The Express.
London, England, 1855-02-02 00:00:00

CRNTRAL CRIMINAL Comer.
OLD COAT.—Fais. 1.
111012 111. MAIM WIONTMAN AND isa. nonce WILLIAM
Maurice Hears, 22,wu charged with the manslaughter of
Jane Kelly.
The facts of this use have appeared very recently. The
evidence went to show that the deceased woman, who was
&oat twenty-two years of ago, was a preen of bad ohs-
easter, and she and the prisoner cohabited together, and
then appeared to be very little doubt that he was in the
enstaat habit of ill-using her in the most brutal manner.
The onerrenes which formed the subject of inquiry took
place on the night of the 13th January, and it was proved
that on this ocesaioa the prisoner was seen to strike and
kick the unhappy woman, and very shortly afterwards she
was found lying is the street in a dying state, and oa her
being removed to the hospital she was found to be dead.
The cause of death was the rupture of one of the internal
organs, which was closely trend to a kick given by the
prisoner.
The jury having returned a verdict of Guilty,
Mr. Justice Wightman proceeded to pass sentence, and
after observing that the prisoner had been convicted of a
moat unmanly and brutal act, he said that educes of this
description committed upon women appeared unhappily to'
be very much on the increase, and it was absolutely neces-
sary for the protection of that sex that they should be
checked by severe punishment. He then sentenced the
prisoner to be kept in penal 'servitude for seven years.
Robert Bishop, 19, was charged upon the coroner's in-
quisitioa with the manslaughter of Caroline Garwood.
It appeared that the prisoner was a carmen, and that he
was tent with a load of timber from the Crtudenetation.
When it bad needy arrived at its destiastion, by some
means or other it appeared that the timber shifted, and a
portion of it fell off and struck the deceased and caused her
death. The charge, it appeared, had been investigated by
a magistrate and dismissed, but the case afterwards came
before the coroner for Surrey, and the jury returned a
verdict of manslaughter against the prisoner, the only
suggestion to support that charge being, that he had negli-
gently neglected to secure the timber in a proper manner.
Upon the present occasion, however, there did not appear
to be the slightest evidence to support that view of the case,
and one witness distinctly stated that the prisoner had
nothing whatever to do with securing the timber, and that
his only duty wee to drive the waggon and horses.
Mr. Williams at once stopped the case, and the
jury, under his direction, returned a verdict of Not Guilty.
William Bull, 28, was indicted for the manslaughter of
Frederic Bull.
This was also a case in which a coroner's jury had returned
a verdict of manslaughter, there having been no inquiry
before a magistrate. The deceased was a child about nine-
teen months old, and the offence imputed to the prisoner
was that be had caused his death by neglecting to provide
him with proper food. The charge appeared to rest entirely
upon the evidence of a young woman, who had been ea-
aged by the prisoner to take care of the deceased and
another chili, in a small house occupied by him in the
Hacknerroad, and from her testimony it appeared that the
prisoner's wife had died a few months back, leaving him
with three children, the deceased and two others, one of
whom war taken care of by the prisoner's father. It is said
that the prisoner used to go out ia the morning, and give
her sixpence for the support of herself and the two chil-
dren, and, according to her areount, the deceased child
became very ill and weak, and, it appeared, that it at
• length died in a meat emaciated condition. In answer to
questions put by the prisoner it appeared, however, that in
addition to the sixpence the prisoner used to give her two
pence or three pence a day, and she also admitted that
he, prisoner, always bought a joint of meat on Sundays,
end left the cold portion that remained for her use, and
• that of the children. It also appeared that the deceased
child used to have half a pint of milk every day besides
bread and potatoes, and that it occasionally had arrow root
I and rice. According to the medical evidence it appeared
to be probable that the death of the child was the conse-
quence of a want of proper food, but there was nothing posi-
tive deposed to upon this point, and it was at the same time
admitted that the death might have arisen from entirely
natural causes. There appeared to be no doubt that the
unfortunate prisoner was miserably poor, and for any thing
that appeared to the contrary he had done all that was
possible to the extent of his means to provide for his family.
The prisoner, when called upon for his defence, told •
very pitiable tale of distress. He asserted that the charge
had been got up from a feeling of spite; by a person to
whom he owed a small sum of money. He said that he
was unable to pay the debt after having been summoned to
the County Court, and an execution was put into his house
for the amount, and another by his landlord for rent at the
same time, and he was left without any furniture, and with
the deed body of the child naked upon a chair. The person
he referred to then gave out that he had starved his child, and
the beadle sent to the coroner, and this person was summoned
upon the jury. ills wife, he said, died of consumption,
and the child in question was known by the doctor who
attended it to be also consumptive from its birth, and all the
jury, with the exception of the person he bad mentioned,
were satisfied that he bad dons all he could for the child,
but he " talked them over," and they brought in a verdict
of manslaughter. lie declared ho had done all in his power
to support his children, and he urged the fact that the other
child was welt end hearty as a proof that there had been no
neglect on his part, as they were both treated alike, to the
extent of the means he was able to provide.
Mr. Justice Wightman said he was unwilling to with-
draw a case of this description from the consideration of a
jury, but he certainly thought that the charge against the
prisoner was not at all supported by the evidence. Before
a conviction could take place upon such a charge the jury
must be satisfied that the parent had wilfully neglected to
perform the duty east upon him by the law to provide foe
his offspring, and here there certainly was no evident, et
that description; but on the contrary, the prisoner appeared
to have made a provision, so far as he could, every day for
his family, and there was nothing whatever in the case to
show that the death was not the result of natural causes.
The jary returned a verdict of Not Guilty.
Mr. Sleigh said that, if the facts that had now come out
had appeared on the depositions taken by the coroner, he
should certainly have withdrawn from the prosecution. He
had some doubts at first whether the evidence as it stood
would support the charge ; but, after what had been stated
to-day, it was clear that there was no legal foundation for it.
The learned Judge ordered the prisoner to be imme-
diately discharged from custody.

Wrest the Deily New.)
" Have you heard of the Minie rifle ?" said a
French gentleman to me lately. My reply led him
to declare that he knew the inventor of this weapon.
I thooght at first he was mistaken; but his explain"-
time re-assured me.
" My friend," continued the French gentleman,
" lives at Vincennes, and is the Chef du Tir thorn.
He is a very remarkable man, and the story of Ids
life is romantic. One idea seems to have governed
his existence. He has pursued it through good and
evil fortune—in the face of malignant opposition, me
under the cheering influence of court favour. Before
he closes his career, he will have accomplished won-
derful simplifications of the rifle."
In answer to an offer of introduction, I eagerly
agreed to proceed with my friend to Vincennes. We
aseordingly started, on a bitterly cold morning, for
the fortress, made memorable by the Enghien tragedy,
by the misfortunes of Mirabeau, by the imprisonment
lof the ministers of Charles X. We passed under the
strong gateway of the citadel into the court-yard,
land were directed to the rooms of Monsieur le Chet
d'Eseadron, Minie, situated in a fine clump of bail&
logs on the right, over which the grim tower may be
seen. We passed up a broad staircase to the
second floor, where we discovered a little .brate
plate, indicating the residence of M. le Chef du Tir.
We were shown into an elegant salon, in which we
perceived that the inventor of the deadly rifle was
no stranger to the charms of art. We had not had
time to examise the collection of pictures upon the
walls, when M. Minie, dressed in the regimentals of
his rank, and bearing, we were glad to perceive, the
decoration of the Legion of Honour upon his breast,
tripped into the roost, and gave us a hearty welcome.
M. Miele has ajovial, sanguine look. There appears
to be a firmness of character about him which cannot
be said to be the characteristic of his nation. He at
once conducted us to his atelier. We saw at once
that we were in the presence of areal workman. He
was evidently no dabbler in his art, but had werked
out everydetail of it with his own hands. In one
corner of the room lay a heap of rifles and muskets
of every description. The board before the win-
dow was covered with parts of rifles ; all
kinds of cartouches ; various tools. There was
a little forge, and other armourees machinery,
in the room. We eat down by the fire, and
opened a conversation. M. Minie freely told us his
experiences. All that he had done he had freely
performed for his country. He was a soldier and a
Frenchman before anything. He held that all im-
provements he could effect in firearms beloved. of
right, to the Emperor. He had never takes est a
patent : he preferred giving his inventions to his
country. Overtures had been made to him by many
commercial people ; but he did not care to enter into
commercial risks. He had avoided every kind Ofl
speculation. He was not a business man.
The idea of attempting improvements in firearms
had struck him many years ago. He had begun by
learning particulars of everything that had been
already done. He also learned all the details of the
gunmaker's trade : be became a working man, able
to carry out his own ideas. He could
fashion every part of a rile. He thus ob-
tained a thorough knowledge of his business.
He had not always studied under favourable
circumstances. In explanation of this remark, I
may add, from authentic information which I have
obtained, that M. Minie's study of fire-arms almost
cost him his position in the army during the reign
of Louis Philippe. His dismissal from the service
was actually signed when the Duke of Moatpensier,
who lived at Vincennes, interceded (to his honour be
it said), and obtained the revocation of this most
disgraceful act of tyranny. Innovations in France,
as in other countries, seldom bring profit to the
innovators. Officials hate to be disturbed from their
old routine. The man with an idea is avoided,
rather than courted. The army did very well, he
would be told, for instance, with the old musket.
Austerlitz was fought with flint and steel. It is
very probable that in certain military circles the per-
cussion cap is hardly regarded with a friendly eye
even now. Some men fall into routine, as horses fall
in with the monotony of a water-wheel; the former
do their work blindfold like the latter. Unhappy,
therefore, is the humble member of a corps who sug-
gests an improvement. Routine will surely prick up its
length of ears, and aim the proverbial force of its
asinine hoofs at him. M. Minis, began his
useful work in times of peace, while France was
governed by a crowned caroteur while lraileurs
were ruining themselves by serving the royal table at
so much per head ; while France was regarded at the
Tuileries as an Orleanist domain hardly large enough
Ito satisfy the reasonable wants of a very numerous
family—when improvements in the machinery of war
were disregarded as a matter of course. We were all
going to turn swords into sickles—cannon into metal
monuments to Quakers! Almost hopelessly must
Mini& have worked on at Vincennes, while in Paris
Victor Hugo and his English friends were pelting one
another with olives. Yet while war must be,
unwise are the governments that disregard the
labours of a Millie. In that little work-room of his
—within the shadow of the grim tower whence the
spirit of Mirabean looks down upon his labours—the
modest Chef du Tir has done brave work in his gene-
ration. He has given double strength to the armies
of his country. The extent of his sacrifices and of
his perseverance was described, not in a studied nar-
rative, but in little detached bits of gossip, generally
referring more to the progress of the science of war-
fare generally than to himselL
He had made an immense number of rifles, but he
had not achieved a perfect weapon yet. It would
come in time. Ho had been visited by many men of
high status from foreign countries. Overtures of a
'tint tempting nature had been made to him by
Biessia. "If he (would go to St. Petersburg he
&sold have an establishment to himself ands hand-
some salary," was the message delivered to him by a
liwomovite agent; and this in times of peace! He
firmly declined the offer ; and how sincerely he con-
gratulated himself now upon his firmness. " Tenez,"
exclaimed the Chef ; " if I had accepted the engage-
ment I should have cut my throat before now.
The energy with which this burst was delivered
did honour to the soldier and to the Frenchman. As
we gossiped on, M. Minii frequently rose, and illus-
trated his remarks by samples of his improvements.
ltie showed himself thoroughly acquainted with all
that rival inventors had done ; and, in the true spirit
of a liberal man, wasmost anxious to give full credit
to everything really good. We examined a Swiss
musket of enormous weight—the gun with which the
sew imperial guard is armed—and other rifles, new or
rejected. Above all, we were struck by M. Minie's
latest improvement of his celebrated weapon. It
would not be fair to describe it in detail, since, when
we saw it, it had not yet been submitted for the ap-
probation of the Emperor ; but I may notice the result
it gives. When I state the fact that in its incomplete
state the inventor has fired twenty ball cartridges in
one minute from it, that by • mere movement
of the hand the discharged gun is re-loaded,
and that its force is terrific, carrying a tre-
mendous distance, its importance at the present
insment cannot be over-estimated. This weapon is,
miwoorer, almost noiseless. M. Minie fired it in his
little attelier, in our presence, without the least.incon-
unience. The ball penetrated two thick plank.' of
wood. For night surprises, and other sudden attacks,
such a rifle would appear to be invaluable. Yet, mid
the inventor, it is by no means a perfect weapon.
Perfect or not, it is an improvement of wonderlul
importance, and one from which the careless inventor
should derive some substantial advantages. He
places it, he declares, quite contentedly in the hands
of the Emperor. And in our careless gossip with
M. Minie, we touched upon his relations with the
imperial government. His experience is honourable,
both to himself and to his sovereign. He has met with
the utmost kindness. He enjoys free looses to the
Emperor whenever be has anything to communicate;
and has found himself seated by the side of the
sovereign at the breakfast table. He enthusiastically
acknowledges also that, in a pecuniary point of view,
he does not complain. Once, when he sent a rifle to
the Emperor, the acknowledgement was a present of
20,000 francs from the privy purse. I publish these
details of my interview from a strong sense that
this publicity is an act of justice due to a man at
once so modest and distinguished as M. Mine.
Paris, Jan. 30. W. B. J.

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 2, 1855.

°Mese Ia Park-etrest, end upon Rau saying that lath
family would prevent his being sent, prisoner said, "That is
all nouns, ; I ears make it aU right." T.ipm another oc-
casion prisoner said that Mr. Bailey had passed them,
sad that if they had applied at Park-street is the ordinary
way
_they would have had to wait their tura out of 16,000
or 16,000 applicsats. In the cue of the prosecutor Seymour
he obtained U. 10e., end then 21. 10e. from him, by stating
that he.had obtained his approval order. Ow of the parties
bad sold all his furniture to pay what primate had re-
quested of hiss. The matter at Wt being disavowed by the
government oonunissioesent, they instantly had the prisoner
apprehended.
The prisoner, who had throughout cross-ezamined the
witnesses with pleat skill, in his defence made a most able
and fervent appeal to the Jury, and stated the sums paid to
him were free gifts by the parties to remunerate him for his
trouble.
The Recorder having slammed up, the jury retired, and
having been absent nearly an hour, returned • verdict of
Guilty, but recommended the prisoner to mercy upon ac-
count of the time he hed been in prisoner.
Sentence deferred.
Dismays Mockan Wright, the merchant, who pleaded
guilty upon Tuesday to two charges of forgery,was brought
up for sentence.
The Recorder said that, although the prisoner had pleaded
guilty, and prosecutor had recommended him to mercy, still
the offence was one that called for a severe example, and,
however painful it was to him to sentence a person of the
prisoner's position, that he should not be doing his duty
were he to pus over lightly a crime so injurious ta its elects
to our commercial community.
The prisoner was sentenced to four years panel servitude.