The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-25 00:00:00

111 E SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 25, 1863.

subjects seem to occupy the most prominent places. Pro-
fessor Archer, the active local secretary of the meeting, and
the head of the Edinburgh Industrial Museum, contributes
a paper on " the Industrial Features of Edinburgh." The
recent progress and present condition of trades and manu-
factures of various districts of Scotland form the subjects of
numerous papers likely to be of considerable interest.
In the other division of this department discussions are
likely to arise on various points of international law,
the importance of which is being daily demonstrated by
the course of public events. We may mention a paper by
Mr. James Anderson, Q C., likely to deal with several of
these points ; and also one by Mr. R. D. Chalmers on the
capture during war of private property at sea. An interna-
tional patent law, an international decimal system, and an
international congress and tribunal for the prevention of
war, form the subjects of papers which have been contri-
buted to this department.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT—Sept. 24.

OLD COURT.
Helen Hannah Margaret Egiehart, convicted of an as-
sault upon her child, Constance Augusta, barely five years
old, was brought up for judgment.
Mr. Justice Byles addree,ing the prisoner, said—You
were put upon your trial yesterday for the manslaughter of
an unprotected infant, of which you were the mother, and
whatever may have been the real facts of the case there was
not sufficient evidence to satisfy the minds of the jury, and
they acquitted you of that offence. You were afterwards
tried for an assault upon the child, and of that you were
found guilty. It is plain that there was a succession of bar-
barous and inhuman acts on your part which I do not say
caused the child's death, but which undoubtedly led to and
accelerated it. It is impossible to pass over an offence of so
grievous a nature. I can well conceive the sufferings you
have endured since the c,matission of this offence, and I
know that you have been treated by the authorities with a
humanity which you failed to show towards the infant
whose death you have unquestionably hastened. The sen-
tence which I feel it my duty to pronounce on you is that
you be imprisoned for 18 calendar months.
Earlier in the day Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Ribton, the pri-
soner's counsel, made an earnest appeal to the judge to re-
spite the sentence until after her confinement, she being now
pregnant. They had been induced, they said, to make that
application in order to save her the unspeakable distress of
mind consequent upon giving birth to a child in a gaol, and
to prevent the stigma that would attach to the infant itself
from that circumstance during life.
Mr. Orridge, counsel for the prosecution, said he had been
instructed by the parish authorities from a sense of duty, and
he left the latter entirely in his lordship's hands, having no
desire to press unduly on the prisoner.
Mr. Justice Byles said he had consulted the principal offi-
cers of the court, and had not found there was any preee •
dent for such a course as had been suggested. Further than
that, he had spoken to the surgeon of the gaol, and knew
when her accouchement might be expected to take place.

SECOND COURT.
(Before the Recorder.)

Wm. Pottage, 20, clerk, pleaded guilty to indictments
charging him with feloniously forging upon a certain bill
of exchange, for the payment of money, the acceptance of
one Wm. Bew, with intent to defraud, and also with felo-
niously forging upon two bills of exchange the endorsement
of John Henry Weston and Edward Weston, with intent
to defraud.
Mr. Poland, who appeared for the prosecution, said the
charge against the prisoner was that of having forged bills
of exchange, and the circumstances were these :—The pri-
soner went some time in the present year to a loan office
kept by a Mr. Welfare and gave a bill for £5O, which pur-
ported to have been drawn by Mr. Henry Weston and en-
dorsed by himself, That bill was discounted by Mr. Wel-
fare. When it became due the prisoner went to Mr. Wel-
fare and asked him to allow it to stand over. This was
refused, and then the prisoner brought another bill, drawn
by himself, and purporting to be accepted by Mr. Bew, and
with the proceeds of the second bill he paid off the £5O upon
the first. Ho was asked to get the second bill endorsed by
Mr. Weston also, He took it away, brought it back with
the name of Mr. Weston endorsed under that of Mr. Bew,
and upon subsequent inquiry it was ascertained that both
these signatures were forgeries. The first bill, in fact, was
forged as well as the second. Though this was the serious
nature of the prisoner's offence, yet Mr. Welfare, who had
been acquainted with him for some years, was anxious, as
far as he could, to recommend him to the merciful conside.
ration of the Court,
Mr. Sleigh, who was engaged for the defence, expressed
his belief that the case was one entitled to merciful conside.
ration. The unhappy young man at the bar was a person of
respectability who at one time held a good position in
society. He unfortunately became a partner with a gentle-
man; that partnership was dissolved; he was unable to
obtain a settlement, and he was reduced in consequence to
the very verge of destitution. Under his (the learned
counsel's) instructions he had very reluctantly pleaded
guilty, because ho alleged that ho had eio intention to de-
fraud at the time he negotiated the bill transactions with
Mr. Welfare. Those who had known him for years would
bear testimony that he had always been an honourableyoung.
man. Still, there was no doubt that in this instance he had
violated the law, but, after all, his offence did not comeunder the category el a commercial forgery.
Witnesses to character having been examined,
The Recorder passed sentence. Ile observed that there
indu
ced
him circumstances connected with the case which
him not to inflict a harsh punishment, although the forging
of bills in a great commercial country like England was de-
serving of penal servitude. As it was, he believed the ins-
bt iec e
imprisonedo fth ec ase wouldand
keptbe mettoh
bya r
d lsb
sentencing
o orf theor prisoner to
18
calendar
months.
John Smith, 24, sawyer, and Joseph Pemberthy, barge.
men, were indicted for stealing one cask and 50 gallons of
and
joturpentine,seph Charlesthe
Harrison, o f Si
or i
lCmheanr
,l Charles
ith
s oPe reinche, was in-
dicted Price and others:
dieted for receiving the same, well knowing them
to have
been stolen.
Mr. Gifford and Mr. Starling conducted the case for the
Ai
prosecution ; Mr. Sergeant Parry and Mr. F. ,
Lewis de-
fended Harrison; and Mr. Ribton defended Smith. Pem-
berthy was undefended.
from the statement of counsel
It appeared and the evi-
dence in the case that on the 24th of June last ' a quantity
of goods, among others a cask of French turpentine, was
ordered to be conveyed from the premises of Sir Ralph
Charles Price, at Blackfriars-bridge, in
one of the Steam
Navigation Company's vessel down the river. The cask
was lowered with the other goods into a lighter. It weighed
4 cwt., and as it appeared to be lying safe in the lighter it
was not considered necessary that it should be watched. On
the 25th of June it had disappeared. It was stolen on the
night of the 24th or early
was effected on the Morning of the 25th.
the robbery
Shortly after the prisoners Smith
•
and Pemberthy were found dealing with the property, sell-
ing it and receiving money for it. They were seen lurking
about in the neighbourhood of the Wharf where the lighter
was moored. The ease against Harrison differed entirely
from that against the other two Prisoners. His offence con-
sisted in receiving the property with a knowledge that it
had been stolen. He carried on business as an oil and colour
man in Queenhithe,_!om ()where opposite the residence of
the Lord Mayor. His concern was not very extensive, as
was proved by the c_ircumstance that he only employed a
boy in his office. 1
nconsequence of information received
by the police the officers visited his premises and found the
his
cask of turpentine in cellar, Persons passing along the
street could see the end of the cask for several days after it
was received, when another cask containing petroleum was
placed over it; but it was contended that this visibility did
not tell in favour of the Prisoner, inasmuch as the identifi-
cation of the cask from the footpath was a matter of utter
impossibility. It Was alleged by the learned counsel, but
the statement was not .f
, *wards borne out in evidence,
that Harrison said he had in the first instance given £l6 for
the cask, and afterwards that he had paid only £l2 10s. for
it, the real value being ; ''..) 4,
. and the question of his guilt
turned mainly iv= tne question as to the parties from
whom he had purchased it. The counsel for the prosecu-
tion relied upon the fact that ha was alleged to have bought
it from the other two
prisoners, who were known to be
acting as labourers about the docks, and for a sum of money
amounting to only about half its actual value, for proof
that be must have purchased it with a knowledge that it
had been dishonestly
obtained..
At the close of the case for
Mr. Ribton addreased the jury on the part of Smith,
submitting that there was nothing approaching to evidence,
certainly not sufficient to warrant them in finding him
guilty.
lie then called witnesses to character,
Mr. Sergeant Parry submitted that no evidence what-
ever had been adduced in support of the charge against
Harrison.

The Recorder, having carefully looked over his notes,
trary, he said that the opening statement of the learned
opinion with the learned seri eaut. On the con-
prosecution was unsupported by the testi-
cmaogotturneyesdeoli forfilte Witnesses, because it now appeared that the
prisoner never had made any declaration to the effect that
he purchased the cask either for 416 or for £l2 10s.
Mr. Sergeant Parry observed that there were several per-
sons in court Who had known Harrison all his life, and who
were willing to bear testimony that he had sustained through-
out a most irreproachable character. The Lord Mayor, for
instance, was ready to come forward and give evidence to
that effect.

Tho Recorder—If it had been proved that he knew the
exact position in life of the other two prisoners, from whom
ho is said to have made the purchase, it would have made a
great difference in the case.
Mr. Sergeant Parry—But there is no evidence that he
knew anything whatever about them.
The Recorder—Undoubtedly there is not.
Under the direction of the Court a verdict of Not Guilty
in the case of Harrison was here taken, and the prisoner left
the court with his friends.

The other two prisoners were found Guilty of the rob-
bery, and several previous convictions were proved against
Pemberthy.

The Recorder sentenced Pemberthy to six, and Smith to
five years' penal servitude.

Claude Cole, 16, a servant, was incliotoa for floilloway