The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-15 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT;--Nc7rrimosat, M&Rcu 13.

Caowy porn.—Brmis RA WON A.rseasom.
THE WORKSOP MURDER.

Edward Jeffries, aged 28, labourer, was charged with
the wilful murder of Jonathan Brett, at the parish of
Worksop, in February last.
The facts of the case are these :—About two o'clock on
Sunday morning, the 2nd of Feb., a most cold-blooded
murder took place in a email court on the Lead-bill, be-
tween Norfolk-strect and the Castle-hill, which is distant
nut more than 160 yards from Bridge-street, which is the
principal thoroughfare in the town of Worksop. The court
as approached from the rued leading into Norfolk-street, from
Castle-street by a passage 7 yards long. It appears that at
the time and place shove-mentioned a man named Edward
Jeffries, labourer, and a notorious character, went to the
house of Jonathan Brett, a stonemason, and called him
up. Brett, who was in bed, no other person being in the
house, got up to the chamber window, aud, on putting
forth his head, Jeffries (who stood close by the wall of the
house) heed off a gun at him, the contents of wh'eh struck
him on the upper part of the forehead, and carried away
• portion of the scalp and hair, which became attached
to the ceiling of the chamber. Had the gun been a little
lower it must have shattered his head to atoms. The only
reason assigned for the desperate act was that an im-
proper intimacy had existed between the prisoner and
the murdered man's wife. The deceased Brett's wife was,
not in bed with him, but was on the rood home when
she heard the report of a gun when within ri) yards
of the house. She saw prisoner run out of the paimage
which forms the approach to her husteand's house, and she
knew him well by his clothes and person. She went up i
stairs to her husband, who said, " Poll, I am shot She
asked him who had done it, and he replied, "Ned Jef-
fries." lie was bleeding profusely from a wound in the
forehead. She then ran for • 'ransom, and Mr. Benjamin
keldison, of Worksop, went to him. Ile found the de-
e, ased in bed, suffering from a gunshot wound in the
forehead; he was partly sensible.. Ile lingered until the
Tuesday following, when he died. The head was opened,
and a shot corn was found in the brain ; the inner table
of the skull was much depressed, and another shot corn
was found under the scalp. After the murder, Jeffries
made his es ape, but the untie morning he was taken into
custody try Inspector' Duff and Cheetham, of the county'
police, being found by them concealed in a straw-stack be-
longing to Mr. B. liarside, in a field near the Itliford-road.
lie W., barefooted and bareheaded, without waistcoat or
neckcloth. The prisoner is about ./ fist 6 inches high, and
has are murkably moaning and singular appearance. At
the age of nine years he was hound apprentice by his father
(who resided at the sillage of (lown, in Derbyshire and
distant a few mile* from Worksop), to Mr. Curtis Roe, of
Works p, chimney sweep, &e., where he remained about
four years. During that period Mr. Roe said that he
was a quiet, harmless, and honest lad; that he ran away
several times, and coin-tailed himself in the most artful

manner on such erosions. He did not serve the full term
of his apprenticeship, for when 13 v; ors of age he ran
away and engaged with a sweep at knareshornugh. After
stopping at linareshorough some time, he returned to his
native plug. and was engaged m • farmer's man and
drainer in the neiglibnurhaosl, and whenever he met his old
master hi always conducted himself with revert and pro-
prit ty. Subsequently he married, and fined his abode in
Worksop ; his wife, who was said to be of light character,
died about 10 months ago. Ify her he had two children,
one of whom still lives. Ile then became connected with a
gang, and has since led a most dissolute life. lie is about
'lc; years of age.
The prim ipal witnemea for the prosecution were Mr.
Curzon, chief constable of Worksop; David Daft, inspector
of county police; Mary Brett, widow of deceased ; Edwin
and Mary Welwter, and Mr. B. Ildilbon, surgeon.
Mr. Adams delivered an able address in defence of the
prisoner. He contended that the prisoner had presented
the gun, which be did not know to be loaded, at the de-
ceased, and in a foolish drunken freak pulled the trigger,
and which reduced it down to manslaughter.

lii. horebdup summed up, and the jury, after about 10
minut,‘' rormaeratiun, returned a verdict of Guilty of
manslaughter, and the pri.oner wa. benteucvd to be trans-
ported fur 10 years.

THE POLICE COURTS.
MANSION-HOUSE.
Eliza Williams was brought before the Lord Mayor
charged with having removed her furniture to avoid His
payment of rent.
Mr. Johnson, a broker, stated that he had put a distress
into the house in which the defendant and her husband re-
sided, for rent due to the landlord, and that the man
tinned with the necessary authority was locked into one of
the rooms while the defendant, as she herself acknowledged
threw part of the furniture out of the window, assisted by
the gentry associated about a cub-stand, which was opposite
to the house. The plan of removal was so well laid, that
tt was quite impossible fur the person in possession to inter-
fere, and the euhs earricil off the goals us coolly aa if the
violation of the law had never been contemplated. Even
the bed was stripped of the feathers, and the chest of
drawers of its various comportments, so that the remains
were of little or no value. At the same time that the rent
due' amounted to 201.
The Lord Mayor—Defendant, what have you to say to
this breach of the law'?
The defendant said she certainly had done that with
which she was charged, but she had done herself no more
than justice. She and her hustsind, who was an afflicted
man, were hut lodgers in the house, which was rented by a
carman, whose wife resided in part ..f it, and to whom they
regularly made weekly payments for their room. Ott the
very night on which the broker had put in his matt they
had paid the last sixpenve they owed Mr the apartment in
which they hail resided between two and three years, to
the wife of their landlord, sn that not being in debt one
farthing for house-rOOlll, they considered it to be nothing
his than robbery to seize upon the " sticks" they had to
sit upon and the clothes they had to cover them, because
the man to whom they hail punctually discharged all his
demands did not ohserve the same rule with the gentle-
man to whom he was responsible fur the rent of the whole
house.
The Lord Mayor (to the broker)—Are these the facts of
the case ?
. . .

The broker said he had no reason to doubt the statement
of the defendant, who was,us she said, the tenant under this
carman. lie had, however, done no more than his duty.
The Loral Mayor (to the defendanD—Do you not owe any
rent at all to your landlord ?
Defo ndant - Not tow farthing, my lord. ♦tie never allowed
it to run on. In fact, the will of the landlord had nothing
to live upon but what she received from us. Her husband
doors not live with her.
The broker said the defendant's landlord had no furni-
ture in the house worth anything, and he owed three quar-
ters rent.
The Lord Mayor (to the defendant)—Did the head land-
lord ever intimate to you that your landlord owed hint
rent ?
Defendant—Never, my lord. Vo knew nothing at all
about it till the distress was put in.
The Lord Mayor—l cannot say that the broker could
have done otherwise than he (has done; but there is
heavy moral offence in the net of a head landlord in seis-
ing upon psi people's goods for rent due to him by his
tenant, without sending notice to them that they were
living in the house of a person of insolvent circumstances.
I believe that advantage is in numerous instances taken
of the existing law, which is, in my opinion, as it stands,
calculated to lead to base conspiracies to plunder unsus-
pecting persons of the little comforts they may have about
them.
The broker said the head landlord was a person of well
known humanity, awl would be the last man to deprive
the poor woman of her goods; but the fact was that her
landlord did not seem disposed to pay at all, although he was
a man of some property, and it became actually necessary
to show a disposition to enforce payment iu order to
teach him his duty. The ease was brought before his lord-
ship in order to prevent the injurious interference with the
law, and the conduct of the cabmen was certainly calculated
to encourage ro,istauee in CAM., of a very different kind.
The Lord Mayor--There ran he nu question that the de-
fe•ndant has acted illegally, and she and every person who
assisted her are l able carin tat them to a penalty amounting
' to double the value of the goods which were taken away.
Now she must return the goods at once, and when that Is
done, let her come here. I dare say there will be no further
interference with her furniture.
The broker—l am convinced that the owner of the house
never thought of doing her the slightest injury•, and that
all your lordship saysiwill be acquiesced in by him.
The Lord Mayor—l have no doubt of it, and I trust the
circumstances which have been stated here to-day will lead
to such a change in the law as may operate to the protection
of many a poor industrious family.
The defendant expressed the most unaffected gratitude
to his lordship, and said that all her thrniture should be
immediately returned to the place from which she bad
amused it to be removed.
OUILDRALL.
J. Camphell, ll'. Thompson, J. Randall, J. Gregory, W.
lusnell, J. Bard'??, Paye, J. Brines, anti ?'..Minus,
nine robust looking young men, were charged with creating
a disturbance• in the East London Union-Workhouse, and
refusing to work.
On Thursday night the prisoners were admitted, with 125
other casual applicants, to the Union, and ruceived their
suppers, after which they were conducted to the sleeping-
mum. Next morning at 6 o'clock one of the porters called
them up, and brought each man a pound of oakum to pick,
according to the custom of the house. They refined to pick
it, and began to throw it at one another. After some time
some of the party went to work, but the prisoners set the
carers at defiance, and mid nothing should make them
work. They were given into custody.
In answer to the questions of the magistrate. the young
men stated that they had met from various pain Of the

I country, and had been tramping about for some time pre-
viously.
Alderman Lawrence said it appeared to him that the pri-
soners preferred this vagabondoing kind of life to that of
working industriously for an htinitst living. The workhouse
was intended fir the deserving and needy poor, and nut for
a set of tramping v.tg &owls. They seemed tired of work-
ing, and it was quite plain, they were now going from town
to town and subsisting entirely upon the relief afforded
them by the different parishes. Since they had thought
proper to break through the rules of the house, they must
take the sons, quenee.. lie would send them all to the House
of Correction fur seven day:.

MONEY MARKET.

[Fur this day's City News, see 4th pap.]

FRIDAY EVIININO.

The heavy account in the railway share market came
to a close to-day with the failure of a broker. The
amount involved is not very considerable, but the
liquidation is represented to be unfavourable. Ills
speculations were to a large extent in Caledonians.
Vie rates of continuation, as stated, were very high.
The following are some of them :
Per Share. Per Ct.
London and North-Western 1 2 20 40
South-Es terns 2O 40
Caledonians
1--- - - - 1
20 40
Midlands 3040 40

Lancashire and Vimlobby _
Aberdeen -16 30
Great Westerns 1 1 17 28
Brightens
f-t 8 13 V)
Blackwalls 2O
tiouth-Westerns
Great Northern.

York and North litidlssd .... A 3-la lo A 5
The quotations of foreign exchange were lower to-
day, in consequence of a considerable demand fee
bills upon all places. A fair amount of business was
transacted at rates favourable to the seller. Short
Paris left off 2e.; long Amsterdam, 11.171;
Ham-
burg, 13.71; Brussels, 23.22 ; Frankfort, 119. The
Austrian exchanges were again the exception, bills
on Vienna and Trieste being done at 13 florins and
above. The electric telegraph being broken at Nlag-
deburg, no exchanges have been received front
Vienna for the last few days.
The rates negotiated were :
tune. Prlcfsnegellatel
Fross To
Amsterdam pert Short Ile.. Vls•tr. ... 115. lien.
Ditto

It°Until=
and Altnna

" iia i7oty,.. 1111.17 kv.
111ot:4.701g. lame& 701.

11.1Lis041g •-• vs 10 .."-- v.__ -.eta. -74,
rrankSwt. -,.-klakoo „ „ ii Skr Wit
11,rnna
tt I ,tl9 99. 111. 10kr.
Antwerp .....»....» Ol 90 45trs. 22444.... 13km Mts.
Paris ,......»........ „ Short 2ifre.. Oats ... Mires. lieu.
Ihtto „ „....„„ 3 %Watts 2 Ifrol.2l,els . 23frea 2. els.
Ilarre ........ ., 251rra. 25rts .. 15tr0r..274et...
4r..46
' 34r. 23ets. ... 3.4 r. Wu.
99
~241r...‘ to. ... 291 r. 8 Ws.
Naples .tar ducat „ 411 pence ...414 prime
l'a:ersho ...„ rr ounce „ 1:41 i.enve ... 131. penes
1211 r ' 1234 pesos

111101/44 pet della: .. 493 peace ... ssi pence
code . ....... „ „ 4 . pence ... Set woe
Gtbralee ..... ~ „ 491 penes, ... 493 pence.
1.1•Ja.• ..... pet a Wei 0. Al pence .. 431 peace
(Vesta ....
S:. Yetereberp peAntie :, 3161 mere ... 37 nesse
The account of the position of the Bank of Eng-
land for the week ending Saturday, the Bth of
March, 18.51, published pursuant to the Act 7 8: 8
Viet., c. 32, is as follows:

AA \K OY (ILAN O.—A, ow we fee the week miles MAR* 8,1861.

..
it o . 11117•10.11 ST. ,
Note, tried 127.7.13,10.5 ti.werutocnt D0L.... 01.016,100
uthor Narunitm. .. ... 2,144.1106
gull (..Au and Dunlop 13.09.b10
Warr lAuliou ... ..... 13,37 i

f:7.733,11,5

.if 1.733,1.6

P.
4e t Frooriotoro' Mot!: I
. . 3.6t.14,;2
ththll.ll..:pooko.O.o.ii.Ol

'IL STNI la?.

tx.114.4..
beht.aml I.sv. Mcu.l 11.011,V37
Other 9. 9.3.,,J2
.enpo..Sayankl..theritalo

Ilt¢lud.
Atwww) ...... Cti.l4s.sle
Other Sc./ill=
Not. ....... 15.;4.9.14U
awl Sliver ..41.1;..

t'26,603.00 I L1C1D5,610
Mardi 13.1101. M. MAINTIALI.. (Tie,. •,••,.1.....
The above returns, when compared with those for'
the week preceding, exhibit the billowing changes:
Circulation issue £17,733,196 Decrease £39,045
Circulation active 18,991,04i I)eerease 241,320
Public dkr.its 8,010,287 Increase 221,943
Other deposits
--''"

Uoremment securities in
banking department 14,145,06 Without alteration
Other securities in franking
department
Cuia and bullion in both
departments
Seven day and other bills 1M514,239 Increase 6,643
The Rest
_3,308

The neserve
According to the official returns published in the
Gazette of last Tuesday. the total note circulation of
all the private banks of England and Wales during
the week ending the Ist of March was 3,381,3=
In the week receding the amount was 3,399,3371.;
there is, consequently, a decrease of 18,030/.
The note circulation of the joint-stock banks du-
ring the same week was 2,66:1,0349., and the pre-
ceding week's return being 2,671,319/., the decrease
is shown to be 7,383/.
On taking into consideration the active circulation
of the Rank of England which. in the week in ques-
tion, was 19,235,5751. (being 522,565/. more than the
week previous) we find the aggregate note circula-
tion of England and Wales to be 25,260,846 L, which
Ishows on balance an increase of .197,1821. as com-
pared with the returns fur the previous week end-
ing the 22nd of March.
As regards the bud issues, the private hanks are
1,366,199/., and the joint-stock banks 746,051/. below
the amount authorised to be issued.

TRAFFIC RETrRNS FOR THE PAST WEEK.

Niles owed

RAILWAYS.
[The fellow* are yeeterday's quotation; to-day'e sales
bend in Ma 4th page.]

511ARE3 AND UNGUARANITED.