Court Of King's Bench, Gu...
The Times, 1824-02-16T00:00:00

- 11iUiS wag an action ot trover to recover the vrble ofporn1e sm11U ar. iles of iver:plae, taepropeFg tBelief - feu` ant had u llawiZhllconverted to his Gwnrusg.-. Me.C. iflLLIPS,in opening theplsaintIf f 'lscase$stlidient. as a surgeon in the naval service on half pvy,' iad the deM ;tt as Lheeaptain-ofa IVest Itidia ship called thbeSirGodfre.y sMrter. In l$V2l, Mr. Lea took'spassage on board OaptInTelfer's vesiel for the Capeof Good Dope, and sent on board. the silver articles In dispute; b=rt afterwrards changed his mnnd, and declined to proceed. 3e no.et deinanded his plate; but wassurprised b) a refusa of the dgfndant to deliver it, unless satisfied a ridiculous ctaim'for the board ana lodgiing of two eats, which had well eaxrnatheir living by cAtching rats, on (he passage... To-proye th plaintiff's case, his coasin Mr.Lodge was called, who swore that he had seen the plate at a diaiji party given by Mr. Lea on board the vessel, and had known it for severalvyears as his pro- perty. .Mr. Bro*o, the plaintiff's attorney, provad alemand of the silver articles, and arefusal to deliver them ainlegs 4L was paid for the maintenance of thei cats. Mr. SCASILETT, for-the defendant, after stating that he believed the action was brought without the plaintiff's knowledge, and. that Captain Telfer had really acted a tind part to him, rteed on two grotnds of defence-first, the anticipated lien for the support of the cats, which the plaintift had imported, and by which, perhallS he hoped, like the famousWhittington, to makea fortune; and, second, that Mfr. Lea had been discharged under the Insolvent Act, so that all his property vested in the assignee, who had not authorized this action. To prove the first ground of defence, Mr. Daffy, the mate of the ship, was called, who proved that the cats and a dog were kept for five moriths; but admitted that the dog was dead, and the cats ran away. In support of the second ground of defence, it vwa proved that in 1820 the plaintiff was discharged under the Insolvent Act, and on that occasion assigned his roperty to a Mlr. Davis for dis- tribution among his creditors. The plate did not appear in his sehedule.' The LoRD CHIEF .JUSTrCE intimated that this last evidence was decisive of the cause. IlIr. PUILLIPS submitted, that thourgh Mr. Lea might have no property in the plate as against his assignees, he had such a proper- tyFas asainsta mere stranger as would enable him to support an ac- ;,on.. tla the property been stolen from his poasession, it might have been laid s his in an indictment for larceny. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE said that was a very difterent case: here the action was founded on title. Mtr. Pisi t.Lps argued that the case tid not differ from that of the finderof ajewel, w o might maintain trover against a wrong.doer. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE thought it diQdiffer, inasrnuch as there the real owner was unknown, and the finder would be the owner if no other appeared; but here the plaintiff himself was a wrong-doer. MIr. PHILLIPS then suggested that the jroperty might have been acquired since the insolvency, in which case It would not vest in the assienee till he claimed it. The LoRnD CHIEP JUSTICE replied, that that could not be, as the wvitness Lodge had stated, that In 1821 he had known the plate several Years. - Mrlr. PrILLIrPS requested that the witness might be asked to ex- plain, as possibly be spoke not in reference to 1821, but to the pre- sent period. The LORD CIIEF JUSTICE refiused to allow the witness an Op- portunity of amending his evidence, which before was sufilciently explicit, novv that he knew the effect of his answer. Alr. PHILLIPS then urged that the plaintiffwas entitled to a ver- dict for one spoon, as being a necessary of life, and which, there- fore, he was entitled to retain. ThCe LORD CtIEsF JUSTICE said he would not bold a silver spoon necessary to an insolvent debtor; the plaintiff must be non- . suited.-The plaintiff was accordingly nonsited. COURT -o giN4is BENCH, GiImIktt, Fxt. 14. LEA V. TELFE -