The Express.
London, England, 1847-07-20 00:00:00

Before Mr. Justice Putttsou

STEALINO WOOD.—Matthew Bird, Thomas Tweed, and
Stephen Fisher, were indicted for having stolen a quantity
of firewood, of the value of one shilling, the property of has
Grace the Duke of Rutland. Mr. Worlledge, for the pro-
secution, proved that the steward of the Duke of Rutland
had engaged the prisoners to fell a walnut tree ; that two of
them were to be paid 2s. a day, and one Is. 6d. a day ; that
it was expressly stipulated that they should not take away
any chips; and that they did take away a quantity of
" sere" wood and chips of the value laid in the indictment.
Mr. Tozer, for the defence, contended that the prisoners had
acted on the supposition that they might, as they had before
been accustomed, take away without permission such wood
as that which they had taken ; and thought that both the
Duke of Rutland and the prisoners were equally entitled to
complain of the officious steward who had directed so paltry
a charge to be preferred. The judge leR it to the jury to
lay whether the prisoners bad clearly understood that they
were forbidden to take the wood which it, thetetofore, had
been considered lawful for them to take—After a brief de-
liberation, the jury returned a verdict of Noe Guilty.

WESTERN CIRCUIT.—WINCHESTER, JULY 17.
Caput; COLBY—Before Mr. Juatice William .

CICAROBMI foci-
ETY."—George Davey, James Dorey, John Skergold,
Richard Rader, George Mills, and several others, were
indicted for assaulting George Chandler, Harrison Stannard,
and two other constables, in the execution of their duty as
peace officers.—Mr. Poulden and Mr. Massey for the prose-
cution. Mr. Sewell and Mr.Wiae defended. The defendants
were members of a friendly society near Lyndhurst, and
one of their meetings was held on the god June last. On
that occasion the police came there for the purpose of levying
a distress warrant against the property of the society, in
order to obtain the allowance due to a sick member. The
warrant was read, and a disturbance took place immediately.
The police seized the plates containing the money of the
society, when the prisoner Skergold struck the policeman
Chandler and a general fight ensued. The police having
succeeded in clearing the room, the prisoners threw a quan-
tity of stones ar.d brickbats at them, and they were glad to
make their escape. One of them fell into a neighbouring
brook, and another ran into a bed-room upstairs. At
length the constables were driven. away, but they obtained
assistance and returned shortly afterwards, when they disco-
vered that one of their body was concealed under a bed
up-stairs.—An objection was raised to the validity of the
proceedings, and the learned judge held that the warrant
was defective. He was therefore of opinion that the pri-
soners could not be found guilty of assaulting the constables
in the execution of their duty.—Mr. Sewell (with whom was
Mr. Wise) then contended that, inasmuch as the police were
acting without legal authority, the prisoners were justified in
exerting themselves to protect their property, the more espe-
cially as they were only participators in a general fight —The
jury found a verdict of Not Guilly.—This case concluded
the assizes.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—Yonn, JULY 17.
Betore Mr. Justice Wightman.
DPETRCCTION OP MACHINERY IN SHEFFIELD.—Alex-
ander Heathcoat, 28, Thomas Heathcoat, 27, and Henry
Sykes, 28, were charged with having on the 30th of June last,
at Sheffield, feloniously cut and damaged, certain machinery
se as to render it useless, the property of John Scaife and
other.—Mr. Overend and Mr. Johnston were for the pro-
se:ution, Mr. Price appeared for Sykes ; the other prisoners
were undefended.—The injury was inflicted on the Union
Grinding Wheel, in Sheffield, an establishment far the
manufacture of razors. It belongs to a company of proprie-
tors who sapply steam power. The building is divided into
numerous rooms, and in each room there are troughs, wheels,
and drums, which belong to various parties who hire a pro-
portion of the power. It is situate near the river Dun,
two witnesses, named Oxley and Booth, proved, that, their
suspicions being aroused, they went to the mill in order to
watch the premises. They had not been standing there long
before they saw Alexander Heathcoet, who asked Oxley
what he was doing there ? To which Oxley replied, " I'm
going to watch my property," as he had some machinery in
the mill. Heathcoat then said that if he would not take
any notice that he had seen him there that night he would
not damage any of his property, as he was that night going
to " rattan"—meaning, to injure the machinery. Oxley, how-
ever, would not make any promise, and Heathcoat went away.
Subsequently Oxley and Booth saw the other prisoners, Thos.
Heathcoat and Sykes, leaning over the rails of the bridge.
Oxley and Booth then retired for assistance, and on return-
ing heard a crash in the building, and immediately after-
wards saw Alexander and Thomas Heathcoat come out of
the premises. They had with them several leathern bands
that are used in the machinery, and had been joined by
Sykes. The witnesses and a watchman arrived, but as
the prisoner appeared determined not to be taken,
they made no efforts to take them into custody.
The witness and a watchman then went into the
building, and found that Oxley's machinery had not been
disturbed, but on going into Smile's room they found that
the polishing wheel had been injured, the small axle-tree,
covered with leather, was cut across, which rend( red it
perfectly useless. Other damage was also done of a similar
character.—His lordship rammed up, and the jury, after a
abort absence, found the two Heathcoats Guilty, but
Acquitted Sykes.—His lordship sentenced the prisoners
Alexander and Thomas Heathcoat to be imprisoned and
kept at hard labour for three calendar months. Sykes was
permitted immediately to leave the court.

POLICE.-YESTERDAY.

WORSHIP-ST REE T. Arrzserrari SUICIDE. —A
young man, named Henry Bolingbroke, was charged
with a desperate attempt at self-destruction.—Mary Ann
Pryme stated, that she and the prisoner had lived to ether
as man and wife for a considerable time past, and that
latterly the prisoner had been reduced to a state of ex-
treme distress and mental depression in consequence of
his inability to procure employment. Witness had occasion
to leave home on the preceding evening, and on her return
at a late hour at night, she was horrified at finding the pri-
soner stretched upon the bed in a state of stupor, and bleed-
ing profusely from a frightful wound in the upper part of
the left arm, evidently inflicted with a razor, which was lying
open at hie side. Nearly a quart of blood had poured down
upon the floor and become partially coagulated under the
bedstead, and there was almost an equal quantity in a basin,
on a table by the side of the bed. She immediately alarmed
the other inmates of the house, who called in two policemen,
and procured the attendance of Mr. Mather, the divisional
surgeon who dressed the wound and applied proper restora-
tives, and the prisoner, for his own security, was conveyed
to the station-house. Police-constable Watts, 115 0, stated
that upon being called in, and interrogating the prisoner as
to his motives for the commission of the act, he sullenly
evaded the question, and pointed to the wall, on which the
initials of the preceding witness were distinctly traced in
blood, and followed by the Words "You are the cause of thia."
When called upon for his defence, however, the prisoner,
who displayed the deepest despondency, said that he had
been reduced to the greatest destitution from want of em-
ployment, and that that was the immediate cause of his
attempting his life, but that other circumstances, which he
declined mentioning, had also combined to render him weary
of existence.—Mr. Broughton said that it would be mani-
festly unsafe to intrust the prisoner with hia liberty in the
frame of mind he then exhibited, and he should therefore
remand him and direct his immedidiato admission into the
infirmary of the prison, where his mental and physical state
would be properly attended to, and that in the course of a
week, when thoroughly recovered, he could be brought up
again, and he would then consider what should be done with
him.—The prisoner offered no observation and was removed
to the van
_ _

LAMBETH. MARRYING FOR filrrra. Joseph
Onky and Thomas Smith, were charged before Mr.

Norton, the former with assaulting Mr. William Baker, the
son of a publican and butcher, in Hen and Chicken-lane,
Walworth ; and the latter with exciting the mob to rewire
Onley from the custody of the police. From the statement
of Mr. Crimea, who attended on behalf of the complainant, it
screwed that about seven weeks ago, the prisoner Onley.
contrary to the wish as well as unknown to her parents aud
friend., married the sister of the complainant, Mr. Baker;
but from the moment of the marriage had refused to live with
or contribute in any way to the support of his wile.
and the consequence was that sho was compelled to
return to the house of her father. On the night be-
fore, Mr. Baker, accompanied by his sinter. cad a
young man, were walking together on their way borne,
when the prisoner, Onley, happened accidentally to meet
them, rushed at his wife, and her brother having placed
himself in front to protect her, was seized by the prisoner,
knocked down, and a good deal beaten. A constable passing
near, hurried to the spot, and secured Onley; and, on his
way to the station-house, the other prisoner, Smith, endea-
voured to excite the mob to rescue him.—A clerk to a
solicitor addressed the magistrate on behalf of Onley, and
said, in the first place, that the parents (Shia wife had taken
her away from him immediately after their marriage, and
since that time had refused his seeing her, so that it was
their fault, and not his, that the prisoner was not living
with his wife. In the next place, it had come to the
ears of Onley that his wife had been frequently seen in
the company of a young man named Rowe, and happening
to meet both of them the preceding morning, arm-in-arm,
and in company with his brother-in-law, when one or the
other of them called out, " Poor fellow, where is your wife?"
he became enraged, and demanded an explanation. Instead
of satisf) ing him in any way, the complainant. as well as
Rowe, pitched into the prisoner, and anything the latter had
done was in self-defence. A witness was called to prove
these allegations, but he failed in doing so. Mr. Games de-
nied that part of the statement on the part of the prisoner
which alleged that her parents had Dein the cause of separat-
ing his wife from him. The facts were these; Mr.. Baker,
upon being told that the prisoner had taken her daughter to
church to marry her, hastened to Greenwich ; but before
reaching there, met her daughter returning home alone.
Mr. Norton observed that he recollected the mother of
the young woman applying to him for advice, and from her
statement the marriace seemed to be a mysterious one. The
statement made by the mother was that there had been some
difference', between the families, and that there had been a
strong objection on the part of herself and her husband to
the match. The prisoner, however, prevailed on her
daughter to marry him privately, and on leaving the church
he slid he had merely married her out of spite, that he did
not intend to live with her, and went away. He (Mr.
Norton) then recommended the mother to take proceedings
in the Ecclesiastical Court, as the marriage had never been
consummated. The worthy magistrate then convicted the
prisoner Onley in the penalty of 31., or one month, and
Smith in 10r., or fourteen days.
THAMES. —FELONY. Elizabeth Kay, a girl appa-
rently not more than 15 years of age, was charged with
having robbed her employer, Mrs. Hannah Hopkins, who
keeps a chandler's-shop, of 21. 4s. 6d.—The prosecutrix said
that she had missed various sums of money at different
times from her cash-box. About five weeks ago she mi.ed
11., on Friday week a half-sovereign ; next day she placed
2/. in silver in the cash-box, and at night missed Bs. eal. ; and
on the Saturday morning she put 31. in silver in her bog, and
having gone out for a very short time, on her return there was
G.l. miming. She taxed the prisoner with having taken it,
and she denied it; but on searching her a key was found
in her pocket which exactly fitted the box, and on a further
search the missing Gs. was found in her shoes, and she after-
wards acknowledged the theft.—Mr. Yardley said he must
frilly commit her for trial.—The prosecutrix, with tears in her
eyes, begged the magistrate to deal with the case summarily.
—The girl's father, police-constable K 101, who seemed
deeply grieved at hie daughter's conduct, said he had been
fifteen years in the division, and had never had a stain on
his character.--Mr. Yardley said he could not but feel for
the distress thus occasioned to respectable parents, but the
charge having been brought before him he wan bound to
send the girl for trial.