The Express.
London, England, 1863-12-23 00:00:00

COURT OF PROBATE AND DIVORCE.

Die. 22.
(Before the Judp Ordinary.)
CLATTOI V. DAVIS.

The Queries Advocate;acillrt Searle moved that Use
plaintiff in this probate ow, which was lately tried, should
be cooderosed in the costs.
Mr. Hopwood appeared for Mr. Clayton.
This Judge Ordmarysaw no reason to depart from thank
he bad already laid down. If Mr. Clayton had contested
his cicle's will he should not have condemned him in the
costs ; but it was not a reasonable coulee for him to adopt,
to wait until his aunt bad died and left all the property to
Mr. Clayton. He must therefore take the ammequences,
and pay Mr. Clayton's costa.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCIIIT.—Lzwaa, Die. 22.

The grand joy, in the cam of the three prisoners who
were charged with manslaughter arising oat of a fight in
which one of the parties was principal and the other two
seconds, ignored the bill for wilful murder that was pre-
sented to them by the direction of the learned judge, but
returned a true bill for manslaughter.
The whole of the defendants bad been admitted to bell,
but they were in attendance ready Intake their trial.
Mr. Baron Pigott, however, said that thasemsiees were only
held for the purpose of delivering the different gaols of the
prisooere who were confined there, and it was not usual, as
he was informed, to take cases in which the primmer* were
out oo bail.
_ .

The iiiiiicoosequently steads over to the epriog mine.
CHELMSFORD, Dar. 22.
. .

The commission for ebe county of &sex was opened here
yesterday of terncon by Mr. Baron Martin. There will beabout
14 prisoners for trial, six of whom are charged with anom
There is also a charge of burglary with violence, but the re-
mainder of the came are of an ordinary description. The
offence demon appears to be exceedingly rife at the present
time, and the extraordinary discrepancy between the
sentences paved by different judges has comics:4d aged
deal of observation, and does not appear calculated to repress
the crime. As an instance of this, it may be mentioned that
at the commencement of the present Home Circuit, Mr.
.

Justice Williams, who presided at Hertford, minteposd every
prisoner who pleaded guilty of the crime of arson, or who
was convicted of that often°e by the jury, to be kept in
penal servitude for ten years. At Maidstone, however,
where Mr. Baron Pigott presided, prisoners who were tors•
rioted of the same deeenptioe of come, some of the eases
being of a more aggravated Ware than those at Hertford,
were only sentenced to one half of the punishment. namely,
five years' penal servitude ; this result apparently writing
from the mere accidental circumstance of the oases coming
before a different judge. It was understood that the judges
had determined, having regard to the serious inerww IS this
most mischievous offence, to par a sentence of tes years'
penal servitude in every OM of conviction, but the rale
does not seem to bars been strictly adhered to.

NORTHERN CIRCIIIT.—LivapooL, Die. 22

(Before Mr. Justice Willis.)
writ MURDER BY ♦ POL/01 OPTICNI.

Lake Charles, iaisia; oifice; uTITe onnetabulary
force, was on Monday indicted for the wilful murder of his
wife, Mary Charles, by drowning her in the Manchester
and Bolton Osnal, near Pendlebtay. in February last.
Mr. Monk, Q.C., Mr. Hipp, and Mr. Larenabe were
for the prosecution; and Mr. Raker and Mr. Pope for
the defence.

The following are the leading ciroumataser of this OW,
as stated by Mr. Book. The prisoner sad the decreed hid
been married about nine years. They were monied at Col-
bridge, Kildare, the prisoner at that time being is the Irish
restabolary. Subsequently, however, Charles joined the
Kalish rhos, and in August, 1862, the deceased quitted
Celbridge, where she had been living for seine time with
her friers, to join him. For about twelve months they
lived together at the hones of • Kra. lamb Parrish, it
widow, who resided at Tenter's Fold, is Baty, but they did
not appear Ogres been very happy, sad Weed, as it sure-
gamily reasoned, Cherie, instead of being true to bin
wife, had aranally been visit'ag and in conesporentie with
another year woman, Ellen Ford by same, who lived at
Emo, in Queen's County, and whom he bed poetised to
marry. This wee the circumstance relied on by the prose-
cution as showing the motive for the murder. The do
ceased bad a enter, Julia Dana, liviag at Peadleten,
user Manchester, 'and on the 13th of February
last, at five in the drama, Charles sad his wife
left their lodging. at Mrs Porrith's I. reply to the quer-
Woe, " Where were they grog r Mrs. Charles said they
were going to see her mister, and that they would be back
about nine o'clock the same erring. About nine Charles
(the prisoner) did retsro,but alone. Hie. Charles did net to-
ter°, but on the 14th February a body, afterwards identified
u hers, though not until it had been buried, was fogad, and
the clothes preserved. After the prisoner returned to his
lodging. in Bury, he remained at home for • week, and wee
visited by the surgeon to the force. When asked about his
wife, he laid the wee in Ireland with her moth.. It would
be prowl by Jolla Dan jibe defeertcri rater) that oa the
night of the 13th of February neither the deceased nor
her husband were at her house, though on the llse the
prisoner was there, and told her that .• he must be rich
hack," as be had told Mary (the deceived) to toll the doc-
tor, if he called, that he was gone out for • walk. Oa the
12th March the prisoner wrote to Jae Dean, requesting
Ire to ware a visit to them at Bin ya" Sara Sunday,"
r him wife was sot at hoar. Thin was the gad intimation
Julia Duna received of her eiater's dieappearserd it
reeds her so thover eir that she west to and raw the
rinser at his !rims. They had some angry oonvereation
about the demur, and Julia Dunn said, " I wish my sister
had never known you." The primer said hie wife was sot
at home with her mother, but either with Nome friends
County Wicklow or in Dublin. So matter went on
tar June, no tidier in -the meantime brag heard of the
deemed, whose friends now began to be very uneasy. On
the 13th of Jane, 1863, the prisoner wrote to Julia Damn,
fulling her that he had received a latter from her sister,
who was quite well, and is reply to further querns Do
rid the was he England, but that be (primmer) was not to
ten where. This only aggravated the sucrose and fears
the relatives. Julia Dunn made • sternest to Mr. Milan
the superintendent of polio. at Bury, and the result of this
and other inquiries was the exandastion of the bellyband to
the anal, cad its ideotity ea that ad the primmer's wife. la the
reaatinie the prisoner bad bear is leached sad had renewed 1
his overtures Ito Mary Ford ; and though the priest do
°lined to marry them without • Netlie** Ford :Nursed
with Charles to Bury, and lodged at the lama house with
him for some little time, after which she west to some
friends in Westroorelead, it
.being rouged that they should
be married as soon as the purser "could settle his affair"
On the discovery, however, of the feet that the drowsed
woman was Mrs. Crone, the prisoner was at coos arrested.
The learned counsel explained that the are rested sorely
upon circumstantial evidence, but he contended the combi-
nation of testa and circumstances led irrertibly to the coo-
choir of the prisoner's guilt. Evidence wee the. adduced
is support of this opening.
Os Tuesday morning the case for the prostration was armed
by the evidence of Id r . Superintsiodest Milos
Mr. Halter having addressed the jury for the deleace,
BY lordship summed up, earefelly asap* the riders,
and commenting upon various points where the Joey no
cored light or direction. Be said the fad that the clothes
were fraud detached from the deesesed's body wee most
impotent, bemuse the crinoline would hav derdeney to
busy the body up. The jury therefore mull whether
the clothe' were more likely to have been reenerd by •
pros contemplating suicide or • perm contemplating
murder.

The fury having retired to aorkler their verdict, Maraud
ia about half an boar with a verdict of Guiky.
The judge thee seemed the bleak cap, and waned new-
teats of death upon the primmer.
At the close of the sentence the • who had maul-
,
fasted a calm, firm, and respectful demascorr, quietly bowed
his head, and we restarted below.