The Express.
London, England, 1862-03-06 00:00:00

THIRD 0013 RT.

(Before the Common Berjeant)
•
John Taptin, 38, agent, was indicted for stealing certain
valuable securities, to wit, scrip of the Melbourne and Hob-
son's Bay Railway Company, and of the National Bank of
Auatralasia, value together &WI., the property of Janice
William Muttlebury, in a dwelling•house.
Mr. Cooper prosecuted; and Mr. Sleigh appeared for the
prisoner.
The prisoner pleaded guilty.
Mr. Sleigh, in behalf of a mitigation of sentence, said
that he bad been instructed on the part of the prisoner's
friends, who were people of great respectability, but be did
not think it necessary to mention their names. If his lord-
ship could consistently with his duty pass upon him a
lenient sentence, they would undertake that he should
leave the conntri.
Mr. Cooper said he bad no desire to press upon the court
for any undue amount of puoiehment for the prisoner, but
be found himself called upon to say that it was a most im-
pudent and dangerous clam of robbery. The prosecutor
was an Australian gentleman staying at an hotel at the
Welt-end of the town, when the prisoner had stolen the
property in question, end some brilliant studs, as far back
as November last, and it was not until the 14th of February
ia the present year that the prisoner bad been taken into
custody and then under these circumstances, there was
another charge than that to which he had already pleaded
guilty, namely, a charge of forging a certificate in the Woo
ci the prosecutor for the purpose of enabling him to sell
the shares be had stolen, and the prisoner thinking
to evade the charge of forgery had signed the document
as W. J. Muttlebnry, instead ri J. W. Muttlebtuy. These
shares he bad taken for the of raising some money
upon them to Mr. 78, Loinbard-etreet, and
that gentleman, discoveries inecemacy, bad hie sus-
picions aroused, end set on foot the inquiry which resulted
in the apprehension of the prisomr, and the restoration to
the prosecutor of all his property, the duplicates of the
brilliant studs being found at his ledginp by the polies.
The Common Serjeant, in passing sentence, said the
offame was one of a very serious clammier. The prisoner had
gone into the hotel under the pretext of waiting for some
one, and then taking advantage of his reepeetableappear-
mice, had gone up into the roe= occupied by the prosecutor
at the hotel, and there cut oat the top and bottom of his
leather trunk„ end stolen all his valuable securities, and
under those circumstances he should pass upon him a ass-
tence of throe years' penal servitude.
Francis James Atkinson, 24, engineer, was charged with
feloniously marrying Albertans Rnina Victoria Gotha
Boult, his first wife, Sarah Ann, being then alive.
Mr. Tindal Atkinson prosecuted, and Mr. Sleigh de-
fended.
The prisoner haviag pleaded Fifty, the court called the
second wife, a remarkably good-looking woman, who said
she first met the prisoner In tea& He was then in the
Guards, and she was in genie' at Lord Lismore's. The
tamer, having seduced her, suluequently prevailed on her
marry him, which she did,
, believing him to be a single
man. He then left the army, and she afterwards found out
that he bad previously been married in 1886.
The Common Serjeant sentenced him to twelve months'
imprisonment.
FOURTH COURT.
(Before the Recorder.)
_ _

Hannah Cook, 21, spinster, was indicted for concealing
the birth of leer female child.
Mr. Tindal Atkinson prosecuted, and Mr. Dickie defended
the prisoner.
It appeared by the evidence that the prisoner had been
sent to this court for trial, on the coroner's warrant, for the
wilfal murder of the child, hut the grand jury threw out
the bill. The evidence given in support of the present
i charge was to the effect that she lived in the service of a
family in Sumex.place, Kensington, and on the let Feb.,
she being taken ill, an inquiry was instituted, and it was
found that she had hidden the body of a female child in •
box.
The jury found her Gnarly, and the Recorder, is passing
sentence, said that from circumstances which bad come to
his knowledge from the depositions the child would have
lived if it had had proper care from its. birth. He could
not, however, believe that the prisoner had wilfully named
its death, and he should therefore sentence her to three
months' imprisonment.
William Boyd, alias William Cathcart Boyd, 58, pity-
ciao, known am Sir William Boyd, pleaded guilty to
feloniously intermarrying with Elisabeth Carew, his wife,
Louisa Elizabeth Boyd, being then alive.
Mr. H. T. Cole and Mr. Gifferd appeared for the prose-
cution, and Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Y. M. Lewis defended the
prisoner.
Mr. Metcalfe addremmed the court, and said that the pri-
soner pleaded guilty, and threw himself on the mercy of the
court. He bad already been two months in prison, he
was sixty years of age, of high literary attainments, and the
author of several literary works. The prosecution was not
instituted by the Ant wife, but by the friends of the Carew
family.
The Recorder said there was another indictment against
him for marrying Mies Hannah Villiers Vandeleur, and he
thought it was °mammary, as he had not pleaded guilty to
that charge, that the court should try the cue.
Mr. Metcalfe said she did not complain.
The Recorder said he at present pleaded guilty to one
indictment, but she had properg.
The prisoner—Yea, but I did not have her property. It
was thrown into Chancery.
Mr. (Mara (interpeeaugl—Yes, my lord ; but it we put
into Chancery by him.
The Recorder, after a few remarks upon the ease, sen-
tenced the prisoner to be imprisoned and kept to hard
labour for 12 months.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HONE CIRCUIT. -H ESTFORD, MARca 5._

The commission far the county of Herts was opened on
Tuesday, and this morning business was proceeded
with in both courts, Lord Chief Justice Elle presiding oa
the civil aide, and Mr. Justice Wightman in the Crown
(kart. On the civil side there are only eighteenmo entered,
thus of which are to be tried by special juries. The pol
calendar contains the names of 26 prisoners, but none of the
cases appear to be of a serious character.

- -
CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Wightman.)
Caroline Aykit, 24, a good-looking young woman, sur-
rendered to take her trial for concealing the birth of her
child.
Mr. Clark prosecuted, and Mr. Codd was counsel for the
&deuce.
It appeared that the defended resided at • place c►lled
Bennington, near Hitchin, and that there was some suspi-
cion that she was in the family way. In the month of
August the bones of a newly born infant were found in a
pond near her house, and when she was questioned she ad-
mitted that she had been delivered of • child in the prune-
ding mouth of March, and she said that she got up m the
morning as usual leaving the child in bed, and when she re-
turned the child was gone, and she did not know what had
beoome of it. .

The jury dequated the prisoner.
Lord Chief Justice Erie was mimed nearly the whole
of the day in trying a question as to a disputed agreement
between a landlord and tenant of a farm, the details of
which were not of the least interest to the public.