Delaware Gazette And Peninsula Advertiser

Reported for the Village Record.

Commonwealth vs. Withers.

This cause was tried at the Court of Quarter Sessions lately held in Chester County, before the hon. John Ross, President and his associates. Darlington, Hemphill, T. Ross, for prosecution. J. Edwards and Duer, for defendant.

There were two bills of indictment; one for a conspiracy to cheat, and cheating Wm. Thomas—the other charging defendant with the same offence in relation to Benjamin Hickman.

The death of Joseph Withers, one of the parties to the conspiracy, was suggested, and the trial of Augustus Withers, the surviving defendant, proceeded, upon both bills of indictment at the same time, after exception by his counsel, overruled by the court and the exception noted.

Defendant claimed his right to double challenges, and was allowed to exercise it to the fullest extent.

The principal facts which appeared in evidence to support the prosecution were, that Augustus Withers and Joseph Withers had visited most of the millers in this vicinity, and endeavored to extort from them, under a patent right, obtained by one Michael Withers, from whom they held a power of attorney, for the wing gudgeon. They, in all instances, asserted that the common wing gudgeons, used by the millers, and which have been in use about thirty years, were included in their patent, and, by various false and fraudulent pretences and artful representations, were frequently successful in obtaining money. Sometimes they said, that the patentee was their father; sometimes an aged uncle, although, in fact, he is the brother. They alleged that a specification of the invention or discovery, with a model, had been deposited in the patent office a long time ago, although, in fact, no such specification or model was deposited until the time the patent was taken out, to wit, in 1813.—They produced a long list of persons from whom they said they had collected the money. They pretended to have prosecuted one man and recovered treble damages;—but it did not appear at the trial that any one suit had ever been brought under their patent.

In the case of Wm. Thomas, one of them personated an officer of justice, and claimed the power of enforcing immediate payment, and threatened to seize his goods unless the claim were satisfied.

It also appeared that Caleb Kirk, one of the individuals from whom they had extorted money, and whose name they had made great use of to impose upon others, had heretofore obtained a rule upon Michael Withers, from the district court of Maryland, to shew cause why his patent should not be vacated—that upon the hearing under that rule, all claim to the common wing gudgeon, had been expressly abandoned—that he confined his claim to a pretended improvement consisting, as he alleged, and exemplified by model in a bevel upon only one side of the wings nearest the neck of the gudgeon.

The common wing gudgeon is slightly bevelled on both sides. Models of both kinds were produced to the court. No person could be found who had ever seen a wing gudgeon in use corresponding to the model produced. The patentee, at the district court, upon the above hearing, as comprising his improvement, and the general opinion was that it would be USELESS.

The counsel for the defendant, after calling one or two witnesses, rested his case upon the grounds, that the facts proved did not amount to a conspiracy in law, and that there has been no cheating with false tokens sufficiently laid in the indictment or proved upon the trial.

The Defendant was found GUILTY upon both indictments, and sentenced to pay a fine of fifty dollars and to 3 months imprisonment under each.

It is hoped that this case will prove a warning to all rogues, and particularly to surreptitious patentees. It has been reported at large in order to advise the millers fully of their rights: and to put them on their guard against other attempts at imposition.