The Express.
London, England, 1848-03-30 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME ClRCUlT.—Kinuarox, MARCH 29,
Crrn. Sias.—Befove the Lord Chief Justice.
Svitotvo o. el./MON.—SLANDER.— This was an action
to recever damages for slanderous wards spoken by the de-
fendant of and concerning the plaintiff. The defendant was
a publican is Eutcheap, and the plaintiff a waiter in the
service of another person in the same trade. The alleged
slander consisted in the defendant having made a statement
that the plaintiff had been charged with robbing a former
master, and advising his employer to be cautious, for which
statement it appeared there was not the least foundation ;
and indeed it was admitted by the defendant that he had
mistaken the plaintiff for some ether person ; and it was
urged on his behalf that he had acted with bona lutes in the
:natter, and was not actuated by any malicious motives, but
made the communication in question quite confidentially,
and without any intention to injure the plaintiff.—The jury
found for the plaintiff—damages, 40/.
Carrie Sion—before Mr. JUilliCO Coleridge.
COLLISION ON THE SOCTH-WESTENN RAILWAY.—W.
Jones, 28, and L. Fleming, 22, the former an engine-driver,
and the latter a stoker, in the service of the South-Western
Railway Company, were indicted for the manslaughter of
David blarkland.—On the 10th of January, the deceased,
who was an engine-driver, started with a train from South-
ampton at s:x o'clock in the evening, and when he arrived
within a couple, of miles of the Woking station, in conse-
quence of something going wrong with the engi-e, it was
found necessary to bring the train to a stand stall, and the
deceased, who it appeared was a clever ingenious man, set
about preparing the necessary repairs which the en-
gine required, and it seemed that to enable him to
effect this object he was obliged to get underneath the en-
gine. While in this position it appeared that • luggage
train, composed of 31 carriages and one engine and tender,
upon which were the two defendants, came up, and ran into
the passenger train, crushing the carriages together and dri-
ving the engine over the unfortunate deceased, who received
such injury as to cause immediate death. It was shown that
the stationary train had three red lamps at the rear,
notifying thatthe prisoners should have stopped, but which
they disregarded.—Ur. Ballantine ma le an energetic
appeal to the jury on behalf of the defendants.—
Mr. Justice Coleridge, in summing up, said that although
no doubt the law required all persons having the charge and
mnagement of powers of this escripion should use the ut-
moast care in that management d ; still, teven if they should be
of opinion that the persons having the charge of the passen-
ger or stationary train had not done all that was required of
them, if they were satisfied from the evidence that the de-
fendants might have seen the lights at the rear of it, and
that it was owing to their negligence and not keeping a pro-
per look out that the collision and consequent fatal result
happened, they would, under such circumstances, be still
amenable to the charge of manslaught.a.—The jury, after
deliberating about a quarter of an hour, returned a verdict
Not