The Express.
London, England, 1847-03-01 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHEANCIRCIIIT.—NoweArms-ox-Tura, FEB. 28.
litskee Mr. Bares Palk.

arranaw—Jasien Wikh 17sienalped be the wilful
warder el Thum Prowl, a peas fa are genies of a pa-
dawn take is the musty. n• plume was a parry
-
rasa. areobrei et the rose !Maw, anewkwe war the
Newerwa-sid Owage asaway. Oa aaaatj, *knit lost/
the dessesed, was Need at the vamp of Mows* invited
several et his askalwers to the adelsalip ses et his
Wildreu. Atm tisk Mara frost the eau& thay had tea
at his haws ; sad be AIM invited Wear to s plataswe to
driak the chars bask& They did as, teed this, seem-
tend the priewur. Oa Waviag, Welsh hasered laws, sad
WU:PA several amierwhervere wads. with
asps
to kawasat awl yak her. They deased, mare ali
mole Wet el May Asa TOMS, MIAMI IMO
se
crag. Indhavelorlto eisats tare T
has% lthith ma. bibs imbed, Tend
sal althea Wilk aft es maw bar. nevem& boo
4.11001, lad oar tallewod, ia ate wow et Wilda Pried
la ape his whlpaiet, twd, it is ore. Masi bra. The
bared them aide WI boo is
with the bore, but had
ash pt wags Or primmer wee sew to
sate dila,
arilk se seat (IL Oa sewtiag up with Ihsai, ulna the
issued twigs ow the bog with a era, rot
aria
plorreil a lespariei MI6 Ms the metroorre ma's
or& butheily 7...i0wa softpew% aid it dew
woos agar& The ao, btli wit
elheelvelerfaitaseL balivesthrei aei they, mil
wo ethos 49 tribi bra lees le dr plores_porotho
—Yr. Mew reeds • peeratal appeal la Other at the
searei.—The joy MEI dr prow Oraily.—Db. rem
Rath erwaroei la the worth art is a owy their art la-
proetve owner etheeesel the *mar to heed
Naar.
wagsfaggAds.s' a ▪ 20
vrith Abl
se e Dialelifilhes'les.t
La! ear Nevrems•
b, at Maim OIL 6. Tier

were various counts in the indictment varying the charge;
one of them charged Matthews as principal, mud Hughes as
memory before the feet. Both lauded not guilty. For
the prosecution there appeared Mr. Matthews, ?dr. Manisty,
and 'Mr. Biggs ; the prisoners were defended by Mr. James.
Sixteen witnesses were called, and their examination occu-
pied from nine till two. A candensed outline of the
case is, therefore, an that we as attempt. The pri-
soners were in October last employed as navigators
on the Nem:awns and Berwick Railway ; and the
decease' was a wegonman on the same line. On the sth of
that month, Hives and a men named Oliver, were &Snag
two wageas along Benton-lane, and the former being tipsy
his wagon was driven into the ditch. Oliver, who was
walking with him, had allowed his vehicle to get coati& r.
ably in advance, and as Le ran forward to fetch back one of
the horses, he met the prisoners carrying bundles, and
Hughes having a thick stick. They passed him without
, speaking, sad as there was at that place a curve in the lane,
he for a few minutes lost eight both of them and his com-
panion. On his return he perceived the prisoners running
away, while Hives stood shouting, with his face covered with
blood, and his hat, coat, and waistcoat off. Without waiting
to hear what had occurred, Oliver mounted the horse he
was driving, and started in pursuit of the prisoners, who had
by this time gained a considerable start. Hives followed
too. expressing is deterntination to make them suffer for what
they had done. What that was—whether he or they had most
reason to complain—did not appear. However, after riding
tome distance, Oliver overtook the prisoners, when Hughes
struck him a heavy blow on the back with his stick. In his
eross-examination, Oliver admitted that his hone, being un-
manageable, nearly ran over the prisoners, and that Hughes,
to save himself, had to jump said*. Oliver rode on some
distance further, and having obtained insistence, returned,
but found the lane deserted. What took place during his
absence was detailed by several witnesses. According to
them, Hives continued to follow the prisoners until they
reached a stile leadinly to a footpath across a field ; he ex-
pressed a determination to have them taken, they using
strong threats and brandishing the stick they had. In the
field, and within a few yards of the stile, Captain
Potts, a county magistrate, was superintending some
rural operations, sad his attention was attracted
by the noise in the lane. In a few moments the
prisoner Matthews crossed the stile into the field where
the captain was, and, directly afterwards, Hughes also
mounted the stile, when he again brandished the stick and
cried out with much warmth, " You b—r, if you follow any
further, I'll murder you." This expression had previously
been used in the lane. Hives then appeared at the stile, in
the condition already described, and, seeing Capt. Potts,
said to the prisoners, " Now we have you," adding to Capt.
Potts, " Master, you'll assist me ; you'll not see an Eng-
lishman murdered by two Irishmen." Seeing his excited
state, Capt. Potts took hold of his shirt to detain him, and
then called to the prisoners to come back and explain what
had happened, further telling them that, if they did not, he
would follow and have them apprehended. Hughes
turned back a few paces, again brandished his stick,
and repeated the expression already quoted. He and his
companion then walked on, followed at a short distance by
the deceased and Capt. Potts. When near the edge of the
field, Hives made a strong attempt to overtake the
prisoners, and, seeing this, they stopped and turned
directly towards their pursuers. Matthews stooped, and
put his right hand under his waistcoat, as if to hitch on
his braes, and, with it in this position, he walked delibe-
rately past Capt. Potts, and struck the deceased a violent
blow on the upper part of the thigh, within an inch and a half
of the abdomen, at the same moment exclaiming, " Take
that you b—r." He then walked back to Hughes, and
both ran off at their full speed. Hives, on receiving the
blow, cried, "Oh, dear ! " and pointed to his shoes, on
looking at which Cent. Potts saw the blood gushing forth,
upon whieh he said " Sit down, my man, you have not three
I minutes to live." le laid the poor fellow down, sad be
almost instantly expired, the femoral artery being divided,
and the femoral vein punctured. Without 10-ing time, Capt.
Potts despatched messengers in all directions, and, in less
than half am hour, Matthews was apprehended as he was
entering Newcastle. Hugh( a was taken into custody at
Sunderland at one on the following morning ; and on being
told that Hives was dead, he said, " It was not me but the
little man who struck him with the knife: I told him he
had done wrong." In the course of the same morning, a
small pocketknife was found near where the melancholy
&Emir took place.—This was the case for the prosecution.—
Mr. James objected to the indictment, or. the ground that it
described the deceased as Daniel Hives, while the evidence
went to show that he was known only as Dan Hives.
His lordship thought, however, that the parties who called
the deceased Dan did so with an understanding that it was
only an abbreviation of Daniel. Mr. James then addressed
the jury on the merits of the cue. He observed that they
must either find Hughes guilty of murder, or acquit him
altogether, as there could be no counselling to manslaughter.
With regard to Matthews, he maintained that there was suf-
ficient to show that he had acted under strong provocation,
and ought therefore to be convicted of manslaughter only.
The learned judge having summed up, the jury retired, and
after an absence of twenty minutes, returned into court,
when the foreman intimated that they found Matthews
Guilty of murder, but recommended him to mercy, on ac-
count of the provocation he had received. Hughes they pro-
nounced Not Guilty. His lordship then assumed the black
cap, and proceeded to pass the last sentence of the law upon
Matthews, observing that he (his lordship) could not sup •
port the recommendation made by the jury. Hughes was
discharged.
The court then rose. Mr. Baron Alderson will also finish
the civil business to-night ; and on Monday the commission
will be opened at Durham.

OXFORD ClRCUlT.—Reantiro, FEB. 27.
The commission was opened for the county of Berke, by Mr.
Justice Mauls and Mr. Berjeant Ouelee, the latter of whom
is called upon to preside in the place of Mr. Baron Platt,
who still suffers under severe indisposition, which, it is feared,
will preclude his joining the present circuit. The calendar
contains the as of seventy-ems prisoners, of which num
her timer ern akar as Plitapais sr receivers in
the " ask tebbstiat," width, boa the systematic
plans of simallsa itowtol to by the thieve% sod the mag-
nitude of the bee eneteiwed hp the pramedses, recently
created smilistabis adt In the amity. At the t time,
this into remains nashoted.—On the Nisi Prim side side of
the ewf, when Mr. Justine Mauls will preside, at present
we hare hand of nothing of extraordinary interest.—Both
cowls -__— busln at ten o'clock on Monday.

THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 1, 1847.