The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-08-31 00:00:00

Dublin ; and addressed to the plaintiff. In this letter,
the defendant said that from what he had learned since his
arrival in Dublin he was persuaded a terminus at Kihriain-
ham -would not go down with the people there, and therefore
he relied upon the skill and industry of the plaintiff to find
a better. At all events, lie said, lie hoped he would he able
to find a terminus somewhere more convenient for the Cus-
tom-house than Kilmainham and other places which were
suggested. After this (the learned counsel contended) it
was impossible for Mr. Lefroy to say he was not a director
of the company, and dealing with Mr. Vignolles as the en-
gineer to the company. The survey then went on ; and he
would now call attention to the work which the parties en-
gaged in the survey had to perform. The learned counsel
then produced a map of the country, on which be pointed
out the three points of the proposed railway—Dublin, Sligo.
and Galway. The jury knew very well that in exploring a
new country there was much labour in vain ; that it cost
just as much labour and pains to investigate the lineS you
desert as the lines you adopt. In the present case an exa-
mination of the country was made the whole length to Sligo,
as well as the whole length to Galway. On the map the
jury would observe three black lines commencing at Dublin,
one going to Athlone, another to Kells, and a third ran up
to Longford ; these were the lines which were eventually re-
ported upon as the right ones, and it was for making these
' lines that Mr. Vignolles sought compensation from the de-
fendant. In the making of these lines it was quite capable
of proof that all the lines which were described upon the
map, not continuously but dotted, were also lines which
Mr. Vignolles surveyed at one time or other with the view
of making the three black lines ; they were surveyed and le-
velled with the greatest care, in order to come to the con.•
elusion as to the best of the three lines which were eventually
adopted. There was a great dispute, as he had said, about
the terminus, some wishing it to go to the north, and others
in a different direction, but at last the opinion of Mr. Vig-
nolles was received by the.committee ; his report was agreed
to, and his line was adopted by the committee of manage-
ment. Before his report was sent in, there was a meeting
of the provisional committee in Dublin ; this was in August;
the defendant was in the chair, and conducted the business
of that meeting. New instructions were sent out, more
country was surveyed, and about that time, with a view to
the business of this railway company, an office was taken
for Mi. Vignolles in Dublin, which continued to be the
office of the company till the end of the year, Mr. Vignolles
and iris assistants transacting their business there. On the
19th September there was another meeting in Dublin, at
which Mr. Vignolles' report was handed in and read. That
report was adopted, and then nothing remained to be done
after the lines had been agreed to, but such necessary pre-
parations for the clerk' of the peace's office and the houses
of parliament as were required by law. On the 21st Sept.
another meeting of the provisional committee was held, to
the proceedings of which he be,rged to call attention, be-
cause it had been suggested that from something which arose
nit that meeting, something like a defence to this action would
arise ; but he would submit that nothing happened at that
meeting which was not entirely consistent with Mr. Vig-
nolles' case. He had already mentioned that Mr. Vig-
nolles had several employments of his own, which he
was carrying on in England. At that time there was
a notion in Ireland of what did eventually take place,
viz., that a royal commission would go to Ireland for the
purpose of regulating railways in that country. Mr. Vig-
nolles was very anxious to becotne the engineer to the royal
commissioners, but it was conceived by him and by some
members of the provisional committee, among whom was, as
he shonld show, Mr. Lefroy himself, that it would be very
much to the advantage of the railway company if he was no
longer-to appear to the world as engineer to the Central Irish
Railway Company, but that he should be permitted, giving
the young gentleman, Nimmo, his assistance, to become en-
gineer to the royal commissioners. Mr. Lefroy considered
it might be of great advantage to their railway to have a per-
son at head quarters of such importance as Mr. Vignolles ;
but it was expressly agreed at the same meeting that though
Mr. Nimmo was to be ostensible engineer, his proceedings
were still to be taken under the advice and assistance of Mr.

Vignolles. Mr. Nimmo never having had any independent
occupation in his life before, and too young to be entrusted
with so vast a concern upon his own footing, was to look
to Mr. Vignolles for advice, and receive it from him as be-
fore. There could pot be a doubt—not only that such was
the understanding of the parties, but that such was their con-
duct. In point of fact Mr. Vignolles was no longer engineer
to the company by name, but he was still to give the com-
vanythebenefit of his assistance in carrying on the_ work.

He should shew the jury that in October Mr. Vignolles was
consulted upon the work just as he was before ; his office in
Dublin was (pen to Mr. Nimmo and the other parties just as
it was before; in truth, except in the mere name there was no
real difference in the relation of Mr. Vignolles to this rail-
way after the 21st of September than there was before. The
report having been received, read, and adopted, the real work
of the engineer was completed. All that had to be done
afterwards was to go over the lines again, to ascertain
them accurately, to prepare plans and sections, and books of
reference for the houses of parliament and clerks of the
peace. They would find that Mr. Vignolles went to Ireland
after this, that he did business with Mr. Nimmo, who applied
to him for counsel and advice, and be-should be able to show
by a very extensive correspondenee which subsisted between
Nimmoand Vignolles, that Nimmo did from the first to the
last communicate upon the subject of this railway with Vig-
nolles. It was a great misfortune for his client (Mr. Vig-
nolles) that Mr. Nimmo died in the early part of the
year 1839. If Mr. Nimmo had been now alive, the
jury would have had an opportunity of knowing from him
whether there was anything in the suggestion that he
(Nimmo) was acting substantially for himself, and not as an
inferior officer for Mr. Vignolles. The line being thus re-
ported on, the work was completed about the end of the
year; no fault was found with it, and the only remaining
question was, whether the work should be paid for. The
question was, whether or not the plaintiff could establish to
the satisfaction of the jury that Mr. Lefroy was one of the
directors who were bound to make good the claims made
upon him by the engineer. It became necessary after the
work was completed to make the lodgments with the clerk of
the peace, and with the houses of parliament. All that was
duly done. The maps, sections, and books of reference gtve
a great deal of trouble to the engineer ; they were all duly
lodged, and every thing was done proper for the car-
rying through of • a bill in parliament. There was a
charge by Mr. Vignolles of some money for copies of the
books and sections for the royal commission; that he (Mr.
Dundas) was in a condition to prove was done at the express
desire of the committee, with a view to make the royal com-
missioners acquainted with this railway, in order that the
line might have a good chance of being adopted by them.
There was afterwards also, with a view to introduce a fresh
bill into the Commons, another lodgment with the houses of
parliament, of plans, with a view to the session of 1837-8,
which was done at the expense of Mr. Vignolles. He had
now, he believed, stated, very much in outline, but he hoped
simply and clearly enough, the general features of this case.
It would be necessary for him to show, by evidence, the de-
tails of the business he performed ; to prove that this was
well performed and reasonably charged for. The question,
after all, would turn upon this, whether or no these works
were in fact.done by Mr. Vignolles, and whether the price he
put upon them was sufficient. With regard to that he should
call before the jury an engineer or two of acknowledged
talent, who would tell them that the charge of £4O per mile
upon 1261 miles (for such was the length of the three lines
mai ked black in the map) was a reasonable charge to be made
for such business. Altogether theamountcame to about £5060,
and they would find by the evidence that this was a reasonable
'charge. 'The distance was 1261 miles, which was a longer line
;than any we had in England. Thedistance from London to
'Birmingham was 112 or 114 miles, and he was not aware of
any longer line ; and this was a line of 1261 miles, which
was all that had been reported upon. lie had called the at-
tention of the jury a little while ago to the fact that not only
when you made 1261 miles were you entitled to charge, but you
were also for the work and labour done upon the other lines.
He understood that 380 miles were actually surveyed; but
it was for only 1264 miles that his client sought to charge.
There was a plea of payment upon the record, but he was at
a loss to understand what Mr. Lefroy meant by a plea of
payment. The only money ever actually paid to Mr. Vig-
smiles was the sum of £5OO, which was put to his credit
when first he went to Dublin in June, 1836, to commence
operations. No other money was paid to him, certainly not
before the month of September, when the transactions with
regard to Mr. Nimmo took place. If Mr. Nimmo had re-
ceived any money, as the agent of Mr. Vignolles, as well
for that as for the £5OO, would Mr. Vignolles give the de-
fendant credit, for he did not want sixpence more than ex-
penses out of pocket, and what he was entitled to as any
other man of science, to have payment made to him of his
just debt; therefore when he saw what case was made out
upon the other side, he would tell the jury how much Mr.
Vignolles allowed on account of payment, besides the £5OO
wherewith he first went to Dublin. He begged the jury to
keep their attention upon these two points—whether, in the
first place, a case was made out against Mr. Lefroy, as the
contractor with the plaintiff, because if he did go he should
be entitled to their verdict upon the first issue. They must
keep in mind also this, whether they, on the other hand,
proved payment to Mr. Vignollei with regard to time and
labour, surveys and expenses ; for if they made their case
good upon that, they would be entitled to a verdict ; but as
he was instructed, they could not make good this part of
their case—that Mr. Vignolles had a claim upon the company
of much more amount than that which had been paid. It was
that claim which he should call witnesses to prove, and if he
did so to the satisfaction of the jury, he should claim their
verdict upon the part of his client, Mr. Vignolles.
Witnesses were then called, whose testimony extended to
very considerable length, in support of the statement made
by the learned counsel. They cons'sted of Mr. Lea, the
London partner in the house of Young, Murdoch and Lea ;
Mr. Lea's brother : a number of engineers, pupils and as-
sistants to the plaintiff, who proved the surveys made ; Mr.
Francis Giles (assistant to Mr. Rennie), and Mr. Brunel
(engineer to the Great Western Railway), who proved that
the charges of the plaintiff, £4O a mile, including all charges,
were at that time perfectly reasonable, and that the witnesses
who had been examined were competent to execute the work
undertaken by the plaintiff.
Mr. DUN DAS then proposed to put in the letters which
had passed between Mr. Nimmo and the plaintiff upon the
subject of this railway, upon the principle that the corres-
pondence was part of the facts of the case.
Mr. CRESSWELL objected ; and the JUDGE said he should
reject the letters, but take. a note of their having been ten-
dered.

Mr. DUNDAS said this was the plaintiff's case

Mr. CRESSWELL then submitted that there was no evi-
dence of any contract having been entered into by the defen-
dant with the plaintiff. It appeared that this was an inchoate
speculation only, and that when the prospectus was put
Earth, no shares were allotted, and no company existing.
Mr. Lefroy, therefore, was not at that time a partner in any
co-partnership, for none at that time existed. Any engage-
ment made by any person at that time was clearly with a view
to some prospective arrangement with regard to the consti-
tution of a company, but when it was constituted by allot-
ment of shares, Mr. Lefroy did not take any. All these
facts distinctly appeared ; and according to the decision of
the Court of Common Pleas in the case of Fox v. Clifton,
and of the Queen's Bench, in the case of Brown v. Freath,
the fact of Mr. Lefroy having allowed his name to appear as
a provisional director did not affect him so as to render him
liable. It was held in those cases, that where a party actually
signed the prospectus with his own hands, yet, as he took no
shares, he was not liable. He apprehended, therefore, that
this case fell short of what in the cases cited was held requi-
site to make a party liable, and that there was no evidence of
any contract by Mr. Lefroy, or of any person having con-
tracted for him.
Mr. DUNDAS contended that there was evidence sufficient
for the case to go before the jury.
The JUDGE decided that there was a case to go before the
jury, but added that he would take a note of the objection.
Mr. CRESSWELL then addressed the jury on the part of
the defendant. After the long and tedious inquiry as to
dates and figures in which they had been involved, he could
hardly expect to receive a very lively. degree of attention ;
but he was sure, in behalf of Mr. Lefroy, he should not ap-
peal in vain to gentlemen to give him their most anxious
attention whilst he nointed out the perilous position in which
he and others would be placed if such a claim as the pre-
sent could be enforced. He trusted he should be able
to show that Mr. Vignolles neither in law nor justice, neither
morally nor equitably, had any claim whatever upon Mr.
Lefroy. What would be the position of every person in the
situation of Mr. Lefrov, if he, in 1841, was to have enforced
against him a demand of £5OOO on a supposed contract made
by him in 1836 ? What would be the position of every mem-
of parliament whose constituents, neighbours or friends,
taking an interest in any public question prevailed upon him
to give them assistance in promoting
the origin of a scheme,
if he was to be rendered liable by such assistance, to the
whole expense of following it out, although when it came to
the point of parties embarking, in it he neither became an
actual partner, nor could even make one farthing of profit
by it ? Because at the instance of those he represented he

had taken softie part in originating t 4 scheme, and
pl icing it before the eyes of the public, was he to be held
liable as a partner? It was distinctly; in evidence that as
soon as the shares were allotted, and they were allotted be-
fore any expenses were incurred, it became manifest that Mr.
Lefroy was not about to embark in the scheme as a share-

ship was constituted but he took no part in it. His learned
friend said that in as much he assisted with his advice and
counsel the constitution of the company he was a partner.
What was it, now, that Mr. Lefroy had done ? There were
some preliminary discussions as to forming a line of rail-

way from Dublin to the western side of -Ireland, and a
certain number of gentlemen in Ireland consented to give,
some their names and some their services, to assist in bring-
ing the scheme before public attention. Accordingly, there
_

. -
was a prospectus put out; arid his learned friend tiedtreed from
that prospectus this monstrous consequence that every gen-
gentleman who allowed his name to go before the public as a
party favouring the scheme was to be responsible for the ex-
penses incurred in the prosecution of it, not for one session of
parliament only, but for many, not for the first set, of plans
deposited in 1836 and in 1837, but for those deposited in
1838 ! and if this was to be the case, why not for 1839 and
1840 ? That was what his learned friend propounded as the
ground why Mr. Lefroy should be bound to pay £5,000. It
would, he thought, require but little argument tb satisfy the
jury that in point of fact there was no contract between Mr.
Lefroy and the plaintiff ; but before he proceeded to discuss
that part of the' case he would point out the simple rules of
law by which the liability of one party to another was go-
verned and ascertained in questions of this sort. The learned
counsel then gave his view of the law of contracts, and con-
tended that according to its doctrines there was no partner-
ship in the present case, and that the mere fact of allowing
their names to appear in the newspapers as provisionalidiree-
tors did not give the authority to act for another. So strong
was this principle laid down in law, that even with regard
to the committee of a club it was decided that one mem-
ber of the committee of a club could not bind another by

an order given in his absence, because they were not Partj-
ners. He mentioned this, because in a particular case which
he could name, a- jury twice gave a verdict, finding for the
plaintiff, against the committee of a club. The court, how-
ever,. said distinctly there was no original authority, and
twice did they send the ease back because the jury had not
found according to law. What evidence was there to show
that Mr. Lefroy ever contracted with the plaintiff? Simply
that upon several occasions Mr. Lefroy attended meetings of
the provisional committee, and assisted them with his know-
ledge and advice. His learned friend tried to make these
attendances a proof that he was contracting, and that he had
ernbar:ced in the scheme, but what proof was there of that
Why, this single proof, that on the 18th of June. when the
shares were allotted, Mr. Lefroy came to assist them, but
that he did not take any. The facts of his being there when
the shares were allotted, and declining to become a share-
holder, completely annulled all the effect that might other-
wise be attributed to his subsequent attendances. The
learned counsel then proceeded to comment upon the two
letters from the defendant to the plaintiff, contending that
from the first to the last they proved that the defendant was
never a shareholder or a participator in the profit and
loss of the scheme, and that Mr. Vignolles knew that
it was so. He next proceeded to read and comment upon
various points in the prospectus, urging that the general
foundation on which the speculation rested, was a desire on
the part of the solicitors to obtain the law clerkship to the
company ; and on the part of the plaintiff to obtain the en-
gineership, and that they emharkel in it on the faith of their
obtaining the required deposit of £1 per share, which in 40,000
shares would produce £40,000. The prospectus, the learned
counsel observed, stated that no shareholder should be liable
for more than, the amount of his shares. Suppose Mr. •
Lefroy had taken fifty shares. That would have rendered
him liable to £5OO and no more ; but having taken no shares
at all, he was said to be liable to £5,000! He appealed to
the jury whether that was consistent with justice. He now
came to another part of the ease, of much importance to Mr.
Lefroy, because his learned friend had attributed that to Mr.
Lefroy which lie thought would be most discreditable to him
if his -learned friend was right. His learned friend had
suggested that the royal commission having issued to inves-
tigate the subject of railways in Ireland, Mr. Vignolles made
a sham resignation of his office of engineer to this specula-
tion, for the purpose of being employed by the government
commissioners ; that Mr. Lefroy connived at that sham re-
signation, in order that the company might continue to have
the benefit of Mr. Vignolle's services, when he was serving
the royal commissioners, who would be seduced into sup-
posing that they had an independent man, whereas they had
only the friend and employi of this provisional committee.
He (Mr. Cresswell) was shocked at hearing such a thing
against Mr. Lefroy—a gentleman who stood in the highest
'station in which any gentleman could stand at the Irish bar.•
The evidence, however, did not bring it home to Mr. Lefroy
that lie was ongaged in any such dishonourable transaction ;
bnt he (Mr. Cresswell) might saylthat Mr. Vignolles, as to
every thing that passed after the 26th of September, had put
himself out of court, because he held the office of engineer to
the royal commissioners, 'who would not have had him had
they known it was otherwise. He had had the benefit of
that appointment under the royal commissioners, and now
he claimed to be paid as the engineer of this company for the
whole period ! Mr. Vignolles could not make out his con-
tract with Mr. Lefroy, but supposing that he could, the fact
of his having at the same time entered into an engagement
with the royal commissioners would at once give judgment
against him. He (the learned counsel) had before him the
accounts of the royal commissioners, by which it appeared
that for being employed by them Mr. Vignolles received no
less a-sum than £6,400, yet now he claimed from Mr. Lefroy
the price of his iniquity. He could not do that by law. The
whole of this might be imputed to Mr. Vignolles, but lie
(Mr. Cresswell) would prove that not one syllable of it could
be imputed to Mr. Lefroy. The learned counsel then
proceeded to state that the plaintiff having been appointed
one of the engineers to the Railway Commissioners, re-
signed his situation as engineer to the Great Central Rail-
way Company, who, on his strong recommendations, ap-
pointed Mr. Nimmo to succeed him. From this period
all the cheques, and documents, reports, and even the
parliamentry plans were- signed by Mr. Nimmo. In 1838,
M r. Vignolles asked permission from the royal commissioners
to accept the office of engineer to the company, and they
granted it, because his services were ended. This was a dis-
tinct recognition that he was not the engineer to the company.
• As a matter of law, if Mr.•Vignolles undertook to the govern-
ment commissioners to resign his office of engineer of the
.rallwifty,yet held it in the naive of Mr. Nimmo., he could 'flat
recover for the work so performed. The learned counsel
assuring that a contract was made with Mr. Lefroy, and that
the plaintiff's engagement with the royal commissioners did
not prohibit him from engaging with the company, then pro-
ceeded to shew from the plaintiff's own admission, and from
cheques signed by Nimmo, that only £3400 remains due to
him ; and whilst he had charged at the rate of £4O a mile to
the railway company, he had charged the royal commissioners
only £l6 a mile. The learned gentleman, after a recapitula-
tion of the various points upon which he rested his case,
called upon the jury to protect his client against what he
could not avoid considering a very unjust demand.
Sir James Murray, M.D., Mr. Healey, Lieut. Colonel H.
D. Jones, of the Engineers, then gave evidence in confirma-
tion of the defendants case. The receipts of Nimmo for
monies paied to him were also put in and read. The de-
fendants case here closed.

Mr. DuNDAs replied in a very powerful address. He
said he came before the jury with unabated confidence to
claim a verdict for Mr. Vignolles, for he was satisfied that
the cause of justice and morality would be just as well served
by finding their verdict for him, as by finding it for his more
wealthy and more distinguished antagonist. The line of de-
fence which he had taken was as unworthy Mr. Lefroy as
the instructions he had given to his counsel (for it was only
upon his instructions that Mr. Cresswell had acted), to
charge upon the plaintiff and upon the solicitors to his un-
dertaking, no less an offence than that of having been guilty
of a foul collusion, in getting up the whole of this business.
Very handsome conduct this in a man of Mr. Lefroy's elation
and character. _

The Learned JuDGF: then asked the jury (it being half-
past seven) whether they were willing to proceed with the
case this evening, as it was not improbable that with his sum-
ming up and the consideration of their verdict, it would last
till a late hour ?

The jury intimated that they would prefer an adjournment
till nine o'clock in the morning.
The JUDGE immediately acquiesced, and the case was ac-
cordingly adjourned.

_
There remain only two other cases to be disposed of, both
of which, it is expected, will be disposed of before evening.

THE FINE ARTS

THREE PAINTINGS BY MR. MARTIN, UNION-ROOMS.
Three paintings by Mr.
Martin are now exhibiting at
the Union-rooms, Slater-street. The subjects are, " Pan-
demonium," " The Bowers of Bliss," and " The Deluge."
Like all Mr. Martin's works, they exhibit a vigour of ima-
gination, a brilliancy of fancy and wildness, freedom and
thought, that at once stamp them with the true impress of
genius. No common painter is Mr. Martin ; he is the artist
of an age—a Milton on canvas ; and we have always thought,
on looking at his works, that a century hence the possessors
of any of them will be considered to hold rare productions,
and worth their weight in gold.
The awful subject of the deluge has been frequently made
available by the painter, both in olden and modern times.
Mr. Martin has painted it three times. One picture was
called " The Eve of the Deluge"—the second, " The Sub-
siding of the Deluge"—and the third is that we have now
the pleasure and gratification to inspect. In it the painter
has endeavoured—and we consider he has succeeded in so
doing—to convey to the eye and mind of the spectator the
progress of the mighty deluge. He has shown us the tor-
rents pouring from the murky and storm-driven clouds—
meeting, as it were,•the currents welling up from the bosom
of the disordered earth. To the left is a fall of waters, a
perfect Niagara, which, appears to sweep myriads of people
into the yawning gulph. To the right is the lightning rend-
ing a rock, the fragments falling in immense masses. In the
distance, which is admirably arranged, the flood is seen pre-
vailing in all directions ; in the foreground, upon a rock, are
seen, seated or lying prostrate. in all the various phases of
despair, the wretched families of the earth, whose impending
fate no power can avert. Remorse, terror, and horror ap-
pear to reign in the various countenances, presenting a ter-
rific and awful spectacle. In a deep cavern the eyes of mon-
strous antediluvian creatures appear crouching in the extre-
mity of their fear. In the midst of the crowds of people
may be seen mammoth and behemoth, adding to the awful
scene by their piercing cries. The idea of placing the ark
on a rock, midway between the flood and the top of the pic-
ture, where Ararat is seen through the bright clouds, is ex-
tremely fine and poetical, as it shows at once the height the
waters must rise before it can rest on that high mountain.
The details of this great picture are wonderfully painted.
The sun, moon, and comet are extraordinary portions of the
work. the' sun especially. On examination it appears like a
blazing opaque and luminous body. The lurid glare it
throws around is awfully sublime. The whole picture is
painted with great care. There is a brilliant and mellow
tone of colour about the groups in the middle ground, that
light throughout is finely distributed
is very striking. The
—the shadows deep and most effective.. In fine, this is a
wonderful picture, and
might alone render the artist immor-
tal.
The next painting we shall notice, in strong contrast to
this, is a fairy-land picture called the " Bowers of Bliss."
In the foreground a most exquisite undulating country is
seen, composed of forest and glade, with a most pure and
sunshiny light thrown upon it. Here are seated groups of
happy spirits, two of which, with gorgeous wings, appear on
their way, to meet another bright creature, which we may
suppose to have flown from the aerial cities we see shadowing
in the atmospheric distance. The background is occupied
by a most pellucid and snakelike river—a noble cliff, covered
on the top with herbage, overhanging it at its embouchure;
while far away to the left the beautiful landscape extends.
This most enchanting picture is just such an ,one as we
might see in our dreams, and which Leigh Hunt's sweet pen
only could describe, to convey an idea of it to a distant
reader. It is the most vivid embodiment of an imaginative
scene we ever beheld. The colours are of a sweet tone, and
of the most harmonious tints. Shadows there are none, to
be called so; they are such clear obscures, that they seem
but faint shades of shadows.
The third picture is an awful subject, taken from Milton,
representing Satan mustering his armies before the walls of
Pandemonium. This picture must be seen—we will not de-
scribe it now, but conclude with recommending all lovers of
pictures. If they are not pleased,
art to see Mr. Martin's
they will be fastidious indeed.•

01110 in............

SANDWZCH.-Sir T. Troubridge, a wh!
ig is about to
vacate his seat for this borough. A. staunch conservative
will be brought, and it is not expected the radicals will offer
any opposition.