The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1861-01-05 00:00:00

THE BOROUGH SESSIONS.

These sessions were held yesterday, in the Crown
Court, St. George's-hall, before the recorder, Gilbert
Henderson, Esq. The usual formalities having been
gone through, the following gentlemen were called and
sworn on the grand jury:—

Robert Hastie Wilson, merchant, Oldhall-street, foreman.
Michael Belcher, cotton broker, Exchange-buildings.
James Jenkinson Bibby, merchant. Water-street.
Tyndall Brigid, merchant, North John-street.
Andrew B. Byrne, merchant, Tower-buildings North.
William Cusack, corn merchant, Drury-lane.
William Henry Dixon, merchant, Rumford-place.
Gerard Lynch, therehant, James-street.
Edmund Preston, shipowner, Shaw-street.
Alfred Redcliffe, iron merchant, Wentworth-street.
Frederick Saunders, merchant, Water-street.
Godfrey B. Shaw, broker, India-buildings.
Mathew Strong, merchant, Chapel-walks.
Thomas Sleigh, jun., broker, Exchange-street-East.
Francis Thorneley, broker. Hope-street.
Edward Tennant, merchant, Fenwick-street.
Henry Wood, iron merchant, Goree Piazzas.
Thomas Dormison, merchant, Toiver-buildings-Ea.t.
Joseph Henry Dickenson, merchant, Orange-court.

His worship (who appeared to be labouring under a
slight cold) then proceeded to address the gentlemen of
the grand jury, but from the cause already mentioned,
and the very disadvantageous position of the reporters'
gallery for acoustic purposes, his observations were occa-
sionally not very clearly heard. He said that the calen-
dar which was then before him, and which was more
complete than the printed list, only comprising the
names of thirty-one prisoners, contained the names of
forty persons charged with various offences, and who
had been committed for trial during the last four
weeks. This was undoubtedly a very small number,
comparatively speaking, but still it could not be taken
as a clear and irrefragable proof of any diminution
of crime in the neighbourhood, because it might only
indicate a temporary lull, or it might be that a greater
number of persons had been summarily convicted. In
order, however, to satisfy himself upon this point, he
had referred to the returns from the.gaol, and he found
that the number of prisoners in that establishment was
only about 684, whereas in 1858 and 1859 it never fell
below a,mininium of about 894. So that from this fact
they had a result shown, both in the number of pri-
soners for trial, and in those at present confined in the
gaol, 'on the whole most satisfactory, as proving
that crime was not on the advance. He also observed
that under the present system of penal servitude, a great
number of persons who had been convicted, returned to
increase the amount of crime, and amongst that class he
found the names of two prisoners who would be tried at
the present sessions ; but it was satisfactory to know
that so small a number had returned to this district.
With respect to women who had been sentenced to
penal servitude, the number returned was extremely
low indeed, which was also a gratifying fact. The
only case of any importance, in a commercial point
of view, was that of a person in the service of a
master-porter in the town stealing from his employer
thirty-six sacks of wheat, which amount of corn
a miller of respectable status had received, without
making proper investigation as to the precise manner
in which the party had become possessed of the article
he offered for sale ; but when the facts of the case were
laid before them, the gentlemen of the jury would be in
a better position to form a correct estimate as to the
culpability of the recipient of the stolen property. There
were also several cases of picking pockets, but none of
them of any such importance as to call for lengthened
remarks. After a few other observations, his Worship
dismissed the jurors to their room with the bills of
indictment.

The trials of prisoners were shortly after proceeded
with.

VERDICTS AND SENTENCES.—Hannah Stokely (28)
and Ann Gill (29) were found guilty, the former of
stealing two £5 Bank of England notes and two pieces
of paper, the monies and property of Joseph Simons,
and the latter of receiving part of the same knowing it
to have been stolen. Sentenee deferred.—Robert Ander-
son (39), a sailor, was found guilty of stealing a gold
watch and chain, the property of William Bruce, and
sentenced to three months' imprisonment.—Owen Carney
(57), a labourer, was found guilty of stealing 19 lbs.
weight of cotton, the property of James Hewitt and
others, and was sentenced to twelve months' imprison-
ment.—John Graham (19), labourer, and Christopher
Malone (54), cooper, were charged, the former with
stealing a bell. and other articles, the property of
Richard Richardson, and the latter with having received
the same knowing them to have been stolen. Guilty; sen-
tence deferred.—James Robinson (26), tailor, was found
guilty of stealing a gold watch, the property of Robert
Horsfall, Jun., from his person. Sentence deferred,