The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-08-04 00:00:00

DORS67SIIIng ASSIZES, Jrnr 31.

111.W000 0. WOOLLEY AND OTEIRRO.
The question in this case is of small impedance,
but it is the only Special Jury cause which has come
uti to he tried at these Assizes; and it may be of set.
•ice, as it shows what a shadow of a claim is see-
rimit to clothe a person in possession with the right
to 'psis, • tre-passer.
The Plaintiff having borrowed money on the pro•
very its question, which was a copyhold estate, it
ass demised is trust ferule, bet in fact as a intuit),
for 6001. advanced by one Warren to Seiwood. By
a subsequent agreenimit between the latter and Sty-
e., s, one of the Defendants on the present record,
S-twood agreed to sell these premises, and Stevens to
purchase them, for 8001. &tweed engaged to enter
into • covenant to surrender the premises, in order
that Stevens might be admitted tenant, and Stevens
covenanted to pay the 8001. on baying possession and
artnensent of tenancy from a person of the 'Mlle of
Benet, who then occepird the premises as tens'.' to
.tifiwried • and which !Wooed revervinted to procure
to him, &levees, as landlord, from Nlirhaelsrias then
nest einem*. This agreement was made no the o.h
of April, 18111, sad on the sth of May following,
another ass entered loin between &nett and Ste.
yens, which wet, in fact, an attnrnwient of tenancy
trim the former to the latter. In pursuance of this
last agreement, Benoit paid half a yew's petit to Ste.
.ens, sthe acted as Itrottord, end es such gave him
netire to quit. The porchase•money, it was stated,
tied paid : stud the state of the case remained
such as had been mentioned nearly sip to the time
when the trespass sus committed for which this se.
tier; was brought. Jost before its taking place,
Benet:. hiving received a notice to quit from Ste.
yens. sad another lions Soliwood not to deliver pos.
genies or to pay any rent but to him, was at a lose
to know to whom he ovalit to give up the pre-
&SFS. Selig rind, hying apprised of this, on or *boo
the `list of Match iu the present year entreated
Wult to admit I ins u bailiff or seimint to take cite
of the estate silt Lady day, when Benett was to gait
the tenons,. Benoit Wog iaforetted that be might
dot this safely, by his attorney, •bri drew op in in.
deinuity which Sale ood signed, acknoaledging him:
self to be merely a set sant to Benot, the latter
let hies into the Moue ininseitistety, but its that caps.
city merely. Whom Larly•day was come, Barnett
baying received advice hat it would be safer fat
bins to give po:ses.ien, acted accordiegly,
sod nave the be) to Stevens, who imme.'istely
ed /Wooed sot of th. house, bat could not in effect
succeed in getting him eat. Whilst Sitlened con.
tieeed thus in possession, namely, on the 16th of
/spoil last, the trespass which formed the subject of
Ibis action, was committed by the Defendants, Ste-
vens and his agents, osteesibly for the purpose of
distrainiog In, tent due from Limiest (none of whose
goods, hoarser, it was proved, remained on the lire.
mists. not did it appear that any rent ass in strese).l
I:tit ie reality to get Selwoed oat of the house. The
fact of the uppnserl trespass was admired ; no jos.'
tiication sae attempted; indeed, the pleadings did
tint admit of each evidence ; but the D.feitilatits in.
sis ed the' the Plaitstiff himself was a trespimer as
spinal Ste/ems; sad, therefore, as he was tortiosisly
iu possession, and only in the character of • serum
to Barnett, that bet ad tint such a right t• the posses.
Ilion as could enable him to support tee present se-
lion The agreement between Selected anti Stevens,
it was urged, had clothed the latter with on equitable
sire. ehich tie annulment of !knelt had mode a
legal one. Possessed of this ti• to, Stevens hail a sight to
rt.:user possession eglit s' Selarnod, who was in this
light a trup ***** es against him In answer to this, the
ether side o ...mined, that it was *efficient for their
phrposes that Seiliond ass in pn sssss ins, whether
Hot or quoits, a, the time when the trespass was
committed.
Mr. Baron GRAHAM after ably recapitulating the
evidence, proceeded to spy, that though the case of
the Defendant at brat struck him very forcibly, a
doubt had subsequently suggested itself to his mind,
whether the evidence neat to prove possession, hi
eel, ugh an equitable right in Stevens es did not
meting to an actual possession; far, nelwithstand•
log Benet is shown to have done every Meg in his
power le effect this, and Selo ood acted very absurd-
ly, yet did SieTelle effectually take possession. The
an matter bow, Is suffered to bring in his
wife and family, and to remain bete;t sod hnieterr
equity may be against him, yet he isle, no a claim in
law ; be thought t insult entitled to be en, in conse-
quence of a tight be supposed reserved to him in the
conveyance. Stevens should have pat a person is
the horse to keep possession. Selirood cannot be
said to have been in the possession as servant ; he:
was is the actual posaessioa, as it appears to sae, and;
She law deka& it. I remember as action btought
by a person in the name of the lessee of his glebe,
for a trespass on it. He had been shunt for a
twelvemouth from his parish ; end the Statute of
Elizabeth, ander such circemstures, renders void
lessee of the glebe-lands. Yet the tenant wee in
remould°, ; and my judgment against his sight to
Waver in the action for trespass was over.teleil is
the King's Bench, en a mafiosi for a new trial, on
the ground that possession wee actually bold by the
tenant on a claim in law ; end that for the qeieting
of the powarsoiee he should be considered as baying
• salleient title to enable him to recover against tres-
passers.— The Jury retuned a verdict for the Plain-
tiff, with is. damages.

ATTORTZD SUICIDII.--The Leeds lidelligencer
says, " Wo regret to hear, that a Gentlen.an on the
Crown Jery at York, tinder the influence of a vine
lent nervous affortion, mode an attempt on his life
early on Thsr.day last. On Wednesday evening his
stied was observed to be in a stets of considerable
mention. Ai two o'clock the following morning he
row and walked into the fields to some distance,
where, after making a deep incision with a pen-knife,
resod ono ttf his wrists, he wounded Mewl severely
is the heart. lie rss not discovered till evening,
when his groans attracted the attention of a man who
was mowing in an adjoining field. He was resumed
in a state of great weakness and eahaustios, to the
nearest village, sad en Seturdsy evening we lament
to add, was in consider•ble danger. His name at
present, from motives of delicacy, st e forbear tauten..
Von. 11. was a man of affluence and respeCiability,
end resided in thu Etst Riding."

Lancashire, Westmorland, and Combatland, were
01,1iittl on Sends; and yosupolay Windt/hi bl e eine
lent thunder atom, which also *slended into scot.
land, as far as Glasgow. We are informed that ten
persons were killed, anti a stack of hay was set on
fire by the lightning on Sunday. in the neighbour-
hood of sit bridges Were .1voro),.1 on the
110•0 e day between Carlisle and 'Glasgow, by the
sodden end beery Min. At Sealborgh, oho stnrm was
pargicularly violent, anal the congregation 111015101,51
confined in the Church by inceasant torrents of rain,
an hour and a half after the conclusion. of Divine
Service. The aspect of the sky announced the ap.
punch of the elemental conflict before ten in the
morning at this town, ind the tempest began. little
before noon. The thornier was loud. sod the light-
ning alarmingly vivid, though the fill, shirk fell is
the immediate nrighboerhood was eery ; hut,
in the height of the storm. a long column" body ores
observed mewing neatly from north to south, along
Hay Frill, a little to the east of the ridge of e.is hill ;
it resembled a tall smoking chimney. This singular
appearance prosed to be a wetei.spent, which dis-
charged its contents near the soiree of the weal
blanch of the Bela, and enctresed the rife!" in en
instant to an irtesisaible torte", that carried trees,
vain, ond pow •es, together mitts sand and gravel,
before it, thereby doing mach Injury to the crop egad
land et Iluiton Park. The eater in the reservoir et
the renal, which corers the seams of more than a
handled acres of land, •as, in the space of fear
hears, raised 18 inches in perpendicular height (near
-100010 cubic mils), though comparatively het o
small portion of the rain which fell on that side made
its way to this receptacle. The sari or a similar
water.apciut fell open Limbs iggVelt, and. descending
into the valley, it entered a doetling.bouse, in which
it rose four feet almost immediately ; and fortentiely
for the inhabitants, who aken refuel' in the
stover story, the *iodises 011 ilfir greend.floor gave
ea, to the portiere of the water, which circumstance,
in sit probability, preserved the house and the in-
mates. This immense body of rain descended down
the Mint in the Kent in a muddy torrent, presenting
a head of eater a yard and a half high, and bringing
aloe% wills it hay, ands covered with grass, the remains
of desnotished hanks and treeeemany of • hick had been
torn ep by the fOOl.l. The neighbourhood of Ambleside
se bear Ass suffered s similar "'dation ; and it is
stated, that a bile of bees was canted away by the
Rood, neer the cascade" Itydsl, steal lodged in a tree
at a distance of not less than loott.en feet from the
ground. The thunder storms If moustainnes gown.
tries, almost constently follow the tides of the hills,
which, siting high in Ilse air, WPM to perform the part
of conductors, sad to attract the elu.slit to the higt eat
grounds. It is on these semmita that the water-
grouts are Claimed, and discharge their contents sod-
denly, whirls being receiver, by the ells or manes,
an inundation is firmed lay the Itibetety "rooms in
the brook or rivulet to 'Awls they time, and peered
clung its channel into the inhabited "alley Outages
which it tens with transitory hot irresistible violence.
On the other hand, thews nervosa dales rarely ear.
tipster the destrectita poser of lightning. whisk is
fregoootty exerted oo the rocks aver the sooraits of
the wet" coodectors by which deem wiederl mod
sheltered places are almost sarroooriorL—(Credal
Chronicle.)

EITRAORDINaIIt M
rs
19 the custom le
Russia to place a corpse on the MOO before dee
burial in the cherrh, whets the Prints, aecompoolird
by a chorister. is obliged to pray. It once Isappraed
In • Tiling., in Ike annaement of the Nest, the
term ss.ltlenly arose, name out of the Mier, and
aserct•orl up to him. In 'min the Privet sprinkled
kith oith a quantity of holy water; be was seised,
throw,. to the ground. aod kilted. This glory was
related en the following awning by the terri6e,l
thorister, who had crept into a corner and eon.
crated himself. He positively added, that after hoe.
ing perpeosted the crime the dead man laid himself
down is the coffin again. He was reel!? found Its.
Nobody eoeld lee hew pie murder could have
been committed. Al length, after a lops* of many
year,. It was discovered. A robber,oho atom, moo,
ether crime', confessed this also, had slipped. In the
disk into the church, pot the corpse aside, and taken
his place in the collo. After perpetrating the crime,
he had put every thin again in order, and then re.
treated, without being perceived. The ..tile of this
murder was, hatred is the Priest, occasioned by so
old (wool.
po Wednesday last a match at cricket was played
at Marrhwood, between eleven single end elms
married women of that place, which was woo by the
former by a considerable number of runs. 'noti-
on& of spectators assembled on the ground, atnonpt
whom were some of the first respectability sad
fashion, to witness this siegolor contest.
It is now determined to light up the Mall in St.
James's Park, from Opting Gardeo.gato to Rotting.
kom-hoese, and up Constitution-kill, with gas. The
algal preparation. have already comeesowd.
Deals. Rousso in Sv James's Pelfre-Oa
Moodily night last, Mr. Williams, seltiah ef ry.
coed, Strand, is pilot tower& 14a• 'servo St.
Jame Park, sat down to rest trilobites one of the
forms is the Mall. He had not sat there long before
toe sea came behind sod seised him, at the moo
tine attemptiog to rob him; he rooked from the
seat, and made some resistance, when be was sae.
rounded by about a dosen oillairo,whe veiled, kirk.
NI end beat him is a barbarous mentor, sod robbed
him of his watch, and what mosey be wasposseqsed
of. The sentries immediately went to his assistance,
when the villains ran off in various direriinas. They
were pursued, and two of them were taken into coo-
tody, one of whom had Mr. Williams's has in his
posession. They were birth lodged I. St. James's
watch•hoose, preparatory to being essatined.
Monday night the house of Mr. Mash, an iron-
fneader, in Ualon.street, Borough-road, was broken
jot.. and pluodered of • quantity of Benk.notes sad
apparel.
On Saturday a yosug lady, residing near Vasa-
hall. threw herself Into a fish-pond, and would W.
ritobly hate been drowned, bed not one of ler
father's footmen quickly brought her out. The cease
of the rub set was an attachment disapproved by ter