APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 261 



The plaintiffs were the execu- 

 tors of a Mr. Noakes deceased, 

 and the defendant was a shop- 

 keeper residing at Deal. This 

 was an action of trover, to re- 

 cover certain property from the 

 defendant, under the following 

 peculiar circumstances : — About 

 the month of June or July last 

 a sale took place of the property 

 of the plaintiff's, at which the 

 defendant attended for the pur- 

 pose of purchasing part of the 

 property. A chest of antique 

 walnut-tree drawers was put up 

 by the auctioneer, and bought by 

 the defendant for the sum of 4^. 

 3d. In the evening of the same 

 day the goods were removed, 

 and among them were these old 

 drawers ; while the person em- 

 ployed by the defendant to 

 remove his purchases from the 

 premises was taking the drawers 

 to defendant's house a secret 

 drawer fell out, containing a bag 

 full of guineas. The defendant 

 was present at the time, and upon 

 seeing the circumstance, he asked 

 the porter what he should do. 

 The porter advised the defendant 

 to say nothing about it, but re- 

 quired five guineas as hush-money. 

 This the defendant, however, 

 positively refused, and observed, 

 that he had rather go to law about 

 it than give the hush-money. The 

 man, upon being refused his 

 request, immediately made a 

 disclosure, and the present action 

 was the consequence. 



It was proved by the auctioneer, 

 who was called on the part of the 

 executors, that the drawers were 

 sold, and that the defendant had 

 confessed the guineas were there. 

 It was also proved by a person at 

 ivhosc house the guineas were 



counted by the defendant, that 

 the number of guineas amounted 

 to between 100 and 130 in the 

 whole. 



Mr. Adolphus, as counsel on 

 the part of the defendant, called 

 no witnesses, but endeavoured to 

 show that the plaintiff could not 

 succeed in the action, as it could 

 not be proved that these guineas 

 were actually his property ; on 

 the contrary, he contended that 

 the jury must consider the pro- 

 perty not to have belonged to 

 the deceased, but to his ancestors, 

 or to some one unknown. The 

 guineas might have been placed 

 there by some one wholly uncon- 

 nected with the deceased. 



Mr. Baron Graham, however, 

 held that the property being 

 found in his house, was sufficient 

 to prove that it was the property 

 of the deceased. 



A verdict was immediately 

 found for the plaintiff, damages — 

 One hundred and ten guineas. 



SUSSEX ASSIZES, HORSHAM, 

 MARCH 19. 



Charge of Bigamy. — This 

 morning the court was exces- 

 sively crowded with ladies and 

 gentlemen, to hear this interest- 

 ing trial. Before eight o'clock, 

 Maria Walton, alias Maria Wil- 

 kins, was put in the prisoner's 

 box : she was dressed in white, 

 with a light coloured pelisse, and 

 wore a round black hat with 

 feathers, and a black veil. Her 

 countenance was exceedingly 

 prepossessing, notwithstanding 

 the natural anxiety of her feel- 

 ings upon the situation in which 

 she was placed. A few minutes 

 after eight, Mr. Baron Graham 



entered 



