The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-08-20 00:00:00

NISI PRIUS COURT.-WEDNESDAY

TYSON V. KENDALL, Exon.—This was an action on a
promigsory note made by a person named Gibson, de-
ceased. The plaintiff pleaded that he never was the
executor, that the deceased never made the note, and that
he (defendant) had administe•ed all his effects. The
plaintiff, John Tyson, was a tarmer, residing near Ulvtr-
stone, and on the Bth March, 1849, he lent the deceased,
Charles Gibson, a farmer in the island of Walney, .t7O
upon his promissory note. Gibson died, and it was then
found that his sureties could not pay the note. Shortly
after his death a sale was held upon his farm, under the
direction of the defendant, and it was contended that this
constituted him an executor de son tort, and entitled the
plaintiff to bring an action against him. Thejury returned
a verdict for the plaintiff.

ATKINSON Y. DAY AND WIFE

This was an action for breach of promise of marriage
brought by the plaintiff, Mr. Thomas Washington Atkin-
son, against the wife of the defendant, to which the de-
fendant pleaded that she was not of age when the promise
was made, and also that the contract had been rescinded.
Mr. Watson, Q.C., and Mr. Aspland appeared for the
plaintiff, and Mr. Serjeant Wilkins and Mr. Crompton
for the defendant.

It appeared from the address of the learned counsel for
the prosecution that the plaintiff was of respectable family,
and had been sent to the University of Cambridge. He
formerly lived at a place called Gateside, and so long ago as
1839 he formed an attachment to the wife of the defend-
ant, then a Miss Anne Noble, who lived with her father
at Boroughbridge, in Westmoreland. The father of Miss
Noble kept an inn, and was a respectable man, well to do
in the world. He, however, was strongly opposed to the
engagement which his daughter bad formed with the
plaintiff, and after a long courtship it was at length agreed
between them that the marriage should be put off until
after the death of Mr. Noble. In 1849, however, Miss
Noble married the defendant, who is a railway engineer,
and that had led to the plaintiff's bringing the present
action, to obtain some recompence at the hands of a jury
for that deep injury which he had sustained, and some
compensation, if compensation there could be, for
blighted affections and hopes of lappiness destroyed.
The learned counsel, in the course of his address, read
the following letters in support of the plaintiff's case :

"13orouahl)ridFe, Friday

"Pear Tom.—All is fled, and I just feel as lonely as possible
in this great house, and not nny. one to talk to except the ser-
vants. 1 think you may venture to come on Sunday, with your
cousin, without being suspected by any one, if you feel in-
clined. From sours truly, ANNE NOBLE."

" Wednesday Afternoon.
"My Dear Tom,—l received your letter quite safe this morn-
ing, and hardly know how to answer it. _

`4- I fear you are not acting as Volt ought to do as regards
your health, but let me entreat you net to make yourself so
unhappy on my account, as I feel quite resigned to my fate,
and feel more settled in my mind. Rest assured of this,
though we are forbid to go together at present, all that I can
say is it shall not be my fault in the end. I have a favour to
beg; that is, you will not think of such a thing as going
abroad. It will be a source of great comfort to me to live as
near you as I can, as I am forbid to enjoy your company, at
least. as a lover. I shall consider you as dear to mess if I wet e
your wife, which I hope I shall be if we both live ; but, for the
present, don't mention such a thing. There is another thing
you must not du; that is, not to write while I'm in Manches-
ter. My father wrote to Mr. L. on Monday, I believe to set
him on as a spy. I shall not stop there more than a week or
ten days, and I will write to you as soon as I get to Liverpool.
I shall have such a much better chance of doing it without
suspicion. You try and make yourself as happy as you can
under present circumstances. Surely, happier hours await us
both. There is one consolation,—they cannot be more miser-
able. I will do all that ever lays in my power to preserve my
health. I must conclude this hasty epistle, as they are calling
me in every direction. Yours ever truly,

"ANNE."

"18, Pembroke-place, Liverpool, Sept. 4, 1841.
"My Dear Tom,—l duly received your letter, and was glad
to hear that you had said something more about the subject to
my father. He is not at present agreeable, and will always be
the same ;so I think there is no way but one left. I don't
wonder at you being surprised at my father's notions about
money affairs. It was a thing I never gave a thought until he
mentioned it, nor indeed since, only that I wished you to know
his thoughts, for there is nothing but what I would willingly
tell you. What you say you possess I should think quite plenty
to live upon in a comfortable way in the north. I certainly
shall have something at some time, but not as long as my
mother lives; so if it should happen I should be quite depend-
ent upon you until that time; therefore I think it best to
wait the end. I leave it to your own judgment whether you
should say anything to him about it, or not, just as you please.
I think I have said quite plenty about this subject, for it is a
thing I hate to mention in any respect.
" Yours very truly,
"ANNE NOBLE."
The r.ext letter stated that she had heard it mentioned
that the plaintiff was " wild" in Liverpool. But she did
not " feel the least alarm on that score, for I flatter myself
your love for me will not allow you to forget yourself so
far as to be out of the way in that respect." " The only
thing was for them to wait patiently." The letter then
went on —" I have ventured to let my mother see the
ring. She said at first that I must not keep it, but I told
her plainly that I should, so she did nothing but smile.
I wish everybody was as good to tonnage as she is."
Another letter, dated Boroughhridge, August 21, 1842,
and commencing, " My dearest Tom," stated that she
had often talked to her about the plaintiff, and asked her
if she thought there was any chance of her father's ever
giving his consent ? She said, " she thought not at
present, but should you get into a good business and be
steady she thought he would not say much about it. Is
not this good news ? So now for you trying yourself.
I am perfectly satisfied as to the business you have entered,
and my best wishes, dear Tom, are ever with you."
Another letter stated—

"Should I live longer than my father, then I will fulfil my
promise for I have made up my mind not to marry as long as
my father lives."

This was signed

" Yours very truly, but unhappy,
"ANNE NOBLE."

The learned counsel then called
Mrs. Ann Airey.—Knew the plaintiff. He formerly
lived at a place called Gateside. The defendant's maiden
name was Noble. She lived with her father at Borough.
bridge, in Westmoreland; he kept an inn. She knew
the handwriting of Mrs. Day. The letters put in were
her handwriting. She had taken letters from Mrs. Day
to the plaintiff, and brought a parcel from the plaintiff to
Mrs. Day ; there were letters, some music, and a gold
ring in the parcel. She herself had been requested by
Mrs. Day to write some letters to the plaintiff, and he
had answered them to her, and she communicated these
answers to Mrs. Day.
Cross-examined by Mr. Serjeant Wuxi/vs.—She did
not remember Mrs. Day saying to her that she was break-
ing off the connexion, and wished to have her letters re-
turned. She did not know whether the parcel contained
a minature of the defendant. She had some conversa-
tion with the plaintiff, about six weeks ago, about this
action, and he had told her that, if they did not settle it,
she would have to go to Liverpool. She said to him—
" Why, you will get nothing ?" He said, "He would,
at any rate, have some fun." He did not then appear to
be suffering great anguish. It was more than seven years
since she had given any message to the plaintiff from the
defendant.
Re-examined.—she had seen the plaintiff and the de-
fendant together, and they appeared to be strongly at-
tached to each other.
William Christopher Atkinson, the brother of the
plaintiff, examined.—His brother was formerly at Cam-
bridge. Before he came to Liverpool he lived at Gate-
side. He now keeps the Spread Eagle in Houghton-
street. He had been in the wine and spirit business. He
was a perfectly sober man. He had known Mrs. Day all
his life. Her father, Mr. Noble, was a farmer and innkeeper
at Boroughbridge. He saw Miss Noble recently, at
Boroughbridge, and spoke to her about her marriage with
Mr. Day. She said, " she hoped his brother would not
take any notice of it ; it would only make fools of them
both."

Cross-examined.—He could not swear that he (witness)
agreed in that. He knew a plats called the Coalhole.
His brother carried on business there in the wine and
spirit trade. It was near the theatres. He did not know
that it was resorted by infamous characters. He had
seen women there at night. He never thought anything
about their character. It could not have been very good
or they would not have been there. The Spread Eagle,
which the plaintiff now kept, was not far from the thea-
tres. There were no concerts there, nor convivial parties,
nor " free and easies," nor harmonic meetings—no har-
mony. (A laugh.) There was a bar there. A person
could not be served with twopennyworth of gin ; he could
with a glass—four pennyworth. They did not keep the
" onmium otherums" which dripped on a percolated
plate from the taps, and retail them cheap to the custom-
ers. His brother had been at Cambridge, but was only
there six months. He did not know that he had been
" rusticated."
The marriage of the defendant with Mr. Day having
been proved, and the register proving her to be of age
when she wrote the letters having been admitted, showing
the defendant to be now 32 years of age,
This was the plaintiffs case.
Mr. Serjeant WILKINS submitted that the letters
showed no engagement to marry.
Mr. WATSON having been heard,
His LORDSHIP thought it perhaps better that Mr. Ser-
jeant Wilkins should take the opinion of the jury upon it.
Mr. Serjeant WILKINS then addressed the jury for the
defendant. He was quite sure that all who had witnessed
the countenance of his learned friend whilst opening the
case must have sympathised with him. He was quite
sure that they must all be rejoiced with him to find his
sorrows turned into joy, and that all which had agitated
his bosom had originated in the fiction of somebody who
had written out his brief for him, and that all that which
he had supposed to be tragedy was but a very bad farce,
got up for the fun and amusement of this court.
His learned friend had stated to them that his client had
suffered much in lands far distant from the place where
first he drew breath, and that he was compelled to leave
the balmy hills and dales of Westmoreland and seek for
solace and comfort in the dark recesses of the " Coalhole."
After a little time he felt that he might once more go into
the world, and in the " Coalhole keep up his spirits by
pouring spirits down ;" and at last this stricken dove had
taken shelter under the wings of the Spread Eagle, in
Houghton-street. His learned friend, in his great can-
dour, had admitted that this was not an action against the
lady, but against her husband. Coupling that admission
with the evidence of the witness, that the plaintiff said
he would carry on the action for the " fun" of the thing,
he much mistook the jury if they did not tell him that he
had purchased his fun at some cost of money, and• at the
expense of the esteem of all who might have heard that
trial. When this young lady was nineteen years of age,
this young " Cantab," whose residence at Cambridge his
brother would 'not undertake to say was of three months'
duration, had. become acquainted with her. After such a
stay at Cambridge they might well imagine that he was
extremely well prepared for the Coalhole. There could
be no doubt that, from his unsteady conduct, the father
of the defendant had, from the first, set his face against
their union. If fit to go to Cambridge, what must have
been his habits and propensities to have descended to such
a position as that which he filled in Liverpool ?- The
learned serjeant then commented on the letters which had
been put in, contending that they did not exhibit any
unconditional contract. Had the plaintiff loved the de-
fendant, or had for her the affection of which his counsel
had spoken, he would have made any sacrifice rather than
have exhibited the defendant's letters to him to the public
gaze. He would have some fun by the trial. The fun of
bad men was often the misery of good men. It might
be that his fun would plant suspicions in the breast of the
lady,s husband : it might be that he would give pain to
those who were too virtuous and good for him, who had
breathed the pure air of their native hills, and who were
not fit to dole out intoxicating drinks at the Coalhole to
the worthless of Liverpool : but he trusted that this
" fun" would be estimated by the jury in the way in
which it deserved to be.
His LORDSHIP summed up.
The jury expressed a wish to retire, and, after an ab-
sence of some time, found a verdict for the defendant.

CROWN COURT.-THURSDAY,

Thomas Birchen was discharged on an indictment for
having killed Mary Evans.
James Dwerryhouse was acquitted of the murder of
Ann Leyland. at Knowsley, on the ground of insanity.
The deceased was a rung woman, living with a Mrs.
Hitchcock, and the prisoner violently entered the house
on the 13th June, 1847, dragged the deceased out of the
house, and used her so violently that she died soon after.
He was ordered to be taken care of.

THE RIBBON RIOT IN LIVBRPOOL.—Henry Wright
was acquitted of having shot at and wounded John Sang-
ster on the 13th July last. His lordship said the conduct
of the police authorities in this affair was most discredi-
table ; for after the warning given them by Wright that
he was apprehensive of an attack on his house by the low
ribbon population in his neighbourhood, they should have
afforded him ample protection. There was another
indictment against the prisoner for an assault on Patrick
Moon, on the same night, but he was also acquitted on
this charge.
Ann Jennion, 27, and Samuel Platt, 25, were found
guilty of bigamy, and sentenced to a fortnights imprison-
ment. The male prisoner was charged with marrying the
other prisoner, well knowing her former husband to be
alive.

Thomas Boyle was found guilty, and sentenced to three
months' imprisonment with hard labour, for killing Thos.
Yates, at Manchester, on the 29th April last. The de-
ceased accused the prisoner of a robbery, whereupon the
prisoner seized the poker and struck him on the head.
Eight days after, erysipelas set in, and the unfortunate

THE LIVERPOOL gfiNDARD.

man soon died. His lordship thought that death wai
accelerated by the drunken habits of the deceased.

William Parry was sentenced to five days' imprison-
ment for killing Augustus Poole at Manchester. The
prisoner and deceased were fellow workmen, and one day
in a joke the former hit the deceased a blow on the intes-
tines, which caused his death a few days afterwards.
The prisoner bore an excellent character, and the congre-
gation of which he was a member subscribed the money
to conduct his defence.

William Bowker— was sentenced to ten years' trans-
portation, and John IV' Voy to seven years', for a bur-
glary at the dwelling-house of Joseph Ward, at Man-
chester, on the 17th May last.
Thomas Duff was sentenced to two months' imprison-
ment with hard labour, for killing Robert Cahill, at
Manchester, on the 10th of June. The deceased (an old
travelling piper) and the prisoner bad quarrelled in a
public-house, when Duff afterwards knocked him down
on a heap of stones, and he died soon after of the injuries
received. The jury recommended him to mercy. .