The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1821-1823, 1821-05-23


ter-we should be glad to receive or
ders-for the Record.
From the Boston Statesman.7
Municipal Court Of the town of Boston,
May Term, 1891.
Commonwealth Us. Charles Perry.
Hon. THOMAS DAWES, Judge.
James T. .Atstin, Esq. County Attorney.
Aadrew Dunlap, Esq. for the Prisoner.
The defendant was indicted for Lar
ceny-stealing certain articles of prop
erty from Eliza Mac Gilvery, alleged to
be her property.
Colonel Austin, on the part of the
Commonwealth, opened the cause by OBJ
serving that the prosecuting was young
woman who had been led, by her affec-
tons for the prisoner, in an incautious
hour, to enter into an engagement of
marriage. He had obtained her consent
by course of delicate attentions, and
the day was fixed for the celebration of
their nuptials. He stated to her that
they had been published, and that he
had hired house in Roxbury. Upon
the strength of these representations,
and deceived by his address, she put in
to his possession the articles of furniture
described in the indictment. to be taken
to their house-which, as soon as he re-
ceived, he caused to be carried to an
auction-room and converted into money.
What aggravated the guilt of the De-
PENDANT, was the fact that, during the
whole time of this intercourse, he was
a married man. Upon these facts he
should contend that there was an origi-
nal fraudulent intention, in the prisoner,
to obtain this property in this manner;
and therefore it was felony.
Eliza Mac Gilvery, Nathaniel Smith,
and George Reed, were sworn-and the
substance of their testimony was, that a.
bout five or six weeks since, she became
acquainted with the prisoner-that she
agreed to be married; she made prepa-
rations for the event, and delivered him,
on his request, the goods stated to be
carried to their house in Roxbury that
they were taken forthwith, and sold at
auction in FederaEstreet that he had
not been published as he said and
that he had no house in Roxbury. The
fact of the sale was also proved, as we'll
as that the prisoner was married man.
Mr.. Dunlap, for the prisoner, observ-
ed that he had not much to say for his
client, on the score of his general mer-
it, or his conduct in relation to the par
ticular transaction now under examina-
ton. Butyet he had legal defence
and it was the duty of his Counsel to
state and maintain it, however much it
savoured of nicely and legal refinement.
He held this to be an established princi-
pie of the law, that when a person vol
unfairly parted with the property in goods
which were obtained by the deceit of
another, it could not be larceny in the
latter, but was case Of obtaining goods
by false pretences; and all, or most of
the cases of constructive larceny, SINH
lar to the present, were cases in which
merel y the possession was parted with
and, in support of this position, he cited
Chitty, Grown Law, 921 /; and he con-
tended that, in this case, the prosecutrix
parted with the property under the ex-
pectation Of marriage, as CON Ietely as
if the marriage had actually been con-
summated.
There was another view of this case
which would insure the acquittal of the
prisoner, and rather puzzle the jury to
determine which of the two, the prose-
cutrix or the defendant, was the worst
character. The Counsel for the gov
eminent, with his usual eloquence, had
drawn in glowing colours the picture
of young and interesting female, the
victim of her sensibilities, and prey to
the articles Of an insinuating and unfeel-
ing sharper, He had represented her
as yielding in an incautious moment to
the soothing batteries of the defendant,
(who, by the way, adlearnt all the mys-
teries of love, and the arts of wooing,
in three years. apprenticeship at the
State Prison) but when the whole tes-
timony was spread before the Court and
Jury, it would be found that these were
not the first accents of love which had
saluted her ears and these were not
the only Establishments with which she
had been assailed for she had then liv-
ing an affectionate husband, who was
within the walls of the Court house, and
would, in moment, be on the stand to
Al IL so&,. r.