294 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



be no difficulty in plain sailing 

 and common honesty, Avhile all is 

 entanglement and delusion when 

 we get out of the straight road. 



Mr. Scarlett. — I wish it to be 

 understood that it is no part of 

 my case to contend that 'this pic- 

 ture is not a Claude. 



The Attorney-General. — And a 

 very fine Claude ; if that be not 

 allowed, I must proceed to call 

 my witnesses to show that it is ; 

 for the admission that it is merely 

 a Claude is not satisfactory. 



Mr. Scarlett. — I will not say 

 that it is not a fine Claude, but 

 the value of the picture is no part 

 of my case. 



Lord Ellen borough. — I will 

 take it, Mr. Attorney-general, that 

 your proof would go to the ex- 

 tent of showing that it is a ge- 

 nuine picture, as far as that point 

 can be ascertained : with regard 

 to some pictures, it now and then 

 happens that they can be traced 

 from hand to hand, througli va- 

 rious families, to the original 

 painter : in cases, however, where 

 this cannot be done, the party 

 asserting the authenticity is only 

 bound to make o\it such a simili- 

 tude as leads competent judges 

 upon the subject to state that it is 

 genuine. 



The Attorney-geneial then pro- 

 ceeded to re-examine his witness, 

 Mr. Butt, who said that the con- 

 versation last alluded to took 

 place at the counting-house of the 

 defendant : this was after the 

 price had been agreed upon, and 

 the defendant had had the pic- 

 ture sent home. A Mr. \V''rigi»t 

 had given the defendant a suspi- 

 cion that it was not an original 

 Claude, and that it was bought at 

 Mr. Hope's sale at a low price : 



the witness inquired, and found 

 the last fact to be so : at another 

 conversation the defendant said 

 positively that the authenticity of 

 the picture had been impeached, 

 and that he would not take it, as 

 it was not a Claude. This was 

 his only reason for refusing to 

 complete the purchase ; and the 

 witness then used the expression, 

 that if it were no Claude he would 

 never rest till the defendant was 

 relieved from his bargain. This 

 was a week after Mr. Gray had 

 promised payment of a part of 

 the purchase-money on an early 

 day, and a further day had been 

 named for the rest : no payment, 

 however, had yet been made. 



Lord EUenborough. — I really 

 thought, and think, that the 

 cause had before arrived at its 

 termination. It appears that the 

 defendant entered into a contract 

 under a deception, from which 

 the agent, the witness, did not 

 relieve him, though he was aware 

 of it, and had it in his power : 

 that delusion might be a material 

 circumstance in governing his de- 

 termination as to the price of the 

 picture ; and not being removed, 

 it is in law a void contract. 



The Attorney General. — That 

 being your Lordship's opinion in 

 point of law, the moment it is 

 intimated I am satisfied. 



The plaintiff was non-suited. 



LIBEL ANX) DEFAMATION. 



Court of Common Pleas. — Wyatt 

 v. Gore. — This was an action 

 brought by Charles Perkin Wyatt, 

 Esq. against Lieutenant-General 

 Gore, governor of the province 

 of Upper Canada, for the pub- 

 lication of a fdse and malicious 



libel. 



