The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-04-12 00:00:00

ielao r; usidefittbith'the coachman Might be punished
elms otherwise, it mat he considered an accident to
*lrish every mart was liable.
The coachman said. lie believed the coach was in good
impair at the Buie, bet a spring, 'Would sometimes snip
;simiaer by a sudden jerk, and it was Dot easy to guard
,against it.
• .Mr. Frazer said, be had no means of proving positively
that the coach was not in proper repair, but he thought
!the breaking down was pretty good evidence of that fact.
lye maintained that the coachman had not performed his
contract, and was therefore not entitled to his fare. Ha
stage-ccisch, the proprietors of which contracted for a
certain sum to convey passengers a stated distance, broke
down bfthi way, and lie as a passenger chose to take a
post-chitie to the end of his journey, there would he no
doubt about the liability of the proprietors to pay fur the
hire of the chaise.
Mr. Ha Las thought this not at all a case in point.
Mr. Frazer said he had consulted one• of the Commis-
sioners of Hackney-coaches, who had told him he acted
perfectly right.
Mr. Ha lass said, the Commissioners of Hackney-coaches
must decide as they thought fit ; his opinion was, th it
the fare must be paid.
Mr. Frazer paid the fare and costs, amounting to Gs.,
but said he should sonenno the coachman before the
I Commissioners, who, he had no doubt, would punish him
1 for not having his coach in proper repair.
UNioN HALL-41VRDER AT CLAPHAM: The whole of
yesterday was occupied by one of the sitting al agls-
trates, Ai.mte Esq. in the investigation of the
above atrocious murder.' A man P. Stqtjel, who is said
Ito be distantly related to the unfortunate deceased, was
apprehended the previous night by Hall and lilannen
the officers, on suspicion dining concerned in the sour-
der : he is well known at Camberwell, and was one of
1 those men denominated "Caddies" or " Barkers" to a
stage-coach •he generally atteuded the stuge-coaches at
the Mother 'Red Cap on Camberwell-green. We abstain
•
from giving the particu'ars of the investigation, as the
Magistrate sienitied it Wli indispensably necessary for
I he ends of public justice that Coe whole of the evidence
against the prisoner 'liquid be withheld for the present.
The deceased's watch la;:s been recovered.—(.llorning
Paper.)
A man named Walker was summoned before M. Swa-
bey, Esq. for refusing to deliver over to her own mother
a tine little girl of four years old.
It appeared that the chill was illegitimate. and had
been placed by the mother under the care of Walker's
wife, about three years ago, who Lad a weekly allow-
ance of half a crown for its maintenance from the pari
of Lambeth ; the mother had married latelv, and her
husband as well as, herself being desirous of having the
child under their own protection, applied to the defend-
ant, who refused to give tip the child, alleging that he
and his wife were so fond of the little girl, that he nag
assured she could oot "be done so well by" by any other
creatures as by his wife and himself. The complain-
ants made several applicafamts t..) the same effect, but all
"to no p • pose.
Mr. Stemma asked the defendant why be refused to
restore the child to her own parent
The defendant replied, neither the mother nor her
husband were enabled to support the child, and he was,
he said, prepared to bring forward proof that they had
not not a single feather in their house to lie upon ; th'y
were only posse-srd of three chairs, and three knives and
forks, in the world. Coder all these circumstances, be
said he thought liims.dfjustilie.l in refusing to give up
the child, as she wonlii be only exposed to the same pri-
vations se the complainants.
Mr. Sittanty thought it a most strange p ion of
mind in the defendant, to imagine that be was justified
by the laws of nature to detain a child from its parent.—
The Worthy Magistrate put it to the defendant, if he, as
the father of ten children, would admit one of them to
be withheld from him under similar circumstances, nod
immediately ordered the restitution of the Alibi to her
mother, who left the office grateful for the Magistrate's