The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-20 00:00:00

EVENING, AUGUST 20, 1852.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN ClRCUlT.—Liverpool, Aug. 19.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Lord Chief Justice

CAMPBELL.)
John Blaney, aged 25, was indicted for the wilful
murder of Margaret Baines, at Liverpool, on the 6th
of .July last.
Mr. Blair and Mr. Aspinall prosecuted, and Mr.
Monk and Mr. T. Atkinson defended the prisoner.
The prisoner, on the 6th of July last, was in the
fire brigade police force, and appeared at the dock in
his uniform. The 6th of July, being the eve of the
election, there were disturbances in Grosvenor-street,
and the prisoner and several other of the police force
were sent to keep the peace there. A number of
Irish lived in the courts leading into that street, and
stones and brickbats had been flyicg about, one of
which struck the prisoner. The deceased woman
kept a lodging-house in No. 6 court in that street,
and had several lodgers. Five Irish witnesses were
called, some of them lodgers with the deceased, who
swore that they saw three policemen rush up the
court and go to the house of the deceased, where a
woman named Hughes, one of the witnesses, then
was. One of these policemen struck the deceased
with his staff and knocked her into the house,
bursting open the door. In the house was the
deceased's mother-in-law. One of the police-
men—the prisoner, according to their testi-
mony—then struck the old woman on the head, and
knocked her down. The deceased cried out that they
had killed her mother, and the prisoner said that she
was not killed, but he would kill her (the deceased),
and he immediately struck the deceased on the head,
knocking her down, and while she was on the ground
he punched her with his staff. The police then left
the court, and shortly after a witness (Ellen Baines)
went into the house and found the deceased speech-
less, and she died about a quarter of an hour after-
wards. Several Irish witnesses who lived in the court
identified the prisoner as the man who had done this.
One of them, named Gallaghan, when called on to
point the prisoner out in court, looked in every direc-
tion but towards the dock, and said he did not see
him ; that be ought to have been dressed in the same
clothes ; when, suddenly turning toward the dock, be
said, with theatrical effect, pointing to the prisoner
with his finger, " That's the man. Several police-
men wore called, who stated that on the night in
question great excitement prevailed among the Irish
in that street, and that there had been a succession of
rows. They proved that the witness Gallaghan was
the man who threw the brickbat at the prisoner, and
that the prisoner immediately chased him into a
house, and took him prisoner. This was after
the deceased had been killed, and the witness
never mentioned then anything about the prisoner
having been the man who struck at the deceased.
They also proved that the prisoner was not one of
the policemen who entered, the house of the deceased,
A policeman named Doane had been one of the police
there, and he bad absconded, and the police had in
vain endeavoured to have him apprehended. Another
of the Irish, witnesses!, named Patrick Hughes, who
swore positively to the prisoner's identity as
.the man
who struck the deceased ; it appeared from the evi-
dence of the inspector of the division of police, had
gone to the station-house the night the deceased was
killed to identify the man who did it. All the
policemen were drawn out in file before him, the
prisoner among them, and he twice walked up and
down their front, and halted before a man named
Little, differing altogether in personal appearance
from the prisoner, and said " That is the man." The
inspector told him he thought it right to inform him
that Little could not be the man, as he had been on
duty at quite another part of the town at the time.
The witness again went up and down before the
men, and again said, "If Little was not the man, he
did not know him. The prisoner received an ex-
cellent character for temper and forbearance from his
inspector, lie had saved on one occasion the lives of
three children, at the risk of his own, by rushing into
a house on fire to save them after their parents had
been compelled to fly to save themselves.
Mr. Mozsx, in a very able speech, in which he
spoke of his experience of Irish witnesses having pre-
pared him to expect evasion, prevarication, and un-
truth when a case depended upon their testimony,
drew attention to the conduct and manner, and evi-
dence of the witnesses in this case, especially to that
of Gallaghan, whom they could not but believe
to know well enough where the dock was in court,
and where the prisoner would be placed, and who
affected to look all round tha court with a manner of
the greatest anxiety to be cautious in his evidence,
and then, as if by accident, pouncing on the paisoner
when he saw him in the dock. The trick, and cun-
ning, and humbug of this could not have deceived
them, even had it not been proved that this very
man was actuated by malignant motives against the
prisoner for having taken him into custody that night
after the death of the deceased, and that he then said
nothing about this charge agaio,t the.prisoner, which
he now came by his evidence to establish.

His LORDSHIP summed up with great care, going
through the evidence, telling the jury if they relied
on the Irish witnes,es' tt=sTimr:ny the case seined
conclusive against the prisoner ; but if they be-
lieved the policemen who had be,.n called it was im-
possible the prisoner could have been the man who
struck at the deceased, as he was never in the de-
ceased's house.
The jury, after a short consultation, Acquitted the
prisoner.
NISI PRIUS COUR,T.—(Bafore Mr. Justice
WIGHTMAN.)
SAUNDERS V. STAVELEE. _ _

This was a feigned issue directed to he tried by Mr.
Justice Erle, whether or not the plaintiff was entitled
to a wager for 501. betted on a trotting match, or
only to the stakes deposited by himself.
Mr. Watson Q.C., and Mr. Krnplay appeared for
the plaintiff, and Mr. Knowles, Q.C., for the defendant.
It appeared that the plaintiff is the owner of a mare
called Flying Wonder, and the defendant was the
owner of another mare called Winifred, and that the
plaintiff backed his mare to trot one mile against the
defendant's mare for 501. The match came off
~on
the York.road, near Yocklington, on the 21st of
last June. By the agreement for the match, each
party was to app'dnt an umpire, and a referee was to
be appointed oa the ground, th. money to he paid over
according to the decision of the referee. A gentle-
man named Mr. William Brown was appointed referee
on the ground. The mares were started, and the
plaintiff's mare did not break trot once during the
match; the defendant's broke twice. It was agreed
that if either mare broke she should he pulled up and
started again. The defendant's mare was pulled up
the first time, but the second time she was allowed to
gallop 100 or 150 yards before she was pulled up.
Both mares came in together, and it was difficult to
say which was first. Tne referee gave his decision
in favour of the plaintiff's mare, which had not
broken trot, on the ground that the defendant's mare
had not been immediately pulled up, us she ought to
have been, the second time shebroketrot._ _ _

Mr. KNOWLES took several legal objections, which
were overruled.

Mr. Justice WIGHTMAN held the race to be a legal
race, and the decision of the referee to be binding.
He therefore directed a verdict for the plaintiff for
1001., the amount of the stakes deposited.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
THIRD COURT.
(Before Mr. RUSSELL GURNEY, Q.C.)
_ _

Henry Davidson, 17 ; George Davidson, 12 ; and
Georgiana Davidson, 20, spinster, were indicted for
burglary in the dwelling-house of Frederick Vien-
nois, and stealing a watch, ',cash-box, six sovereigns,
and other moneys belonging to him.
Mr. Clarkson prosecuted, and Mr. Dearsley de-
fended.

The case was one of a very painful character : the
prisoners were brothers and sister, and, although, ap-
parently very poor, had a decent appearance, especi-
ally the girl, who was rather genteelly dressed, and
seemed quite overwhelmed with grief at the position
in which she was placed. It appeared that both boys
had been in the service of the prosecutor, who is a
confectioner in John's-row, Hoxton, but had each left
of their own accord, the eldest boy about a week, and
the youngest on the 14th of July, the night before
the robbery. On the following morning, about
four, a Mr. Pettifer, a neighbour, was awoke
by the barking of his dog, and, looking out
of the window, saw the bigger boy put the small
one over the wall. He watched them some time, and
then called the police, but before they got into the
house the prisoners had escaped. They then roused
the prosecutor, who found that his cash-box and
watch were gone, the thieves having got in by the
back window. The police instantly went to the
house of the prisoners in Henry's-place, Hoxton, and
found them in bed, when they told the boys what
they were charged with, and said they should search
in a tank for the produce of the plunder, when the
girl said, "If you want the money you had better
look in the yard." They, however, did look in the
water-tank, and there found the watch and money.
A fire had been recently lighted in the kitchen with
some wood that resembled the broken portions of pro-
secutor's cash-box, and, upon searching the water-
closet, the part that had the lock to it was found, the
wood round it being charred.
His LORDSHIP, after hearing the evidence, said
there was no charge against the girl.
The jury Acquitted her, and found the two boys
Guilty.
A person named Pitt, a watchmaker, said he had
known the family for years. The children were
orphans, and the girl had worked very hard and most
honestly to support the family, earning from 6e. to
17s. a week as a milliner.

The CObIMISSIONER said that it was but just to let
it be known that her character was not affected by
what had now occurred.

She was then carried out of the dock, crying most
piteously, and begging for mercy for her little bro-
ther, who also was crying bitterly, and the scene was
a most painful one.
Mr. Pitt told the Court that he would take the
little boy if the Court would deal mercifully with
him.

Mr. GURNEY said that he might take him away on
Saturday morning; with regard to the elder prisoner,
his offence was a bad one to lead his little brother into
crime, and he sentenced him to twelve months' im-
prisonment and hard labour.
The Under-Sheriffs, after the case had concluded,
made a most minute inquiry into the poor girl's cir-
cumstances, and found that she had a severe struggle
to keep the family. Her father had died about four-
teen months ago, when she bad to pawn her bed to
pay for his funeral, and had not since been enabled to
redeem it. They, therefore, humanely ordered that a
sum of money should be given her for her present
wants, and promised that either by security or money
they would do all in their power to keep her in her
business.

Frederick Weston, 25, carver, was indicted for an
attempt to murder George Yates and Peter Yates
Mr. Platt prosecuted, and by the direction of the
Under-Sheriff, Mr. J. W. Payne watched the ease
for the prisoners.
The facts disclosed were of a most horrible nature.
The prisoner was son-in-law to one of the prosecu-
tors, and brother-in-law to the other. On Sunday,
the 16th of May last, he went at half-past eleven at
night to their residence, and began to throw stories at
the window, and the lather went out and told him to
go home; he would not, and shortly after the bro-
ther-in-law went out to get some beer, and spoke to
a police-constable, and prisoner then came up and
said, " I have you now," and instantly stabbed him
in the belly, so that his bowels protruded, and he then
cut him in the face. He then attacked the father-in-
law, stabbing him three times under the arm, once in
the face, and then with such force in the head that
the knife broke and left several inches of the blade
sticking in the skull, from which it was with difficulty,
pulled out by the police-constable. He did not at-
tempt to escape, and when the police had secured
him he coolly said, " I have had my revenge ; I
shall be happy now. Topping was hung, and so shall
I be."