The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-08-26 00:00:00

IRIS

CLAIM FOR WAGZ!,

BRETHERTON v. ECKERSLEY.—The plaintiff, Mr.
Peter Bretherton, was a working man at Wigan, and
defendant, Mr. James Eckersley, carried on business as
a cotton-spinner, at the same ►lace. The action was for
the recovery of the sum of £4 165., alleged to be due to
him by the defendant, who had discharged him from his
service without a month's notice or a month's wages,
contrary to the terms under which he had served In
1833 (as appeared from the statement of Mr. Addison,
the plaintiff's counsel,) the plaintiff was hired to the de-
fendant as throstle tenter. at 245. per week ; and he was
also, according to the ordinary practice of that part of
the country, to receive a month's notice or a month's
wages, on being discharged. He remained in the defen-
dant's employ till the 16th November last, when, without
any complaint having been alleged against him, he was

discharged, neither the usual notice-nor any allowance
being made to him, in violation of the terms of the con-

Defendant had also refused to give the plaintiff a
aracter, and he had, in consequence, been opt of em-
ployment ever since. Plaintiff had three sons employed
in the mill, who were discharged at the same time with
himself.

After several witnesses had been called, his Lonnsutr
thought the custom of the country had not been proved,
which sas fatal to the plaintiff's case. The plaintiff was,
tLerefore, nousuited.

ALLEGED BREACH OF CONTRACT

RAYNER ♦. GROTE.— ..s Rayner, broker, of
Liverpool, was the plaintiff, and Frederick R. Grote and
Samuel Tomkinson, merchants, defendants. The action
was to recover a sum of £3l, being, as it was alleged, a
loss occasioned by the sale of twenty tons of soda ash,
which the defendants ought to have taken in accordance
with a contract he had entered into with the plaintiff. Mr.
Watson and Mr. Henderson appeared for the plaintiff,
and Messrs. Baines and Crompton for the defendants. It
appeared from the statement of the plaintiff's counsel,
that on the 7th March, 1844, a contract was entered into
between the plaintiff and defendant, the latter agreeing to
take 50 tons of soda ash, all to be delivered in May. On
the 10th May, 30 tons, which bad been bought from a
Person named Johnson, were delivered, for which the de-
fendant paid, and on the 25th May he was applied to
receive the residue of twenty tons on its arrival, but re-
fused to do so. The soda was afterwards sold at a loss of
£3l, which was the amount 14;44 to be rteuv.urad by the

,hn Hick

1 P

1 Plaintiff,

Mr. Baines contended that the contract note

showed a safe from Johnson to the broker, and not to the
defendant, which was also borne out by the plaintiff's
witnesses. After a short consultation, between the oppo-
sing counsel, it was agreed to take a verdict for the plain-
tiff for £4l, with liberty for the defendants to move to
enter a nonsuit.

DISPUTED LIABILITY
A

AIITCHEN V. WRIGLEY A. _.OTHER.-The ptaintl
was Mr. Wm. Hitchen, a timber merchant, at Middle-
wich, and the defendants Robert and William Wrigley, of
Oldham, the one in business as a bobbin-maker, and the
other engaged in the hat trade. The action was for the
sum of £73, being the value of a quantity of timber sold
by plaintiff to the two defendants last year and the begin-
ning of the present. One of the defendants denied his
liability, and the other had suffered judgment to go by
default. It was contended by Mr. Atherton, on the part
of the defendants, that the timber in question had been
supplied to Mr. Robert Wrigley, who was an insolvent,
and the present was merely an attempt to fasten on the
solvent brother, William, his brothers debts, by an en-
deavour to set up a joint liability. He called a witness
to show that Robert Wrigley carried on business on his
own account, without any elnnexion with his brother.
Mr. Knowles, for the plaintiff, said it was perfectly clear,
notwithstanding what had been said by his learned friend,
that there was a joint liability, and William was answers-

ble, along with his brother, for the amount in question.
Verdict for the plaintiff for £73 13s. 4d.

-._,..-,...,1.1.-..

CROWN COURT.-FRIDAY.

Frederick Harris. who had been convicted on the day
previous of manslaughter, was brought up to receive sen-
tence. His lordship remarked that he had delayed sen-
tencing the prisoner in order to consider whether the re-
commendation of the jury to mercy could be attended to,
but the circumstance of the prisoner being armed with a
deadly concealed weapon, was wholly inconsistent with
that recommendation. He must be transported for 20

years.
James Croft Reid, aged 31, pleaded guilty to having
married Ann Reese, his former wife being then living.—
Sentence deferred.

CUSTOM-HOUSE

ROBBRRY.

William Matthews, aged 28, pleaded guilty to stealing
£3OO. the property of Elias Arnaud, collector of customs.
Mr. Wilkins hoped his Lordship would take a merciful
view of the case. The prisoner bad borne a most excel-
lent chNracter, and could have obtained £BOO as readily
as £3OO. When he received the money lie was intoxi-
cated, and on coming to his senses he immediately re-
turned the whole amount, except about £5. which he had
spent. The learned counsel turn called W. B. Hughes,
Esq., M.P., and the Rev. T. Thomas, rector of Llanlo-
din, who had known the prisoner ten years, and gave him
an excellent character. His lordship said he would pass
sentence on Monday morning.

IMURDIER ON THE HIGII SNAS

George Will, 26, captain of the brig Challenge, was
charged with the wilful murder of Ben Jonson, on the 2d
of May last. _

Mr. Brandt and Mr. Patchett conducted the prosecu-
tion; and Mr. Wilkins and Mr. James the defence.
William Angus, cooper and seaman of the brig Chal-
lenge, said that he joined the ship on the coast of Africa,
and came home in her. On the 11th o' February they
shipped a seaman, named Ben Jonson, a Krooman. Ho
waa about 28 or 30 years of age. On the night of the Ist
of May, I was 'n the captain's watch, from twelve to four
o'clock; there were also in the watch, Henry Holmes,
the second male, William Lyons, an apprentice, and the
deceased. About half-past two o'clock the deceased was
sitting at the top of the companion ladder ; he appeared
to be asleep. I was sitting on the starboard side, where
the man at the wheel stands. I saw the deceased fall
down stairs; I heard him strike twice in falling. The
captain called out from the cabin, " What is that noise ?"
The second mate thereupon went down stairs, and called
to me to come and pull Ben Jonson up. When I reached
the companion, I found Jonson coming up by himself.
I laid hold of his collar, and asked why he had fallen
down ; he rested his arm upon the top of the companion,
and said, " 1 have been too much sleepy." I told him to
go and lie down alongside of the grating on the larboard
side, and he did so. The captain and second mate then
came upon deck, and the captain said, " Where is that
fellow now ?" I showed him, and the prisoner got a rope
and gave Ben a slap wiih it. The deceased whirled him-
self right round, and tried to get forward ; the captain
caught him by the back of the jacket and pulled him down
on the deck, and commenced beating him with the rope,
and kicking him with his feet at the same t me, for ten
minutes or quarter of an hour. I could see what was
going on ; the moon was not out, but it was not very dark,
and there was a light in the binnacle. Seeing the punish-
ment going on I went away to the starboard side of the
quarter deck, for I could not stand it any longer. I
heard the prisoner say, " d-n that rope, it is too light
to make him rise," and he reached his hand over the gra-
ting and got a canoe paddle, with which he commenced
beating the deceased, until it was broken. (The piece was
here produced with marks of blood on it.) The prisoner
hit him on every part whenever he could get a blow at him
for three or four minutes. The captain then told me to
haul the deceased out of the round-house and pour a
bucket of water on him, which I did. The deceased was
lying with his face downwards, and blood was flowing
from his face or mouth. I heard a gurgling noise in his
throat, and when the captain gave the first blow with the
rope the deceased gave a groan, but he never spoke after-
wards. After the heating the deceased made a snoring
noise, and the captain said, " If you lie there snoring I'll
give you some more of it." I was relieved at four and
did not come on deck again until eight o'clock. The de-
ceased was then lying at the windlass, and was then dead.
Shortly after eight, the captain and Kitson, the chief-
mate, came on deck, and the captain asked Kitson if he
heard the noise in the night. Kitson said he did, and the
captain asked how Ben felt after his beating ; witness re-
plied that he supposed Ben was dead by that time. About
a quarter past twelve the deceased was thrown overboard
Cross-examined by Mr. WILKINS.—The deceased.
made a great noise in falling; I pulled him up by the
jacket. When I moved the deceased forward I dragged
him by his legs. About seven weeks before we reached
Liverpool, a man stabbed the captain, and was kept in
irons until we reached the port.

Henry Holmes deposed that when the captain was
besting the deceased, the Fitter was in a stooping posi-
tion, and ran with his head against witness's trowsers,
and he afterwards found, where the head had touched,
there was a mark of blood. The captai❑ sent Lyons for
a lamp, and witness then examined the deceased. The
head and face were covered with blood, and there was a
large quantity of blood on the deck. The nose was cut
through, and also the lip, and there was a wound like a
stab on the throat, under the jaw. His hair was clotted
with blood. The captain told Angus to take him away
and throw some water o❑ him. I soon after seat to the
foretop, from which I saw the captain and the cook give
the deceased something out of a cup with a spoon,

William Lyons told 'a
similar story, and on cross-exa-
mination said, that when the deceased was pulled up the
ladder he fell doisn on the deck. Witness was flogged
two or three dayc before the ship reached the poit, for
letting the ship go out of her course.
Ritson said he was chief mate of the Chal-
lenge. He heard the noise on the night in question, but
did not come on deck until four o'clock. When it was
daylight witness went to the deceased, who was lying
between the main hatch and the galley, on the larboard
side, and found his face cut, and he was lying among a
great deal of blood. His nose was cut in two, a cut in
the upper lip, and two cuts in the throat, one of which
was a kind of stab. Witness then described what fel-

and when the captain proposed to bury the de-
ceased, witness said they had better examine the body.
Witness, on looking at the deceased, said he thought the
bone at the back of the neck was a great deal higher than
his own, but he did not know whether he was built exactly
like black fellows. The prisoner felt the hone, and said
that Ben had broke his neck. The prisoner then called
the cook and the cooper to examine the neck, and the
former said the neck was not broken. The prisoner said
he wished the bone to be examined, because some of the
people might pull him up for it in Liverpool, and say he
had killed Ben. Witness wrote an account of the trans-
action in the log-book. Witness had copied the first
three lines from the slate, when the captain came up and
robbed out all he had written, and then wrote the con-
clusion of the account for witness to copy.
The entry in the log was then read ; it attributed the
deceased's death to his falling down stairs, by which his
neck was broken.

Daniel Phillips, a man of eolonr, said he was cook on
board the Challenge, and said that on examining the de-

ceased, the captain said that if he had known the deceased
had so many wounds on him he would not have ropes-
ended him. When witness said the neck was not broken,
the captain said, " D---n it, say it is, for fear some of
these fellows may bring me up fur it in Liverpool."
Thomas Hughes, another seaman, also was examined
for the prosecution.

s Archer, surgeon, deposed, that had the de-
jurcd the spine, or dislocated the neck, the body
Ps the part would be paralysed, so that the patient
could not have walked up stairs.

Mr. Franc

Mr. WI I-KIN s for the prisoner contended that the ac-

count in the log was the irue one, and the pretended tale
of the mate was only worthy of ridicule. The prisoner
showed no d'sposition to conciliate those, who, if their
story were true, had it in their power to avenge them-
selves by means of the law, but punished every breach of
discipline, as well, after the death of the Krooman, as
before.

His LORDSHIP summed up, and the jury after being
absent sit hour and forty minutes, returned a verdict of
" Guilty of manslaughter."
The learned JUDGE after remarking on the patient at-
tention which the jury had given the case, " I am bound
to say of the act, from the violence of its character, that
it is, short of murder, as bad a case as ever I had before
me ; as you had necessarily a number of persons under
your dominion who were compelled, in some degree, to
submit to your violence. You say you are as innocent as
any per Son in this court. If that statement is true, this
has been a scene of the most remarkable deprav4y—
greater than which I never witnessed r or could conceive.
The jury, however, have not attributed to them this
wickedness; but have pronounced them the witnesses of
truth. It remains only for me to say that you be tran-
sported beyond the seas, to such place as her Majesty's
privy council may determine, for the term of your natural
life.

The prisoner, who did not show the slightest marks of
epidation, was then removed.

FORGERY

James Bradburn, 25. was charged with having at Man-
chester, forged a note for the purpose of fraudulently ob-
taining 541bs. weight of copper nada, the property cf Mr.
Gibbons, nail manufacturer, Manchester. It Appeared
that Messrs. Eirkley, slaters, had been in the habit of
sending written orders for different arti.iles to Mr. Gib-
bons. On the 10th of May, the prisoner presented a note
requesting 541bs. of copper nails to be sent., which were
accordingly ;delivered to the prisoner.
proved to be a forgery. The prisoner

The order Iva'

came a•few dayg

THE LIVERPOOL TANOARI).

after with a second forged order and was taken into cus-
tody. The prisoner in his defence said he could not write,
and that be was sent with the orders, and did not know
they were forged._Notguilty.