- Recent Legal Decisions. PATENT — REISSUE — COVERING SUBEQUENT IMPROVEMENTS. —A pat- ent for a “gang plow’ was reissued to the inventor, and in application for the reissue there was included certain im- provements made after the original patent was issued. In a bill in equity to enjoin the infringement of the re- issued patent-—-Newton vs, Furst and Bradley Manufacturing Company-filed in the United States Circuit Court, Northern District of Tllinofs, the de- fense was made that the reissued patent was void, as it was for a different in- vention from that described in the or- iginal patent. the claim of the patent having been unwarrantably expanded. Judge Blodgett, “Clearly, if the elaim of in sustaining the de- fense, said : the original patent did not cover i device used Ly the defendant, and if a reissue was necessary to expand or ex- plain the patent, in ordér to cover the then such reissue is of ted States.” defendants, under the recent decisions the Su- preme Court of the Uni NEGLIGENCE An f ARRIER LARY action was DAMAGES, against the proprietors of the stage to recover damages for the injuries he suffered by the upsetting of the stage, which resulted from imperfect and in- sifficient brakes. At the station, where called the attention of the ag brakes, il: 1.1 x] aol id Wiing HOCK O11 200i sie. 11 nauing a them by I n crossing a range of mountains one of he bloeks came off The driver had extra block tl [ie with him, 1 Stage y do what he and he 1 1 brakes. ihe stage when was upset laim was made th th The nat DOrses INOoving it the upset was account, driver was careful I had Li REACE AML BRAS when went Wall verdict for exemplary damages, coach the case ameron vs, a the defendants appealed to Court of Colorado, which The Chief “The laid down correctivthe rule d the f A L Lit judgment. in the opinion said ; » Cou forexen charge, fendant in ssid JILIN amages a & Hal v ' y we lal v (3 s forto is broader than in an + on contract ; they must fin for all damages which a prudent answer not would expeet to result from hi 8 but also all that a prudent man anticipate as a Ix ISSiDie i thereof, and this is the narrowest limit that justify exemplary damages the act must t v can be fixed to his liability, be wilful or the negligence must amount a reckless disregard of the safety O11 OF property. sufficient fo 11 claim of gross negligence, a evidence 1st i he mstruned by the Courts © t on the other the brakes This case 1+ ages only 8 be reversed.’ LIFE INSURANCE— TRANSFER CHILDREN BY INsoLvENT DEBTOR CrepiToRs, —C insured his life for the benefit of himself, utors, adn his exe istrators and assigns, He assigned policy to his danghters when he was in- After his death daughters collected the solvent. the guardian of ar his claim il paid over the share of one of the A tor, after having exhausted all remedies of £7, daughters who had married. credi- against the property found his Th - of t $ is debt still not fully paid, and brou suit to set aside the assignment 16 plication of the insurance money to the payment of his debt. 1 Burton vs. Fairnholt Court of North Carolina favor of the creditor. Judge Ruffin, the apinion, said : ** The life-policy was a part of the property of the estate of C. As soon as it was delivered it vested in him, and, like any other claim or de- mand, it became a part of his estate and subjeet to every rule of property known to the law. Ashe was insolvent at the time he transferred the policy to his daughters as a provision for them, no payment for this transfer having been made by them, the transfer was fraud- ulent as to his éreditors and void in law, whether made with an intent actually fraudulent or not, The principle of law, which is as old as the law itself, is that the whole of a man’s property shall be applied to the payment of his debts, In more recent days some exemption has been granted for his relief and that of his family, and that is the only limita tion upon his creditors.” VOLUNTARY PAYMENT OF TAXES ProTEST + RioHT T0 RECOVER, ~ Taxes on certain lots of land levied for city purposes had not been paid, and as 10 goods could be found judgment was recovered against the owner, so that a . lien'could be placed upon the land itself. The city threatened to levy on the land, n this ease the Supreme decided in in test, and when it was discovered subse- quently that the taxes had been dis charged in another way suit was brought against the city to recover, the plaintiff relying on the protest. In this case- Union Insurance Company vs. City of Allegheny—the plaintiff was defeated, and it carried the cause to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which affirmed the judgment, though the judges were nearly divided in opinion. Judge Mer- cur, in the opinion, said: * When a party prys an illegal demand with a full such demand illegal, without immediate or urgent necessity therefor, or unless to release his person or property from de- to prevent an immediate seizure of his person or property, such tention, or & payment must be deemed to be volun- tary, and the amount paid cannot be re- And the fact that at the time of making the a written covered. the party payment files protest does not make the payment involuntary.” . ACTION FOR DERT—SETTING FAABILITY ON ATTACHMEN1 OFF Box. I was sued on a book account, and he t off the had it right to se against (OSES WwW Lich debt the damoeges? td to him wm attachment Ha brought against him by the sie p for the same cause of action. defendant earried the the Plunkett Court of Pennsylvania, which reversed and Cis v8, Sauner—to the Supreme judgment. Judge Green, in opinion, said : the plaintiff was obliged to give I g g a bond conditioned for t and the taxes were paid, but under pro- % which the reason of the failed to gm The rig a costs and damages un ocecnte the contract ane 1 3 \ Subseque * execution » defer ¥¥y ii pyvaudate same protection should be the officer where the facts rendering d bx to sly known means of his of t fim by Own : 3 : iy 5¢ $ 4 servation Her OOCUrTeLNIeE 11 1s not. niportant to inquire, ”’ ror In Sri ries Patp ("11 : De and FTES Importers received their new liquidation was made | hey were required to pay in- | i creased duties, and they The for the daties unpaid and the importers protested appealed. set up the defense that these additional duties were illegal. They also sued to recover exeeéssive duties paid by them, aud the Government argued that asthey the TOCOV- had paid {1 ery excessive duties no 3 could be had, the payment being I nited States in the United States District of Massachn- Judge Lowell decided in favor of voluntary. Iu these cases ve, Schlesinger, Chrenit Court, sets the importers. In the opinion, he said ; “1. Payment of duties, when made to obtain elearances md papers which are refused to the importers, that the goods may be taken out, is not a volun- tary payment, and if the dates are ex- cessive or illegal, and due protest and appeal have been made, an action can be brought to recover the overpayment or the money illegally exacted. When, after the delivery of the goods, the Government sues for the duties, the fmporters may defend and show that they are illegal, 3. When duties which are illegal or excessive, are paid without any compulsion on the part of the revenne officers, the payment is voluntary, and no recovery can be had of the amount paid.” 50 9 pn Smoke will soon be at a premium. From 2,800,000 cubic feet of smoke given out by say 1000 cords of wood, it is said 12,000 pounds of acetate of lime, 200 gallons of alcohol and 25 pounds of Home Gossip. Very elegant little tables are now covered in deep crimson plush, and the bordering, instead of being equal all round, i8 in panels, some long, some oval and others short and square, Upon the surface of the table a design in flowers is worked in fine ribbons, while leaves and tendrils are in arasene, Each panel is finished off with tassels of dit- ferent color, to match the design, and they depend from brass ornaments in the shape of a crescent, These brass crescents are very much in favor for ornamenting lambrequins, bracket hangings, and the many deco- rative objects to which needle-work is devoted. They make a very pretty fin- ish to fringes, ete, The latest style for bureau covers and the of colored designs either in the borderings tidies in introduction COnsists or centres, These colored designs are either oval or square, and are surround- ed by a pattern to be worked in silks, flloselles, or erewels to match them in x yl is. Ome of the handsomest fire places in tar may be obtained, t fashion to-day 18 intended for the use of The backgr und is of wrought i n of arms, the material the relief. representation of an elaborate coal andirons are of the y . Sos 4 in floral design, the fac- lass richl Of HES richly stove is of enan- which are fran in fur- + hearth w i AOCOm- iegant lre- Nose fender i and branchesof the genuine specimens, which come Very wi nderful re pre- sentations of the lifesof the fishing ns. fishwives In one a groupe of the news wy from Le Pat Journal, Handsome hall chai lumi- 1 ang rs are in il are framed inl The back avi carved mahogany. intest fash- iy atl narrow of fon has the tall upright seat which chamcteristic e Was ar} ghteenth century. ©} Seq shells are mounted on terra-cotta plaques, Figures carved in terracotta peer ever the edge of the shells and ap- pear as if perfectly at home in their eu- rious tenement. A pair at 26500, are exactly copied from a pair ordered for Queen Victoria's birthday. They are mounted upon a pedestal of of Mexicen onyx, decorated in French The vases are surmounted by of flowers in bronze, of rare workmanship, and have handles of the same rich material, Upon a ground work of old blue enamel the design rep- regents upon the one Venus rising from the sea and upon the other the fable of Europa. of Sevres valued VASES, bronze, a crown The rage for tambourines may be sup- posed to be dying out, but unfortunately this absurd fashion is likely to be closely followed by a still more ridiculous adap- tation of guitars and violins to purposes of decoration, Little wall-brackets are entirely cov- ered with plush and decorated with brass nails and the crescent ornaments to which allusion has been made, When a teacher asked what people livé the longest, a little boy at the foot of the’class promptly spoke up: *‘ Bor- num's giants," y Three Minutes to 12. . On a cold December night twenty years ago, when the earth was bound in a black bitter sOmne frost and the three or four miles out of town. The sky was s0 black, the country lanes were so dark, that 1 truly thankful when the scattered lights of an outlying superb began to twinkle in the distance, and it was with a sigh of relief that | stepped under the first lamp-post 1 came to and looked at my watch, was It was no easy task, for the lamp glass had a pane broken, the in extin- and the strong wind blew gi guished it, I read the time at last— three minutes to 12 the ’ face, I started to see a man standing 18 all directions and almost and, looking up from watch te { lose Oppost Of other I had heard nothing We oment, vet it nie, his approach, looked at but am was suflicient int his features A tall, DIACH $13.1 to hm indelibly on my Hemory shabby nan. 4 threadbare, frock face li £ Yes coal and seedy. tall ha 118 111 € ne gE nage fy 1 y rien Lhe ag whole of the day, and when if it at night I wondenrsd would again It did 4 Visit Ine, me Again © precisely the same dream, in the more I faund a convinting ex- DouMless had been think- ing too much precisely SANE Manner, nee planation about the first dream, and this had given rise to the second. But} my explanation did not convince me in the least. Again I was haunted by the thing throughout the dav, and when | came home at night my preoccupation was 80 evident that it attracted the at. tention of my wife. She questioned me upen the cause, and. only too thankful to unbosom myself of what was now almodt a trouble, 1 told her about the dream and its repetition. She had the tact Iaugh at me, but was evi- dently little impressed by the narrative, not to The third night it came again, if any- thing more vivid and startling than bes fore, This time I was utterly un- hinged : the pale face that fronted ne in the looking-glass was hardly recog- nizable for my own. [I went down to breakfast, filled with a foreboding of some misfortune-—bad news in my let- ters—1I knew not what, The maid entered with the letter-bag. “There,” said my wife, passing me a letter on which was the 1,—— postmark, “that breaks your dream, John.” I opened it hurriedly, It was from the agent, requesting me to meet him at Le that day at 1 o'clock to arrange a difficulty that had arisen in the perform- ance of his contract. I was intensely relieved. Tere was an opportunity togoto Land perhaps the very fact of going would put me right. There were two fast trains to I~ in the morning, but I decided to go by the first, regardless of the fact that I should have some hours to wait. Sel found myself speeding away toward my destination, The train was full, thelr fragrance. turned, and Pipes exalted there was that leisurely alls among men going off by an early train to their day’s work. 1 soon dis- a peculiarly interesting case, which wa to be finished to-day at the I. assizes, “He must sum up against the pris. oners,’’ florid face and long sandy whiskers, who “The complete failure, and deserved to be,’ plaid trousers, defense was a “It was certainly rather returned audacious,’ a clean-shaven young with ‘But I don’t like « stantial evidence, posite me, fag of this man is as clearly if there | to stand bv “All evidence is more oi stantial,” red hie ANsWie the compiexion ; ’ FE EE A dozen ana s him do the Heyw my ood, wired! behin and afte: dmiinares Lhe suming commence 3 i Listened the more bec ntsrst is ALACRA Y i could see nothing Fhe cls = i 4 we i x HE Sentences cu aeep EN How distinet ing it facts, the was all! How all those minute sides # ; ris mute testimony of uke, powerful footmarks and the by Lhe arranged and distributed that intellect, grouped anselves into the damning pro gui. I cared nothing for the prisoner, had ‘ in the trial, but my mind was wonderfully fascinated bv his At length the and murmur no personal imterest 1a tale of horror, a relie wei of and expectation ran round the assembly, the with high bonnet shifted her seat, and 1 tained a full of the prisoner, | started involuntarily. Where had seen that face before ? hty tones ceased, a i Atl this moment woman Obs view The jury returned after sence ; the verdict panied . with a recommendation merey, Again the Judge's solemn tones sounded through the court ; again they ceased, There was dead silence. I sprang to my feet as if impelled to do so by some unseen power, and looked steadily at the prisoner, His face was averted from me for the moment, but the looks of the people showed me that he was about to speak. Slowly he turned around, and, in a voice whose deep, earn- est tones could be heard all over the a short ab- “There lives but one man who can prove me innocent — and there he stands,” With white face and outstretched arms he pointed-—-at me. I gazed at him with a sudden flash of recognition. It was the (aan 1 had seen under the lamp, And, by a strange coincidence, at this moment the Court clook struck twelve. The plea that had been got up by the space of some two hours that could not | be. accounted for, and the theory of the | prosecution was that the crime had been committed during that time, My evi- | dence supplied the missing link, for the place in which I had seen the man was { 80 far distant from the scene of the | murder that it was impossible for him | to have been anywhere near at the time {of its commission. | And the dream ? Only a coincidence, | you will say, perhaps, or a fit of indiges- | tion, or my timber contract. Neverthe- less, as I have told it to you, so it hap- { pened. Explain it away who can. The Fatal Number Thirteen. English papers tell an amusing « story of a well-known banker of Liege, Bel- ium, A short time ago he gave a lit- | tle dinner party to which ten guests had besides himsell 1 if sel unteered HINZE Canyons, the Desutlies ated It was two differen 1 the same bawdy Hi Indian nam ‘Yellow Bird — John BR. Ridge was { Major R Nation Was’ Jue age, { hief of i. Who was murdered in hi of the rival Ross paris mi and John Rass in consequence became John t was concealed i father stabbed and ot to death and When he became a man sl SWOTe vengeance of the murderers, he armed himself and went on a still d follo the trail until he had slain th hunt on the war-path a ny- them. At length the Inysterious of one of their number. of the author of their in 1849 aronsed bon 5 { ¥: “ » 5 4 x the vengeance Ross men, whe. ig the calami- ties, pursued Ridge several but well mounted and in company with the cele. hundred the plains, being some time in 1850 Mr, Ridge was adi- tor of the Marvsville Democrat, and one night received a dispatch from Weaver. a party of Cherokes ndians from Cherokee Bar were on a in town. and stating that one of them was defence was an alibi, But there was a death of old Major Ridge and had stab. bed him five times. That same hour the avenger wason his trail. Without men tioning his purpose to any one in the printing office, Ridge hired a horse at the livery stable and started for Weaverville, over two hundred miles, but somehow the enemy got telegraphic intelligence of his coming, and on his artival not a Cherokee could be found on Trinity river. Mr. Ridge died a few years ago in Grass Valley, universally lamented and leaving in the world the most glorious poem ever written in Cali. fornia-that on ** Mount Shasta." AMI AA SN, The last session of Congress author ized the issue of “postal notes in sums less than $5.00, They will be payable to bearer, cost of issue thre cents, No advice is necessary at the paying office. They will be of great advantage for small reshittances. SABA What sort of fish does the hen like ¥ Aus. ~The perch,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers