The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-11-02 00:00:00

Ma. M'CREA'S

CASSON AND ANOTHER, EXECUTORS, V. M'CREA.
This was an action in a common pleas record to recover
the sum of £l9 l? s. 9d. from the defendant. Mr. JAMES
appeared for tt
fendant

iffs, and Mr. VENABLES for the de-

Mr. JAMES said the plaintiffs in this case were Thomas
Casson and Ebenezer —, executors of the will of Thomas
Pearson, deceased, and the defendant was the Rev. John
Benjamin M'Crea. The action was in debt for goods sold
and delivered by the testator in his life time, and upon an
account stated ; the defendant pleaded by denying that he
was ever liable to pay. The late Mr. Pearson was a timber
merchantond the Rev. Mr. M'Crea was a gentleman who,
having come from the sister country where he had obtained
considerable eminence in his profession, settled at Waterloo,
near this town, where he acquired to himself a considerable
number of friends. There being no chapel belonging to the
defendant's persuasion (what it was, whether Independent
or not he could not say, for he did not know), in that place,
he thought it would be advisable, for the interests of the
community, that one should be erected. lie accordingly set
about this object in good earnest, and he obtained from
among his friends subscriptions to a considerable amount for
the purpose of building a chapel. In the course of last year
a chapel was erected. After it was erected, the defendant
made arrangements with Mr. Waddington fur the land; and
UP,'" the lOth Julr nresent upon liols
the chapel was erected, was signed over to Mr. M'Crea for the
term of 500 years. Mr. AP Crea since that time had been in
legal possession of the chapel, and of the land upon which it
was built. The action was brought to recover £l9 Os. 9d,
the amount of timber supplied by the late Mr. Pearson in
his life time for the purpose of being placed in the
roof of this chapel. Mr. M'Crea, in the most unac-
countable way, for he (the learned counsel) could assign no
reason for it, nor could he imagine what the defence would
be, had hitherto refused to pay for that timber. According
to his (the learned counsel's) instructions the reverend gen-
tleman had paid other people who had supplied not only
labour, but materials in the erection, yet he refused to nay his
clients, the executioners of the late Mr. Pearson. That the
timber had been supplied there could be no doubt. He was
instructed to say, he should be able to prove this fact in the
clearest possible way, for he should call before the jury the
very parties who had conveyed the timber from Mr. Pear-
son's yard to the chapel of Mr. M'Crea, the joiner who had
unloaded it, and placed it, by the direction of Mr. M'Crea,
in the roof of the chapel, and when he had done that, there
could be no doubt whatever of its having been supplied.
What Mr. M'Crea could say to this he (the learned counsel)
was at a loss to conceive. He should prove that Mr.
M'Crea was in possession of the chapel, and that he was the
party who had obtained, and would obtain, every possible
benefit that could be derived from the use of the chapel, he
being the legal owner of it, having it under his own sole and
proper control ; therefore he was the party to be benefitted
by the use of this timber. But he (the learned counsel)
should go further than that. He should show that Mr.
M'Crea had been the party who had paid the workmen, who
had paid other persons for supplying other materials to erect
the chapel, and when that was done he should be justified in
calling upon the jury to give hint a verdict, unless his friend
should set up a defence (which he did not at all anticipate)
that would satisfy them Mr. .M`Crea was not liable. Having
produced his evidence, he should leave the matter in the
hands of the jury, subject of course, to any remarks that
his learned friend might think proper to make.
John Clifton, a carter, was the first witness called. Mr.
Al`Crea's chapel was erected during the course of last year.
Sometime during the winter, witness who was in the service
of Mr. Brining, was sent by his master to Mr. Pearson's
yard in James-street, for a cart load of timber, which he
brought home to his master's house, in Waterloo. Witness
bad borrowed a cart for the purpose. The timber was left
in the cart all night, outside the gates. Could not recollect
whether he asked at Mr. Pearson's yard for timber for the
chapel. The timber was removed the next morning, but not
by witness.
Cross-examined.—Could not tell in what month he fetched