The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-12-27 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

SHERIFF'S COURT, Burns
(Dears a Special Jury.)

BREACH OF PROlllnit OP MARRIAGE.
corer:lox v. woriatioaen.
This was as action to recover conlensatioa in da-
mages fbr a breach of promise of menage. Ihe action
was origimally beought in the Coati of King's Ihneeh,
bet the defeudant had selbrad judgmeNt to ge by de-
fault.
Mr. Aeottnes rese to address the Jury es the part of
the plaiatiff. They were. he said, assembled for the
I.
of iocileing *kat damages might to be outward
In the present case. It was a wiloject which, though at
unceasmea, was still, very ketneetely. Neither so he-
quest ai to be male from repetition, see so salosamenog
as to deaths the spirit of hurley. They wee, to deter-
taloa what damages a youtort and times* woman wan to
rewire at their heads for being kept, by centime, warns
sod frequently renewed promises, in
gives of ma-
trimony ; and the., without say 016014 her par:.
without soy reason assigaed es the r—witliout the
slightest proem" ter midi ~Adder. Wooled. throwu
back upon society as a digheal weseaa, with bee peace
for ever broke.. her hem WOW. her hart withered.
aod left to laagulsh sailer en tile paella teenage time
wens the mound sod stmeaideldeisoneumwees Ober si-
tuation. It wee not saemar y. ter the pulleaes oiler
lice, diet they shield awe lam all the suenuelie misery
of sitentioN to which a young female Melt ho pineal
whose heart has been taterested—whose hopes bare
been raised to respects if haptiseemegess by ibs perigee of
oae whom ler has gives too-
fidee toee--who has"belsaliCtithish diet the day of their
lodes was at hand, and thes ostinl cut ed 4 plague
into the agonies of impair, aid held up to the aeons of
the world as an ibises unworthy of that camellia ea
which she had hinnoled her prospeea is lift. It was rat
settessary. be did mot require them, to mew lake alt
them feelings. sad thee ti declare that se images wire
too high. But still they were male soy shot the Wet!
sustained was but slight; that time was ea hetallillie re-
medy for such evils ; that it was hat a day's pas. walls
might be folly campmates' by aWs wages. la lsl7.
the defeadant Impress& to use the *Wallet the boos*
of a ~teal and seem Mier declared to as ac-
quaintance of her's the attachneeat he assiestivell fat her.
expressieg at the save time a wish to be inirodeced.
At that doe be said be was in hopes of socceoding to
his allele, and that, wised master olds* business. IA wee
determined to make her his wife. The defendant was
the is Wilds year, and the plaiLtiff N. That such
was his determination, that suck at least where the pro-
mises he bald oat, would apte.,r from Ma orris leterr.
written to her at various times. They would prove that
be felt and expressed himself towards her in the way na-
turally to be expected from a young maw payiog his ad-
dresses to a yoga/ woman of whose virtue and worth he
eatert4ised .. doubt. He bed g *bele velem* of the
sisitiodaat's correspoidence to redoes in proof, §I ary
desk should remain ea the Weds of the Jury after
bearing witsesses. He expressed his detennivation
make bee Ms wife ; said he bad bees isfo:med that his
friends were @cutest the match, but that if prevented from
it, suicide shield terminate his redeem In one letter
he inesolosed the manner in whirl he was desirous she
should, dress bow she should demean %itself. soul !shag
he nought would he necessary iii her conduct to fit her
fur that ateati.. is wlikh he was about to place her. lit
mother. be informed her that his affairs were settled.
that he bad purchased his uncle's bupisees fur Loom..
bad laid is stock to the moue( of lAOIII. and that kr;
Kid other property besides. hi a tided letter, bespoke
otabeir approaching %tales, aid &nettled the ring
hal purchased for the purpose, which lie facetiously called
=lock. After all this, without say rouse assigited,
t the slightest preteoce of unworthin-,s or sash:
hallow on her part, without a single word .f exceed or
apology, be suddenly andoaseed his ietention of dying
a braided. and renonacing all thought of matrimony.
The, bra. ver it would appear, was nothing more than
hypocritical pridession. His motives for banking of
were very different. for be soon after married another
to whom he had been introduced by the plain-
ord. would appeal to the Jury as fathers, as brothers.
whether this was a case that shiond be allowed to pass
unvisited, be would not say by vindictive, but at least
by exemplary damages? It might have happened that a
youth, without experimace in the morning of lift, and
voider the influence of ardent passion, beguiled by the
i fascination of ba-ety, or the artifices of cunning. had
made profession of an isoprodem attachment, ruinous to
his prospects in life, and every way unworthy of his fa-
mily and himself. Under mach circumstances, a Jury
would perhaps hesitate before they would award de-
-1 usages. Such were not the circumstances here. In this
ease the defendant could not plead the excuse of extreme
peek on his part, or of cunning and sedsctioa on the
sober. Here was a young woman, whose heart was
wrought apou by professions, lung cogtinued, of devoted
attachment—whose tOilfaltlbC•aset wrote affections were
seised by that appearance of sincerity. which mast al-
ways acrompasy repeated promises of marriage; to
whom visions of future pleasure bad bees °pied ; who
was taught to look up to the man by whom she was re-
tcted as her future guardian, her partner through lik—
ing with whom her pains and pleasures were to be
shared. Here was a young woman, filled with tkese
pleasing and virtuous anticipation, all at once, and
without cause, thrown into the frozen region of bitter
contempt, to bewail that most painful of all slights.
which females forget with most difficulty—which, is
truth, they never cease to remember. Such was the ef-
fect it had upon her mind, that had it sot been for the
vigilance of her friends, she would have succeeded as
*eliminating, by suicide, a hated existence. She was
obliged to leave the country, and was sent te-sonse dis-
c 'awe, to avoid the shame of being pointed at as a per-
son rejected and scorned by the man, whom all that
knew them looked epos as'her future husband. But
change of place could at change her feelings —could
not rare the wound so wantouly and cruelly indicted.
Mr. Manning was then nailed. He knew the hand-
writing of the defendant. The letters produced wean
written by him.
Mrs. Compton.—l am the mother of the plaintiff in this
action. She was one and twenty last May. The defend-
ant paid his addresses to her :lather more than two years
ago. At that time my daughter was living with me. I
am a widow, and carry on the farm that was my hus-
band's. The defendant wrote to ply daughter, and I
saw the letter. I thought him a very respectable young
man, and bad no objection to her receleillg his addresses.
—I knew that my daughter received Lonny letters.—
He came often to my house ; his Goldman were perfectly
sanctioned by me; he never made any etwoplaint of my
daughter's minket ; he said he should make her his
wife as nos as he w 7. in business. Hy danahter and
he continued acniainteil twos then terms for a year and
a half At the end of that time he called npnn my daugh-
ter, and I understood he wished to break off the match.
I asked him the reams, and he said he had no reason,
and might again visit me daughter. He has sine mar-
ried another person. Ylie effect produced epos my
daughter was very serious; she was very much blurts
she meld sot be left by. herself; her mind was so dis-
tracted, that I was afraid she would bare made away
with herself. She was o:Aigeil to leave that part to: toe -