The Express.
London, England, 1847-03-04 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 4, 1847.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCISIT.—HERTFORD, Masai 1.
The commission for this county was opened on Tuesday,
by Chief Justice Wilds ; and this morning business was pro-
ceeded with in both courts : Lord Chief Justice Denman pre-
siding on the civil aide, sad Sir T. Wilde in the Crown Court.
The busiest is very light, as, although twenty causes are on
the list, a great many of them are undefended. On the cri-
minal side there are eighteen prisoners for trial ; but, with
the exception of a charge of child-murder, all the cases are
of the ordinary description. The business disposed of to- duty
did not pewees any feature of interest to the public.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—READING, Maim 3.
Before Mr. Periwig Omlee.
To. klaurßosirazias.—Thegrandjury, prior totheir dis-
charge, returned into court with twenty-am true bills against
the several prisoners, six in number, charged with being con-
cerned in the malt robberies at Abingdon. The prisoners
were arraigned upon the various charges ; one of them,
Richard Jones, pleaded guilty to all the indictments ;
another of them, Benjamin BLegrove, has been, though
probably the worst of the whole gang, admitted
as approver; one indictment has been proceeded with,
but in consequence of a deficiency in the proof, broke down
a second cam is now proceeding at a very slow and tedious
pace. The counsel for the prisoners objected to the admission
of the approver's statement, on the ground of its being made
under darer ; this consisted merely in his being brought
over to the magistrates' meeting from Oxford, and being
watched by the officers with vigilance on the way thither.—
The learned judge overruled the objection.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—NORTHAMPTON, Marten 3.
Wore Mr. Justice Pastes= and a Special Jury.
GIBBONS V. BIILLIIIIBT AND •NOTIIBIL—LIBEL. Mr.
Whitehurst, Q.C., and Mr. Waddington were for the plain-
tiff; Mr. Humfrey. Q.C., and Mr. Mellor conducted the
defendants' case. The plaintiff was a grocer and wine and
spirit merchant at Stamford ; at the back of the premises,
opening into a public street, he had a room licensed for
smoking and drinking. The defendants, who are the
proprietors of the Lincolnshire CAronkk, published at
Stamford, inserted in their journal of the 11th of Sept. last a
paragraph describing this room u a" cry ing evil," and one fre-
quented by apprentices and assistants, who congregated there
in considerable numbers singing their Bacchanalian songs,
and spending their time in noisy revels till long after mid-
night; the place in question was also denominated a :laugh-
ter-huuse, and was generally held up to the reprobation of
the public. The plaintiff's evidence went to prove the room
in question was an exceedingly well conducted one, and one
frequented by some of the most respectable men in the town,
but the' since the publication of the article in question, the
plaintiff's business had been completely broken up, and the
in question shut ; the parties who were accustomed to
frequent the Name having declined to do so for the
future, on amount of the notoriety given to the place
by the paragraph in question. The defendante, in support
of their plea ofjustification, put the chief superintendent of
police of Stamford, and some of his company, into the box.
Their evidence, however, proved that it was one of the best
conducted places in Stamford. Many other persons were
called, but failed to establish that the house of the plaintiff
was conducted lam respectably than any other public house
in Stamford.—Mr. Justice Patteson, in summing up, said
there was no doubt the matter charged was libellous ; the
only question would be, whether the averments in the plea
were made out.—The jury, after a short consultation,
returned a verdict in daveur of the plaintiff—Damages 2001.
This finished the blames of the assists, there not being a
single case in the Crindond Court worthy of notice ; and the
business at NW Prim being almost equally devoid of
interest.