The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-08-21 00:00:00

GLOUCESTER ASSIZES.

goon lifter4ve o'clock on Wednesday evening the
wire, 'Sir lohn Bayley end Sir %I'm. airrOw, at-
!
lined Su this city, escorted with the custinnory •fos.
1"08/Wei he min High Sheriff, S. J. W. lerc.ser
We Nis Ent. and inimedietely pecticterltd to the
k.solinty 'Hall, where 'the Commission tees opened.
94 an following morning their Lordships attended
shrine service at the Cathedral, where the Rev. Mr.
24easeN, the Sherirs Chaplain. delivered an excel-
lent sermon Irons Micah. vi. 8.
" ihr bash skewed thee, 0 mom, what is good ; and idiot
avillafle Lord require of thee, hot to do joitlj, mot to lore
to.-y, and to walk humbly with shy God ?"
On Perching the Shin Mill, Sir J. Bayley took
hi seat all the Ain Print Coma, whil.t Sir W.
4;serew presided at the Crown 8.. r. When the
4.;nstsd Juries had been sworn in, his Lordship deli- '
vein) his Charge in the following term. :
" My Lewd mid Gentlest'. of the Grand Jury—lt is • so-
-I...faelftfts to me to he able to cowerat dial* You. that with
.hinrefew receptions the calendar which eoutolfts the rummy.
i aterk of the eases which wilt probably occupy your omen.
I,ao. it neither more messossis than might be expected in so
popsies's a toasty= this, nor, with some few enniptious,
yenning offesees uf a very aggravated setae*. There are
- . ....me one or two of the ewes epos, which I shall trouble you
i Ititibibeery few ebesiestions. The Gila is that of George Brows.
Whit Guesser IMs takes a Isigeiniiun upon the hotly of
n child of the aim, of Gould, sad the Prisoner, who is
of the see of 11111011. yeses, I see is committed on • charge
..f isseder. I woo very such surprised to Sod a child
of anti tender yeses charged wi b the commission of that
. (nevas sad aggravated offence, but upon loathing into
the depositions I think it out improbable that when
you time to isolable into if. you may not find your-
amine inlaid on to Whig in • bill for murder. In speaking
to gostlenne of yosr diatinetioa, It is impossible not to be
mourn that which so well known to the greatest 'somber of
run, you have so Are mad so ably discharged the duties sou
ore sow called on to purism; it is impossible that there is
- any this; sew that I .as say to you, or that cos carry in.
otr.ietiors to you, on any subject on which you Ate sot spo-
rtier/. Murder has for its teen-client necessarily malice
capers, or implied; if Shut he no malice aforethought, the
kilns( does rot amount la the eye of the law to moider.
Now the c ise that will be presented to you is of this nature
—a hay of the age of twelve years being employed by a far-
mer to keep mows from the earn, was intrumed with a gun
had a small go/unity of powder fur that purpose, and beteg
wash soother bay. he pat some pebbles into his gun, as it
should Ken. from some of the deposition, not with as is-
zebu.* to do any mischief 10 any body or any thing, but
fruit , dftegeruna Colic which persona so engaged are too
opt to indulge in; he west to • garde. where the deceased
wait, together with some other children, mid desired to have
some water ; one of the children said, we have so wafer in
the house. and dharefore eacesed themselves from giving it ;
epos which he put the gun through the hedge and discharged
it, or it might go off by teeniest. The consequence was, the
girt was shot he the head, sad the brains shortly afterwards
.• , protruded from Ilse skull; mad if it should appear from soy
pert ions declaration of resentment, malice, or ill will, to.
...rho the child, it might in inch a cue he murder, Weenie
it Is St that I should aroclade this part of,my remarks by ids-
:
t 'erring that there Is OM teadoniess of age that excuses from
'the comloission of murder. Malice supplies, as the law says,
. the maturity of years, sad if the fact committed skews a
koowledge of right and wrong, and a determination to com-
mit malicious ntiechief,• person not of adult ) ears may com-
mis that crime. There is a case lately come in, I believe
ymtertlay, of manslaughter: it is a case of killing hi a box-
ing match, and Wherever life it lost under such circuit'.
t....... stances, that is the oiresee of mismslaughter.
1 ''''d.S.sn,..!eiry awry to observe again an offence in your ca.
. lender tweirieh I hare had occasion to draw your siltation
mart than once. 1 refire to the case, No. 11, which vow will
look at when you retire—a charge of atiodesneasor resent.
iog as infant female child. Upon that subject I have • very
painful reeollemios of what passed is the place from which
cc have lad come on the circuit (Moonsisolb) only the day
before yrsieidey. In that gaol there wits and still remains
A roman chatgett with the capital ounce of rape upon an
infant. My Learned Brother, with that extraordinary at-
.. 'tesition and anxiety which every body who knows him is
aware he always exercise, on each a subject, before the bill
MA4 peroxided, desired to seethe child. lie questioned her,
and on cosmos subjects she answered in a manner so *hew
that she had a eostpetrot degree of intellect for a person of
k. her year' (about nine years old.) My Brother, not brio!
iati‘ted With her mowers on the subject of her competency
as a wittiest, desired I would see her. f did so, sod catered
inku coaversetiou with her ow different subjects, sad at last
hiked if she knew the mature of an oath, an which her mind
was completely blink. Did she go to church !—No. Did
she go to some place of worship?—Yea, sad had done so re-
wolatly. Upon which I said, after your minister has prayed
fsr wane time you have beard him frequently repeat the
Lofts Prayee?—She had so notion what it meant. I said.
7tiat have heard his say, 'Oar Father which art in Heaven?'
—No, never. I impaired of the mother, and 1 (mind it was
trite, that neither In public nor private had ibis child ever
l been Marveled in or hosed the Lord's Prayer. This led me
4./ some further istialry ma the aubject,aad I learnt than that '
the mother was a witinber of a class of Dissenters, where
1 those who minister to them never by say accident pronounce
the Lord's Prayer. I hope that the mentioning of Ibis may
•sot ho without its use, became! am mot (and I hope I shall
not be mistsederstood on skis subject) desiring that the in.
fact isesehers of the conneemity should go to our church,
•ur absent themselves from the places of worship that their
' parents choose to take them to, and I am sot desirous that
the initator's should adopt that which we bear without
LgtoliSestioo, delight, sod pleasure—our liturgy; .or am I
dewing, which would be very improper in me, that they
will, as part of their public woribip, give their congregations
a ,• bleseings of bearing the Lord's Prayer prmsounced; but
` I hope and trust in Gua, that those who are to receive part
of their moral sad religion-instruction from them, may, at
least la private, be permitted to know some of those things
with are iisential to the administration of justice here, for
we cosset receive that child's evidence. She had not heard
of the Lord's Power, the Creed, the Commandments, or any
*dice matter that could lead to her b/ming any inch relish.
osis impression as would justify her being received as a wit.
mess on oak. The consequence is, that the party reinsias
charged till the nets Assists, in •order that, in the mean
tine. that &lid may be duly instructed iu the messes to
snake her • compnesit winless, that there may not be a
failure of justice. I confess shat it was quite new to me,
that a was -quite eimprised to and there eas such a clam of
Dissenters, sad 1 hope and trust, whilst the land is studded
with schools for the information of the rising generative,
that they may at least have some small porticos of their time
devoted to their improvement I. those things which are so
essential to the protection of their person., their honour.
their lives, and every thing with which the administration of
i,..saro is gosacersord. I hope Isliall be excused for 'twin
'hi:march by its mighty impotence.
" I shall detain you sow very alsortly to state some alters-
-4 ',tans in the eel:Mail law of the country of great importance.
Loon former *cessios, as some of you know well, wive, a
peyote was cooteleted of sock as olfeure as I have last
alluded to, not amonating to a fussy kilt a high iniide-
wesineor, the Judge could pronounce &enforce of imprisuo-
immit for anytime, but it was cooly to keep the party in a
mite of proeisate indolence till she sesteoce expired. The
Judge could not order, nor the visiting Magistrates, oar any
lowly test, dived. that the party should be confiaed to hard
Nose. Thoak•God. awithiu • few weeks the law has W-
iley.* otherwissm—iodsiul -alibis • few days, for the Act of
esrlismest received his Majesty's aseest on the sth of the
'present month, and it has come to my hinds, by the alien.
nes of the Secretary *Mate, here. 'An assault to commit
• rape, any attempt so thiminit feleary, any riot (not a riot
*644 6"wwile to kleef), aeyaniodeeseessev, for having re-
z fitted stolen goods koociog then. to have Inn orrice; any
oesaolt on a peso, officer, or as olleer of the Customs or
Amite, or any other officer of she Reweave, in the due die-
.maige and execution of his duty, or any person acting in
;add sash officer, any assault committed in ,purenance of