The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-01-16 00:00:00

NEW COURT.

Francis Rainson, aged %, a simple-lnnking countryman. was
indicted for feloniously intermarrying with Jane Calmat, his wife,
formerly Mary Diek, widow, being at that time living.
The case occupied• the Court but a short time, being the last that
was tried.

John Burnley, the parish clerk of Christ Church, Newgate-
street, produced the registry of marriage, by which it appeared
that the prisoner was married b► bans to the widow Dick, on the
15th July. 1822.
H. W. Facey, the parish clerk of St. Luke's, Old.atreet, also
produced a similar registry. by an entry of which it appeare 1 that.
in the month of Octcber, 1823, the prisoner was married to Jane
Caleratt.

An old man of the name of Olibbon proved that he acted as
" father" on the occasion of the first marriage with widow Dick ;
but he hoped the Court would have mercy on the prisoner, as he
(wanes%) thought, between one and t'other, he did not know what
he was about. (A laugh.)
Jane Calcraft, the second wife, said she married the prisoner
about two years and a quarter ago. She preferred no complaint.
The Coststoe SERGEANT wished to know whether the lint
wife was in Court ? _ . .

The answer wan in the affirmative; but she, it appeared, had no
complaint to make.
The Com aroN SERGEANT then said, there was sontething a
little extraordinary about the case, and he should like to know who
preferred the charge.
Thomas Glossop, an officer, stated that he apprehended the pri.
goner. The warte,t was contained at the instance of the first wife,
or rather through her application tor parish relief, he having de.
netted her and her infant, and left them destitute.

The prisoner made a long defence, which hedelivered with great
simplicity. tie mid he would not deny the charge, but he sepa.
rated from his first wife because she got tipsy and used him ill, but
It was by mutual consent, for she said she wanted no more to do
with him. As she was gone, he wanted to take up with another
woman. so be got the other wife, not thinking that his firm would
ever come again. When he lived first with his second wife be did
not wish to scandalise her, so he married her, ■nd as noon-as be had
done so, the other woman used to come tipsy and abuse them, and
out of sheer spite went to the parish. " That," said the prisoner,
" is the whole truth of the story, gentlemen."
The (lummox SERGEANT told the Jury that there might be,
and he thought there were circumstances of extenuation connected
with the case ; but they had only to look at the tact, which he
thought had been proved beyond a doubt.
£he Jury returned a verdict of Guilty.

MIDDLES r.,T SESSIONS, SATURIMIS JAN. 14.

DREADFUL INJURY,

Daniel Bird, a boy about -twelve years old, stood indicted for
assaulting Daniel Keith, a boy about the same age.
The prosecutor, the upper part of whose face was covered with a
bandage, stated, that on the 22d of December he was playing in a
court in St. Giles's, when the prisoner came up to him, and crying
" Holt," fired a small cannon, which he had fixed on a stick, in
his face, and the shot passing into his eye, literally knocked it out,
and it fell on the pavement near where he was standing.—[An in.
voluntary shudder pervaded the Court while this statement was
being inade.l
James White also witnessed the outrage, of which he gave a
similar account. To the beat of witness's belief the cannon wan a
brass one. The prisoner ran away, abd when taken into custody
had nut the cannon about him.

The prisoner. in his defence, said the affair was s complete acci.
dent, and for which he was extremely sorry. The cannon spoken
of was a mere piece of hollow bone, in whioti he had bored a touch.
hole, and was amusing himself with firing it ofi. when it unfonu-
timely burst, and a pies of the bone striking the complainant in
the eye caused the injury now complained of.
The CHAIRMAN asked hint if he had any witnesses to confirm
hkstatement ? _ .

The prisoner Raid he had, but they were not in Court.
The CHAIRSIAN, in stunming up, paid, that if the statement
made by thet prisoner wan true, the affsir, however lamentable,
amounted only to an accident ; but then it was to be remembered
1! at one of the witnesses bad expresed his belief that the cannon
was a brans one. They would, perhaps. find the prisoner guilty,
and he would respite the judgment till al ontlay, to afford hint time
to produce the witnesses he spoke of.
Verdict—Guilty. Sentence reapited accordingly.
Ater Johnson Hamilton wan charged with haring uttered two
base and counterettit shillings on the 30th of December, at the
Hunter's Arma public-house, in Compton street.
. , _ .

The prisoner tendered the false coin in payment for some rum and
water at the house in question, and it appeared that the prisoner on
being searched, situ he was taken into custody, had no less than
seven counterfeit shillings in his possession.
The Jury returned a verdict of Guilty, and the Court sentenced
him to be imprisoned for one year, and at the end of that term to
find sureties flit his good behaviour for two years.
John Batlent was indicted for having in his possession a great
quantity of cournerft it coin, with intent to utter the came.
The cave was clearly proved against the prisoner, and the Jury
found him Guilty. Lite Court sentenced him to one year's Im.
prisonment.
Jolsu Russell was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for a
similar offence.

Bechard lie'uses was indicted for having fraudulently obtained
the sum of one shilling from his employer., Blesis. Muses and
Co.. wharfingets, City-road.
Mr. ALLEY stated the case for the prosecution. The prose.
Mont were in a very extensive way of huainess, they bein,g carriers
of goods to And from London and Birmingham ; the prisoner wits
in their employ as u carman. and it was his duty to convey goods
from Ilia employer's wharf to their destination, and in loons in.
also to take geode to other wharfs to a greater die:mice ; he
then was intrusted to isolve mar seas dt money for carriage, in
whieb ease a ticket was node esttAty his cap 's clerk, if not be
wan not authorised to make it. Tim bed for some months
past been in the !obit of *seeing sertring, and, in some in.
stances, one shilling end 111.1 win. • 0111 NM, a the Pecker" he
ddivcred, WA& bs daby wee= fr blank printed tickets, which

were allowed to remain about hit employer's counting-house. and
which he tilled up with the names of the parties to whom toe pack-
ago; were directed ; he had ales practised a double species of ftaud,
which WWI by charging hip employers with out carriage, which he
had never paid.
The cape was fully proved, and the Jury found the prisoner
Guilty. The Court sentenced him to pit months' imprisonment.

SURREY SESSIuNS, SATURDAY, JAY. 14.

James Smith, the man who wu induced. at the .
of the Court, to plead not guilty to an indictment to which he had
at first pleaded guilty, was this day tried and convicted.
Anse Laurance, an interesting young woman, was indicted fur
having stolen a scent box, a crystal seal, some candles. knives and.
forks, and jelly, with other articles, the property of her master, Mr.
Ai.:lcrinn. The whole of the property was identified by Mrs.
Anderson, who said she had lust the two first articles sate months
before the prisoner quitted her service. It appeared, that since the
prisoner had gone away, she had married, and was living with her
husband when she was apprehended. The property WAS then
found in her possession.
In her defence the prisoner made a statement, which was denied
by the person to whom it referred. She alleged that she had gone
to see a young woman, formerly her fellow servant, and now in the
service of Mr. Anderson, and that that yout.g woman had given
her the knives, &c., but that she had found the snuff-box in the
garden. and in her hurry, in leaving her master's house, which she
quitted in consequence of a misunderstanding, she had taken it
away with her clothes, but that she should have returned it if she
had any one to send it by.
It was stated that 'some ladies and gentlemen, who had been
three days in attendance to give -.the pehoner a character, had
now quitted the Court in the belief that the trial would not come on.
The prisoner was at once found Guilty.
Mr. Ilennea„ Who acted as the Chairman in the temporary ab-
sence of Mr. Scriven, said it was the painful duty of the Magis-
trates. at every Sessions, to sentence persons more or less ly
for this offence, according to the circumstances attending its cant-
mission. It was the duty of the Magistrates to protect masters
against the depredations of their servants, and the sentence of the
Court therefore was, that the prisoner should be transported for
seven years.
The prisoner, on hearing the sentence, made a pathetic appeal he
Mrs. Anderson, and was then taken front the bar to hysterics.

recommends'

POLICE.

BOW-STREET.

A person of gentlemanly exterior, who stated himself to he a
Barrister residing in one of the Inns of Court, appeared at this
Office on Saturday, to take the benefit of a consultation with the
sitting Magistrate, G. It. Minshull, Esq. on the following singular
and unpleasant case. Friday morning the two-penny postman
rapped at his door and delivered an epistle, which. though brief,
was terribly pat to the purpose, in consequence of the awkward
h.uendo which it contained. It ran to the following effect :
" sit--1 am very near my confinement—and as you are the
father t • the child, I therefore wish to see you. An early visit will
much oblige, " Yours, ANN DAVENPORT."
Never was any man more astonished than the Counsellor who
had just paid two-pence for this precious brief He read it over
and over again, but could make nothing of it. Who on earth
could Miss (or rather Mrs.—for her situation proclaimed her a
matron— ) Davenport be ? Wu it not a hoax altogether? This
latter point was the first to be determined—so,, immediately calling
in the assistance of a friend, away the pair sallied to the address
given at the bottom of the note, where sure enough they discovereo
a bouncing damsel, who not only avowed serving the notice, but
persisted in " pleading a justification"—inasmuch as that he the
aforesaid gentleman, whose name she pronounced glibly enough,
was decidedly the papa in posse.
She stood a cross-examination, which was immediately entered
into by the " Amiens Curia," well, and on being asked which of
the two then present was the happy man, instantly hit upon the
right, thus foiling the attempt to catch her in a quid pro quo.
The Learned Gentleman, however, still positively pleaded not
guilty, and thereupon issue was joined.
After a considerable time spent in arguing upon the case, the
friends withdrew without making any progress in the business,
and Mr. S. the one on whom the attempt was thus nefariously made
"to graft the scion of a foreign stock,' now applied to know whe-
ther a warrant could be issued against the party for an attempt to
extort money. He again solemnly declared lie had never seen
Miss Davenport before, but said that a ci•clevant clerk of his had
been notorious for his amorous propensities, and ought probably
enough have been the real offender against Logos mores.
His Worship, however, observed, that as not a word aru said
in the note about money, it was quite out of hie power to in.
terfere, and the learned gentleman was obliged to submit to a non.
suit.