The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-04-25 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

Mr. Gutteridge was too late in making his application
for a new trial, and we presume that he will, therefore, be
brought up immediately for his libels on the Bishop of
Manchester.

In the Common Pleas, last week, the court decided that
a foot race was a lawful game, Mr. Justice Coltman ob-
serving that he could not help being staggered by seeing
how much the decision might sanction the vice of gaming.
The legislature must, however, interfere, if that should be
necessary.

In theVice-Chancellor's Court, on Friday, the Earl of
Chesterfield obtained a decree permitting Mr. 'Thomas
Slingsby Duncombe to disentail estates in Yorkshire, to
which he had lately succeeded by the death of his father,
in satisfaction of a debt of £86,000 due to the noble plain-
tiff.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.—Phillips v. Charles.—
This action, for breach of promise, was tried before Mr.
Justice Patteson and a special jury at the last assizes for
the county of Gloucester, when a verdict was given for the
plaintiff with £lOOO damages. Mr. Whately, Q.C., now
moved for a rule. calling on the plaintiff to show cause
why there should not be a new trial, on the ground that
the damages were excessive. The Court said the conduct
of the defendant had been very cruel and unfeeling, and
the plaintiff was entitled to a considerable amount of
damages for the treatment she had received. Tae jury
were the proper judges of the amount of damages, and the
Court would not interfere. The rule would therefore be
refused. Rule refused.
LEGALITY OF HOLDING SESSIONS DURING ASSIZES.—
Our readers will remember that, at the Liverpool Assizes,
Baron Alderson expressed his doubts as to the legality of
sessions held during assizes ; and on this expression the
question was raised before the Recorder of Manchester on
Saturday week by Mr. Monk, in the case of a person
named Smith, who was found guilty of breaking into a
house, and stealing a gold watchguard chain, the property
of William Kidd. Mr. Monk applied to have judgment
postponed, and an argument ensued. The Recorder re-
fused to postpone judgment, feeling assured that his juris-
diction could not be interfered witi', and accordingly sen-
tenced the prisoner to be transported for ten years. In a
second case, where the point had been raised by Mr.
Pollock, it was also over-ruled, and the prisoner was sen-
tenced to 21 days' imprisonment and hard labour.
COURT OF EXCHEQUER—THE CHANCELLOR A WIT-
NESS—TAMLYN (PAUPER) V. COOPER.—This was an
action to recover compensation in damages for libellous
words uttered by her Majesty's Counsel practising in the
Court of Chancery. The damages were laid at £5OO.
'he plaintiff formerly in person stated that he had em-
ployed the learned defendant as his counsel. Afterwards
he had been unable to do so ; and the learned counsel
then made a statement in court, to the effect, that he (the
plaintiff) had entered into an agreement not to trouble
his lordship by bringing the case on any more. This was
a gross falsehood, and the first libel complained of. The
second cause of action consisted of a letter written by the
learned defendant, in which similar words were made use
of, and upon which the plaintiff conceived that his petition
had been dismissed. The Lord Chancellor being called
as a witness, had no recollection of the cases, except what
he gathered from his endorsement on the petition. Other
witnesses were called, but the plaintiff failed in all his
attempts of proof. Verdict for the defendant.

RAILWAY

AFFAIRS;

During the six months ending the 31st December last,
110 persons were killed, and 74 were injured, on all the
railways of the United Kingdom.
The cofferdam and the wharfs for the docks at Grimsby,
connected with the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln-
shire line, are nearly completed.
The first locomotive engine and train crossed by the
tube over the Conway at ten minutes past twelve on Tues-
day last. There was not the slightest deflection, nor, in-
deed, perceptible vibration, during its passage.
The chain of communication between London and Paris,
aid Boulogne, is now completed by the opening of the
Boulogne and Amiens Railway. The journey will now be
completed in the short space of thirteen hours.
The shareholders of the Edinburgh and Northern
Railway, at their special meeting, formally approved of
their bills before Parliament in the present session. All
legal proceedings with the Edinburgh, Leith,:and Granton
are suspended until a final explanatory report has been
submitted to the shareholders.

The completion of the great iron tubular bridge over
the Conway, and the consequent opening of the Chester
and Holyhead Railway, are events of such importance
both to the communication with Ireland and to the cha-
racter of railway engineering in this country that we must
refer to them once again. We formerly noticed the happy
transference of the tube from the workyard to its position
between the opposite piers. But it was then at a great
depth below its final place. It had still to be pumped up
by a Bramah press and steam-engine to its height. The
pumping up of this great mass—nearly as large as one of
the rows of houses in Great George-street—by the two
ends, is perhaps the most formidable lift ever attempted.
It was effected at the rate of about 2 feet per hour, and
was done uniformly, quietly, and so insensibly from the
large mass, that it seemed rather that the ground and sea
and houses sank down below the bridge than that the
bridge itself was in motion. Trains have passed through
with great loads, and without producing vibration.—Rail-
way Chronicle.
LIVERPOOL MANCHESTER, AND NEWCASTLE-UPON-
TYNE JUNCTION RAILWAY.—The Dicrectors have is-

sued a " Special Report," in which they state that, being
aware that a strong feeling exists amongst some of the
shareholders that the line should be immediately aban-
doned, they have now determined to submit to the eonsi-
ileration of the shareholders the simple questions, viz.—

I.. Are the shareholders in favour of animmediate

iotnizbandounient of the undertaking ? Or, 2. To daer

Aprill2B2

t re
the consideration of the propriety of such a 5104
this question of immediate abandonment,
period not exceeding two years ? As they are at'l b 0
ascertain the opinion of each shareholder fort/'; TO
in oroer',,to
they may be in possession of the views of the prePro''prie.
as soon as possible, they send a circular to eaeb P,e toil
tor, with two forms, embodying answers to thc,,pts
questions. The directors state that, in order tc,',',,,aor
any suspicion of the Lancashire and Yorkshire tit,),'e; fe
having a preponderating influence at the Board, lii'likted
cured the resignation of two of the directors c 4, 00'
with that company, viz. Mr. Houldsworth and '";iicol,
per, and that they have elected Mr. Ploys and 3.tr.
of Liverpool, in their stead. nt cl
ance of
From official returns it appears that the oriwg iOl
traffic for the last week, on 3,663 miles of rsil°l3Yilfeel'
£175,470, thus accounted f0r:—£86,385 for the c°,l of
goods, and a remainder of £44,145 for pe'r7jeeng s°,
goods together, not respectively apportioned; -1,,f1P
increase of £14,536 over the corresponding wee eat
year, when the mileage was 2,912. The averlilst.;7olo
ings per mile last week were £4B, whilst /0 '
passengers only, £44.942 for the car:lo4'
snd