The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-12-04 00:00:00

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ASSIZES

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-)L—Tif LANCASHIRE WINTER

DAY the' business of the winter assize commenced
Justice Wightinan, the commission having been
Saturday.
'Wing gentlemen were sworn on
, THE GRAND JURY.
,ntWistle, Manchester, foreman.
Ills Ashton, Woolton-hall, Liverpool.
rocklehurst Barclay, Wavertree-lodge, Liverpool.
thur Bright, Sand-heys, Mill-lane, West Derby.
Earle, Allerton-tower, Liverpool.
venal], Walton-hall, Warrington.
-ant, Liverpool.
Irundy, Cheetham-hill, Manchester.
;son Hornby, Druid's Cross, Little Woolton.
,uldsworth, Oakhall, Manchester.
'Wood, Claremont, Manchester.
Igueville Jones, Lark-hill, Liverpool.
Langton, Abercromby-square, Liverpool.
Awe% Abercromby-square, Liverpool. ,
der, Liverpool.
!lock, Gambier-terrace, Liverpool.
itathbone, Green-bank, Liverpool.
Robson Sandbach, Woodlands, Aigburth.
'eantson, Saudfield-park, West Derby.
Tart, Mayor of Liverpool.
‘methurst, Duxbury-hall, Chorley.
!ed Walker, Calderstones, Allerton.
ierod Walker, Chesham, Bury.
iamation against vice and immorality having been
arned Judge proceeded to charge the grand jury as

—Gentlemen of the grand jury of the county palatine
er, you are fully aware that, in the great and popu-
les of Lancaster and York, the number of prisoners-
after the summer assizes, for trial at the ensuing
Lzes, had so accumulated by the month of December,
expedient, and, indeed, I may say necessary, to
Liter assize and gaol delivery at Liverpool and at
I two judges have usually been assigned to each of
nties for the purpose. It has this year been con-
4)edient to •extend the winter assize and gaol delivery
counties ; and the performance of that and other
ies necessarily occupies so many of the judges, that
I assize and gaol delivery is assigned to one ; but, if
'necessary, there are others in the commission
istance can be obtained. I find, with much regret
surmise, that the calendar is heavy beyond, I be-
meeedent. It contains the names of one hundred and
rersons whose cases will be brought before you, and
es with which they are charged are, with one or
;ions, of the gravest character. How is this to be
for? I believe there has been a gradual increase
.te of all the necessaries of life with hardly a corres-
advance in the amount of wages. This to some
ly possibly account for an increase of 'offences against
But the present calendar presents a number %Ina-
:at of charges and of offences which have no relation
3., and cannot have arisen from distress in conse-
the difficulty of obtaining work, or the scantiness
There are no fewer than 35 distinct cases of crimes
violence of the deepest character, and wholly un-
with any object of gain or hire. With one or two
only, they appear to originate in the most
and brutal intemperance,—a vice which has from
been the besetting sin which characterises the
discreditably. The time and money that would
means Of present subsistence, and of laying by
Lure, is for the most part spent in the most per-
t(' selfish indulgence in public houses and beer-shops,
ily utterly neglected, and left without provision,
ife, too often cruelly beaten and ill-treated, some-
! to death, for no other offence than endeavouring
av her selfish, and probably drunken husband from
propensity. But the habit of intemperance, un-
.,', is not limited to men. We have a striking
in 'the present calendar where a mother is charged
•so far forgotten her maternal duty, and lost
anal instinctive love and ,care for her children,
caused the deaths of two, by culpable neglect,
'abits of intemperance, mid spending the money
which should have been devoted to their sup-
It t ~,It'alay be said, and truly, that it is much easier,
l'eroette a case, to denounce the evil than to suggest a
41.14" Y• I know of no means more likely to avert
41,4 ultimately to eradicate this crying evil than t? promote
too Provide b all possible means,:for the instruction of the
,rer. vb Class, in sound religious and'moral principles. Let all
At `34lave the means attend, as far as in them lies, to the ne-
Itei,:jes, the wants and the improvement of their poorer
)I,pitiours.; at.id, above all, orsl that their welfare is
ft,,Kearided with interest by their supein wealth and station.
144treimy importance of education and instruction does not consist
e knowledge acquired, but in the habit of disci-
tae.lland self-restraint consequentupon a system of education,
i%'l the consciousness that their present and future welfare
ctlNt;t„eltrdvredhicalind cared for by others, tending to create a self-
must operate ,as a powerful check upon any
4"l' th:re or disgraceful condmct. But to return to thocalen-
eases of to ate, in addition twthe.cases I have mentioned, 11
" the rbbery with violence, and 12 cases of burglary, some
Bendamost serious characitr; and the other cases in 'the
,ffenees esvith only two or three exceptions, are charges of
: able, tno' the gravest kind. I do not propose, nor, indeed, am
°°ltle t " c°mMent in detailmpon all the cases, but there are
There ° Which I think •it is requisite to draw your attention.
the are two charges of wilful murder against two persons of
,ith 'ill° af Aspinall, (husband and wife), who are charged
t, the murder of two of their infant children by neglecting
rov •
f 0 D nie them with necessaries, they having the:means to
4,2' The man appears to have had an employment, vhich
14j1ced him 1.75 a-year, .and one of the elder childrenovho
t. 27 with him, had an -employment which brought him in

had Year. There seems, therefore, no doubt, buitthat they
14.
ssuch an income as would, with proper management, have
`
red all that could beeensidered absolutely necessary for
e family—but the habits both of the man andwoman
thiq it is said, irregular and intemperate. Neither of the
hs ben appear to have been, beaten or otherwiseilbused, than
hi.'„leglect, which, however, does not appear to have been
thiZroatic The law, applicable to such a case, appears to be
i 4. that if the prisoners were guilty of wilfulneglect so
the 8
Qillthat you think they must have contemplated thedeath of
the:dren, it will be murder ; but, if you think that though
tils'i',,W,ere so careless and negligent in the performance of
,
' duty that the children died in consequence, but that they
contemplate such -a result as death, thenit will be
kse 3' of manslaughter only. It may be that in the present
'74,t You may think that the children died from want of proper
There is not sufficient evidence to warrant the conclu-
.that they really contemplated the death of eithersof them,
it h.,111 that case you will dad a bill for manslaughter only; and
hoi",y be that in this case of the infant of ten months wou may
sufficent evidence to warrant the conclusion that its
111,P was caused by neglect, or other than natural causes.
"1 respect to the other charges of wilful murder,'yon will
Iste, to consider whether the acts were done under the-sudden
ttl'eUce of such circumstance, s of provocation as to negative
the presumption of that deliberate nature which is essential to
?ti crime of murder. It is not easy to lay down any
ket? which will exactly define the limits betwtket murder
tit.n. manslaughter. In all cases of homicide the first
t,s,7llluption of law is that it is murder—subject, how-
vs
t14„3 to be reduced to manslaughter or less, by ,tircum-
le,?,ees showing the absenoe of that deliberate malicious
kaPi to kill, or do some grevious bodily harm that
csi.)" endanger life, which is All essential ingredient in the
;4414e of murder. Death ensuing from an injury indicted in
wisu,enpassion and heat of blood, upon reasonable provocation,
sc,l oe.manslaughter only; hut:. mere words of reproach are
Isufficient provocation—nor twill even an assault, if triding,
N4tleh an excuse as will reduce the case to manslaughter, if
Mtv'llce wholly disproportionedto the provocation be used,and
thnq deadly instruments ealeulatedobviously to produce death,
814` Provocation will not excuse .or reduce the crime to man-
/ ,ikliter. There are two chargesof manslaughter upon which
son tnecessary to make someresaarks. One is against the
orho had the care of a steam.e.ogine, for culpable neglect
I,.`„drity, by..which an explosion WAS caused, and the deceased was
'ile& If :it appears before you,..as I learn from the de-
t?sitions might be the case, the deceased was an accessory to
1,18 own dw.th, and in effect was the immediate cause, by .
t;„Dro
Propererl and without authority gettin
pa sg up the steam with-
precaution, you can hardly s a bill against the
,Ptisonei, who can only be guilty of manslaughter in case the
death of the deceased was occasionedsvhaly by his negligence,
~Lbere is a charge of manslaughter against two persons named
2rnith and Wilson, for causing the death, of a person by Deg-
'ln* managing
a vessel so that it ran onboard of and sank
another vesses,..en
the t° board of which thedeceased was. Wilson
vas
timer
of the, vessel, and said to have been steering her at
Smith tookl:'—iti,ha do not find by the depositions what part
standing -,ing only stated, as far as , observe, that he
upon the bow. Unless there is• more evidence to
Lplicate Smith than I have seen, there is•not enongh to warrant
ie charge against ;him; but if Smith had the inamagenient, and
misfortune is, ' n your opinion, wholly owing Ao his cul-
Je negligence, antl not to accident or stress of weather, you
11,1 A find a bill against him for manslaughter. ;I have already
welltioned to you thd there are three charges of rape in the
.te„ndar. It is an ohl remark that a charge • of this .kind is
it -11 made, but noteadly refuted ; and as, from.its nature,
must almost always,depend upon the credit .to ;be given to
ar testimony of a single witness —the proseentrix herself—
.0 important to consider whether there is such other evi-
hose to corroborate the statement as to indueeyouto believe
7 'I her account may :be ,Telied upon. Pinch depends tspon
4t :conduct immediately ufter the alleged outrage, and
sin to - the opportunities ,she had at the time of raisingaa
11-4_llll,,and obtaining assistance, and whether she ay.ailed
b."olf-of them, as it might lie expected she would .have done-
hlo .eases of an abominable kind will be brought before
; but such charges are so often founded upon mistake
os -
gf.,`4l will„und the evil of a public inquiry into the ciren,m-
tiVkce,s of such cases—with all their odious details—so great,
„4„t I cannot but recommend you, if the cases are at all in
il4l. judgment doubtful, to withdraw them at once from public
ajestigation. In a calendar containing so many cases, there
ta Probably .some to which I have not adverted that may.can-
a2o some points upon which you may desire my advice or
Cistance. If there are, I shall be most happy to afford them,
-,,.t I am tmwillin longer to detain you at present with so
work hefore,u g s. But I wish to mention two things
fore you retire to the performance of .your duties. I find
t7°Y of the depositions, and I think all frOTII the City of Man-
t,i:estes, contain no mention of anything said by the prisoner,
s, .'Whether he declined.s&ying anything, upon:being asked if he
kt4bed to do. This is a,very great omission; for it is of the
ikeatest importance for public justice, both us regards the
toi,s4Beeutor and the prisoner himself, that what he says be-
ts: the magistrate, in answer to the charge in the pre-
tjou,ee of the prosecutor and witnesses, should be taken
tro" ; and in many cases positive injustice may result
in the ,omission. The other remark I have to make,
"emen, concerns yourselves. If the witnesses in all
si; cases wore required to attend at the first day of the
Ivob'zie2 the detention of so many until the actual trial,
It cause a very considerable unnecessary expense, and
the-4s, therefore, teen the practice here and at York, where
in izillmber of ;prisoners is usually very much larger than
f4,ller counties, to select a number of cases for the first three,
tsitt or five days, to prevent the unnecessary detention of the
Shbllesees in the other cases. It may be that you might be
lat; to dispose of more cases in some one of the days than
al,(1 been assigned to it, but I am sure that you will not re-
how an occasional loss, to some extent, of your own time,
to tiver valuable, if an important saving is thereby occasioned
for e Public. The usual number has, I believe, been selected thelitti, occasion, and in such manner as to occasion you as
trotieb:oconvenience as possible. One other remark and I will
Yoti 'e You no longer. In every case that is brought before
the; Y9u will consider whether the evidence is so strong that
aade Is a reasonable probability of a conviction upon the trial,
that if there is, you will find a bill ; but if it appears to you
pdhe evidence, though perhaps just sufficient to make out
tesp,444.facia case, is so weak and inconclusive that there is
to apprehend that, without further evidence, the

prisoner will in all probability be acquitted, it is more con-.
ducive to public justice to throw out the bill at once than to
put the prisoner upon his trial upon insufficient evidence, for
if acquitted he cannot be tried again ; but if the bill be
thrown out for insufficiency of evidence, and farther and
more conclusive evidence be afterwards discovered, he may be
again indicted and again tried.
MINT CASES.—The Grand Jury having retired for a short
time, returned with true bills against several of the prisoners,
and the court immediately proceeded with the trials; the first
being against-Mary Ann Connor, charged with having counter-
feited two shillings at Liverpool, on the Ist of November.
The prisoner resided in No. 6 Court, off Shaw's Brow ; and on
the police'constable going there, which he did in consequence
of information, he found the prisoner there, and in the kitchen
he found a plaster mould in the oven, an iron spoon which had
been used for the melting of metal, also a bag containing a
small quantity of plaster of Paris. There were likewise a num-
ber of impressed prints of shillings struck on silver leaf; there
was also a quantity of silver leaf and some tools in a box. The
officer and his assistantsiound seven base shillings of the date
1820; there were also found three bad shillings in the house
of a different date. She was convicted, and sentenced to be
imprisoned for twelve months with hard labour.
JOHN DUFFY, shoemaker, was charged with having, on the
19th October, uttered a counterfeit shilling, and with having also,
on the 10th of the same month, uttered a counterfeit sixpence.
The prisoner pleaded not guilty. Evidence was adduced, and
the jury returned a verdict of guilty. Prisoner having been
previously convicted of a similar offence, was sentenced to four
years' penal imprisonment.
GAROTTE ROBBERY AT MANCHESTER.—Mary Ann Wilson,
was charged with being concerned in assaulting Samuel Butter-
worth, in Manchester, and stealing from his pocket a silver
watch of the value of 305.0 n the 26th of August last. It
appeared from the evidence, that the prisoner made up to the
prosecutor on his way through Thomas-street, on the night. in
question, and persisted, under various pretexts, in continuing
her dodging him till coming to a lonely part of the street,
when she gave %signal, and a man instantly rushed out of a
place of concealment, and seizing the,prosecutor by the throat
insensible.
In choked him, rendering him, at all events,
In this state he was robbed of his watch. The jury returned
a verdict of not guilty, and the prisoner was discharged.
FORGING- A. PROMISSORY NOTE.—John Johnson, dyer,
Emma Booth, housekeeper, and Sarah Smith, factory worker,
were charged with forging a promissory note in Manchester,
and uttering it in Manchester, on the 2nd of August last.
From the evidence it appeared that some of the parties
wanted to raise money on loan from a loan society, and that
to enable them to do so the prisoner Johnson signed a docu-
ment by the name of George Mills, and. at -a subsequent stage
of the business he represented himself to be George Mills.
He had done so, it appeared, at the instigation of the women,
who wanted to raise money without the knowledge of their
husbands. Verdict, Johnson not guilty, the females both
guilty. Sentence deferred. Johnson was discharged.
ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO MEMDER.—John Moss, shoe-
maker, William Young, watchmaker, and Thomas Dixon,
watchmaker, were charged with having assaulted William
Lawton, with intent to murder him, at Widness, on the 23rd
of October last. In the case of Dixon, the grand jury ignored
the bill, and he Was immediately discharged. On the jury
being impanelled to try the case, it was explained that one of
the chid witnesses in the case, a policeman, had been so much
injured in the discharge of his duty as to render it hazardous
for him to remain, and he had, with the consent of the judge,
returned home to Rainhill, on the condition that he would be
in attendance to-morrow (this day), at twelve o'clock. His
lordship said that he had only granted an adjournment of the
case in the instance of Craggs, and not in the present case.
He should not allow one farthing of costs in this ease.
ASSAULT AND ITIGIMAY ROBBERY.—Richard Allen, a
hand-loom weaver, was charge& with assaulting and robbing
Richard Willmy of the sum of Bd. and a tobacco-box, on the
20th of October last, at Longridge. The jury, after a brief
consultation, returned a verdict of " not guilty?
Before the .court rose, his lordship intimatedliisintention of
proceeding with the trial of Heywood, charged with an atro-
cious murder committed at Rochdale, and postponed from last
assizes.—Adjourned at 7 o'clock, till 9 o'clock this morning.

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