The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-02-02 00:00:00

THE KING V. SWEET.

Mr. Comm moved that the Defendant in this
ease, Joseph Sweet, who had been brought up by
Habeas Corpus, having been committed' under a
warrant charging him with a capital offence, in firing
a loaded musket at one Samuel Sewell, in Kentish
Town, in the course of last month, should be libe-
rated on finding bail.
From the affidavits it appeared that the Prosecutor
Sewell had been employed by a baker of the name of
Brodie, residing at Kentish Town, to collect some
debts for him, and that having, among others, called
spoil the Defendant for payment of a small bill, he
pursued him out of the house with a musket
and fixed bayonet, and the moment he got out
at the street door, fired at him. Having for this
offence been apprehended and carried before Mr.
Ivers, a Justice of the Peace at Kentish Town,
Sewell not appearing, the Defendant was liberated,
on his undertaking to appear again before the Ma-
gistrate in the evening. This he faithfully per-
formed, but Sewell still failing to attend, the De-
fendant was again liberated, on his undertaking to
appear when called on. Down to the date of the
assault by the Defendant on Sewell, the later had
*44-410 written authority front Brodie to iolleetrhis
debt,, hut with a view to the present case he :
cuted from him a power of attorney, ank-dated,
but in fact executed posterior to the assault. Not-
wit,:standing the repeated defaults of the Prosecutor
to appear before the Magistrate, he took out a war-
rant against the Defendant, charging him with a ca-
pital offence in firing at him with a loaded musket,
in virtue of which warrant the Deftudaiit was corn.
mitted to gaol, and was now brought up by Habeas
Corpus, on affidavits disclosing the above facts, and
also swearing positively to this material fact, that
the musket was loaded only with powder.
Mr. WAt.voan apposed the liberation of the De-
fendant on hail. The affidavit of the Prosecutor, he
stated, negatived almost every word sworn to iu the
affidavits on the other side.

Mr. Justice BATLEY said, the Prosecutor's aftda-
tilt did not negathe that material fact sworn to on the
part of the Defendant, that the musket was only
loaded with powder. If it was not loaded with any
thing but powder, then bad the Defendant not been
guilty of a capital offence; for in the musket's being
'Hided with some species of shot, besides powder,
did the capital offence consist. The Prosecutor's at-
tention had been called to this material fact, and he
Lail not contradicted it. The Defendant) therefore,
seemed entitled to be liberated on bail.

Defendant was accordingly liberated, on en•
tering into recogniza►►ces to take his trial for the
offence, himself in 5001. and four sureties in 1001.
each.

WALLACE V. RUTSON.

Mr. BEARD moved for a rule to show cause why a'
dr. Rutson, an Attorney of the Court, should not
pay over to Isabella Wallace, a sum of money,
which, as her Attorney, he had received, on her ac-
count, from a person of the name of Dewes.
Wallace conceiving that she had a good action
of damages against a young man of the name of
Dew es, on account of a breach of promise of mar-
riage, employed Mr. 'Nilson as her Attorney, to
tiling an action in her name on that account, having
pieviuusly sounded the father of the young man,
and asc r tained whether any compromise could be
effected. On calling for her Attorney, she learned from
Mint that he had hopes of settling the matter, and
that, if she would be satisfied with fifty pounds, he
thought he could get for her that sum. The Plaintiff
declared herself satisfied to accept of it; on w hich Mr.
notion caused her to sign a paper to this effect; that
his clerk had informed her that he was likely to
settle with Mr. Dewes, senior; she begged of him,
therefore, to do so, and to keep her free from costs,
requesting that whatever he might recover from Mr.
Dewes above 501. he would be pleased to accept of
to himself, for his trouble anti Services in the busi-
ness. Mr. Rutson afterwards got the Plaintiff to
execute a release to Mr. Desres, and to sign a re-
ceipt to him for 1001. on the promise of having the
501. nest day ; when she came, however, on the fol-
lowing day, the clerk wag just gone to the banker's,
with a check for the money. On calling back is
.the afterron, the clerk had been a few minutes too
late, so that theicheck could not be paid. Mr. Rut-
son at length gave the poor woman his own prosals-
sory note, payable on demand, for 491. 19s. but of
this she could make nothing, and was, therefore, at
length compelled to apply to the Court.