
amounting to £7l 7s. 9d. for coals sold to the defendant.
Verdict for the plaintiffs.

WILLIAMS AND OTHERS V. BAILEY AND OTHERS

The plaintiffs in this case are bankers ataarna;Ton,.and
the defendants are an associated body carrying on business
under the name of " The Snowden Slate Company." The
action was brought to recover the sum of £BO which the
plaintiffs had advanced for the use of the defendants upon an
acceptance.

Mr. Cresswell and Mr. Martin appeared for the plaintiffs,
and Mr. Dundas and Mr. Crompton for all the defendants
except Mr. G. F. Fairclough, solicitor, of this town, who was
defended by Mr. Wortley.

Mr. CRIiSSWELL stated the case. This was an action
brought by the plaintiffs, who are bankers at Carnarvon, to
recover the sum of £BO, which they had advanced for their
use upon an acceptance given by Mr. Potter to a bill drawn
by a person named Griffiths Davies, who was formerly in
partnership with the defendants, but who, unfortunately for
the pl:_int:ll7, had recently died. A. year or two ago the
defendants, with certain other persons, hearing of the great
gains made by the owners of slate-quarries in North Wales,
were disposed to enter into "speculations of a similar kind,
and they formed themselves into a company, which they
described as "The Snowdon Slate Company," Griffiths
Davies being the managing partner, and residing in the dis-
trict. Griffiths paid the workmen as their wages became due,
and in fact carried on the whole concern in Carnarvonshire :
he drew bills upon different customers, collected moneys, and
applied them to the purpose of carrying on the affair. In
the month of January, 1840, Davies having, as it would
seem, been disappointed in receiving funds from the defend-
ants for the payment of wages, applied to Mr. Potter, by
letter, (which the learned council read,) to accept a bill at
six months for £BO, in consideration of which he should
receive 15,000 slates before it became due, or if he (Davies)
did not take the slates, the acceptance should be returned.
Mr. Potter accepted the bill on these terms. The bill was
as follows :

" Carnarvon, June 7, 1810.
" Six months after date, pay to my order £BO, value re-
ceived in slates. _ _ " GRIFFITIIS DAVIES."

Then it was accepted by Potter, made payable at Messrs.
Roberts, London, and endorsed by Davies. This bill Davies
carried to the plaintiffs to be discounted, who knew him to
be partner in the slate company because he had deposited
with them his scrip. When he presented the bill to be dis-
counted they said, " No ; this bill is not accepted for the
company." "Oh ! dear, yes," said Davies, "it is so." He
then altered the words, " to my order," and wrote, " per
procuration for the Snowdon Slate Comany, Griffiths Da-
vies," and also altered the endorsement. The plaintiffs..
taking that as an endorsement by the company, advanced
Davies the money. When the bill came to maturity it was
dishonoured, and when they applyed to the defendants, they
were told that the bill had been altered after acceptance, that
the stamp was therefore good for nothing, and therefore they
could not recover upon it. But suppose they could not re-
cover upon the bill, they could recover for money advanced ;
therefore in either way, the defendants were bound to pay.
Before the bill became due, Mr. Potter wrote for the slates.
In answer, Davies, on the Bth September, a day or two after
the bill was due, wrote to the effect that the number of work-
men in the quarry being reduced tO six, he could not furnish
him with the 15,000 slates, and that he could not meet the
bill, and referring him to the Company for redress. Mr.
Potter handed this letter over to the plaintiffs, the holders of
the bill, and they had brought the present action. He (Mr.
Cresswell) should have called Davies us a witness to these
facts, had he been alive, but, unfortunately, he died only on,
Sunday week ; nevertheless, he should call Mr. Potter, who.
would prove the acceptance, and the banker's clerk who dis-
counted it for the company.
The learned Counsel then called his witnesses, who con-
firmed the facts as stated in his opening.
A variety of objections, of an abstrusely legal nature, were
then argued by the learned Counsel for the defendants.
After much discussion, the learned Judge directed a non-
suit to be entered, giving the plaintiffs leave to move to enter-
a verdict for the principal and interest, upon the conditions
that the Court above should be of opinion there was evidence
to go before the Jury upon the points which the plaintiffs.
were bound to establish.

SYKES V. MASKER

This was an undefended action to recover £443. 3s. 10d.
Verdict accordingly.
The Court rose a few minutes after five o'clock.

CROWN COURT.—WEDNESDAY.
THE WARRINGTON BURGLARS.
William Parkinson, 31, William Barber, 28, Thomas'Goodier, 48, Samuel Pinnington, 31, and Henry Ellis, 25,
were placed at the bar to be tried for various burglaries, an
alleged attempt at murder, &c.. committed in March last, in
various parts of this county. They were first indicted for
having, on the 26th of March last, feloniously entered the
house of Thomas Shaw, at Poulton-with-Fearnhead, with
intent to steal his goods, and then and there assaulted and
wounded Hannah Barton, with intent to murder her, and
further with having stolen £36 in gold, a silver table spoon,
a silver watch, and other goods, the property of the said
Rhomas Shaw. William Woollasten was originally com-
mitted for this offence, but the grand jury ignored the bill.
Mr. WILKINS laid before the jury a very perspicuous nar-
rative of the case as he expected to prove it before the jury.
Part of the testimony, he observed, would be that of an
approver.

Hannah Barton, Mr. Shaw's housekeeper, was first called.
She was still weak and ill, and the trial was taken thus early
in consequence of the surgeon having certified that it would
be dangerous to detain her in Liverpool. She stated, that
on the night of Friday, the 26th of March last, she was in
the service of Mr. Shaw. On that night she went to bed at
nine o'clock. About one o'clock or? SatuFday morning she
was disturbed by the house dog barking furiously, and by the
scuffling of heavy feet about the door. The door was forced
open with a great crash, and, the report of a gun or pistol was
heard. She started out of bed, opened the window, and im-
mediately heard the report of another pistol or gun, and
received a wound in her forehead: (A deep indention, the
effect of this wound was visible in the very centre of the
witness's forehead over her nose.) Three stones were thrown
at her, one of which struck her. She went down stairs, and
saw four men in the room where her master and the man
slept. She went to the back kitchen window, and endeavour-
dto break it, but was unable. She went into the workshop,
broke the window and got through. She was immediately
seized by the prisoner Ellis, who came from the back of the
house. She s.aw two mep. come out of the parlour where her
in.to the. k.itchen. One of these men had a
'lantern and a pistol in his hand. The dog made furious de-
monstrations of an intention to attack them, and one of the
master was,
men said " D—n him, knock his brains out." She asked
him to let her go to her master, but he presented his pistol
at her face, and said if she stirred he would give her that.
He bad a black mask on. They went away after a time, and
locked the door after them, taking away the key, which was
missing next morning. (A key was here produced, and the
witness identified it as the key of Mr. Shaw's door.) She
found the side of a lantern in the kitchen next morning.
Thomas Shaw stated, that on the 26th March last he and
his family went to bed at nine o'clock. Witness went on to
say, that after he had been asleep some time, he was aroused
by hearing the dog bark, and presently the front door was
thrust in with a great crash, and four men entered his room,
two of whom had crow-bars and two pistols and lamps. TheY
had. black masks on. As they entered they made a great
noise, exclaiming, " Oh, you b—g--s, your moneY-7",r,
money. We'll have your money, or we'll take your life. _
The least of the men struck his man, and then they all seized
him. (the man), and threw him on the bed, and covered hug
with the bolster, exclaiming, '‘ your money— our gold..
He released his head, and called to him (witness) to give his
money. He took his purse from his pocket, andlwthrealnt:
stantly snatched from his hand, the person who didt