The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-09-14 00:00:00

never pushed the child out of the door doting that
night.
John Harker, the street-keeper of Smithfield,
knew Murty well • he worked for Mr. Crease; and
has seen both the Prisoners. Two nights before the
20th July, witness, sk the desire Of Marty% muster,
saw hial from his house to his lodgings in West-
street. They passed the Coopers' Arms, and, op-
posite the door, he observed there were from 20 to
30 people, but he did not know if the Prisoners
were among them.
Low Wheeler, house.sorgenn of Bartholomew%
Hospital, recollects. deceased being brought to the
hospital. Witness examined him, and found the
upper part of his body covered with blood, .occe-
stoned by several wounds on the upper part of him
head. There were ten wounds, most of them an
inch in length, two of them were an inch and
a half in length, and great part about one-
sixth of an inch in depth, the others were nearly
half an inch in depth, going down to the bone.
One wound near the forehead, on the left side of
the head, was an inch and • half in length, and
went to the depth of the bone ; he found hair with-
in the wound driven into the bone of the skull.
The wounds could not have been inflicted by the
fiet, but by some instrument. They were incision',
not coutusions. He attended the man for some
days ; in about 12 days symptoms of injury ap-
peered within the head. He believed the chief
though not the sole cause of the man's death was
the injury resulting from the wounds in his head.
The wounds in his head were not the proximate
cause of death; but as the witness did not see the
body opened alter death, he could not say what that
cause was. These blows must have seeder-rated hie
death. He was convalescent for about 12 days.
Henry Earle, assistant-surgeon at St. Bartholo-
mew's.—He sow the deceased the day after he
came into the Hospital ; at that time he did not
appear to b. labouring under any very severe in-
jury from the "rounds on the head. About a fort-
night after his admission his state altered very ma.
terially ; about the Saturday preceding his death
witness first saw alarming symptoms, which some-
times follow from injuries in the head ; the man
complained of pain in his head, from one wound
oti the left aide of the head, which remained tin.
healed; he was trepanned on the Bth, and died on
the 9th August. The witness attributed his death
to the injuries he had received, he being previous,/
in a bad state of health. In this subject he had no
doubt the death was occasioned by the woonds.-•
though. had the same wounds been given to a
healthy person, he doubtrd if death would ham
followed. Witness attended the opening of the
body ; there was a disert4e OD the liver, independeBl
of what would be induced by the blows; but he
might have lived twelve months or longer.
The evidence being closed, •
The Prisoners, on being asked what they had to
say in their defence, declined saying any thong,
but left their case entirely in the hauds of their
Counsel.
Several respectable witnesses were called, who
gave both the Prisoners a good character for Ito.
inanity.
Air. BiTOD GRAHAM summed op the evidence to
the Jury, who, after • short cousultatioo, acquitted
both the Prisoners.

The Court were occupied nearly seven hours to
the trial of these P►isoners.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS. CLELAUWKLL,
FRIDAY, SIPTRIABRIL 13.

CONSPIRACY.

THR PAWNBROKERS N. THE COMMON INFORMNIM

. . _
Thomas Coomhes, Thomas Munn, and k hasheth
M•Miehael. were indicted for conspiring together
to defraud Jacob Russell, a pawnbroker, residing
in Shoreditch, of 31 61. _

Mr. ALLEY stated the case on the part of the
prosevution, and said that two of the Defendant,
(Coombesand M.Michael) were common informers;
and that the Defendant Manse had been • messenger
belonging to Worship-street Police.office. The
female Defendant was in the habit of going about
town and looking into pawnbrokers' shops, to find
out those that bad young and inexperienced mew
employed in them. Having ascertained that point,
she would pledge some trifling article, and on the
following Jay redeem it, and if a particle of interest
more than that allowed by the Act of Parliament
was received, her husband, or the Defendant
Coombe*, became the informer, and she supported
the information by her evidence. In this ease she
fixed on the shop of Mr. Russell (recently opened),
in Snoredttch, having another pawnbroker's shop
elsewhere. Ou the 1.1 May she pledged a trifling
article, and on the following day redeemed it ; the
young man in the shop, in the harry of business,
charged her a farthing interest more than he was en-
titled to. On the following evening Mr. Russell was
served with a summons to attend at Worthip-street
police•office to answer the charge on the following
day of having taken more than legal interest. It
might be necessary for him to state to the Jury that
Magistrates were not in the habit of issuing sum-
monses for the attendance of pawnbrokers on the
day after they were applied for, as they know that
it might be often inconvenient for men in business
to attend at so short a nutice, for which reason they
were generally required to attend on the second day
after issuing the summons. He would prove that
the Defendant Manse laid the summons, which was
not in the usual course, before the Magistrate, and
he signed it. No blame could be attached to the
Magistrate fur having done so, as he had a right to
suppose, it having been handed to him by the mes-
senger of the office, that it was correct. Mr. Rus-
sell attended at the office the following day, and
complained of the shortness of the notice, particu-
larly as, if he was to be convicted for the mistake of
his servant, he knew the penalty was 104 The
Defendant Manse immediately stepped forward,
and said, that it wu a mistake, that it was issued
for that day, that the informers were lint in attend-
ance, as the hearing of the information was post-
poned until the following Saturday. He hoped the
Jury would bear this iu their recollection, se it would
prove the great interest the Defendant Manse took
in the case (ruin its commencement. Common in.

formers like the Defriidants, in tote years did their
work openly, hut he remembered obeli they were
obliged to go shout it more cautiously ; by ilie Act
of Elizabeth, if a common inform*: compounded
an information under the Act, he was reminded by