The Express.
London, England, 1847-04-09 00:00:00

nine letters, but none of them had been opened. They all
appeared to have pained througie the past-office within
the previous two cr three weeki,—Mr, Justice Cole-
ridge said that as none of the letters were opened,
he was at a loss to know what motive could hare actuated
the prisoner in not delivering them.—The Attorney-General I
said it would appear that he merely did so to save himself
the trouble of delivering the letters. It was, however, a
very serious inconvenience to the parties to whom they were
addressed, so some of them were applications from the Com-
missionen of Taxes, which if not attended to would have
subjected the parties to be taken into the Court of Exche•
efuer,—The pnsoncr was then sentenced to be transported
for 10 years.
MANst jogGierga to SRORSDITCH.— norms Brookts, 21,
con iodirted for the wilful murder of Wm. liobart, by
shooting him with a gnu. The prisoner, who is of small
statiire, appeared; very much distressed during the trial, and
from its commencement to the close he leaned his head on
the front of the dock, and seemed to be weeping bitterly. Mr.
Clark and Mr. Robinson conducted the prosecution for the
Treasury. The prisoner, through the kind and humane in-
strumentality of the .heriffe, was defended by Mr. Clarkson
and Mr. Parnell.—The unfortunate transaction took place I
on the night of March 17, in Hare-alley, Shoerditch, where
the prisoner resided. About ten o'clock at night, the de-'I
ceased, accompanied by some other young men, went to
the place in question, and called the prisoner out;
and the deceased asked him whether he intended ,
to give him some things of his that were in his
possession, and he replied that he should not until he was
paid, and perhaps not then. Some angry altercation took
place between them, and the prisoner walked away towards
his own house, saying to the deceased, that if he would wait
a minute, he would put a bullet through him. The de-
ceased and his cousin, a lad named Chucks Eaton, followed
him, and in about two or three minutes the prisoner came
down from his bed-room, and levelled a gun deliberately at
the deceased, and fired, the distance being so small that,
although loaded with small shot, it entered the neck of the
deceased in a solid form, and completely severed the
jugular vein and the carotid artery, thus causing almost
instantaneous death. After the fatal act, it appeared
that the prisoner made an exclamation to the effect
that he had had his revenge, and that the deceased had
injured him and his sister, and if he had not token
the deceased's life, the deceased would have taken his. Mr.
Clarkson elicited, on cross-examination, that the deceased
had threatened to strike the prisoner, and some other cir-
cumstances were stated to induce a belief that the deceased
and his companions had some ill feeling towards the pri-
soner, and that he might have considered himself to be in
danger of some personal violence f rem them.—Mr. Clarkson
addressed the jury for the prisoner, and at once admitted
that the offence amounted at least to manslaughter, and
that of an aggravated character, but he called upon the
jury, looking at the age of the prisoner, and the circum
stances of the case, to take a humane view of it, and
negative that portion of the charge which imputed
to the prismer that he wan actuated by the deliberate mall-
eions intention to destroy the deceased, and convict him only
of manslaughter.—Mr. Justice Coleridge having summed
up the evidence very carefully and minutely, the jury deli-
berated for a few minutes, and then expressed a wish to
retire. They were absent about 20 minutes, when they
returned a verdict of Guilty of .Vonalaughler, arid the
learned judge, after addressing a few impressive remarks to
the prisoner, sentenced him to be transported for life.