The Express.
London, England, 1866-03-02 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCIIIT.IIIIII7OIID, Maws 1.

The bunions was ;reseeded with this morning. Mr.
Serjsant Parry, at the request of the Immo& judges,
attended divioe service as thee representative at hall-pest
9 o'clock, and the Lord Chief Baron took his seat in the
Crown Court at 10 o'clock, and charged the grand jury.
There are 37 prisoners for trig, but the whole of the
cases, with one at two siceptioas, are of the most trivial
dosariptiois.
°RAZOR OP ARSON MIAOW 1 BOY.

---- -
Alfred Hill, a boy only 10 years of ass was indicted for
feloniously and mal3cionaly setting fire to a shed and some
stacks of straw.
Mr. Taylor was instrusted to prosecute ; and Mr. Codd
appeased for the prisoner.
Tb. Lord Chief Berea inquired of the counsel for the
prosecution whether he proposed to proceed whet the
prisoner. He said he was very little above the age at which
he would not be criminally pespoosible ; and unless it
could be clearly shown that be had acted malicioesly and
was aware of the nature of the sat be was committing a
boy of his tender years ought not to be put upon his trial
for so serious an offence.
Mr. Taylor said he believed it was oily an act of mis-
chief, sad he bad himself fell the difficulty that was sag.
gested by his lordship.
The Lord Chief Berm said that if it was a mere act of
misehid, and that h. had nn idea of the consummate. be
thought the jury wm.2 hardly convict a boy of ten yearn
of age of so serious an offerors as arms.
Mr. Codd said that the priscieer's friends wore very re-
spectable, and they were is greet trouble about him. He
believed, from the instrnotioos gives to him, that the act
was one merely of thoughtless
mischief, all the prisoner
himself appeared to have ben the first pesos who gars an
alarm.
Mr. Taylor the. said that, after what bad fallen from his
lordship, he should not offer any evidence against the pri-
soner. He was requested at the same time by the clerk to
the magistrates to state that oases like these 000asiosed
them a great deal of difficulty, and they hardly knew
what to do with them. There had been in the present
instance property destroyed to the amount of several
hundreds of pousde, end the act was clearly proved to have
been committed by the prisoner, and they did not see how
they could avoid sending the awe for triaL
The Lord Chief Baron said he bad not made any com-
plaint *saint the magistrates, or any coo else. The ass
was a very fit one to be investigated.
The jury then returned a verdict of Not Guilty nods/
his lordship's direction, and the prisoner was handed over
to his friends.
George Warner, 11, pleaded guilty to as indictment
which charged that he being bails of certain moneys,
the property of his master, did fraudulently convert the
same to his owe use."
The Lord Chief Baran said be hardly supposed the pri-
soner knew to what he had pleaded guilty, but he supposed
he meant that be knew be had dons something wrong. His
offence appeared to be this. He had been sent by his
master to boy threepenny worth of suet, and jostled of
doing so he bought threepsnorrorth of swestetuff. (A
' laugh.) He had, of course, DO right to do so, but as he
• bad been already several weeks in prison, he thought the
justice of the ore would be satisfied by his sentencing him
to be further imprisoned for five days.
• The first-mentiocied prisoner, Hill, it should be slated,
had been admitted to bail.
Tharp were only three causes entered on the civil side be
- fore Mr. Justice Brie, and they were very speedily die-
!i posed of.