Page images
PDF
EPUB

--

and was then and there questioned by one of the said Masters, to wit, by the said defendant Benjamin Bridges. Hunter Rodwell,-of and concerning the last-mentioned matters, and divers of the questions of and concerning the last-mentioned matters, which had been and were then and there put to the plaintiff as and being such witness as aforesaid by the said defendant Benjamin Bridges Hunter Rodwell, were founded upon certain papers [of the said Masters (a)] which were then and there produced by the said Masters for the purposes of the said inquiry, and which were then and there in the possession and custody of the said Masters (b), to wit, copies of certain letters which the plaintiff then and there admitted to have been written by him and other persons connected with the said Waller Gold Mining Company, and from which papers the conduct of the said William Digby Seymour and of the plaintiff and the credibility of the plaintiff as such witness as aforesaid respectively with reference to the last-mentioned matters might and would have been made more manifest; and because the said inquiry and the said examination of the plaintiff as such witness as aforesaid could not be then and there completed and terminated at the last-mentioned parliament, council or meeting so held as aforesaid, the said parliament, council or meeting was then and there duly adjourned by the said Masters to a certain other day, and was on the last-mentioned day and before the committing of any of the alleged trespasses herein pleaded to by such adjournment as aforesaid duly continued and again held in the said Parliament Chamber, and was so held by and before the said defendants, &c., as and being such Masters as aforesaid, and others members of the said Society, Masters of the said Bench, for the purpose of continuing the said inquiry; and the said inquiry

(a) That is, papers of which they were then lawfully possessed down to and at the time of the assault.

(b) Vide supra. The validity of the plea appears to depend upon this allegation.

1862.

HUDSON

บ.

SLADE

and Others.

1862.

HUDSON
SLADE

was then and there continued accordingly, and the plaintiff then and there again voluntarily appeared before and at the said parliament, council or meeting as such witness as and Others. aforesaid, and again submitted himself to be examined and questioned touching and concerning the said matters as aforesaid; and the said papers were then and there again produced by the said Masters for the purposes of the said inquiry, and were then and there in the possession and custody of the said Masters; and the defendants say, that thereupon the plaintiff immediately before the committing of any of the alleged trespasses herein pleaded to, and whilst he was so appearing and being questioned as such witness as aforesaid in the said Parliament Chamber, did [fraudulently and by false pretences, and in order to screen himself from the more ample disclosure of his said conduct (a),] and to prevent the said Masters of the said Bench from judging of his credibility as such witness as aforesaid, and from proceeding with the said inquiry in so ample a manner as they otherwise might and could have done, obtain possession of the said papers from the hands of one of the said Masters, and then and there wrongfully and forcibly kept possession thereof, and secreted the same upon his person, and converted the same to his own use; and although he was then and there and before the committing of any of the alleged trespasses herein pleaded to requested by the said Masters to deliver up to them the said papers, he then and there, and before the committing of any of the alleged trespasses herein pleaded to, wholly refused so to do, and wrongfully and forcibly withheld the same so secreted and converted as aforesaid against the will of the said Masters; and thereupon, by reason of the premises and because the said Masters then had immediate and urgent need then and there to obtain possession of and use of the said papers for the purpose of prosecuting the said inquiry as

(a) This part was by consent struck out by the Lord Chief Justice at the trial as mere surplusage; vide post.

the plaintiff then well knew, the said defendants first
named, as and being such Masters of the said Bench as
aforesaid, then and there, and during the said holding of
the said parliament, council or meeting, and in fresh pur-
suit of the said papers (a), and in order to obtain (b) posses-
sion thereof, commanded and required the said other de-
fendants (Dakyns and Bye), as and being such officers
and servants of the said Masters as aforesaid, to take the
said papers from and out of the possession of the plain-
tiff (c); and thereupon the said defendant Bye, with the
aid of the said defendant Dakyns, as and being such
officers and servants as aforesaid, and in pursuance of the
said commands of the said Masters, and in order to obtain
possession of the said papers for the said Masters, then and
there gently laid their hands on the plaintiff for the pur-
pose of taking from him the said papers, using no more
force than was necessary in that behalf; and because the
plaintiff then and there violently resisted and assaulted the
said defendant Bye and struck and kicked him and pulled
him about; the said defendant Bye then and there, and in
the presence of the said other defendants, and with their
assent, necessarily and unavoidably a little assaulted and
beat the plaintiff and laid him down on certain chairs and
upon the floor there, and a little pulled about, tore and
damaged the wearing apparel and the effects of the plain-
tiff in the declaration mentioned, using no more force than
was necessary in order to endeavour to obtain the said
papers from the plaintiff as aforesaid, and to defend himself
from the said attacks, assaults and violence of the plaintiff,
which are the alleged trespasses herein pleaded to.
3. As to so much of the declaration as the second plea

(a) That is, before the plaintiff had acquired a lawful possession, which a person does not do by a mere act of trespass; Brown v. Dawson, 12 A. & E. 628.

(b) That is, to re-obtain, or rather

to retain possession; vide post, 410.

(c) Which, according to Chambers v. Meller, ante, 205, they would have a right to do, having from the first resisted the plaintiff's attempt to possess himself of the

1862.

HUDSON

V.

SLADE and Others.

1862.

HUDSON

V.

SLADE

and Others.

is not pleaded to (a), the defendants say, that before and at the time of the committing of the alleged trespasses herein pleaded to, the defendants first named were respectively such Members and Masters of the Bench of the said Society of the Middle Temple, as in the second plea mentioned, and the said defendant Dakyns was then the undertreasurer and an officer of the said Society and the servant of the Master of the said Bench, and the said defendant Bye was then the head porter and an officer of the said Society and the servant of the Masters of the said Bench; and, amongst others, the said defendants first mentioned. were then, as such Masters, holding a parliament, council or meeting of the Masters of the Bench of the said Society in the said Parliament Chamber of and belonging to the said Society, according to the usage and practice of the said Society; and thereupon the plaintiff, then being in the said Parliament Chamber, immediately before the committing of any of the alleged trespasses herein pleaded to, violently assaulted the said defendant Richard Bye (b), and struck and kicked him and pulled him about, and made an affray in breach of the peace of our lady the

book; whether or not, the law laid
down in Blades v. Higgs, 30 L. J.,
C. P. 347, that a mere constructive
possession (that is, a possession re-
vested in law by a request to rede-
liver a chattel wrongfully taken pos-
session of,) is sufficient to justify a
forcible retaking; as to which, quære.
Here, however, that question did
not arise; for the plea carefully
shows that the defendants never
acquiesced in or allowed the plain-
tiff to get lawful possession of the
book, but protested against and re-
sisted his attempt. So that if they
had lawful possession previously, he
had no possession at the time of
the assault. The case would of

course be clearer, as to the law, if the treasurer had grasped his arm as he put it into his pocket; but that was a mere surprise, and so soon as the defendants saw the act done they protested and resisted.

(a) That is, the alleged imprison

ment.

(b) That is, unlawfully assaulted him, which would depend upon whether he could plead son assault demesne to an action by Bye; and that would of course depend upon whether Bye could justify his own previous assault; and that involves the question raised in the first plea; vide ante, p. 395 (c), and post, 400.

Queen in the said Parliament Chamber, in the presence of the defendants respectively; and because the plaintiff then and there made a great noise and disturbance, and continued to make a great affray in breach of the peace as aforesaid, the defendants, as and being such Masters of the said Bench and such officers and servants respectively as aforesaid, did, by reason of the premises and in order to prevent the continuance of the said affray and breach of the peace, then procure the attendance in the said Parliament Chamber of two police officers (a), having then and there due and lawful authority to act in that behalf; and because the plaintiff then used menacing language, and continued to make a great noise, disturbance and affray in the said Parliament Chamber in breach of the peace as aforesaid (b), the said defendants, as and being such Masters of the said Bench and such officers and servants respectively as aforesaid, did, in order to prevent a continuance of the said affray and breach of the peace, request the said police officers to take the plaintiff into their custody to be dealt with according to law in respect of the premises; and the said police officers, having then and there due and lawful authority to act in that behalf, then and there accordingly took the plaintiff into their custody and conveyed him to the nearest police station-house, and had him in their custody there for the purpose last aforesaid, which are the several trespasses herein pleaded to. Issue.

New assignment: that the plaintiff sues the defendants,

(a) That a person committing an affray may be given into custody to prevent its continuance; Timothy v. Simpson, 1 C. M. & R. 757; Price v. Seeley, 10 Cl. & Fin. 28. But then the only "affray" was caused here by the assault on the plaintiff, and the question would be whether that was justified.

(b) This, of course, would be proved, assuming the first plea sustained, as showing that he wrongfully seized the book, and that they lawfully resisted his seizure of it. The validity of this plea, therefore, would depend on the former, and involve the same question; vide ante, p. 395 (c), and post, 400.

1862.

HUDSON

v.

SLADE

and Others.

« PreviousContinue »