The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-06-03 00:00:00

Ll* INTRLLIGENCS.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH—SeruspAy. Joss I.

CLERICAL EASGAIN—LORD SONDES O. IPLETCOa -
A Special Jury was impanelled in this case, to en-
quire into sod assess damages on s hood for 1.0001,
executed to the plaintiff by defendant, ender the fol.
lowing circumstances :—The defendant, a clergyman
had been tutor to the Noble plaintiff, and in 1811 a
living. le the gift of his Lordship becoming vacant,
be offered it to his tutor upon certain conditions, which
the defendant undertook to perform : and the better
to secure each performance. be executed the
'bond
In
question. subjecting himself, by a breach of cbovoenant,
to a penalty nut exceeding 12,000/. Hie Lordship
had a brother, the Hon. W. Watson. preparing for the
church. and the condition of the bond was. that the
defendant on being required to do so. should resign
the living in question is favour of this individual. Mr.
Watson having qualified himself to enter on the
living, the defendant was required to folfil the con.
ditioos of his bond. and give up the living. This.
however, be refused to de. aod upon that refusal the
presort proceedings were instituted.
The execution of the bond. fin. boxing been legs.'
larly proved, the SOLICITOR GENERAL. on the pad of
the defendant, submitted that this heed was as 121g51
instrument, and therefore that kepi #romsedings email
not be instituted upon It. As to the facts of the ck's.
he should be able to prove such as would. at all
events, reduce the deluges to which the plaintiff was
entitled far below the penalty mentioned in the bond.
The filing is question was indeed nominally worth
8001. a-year 1 bat this Talae was very much reduced
by tits present depressed state of agriculture. Besides
this. the defendant was entitled to deduct 501. a-yesr
fur land-tax and other oat-goings, and 2001. for a
curate. This would reduce eves the sootiest value of
this living to 5501. Mr. Watson, in who's favour be
was required to taiga, was tweaty.fear years of age,
and that ulcerate calculator, Mr. Morgue, of the Equi-
table Office, would tell the Jury that a fair resumers
tios to him would be fourteen years' purchase, or
WOO/. This would be supposing the living really
worth 5301. wear; bat he woald prove that it fell
far short of that sum sow, whatever it might have
bees in the flourishing days of agriculture. Is addi-
dot: to this also, he submitted that the Jury would
have to deduct from the damages to which the Noble
plaintiff was entitled, 1,4001. aad upwards. which the
defendant had expended in building a new parsonage-
house, the old one being, at the time he took posses-
sion of-she living, is a state of utter delapidation. All
these circumstances, he contended, would reduce the
damages to a sum little more than nominal.
The Learned Counsel called witnesses its support of
this statement.
The Come JUSTICE summed up. and. in doing so,
observed. he would nut sow give any opinion whether
this bond was a legal or an illegal instrument. With
that question they had nothing to do on the present
occasion. The parties, if they choose, might hereafter
have the *pinion of the highest tribueal in the king.
dos en that subject. The question the Jury would
have to decide would be, what was the amount of de-
image des to the plaintiff. as the Jury would recollect
that although the bond set out a penalty of 12,0001..
they were sot bound to give that sum, bat only so
much of it as they considered fairly due to the plain-
tiff. His Lordship then recapitulated the facts of the
case to the Jury, and observed, that he left the ques-
tion of amount of damages entirely with them.
The Jury, after a short consultation, found a ver-
dict for the plaintiff--Datuages 10,0001.

:COURT OF COMMON PLEAS-(it ATURDAT.)

LORD HAUPDIN V. SMALLMAY AND OTHERS.
This was as action of trespass against the defendants,
who were nominal sem fee the parish of St. George's.
HRTIOSSI,WISEO; they having insisted upon the right of
a passage leading from Green-street to Lees Mews.
The circumstances of the case were these :—Lees-
mews stands upon a piece of ground which formerly
went under the name of Hill's-fields, and bad been let
oat on s boildiog lease for 99 years, which lease ex-
pired in 1822. There was a clause in Ibis lease
granting a particular part of Hill's-fields for the pas-
sage now in question.
Mr. Serjeant Lays contended that the lease having
expired, and the reversionary interest being vested in
Lord Hampden, he bad a right to dispose of the way
claimed by the defendants, and entered into as com-
plete possession as if no way bad ever ezisted.
For the defendants many old inhabitants were
called to prove that a gammon passage bad existed
through the Mews, for more than sixty years.
iVut. Story said he was surveyor to the paring com-
mittee, St. Georges parish, lianover-square ; that his
father bad preceded him in that office; that the parish
always paved the road in question, and that it alway,
had been ■ public one.
Henry Bell said, lie lived in Park-street; was SS years
oh!. Had known the road from childhood, and it alwsys
• as an open road.