At Durham Assizes, on Wednesday, James Williams and Gee lt t
Binns, booksellers at Bishop Wearmouth, who hind taken an active tut with the Sunderland Chartists, were found guilty of using sedinns language at it Chartist meeting in July 1839. On Thursday, 'Want t. Byrne was convicted of a similar offence. Sentence in both cm deferred.
At Cambridge Assizes, an action for libel was brought against hit
Pryme, ALP. for Cambridge, and two others, as registered proprietor, of the Cambridge Independent Press, for a libel on Mr. Fisher, Se Chairman of Sir Alexander Grant's Committee at the last election, The plaintiff had been examined as a witness on the Cambridge eke. tion petition, and in the imputed libel the word " perjurer" waist,. posed to apply to him. At the trial, the counsel for the defeatists stated that the words did not apply to the plaintiff; and after thises planation, a juror was withdrawts and the action terminated.
An action of trespass, against Mr. Htunphreys, a Magistrate of the
town of Cambridge, who had issued a warrant of distress for payseN of a church-rate, under which a saddle of the plaintiff's was taken in distress, was tried on Tuesday. In consequence of an informality in the warrant, the Judge directed a verdict for the plaintiff for 2/. 3s IDS, the sum he was obliged to pay to obtain restitution of the saddle.
At Maidstone Assizes, on Thursday, a young man named John Mils was indicted for forging an acceptance to a bill of exchange for 40t, defraud the executors of the father of the prisoner. This case ha caused a great deal of interest in the county, front the peculiar circus stances connected with it. A person named Snode, an opulent farmer, was implicated ; and he was held in recognizances by the Magistrates to the amount of 1,000/. to appear and take his trial, which was to hut conic on at the Spring Assizes ; but upon an application made by his counsel, it was postponed until the present Assizes. Snode was called spot his recognizances to appear and take his trial ; but lie did not appeasand the recognizances were consequently declared to be forfeited. Accord. ing to the counsel's statement, the father of the prisoner died in August 138; and the latter subsequently made a claim upon his estate lot wheat, and other things alleged by him to have been sold to his Wet On the 30th of January, Snode brought the bill in question, which pus ported to be drawn by the prisoner upon his father, to the office of Selby, a solicitor at Mailing, who had managed the affairs of the estate, . and made some application to him respecting it ; when, in consequence of something that appeared upon the face of the document, a suspicion • was entertained that it was not genuine, and the bill was detained. Subsequently inquiries were made which led to the present charge against the prisoner. The case was stopped by the Judge, as he did not think the evidence sufficient to warrant the Jury in finding the pd. soner guilty of so serious a charge.
An action for libel was tried at Maidstone Assizes, on Saturday ; the
circumstances of which are curious, both in themselves, and because the defendant, Mn Oxendon, is connected with some families of high rank. The plaintiff, Dr. Ladle°, is a physician at Canterbury. Among the families whom he visited in the exercise of his profession, was that of Mr. Hallett, a gentleman of fortune and influence in the county. Mrs. Hallett had for sonic time received anonymous letters of the " most base description ;" and Mr. Oxendon, Mrs. Hallett's cousin, in a siugular letter to Mrs. Hallett, charged Dr. Lochee (with whom be - had been on friendly terms, having recommended him to Mr. Hallett's family,) with having written the anonymous letters, for the purpose of extorting more fees " Money, money, money," says Mr. Oxendon's letter, " is the burden of his slanderous song." A private inquiry,at which Dr. Lochee was not present, was conducted by Sir Edward Knatchbull, who is a cousin to the defendant, and brother to Mrs. Hallett, and Mr. Hammond, a friend of the finally ; butt no decision was come to; of which Dr. Lochee complained, as tantamount to a verdiat of guilty, Since the inquiry, more anonymous letters have been re- ceived by Mrs. Hallett. The defence was, that the letter which con- tained the libel, considering the connexion between the writer and Mrs. Hallett, was a privileged communication. Counsel for the defence also dwelt on the absence of motive for making a false charge ; and said that it was impossible that a plea of justification could have been put in ; since parties who had assisted at the private inquiry were dead. According to the instruction of the Judge, Lord Abinger, the Jury re- turned a verdict for the defendant, on the ground that the letter was s privileged communieation. Lord Abinger thought that the charge of malice was rebutted by the facts of the ease, and that Mr. Oxendon had acted with caution and bond fide. Dr. Lochee's attorney has written a letter to the papers, stating that the Doctor is still received on friendly terms by Mrs. Hallett and her family.
At Exeter Assizes, a verdict with 150/. damages was given against farmer named Prettejohn, for the seduction of a farmer's daughter, seventeen years of age. The sympathies of the audience were agaup1 the seducer's criminatory defence, and the verdict was received WA loud cheers.
Mr. William Foster Geach was again taken before the Magistrates at Newport, on Monday, for reiixamination on the charge of forgery. The examination occupied several hours : the only points of interest were the replies of Mr. Williams, to the effect that the alleged forged bills had been considered to be covered by another acceptance by Messrs. Williams and Malder, but, upon its being discovered that these acceptances were worth nothing, the solicitor had been instructed to commence proceedings against the original drawer of the forged bills, (Messrs. Herbert,) and hence the forgery was detected ; but that he was not aware of the fact till informed by one of his sons by letter in Wor- cestershire. each was committed for trial, bail having been refused.
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