The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-07-08 00:00:00

lint STATESMAN.

L.4IV INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF Ellice!) BENCH, Jocr 7.

WESTMINSTER ELECTION.
][WELL D. SELMA W AND ANOTHER.

Mr. ESIPINIIIZ opened the 'stadia, in this ease.
The declaration set forth, that en the 341 of March,
1810, a amber of persons riotously and turnstile.
misty assembled in the parish of St. Paul, Coast-
garden, and being se assembled assailed the base of
the Plaintiff, which they injured sod dialoged, ty
dialog stones at the windows, doors, &c. The
action was brought ropiest the Defendants as in.
habitats of the hundred of Osselston, in which the
city of Westminster is situated, to recover compensa-
tion In damages for Ilse injury sustained. The Do.
(endows pleaded that they were not liable.
Mr. Scant.tre stated, that this action was brought
soder the 87th of the Klee, cap. 19, which wee
merely o emanation of indent laws of the country,
which had flitted from the lime of King Alfred, that
she cantles should be answerable for the damage.—
The 57th of Geo. 111. which was entitled an Act for
the more effectually preventing seditioue ■eetinp
and sisemblies, and which received t►e Royal assent
on the 31st of March, 1817, enacted "that in every
case wherein any ►ouse, shop, or ether beilding
whatever. or any part thereof, shall be destroyed,
or shall be in soy manner dewed or injured, or
where any Wires thereto attached, or soy feud-
tare, goods, or commodities whatever, which shall
be therein, shall be destroyed, taken away, or da.
imaged by the act or acts of any man or persons
engaged in, or making a part of, such riotous or Sc.lnolieous assembly, the inhabitants of the city o►
town in which such house, shop, or building. swill
be share, if such city or town be s enmity of itself,
or is not within any hadred, oe otherwise the in-
habitants of the hundred in which such damage shall
be dealt, shall boilable to yield full compasstion is
climates to the peruse •r persons injured and dam.
nified by such &amok's, taking sway, or &image.,
and such damages shill or may be demanded, sued
for, sod recovered, by the same means, and seder
the same provisions as are provided in and by us Act
paved in the Ist year of King George I. Willed
' An Act fur preventing tumults and riotous as.
urrishlin, and for tie more speedy and effectual
punishment of the rioters,' with respect to per-
sons iajored and damnified by the demolishing or
pulling down of any d•elling.housa by persons!
unlawfully, rinteesly, sod temultooesly assembled."
Having stated the law en t►e subject, the Learned
Counsel oral proceeded to detail the facie of theme.
The Jos, were, no doubt, aware that the City of
Westminster was within the hundred of Osalston,
end that la Use month of March last, en secant of
the loss of en illustrious individual ('ir Samuel Ro.
silly), who was ►monied to serve in Parliament for
that City, en election as holden, when the lion. O.
Lamb and Mr. Hohhoete were candidates. The po-
pulace took an actin port in favour of the latter ;
and, when they found that be was not likely to suc-
ceed, they had r to acts of violence. lie said
the melees of Wes•minster, for it enfold not he
sup; end that auy of the 'twiddle inhabitants would
countenace Malt and violence. Tre mob, hating
no
property themselves, were, in general, very in.
dilate( as to the mischief they did to the property
of others. The respectable inhabitants calif not be
itiNuified with those riotous acts; for whatever might
be their ',niftiest, he was sere they would coodect
themselves p t bly. The rabble, who might at
,any time be hired fur balf-a.crown a head, enraged
that the popular candidate had been thrown out, de-
fermented to average themselves on the friends of the
other party. It was customary for the successful
candidate to be chaired, which ceremony was gamily
performed in Westminster with a greet deal of de.
corm. Pm:walla, wore made, Is the meal way,
for chairing Mr. Lamb, and several respectable
friends tosombled to abduct him through the streets
Is the courts of the awning, however, the mob,
dimostested at the defeat of their favarite, and angry
that he was sot to be chaired, asseehled, and deter-
mined to interrupt the adherents of Mr. Limb. The
monodies and persons in aut►ority endeavoured to
preserve the pace. and in the effort they were assist.
ed by the Meads of Mr. Lamb. May Gentlemen,
who wore friendly to Mr. Lamb, assembled air the
►esting%, in the hope of keeping the mob of; bet all
their 'mediae failed, for it appeared to be the settled
determiestion of the rabble to commit violence It
sessaid, in former limes, this, at an Irish election,
the unsedessful candidate was always chaired, and
the successful candidate was obliged to fit fur his
life. The Westminster election terweisated in neatly
a similar wey. The Learned Counsel did not eater.
ly know I.h/thee Mr. Robbers@ was chaired, bat
it was most certain that Mr. Lamb was obliged
to fly foe hla life. M.. Jewell, iiie Plaintiff, was
corner of a house in Ilenrieste.strees, where Mr.
[ANON Central Commit•ee held their Meetitirtt. To
this hoots there as. back passage, teroughCovent.
guden Cbarch•yard (rem the hustings. %%hen the
conduct of the snob became uangernualy violent, Mr.
lamb footed it 'wester, to retreat from the hest.
lags by this back passage. When the populace fnend
that he bad escaped. they assembled rotted Mr.
Jr•elra house. They broke his windows, ettemptul to
destroy his doors—and •sdeaveured to tear up the
iron rails for the purpose of using them as instru-
ments of •ffetsce. They were not dispersed until a
detachment of the Horse Guards arrived and deterred
'hews from further violence. The Jog would, bow.
ever, hear, that in the course of the evening the mob
potsat's similar linreof conduct, and attacked sea.
1.„1 ..her houses. A well.urginized mob (he re-
gretted, for the Like of public justic, that the leader
•as not know,.) assailed the resident's of se►esal of

Mr. Lamb's friends. About seven o'clock in the
evening they roomed to the chirp at Mr. Je•eh'a
how ; het the cnostubles basin( mastered in great
force, farther mischief was presenter'. The damage
done amounted to 441. 41. Bd., *Lich he would
prove by the different persons employed to repair the
injury. fie had no doubt that the Defendssats were
poisons of respectability, and they were selected
merely for the sake of fore, as inhabitants of the
hundred, egainst which they would have their re-
medy afterwards, should a verdict be found pima
them.
Joseph Lee, who was one of the Tee Collectors of
st. Peel's) Cottat-gatdtoi proved that ea the 3(1