The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-12-18 00:00:00

THE WINTER ASSIZES.

CHCINYN COURT.—YESTERDAY.
(ifeCore ustice KEATINg.)
TVLFAD'Efi GtitirY,
Thomas Aifo'rd (511; Aqaba' in the calendaras
imperfectly instructed,:oeaded
,gnii * ff. to te eta of
having, at °Liverpool, on Me' 216th' of' ,IWVembte fast,
burglariously broken into and ent'efed thw
house of one Robert Mulligan, and stolen tiArefrorii one
eowt, two caps, and other property. Sentenced td nine
daleAdar months, ,
rleteter (59), • well instructed, pleaded
gniTfy te• liming; at gatford, on the 29th of October,
1860, felianionsly' forged' a certain acquittance and
receipt, for the ,stitri of gs., 6ii., pilrportiog to be the
receipt of one *Peron', With intent to defraud.
• Several pieVioti's convictions dere reeaftled against the
pirirner, who wai sentenced to four year/ penal servitude.
- bites M'Oatin'(22); Who Was described as being,ortly
able to read, Was rlenten'eed .to three months' imPrisort-
ment with hard labour, for taininittiWbigamy at gan-
chester.
:Harriet Mileham, alias Parker (V), vibe' diS biit
imperfectly instructed, pleaded guilty to a charge' Of
having, at Heaton Norris, on the 16th of .November
last, feloniously set fire to a stack of corn, of the goods
and chattels of John Lomax, Sentenced to five years'
penal servitade.
„Ea' Ordise.(2'4), tacit,
_pleaded guilty to having, at
Prescdt, the I.2th of November, feloniously stolen
; three counterpanes;:, fable cloth, and various other
articles of the goods and chattels of .Aromas Howard;
and also to a further charge of haVing, at Prescot, on
the 29th of September, feloniously staler OW cloth"
mantit',' he cloth jacket, and variouS other aftifeS of
the goods and chrAtels, of Richard Leather. The' prise"- '
ner was sentenced to 14 dafs' iinprisonnient with hard ,
labour on the first count, and {loch pbnal ibrvitude
on the second count.

THE POST-OFFICE ROBBERY.
It was announced in court yesterday morning that the
prisoner. Bell, who was tried on Friday when the jury
could not cote to a verdict, would be again tried by a
fresh, jury., pre short time afterwards Mr. Aspinall
applied to' his Lordship to bare the case postponed until
next adsiies, on the &Mind that Ile Wished to raise a
legal question` as to tbea;lmissal of the. jury. His
Lordship said be hail ebnsideted the question' Which Mr.
Aspinall had .suggested, set he .(:)iffessed he had been
unable. to discover any means by which the tinestion
could be raised. He would, however, gile tidy opPot-
turrity to the prisoner's counsel to raise a qii&fion of
the irregularity of the proceedings, if an affidavit was
sent to him by this (.fesday) morning. If it was not
shown to his satisfaction oaf (here was sufficient
grounds to postpone the trial, he a'a proba-
bility, try the prisoner to-day.
CHARGE OF MURDER IN LIVERPOOL.
Thomas itfialratr (8.8), described in the calendar as
imperfectly instructed, Was placed at the bar, charged
with having, at Liverpool, Or: the 18th of September
last, wilfully killed and murdered dni.e Anne Neesham. '
The prisoner throughout the trial held his head dawn,
with his eyes fixed upon the ground, and seemed to feel
his' p'o'sition most acutely. Mr. 3'. B. Aspinall appeared
to proseede, arid` Mr, Pope defended the prisoner. Mr.
Aspinall, in stating tie' ease for the prosecution, said the
prisoner was a person of a Weak constitntion, and had
not followed any pursuit for seine' gears ; whilst the
deceased, as far as they could learn, Wa's a hard-
working woman, and had by her industry, main'ta'ined
the prisoner for some three years. 'lt appeared',
from what could be ascertained, that the prisoner
and deceased had on the night in question, a
severe quatret, which had, unfortunately, resulted in
the death of the deceased, who was in the habit of
snioking. On the morning of the day in question she
had gold opt for the purpose of getting some clothes to
wash, but did tat return until about 8 o'clock in the
evening, when the prisoter Uctticed het to be in drink,
and ordered her to show him where she had been.
She said she had been to a house irf Atkinson-street ;
but the prisoner having been there inivtiritg for her
at that house, called her a liar, and again ordered' beta
take him to where she had been. She put on her bonnet,
and took him to a house in Atkinson-place, where a
woman who was drunk said in answer to her, "Yes ;
you were here abort an hour." The prisoner and de-
ceased afterwards came towards their home, and on the
route she called at a shop in Soho-street and purchased
some tobacco. 'They proceeded home, where a quarrel
arose between them about the tobacco, in the course of
wliicll the deceased used some abusive language to him,
which she would not have done had she been sober. A
scuffle ultimately ensued between them; and it would
seem that the prisonef had, during the scuffle,. stabbed
the deceased with a pocket-knife, which he had since
stated be was cutting some cigars with at the time of
the quarrel. The deceased, after being stabbed, rushed
out of the house, but fell down on the street before she
bad proceeded three yards. The prisoner also came out,
and seemed in a state of distraction at what had oc-
curred. several persons had by this time congregated
found the deceased, who was removed into the house,
and a doc't'or sent feu*. The prisoner had, in the mean-
time, gone to ti friend's (named Barker) house, in Sher-
wood-place, to Whom he communicated what had taken
place between his wifc and himself, saying, "Oh; Mrs.
Barker, I have stabbed Ellen, hut I don't think I have
hurt her." She immediately Went to the house, and
found that the deceased was dead. She returned, and
finding the prisoner still there, informed him of ,his
wife's death, when he replied, "Oh, good God, what
shall I do! She has been a good wife to me, and has
kept me fot the last three years." She asked him the
reason of the Tiered, and he answered that she had
gone out in the morning, and left him without anything
to eat: Ile also said—" I knocked her down and
kicked "her T Mid Nvlien I was down with her I must
have stabbed het:" Ile afterwards produced the knife
with which he had done the deed, and said he should
go and give himself up. The prisoner had made a state-
ment before the magistrates, to the effect that he was
cutting some cigars when a quarrel took place between
him and his wife, in the course of which she called him .
several ugly names, and said he was a transport. Evi-
dence was then called to prove the above facts, after
which Mr. Pope addressed the jury for the defence,
submitting that the crime the prisoner was guilty of
was manslaughter. His Lordship summed up, and the
jury instantly returned a verdict of "Guilty of man-
slaughter." The prisoner was then asked what he had
to say, why he should not be sentenced according
to law, to which he muttered something which was
inaudible to the reporters. His Lordship then proceeded
to sentence the prisoner. He said: Prisoner at the bar,
the jury have in my opinion found the safer verdict.
Under the circumstance I think they were right in
coming to the conclusion that. they could not safely find
you guilty of murder, but they have found you guilty
of manslaughter, upon what appears to me to be the
clearest evidence. There can be no doubt that on the
day in question you being dissatisfied with the proceed-
ings of your wife,—she having gone out and left you
without any breakfast, when she returned being some-
what in drink, you, irritated by that to some extent,
were at all events quite ready to join in the quarrel
which took place ; but in that quarrel it is eqaally true,
that your wife used most aggravating language ; but she
had a right to .expect from you a care and indulgence
even if she had been guilty of excess upon that day.
She had worked for you, kept you, and the reward she
received was not such as she should have had from
your hands, but you resorted to a deadly weapon, you
stabbed her to the heart. The sentence of the court
passed upon you, for the manslaughter, of which you
have been convicted is, that you be kept in penal servitude
for the term of your natural life.
CHARGE OF MURDER ON BOARD A VESSEL IN
THE MERSEY.
Henry Lawson (25), who was stated to be unable
either to read or write, was charged with having, at ,
Liverpool, on the Ist of September, wilfully killed and
murdered one Charles Wallace. The prisoner, who was
attired in a blue shirt, seemed to feel sorry for the
offence imputed to him, and kept wiping his eyes with
his pocket handkerchief; and not being fully conversant
with the English language, an interpreter was provided
to define such of the evidence into his own language as
he did not understand. Mr. Temple prosecuted; and
Mr. R. Scott defended the prisoner. From the opening
statement of the learned counsel for the prosecution,
and the evidence afterwards adduced, it would appear
that the prisoner, who was a Norwegian, was employed
as an able seaman on board the " Sombagh," an Ameri-
can ship. On the 22nd of August last, the day of the
occurrence for which the prisoner now stood upon his
trial, the vessel left the Victoria Dock and anchored in
the river for the purpose of shipping the remainder of
her cargo. The deceased, who was boatswain on the
ship, enquired after they had proceeded some little dis-
tance into the river what had become of the men,
and went into the forecastle for the purpose of
looking, when he found the prisoner lying in his
" bunk " in such a position that the deceased man
pulled him out by the legs. The prisoner rose in a state
of desperation, when the deceased attempted to strike
him with a stick, hut missed his aim, whereupon the
prisoner drew a knife and stabbed the deceased in the
hollow of the throat, inflicting a wound some six inches
deep, and between two and three inches in length, and
penetrating the windpipe. A surgeon was called in,
and the deceased removed to the Hospital, where he
died on the Ist of September. Mr. Scott contended,
on behalf of the prisoner, that the crime of which he
was guilty was manslaughter, and not murder. His
Lordship summed up, after which the jury returned a
verdict of " Guilty of manslaughter." His Lordship
then proceeded to pass sentence upon the prisoner. He
said the jury had acquitted him of the crime of murder,
by giving him the benefit of the circumstance of the
mate having taken up the piece of wood to strike him
with, otherwise it would have been very difficult indeed
to have made the crime he bad committed anything less
than murder. The life of persons in circumstances like
the deceased must be protected. His (the prisoner's)
life bad been saved by the verdict of the jury, but he
should not be discharging his duty if be allowed the
life of any person to be sacrificed by his
incapability to
control his temper, without passing, a severe sentence.
The prisoner was then sentenced to penal servitude for

NO BILLS.
The grand jury ignored the bill against George
Woodhouse for having, at Liverpool, on the 19th of
November last, feloniously accused one James Thomas
of an abominable . crime, with the view of extorting
money from the said James Thomas. The bill against
John Warden for having, with others, burglariously
broken and entered the dwelling-house of one John
Singleton, at Over Darwen, with intent to commit a
felony, and also with feloniously assaulting one Agnes
Singleton, with intent to kill and murder her.
A true bill has been returned against Richard Wood-
ward Powell for forgery, and also for felony.
The grand jury were discharged yesterday afternoon.

NISI PRITTS COURT.—YESTERDAY.
(Before Mr. Justice BLACKBURN.)
This court sat at twelve o'clock yesterday, and imme-
diately proceeded with the disposal of the civil business..
ECKSTEIN V. CRITCHLEY AND ANOTHER.—In thistase
Mr: Overend, Q.C., with .whom was Mr. Meßluish,
appeared for the plaintiff; and. Mr. James, Q.C.; and
Mr. Ovens for the defendants. From the opening of
the pleadings it appeared that William Eckstein was the
plaintiff, and Thomas Critchley and another, repre-
senting the Broughton Copper Company; were the
defendants. By a memorandum it had'been agreed that
the defendant should employ the plaintiff, and the
plaintiff serve the defendants, as foreman tube-maker,
for the term of three years. The breach alleged Was
that they had discharged him before the expiration of
the term. The defendants pleaded that the plaintiff
Was not reasonably competent and capable of performing
the duties which he undertook. Mr. Overend stated the

' case. He said he appeared for the plaintiff, who sued for
cothrhtiation by reason of being improperly dismissed by
the defendants,,in whose employ he was under aa- agree-
ment which stipulatedthat he should be their servant for
a period of three years. The date of the agreement eras
September, 1859, and he 'tae' dismissed in September
last. The defendants carry on a large business in the
manufacture of brass tubes, at Broughton, near Man-
chester, and the plaintiff was engaged from having
replied to an advertisement which they bad inserted in
the newspapers for a foreman tube-maker. Before
gbing there he had been employed for a period of seven
year's in' the gmethwick works, near Birmingham, in 'a
occupafiOn, and at a salary of £3 a week. The
defendants dered him what was equivalent to £4.
When he entered their service he was informed that he
should have to act tinder a general manager—that he
would be simply foreman, and would have to hire and
dismiss the men ; but that all the work both that he
himself did, and all the work done by other persons, in
other departments would be under the inspection and
control of the general manager. The case, which was
of a technical and a most uninteresting character, was
then proceeded with, and occupied the whole of the day.
It had not concladed when
thecourt rose.
At six
o'clock, the court adjourned to half-past nine
o'dlodk this morning
Try CAtSE Las
There is but one list at the present
assizes, and the number of causes entered amounts to
48. Of these gf are special jury cases, the first of
which is fixed for Friday morning.

LIVERPOOL POLICE COVICL--YTERDAY.

(Before Mr. RAFFLES.)
A FEARFCL RUFFIAN.

A fellow named George Hargraves, about 25 years of
age,. Was charged by his mother, a decent woman who
keep Atop' Vauxhall-road, for having assaulted her.
The poor toydratt told a dismal story about the conduct
of this Wretched lbtaciguarcl, who was in the constant
habit of ill-treating' heti and using the most foul lan-
guag'e to her. He would not da anything for his own
support; but liVed on her industry; and when she re-
fused to give' hint money he used her very badly. On
Saturday he struck her and used her very outrageously,
and she was obliged to give him into custody. 'He was
sent to jail for three months With hard labour, and at
the end of that time to find sureties,• or six additional
months' imprisonment.