The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-12-08 00:00:00

SHERIFFS' COURT, FarDAT.

Cerra. CON.—HO'DGES V. WALSH.—At this court, on Friday,
an action was brought by the former to recover damages for
criminal conversation. The damages were laid at three thou-
sand pounds. Mr. Phillips stated that Mr. Hodges was an
eminent insurance broker, and Mr. Walsh had been at the bar
about four or five years. Mr. Hodges was married to the lady
in 1818, and till the time of the fatal discovery livid on terms of
mutual love and affection. Mr. Walsh was introduced to them
about seven years ago, and from that time became upon such
intimate terms with them that Mr. Hodges had no company at
home, nor engaged in any parties of pleasure in which Mr.
Walsh did not accompany them. They were in the habit of
making excursions to various parts of the continent together.
Feeling as he (Mr. Phillips) did for Mr. Hodges, he could not
but say that he felt for Mr. Walsh, who was struggling with a
precarious profession, in which by this unfortunate transaction
he might be ruined, his prospects in life blasted, and his charac-
ter injured. It was not his wish, therefore, to press hard on
Mr. Walsh, and he hoped the jury in giving their verdict would
accompany mercy with justice • but it must be recollected that
they had a duty to perfotin to Mr. Hodges. The fact of adultery
was not denied. _ _

Mr. Charles Heathcoat Tatum, Mr. Richard Jones Lane,
and Mr. Francis Neale Walsh (cousin to the defendant} were
then examined. The two former spoke to the happy manner
in which the plaintiff and his wife lived; that the lady was about
thirty-three years of age, and handsome • and that Mr. Walsh,
who was of the same age, accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Hodges
a:goad, and was treated by the husband with unbounded confi-
dence. Mr. Neale Walsh said the defendant's private property
produced about £2OO per annum; he did not include in that his
professional income.
Mr. Clarkson addressed the jury for the defendant. He was
anxious to have it thoroughly understood that there was no proof
of any criminality between the defendant and Mrs. Hodges up
to the time when Mr. and Mrs. Hodges separated. It was, he
considered, rather unguarded in the plaintiff to take a young
unmarried man into his family; and the result had been that,
after the separation, the plaintiff's wife had gone to reside with
the defendant, and the jury were now called together to award
a sum of money to the plaintiff out of the defendant's £2OO a-
ear. He was sure, in estimating the conseqUences of the in-
jury, the paily would consider all the circumstances, and the
want of proof that the defendant to effect the seduction had used
those arts which were charged against others who were placed
in a similar situation. _

Mr. Under-Sheriff Burchell, in his address to the jury, ob-
served that the scantiness of the defendant's income was not to
influence the jury, for the plaintiff was entitled to a fair com-
pensation, and the defendant must pay in person if he could
not in purse.
The jury retired to consider of their verdict, and after remain-
ing in consultation about half an hour, returned a verdict for
the plaiutiff—Damages, one thousand two hundred pounds.

.
UNION HALL.—TucsnAv.
ROBBERY*OF. JEWELS AND PLATE IN WALES.—James Dins-
dale, Henry 1.1141, Dikisd-sle, and Eli4.l.)crh Dinsdater Lh, wife
of the former, were brought before Mr. Trail', charged on sus-
picion with stealing jewellery, plate, and other articles, to the
amount of £IO,OOO, the property of a lady named Salebv, resid-
ing within a short distance of Milford-haven, Pembrokeshire.
Mr. Fitch, a solicitor, stated that on or about the 11th of Sep-
tember, the complainant's house, situated as above, had been
ransacked of jewellery, consisting of diamonds, pearls. and
other costly articles, together with massive plate, estimated at a
low calculation to be of the value of £lO,OOO. The prisoner,
James Dinsdale, is nearly allied to the complainant; had spent
some portiOn of the last summer at her residence in Wales; and
soon after his departure she came up to-town leaving the house-
keeper and her husband in care of the house. During the com-
plainant's absence, the whole of the jewellery and plate, with
the exception of a small portion, was taken away ; and after an
investigation into the circumstances subsequently to her return
to Wales, and the discovery of the robbery, it was ascertained
that James Dinsdale had been at the house in the interval, and
from the inquiries into the affair on the spot, he was the party
upon whom suspicion rested, which was strengthened from the
fact of his keeping out of the way snort after the robbery had
been effected. James Dinsdale was apprehended at Eltham,
in Kent, and in his possession were fouud two valuable diamond
brooches, identified as forming part of the stolen property. •The
other two prisoners (man and wife) were subsequently taken
into custody, and in a house within a short distance of Oxford,
which they had a short time previously taken of a chemist and
druggist, named Randall, ostensibly to open it as a shop, but in
reality to deposit the stolen property in, jewellery and plate be-
longing to the complainant, amounting in value to nearly £2OOO,
besides 300 sovereigns, were discovered. A great portion of this
property, recovered by Inspector Fagan, assisted by Hughes,
the beadle of St. George's, was produced before the magistrate,
and consisted of diamond rings, bracelets, ear-rings, and other
articles of jewellery, besides a quantity of massive plate.
Mr. Traill inquired of the prisoners whether they were in-
clined to say anything in reference to the alleged charge ?
Henry Early Dinsdale said that the two brooches in his pos-
session were given him by his brother; he had no knowledge of
the robbery.- James Dinsdale confirmed these assertions, say-
ing that his brother did not know from whence the brooches he
had given him came, and he ought not to be detained. He
wished for time to obtain proof to establish his innocence.—
They were both remanded.

LAMBETH-STREEET, WEDNESDAY.
THE CUSTOMHOUSE ROBBERY.—William Jourdan, Thomas
Sullivan, and Jeremiah Sullivan, three fashionably-dressed
young men, two of whom are members of the "swell mob,"
were charged before Mr. Walker, two of them with being con-
cerned in the extensive robbery at the Customhouse in 'Novem-
ber, 1834, and stealing therefrom nearly £6OOO in bank-notes
and gold; and also with being concerned in breaking into the
warehouse of Messrs. Hall and Co., on the Customhouse-quay,
in February last, and steeling therefrom jewels to the amount
of upwards of £7O(XI belonging to a foreign countess, which were
deposited there, besides a quantity of watches and other pro-
Serty. James Lea, the officer, stated that he apprehended Thos.
ullivan and W. Jourdan at the Ited Lion, King-street, Blooms-
bury, where they had been lodging. While he was handcuffing
Sullivan the two other prisoners entered the house, and were
secured. On Jourdan was found a receipt for £lOO, lodged at
the banking-hause of Messrs. Weston and Young.; and on Sul-
livan two blank checks of the banking house of Messrs. Glyn,,
HalifaX,Mills, and Co. After Lea had hanciaTilred idle prisoner
Sullivan, the latter told him that he should never have done so
had he had a pistol in his possession. As there was no charge
whatever against Jer. Sullivan, he was ordered td be discharged ;
the other two were remanded. Jourdan made application to
the magistrate to order the restoration of a gold watch and ap-
pendages which Lea had taken from him, and a Eli/ bank-note
wh:eli had been taken from his wife, but this was refused. It
was stated that the prisoners have returned to this country within
the last two years from America with a most extensive booty,
having succeeded while there in breaking into two or three bank-
ing-houses.

Mr. M`Ctillagh, F.T.C.D. has been appointed to the Profes-
sorship of Mathematics hi Trinity College, vacant by the resig-
nation of Dr. Sadler.

DEPLORABLE ACCIDENT BY FIRE.—On Sunday evening,
between ten and eleven o'clock, the family of A. Bevan, Esq.,
residing in Gower-street, Bedford-square, were thrown into
considerable excitement and alarm by the discovery of Miss
Williams, a young lady, 22 years of age, sister to Mrs. Bevan,
being burnt in a dreadful manner. It appears that the unfor-
tunate young lady was reaching over the chimney-piece, forthe
purpose of taking down a picture. While so engaged, her dress
caught fire, and she was almost immediately enveloped in
flames. The unhappy sufferer ran into the ball, screaming for
assistance ; the footboy, a lad not more than 17 years of age,
with great presence of mind seized a great coat that was hang-
ing up in the hall and instantly enveloped Miss 'Williams, by
which means he succeeded in extinguishing the flames, but not
until she was burnt in a shocking manner. Mr. Ireson, a sur-
geon, was immediately sent for, who applied the usual reme-
dies in such lamentable cases, and considerable hopes are en-
tertained of her recovery.

REVENUE DERIVED FROM THE SALE OF QUACK MEDICINES.
—The revenue of this country is said to be annually aided to
upwards of £lOO,OOO sterling, by the sale of " patent." or quack
medicines! Whatever actuated former, it is absurd to suppose
that modern legislators can be so ignorant of human nature as
to expect any other than the well-known effects arising from the
practical working of stamp duties on quack medicine. The
duty mainly circulates each nostrum into notoriety, and pro-
cures for it "a name." In England, which a noted Charletan
styled his " best nurse," venders most philoso_phically advertise
their specifics as " established medicines." Were this degrad-
ing item of the revenue annually expended by government in
prizes, burseries, &c., for the promotion of legitimate medicine,
or voted towards the erection of national !hospitals, the credit of
Great Britain, for civilization, would not be detracted from.
Upon every principle,. particularly that of compera ' ation recog-
nised by Archdeacon Paley, such an appropriation of this tax,
if to be continued,—and, to a certain extent, a " discerning
public" will be quacked,—it would be strictly equitable in the
way of reprisals, and would exercise a redeeming influence upon
British medicine and surge Elenieets of Bedside Afedicinc,
by J. Stewart Thortrurri, N. D. 'w