The Express.
London, England, 1851-02-19 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUEf.--LANCASTER, Fyn. 18.
The Commission of Oyer and Terminer and general gaol
delivery, for the northern division of this county, was
opened yesterday afternoon, in the Crown Court, Lancas-
ter, before Mr. Justice Cresswell and Mr. Justice Platt, the
judges of this circuit. After the customary formalities the
courts were adjourned until this day at 10 o'clock.
_ . .

The calendar is unusually heavy, comprising 33 prisoners,
whose offences are as follows: Manslaughter, 2; attempting
to poison, 1; feloniously wounding, 2; incendiarism, 2;
misdemeanour, 1 ; bigamy, 2; coin cases, 2; game caae, 1 ;
obtaining by false pretences, 3.
The unusually large number of prisoners for trial is attri-
butable to an alteration in the gaol which has recently been
made. The visiting justices, on the recommendation of Mr.
11111, one of the Prison Inspectors, have recently converted
Lancaster Castle into a place of confinement for female pri-
soners and debtors only. A number of the female prisoners
on trial were originally committed to the Castle to await
their trial at the ensuing l'reston Quarter Sessions, but the
judges have decided that they must deliver the gaol of all
the prisoners. This will add materially to the cost of prose-
cution, assize trials being so much more expensive than
those of quarter sessions.
eleaT Burma Mn. honey Cararratz..

CHARGE Or OBTAINING GOODS BY FALSE PRETENCES.
A. M. I. Dumpy!, and M. J. F. Death rd were charged
with obtaining a quantity of articles hom Samuel Bond
under fraudulent representations, with the intent to de-
fraud him of the same ; other counts in the indictment
charged them with conspiracy to defraud.
Early in December last the elder prisoner called at the
shop at Mr. Bond, iu Lancaster, and mid that he had been
recommended to him to purchase some furniture. lie told
Mr. Bond that he was au old soldier—a lieutenant-colonel
ou half-pay. Ile then pulled out a letter, on which was
" Lieut-Col. Damian', Curnforth Lodge," and then said
that was his address. lie said he wanted very few articles
of furniture. He had already gone into Carnforth Lodge,
and he merely wanted a few goods till his arrived from
London. Ile said he had been used to barracks and he did
not care about it himself, hut he had a young fancily which
he wished to make comfortable. He stated that he would
pay in two instalments, as he had only a very poor pay,
taking into account his long services. A quantity of goods
were neat to Camworth Lodge on the strength of these repre-
sentations, but Mr. Hood not feeling perfectly stationed
about his bargain, requested a security, which the elder
prisoner refused to give, and would not accept a bill pay-
able at three months. Mr. Bond then intimated his inten-
tion to have the goods returned, and engaged a room ad-
joining the ball fur the purpose of removing the goods.
During the negotiation the younger prisoner told Mr. Bond
that his father had 12s. fat. a day, and that he also had
some property by right of his mother. Seeing that Mr.
Bond was letermined on the removal of the goods, the
elder prisoner ut last consented to accept the bill, and no
further proceedings were taken.
Another tradesman of the town named David Smyth, a
teadealer, from whom he obtained a quantity of groceries,
deposed that the elder prisoner represented himself to him
as being in the receipt of a lieutenant-colonel's half-pay.
A saddler named Wilkinson also swore that it was upon
the representation of the elder prisoner's being a colonel
that a number of articles had been obtained from him.
Mr. John Roberts, a clerk in the War-office, said that he
had examined the "Army List," and he did not find the
name of Andrew Montague Isaacson Bamford as a lieute-
nant colonel on half-pay. There is no lieutenant-colonel in
the army on half-pay of 12s. tid. per day. In cross-exami-
nation he said that the prisoner Andrew Montague Isaacson
Durnfurd had sold out as a captain and lieutenant-colonel
of the Fusilier Guards in ISM. He afterwards entered as

an ensign, and retired on full pay on the disbandment of
the Second Royal Veteran Battalion. In courtesy it was
usual to apply the title of lieutenant-colonel to any gentle-
man who had ever held that appointment. In addressing
the prisoner ns a friend he should give him the title of
lieutenant-colonel ; but he 'would nut do so if addressing
him officially. Ile has no military rank in the army.
Joseph Monks, the station-master at the Milinhorpe sta-
tion un the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, deposed to the
two prisoners bringing a san containing ten packages, in-
cluding hampers and bedding, which was sent of to
Newcastle- upon -Tyne, under the address of Mr.
Isaacson."_ - .

A clerk from the poet-office, named Jackson, deposed to
the prisoners having addressed each other as uncle and
nephew at the pint-otiice.
His Lunl,hip decided that then• seas no evidence of con-
spiracy, and that the ease against the younger prisoner had
failed. Ile lett it to the jury to say whether the elder pri-
soner had reprcsentell himself to Mr. Bond as holding the
rank of lieutenant-colonel with an intention to deceive him,
and afterwards defraud bins of the goods.
The jury, after a deliberation of ten minutes, returned a
verdict of Not Guilty.
The court was crowded to excess during the hearing—
the case having excited considerable sensation in the neigh-
bourhood.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS—YEarmatr.

14.01.. Ma. 611111.1W1T ADAMS, AIFISTAPT
The February Adjourned General SC4iOllll of the Peace
for the County of Middlesex commenced yesterday morn-
ing, at the Court House, Clerkenwell, before the Awistant
Judge, Mr. Witham, Mr. Warner, Mr. Woodward, and Mr.
Russell. There were 64 cases of felony, and 4 of misde-
meanour for trial.

The learned Judge briefly addreased the grand jury upon
the nature of the duties they had to perform.
THIEF TRAINING.
_ .

George Jackson, a man paralysed in the left arm, was
isonvieted of stealing a piece of bacon.
The prisoner had been convicted five or sin times, and it
appeared, from the evidence of two City detective otficent
that he was a regular trainer of young thieves. One of
them stated that he had been the officer in nine eases
where boys who had been taught to thieve by the prisoner
hod been sentenced to transportation, and several of them
he had known, before they fell into the prisoner's clutches,
to be good, respectable boys. lie was the recognised
"captain' of a regular tribe of young thieves whom he
systematically drilled to make them perfect in the practice
of their trade.

The learned judge said this ease forcibly showed the
strange defect that existed in the jurisdiction of this court,
which, unfortunately, would have the effect of preventing
the court passing upon this prisoner the sentence he so
richly merited. The offence of which the prisoner was
convicted was one of simple larceny, and as the court could
not in the regular and formal manner receive and act on the
evidence of the former convictions, it could not pass sen-
tence of transportation upon him. He certainly hoped this
defect would Apee,lily be remedied, and, ere long, a deputa-
tion of the magistrates would, no doubt, wait upon the
Secretary of State upon the subject. The court would pass
our
an hip m thec sane
,se,
tenc'erhaisevweas! passed upon
n the
wherek7hileerf
training was carried on, which sentence was that of
eighteen months hard labour.