The Express.
London, England, 1866-07-11 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
(THIS DAY.)

SHERIFFS' COURT, RED LION-SQUARE.
(Before Mr. Under-Sheriff Burch*U.)
--•—nleacm OP PROMOS Or MAMMA=

OILXI V.

" • Bomar DISPOSITION."
A compensation ease was lead to-Ary and yesterday.
A breach of proud se of marriage was heard before the
learned Under-Sheriff, sent down from one of the superior
courts, and occupied some time, the damages being laid at
1,0001.
Mr. Folkard was for the plaintiff, Miss Elisabeth Mary
Oxley, by her father as next friend. Mr. C. M. Langdon
was for the defendant, who had suffered judgment to go
by default, and a writ of inquiry was executed.
The young lady it appeared was an accomplished musi-
cian, and ander age. e father objected to the engage-
ment at lint on account of ha age, but it was afterwards
renewed. The defendant way in a situation earning about
50.. a week, and held some shares in a company. The
=eat was broken off in January last, and the young
been very unhappy in consequence. They were
attached to each other. Mr. Oxley's servant said he had
seen the defendant walking with another young lady. It
appeared that he was now on his way to Australia., and was
described Y a person of a " roving disposition."
Counsel addressed the court on both sides. Tke breach
of promise was admitted, and the only question was the
amount of damages.
Mr. Under-Sheriff Barthel! left it to the jury to appor-
tion the amount to be awarded, regard bcong had to the
defendant's position.
The jury awarded 501. es damages.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

(THD3 DAY.)

(Before Lord Chief 'hurtles Cockburn.)
NURDiII OP ♦ 6OR-IW-L•W.

Patrick Harrington, aired 77, weaver, was charged with
the wilful murder of Peter Kum

Mr. Sleigh appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr. M.
WiMiasis for the prisoner.

Cornelius O'Leary—l live in Royal Mint-street, White-
chapel I happenedtobeouteide my horse on the 24th June.
I heard a woman crying out in an alley adjoining. I saw
deceased and his wife come out of the alley. She
had a broom and struck her husband. She tried
again to strike him, but he defended himself,
and hit her. She said, " You call me a w—, which I
am not." She fell through the blow, and he fell upon her.
She dropped the broom, and got up and hit him two blows
with the right hand. The old man, the prisoner, came out
of the alley. He stood between witness and deceased,
lifted his hand and gave a blow. Directly the deceased
turned round and said, " Old man, you have stabbed me."
He fell, and a woman came up and said, " He is bleeding."
The prisoner said nothing, but walked away. When the
blow was struck, not a word was said. They were all the
worse for liquor.
Cross-examined by Mr. Montagu Chambers—The woman
in the alley was crying " Murder.',
Daniel O'Leary, son of last witness, confirmed his
father's testimony.
Dinah Keith—l live in Royal Mint-street, and saw the
Mall and woman run out of Baker's-alley, and the en-
counter between them, the sudden appearance of the pri-
soner, the blow, and the death of the deceased. I had
not known any of them before.
Cross-examined—They were all the worse for liquor.
jpoliceman who took the prisoner into custody de-
t he said he knew nothing about it. He had been
Inspector Denny aid—When prisoner was charged with
the murder he said, "I didn't do it—l know nothing about
it. I was not there at the time." Ha was drunk.
Mr. John Lund, surgeon, made a post-mortem examina-
tion and found two wounds: The one on the left side was
stopped by the rib. The one on the right side penetrated
the cavity of the chest and wounded the right lung, and punc-
tured the aorta. Death was caused by excessive hemorr-
hage, which stopped the action of the heart. The wound
might possibly have been caused by the pocket knife picked
up on the spot, but it is not such an instrument as I
should have expected.
Cross-examined—lt is utterly impossible that both
wounds could be caused by the same blow.
Michael Mann, brother of deceased, identified the knife
produced as one used by the prisoner. Ho sells laces in
the street, and had the knife to cut off lass when he had
sold any.
Cross-examined—When Mann struck his wife I sepa-
rated them. I heard him call his wife a—.
Mrs. Mann, wife of deceased, was called but did not

-
`At the clove of the case Mr. M. Williams submitted
that there was no evidence as to the capital charge.
The learned judge mid there was no evidence to show
that prisoner's daughter was in dawr of her life. There
was no evidence of malice beyond at implied by such a
blow.

Mr. M. Williams' for the prisoner, then addressed the
jury, contending that the insults and blows bestowed by
deceased upon his daughter were sufficient to justify the
try in concluding that he thought his daughter's life was
danger, particularly as it was proved that the deceased
had knocked the daughter down. This, however, only went
to reduce the crime from murder to manslaughter,but there
was a doubt whether the prisoner indicted the wound at
all. The knife produced was picked up shut. The surgeon
said it was an unlikely weapon to indict such a wound ;
and more than that, deceased received two wounds,
whereas, so far as the prisoner was concerned, the witnesses
all agreed that he only struck one blow. He would not
suggest that the wife who had been so outraged struck the
fatal blow, but it was quite possible that that blow was
inflicted in the Irish melee up the alley, which had raged
only the moment before they emerged into the main street.
'the Lord Chief Justice said the argument was inge-
nuous, but it was disposed of by the exclamation of the
deceased, " Old man, you have stabbed me." Deceased
must have been conscious of being wounded at that mo-
ment. At the same time, it was open to the jury to con-
sider whether the attack upon his child might not have so
excited the prisoner to rush to her rescue, and so reduce
the crime to manslaughter, but there certainly were no
circumstances which seemed to place her life in danger, or
to justify the use of such a weapon.
The fury retired to consider their verdict, and after an
absence of 20 minutes returned with a verdict of " Man-
slaughter."
The Lord Chief Justice then, in consideration of the
prisoner's age and the fact that his violence, although so
much more than was necessary for that purpose, was to
protect his (laughter' sentenced him to 12 months' impri-
sonment with hard labour.
NEW COURT.
(Before the Right Hon. the Recorder.)
PERJURY.—THE ALLEGED ASSAULT IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGL
Ellen Allen, :04, married, was arraigned, at the sitting
of the court this morning, on an indictment charging her
with having committed wilful and corrupt perjury on the
30th of May last, before James Mansfield, Esq., at the
Marylebone police-court.
It will be remembered that the perjury alleged against the
prisoner was founded on her evidence to support a charge of
indecent assault upon her by &gentleman, named Moseley,
which charge was discredited by the magistrate. The in-
dictment also contained two other averments of perjury—
first, that she had sworn to a false address ; and secondly,
that she had falsely sworn that she had never lived with a
man of the name of Dyer. The prisoner, who was neatly
attired, pleaded not guilty in a low tone of voice.
Mr. Boland, Mr. F. If. Lewis, and Mr. Montagu Wil-
liams appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Metcalfe for
the prisoner.
The jury were then called over, and about to be sworn
to try the ease, when
Mr. Metcalfe interposed, and intimated to the coin t that
the prisoner was willing to plead guilty to the two indict-
rneuts for swearing to a false address, and for swearing
that she had never lived with a man named Dyer. She
mid she was not guilty on the other averments relating
to the alleged assault.
The Recorder said he could not stop the case unless the
learned counsel for the prosecution acceded to the recep-
tion of the plea of guilty as suggested.
Mr. Poland said be could not accept the proposition, and
the case most proceed.
It was then intimated that several important witnesses
for the prosecution were not in attendance, and in con-
sequence the prisoner was removed from the bar, and the
tiial postponed for the present.

THE POLICE COURTS.

(THIS DAY.)

BOW-STREET.

A BLIND BEGGAR.
of-iYu'irnlecrT,."4.7l,:betoared woman, who
ta:fob"r times.
ng, out
was
again brought before Mr. Vaughan by police-constable
Cover, F 74.
The constable stated that she was begging at Charing-
oho last evening, asking passengers to relieve her, say-
ing that she had "no light." He had frequently charged
her before, and usually she had been very violent and used
foul language, but she had not done so yesterday.
Mr. Vaughan asked to whom she had used the fool
gage on those occasions.
,T6a constable replied, when in custody to him, but also
nequently to the street boys.
Mr. Vaughan—I suppose the boys tease her ?
Ititness—Yes, and then she swears at them, and hits at
them with her stick.
The Prisoner said she was only petting her living, as she
had done for sixteen years, by selling a few matches and
hair pins.
Ift Vaughan said to his knowledge there were countless
ennaietious !against her, and the last had by his order been
fetalbed. Me bad, therefore, power to sentence her to
three months' imprisonment, with bard labour. He
ehould have taken that course now if the prisoner had, as
ea former occasions, used foul and adre language be
thorns who would not relieve her. Bat as she
had not done so on this 0r...i0n, he would deal with the
r. bale more leniently. It must still, however, be remem-
bered that no one knew better than the prisoner that, if