The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-08 00:00:00

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ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCITIT.—LIVERPOOL, DEC. 7.
Yesterday Mr. Justice Creswell and Mr. Justice
Crompton arrived in this city, and opened the commis-
sion for the winter assize, and this morning proceeded
to the courts at eleven o'clock. The calendar contains
the names of 112 prisoners, of whom 2 are charged with
intent to murder, 9 with manslaughter, 8 with rape, 14
assault and robbery, 6 with cut-
_

ting and wontYri-iTV alAbir'S-wiffrinainy,
with perjury, 8 with forgery; 5 with stealing from the
dwelling-house, 2 with coining, 1 with embezzlement,
the rest with minor offences.
Mr. Justice Cresswell charged the jury in the Crown
Court.
Mr. Justice Crompton sat in the Nisi Prius Court.

CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Cresswell.)
James Connor, 31, and Margaret O'Brien, 38, were
indicted for having at Manchester, on the 15th of Sep-
tember last, killed and slain one Edward O'Brien.
Mr. Wheeler prosecuted ; Mr. Sowler defended the
prisoner O'Brien ; the other prisoner was undefended.
It appeared that the female prisoner was the wife of
the deceased, who about half past eight on the morning
of the 15th September came into a beer-house kept by a
man named Orm, in Jersey-street, Manchester. He ap-
peared to be in low spirits, and said that his wife had
been out all night with the male prisoner, and that he
should not go to his work. He called fora pint of beer,
and shortly after the two prisoners came in, and the
female prisoner seeing her husband, said to Connor,
"Go a-head ;" take his life, now's the time of day." She
then took the male prisoner's cup, and said, " We'll
drink to those we love best." The deceased then offered
his wife to drink out of his cup, but she would not, and
dashed it to the ground. The male prisoner then asked
the deceased if he wanted to fight ? to which he replied,
that he did not. The prisoners then left the house, fol-
lowed by the deceased, who wanted to get his wife to go
home, which she refused to do. He then struck his wife
upon the neck, upon which the male prisoner struck the
deceased, who then struck again, and in the fight they both
Sell to the ground, the deceased being uppermost ; they
then struggled on the ground, when the male prisoner
struck deceased on the face, the wife assisting in the
fight, by pulling her husband's hair, and saying to him,
" This is the last time you shall beat me for men."
Another struggle then took place, when the female was
not present, and during this struggle the deceased fell
to the ground, his head falling heavily against the kerb-
stone. He became insensible, but recovered sufficiently
to walk home. In the evening he became worse, and
was taken to the infirmary, where he died at ten o'clock
at night. On a post mortem examination being made, it
was found that there was a large fracture of the skull
about two inches above the right ear, occasioned by a
blow, which the medical testimony said would most
likely have been occasioned by a fall on a kerb-stone,
'and which had caused death. Upon being taken into
custody, the male prisoner said he was sorry for it.
The female prisoner said that she could not help it, and
that she should only get six months for it.
Mr. Sowler addressed the jury for the female pri-
soner, and contended that as the evidence showed that
the fatal blow took place by the fall on the kerb, when
the female prisoner was not in the street, however cul-
pable she might otherwise be, they could not convict her
of the present charge.
The male prisoner said that he had only struck the
deccatsed in oolf-dofenee ; that they had been out all
night drinking together ; that they had all previously
been good friends ; that there was nothing wrong between
him and the woman ; and that the fall which caused
death took place in the struggle, and was unavoidable.
His lordship having summed up, the jury returned a
verdict of guilty against Connor, acquitting the female
prisoner.
His lordship said that, taking all the circumstances of
the case into consideration, the absence of intention to
do serious injury, and the fact of the prisoner having
been in prisen since the 15th of September, he should
only sentence him to imprisonment for three calendar
months.
Mr. Justice Crompton was engaged in disposing of
cases of no interest.

THE LATE RENCONTRE BETWEEN TWO MEM
BEES OF PARLIAMENT.

TO MR EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR, —Du ring the last week your columns contained the
account of a scene, happily of rare occurrence, in which
two members of the House of Commons were the chief
actors, calculated to bring discredit upon them as gen-
tlemen and legislators.
I had the misfortune to be one of the gentlemen in
question, and conceiving myself to have been treated
with great brutality, I appealed to a police oourt for re-
dress, as being the only fit place for such an inquiry.
At that investigation I went unaccompanied by counsel,
prepared simply to give a narration of the facts as they
occurred.
The defendant came, aided by eminent professional
talent, and accompanied by witnesses, whose evidence
was calculated to throw a doubt upon my representations ;
and a letter which appeared the following day in the
Times from one of the witnesses imputed to me the base
and cowardly conduct of first striWkig a gentleman, and
then running away with considerable speed.
I was taunted both in the court and elsewhere with
not having my chief witness, Mr. Beaumont Coles, to
state what occurred, and there can be no doubt that the
absence of that gentleman did temporarily prejudice my
position.
Confiding in the justice and impartiality of the British
press and the British public, I submitted for a time to
the impressions at first created, with a full knowledge and
conviction that when the real facts came to be known,
not only would my character be cleared from the charge
of striking a blow, but also from the meanness of running
away.
I beg leave to submit to you, inclosed, copies of two
letters received from Mr. Beaumont Coles—the first ac-
counting for his absence from the police-court ; the second
giving his version of the unfortunate occurrence, which
will, I hope, entirely exonerate me from the two charges
as affecting me, and will corroborate to the minutest
point the case at stated by myself at the police-court.
I believe my general character will be the best reply
to the imputations in question. I can honestly say that
I am the last man in the world who could be charged
with committing an assault, and I fearlessly assert that
if I had placed myself in such a position, I should never
be guilty of running away to avoid the consequences.
I abstain from commenting upon the letter of the wit-
ness who appeared desirous of adding even more to the
supposed triumph he and his friends obtained at the
police-court, leaving that composition to that calm and
complete contradiction given to it by the evidence con-
tained in Mr. Beaumont Coles second letter. I must
apologise to you for trespassing upon your columns with
this correspondence, but I feel assured that your valu-
able paper will not be closed against an explanation so
vital to my position as a gentleman and a man of honour.
—Your very obedient servant,

B. OLIVEIRA.
London, 8, Upper Hyde-park-street, Dec, 6th, 1852

No. 1.
Middleton Whitchurch, Hants, Dec. 3, 1852.
My dear Sir, —I perceive in yesterday's Times that the
rencontre with Mr. Butler Johnstone has been taken before
the police magistrates at Bow-street. The paper reaches
me on the day after publication, so that I only became
acquainted with what has passed this morning. I collect
fron z the recital of what has passed that you had written to
me i.o request my attendance. I intended to have returned
to tc ‘wn the early part of this week, and, therefore, did not
desii amy letters to be forwarded. I have, however, been
unexpectedly detained in the country. I should have made
a poi at of attending at the hearing of the case had I been
swan j of it. Very truly yours,
(Signed) H. B. COLES.
8., Oliveira, Esq., M.P., 8, Upper Hyde-park-street,
Hyde Park, London.

No. 2.
Middleton Whitchureh, Hants, Dec. 5, 1852.
M y Dear Sir,—l have received your note of yesterday.
I beg to say I considered you did not use your stick with
viol ence, but the impression on my mind at the time was
that it was a joke, and that the gentleman on whom it
Wal I used was a friend of yours. I beg also to say you did
not , run away, but walked up quietly to join me where I
wa s standing on the pavement, some yards in advance. I
cas i also state, that most unquestionably the cab was first
'am iled by you.
hope this unpleasant affair will be arranged ; if not, I
tarLdl be prepared to give my evidence of what took place,
and remain, Yours truly,
(Signed) 11. B. COLTS.
8.. Oliveira, Esq., M.P., 8, Tipper Hyde-park-street,
Hyde Park, London.