The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-12-14 00:00:00

ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE AT SALFORD.

John Metcalf (21), Michael Sherridan (19), and
Thomas Kennedy (20), were charged with having, at
Salford, on the 28th of August, feloniously assaulted
one Joseph Benton, putting him in fear and danger of
his life, and with violence stealing from his person 17s.
in money. Mr. Pope appeared for the prosecution ;
Mr. Torr defended the prisoners Metcalf and Sherridan,
and Mr. R. Scott was counsel for Kennedy. The case,
as stated by Mr. Pope, for the prosecution, was briefly
as follows :—The prosecutor, who is a tailor and draper,
with a wife and child, residing at Soniton, had been on
the "spree" at a boat-race the night previous to the
occurrence, and was returning home about two o'clock,
when he met three women of ill-fame, one of whom,
named Eliza Williams, he accompanied up a dark
street known as Brownbill's-buildings, and while there
the prisoners came up. and demanded some money from
him. Before he had time to reply, Kennedy struck him
a severe blow across the mouth, which knocked him
insensible, and while one of them robbed him the' others
seized the girl by the throat, dragged her away by
the hair of the head, and also robbed her of the money
the prosecutor had given her. At the conclusion of the
evidence, which was of a conflicting nature, Mr. Pope
and Mr. Scott contended to establish an alibi on behalf
' of the prisoners ; after which his Lordship summed up,
and the jury, after an absence of about a quarter of an
hour, returned a verdict against the prisoners of guilty
of assault, with intent to rob. Previous convictions
were proved against Kenne,dy and Metcalf, who were
each sentenced to eighteen months' hard labour. The
prisoner Metcalf strongly requested his Lordship to
increase his incarceration to three years, as he said he
had no work, nor no trade learnt by whichl he might
obtain an honest livelihood; but the learned judge
refused to comply with the request.
ANOTHER ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE.
John Smith (24), described in the calendar as well
educated, was charged with having, at Salford, on the
6th of September, feloniously assaulted one John Gibbon,
putting him in fear and danger of his life, and with
violence stealing from his person 3s. 10d. Mr.i Higgins
appeared to prosecute ; the prisoner was defended by Mr.
Pope. The prosecutor, who is an undertaker, had been
paying an account to a creditor named Corp., a coffin-
maker, residing at Salford, and was returning about
eleven o'clock to his home in Chapel-street, Pendleton,
and on reaching Windsor-bridge at Salford, he was
accosted by a woman, but afterwards leftler and turned
down by the side of the canal. He had proceeded but a
short distance when four men came up to him, one who
the prosecutor said was the prisoner, seized him by the
throat, and while he was insensible some of them robbed
him, and then decamped. Mr. Pope contended, and
afterwards called witnesses to prove, that the prisoner
was not the person guilty of the offence, but was playing
from nine o'clock at night until two o'clock the follow-
ing morning, at bagatelle, along with several other
respectable persons, at the George and Dragon Inn, a
house situated about a hundred yards on the contrail
side of the canal to the place of the alleged robbery.
The jury, at the conclusion of the evidence for the
defence, immediately, without troubling his lordship to
sum up, returned a verdict of not guilty, at the same
time expressing an opinion that the prosecutor was mis-
taken in the identity of the prisoner, to whom he had
so earnestly sworn as the guilty man. His lordship
observed that he would probably make a better witness
after he had had a little more experience.
CHILD-STEALING.
Isabella Beck (18), pleaded guilty to a charge of
having, at Bolton, on the 16th of October, feloniously
stolen a certain female child, of the age of 15 weeks.
The prisoner's counsel excused her on the ground that
she was suffering from a certain disease, which had the
effect of causing her to appropriate children. His lord-
ship said he had seen the surgeon of the prisoner, who
informed him that she was labouring under some dis-
ease, yet it was not sufficient to render her irresponsible_
for her acts. Taking into consideration the length of
time she had been incarcerated, he would only pass
lenient sentence, which was that she be kept to hard
labour for fourteen days.
The grand jury ignored the bill against Luke
Gannon,LuilceMilton
on a charge of cutting and wounding p
with intent to murder.

STABBING TTNINTENTIONALLY.—YesterdaY, at the
Birkenhead Police Court (before the Rev. Mr. Fielding,
and Messrs. Jackson, Case, and Younghusband) a boy
named John Norbury, apprenticed to a printer in the
iOwnship, was charged with having stabbed a labourer
4a net Thomas Crowder on the Bth inst. It appeared
frni
it 4
.evidence that the stab was given accidentally.
Discharge4l,.

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