Court Of King's Bench, Gu...
The Times, 1824-04-24T00:00:00

LAWX? ,P - `ate defat op tenedhe pleadings. The d6darctitotfo aeged Mr.b deeclm haaebaucbed t'heplaintifi's wife. srstated he circumstancesof th case. Theplain. tilf waa a ftntleman engaged in mercantile puruits, chiefiv con- idted with t 'West Indies Ib the island of Nassau, lie became acn,uan atecdWit aygurtyaayof great beauty and accompli an i an attn~sprung up between them, which led to a mar- dge tin th iear 1800. After this, he came to settle in England, d~d .i hms lady in grcat comfort. After making several voy- 'leave MIr. B~ kth 2was obli2ed, on account of her health, to t i the -est am inIondon,e rctired from businens, and expected ;cqine~ Wirsth his life in reposc. Afte' this time, be became hhMr. Iason, the defendant, who insinuated hto ir t his confidence, who became almost necessary -tason - h a bo was a frequent visiter in his family. 11r. in i coures enjoyed mauv opportunities of conversa- Wo t ,th , Bain; but no suspicion arose in the breast ta'he Plaintif, who hbd the most perfect reliance on the ho. our, virtue and afiection of his Wife. One letter dated in August, 1821, oich hwaa found ambng the papers of hlrs. hain after the dis- "OVioy her guilt, alluded to somc conduct which, though not -;a, perhaps imprudent, for which it would seem that lrs. Mason epnt ached herself, and of the innocence of which Mr. fection aetvoured to persuade her. This letter was coauched in af. of a TB ou*Rh ewctful l.anguage, and was evidently the lettet dl h n wishing te secure the good opinion of a lady, and to recon, cmeeht toherself on some deviation from propriety-probably a ofaebngW tch ahe hadi been persuaded to give him in the presence person, hat in the abaence of tier husband. A young niece of MIrs. Williamns, ho was a fyiend of Mlr. Bain, t to her passage on board a vesset of SIr. Bain's et Providencet where she lvas to rejoin her friends. It w;s agred thhat I Brs. ain should accompany them to Graves- Bed, Whe the ship lay, in order to see her on board, and that Alr. clainshould join thema t tlhat place. The ladies travelled in a post- tlii7e, and, on the wav, Mrs. Bain was observed to direct the pos_ tdln to atop at the first two-penny post-office, in whicht, by her or.- wih he depositto a lette,. At Gravesend. lMrs. Bain erptesseD her ri t remain for a few dva,. in order th-t she might have the be- gefit ax warM salt.water taths ; her husband, with his usual indul- ence, Ssented- a lodging was taken, and Mfrms. Williasng remain- ed to bear her companpy After some time, Mr. Mason made his aPPearance, stating that M,r. Bain wac to have come wi-th him, but that busines detained him in London, whither he offered to escort the ladie,. On the first night, nothing important occurred; on the morning ofthe seond MAs. Williams, on awaking, missed her ber-fellow, (for Mirs. Bain slept with her), and going out to caU to h?. observed the door of Mir. Mason's room open, and saw an eke hloing at her down the Dassage. Soon after Airs. Bain dame in to the chiamber in her night-eown, and on Mlrs. Williams enpostu- lating with her on the stubject, entreated her to concmal what she had seen. The incidents of this day lea to inquiry and at length the husband, who, by some strange fatali- ty, was IsuaUly the last to hear the troth, was fully coninced Of the disho-c-C ofh- wife. He discovetted thatin hisown house, where Mr. AIlsan had been received with so muchkindness, ciecesm- Stane"s hadnpttatea9r occurred wviich left no doubt of the con- tleion.*r Th&ercouldk then, be Ati question as to the verdict, and the "Y ' 9UIry wrOuleVbe as to the amount of the compensaton which th'Plairitif-aWentitledto receive. On this subject be would say >on account of the new doctrine which his learned friend _t, fi S^@,!Z-stniX to whom the interests ofthe diefendant were cre tideo '<rit,3iteoed during these sittingr. He seemed to think tlh n 50g ijrerhad arighteocomplain if the husband, vhen he ' itXli them nuryhehadsustained did not call his wife's rela. 9 s'tlsU<8anntniaurousins-nav,hermotherand sisters, to prove t' in- e bldes liveabappily.He begged to say, thatif a defend- 0?aed tossup as a palliation, that they lived otherwise than thebeturde dofproof was on hin, and he usually had ample '.nt, lthe fadr~ existed; for the Lady, when under the influence o0 tasion for him, would naturaUv pour into his ear every trifling quarrel every lite groind of dfference, partly to excuse hersell -fo deserting her husband, and pirtly to reward the attachment ol her lover. One topic he would give his learned friend-the lady ivae corsiderably older than AMr. M1ason but he was of an age when wren were as capable of winning the affections of the sex as at any period of life, he was not a boy to be led astray * and it was not because the heyday of youth was gone, that the Injury of a wife'n misconductwas trivial Perhaps the man who having lone been attached to a women and accustonied to her society, expected to re. pose on her affection in the evening of life, did not suffer less, when these hopes were blasted, than a man in the season of youth when there was more to divert his mind from a sense of his loss. He should prove his case, and leave it with confidence in thcii hands. Mr. John Befiler produced a certificate from Liverpool, dated September, 1800, of the marrize of Ann Dean and Alexander Bain. He married a sister of Mlrs. Bain, and knew her before marriage. Hlis wife's narne was subscribed a one of the witnesses, in her own hand; and Air. Bain also subscnbed the register. It was two years since he saw rllr. and Mrs. Bain together, and they then appeared to live very happily, Mrs. Bain wasa very fine woman ; her husband was a merchant at Providence; about three years ago he went there to settle his affairs, snd had since resided at home. Cross.examined.,He knew Mfrs. Bain severnl vears before mar. ;iage, when she lived with her mother in Liverpool. Mr. and Alrs. Bain first became acquainted in the West Indies. He did not know ,,that the marriage was reluctant on the part of the lady, or that she -refused him. They were afterwards separated for some time; but -he did not know for what reason. It Re.examined..'The separation took place in the West indies; he -knew nothingof the facts of his own knowledge; he believed Air. -Bain was at Nassau, andl'rs. Bainin one of the OfFtislands. Mrs. .Bain was brought up like the daughter of an opulent merchant, at a sehool at Maccleafield. He did not go often to the house for the last wo Years, on account of another lady, a sister of Mrs. Bain's,whom ic did not choose to notice. Mliss Mlary Harrison said, she had known Mr. and blrs. Bsin -several years, and they always appeared to live happbly MArs. Harriet Sophia -illiams, exanined by MUr. Se:AItLTv I!aid-T have known MLr.and Mrs. Bain eight or nine vears They ived in the neighbourhood of Burton-crescent. About a year and half ago X first knew Mr. Mason. In the year 1819 Air. Bain, r the last time, returned from New Providence. I had been three ears in the Bahama, and knew Mry. and Mvrs. Bain before I went. considered Mr. Bai as kind a husband as I ever knew; he ap. ueard vcry much attacbed to his wife; she is a fine-loolming woman. was introduced to Mr. Mafson at Mr. Bain's where he visited a reat deaL He was verv kindly treated. In Nov., 1822, 1 wished send a niece to her friends, in New Providence. She was to sail a ship in which Mr. Bain had an interest, from Gravesend, and Srs. Bain accompanied us. AMr. Bain sailed by the steam.boat Ve went in a postechaise; Mlrs. Bain ordered the postilion to stop t the first twopenny post-nfilce; he did so, and took a letter from er. We went down on Saturday, and remained till the MoRday ltnight, on the wirsh of Mrs. Bain to avail herself of the salt-water iths at Gravesend. When MlIr. Bain left us,we took lodgings. he ad remained from Saturday till Monday. On the Friday week ilr, lrs. Bain prop-sed to me to accompaniy her to see the pas. ngers land from the steam-boat. I objected, on account of the eather; she went, and when she returned she appeared dissatisfied id out of humour. She went again on Saturday, also alone. On *e evening of that day, about eight o'clock, MIr. Mason called on ;, and said it had been the intention of M11r. Bain to come with m, but that he had been prevented, and that he would rurt us to London. It was at first proposed that Mason should *ep at the tavern, but the landlady of the lodging offered m a bed at the house, which he accepted. Mrs. Bain slept * th me, and followed me to bed in about ten minutes. A beU d rung in the nigbt, but I did not hear it; and At[s.Bain observed at I slept very soundly. On Sunday night when I went to bed, e said she would follow in a few minutes. At day-break, when l re was a faint glimmering of light, I awoke, and found that Mrs. ,in was gone. I caUled to her, and receiving rno answer, and fear. she might be unwell as she had heen before, I went down into the Irlour where I saw her cloak on the sof. On my return, I saw ason's room door a little open; I heard two persons talking in a r voice; I went on. I sat down at my own door to watch, and I v the crevice darkened, and an e-e look down the passage twice. the door, and went into another part of the chamber, when Bain came in in heT night dress. I said " Oh, Mrs. Bain,where e you been ?" She teemed verymuch confused. I remonstrated Ib her. I objected to go down to breakfast with Mfason after what I paYsed; she begged me to go; and said my not coming with n would betray to Mr. Bain what had happened. We went to * n. Some timeafter this Mr. Bain questioned me, and I told him iat Ihadsden. ross-examined-I communicated this to MIr. BDin early in the mer to the best of my recollection; 51r. Mason follows no busi- s that I know of; he appears to be 23 years-of age; he lives in ing.s in Barbican, with his mother. I did not cease to visit at .Bain's till the spring. I was there two or three times a-week. eve been married about 18 years. I went by the name of Wil- is about a twelvemonth before I was marred. I'do not like to where I was married, if you will excuse mne. I am separated n Ar. Williams now. He was with me at Nassau, and I lived nately with Afr. Bain, both there and in Englsnd. I heard of ,. Bain going to IWargate the preceding year; and believe her band knew of it; he was there himself part of the time. I do know that r.1l Bain told Alason to go down there. Air. MUason 'etimes wrote for Mlr. Bain; I do not know that he received a ry. stir. Alason sometimes slept at MAr. Bdan's house. I never ,dd MIr. Bain intimate any suspicion of Mason before the visit to vesend. e-examinedLI never communicated to Mfr. MVlason any parti- of my bistory. The witness was exceedingly aflected, and drwin tezs r. lEnjatisfawiord Slater, the attorney for the plaintifr, said, -e sumntr of lat year after the departure of Mrs. Bain, he riaehee ele at her a lodgings, and found a letter. uwGeeamineda.j ordered lmrs. Bain to quit the house byher *arlt&esirc; aboutt sior sevenin the evening, and to takeenly I-essA She did aotgo that night. kr L ep ohe defendant, proved his handwriting to twr so found in fis. Dain's desk. ,Oss.xaidmr-Mason is about 26years of age. He is e letter, dated~the 3d of Augurst, 1822, written by Mfr. Mtason, l cad, Ilrs Dain appearedl then to be at l\argate. Its meaning ot very dear, bujt itseemed to justify the description given of nnah Nortbiffe said-I went to live as housemaid in Mlr. a familv in October, 1822; hc then lived at No. 60, Burton. L nt. Mr. Mason was often at the house; sometimes he slept for weeks together. I have seen lrsn. Bai and MhLr. Mason er in the room. Soon after I cams, I found then in the back s,itting on a sofa; Mrs. Bain was very much confused- the ad not rung. At another time, as I opened the door, i saw lason and Mrs. Bain standing at the fire in the front parlour th her ann round his neck. One morning I thought I heard droom bell ring. and went i.- ra. mBain met me, an4 pushe ck out of the room, telling me that if I did the same again she turn me out of the house. The servants dined abaut-one ,andjust before that hour I sed to sit in a little room by the my mistress's dresing-room at needle-work. Sherepeatedly o me there t&tl mne to go to my di.ner, Mr. Mason used to up when I went down. There was a bed in the dressing. as wel as in the bedroom. Wh1en I h.ave dined. I have to the dreintg-roomn, 2nd found the bed tumbled, when I B n has told me to put it smooth. No one used to ti jt. illy mistress used to write in the dressing.room. began %be used to direct me to stand on tnhe stairs I have seen her in the evening with a note in her ce or twice. When Mltr. Mason went to bede, she pull his coat - and has told me there was a note for Mr. Mf. s Sunday ir. Mown was Ill, and kept his room. Mrs. meeosed totolureh; but Iwas unwell, and went and li my - y room VWs efiose to Mr. Mason'? , s1ta Daiti went alittlebelrore into Mr. alason'ls room, smai shut the d.oor. Sholsciined.thero maore than ani hour. I lsiiyeen ti~1~ aii 'the kbiceig in:- ber -night dress ait the same door MAr. s3in. rose usually bv six and half past, and uaed to go itito the ba&kpsrioois towryite While he hasbein so employed, at eight orbeif pastieven, I have seen Mrg. BaiPk come in her right..gown several times frome 3Mr.Mason's room. have passed whens sebhas had thc doorhin bet hand, and have seen her shbut it and go in. Cross-e-xamined by the ATTOa.tNEY.GErTE1LAL.-MTa.3. Bai sentrinc from her service on accont of afalserEharge aboutttea. Slhe diesired Tne not to say any thing of whatt I hiad seen, as it was all nonsense. I went to wait or.a sister, who was sick, in March; but went into service again in September. I did not ask Mirs. Bain fot a character. I did not tell MVr. Bain when I was turned away. I talked it over witht the cook (a laugh), but.did not mention it agair till I was sent for. I saw no quarrels between my mistress and master. Elizabeth Shepherd said she lived eight years and a half in the service of iMr. and Mrs. Rain as cook, and quitted it five yc-irs ago. They then lived comfortably together. Mr. Rain generally dined and spent Iiis eveniings at heme. He was a Very quiet moan. Cross.examined.-He was a rgemarkably quiet man, tie did not go a monthi without speak-ing to his wife. I never saw lAfra. Rain in hysterics. Mlr. Bain was Absent two or three years at a :time. Miare Harggs said-I succeeded Northiffe in the s&ervice -of the plainti'fi t wehnt every dav into my mistress's dressing.room. Ont evening I *ent in : Mrs. Rain tok up a glass of water as if to wash her mionth, endaseemedi in great agitation. As I came out, I.saw Mlr. Masoni come down the staircase to the door. The bed was much tumbled and some thiings which I had laid on it were pushed off' Twice I 'have found Mr. Mason's handkerchief in this room; the last time f puit it on the drawers to meet Mrs. Bain's eye; she took it diown, and said she hadl brought it by mistake and it must be taken toNMr.5Maso. On anotheroccasionlIsaw Mr. Masocn's doot Ishut, andneitherhenorl4rs.BRain were inanyvotherpartofthehouse. Once. as I came uP with hot water for my miistress, after my rnast~l rose, I saw M1rs. Bain on the top of the attic stairs, by Mr. M5ason' aoor, One morninig,between 7and 8, Iheara somepersonop_en the aoor of the bedroom below, and go up stairs. After some time I heard a noise in Mr. Mason's; room, proceeding from the bedstead. Then I hearA M1r. Alamn~ make a noise a's if to drown the sound ol alnvane going down Stairs.-..This wias die case for the plaintAif 'The ATTOSLteEY-.OZ4ERAL addressed the jury for the defend. ant. le thouight they had enough to occupy them in anyonce ause, withoutalluding again t'iobservations which hadbeen made on apre- coding dav, atidI in a different case, an had been done by his learned friendi. In the caus;e which was tried a few days ap, Mlr. Scerlett proposed to show that the plaintiff' had lived happily with his wife, in order to prove the extent of his loss. For that purpose he celled the father of the lady, who, on cross;.examination, proved the very reverse, and he forbore to call witnesses who were present in court, and to whom the truth must be known. Was it not a fair observe. tion that he had failea in doing what he proposed to ac- com-plish, and thAt he only abstainedl from calling the wit- nesses whom he! hiad subpaanned, lest he should make his Failure the mote glaring? On the present occaion, he had only called One witniess to prove the conjugal felicity which he eoriiplained had been broken, although there must have 'been many respectable pesonasofboth sexes with whom the partie, were intimate. And who was this femaale acquaintance whom alout he had dared to cell?P A woman. who, on her own admission. had lived 12 months with a man as his misitress; who, during thai timne, went by his name; who now did not chioose to tell when ot where she wast married; who, perhapas, was not married at thi, momnent;, and who now wall separated fromn the person whom sht claimed aLs her husband. Mlr. Bain knew this latlY in the West In. dies, when she movedI in a narrow circle, within which the histor) of every tine was familiarly known, and their characters thoroughlil stifted. And yet this was thie lady whom he allowed to assocsate with his wire, and to be her sole protector in a lodging at. Gravesent for a fortnight. The defendant wvas a young man in humbli life, twelve-or thirteen yeazs younzer than the lady with whosi Seduction he was charged. and living in the house of air Bain, as amanuiensis or clerk, without a saary. MVr. Sear. lett, who had observations to suit all cases, in that to which hi himself had alluded, a-nd in whichi no hospitalitv was violated, said 11Oh, hospitality is an excses l" He theln uried that when confi deuce was reposedi in a young mnan, and daily opportunities affordec him of intercourse with the wife of his friend, affection might in. seshl row between them until it became too strong for resistance adteyouth might fall, without cold or deliberate villainy, and b, entitled tothe commiseration of the world. Now this was that ver] casie, except that here it wa.; obvious the defendant had been expos. ed to the Seductions of the lady, in addition to the other circum, stances which might tempt him. He[ did riot plan the journe3 to Gravesend ; he did not even contrive that he should sleep it the ous; ht bing her, Ms.Bain found her way te hisbedide en thn te jry ereto infer that the act o adulerytoo plce. " 'Wy, enteme,'~said the Attorney. Geneal,"wht i a mn t doin ucha ease ? (A. lout laug.) ereis youg gntlman inthe bloonm and vigour o1 lif, aakeed t treeo'cockin he orning by a beautiful womuax standing at the side of his bed, and solctnghmto allow her tA share it with him. 'What, I ask again isamnto do in such case ? (Renewed laughter.) 'We ar dscussin ti senw in court of justice. but any whiere elsei is idle todn ri-h ar would be laughbed at who should suher out." (Lugtr. hy it would he painted in pic!ures., as the only instnc eninsacre& writ is painted, the escape of Joseph from Potiphar's wife. WVhethei he did or did not repulse her (continued the Attorney43enraml) thern was no evidlence; and it was curious that the on, ment Is) whiich the jury were askied to infcr that adultery ha'd Ten place. was that it mu'stbhavetaken place,beceuse there coalduot beany othet result of suich a v-isit paid at the time by a lady of Mlrs. Rain'j fascinations. But were the jury quite satisfied even with the truth of the evidence given by Mrs. WVilliams, the kept mistress or sepa. rated wife, who was so squemnii'h that she could not think of sittin at breakfax.t with Mr. M1ason atfter wh2t she had seen, but who, fot monthsi afterwards,visited Mrs. Rlain without breathing a syllable ti the husband ? This was the first occasion in which an attemnpt hac been made to show crimninality: h ut then came the next stage of tis intercourse, to which the maaid (Northiffe) was to speak. If the storl of that girl were true, Mlrs. Bain was tlhe most extraordinary womar who ever lived. Slie knew that this servant had witnessed the mosi unequivocal acts of criminality;- that she was wholly in her power; and she discarded her on a trifling dlispute about a little tea, and sent her to telliher story, to her husband and -to the town! Not was the conduct of the servant les wonderful, that, so charged, she did not retaliate; th-at, so turned away, she did not resort to the hu%band ; anad that afterwards she did not talk on subjects respecting which the tongue of woman couild h ei'd!y be silent. (A laugh.) If, however, her story were treue, it clearly proved that M1r. Mlason had yielded to seauctiont too powerful for resistance. In all the scenes Mrs. Rain was the ac- tress. WVere they- standing in the parloor, Mlr. 1slason's arm was, not about beruneck, but her arm rotund his. Were they in the bed. room, it was not her room, but his attic in which she sought him, The same -remasrk'i applied to the evidence of the other servant, in all its bearines. The jurv then would conuider all the circurm. sitances, and w.ould feel, tlhat if the plaintiff's case wa-s established at all, he had no claimn to considerable dlamages, which must consigiq the defendant to a prison for life. The LostD CsrEv .JUSTICE charged the jrina very few words. Re thought they could scarcl duthat the criminal in. tercourse had takeni place, considering the whole evidence in the cause. With respect to the amount of damnages, it had been urged thast it was probable, looking to the relative ages of the parties, thai the defendant was not the seducer. There was, however, a Icttet read whichn, perhaps, mnight lead to a different conclusion. It was. clear that he was unable to pay lieavy damnages; but still poverty was not an excuse; as, if it were, any malt who was poor mnight. withi impunity, commit the most mis'chievous aggressions on the' righzts of othiers. The jur consulted for about five minutes, andathen retuirned verdict fo11r thc plaintiff-Damages, 1001. HALL V. FUJLLER. This action was brouight by AMessrs. Hall, a mercantile flrm ol great respectabilityr, against Mlesrs. Fuller and Co., the bankers, tc recover a sum of 1971., whbich thiey claimed as the balance of theli account with the defenidants, and'which claim they disputed. ThE only question in the cause was,whether the detfndants had a right tc set off against the mooney paid into their hands, the sumi of 2001.. which they had paid unaer the following circumstances- On the 20th of Auigust in lIst year, Mr aulHl,now in tht eMPlOY of Mlessrs. BrGoon and Cio., cre-aucter,was visit. ed by Wagstaff, who is now under sentneo eah hmhe had long kcnown. 'Wagstaffstated that he wsetormtamall checki Of 31. to his father in the country, and asked Hlil to give him ai check for the purpose. Air. Hill did not himself keep an accounti with a banker, but ran in to Mir. Hall, when Mir. John Hall gave him the . ceck- which he asked for, and he immediatelv handed it over~ to Waggtaff. The check wras altered by dii. chargng the wordis and figures importing the suim, and inserting 2001. instead of the amount for which it was given, leaving, o1 course, the genuine signature of Mir. Hall, The check so altered was presented to Mtessrs. Fuller's. and paidl without suspicion, at a time when the funids in their hands belonging to Miessrs. Hall fell about 151 short of the 200L so paid. They clontended, that under these peculiar circumstances, they were entitled to charge this suim against their customeir. Mr. SCARLETT, for the plaintitl, arguied that he ought not to be charged withi this mioney, on the principle which wouldi have ap. Piied to the cme of an entire forgery. Resides this argument on general grounds, he urgedi that there wast some particular neglect in this cas, because the account, by payment of the alteraedbceck, was overdrawn. M1r. GuxwEy, for the defendant, contended, that there was nothing in the la-st argument;- for no banker would. or- ought to re- fuse the check of a respectable firm, because it mnight exceed the balance of their account by a few pounds. As he was entering on the general question, The Lostx CSIXEr JUSTICE suggested, that as all the facts were agreed on, it would he better to turn them into a special case. Thi sgetio was adoPted, and the jury found a verdict for the plitiff.-Du aeMs 1971., subjc to the opiiiion of the Court ott a special ease. ItAVEyTGAV. atACKStINTOSH. In this cause a full special jury appeared, and were sworn. Mlr. F. POLLOCK stated, that the plaintiff' complained that the defendant maliciously and wit'hout aniy reasonable and Probable action. Mfr. SCAZLETT stated the case on behalf of the- plaintiffi IHis client in last year came to England. asan envoy oftlie Governmentof Colombia, a state which as yet ithad not been thoughtconsistent with the policy of this country fully to acknowledge; and who now sought redress for one of the most extraordinary abuses of the English law whichhe (Mlr. Searlett)had ever known. Hefelt, Indeed, ashamed for bis country-andso,he was sure, would the jury-wheiu they fbund that a stranger had been subjected to so gross and scan dalotzs an abuse qf law as that undter wich the plaintiffhad suffered. wt was the chief glory of our country that she dealt out justice to all with equal hand-that she afforded a refuge to all who were strug. grlng for liberty against degrading oppreston_that she invited all to hebns"pitable shores, and allowedthem to partakein her blessings; sndnlhoweyer for a time she might seem to withhold her entire sym pat from-pations eontending to be free, yet her natural affection Aor them couldinot oot.be restrained-the kindred of freemen with freemen must ultlniately prevail; and site must join ia the triumph of all-who wereharling new-born liberty. Thejary were iot unaware that our mnerchants hFa4 on several occasiois been willing to effect loans for the asistance of nations-'NAuggling for the rights of huma. nity, to enable them to carry on the war of independence and free- dom. Among these was Alr. 'Maickintosh; he nadle e. contract with Mendez, the aBent for the Colombian Government, for a supply-of arms and accoutrements, to which contract Alr. Ravenga was no party, and the inspection of which had been refused him. There. was reson to believe that the prices agreed on were excessive; that the securities proposed were sueh as theagent hid noauthority to of- fer, n ard therefore the Colombian Government healtated to sanction the bargain. On the arrivalof 1Ir. Ravenga, its Aprll,,l83, Ir. Mtackiztog, 'who bad sent out3 suoerao,. with Wdiretionstode- lvror withhol-be odgs.tb4e o e t ,act, led. AliM. Ravellia ii itify-ibncftiae't;wic s4r hpmn 151. a man~by debentures, baig1 e et -eet I.ase was Very sample-lie hadz) pauthoxtytdoi ,tdcol ot -do it *1ithOuit a violatipn- of his duty. Mr Mcipoihpssethe sub,ject. again- and aganin,, and too. -ai0tt 1i 1t sm person-s41inm 'ie called a barrister, wo at'rcnary to the ustual practice of the bar, was to. assr -tevldtftecontract.- Mir. Ravenga, however, was firm; ahl'r aknohnow be-. thought him of -a mnost extrasordinary apedient in oraer to force him to give that sanction which he ha felt himnself bound to) withboldw Recollecting that Colombia was Tiot recognized by the Oovernmentof thils country as an independent. gfate, ana cansequently that her am. bassadlors were inot protected from arrest, lie reslved on holding out threats the mnost unjustifiable, the most oppressive, and the mTOSt scandalous ever exposed in an English courttofjustice. His attorney. M1r. Homabv, wrote a letter to Mfr. Itavengd, dated the g~d of March, 1923, which hie woutld read. L-Mr. Scarlett hdre read the letter. It informed Mr. Ravenga that he was Personally ligble fox the mone.yduet advisedlhimto considerintitmeth'econacquendesw hIch nmighitens8uefrom refusingcto make an arrangemnent and.-assured him that this was not at mere tlhreat, buit that thie writer wdsinstrticted to commence prodeedings, however painful thlat coturse nmight be to AIr. MNackintosh, who "1would no longer be trilled With."3.1 At the tarAe when Mir. IRavenRa received this letter, he had no friend whom he couild consult-he was a stranger in a strange land-but happily he was directed to t,he respectable house of Lavie and Oliversoni, and laced his interests in their handsl. Air. Oliverson calledl on Mr. Wlorrnby, who gpoke to himn in a loose wat of contracts and papers on which his client founded his claim, and trhich he seemed to think were in Mfr. Ravenga's possession. Mr. (Olidrstln afterwArds ques. tioned Mfr. Ravenga respecting these papers, rind being assured by him that he hiad no such doduments, ont the 11th of Mafrch wrote to Mr. Morniby. In this letter (wbich Air. Scarlett read) Air. Oliverson coimmunicated to 11r.1Horrnby theopinion of Mfr. Ravenga, thathe was n6t authoriied to confirm the debentures, requested copies of the contract.and documients oni whiceh he suipposed the claimaro%e, and stated-Ist, thtat Mr. Ravenga was not empowered toconfirm thede- bentures; 2d, that the Government aof Colombi]a expressed dissa; tisfaction at the terms and mannier of the contract ; 3d, that the Gdvernment did not outhorize the issuing of the debentures; 4tb, that r'lr. Ravenga had fulfilled all the comimissions given to him by his Government, and had thierefore no more power; and 5th, that he had no personal interest whatever in the affitir. To t'his letter, Mfr. Hornby, on the 8th of Mlarch, returned an answer, (which Mfr. Scarlett also read), stating that he should he glad to furnish copies of aniy documnents in his possession, If he could hope, byso doing, to facilitate an arrangement between the parties; butY he did not eaolect fromi Mr. Oliverson's letter, whichi only stated reasonis often refuted, that any such intention existed; and therefore he could not enter into negotiation unlessi AMr. Ravenga entered into it with a view to do Mtr. Mackintosh jus. tice On the 20th of Mlarch, M1r. Ravenga was arrested in his house, on an affidavit of debt for 90,900L Ba;I w4P3 of course, out of' die que-stion, and he was taken first to a lock.ut.house, and then to the King's Bench prison, where he remainelt foe ilearly two months, whien, by the consent of M1r. -Matkinw6sh, he was set at lberty. AIr. Mackiintosh, howevet, did not appear edgek to proceed in his miiii he obtained time to declare from term to term; and at last, being forced an by Air. Ravenga, he abandonedI the action and paid die costs. Was it not manifest that he never dreamied of succeedfing, and that his only hope was,by the pressure of imprisonmnent-by shame and sufibring-to work on the plaintiff to do that which in conscience he couild not perform ? Surely MVr. Ravenga had great claims on the jutieof ~he juryZhe was a stranger, belonging to a country withl whose heroic struggle every- Englishman must synmpathize~ who ex- pected to find protection here, and had found outrage an(i wrong 4 but he trusted that if he had been so unfortthnate as to meet with one citizen of England who could ab-ase her laws to puirposes of op. presin he would meet with twelve who would do him ample Mr homas C-ooper, from the Bill of Mliddlesex-office, pro duced the affidavit of debt in the cause 1 Mlackintosh v. Rtavenga," which was proved to be signed byv the defendant. The affidavit dated Mfarch 5, 1829, stated, that 'Ar. Etavenga was justly and truly indebted toMr. Mlack-intoshiarmy sadler and accou- trement.nalk,er, in the sum of 90,0001. for goods sold and delivered to him at his request. Joseph Vright roduced the billof Mfiddlesex retutnable in Eas- ter Term, endorses to hold to bail for 90,0001. Williamn Radfora, an officer of the Sheriffof Middlesex, produced the warrant on the writ. Under that warrant, on the 20th of M arch, he arrested MVr. Ravenga at his own house in Welbeck-street, Cs- vendish-square. The witness carried him to a lock-up.house, 44, Carey-street, where he remnained three or four days, after which he was reasoved to the King's Benich prisou. Mr. Ambrose Parish, from thie o~lce Of the Clerk of the Paper in the King's Rlench prison, produceed the Hab eas Lcrpzaby which Mlr. Ravetiga was removed os the 24th of Mlarch to the Kin 's Bench' he remained there till the 17th of AMay, when he was dhischarged The order for the discharge was read. It was "1by consent of Mr. Homnbv, the plaintiff's attorney." The bail piece for 90,0001. to Abrahara Goldsmid and Judah Colhen of the same date, was read. John Ellis said, he was present when the recognizance of bail was taken; and there was an order made by the Lord Chief Justice, on th consent of Mlr. Hornby. The dedaratidn in the action of AMichaelmos term was put in- to declare a rule for time a farther rule for the samfe puirpose; and the a ereptoy rleon he artof hedefendanit. The decitara tionwas or oodssol, an th damgeswere laid at 200,0001. ~i'h rue t diconinu, o Mihaemastermi, was put in. It was as sua onpayentof ost. Te cstswere taxed, and two or thre dys fte wee pid y M. Ioruy.They amounted to Mlr. Oliverson said he was the attomev for the plaintiff in the cause. Mir. Homnby was attorney for the 'defendant, and the letter produced was in htis hand-wtitiolg. ~The letter of Mr. Hornby of* the 3d of Mlarch, 1823, as stated by Ur. Scarlett, was read]1 The witness appled to Mr. Hornby for an insction of the documents on whith the supposed claim arose, and hgd conversation with a view to an arrangement for the provision of bali but withouit stlccess. Mir. ff-ypoue o otmns'u said he'betl6v,d Mlr. Ravenga had them in his own possession. DIr. Ravenga satisfied Mr.0Iliver. son that he had them not, and he accordingl wrote to Mfr. Hfornby a letter, of the 6th oDf Mlarch. IThe letter of the 8th of Nlarch was read, as stated by Mfr. Scarlettl MVr. Oliverson said he couild not state the precise time of Mr. Ravenga's arriyal. He was a Colomn- bian, and a stranger. Crosr.exassined.-.NIr. Ravenga never toldI him that he had met Mlr. Mackintosh in Paris and had alongnegotiation on this contract. This was the caLse for tie plaintiff. The ATToit-EY..GE,rERA1. addressed the iury for the defend- ant, whom he described as anman of great r"espetablity, Who had no personal feeling against the defendaant, and whoa merely had pursued remedies which he *as instructed he had a right to ado pt by, his legal adviser's. Hfedid not think of any thing so absurd as of making MrII. R-avengra responsible for the contract as En,oy of the State of Colombia-..he held him liable as one of the contracting parties--as one whio had received the benetit of the great enterprise in which he engaged, and whio actually pzave the order for the goods which were supp)lied. As Colombia west not recognized as a State, but as a mere collection of indivitluals, all the mealbers of tie Government were personAlly liable oni contracts made by the'ir desire. At the time when Mfr. Mlendez made the contrmet with Mlr. MVac'kintosh, MNr. Ravenga was the Secretary of State and Minirister for Foreign Affairs-a man, no doubt, of great talents and powers, and he ac- tually by his own letters authorized Mir. Mfendee to make this very contract. (~Here the Attorney-General read a letter from MVr. Raven. ga, as Mlinister of Foreign Affairs, to AMr. Mlendez, in whichs he stated, in reference to at proposal of illendez to procure arms and clothing, that they were in great want of those articles-disc hr was di- rected by the President to entreat him to hasten to procure them; and that the Republic would ratify any coritrigcts into whichi he might enter. Another letter of the 24th of October, 180O, wa-s to the same purport, urging despatch in the obtainig arms as they were urgently wanted]1 In consequence, and on the faith of these letters, AMr. AMendez contracted with Mr. Mackcintosh for the suPPlY of armns and clothing to the amount- of 150,0OOL; he had sup. Plied thiem; not one fartbing had he ever received; and to that sup- Ply, Air. Ravenga, who now was proseuting him, owed his life, his fortune, and the liberty of his country ! A quibble was raised, that Air. Mlrndez' powers were not valid, because though he had received thlem from Grenada andI Venezttela separately, he had not received theni from these states after their union ; buit these letters repelled that quibble, whieh was unworthy those whtr made it, ndcl Cearly proved that Mr-.1taveAga, with otbersof his Governmnent, werehiable. When the armns and clothing were ready, for embarkation, AMr. hyackintosh naturally demanded some sectirity; M,Ar. Mlendee gave the debentures to which allusion had been made, and which he had clearlyaright to ~ive by th,eterms ofhis power. Iftheprices of the goodswer nigh, it should be recoDllected in what species of currency, they were to be'plaid-in Colombian bonds,worth not d third of their nominal value. Before MVr. Mackintosh, for MI~ own protection, arrested Mlr. Ravenga, he took the opin'q of eminent cunsel: the present Solicitme.General ana Air. W-i were clearlycoof ollinion that the conitract was binding on the ColombianGovernment; and atn- athier gentleman of great experience gave hi's opinion that Mfr. Ra- venga was personally liable, and might be aLrrested. On t-hese api- nions IVI. AMackinitosh had acted; fairly even if erroneously; and was clearly entitl,ed to a verdict in this action,which mnalice and want gfrobab c Ause were niecessary to sustain, Mr. 'Lopes Mtender, examnined by the Com.tsom SrnGVA1T, through the medium of an interpireter, said-.I was living in this country in the yearIl8l7. I then made many ontrmetson behalf of the Government of Colombia, which has since become more exten- sive. I received aletter fromA1h. Ravenga of the 23d ofPFebruary 1820. (The letter was put in' and a translation was read., as opened bytheA ttorney-General.) 'ihe statemnent in the letter respecting my own embarrasesments related to my arrest by Mlr. Duncan Campbell, who had sent out arms. I also received another Ltter (Ths ltte wa alo ut n, nd trnsation read, as opened by IhIr Medezproeedd.-Tn onsqub~ceof these letters I en. deavure to rocre ams nd cothng,ae applied to Mr. Mlack.. The contract, dated the 27th of- Febuaryx, 1821, between Mr. Mendez, as the MIinister Pleti}potentiary of the. Colombian Repub. lie, was read. It recited that Mr. AMendez was authorized to pur- chase stores on the part of the Colombian.Government; and then vent on to stipulate that AMr. Miackintosh should provide arms and- accoutrements for 10,000, at the rate of 151. a man, to be paid for by debentures bearing the same rate of interest as those issued by Mfr. Zea. The witness proceeded._I had great difficulty in obtaining these aTticles. The debentures issued by Mrt. Zea bore interest at 10per cent. There was a discussion, respecting debentures, between Mir. Zea and myself, wrhich was aftevards renewed at Paris, aboultOc- tober, 1821, in the presence of MIr. Ravenga. AIr. Zea lwished:jhat Mr. Ravenga should give him, authority to approve the contract made with Mr. Mackintosh and the debenture. They came to -no agreement on the sul9ject in Atr. Ravenga's house. -After many ar- ticles were shupped, in January, 1822, I gave debenturs.- In Ja- nuary, 1823, Mlr. Ravenga brau,ghtXletter, lated.inthe preceding July, from the Government, ob3eceing to the contraqt. Till then, I heard of no abjection on the part of 'the Governmedt; '-and the only abjection raisedl by MrT. Ravenga was the @ceCwhikh I- wished to be lowvered. I inspected the sl,ipnRerit of the gbOdS- the contract wvas carried into due effect.- ,At Paris thiere:'.Wf a conversation respecting the substitution of Zea'for Mender in the contract and debentores proceeding from Ravpmgi hima self In 18101 came over to this country with Bliiar. ar. the pte- sentatives of Venezuela, and my powers were afterwards renewed.. A power from Bolivar and Peres, dated Februarv 2,.1817, tdke witness, was read. It empoweredhim to enter into contracts onubbx half of the Republic, and sacredly pledged thatsuch contracts should be literally fulfilled," without entering into anyinquiryor examni- nation of the same," and pledged the whole property of the publilbr th'eir performance; but it wgas .(aswve understoodY'pro4isiortd'BilIlite meetimmg1of Congress. - . - . -' - .r - *The witnesa wa cross.ecsnrineed bXMr?-ScJa-tL :rZindtdted IOmeieiraQnt by1 his obipiou to be questfoned in Ennlah, Mt. ScxA iiL r~n ana~ibinr tbd6en ' ra iiellz at~I*ithth&1anauae Re spolc ^i f.w'*oids in very goodR English, but. protested his in. ability'to understand a lengthenedqtestion.' Atien,ch his Cs. examination procieded,ithrough tb,emedium of-an interpreter.....r. MaScki'ntosh sent no :spercargo 1 did. hIr. Mackintosh never threatened to arrestnie.- I,aidlwould not come from Paris till r bed obtained a release ftom MZackiritosh, andl he 1a'ce me a letter of security, before I gave the debentures. r do not know that com- missioners can.e from Colombia to liquidate debts, until they came to negottiate a loan. There was no agreement that r should not be personally liable. I have not a form of a debenture' here. The de- bentuires were issued by me. The value oF the articles charged at 15L ought to be about 81. without the addlitional articles added, and expenses of ahinping, packing, &^c., was ff1. 4s. Re-examined. The Price of Colomabian bonds, at the time they wvere issued, was aboutf7l. for 1001. Ravenga returned to South Amperica from Paris, and was there whben the arms arrived. ilr. Thomas hornbp, the attorney fior M?r. Mfackin1tosh, was then sworn. Hlesaid.-Beforet'he action against Mr. liavenga wascomnnenc. ed, I took the opinion of the present SoHdctor-Generai,and MrAViUiai of the Chancery bar1 as to theliability*of the Columbian Govern- ment to perfoi'fti the contract. AU the documnentswere laid before them, and they read them in my pre.nce. The opiniou was read, and stated that, as the Colombian Gorern- ment had used the arms, they had wared all objection to the con. tract. Mfr. Wethercll. and MSr. Willis advised Mr. Mackintosh to apply to his Mlajesty's Ministers for such aid as they might be able to afi'ord for the enforcement of his claim. Mr. H{omby then proceedeii to say, that he afterwards took the opiniob of DSr. Robert Espinasse on the question, whether Air. Ravenga wras personalljj liable. The opinion was read The first quere proposed v/as the same asI that proposed to .lir. 'Wetherell and M^r. 'Willis, and wzas answered' in a shnilar manner. The second quere was, whether Mfr. Ravenga was perxdiaU liable, and it was answered that he was so, but writh other Mbembars elf the Government, whose non-joinder he might plead in abatement; th1d third quere was, whether he might F'e ar- rested without danser of an maction for a malicious arrest, which WalS answered~ in the affirmative. The gentleman bg.whom that opinlon was given is n special pxleader of long standing. Cro.ss.exainined._-Sr. Espinasse is not at the baf, I have sub- mitted 'the same'queries to barristers, but I did not receiv'e the opi. nions till after this iiction was brought. I consulted witlt Mfr. Espinasse. I might state to Dlr. Espinusse, that if lMr. Rntvenga were arrested, he might be induced to sanetion the debentures, but I cannot say r did . it was very naturaL. I have a debenture in Court. MSr. SCABLETT replied. Hec askedl the jury to infer from the non-production of the debenture, -hat it contained an express extone- ratien of all the agents fromn personal liability, argued that it was ridiculous tesuppose MIr. Ravenga personally liable; and with great energy contended that it was obvious the experiment of an arrest was tried to force the plawintiff into an approbation of what he had no power to ratify', andX Mbr. Es1dnasse's opinion was obtainled m3erely to sanction. lie called on the jury to retrieve the character of Fthe :n,glish lawr by giving to the plaintiff an amnple com-pensation in The LORD Ciisrr JUSTICE said, that if this were now a ques- tion whether MUr. Ravenga were persoiially liable4 he should long ago have stopped the cause, for he was dearly of opinion in the nega- tive: but that wras not'now the issue; and the question err which he thouheh the verdict should turn was, did Mtr. M~ackintosh act fairly and bonea pde, on the opinion of M1r. Espinasse, who, though not at the bar, was a gentlennan of considerable reputation and experience; or did he, kn:owing he had no just cause of action, arrest the plain. tif, with a view to some other object out of the cause wvhich he hoped to attain ?~ The jurf retired at six o'cloc1; and at seven returned into Court with a verdict for the pldintift'-Dinmages 2501. VoQ'pT- O-F IRi;W -IRRW-iT.w A.,+s-^~ - s e_ . . .1- - .C a AR-A -