The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-07-22 00:00:00

TIIE STATESMAN.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF CHAP..CERY. 'Way 11.
GORDON O. GORDON.
This is a cue which Las been log pending in this
Coact, and it will be recollected that it is a litigation'
between two brothers, as to an agreement entered
Into so long as 1790. The facts of the case ate
shortly these:—The Plaintiff, Harry Gordon, is an
Ad.'. broker, as compared with the Defendant James
Gordon. sod had a brother yet older than himself,
tienied Peter. This father died, sod Peter also soon
after died intestate. A doubt now arose as to the
legitimacy of Harry ; and it being generally under-
stood that he was actually illegitimate, his younger
brother James, who is a barrister, entered into an
agreement with him, to allow him an annuity out of
the estate, which of course would fall to the Defend.
art who was legitimate, a public 11111fillie having
takes place Woes his birth. This agreement was
dated 1790, bat it subsequently came cut, that in
fact, a privet* marriage hail been celebrated by the
parents of Harry, previous to big birth, and pretines
to the public ceremony ; the consequence of this
was, that if no agreement bad been entered into, the
whole property would have fallen in nifty. wile
i was now the legitimate heir at law. The legitimacy
lof the Plaintiff had been establkhed by the verdict of
a Jury ; and now an application was made to set
aside this agreement, tender the ',teener citcemstances
of the case. Counsel having been heard at length en
both sides,
Mr. HIALD was this day farther beard is reply,
and lead many belles. which had passed between Cie
parties, previous to the agreement of 1790, as evi.
dente to chew, that the Plaintiff trivia nothing of
the pirate mairiage by his parents, tad that the De-
-1 ,
ienasot was well acquainted with the fact, previous
Ito making the agreement. Ile also endesvoored to
prove, from the same documents, the strong desire
. of the Plaintiff not to stir Mallet/ so delicate to his
I mother, who was still living, and of preventing the
publication of her disgrace to the world. There
were then two questlusis most material for the cousi•
I deratiou I Vof the Court'-Ist, Whether the/e was soy
ssopptessien of an) fact wilfully or intentionally by
I the Defendant, in making this agreement ? Aod
211 y, Whether there was such a mistake, either on
lose side or on the other, as would iodoce the Court
Ito set the instrument aside.* He contended, that
lall the evidence 'elided to prove the fact of the igno.
fence of the Plaintiff of any private marriage having
taken place.
The Loma CHANCELLOR Considered this as one of
the most important, and at the same time one of the
most distressing cases, wt.r h had ever come under his
notice, sitting in a judicial rapacity. Ti.e question,
here to be decided were twaoti. If boils the brothers
were ignorant of the ptivate ceremony, that was one
question ; but if one of them was acquainted with
the fact, and either from design or ina.tverteney did
not cominenicair it to the other, then there would be
no difficulty in deciditia the point. He wiAted, bow.
ever, before he gave his judgment, to call for the in.
spection of those letters sad papers which had for the
brit time been now produced in evidence. With se.
gard to that evidence already introduced in the ease,
be had read it with much attention, stud be hod come
le the opinion, that Dr. Hogg, General Adam Ger-
den, the mother of eke patters, and the sister, had ell
projored themselves, if the fact were untrue that the
Defesdaut knew of the private memos), of marriage
previews to the agreement being entered lute. His
Lordship at conaidotalite length catered into a minute
I detail of the principal (acts of the ease, commenting
as he proceeded en each feature, and finally post-
poned his ultimate decision until be should have
Pitfall; read the additional evidence produced.
seAUlaulaT e. sataiure.
Mr. Wtrucaut. rose to oppose an application
irlikh had beeti u.ade on a former day, for postpon.
log the trial of an issue directed in this case by the
' Vice-Chancellor.
Mr. IlLALDsaid,that he had onderstood that when
the motion was made, that no Counsel but Mr.
Uowdeswell was un the other side. Ile thought it
rather unfair that Mr. Wetherell should now be em-
ployed, particularly after what had passed on a
former day with respect to this case.
Mr. WETHERELL said, that he had certainly only
lately received a brief in the case.
The LORD CHANCELLOR.—I have no objection
to bear. you, Mr. Wetherell; bet I am folly per-
suaded, That in another place such a trick would not
have been practised. I can only tell you this before
you proceed, that if a handfed barristers were to
address me, they would not persuade me of the ne-
cessity of an issue in such a ease as this; and I can
tell you more, that all the barristers in the world
would not alter my opinion, that this Inge which the
Vics•Chancellor has directed is a proper one.
Mr. WM/Rant said, :hat he would sit do's
after what had fallen from the Bench, but he could
not help calling his Lordship's attention to a deci-
sion of Sir William Grant's, similar in its circus-
Meares to the present.
The Loan CUANCELLOR.—I will read it U you
please.
Mr. WISTRIRELL was proceeding to make a few
remarks upon the deduct's he had mentioned—
The Loan CHANCILLOIL—I have told you I will
read it t as for hearing the appeal, I will not do it.
There are appeals sow standing unheard, of five
years old ; soil hers I wish to complain most re-
spectfolly, that mailers are argued here two or threel
times over, because Counsel ate not present.
Mr. %Victimises. was again proceeding, and was
again interrupted by
TIN I•ORD CitallaiLLOß.—l will read year de•
dismal), but I tell you a third time, I won't Leer
y no.
Mr. WE/suttee represented that he had met re-
telt, d any brief moil very lately is the use, and
fried the lisedship of his Lordship refuting a hear-
tug•
The LORD CHANCELLOR.- Yee need not tell me
that. Have you any mutton ? It you have, pro-
coed with it.
PUBLICATION 01 LAW REPORTS.

CLAIMS D. Saimaa AND ANOTIIIIII.
Mr. We/lit:rim ag.plird to the Court for so In.
junction 10 ingrain the Plato iff from printing
and
pobliohisi the Reports M Mr. Price, of cases oe•
con ing in the Cosrt of Ntehoquer. It eppetrod,
Mtn the nutmeat of the Lcerued Coeueol, tht,

when Mr. Price announced the publication of his Re-
ports, he had entered into' en agreement with the
Plaintiff, a bookseller, to lightish his Reports, and
It was contended by Mr. Clothe, that Mr. Friel' hall
agreed to allow him to publish all the Reports which
he should write: on the whet hand, Mr. Price as-
sorted, that he had entered into en agreement which
he had now e right to rescind. This bad been doge ;
end now the Defendants, Messrs. Brooke and
' Sweet', were to be the poblishere of the Reports
The question, therefore, was, whether there existed
an agreement w►ich woe en general in its terms as to
compel Mr. Price to:continue the Plaintiffs. his pub-
lisher. It might be a legal doubt whet her &Gentleman
in the situation of Mr. Price cook', by anticipation,
sell whatever was done in a Court of Law ; at Warr it
would be admitted that the case was very dif•
Went from that where a common *other was COO.
rented. The first agreement entered into with the
Plaintiff was in 1814, and there it was stipulated
that Mr. Clarke should hale the option of relinquish.
log the agreement. By this therefore it appeared,
that Mr. Cla►ke retained to himself the power of
breaking off, and hoped to retain Mr. Price " in
vincula," In a sort of editorial slavery. In No.
somber, 1816, another agreement was made between
the parties, upon publishing the second volume of
his Repnrio; and in Jane, 1817, a third agreement
was made upon printing the third volume. The very
circumstance of there being a contract for each to.
lame, proved the dissolubility of the contracts en.
erred into; and it was a metier of costae, that at
the publication of the fourth volume, the old cos•
tract was null and void: Mr. Price bad now entered
into en arrangement with the Defendants, in cense-
routine of the inrressed sale of his Reports, and the
I. d Coun.el conceiv►d that there could be no
difficulty in granting this Injunction.
Mr. HEALD eat rising to oppnse the motion, when
The Lout. CHANCELLOR said, be wes obliged to
leave the Cotter, and the fu►ther beating was accord•
ins!), postponed until to•usorrow.

COURT OF KING'S ?I.
Tilt XING V. LONG.

This nes a criminal prosecution for an melt en a
It Officer.

1111 r. Jona opened the pleadings.
Mr. Gunner stared the case. Mr. Smithery. an
&ciao officer, haying been informed that the Defend-
ant had some contraband goods on his ;orlon, fol-
lowed him from Mark-lane to Tharnes•street, where
he took hold of the breast of his coat in the moo
rivll matiner, told him he was a Revenue officer, wid
that be understood he Oa Defendant) had smoyeled
goods in his possession. Long immediately struck
the officer a violent bloc on the breast, which made
him stagger backwards. The officer then grappted
with him, and at last socreeded in thrtating Lim
down. With he assistance of a third person the
1) • feedamt was secured, and conveyed to an adjoin-
ing pablic.hosse, where be was searched, and a
quantity of Bandana handkerchiefs found in his
pockets.
The above statement was fully warded by the evi-
dence rif the Prosecutor, and that of the person who
had avtisted is securing Long.
Mr. CAMPBELL addressed the Jury on behalf of the
Defendant. it was of no consequence in the present
cute, 'tether the handkerchiefs found on the person
of the Defendant were smuggled or not ; the only
(motion on which the Jury had to decide was, whe-
ihar the Defendant had beer. guilty of the assault
with which he was charged in the indictment. lie
cnntentled that the evidence went to prose that the
Prosecutor lvtd been the egg , and that in this
case, the resistance of the Defendant to a pet $OO who,
withoet any warrant, seised him forcibly in Ilse
street, was a justifiable act of self-defence.
The CUM` Justice summed up very briefly. it
did net appear to him that the assault which Long
had committed was justifiable on the ground of self-
defence. Had any estreme violence been °Belted to
him in the first instance by Smithers, he might base
been jastified in defending himself; but it did not
appear that the cendect of the slicer had boo either
outrageous or uncivil. Vertliet.—Gnitip

BOXING.

A meeting tent place yesterday, which attracted
all the fancy to Crawley Common, where Donnelly,
the lash Champion, exhibited in a fight with Oliver,
for Two Hundred Guineas. The fight was originally
lived to lake place two miles from Godsh.ne, bet the
iriequels belonging In the army of occupation found
some enemies who bivouacked in that quarter, and to
make safe, the spot where the battle was fought,
eight miles fertile( out, was fixed upon.
C,llih was engaged by a Noble Lord to second his
adopted Olisec, and Shelton woe the bottle-holder.
Belcher and Randall seconded Donnelly, whose
chief backer was the Sporting Cnlnnel, and the great
patron of Randall and the Bahamian millers. Bet-
ting 6 to 4 on Donnelly.
Round 1. Pinnelly pat kipaself labs good attitude far hitting.
with the right shoulder level wish she air. In parallel with the
Ake. lie let ly with the left head away from tii.l3llCe. which
brought the era ton rime, and Oliver recriv.'d smite hits, hat
I)ottwelly disengaged himself by gi•ine his hely re guy a henry
fall. Ills superior stresAth was apparent, and be wt.. burls d
at 7 In 4.
2 Oliver hit the body with she left (rind Itan.ioll. !tot
w,thout We force. sad Ilaseinefly rushed in with mach deter.
Mi.lllloll $ here he showed a want of ovener. 1 hese wet same
bugging hiring is thee!. se. mud Monad!, three noun.
3. Doman, missed his hit, and another elate (attune ' ; Oliver
had the best uf she weaving system, and he shrew his toirerrthri
ova a seance me the Ismer ropes of the rits;; Dounellv was
underrntar *pea the ground.
4 litserr retreated to the ripe.. where Donnelly •howed
fight. touched his herd against the wake, and shrew bin
heavily. Roth were bleediag.
b. Iktreassily placed a left-banded blow upon the eye, and
war retorard by a Ass p Sel.• but upon ,Its. 1111 l eth. which bird
freely r ay any of enr•pliwirst Doowelly g ire hi.. a crashing
fall and weal antis •pon
6. Obser he.an task,* waist of teaditina, end he bit 'tenet
with the ler bond **pea the bad% t k rereired •to.rtisit wpm.
the !teat', wish *hit h be Mr.t d..• a. Ism it wr wit ~..olden/
be the now firs a knack sissts• blast.
Donrrlh Waved a hit upon the head with the It. hand,
and arms tiara hi. MM. Some elf reurr Oferftrd hels•••
the krona,. a. so ISe sr three le whirls IN. NMI o'M.* entangled
ha the groan& n• d Itassdali threasessed to give Shelton a lick
..s Hie head mails 5.... water 19.1.1 e.
e. Oliver had es idently sari./ 11.•,,j)3F Irma the 1.11.. ad be
his d prafthsely. Ile was thrown *pia. 7t• 4 asi Ihn.aelly.
b. Ilauaelly plated a heavy right banded blow open 10;14-
v:roars's the mart of allied was siohk. or t as a &we
DIA,r went down from weakness.
Island 11. Oliver was throws is, troth mad. after straggling
class ss 'shoot any hitting. !raw egsteate
o:irct btole hi: iv ;nod (sea weakliest mud dory were