The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-13 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT. —LIVERPOOL, Auo UST 11.
(Before Mr. Baron Martin.)
TRIAL Or AN INCENDIARY.
The court was densely crowded from an early hour this
morning, the trial of Thomas Henry &pectin() on the
charge of setting fire to Compton-house, the largest drapery
warehouse in Liverpool, having excited a great deal of in-
terest. The building it will be remembered was entirely
destroyed by the fire, and a loss of upwards of 200,0001.
involved. The prisoner, a young man of respectability and
good family, is about 20 years of age, end was an apprentice
of Messrs. Jeffery, the proprietors of the warehouse. There
were two indictn.ents against him, one for stealing the
property of the firm, and the other for arson. He was ar-
raigned, however, only upon the latter charge.
The counsel for the crown were Mr. Aspinall, Q.C., and
Mr. Littler ; for the prisoner, Mr. Temple, Q.C., and Mr.
Leofric Temple.
The prisoner, though he had previously made and signed
a written confession as to the crime, now pleaded not
guilty"
Mr. Aspinall, having briefly opened the case, called
Mr. Wm. Henry Watts, one of the partners in the firm
of Jeffery and Co., and the chief superintendent of the
establishment, who was examined at considerable length.
He stated that after the fire (and the removal of the busi-
ness to other 'premises), having a suspicion that Sweeting
had been stealing some property, he called him into the
office on the 2nd June, and had a long conversation with
him. Witness hinted to Sweeting that he had a strong
suspicion that he had caused the fire, and urged him, for
the sake of his conscience and peace of mind, if tide was
the case, to confess. Sweeting hesitated and equivocated
for a considerable time, but ultimately did confess
to Mr. Watts that he set fire to the establishment
by throwing a match amongst some goods in the cellar ;
that he could not account for the act ; and that it was
done under an uncontrollable impulse. The prisoner,
in answer to one of Mr. Watts' questions, said he
had no unkind feeling towards the firm, who had
always been exceedingly kind to him, and that in fact he
had no motive whatever for setting fire to the premises.
A written statement to the same effect as this evidence
(which had been written and directed to Mr. Jeffery) was
then put in.
Mr. J. H. Jeffery was then examined, and stated that
be also had a conversation with the prisoner, similar in
effect to that which had been described by Mr. Watts. At
first Sweeting " called Heaven to witness" that he had not
set fire to thepremises ; but next day, when witness and
o her (Mr. W. Jeffery) and Mr. Watts had another con
versation with the prisoner, he dictated to them a state-
ment confessing his guilt.
Detective officers Cousens and Macarthy were then called,
and detailed certain statements implicating himself
which the prisoner had made in Bridewell.
Several other witnesses, persons employed at the ware-
house, were examined, and one of them stated that on the
evening of the fire (but before it took place) the prisoner
came to him and said, " How would you like to see this
place on tire ? I have often thought I should like to see
it, and wonder it has not occurred where so many dif-
ferent characters are employed."
Mr. Temple, for the defence, urged that the confession
brought forward by the prosecution was no confession at
all. The document produced was merely a statement of
facts, and was quite consistent with the supposition that
the prisoner bad no guilty connexion with the transaction.
Mr. Temple called particular attention to this passage :
" 1 had no ill-feeling to anybody ; on the contrary, Mr.
Jeffery and Mr. W. Jeffery have always been very kind to
me ;" and also to a passage to the effect that had it not
been for the kindness of his masters he could not have
passed the local college examinations. This showed that
the prisoner had no motive, and it might be that the
throwing of the lighted taper upon the goods was only an
act of carelessness. It was merely a suggestion and guess
that this taper caused the fin: ; and if the prisoner set fire
to the premises accidentally anti without motive he was
entitled to an acquittal. The confession had been evi-
dently made when the prisoner was in a frenzied state of
mind, and after he hail been tortured by the injunctions
and urgent appeals of Mr. Watts.
His lordship said the question for the jury was did the
prisoner knowingly and wilfully throw the match or taper
with the intention to set fire to the material amongst
which it was thrown. The statement of the prisoner him-
self must be taken as a whole, and if the jury believed it
to be true they must find him guilty. A malicious deed
within the meaning of the act was any wrongful act done
intentionally, and without just cause or excuse.
The jury found the prisoner Guilty.
Mr. Jeffery hoped his lordship would pass as lenient a
sentence as possible, having regard to the prisoner's youth.
His Lordship said it was very kind of Mr. Jeffery to
interfere on behalf of the prisoner. He intended to pass
what might be considered a very severe sentence, as the
destruction of property was enormous, and it was abso-
lutely necessary to protect the public. He would consult
his brother Lush on the subject, and in the meantime sen-
tence would be deferred.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

(Before Mr. Payne.)

John Crowder, general dealer, was indicted on the
charge of assaulting James Mauwering, a metropolitan po-
lice constable, while in the execution of his duty.
Jane Daughters, of 4, Denton's-buildings, Somers-town,
said that on the 14th ult., Crowder began to abuse her,
and threw a plate at her, but it missed her head. He
was very drunk, and she gave him into custody.
Police-constable Manwering, Y, said the prisoner
would not go to the station quietly. He said, "Nothing
less than death will let me go, and it will be death to the
first person who touches me." He kicked witness, and
throw him down about a dozen times, continually kicking
and striking him. He was ultimately, owing to his vio-
knee, conveyed on a stretcher to the station by four con-
stables. Witness was very much hurt, and his body was
very sore.
In defence, the prisoner said, " The police are always
upon me when I go out with my barrow. I was very
drunk."

The jury having returned a verdict of Guilty, the pri-
soner, whining and affecting to cry, said—My lord, my
lord, what am Itodo ? The police won't let me alone.
They interfere with me while I'm getting a living for my
five children. _ .

.....
Mr. Payne—lf there be any undue interference on the
part of the police, you should apply to the magistrate, who
would protect you, but it appears to me that you are a
very violent man.
Prisoner—Oh, my lord, be merciful to me. be a
teetotaller I'll do anything, and become a bright member
of society. (Laughter.) My lord, I'll be a sober man, and
subscribe to the Lifeboat Fund. (Laughter.)
Mr. Payne—You have bees found ger-ty of this unpro-
voked assault on a constable, and therefore some punish-
ment must be inflicted upon you. A constable is a pre-
server of the mice, which Lou have broken, accompanied
with extreme violence to his person. The sentence of the
court is that you be imprisoned and kept to hard labour
for nine calendar months. In order that you may reform
I shall order you, after you have served your term of im-
prisonment, to enter into your own recognisance in the
sum of 251. to keep the peace for Fix months. If you break
your bond during that time you will be further impri-
soned.
William Shan, William Blake, and Witham Cain, three
determined-looking ruffians, were indicted for a murderous
assault upon Charles Ames and breakirg his leg.
The prisoners were a sample of the roughs who frequent
the neighbourhood of Lisson-grove.
The prosecutor, living at 36, William-street, Limon-
grove, a butcher, said the prisoners stole from his shop
two sheep's hearts, and be followed them and taxed
them with it, when they all set upon him. Blake struck
him twice on the face, while Sheen (who is a power-
ful fellow) struck him several violent blows immediately
behind the ear. They threw him down, and Cain jumped
upon him. The prosecutor struggled to his feet again,
when Cain put his leg round that of the prosecutor's,
throwing him violently to the ground and breaking his
leg in two places. The other prisoners were all this time
striking and kicking Lim in the rits and other parts of his
body. This was seen by two witnesses, who were examined.
Other evidence having been given as to the nature of
the offence,
. .

The jury found the prisoners Guilty.
His lord%hip sentenced Cain to two years' imprisonment
with hard labour, Sheen to five, and Blake to seven year'
penal senitude.

NEW MODE or CORRECTINGCOMPASS VARIATIONS.
—Few things are more annoying to the mariner than the
compass variations which, especially in the navigation of
iron ships, he has to provide against. An extremely
simple and ingenious mode of ascertaining the deviation
has, however, been devised by a naval commander con-
nected with the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland,
U.S., which will remove all difficulty in the matter. It is
proposed to take an ordinary compass card, and erect upon
its centre a fine copper wire, from 4 to 6 or 8 inches in
height, and perpendicular to its plane • at the moment of
the sun's meridian passage, as indicated by the noon ob-
servation for latitude, note the direction of the shadow
cast by the wire on the compass card. The angle con-
tained between this direction and that of the north and
south line of the card will give the variation and local
attraction combined. Small errors are involved in this
method, but the approximation is close enough for the
purpose for which it is intended. As there would, of
course, be no difficulty in making this wire a permanent
fixture to the card, it will be obvious that this arrangement
would enable the deviation of the compass to be daily
tested.— Mining ..ro.arriel.

Tug BOMBAY MAIL.—Sons, Aroun 10.—The
Malta arrived at 11 p.m. to-day.