The National Register.
London, England, 1822-07-08 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY SESSIONS.

These sessions commenced oa liVetleiestlay morning.
—Tobias Burke was nitlicted for intermarrying wills
Mary Ann Bruce, his lawful wife Mary being at the
time alive.

Mr. Alley stated, that the prisoner was a man of res.
pectable family in Ireland. In 1815 he became ac-
quainted with the family of Mr. Butkr, an Irish gen-
tleman at Cashel, and paid his addresser to his daughter
Miry, to whom lie was mairierl. They went to reside
in Dublin, where the pi isoner entered into besiness,but
failed ; and lie was repeatedly supplied with money,
besides a sery considerable
his niarriae. After remaining in Dublin some time
subsequent to his failure in business, he separated front
his wile, but they afterwards joined again, and cause to
England. Hem, in a short nine, they again separated,
and in the year 1620 he beeatue acquainted with !slaty
Ann Bruce, the daughter or a gentleman of large losses.
sinus, residing in Bedford-place, Bedford-square.—. The
prisoner frequented the sante church which Miss Bruce
did, and having contrived to engage her attention, he ac.
companied her to her father's door. This he repeated
many limes, and succeeded so Cir in engaging the Mice.
tions of the young lady, that she consented lie should
make an application to her father on the subject.—He
told Mr. Bi nee he wished to marry his daughter, and re-
presented himself to be possessed. of propeny to the
611110111 a of near 7001. a year. Alt. Bruce said he would
nut consent to the union with any man who could trot
make a settlement to a certain amount upon her, and he
asked the prisoner if lie could do that ? to which the
latter very frankly answered in the negative. Mr. Brace
then positively io.bade any co nnn iunication between hien
and his daughter. But through the instrumentality of
a faithless doureatic, he contrived to convey letters to
to her, and lie prevailed upon her td be married to hint
by hectic • ; to obtain which he had s%VOrn lie was a ha-
eitlo•. They were manned iu Dnentber, 1820. Site
lett her father's house two.) the refusal of the latter to
receite her husband a 3 his son-in-law, and went into
lodgings with the prisoner for a time, taut was soon glad
to return to the paternal roof. He had heard before his
marriage., that there was a consilaable property in the
lun s in the name en Mary Ann Bruce, and wen' oot
he dissnaded even by his wite that it did not belong to
her. Ile actually made her accompany him to the Batik .
and there write her name, in order to ascertain it her
hand w•rituig corresponded with the signature in the
bank-books : but it did not. He titen pound that she
had no income. A rumour having reached the ears of
Mr. Bruce that the prisoner had a lawful wife living,
its advertisement was published, and it was answered by
the relations of the lust wife. The latter unfortunate
woman was found in the workhouses of St. Pancras,
;Middlesex. _ . .

Eliza and Julia Butler, (sisters to the first wife), A
Bruce, Esq. and his dant:titer. Miss Mary Aline Bruce,
Frened ad that the learned couilsel had stated.
.1' lie prisoner, in nis detence said, be was a Protestant,
a nil that he %vas entrapped into a specious Marriage when
h..: was drunk. 11.-: :lever considered Mary Butler as his
wife. lie called the following wi.ness—
Thotnat Maher has known the prisoner ftom his birth.
Was at ho christening; he was ahristened by Mr. Jordan,
a Pi otestant clergyman; the prisoner's father atid all the
family were Protesiatits to the best of witness's Wirt.—
Knot% s toe Butler's iu Ireland. Never Inew one of
that name to go to a Protestant thatch in his lite. Had
seen many of the Bilike's at mass.
Edmund Burke is an elder brother of the prisoner's
and is a Catholic 111111 a. '1 he prisoner was brmight
up in tile Protestant religion. VS iniess was at Cashel
at the time of the supposed marriage; witness dnied with
tit in all at Bailer's, and recollects hearing Mr. Butler
altar dinner say something about seeding for a priest.—
Also heard him say lie %visited to give prisoner one of 11:s
daughters, but did not know which of Mein to give.—
Witm:ss torba.t Mr. Butler to do any thing of that kind.
telling hint that prisoner was a Protestant, and a mar-
riage would not be lawful. The subject was dropped,
and they began drinking and playing cards, which, con-
tinued tor three hours. • About 12 o'clock at night the
Rev. 1)r. W right., a Catholic priest, was sent or. Mr.
Butler then asked prisoner to comply with the forms of
Inc Catholic church, and marry one of his daughters,
but he refused; and Dr. 1V right gut up to go away.—
The prisoner, who was nut sober, also got up to go
away, but Mr. Butler said, neither he nut Dr. Wright
should quit until they had wore drink. Witness re-
mained mere until two o'clock in the morning, by which
tune they were all stupidly driiiik. Nothing like a
marriage ceremony took place while witness was there.
Cross-examined.—Witness lives 17 miles from Cashel,
and he went there on this occasion, w consequence of a
letter from the pri,oner, tuft )))))) tig loin that his mare
had strayed Iroin t2ashel. Upou his oath he was not
invited to lie present at the marriage. had not seen or
heard of his brother fur seven years before he wrote to
Ilan, and then the side subject of his letter was the stray-
ing of the inare.--lie would swear lie never gave his
brother away to M_ry Butler in marriage. Dr Wrieht
dead. Witness s tier was a Catholic, stud his fattier
a Protestant. When witness quitted Butler's house
at two o'clock its tile morning, his brother was stupidly
drunk.
Dennis Burke, another brother to the prisoner, said,
his tallier was dead when the prisoner was borti. Prier-met
was always of the Protestant persuasion.
Cross-exainined.—Never saw the prisoner go to a Ca-
tholic chapel with his wife.
John Burke, another brother, never knew the prisoner
go in mass.
Tins closed the cate for the defence; and Mr. Alley
requestA lease to call Miss Eliza Butler to contradict
part of the testimony of Edmund Bloke, who had
that lie gate the prisoner away in marriage.
Miss Boiler iicclarol, that Eitinimil But ke placed the
hand ot the prismier tit that in Dr. NV ight at the cere-
rettiony. This was at six o'clock in the entimg, at her

lathe'', house. All parties were perfectly sober, and not
a single card was played.
Mr. Justice Holsoy', in his charge to the Jury, said,
if they should be of opinion that a marriage had taken
place, and that the prisoner was a Catholic, they would
find him guilty generally. If they thought he was a
Protestant, they would acquit him, unless they should
think he had passed himself ofl as a Catholic, and then
they would find a special verdict of guilty, subject to the
cleciaion of the twelve J udges, as to whether the marriage
so brought about was legal or not.
The Jury found a verdict of Guilty, and on the motion
of Mr. Alley, Edmond Burke was detained.
THURSDAY. JOLT 4 —Tnonias Pierson, WU capitally
indicted for burgle r i )))) sly breaking out of the dwelling-
home of Francis M'Gou ran, and stealing a cluck, an
byilroineter, and some silver steams.
The prosecutor is a publican, keeping the Two Spies
public-house:, iii Catharine-street, in the Strand. On
(tie night of the 12th of Juile, his family were alarmed
at about four o'clock, and on searching, the articles in
question were found missing. The till hail also been
opened and emptied of its contents. The street door
was unbelted, and the window into the bar had been
forced open.
A waiter, in the service of the last witness. proved that
the prisoner was, ou the night in question, at the house
with souse others ; siiuess was the last tip in the house.
He did nut see the prisoner go out. %Viten he went to
bed the bar was locked and all was safe.
A watchman in Catherine-street saw the prisoner and
another young man between two and three o'clock ou
tie morning of the robbery. They walked past witness
iota the Stand ; each of them had a bundle under his
coat. Wilco a few yards onward, they looked round,
and, observing witness look a. them, ran away. Wit-
mess ran after them in the direction where he heard some
Klass breaking, and pursued them down Wellington-
street . On reaching the bridge one of the men took the
stairs to the right, and the other to the lett. Witness
took the stairs to the left, and the tide being ont, follow-
ed the footsteps under the arch to the right. He saw
the prisoner standing against the wall, bleeding front
the mouth and uose, and took him. The prisoner had
not been more titan half a minute out of sight, but wit-
ness had not seen his face until he rook him.
The toll-keeper of Waterloo-bridge proved that about
three o'cliwk on the mowing in question lie saw two
Iwo running. One to ,k the stairs to the left, and the
other to the right. They were pursued by the last wit-
ness. When the prisoner tem biotight up, tie recoenised
him as one of the men who had gone down the step 7.
It was twilight at the time, and he nail a full stew of his
fare. After the prisoner was brought up, witness went
clown the steps, and saw a man mum% towards die
S ivoy, along tile mud by the common sewer. The man
who escaped had in his hand a handkerchief, containing
an hydrontaer, ha. in copper money, a snuff-box, and
boom silver spoons. These were afterwards claimed by
the prosecutor.
The prisoner in his defence declared his innocence,
and called one witness to character.
The Jury found a verdict Not Guilty.
William 13atibury was convicted of stealing to die
value of 395. in the dwelling-hous. of L. Hansard.
I'HiDAY, JULY s.—Bridget Dirt, Eleanor Collins,
and l'itoeue Eitzabeth Dongias, were indicted for pri-
vately stelling a quantity of lace, salve 125. the property
of Mary Ann Nicholls and Sarah Nlarktiam, resuditig tit
Stioretittli„ on the evening of tile 24th oh May.
The prosecuirix deposed, that on toe reciting stated in
the ilidicitneut the prisoners Dirt and Douglas came iu
atid looked at sonic lace, but bought none; Colons then
entered the shop, but had 310 collect-cation with the other
prisoners, and to a few moments a piece of lace was
missing. 'roe prisoners were charged with the theft,
winch they totally denied.
Win. 11. Hill, a constable, deposed, that he took the
pritlflitfS 11110 custody, and searened them, but nothing
..as found upon closer, nor- did any conversation take
place between them. Ile still suapecting that the pro.
petty was concealed about their persons, went for
another officer to assist in taking Client to the watch-
house, when, on going along, toe lace dropped from the
clothes of the prisoner Coitus, which was afterwards
identified by the prosecutrix.
Lillie] Brown, another officer, fully confirmed the
last witness's testimony.
'Die Recorder snmtited up the evidence to the Jury,
who, alter a few minutes' consultation, found Colima
guilty, and acquitted the other prisoners.
John Peilley was catittally onlicted for breaking into
the dweliing-house of . lts. M. Elgar, and stealing 12
bottles of wines and spirits, a quantity of copper coot,
and other articles, her property, on the 26th tit May, in
lute parish of klornsey.
Ttie facts nut bents clearly made out against the pri-
soner, he was acquitted.
Elizabeth Copps, Catherine Carrick, and Mary Smith,
were chanced with a highway robbery, and stealing 4s.
from the person of Joseph Read, ft Wellington-court,
Drury lace.—Copps was found guilty; Carrick and
Smith acquitted.
Mary Seek ins was indicted for stealing, in the month
of May, in the dwelling-house of Mr. Gould, of Mary-
lc-butte, four pair of stays, a quantity of jean, and other
property.—Tne Jury retold her guilty.
John Kenney was indicted for atealing in the house of
Samuel Bird a quantity of wearing apparel, a table spoon,
a set of razors, &c. %aloe 41. auti upwards, hits property.
—Tit: Jury returned a verdict,fitithog the prisoner guilty
of stralltig to the value of 393. only.
William Millart was indicted for stealing a variety of
shawls, lawns, muslins, Dec. the property of Mr.Thontas
tlr. Thomas litchell examined.—Prisoner had lived
whit him 14 years tip to Marell, IS: I, at which time
lie expressed a wish to go Into 'nosiness on his own ac-
count, when witness expressed his readiness to assist
lam, and gave him credit to the amount of 5001. Owing
to some information he hail received, lie went to int-
tioner's shop AI the 4th ultimo, having pieviously been