The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-03-08 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
. COURT OF or KING'S BENCII, MARCH 1.

Sittings before Lord ELLearaosouns,inGuild-
hall, London.
BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE.
MILLIS V. FLOWiR. -
Mr. PARK said, this was an action brought by
Miss Mary Millis against the Defendant, Mr.
Benjamin Flower, who was a widower, to recover
satisfaction in damages for that which was an ex.
tremely cruel injury to her, and which injury the
Defendant had occasioned ; and indeed he was
not aware of an injury of a more serious nature
that could be sustained by a person in the situa•
den of the Plaintiff, it being a breach of pro-
mise of marriage. She was a young woman
extremely well connected, and the daughter of a
respectable ribbon.inanufacturer at Coventry.—
The Defendant was a person of considerable bu-
siness, property, and fortune, likewise in• the
same trade, but his wholesale warehouse was in
town. Ibe became acquainted with the family of
the Plaintiff, he having large dealings at Coventry
in the ribbon trade, although his residence was
in London. These cases were apt to excite Judi-
crows observations ; but they were often, and in-
deed generally, very serious to the party aggriev-
ed ; and, in this particular instance, it was his
duty to slate, that the conduct of the Defendant
bad been shameful, and whatever might be said
wl'h a view of turning the matter altogether into
ridicule, it was in his opinion, and with his ha.
bits, and at his time of life it became him to say,
that this cue would have due consideration where
it ought to have it, that was, with his Lordship
and the Jury.
Tho Defendant was a man of very considerable
property, the father of many children, and had
lost his wife before he became acquainted with the
Plaintiff. He expected that she would not have
in her power W. give sufficient evidence againit.
bids to prove a promise of marriage ; but in that
be void& be disappointed. " Undoubtedly the
preimbe of marriage must be clearly *tired, be.
fore the Plaintiff could recover in this action ;
but the Jury should. bee satisfied of that fact, 'by
a very long correspondence he had read over,
which had taken place between these parties, ma.
ay parts of which were quite disgusting—net ob.
acne, very far front it—but quite disgusting, on
account of the hypocritical cant which marked
the style of the Defendant in his letters to the
Plaintiff, which he must have read in Court, be-
cause be could not, otherwise, prove the pro.
min of marriage made on the part of the De.
Lenient ; but, •in 'those letters, be had, over
' and over again, made that promise to the
rtaiitliff. It would appear iir these letters, that
the Defendant had several children, and that he
hoped the Plaintiff would take upon herself the
cares of a mother for them ; but that he did dot
think it decent he should marry her until twelve
Months had elapsed after the doath of his first
wife. •There was nothing more disagreeable to it
man deeply impressed with just sentiments of re.
ligion—nothing more disgusting to a man who
thought rightly on these subjects, than to see
puritanical cant and hypocrisy assume the cha-
racter of pure religion ; and the letters or the De.
fondant contained suc a tissue of enthusiasm,
emit, and nonsense, that it-would be impossible to•
bear it without disgust ; and although that was
not a consideration on which the damages shquld
be enlarged, yet nobody would, on that account,
be sorry that the damages were not smell. And
although a person who could write such nonsense
was by no means one with whom it could be very
desirable, he should think, to pus a life with,
and therefore this lady lost but little by losleg
him—yet that was mere matter of taste. If he
bad promised to marry her, and had committed a
breach of that promise, she had a right, by law,
to seek compensation for that breach of promise.
This cause might have been tried much sooner,
but that she could not have his (Mr. Park's) as.
sistance when the cause stood for trial. She
might have much abler assistance, and in this, too,
he thought her taste questionable ; but in this also
she bad a right to judge for herself.
Mr. PARK then proceeded to read different
parts of the letters of the Defendant to the Plain.
tiff, of irbich we shallsive but a short extract in
the evidence ; for they are so voluminous, that
the full report of them would fill the half of a
newspaper ; from which Mr. Park maintained
there was no doubt that the Defendant had, over
and over again, promised marriage to the Plain.
tiff; and, when he should have established that
fact, the question would be, whet damages the
Jury would give? He was not aware what course
the defence was to take. He did norktioir"
ther any attempts would be made to traduce and
vilify, or asperse the character of this lady. Of
coarse he knew how to meet that, if it should be
attempted by proof, because he should have an
opportunity of observing on it ; he was instructed
to say, that she was perfectly respectable. But
if there was to be no evidence called to attack the
character of the Plaintiff, quite sure he was,
that, whatever the Defendant 'night wish, the
Learned Counsel who had the care of his defence
would not desert their usual candour by stooping
to cast reflections on the character of a female
suitor in a Court of Justice, ins manner that
deprived her of defending herself by her Counsel,
which would be the case if her character were at-
tacked by a speech only ; for, in that case, he
would not have the privilege of a reply. He
knew, that if the Learned Counsel for the De-
fendant were instructed to attack the character of
this Lady, without calling any witnesses to sup-
port those instructions, they would, as men of
honour, treat such instructions with scorn and
contempt. As-for damages, it was never his ha-
bit to press for any from vindictive motives—the
Jury were sufficient judges of them in all cases,
and particularly in cases of this kind, after hear-
ing all the tircumstaoces of it. The short state-
ment and sum total of the facts, were—the De-
feridant was a person of property, and in a re.
spectable line of business ; the Plaintiff was well
connected in life, of a reputable family, and her
own character perfectly irreproachable. Ho had

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