Court Of Common Pleas, Gu...
The Times, 1824-07-20T00:00:00

-_>J- ""-v" LJ .II tt ' JUSTICE alaa Common Juru. jur. .aergeant VAUGHAN, in opening this case to the jury, la- mented that the defendant would not allowv it to be put off for a short period, since he hai not had time to male himself master of it, in consequence of hisonly having received his brief whilst he was plead. ing in the last cause. Ile was theretbre obliged to content himself at present with makingout a prime facie case, and with calling upon the defendants to contradict it if thiev could. This was an action on a promissory note, brought by Mt. Charles Blogg, of Keynshamn in Son-ersetshire, against Mlrs. Pinker, the administratrix of Mr.Peter Pinler deceased. The prornissorynotewai drawn up in the follow- ing terms :_ " Keynsbham, Sdmersetshire, Oct. 20, 1821. I promise to pay to Air. ChaTles Blogg, or order, on deniand, the sum of 1801., in consideration of his care and medical atterdance on me in my late ilness. ' " PETER PINKEIt." le should call a witness to prove the signayure bf Mr. Pinker, and whien le had done that, -he should be gratifed by hearing front his learned friend the nature-of the tdefeace to the present action. Thomas Candlerdeposed as follows '-I ama cobbleratKeynssham, in Somersetshire. I knew the late Mr. Pinker well for manv years. He died about a year and a half ago. He was a very old and help less man. I believe tke signature to this notc to be in his hand- writing. I know also 51r. Charlesl10ggl He attended Alr.. Pink- er for more than half a years for several hours each day. Peter Pinker was worth some thousands of' ounds. He was born and bred at Keynisham. His wife Would not allow any onie to see him latter. ly, if she could help it. Cross.examnined by Mr. Sergeant PELL.-Peter Pinker was be. tween 80 and 90 years old, and had no other complaint but that of old age. I hiave kcnown B3logg for al4out two years. I did not know him when hac went by the name of Dr. Willi,anu James, at Bristol, nor do I know that lie ever went by that name. Bloeg lodges at my bouse. He has no shop, no medicines, and no apprentice. He has one chiild about eighit yeap, old. Air. Sergeant you .st.....Is it a very fair cbild ?-It is very darkc; it ivery like you. (A loud laugh in court.) W hat! has a child of 8 years old a beard like me .-I did not say that exactly. Whhat is the colour of the clild P-It is of a dark complexion. (Another laugzl at the learned Sergeant's expense, in-which lie goud& naturedly joinedl.) The I?JiO5I CHIEF JuSTICE--Is Reynsham on the western cir. cuit ? (Laughter continued.) i'wo receipts were then handed up to the p itness. After looking at thei, he said, l I believe these papers to be in the hand-wrictng of B1og. A medical man, of the name of Edwards, generally at- tended on or. Pinker.e He Is a vy ruspectable man. LThe pro- mis;sory note was the hadduote witness.1 I do not know in whose handuwr Aiagt odth s cannot say that it is in the hand iwritgol I do n ot know tihdt it is:Blogg's handwriting. I . Thita was the case-on the part of the plaintifF. Mr. Sergeant' PELL,. who WasT-counsel for the defendant, remarlked that it was extremelW Strange that a case of such inmportance iliould' be allowed to depend upon the evidence-6f a single witneiss and that evidence only going to thec simple fact df the hiandwriting. Why had thiey not beard somrethiing of, the consideration &div~ f6r thI's proniis- sory-hiote? and why had they not heard something a16 of-111r.. Blogg himself P The note stated sie'consilteratioh to ue-me'dical'Attbntd ance * wag 'r snei51D' edicLI mian P and X:be was, why had ist no t'een ;Drovedp rth a tt h a qucstion'wouldMaise uxpon the statute 55 Geo. -l,casl1 which. it would 'be his Lordship's pKovince to aei~-Te-od of that statate were, LIN6 person shial be allowd treorancagsfrphicor, ipoteesr on r beore'the th o Augst, 815,or ulesthepro.ire iltcea ertfiat athoiznghi toprctseqa uc fomtheilas. ry before the 5thi of Auguist, 1816, couild niot iccover uiponi ibis note, eveni supposing it to htave beeni iairly nnel honestay obtainicd. It was part,. -however; of.. hiis casc, to. conitendt that thec note hand been fatauduleutly~ obtaiiied 'fromn Mr. Piukdr, whlo- was a very, weak and imn6h11a, i old mnan;'anid that therefore, even it' 01, legal. objection. to. this- action were over-raled, tbe. plaintiff' adl nzo titIi to r6cover a, single farthing. He vwould firstecall upon thema t6 look at tbe'bote Itself. - His letIrned-friend lbad read the date of it as if it were the 10th, wheireas it was -only, the 2tlh. In the iiext :place, he had told them thiat the date watt 19-2. Row aziy person who inspected, the n-ote would see that the date had orignally been 821, and that the ggure I had afterwiards beeni insertedt with a dif- ferenit pen, and alIso with diffecrent inik. The signature, too. waslin a differeint inkt from the body of the note, and thlat was filled up, as they hadl heard fromn 'the witness Candler, in the hand-writing of' the pilainLiff Ihimself. He would ask the jury wh8ther any thiing could be more suspicious than the app,earanice-of this note, connected as it was withi an0ther circuinstance of no mean imuportance-in thie case-tnamely, tha:t~ shbut the daLte of It Mlr. Pinker was attentled by a rpgglar aur conl, of the name of Edwards, who wras adinitted by the witness Candgller to be a very resnectable mnan P Th'e jury wouldi recollectItbiaf.he lhad asked that wiftness, whethier he ha'l ever heardI thiat theo plaintiff had passed by the namie of Dr. James. The witne-ss hadi repliea in. the negative, but he would prove to them, beyond all dispute, thiatthieplaintiff had passed by thatrnaue atai time when he practised wh,thle callednmedicine. Fiewouldpurt in ahand-bill whiheblie adplaearded on all timewalls-of Bristol.when he called liio-. self by the name of "IDr. W. 3lames, the water-caster." (A laugh.) He would. call fipoen themr to -mark hiow modest the plaintiff was in his pretensions-.how much he had at hleart the healtb of His iAU. jety's subjects-~-how regardless hle was of amoney-and hiow anxious hewas toao good as he travelled aborut thie towns and villaiges ofi England. The learned . Sergeant then read the following placard,I whichi excited loudl laughter in the Court ana jury:- Dr. William James, water-carter, is now on his traLvels throughi the principal towns and villages 'n E'ngland, and begs to state that, after an expe- rienc-e of 23 years' pract Ilcd, both by sea arid land, he cures all sorts of disieases, after the patiepit has b,een tumned outt of hospitals in- curable both by surgeons 'antl physiclaeis; )3y the pAtient taking .twb bottles of his medlicine or dressing5 they hia;' been curedl immediately ?".--how, said the learnedt Sergeant, thg Jilly should hear-".J by the will of Godi ! Alany people who have Iost the ure, of their lIm bs for years, af'ter trying all medicinesa in *alm, hiave afterwards applied to Dr. James, and he lim cured them :m- mediately. He tal&s none inhanid betwhat lipe ares. lIe willnot take any person if incurable. He will teUlliteir complahitsassoun as he sets them, and since he has travelled, no one has been turned awayutneuired. To ladies andgenitlemen he will give advice,so that they may get their medicines preligred by any druggis in the kndmfori da trifle. Therlehave been maijy persois in thIiis wvorld lot, bcse they have not made.known their troubles. AMasy poor people he fai" given advice, to, have been aise to mix up medictne for themselves for -five shillings, which would have cost Ithem ten pounds, in long illnesses. Persons-not willinig to dlisclose their comnplaints, may have relief by: sending their momning and eveninig's urine. Hie cures-tlte joint-ache, cramp, sipasms, gonet, nerVOnS liead-ache, gravel, pain in the stomach,. inflamination in the bowels anid rheumatism, by twice takini- the medicines. It'will never faill to etire the kineg's evil, ioin' evil -and gout. People that have been blind fer years restored to healtb immediately. Those that are hard of hearing may be cured in twvo hours. In diseases arising from obstructed pors'pirations, asthmiatic and consumptive cases, cancers, &c. &e. he h4as an elegant and expeditious cure. (Immense laughter.) ile will stop mortifications in very advanced stages by repelling the poiionous matter, and correcting the juices of the whole body. A single trial of this invaluable medicine will surfceota,fter wihevrfamily who valpie their health or lives wil no thnkit pruddent to be without. Mrs. James will attend ladies at their own houses for the same purposes as Dr. James aittends upon gentlemnen. Dr. James may .be consulted at Mr. Ilattonl's, baker,.West-sterct, Bristol, froin nine in the miorning till four in the aflernoon." The learned Sergeant then proceededl to inform the jury, -that lie would prove the plaintiff to be the very- man whio wasi carrying on this abominiable fraud at Bristol, andl wuld convince them bevoitd all doubt that he was one of thtose ig- norant pretenders to mredical science who did so much mischiief to ite~ world. They, would recollect thait he had proved two papers to he i the handwriting of Blogg. Thev wvere receipts fur medicines furni.shed teo tIme late Mr. Peter Pinker, of whiich the first was for 31. 7s. fid., and wazs dated on the 2d of October, the very day on whichl that decrepit, infirm, and infanitile old man was suipposedI to have given this celebrated water.-caazter 1801. for liis care and miedical attendance; and etile last was for 31., and was damteg on the 11th of December in the same year. * The Lostim CierrEF JlUSTICE (interruipting Mr. Serge-ant Pell).- T-% this man ani apothecary, surgeon, or physician; or is lie a niiserable --bject gon abuI teordkillinig IHis Majesty'-ssubjects, and rob- bing them ftermny Mlr. SergatVUHi in reply, said, that it was immiaterial wlhethcr. hewsaregular practitioner or not. fIt was nor mecessary tha~t he shoudb either a suirgeon or a,; apothecary to maintain this action, sinc itwa oundled o-n a wst:tr-- instrument. Thec Louni CsiMF JlUSTICE intimated a rontrary opinion, but woufld not-atop the trial, until the defendaRt's counsel had idlentified the plaintiff with this dlegraded quackc Jame& Mlr. Serjgeant PELL, continued. He wouldl prove to the jury, that up) to thle 21st of July, Alr4 Pinker had been attendled by Mr. Ed- wvardls, ain4 when they recollected tbat Alr. Pinker had no other complaint than old ake, andI that he had paidI Blogge 61. for mnedicine in the interval between the 21.4t of July andi the 0th of December, they wouldI see thyat it vwas quite absurd tn believe that he had ever kn6winalv given Blogg a note of hand for 1801., payable on demand, fhr " his'care anid miedical aftentdance." He had no doubt that as Pinker was going orstof the world, that note had been put inlto his hand, and that the plaiintiff had obtained his signature to, it, without iforming the old mian of tue nature of the instru- merit: for if onie trick of tile kcind had not been -used, hiow wvas it that tile plaintiff, wlio was far fromn a rich man, had allowed his, clafim to so large a sum to lie dormant tor 18 mnonthis atbir the death ot Air. Pinker, when2 if it had been fair, lhe might have asked for the payvment of' it withint six mtonths ? lIe contended. thtat even if the slirnatture wvas Pinker's, it wras gained by fraud, and must be illegal, since no consideration had been Fiveni for it. The plnintiff had receivert notice to prove the consideration whichi he had given ; and the absence of that proof, united to the otlier circumstances of suspicion which had been detailed to them, wouild, lie wvas sure, ind(uce them to give such a verdict for the dIe- fendant.-as wouldI prevent the plaintiff fromn robbing lher of' the large aunt of mnoney whtichi hie had the atudacity to claim. The learne(I Sergeant titen called the following witnesses , Edward- Hatton.-I. ami a baker, living in West-s;treet, Bristol. I know Mfr. Ciharles bllogie. 1 knew himi at Bristol by the nainc of Dr. IV. James. lHe lodgedi at MY hiouse : he hutng a boardl nut of the windowv, announcn that Dr. W. James was to be consulted there.Thsion of the handbills h e usedl in my house in Mlay, 1821. I never saw hiim myself at Kevynshaun. Cross-exanoiited by AlIr. Sergeant VAUG-IAw.-r liave not seen Mlr. C. l3ogg ltately. Hle lodged for sixmonths in my house. I an, sure tha hei .tesme person withi Dr. W. James. I ami suire of tht loi .sbmuse he acknowledged to me in my shop at Bristol tilt ewas- Isaidl to himi, 1' I hear, Illr. James, yout have changed youar namne lately ?" "1 Yea," said lits, "1 I have: I ami now c-alled Dr. Blngg,." Mir. scigCeant VAUGsrAN.-Th-at is, yout mnean to say thlat a nasty fellow of the namie of Jatnes confessed to von that he bhad pirated the namne of a very respectable gentleman called Blogg ? The LoRDn CHrEF JUTtsICE.-I am afraid, brothier Vautghan, that that nasty, fellow will turn out to be your client. Really. I thinkcenough has been already proveni tem lint you upon prroof that Allr. Blogg is an apothecary. Yo~u have charged, you see, for mediical attendanice ; is not thot sufricient en put you upon such proof? Mlr. Sergeant v'AuGHAN contended thatas the action was brought upon a wvritten instrumnent, such proo -was not necessary. The Loan CHIEF JUSTXCE told the learned sergeant, that in - his charge to thiejury he sliould put it to them to say whether the plaintiff was a medical practitioner; and if they were satistied that f~ie svas not, he shiould advise them that in point of law he c-ould not recover upon this- note. The Foreman of the Jury here told lils 1,ordship that the jury wvere satisfied that the plaintiff' was not a mnedical practitioner. The Loan CHIEF JUSTrcE asked hiis learned brother it; after this dleclaratioji, he was prepared to proceed. MIr. Sergeant VAU GHANS wouild submit to a nonsuit., if hiis Lord- siiig would take a note of his objection. The LoEtD CHIEft Jus'ricz would not stop the trial after what the learned sergeant had said about takcing a note. He hiad m.erely, thrown out what he had done to save the time of the Court, which, in p~oint of fact, was the time of the public. He lied thereforre told his leredbrother of the manner in which he should charge the jury. He sliould tell them, that if they thought the plaintiff was pot regularly entere(t as a miedical practitioner, he could not recover in tlis~ action under the statute of the 55th of Geo. Ill. Hie could not give hlimself a. chiaracter to sue by taking a note of hand. If he could, it would be in the power of any quack to evade that very wholesome statute. The rialthe proeede. M. Erwars was then calleed,and dez ose....' Iama urgonatKeyshm;I knew the kite Mr. ~'iner; e hd noothe coplait bt the infirmnity of old age; lie ilid aouta yar nd hat' go;I atenedhim ujii to July, 1821; I atendd hi agin aeutChritma, 18-2,and up to tlte timie of On hmia-cross.examinatlon, he raid, -" I heard that Mr. Pink-er hadl been attended by i. C. Blogginf that interval. I consider that Mir. Pinker wa-s childish'in 1182, but not so much as to be incomipetenit to make a will, or transact business. - He was per- fectly capable of transacting business whecn I gave up attendi ingim in July, 1821, and alto whien I resumed miy visiits in 1822. 1 have received various sums of mioney from him myself at different timnes; they exceed 1001,., buit are, I thinik, under 2001. (The promissory note wvas hete put into the hand of thie witness.) Thec signature to thlis note is very like MVr. Pinker's hmand-writineg, but I would not unidertakce to Say thlat it is liis hand-writing; I hiave kniown his hand-wilting for four-and-twenty years, and I think that senie of the letters are inot like hiis, and tht they are not so clearly formed ; I cannot say that I believe itnot to be his hand-writinv..(Atiother paper was here put in.&o the witness's hand.)Thisisrmore likehissignature. Indeed, Ibelieve it to be his. I think so, because the hgnd.writr lag ig mare clearly formed in this paper than in the one I have just inspected." The two receiptsgiven by the plaintiff to Mfr. Pinker in the months of October and Dermber, 1821, were then put in and read. The placard was handed up to the Lord Chief Justice previously to its being read. The LonD CHXIEF JUSTICE immediately ordered the first wit- ness to be recalled, and asked hinm this question-" In whose hand- wri:ing nre the words in- the placard, ' at DIhr. Hatton's, Bristol,' written ?" Witness.-I do not krow. I cannot say. Mr. Sergeant VAUGHrAX now said, that he would submit to a nonsuit, as he thought he could make out a better case on an- otber day. The plaintiffl was accordingly called, and a nonsuit entered. COURT OF COMIMiON PLEAS, GUrLDIALL. JULY 19. lT.fAP -7 -v--rf