The Sun.
London, England, 1808-08-04 00:00:00

HOME CIRCUIT.

TIERTFORD, TvEsDAy, Auc. 2.

- ,
George.and Thomas Shepherd and IP, Fremon,
were iedieled tor :stealing, on the 12th of July,
three silver tea-spoons, a silver punch-ladle,. a
glass pepper-castor, and a:wine-glass, from,the Pin-_
ddr's Arms public-house, on Hertford Common.
Mr. Curtwoon, 'as',Counsel for the prosecution,
called tir the serjousatteritten of the Jury, inasmuch
as this case was attended with singular circumstances,
and it would be a question of the intention of the
Prisoners ; for of the, aa of
.their taking the articles
alledged there could lie no doubt. Of the three
Prisoners at the bar; Freeman was the sun of a
most respeetable tradesman ; the two others Were
brothers, the eldest ofwhone was not more than ifs,
and the other 16 years 4 age ; they Were the sons
of a Gentleotan of _great respeaabilny and of large
fo.:tunee and were nearly allied to persons,whO'held •
most exalted rank in the Country. • lii iiitY'fo the
agonizing feelings of their relative, he could
.not be
ee.peeted to state more explicitly their,cohnebions;
they u erJunder their father's will, though neither
Of them v, as tine eldest son, to inherit a fortune. of
20.060 i. each, oncoming of age. He did not stale
this with any view of
,prejudicing the Jury in their
favour; British .Justice was impartial to all, and
shone with equal rays on the rich and on the pear,
nor would the Learned Judge suffer any such
sit-
tempt to pass uncensored. But it was important to
stait tt upon this occasion, inasmuch as it,repelied
the presumption of those Motives which induce men
to the pere •tration of crimes-such as were iniputed
by the present iouictinent. .
The facts of the case were very' short. On the
2t3th of July the three Prisoners lett London as early
as five o'c,Ock in the morning, on horseback, and
took the.roed to Hertford. Teey called several
public-houses, and drar.c at each. The whol of
their conduct, in hard riding and drinking, vyasnot
that of persun* decorously pursuing their oiseAsure in
a manner befitting their stations, in lite, but rather
that of persons giving way-to the unrestrained pur-
suit of their irregular caprices. They arrivtAd at
the house of the Prosecutor same time in the, fore-
noon, where they had some ale and bread .and
cheese, and soon utter departed. TalcatAiately after
they were g,,ne the landt4hy missed the articles stated
in the indictment ; she gave the alarm to her bus-
band, who pursued them, and they were apprehend-
ed in Waltham Abbey Marshes. They were search-
ed, and the, articles found upon them. With re-
s•iet-t, therefore, to-the' tad, there could be no .doubt,
but the question would be, with Avhat intention
they took the articles. The Leaned Counsel. said,
it was not every taking against the will of the owner
that was a felony, but it must be. dOte with a felo-
nious intention, with an intention of secretbetaking
from the owner with • a view to convert it to the
use of the taker, with no design of ever accounting
to the owner. If the Jury believed they athd with
that 'in tet4ion, they must find them guilty.. But if,
fortunately, for the Prisoners, ,tiley should think
they did it as a, mad frolic, in the wildness of
.mo-
mentary whim, with
.an intention of returning the
7trticles, it would be no felony. But it would be a
lesson of dreadful severity to theM, to guardtheir
future condua, -and would require a life of, unde-
viating redtitude to wipe away the stain which this
ad must cast upon their charaCters. •
The landlord of die Pindes Arms proved/the facts
as stated. When he pursued the -Prisoners, com-
pany with 'a Constable, they were. found, in Wal-
tham Abbey Marshes ;' they were there walking
their horses backward and forward: He addressed
them, and said they were the persons, who had
taken his spoons. They replifid, be did not know
they bad them. He said he would be certain; for
he would search them. They did search them
hen they got to Waltham, and .be.foutt& his three
spoons, a glass pepper box; a wine glass, and a
puneh.ladle, of wtheCi were his property. He
told then) first that he did not believe them to be
thieves, but if, they would 'give up his goods he
would take no further notice of them. They said
they had often heard of persons Who had :Dade such
promises, but- who weee the more severe after-
waids. After the articles were foued upon them,
they were carried before: a Magistrate and committed
"
for trial. , , • ,--
The Prisoners being called upon for their defence,

. . _
Freeman put in a written paper,.iii which be
-stated;
that he had no intention of committing any illegal
act that on the morning of the- 20th, July, the
other two prisoners came to his lodgir:gs and Knock-
ed him up, telling him they had htred a, horse for
hint, and he must go and ride with them.—
They accordingly all set off together. They
breakfasted at Kingsiand, and afterwards drank at
several pubiir!' houses, until they came to the Prose'=
cutor's, at Hertford Heath ; that when they were
•there„ they saw the articles in the cupboard, arid
they proposed- to take them away to frighten the
Landlady, and to seeici them tick by the stage the
next day, with a note to her, to beware of strangers
in: (mare: He con'cluclecl by solemnly denying any
design of stealing 'the articleS. Several witnesses
were called, who giNe the Prisoners an excellent
character for honesty..

Mr. AleXander, Solicitor in London, stated that
he was the Trustee tbr the two young men indicled
by the name of Shepherd, and that their fortune,
oo coming of age, would be at least 20,0001. each.,
He further added, that their father was recently dead,.
and ailiCe his death, being ieft without proper con-'
trout, they had behaved "with great irregularity, and
boinmitted many, wild excesses. .

Another Geialeman, their father's late Agent,
staled, that their father, during his life time, allowed
them 4us. a wed: for pocket money, and he con-:.
tinned the same allowance. •

The LORD' CHIEF BARON, in summing up, said
that tb4 ralik atta 'entitle ought not, and would
not: With the juty, place them in a better situation
than the pool/est culprit they had tried. On the con-
trary, it tie Jury thought they had au intentiuu of
stealing the articles they had taken, it was an.aggra-'
vition of their case, that they were not tempted by
want, which frequently Stimulated those-ofthe lower
orders to guilt. It was a singular case, atcd therefore
they would attend minutely to the evidence. His
Lordship here summed it up, and observed, that
'many parts of it were very bard against them. He

chiefly ottnicdted On their conel3ct when they w;re
apprehended, wilich he thought marked .rather
guilt than a..youtiqul frolic, but it was for the Jury
to decide with what intention they took the goods.
It at the moment of taking they intended to con-
vert thein to" their own use, they were guilty of
felony; and any after-intention of restoring could not
wipe away the original otlence.
The Jury found a Verdict of Not Guilty.

LAIT .REPORT.

COURT ,OF CHANCERY, AUGUST 2.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

EXPARTE THE FREE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL OF LEEDS.
This case has been repeatedly before the Court,
has been twice sent to a Master to examine into the
matters therein contained ; and has come back for
farther direEtiotis from his Lordship.
It was an application from the Trustees of -the
School, and the obje& which they wished to obtain
was to enlarge the system of education,•by decreeing
that the boys educated under the foundation should'
not be merely instructed in Greek. and Latin, but
be taught arithmetic, and call the other .branches of
education. - • .

Ali annual stipend of 4001. -had been sent apart
for the master. , This sum, it was contended, was
more than adequate repay• the labours of the
master, who; it was admitted, was deserving
remuneration, 6eiug a man of great
but then it became necessary, in consequence of the.
presentsituation of the town of Leeds, and its vast
commercial concerns, that die education of their
youth. should, uot be. confined
_solely to a learned
education, but that' such an education should be
bestowed as might fit them for business. It was
therefore submitted, that the original ietentiou'of
the Pu,ioder (upwards of 200 years since), in the
application of the. funds of the Charity, was to. bete:-
fit the town of Leeds, which could not be so well
&tie, as by directing that the eduCation of the
scholars upon the foundation should uot onl)ebe
learned but liberal.
• Sir S.s.stIJEL ItOMILLY, MT. RICH A.RDS, Mr. MAR..
TIN, Mr. OwEns, and Mr. BELL, were heard for and
against the application.
The :LORD CiIANCZLLOR, after noticing that he
had ordered this case to be sent to one of the
Masters in Chancery for his decision, with ateple.'
directions in what manner to, proceed; lamented that
the'Master should have misundersood his meaning.
However, his Lordship observed, as it had now tome
.leack, he must dispose of it himself in the best man-
ner ,he was' able ;—he should be obliged, .there-
fore, to the Gentlemen concerned to assist him.
The question to be considered' was, Whether
these changes. which 'the application sought to
pbtain would be attended with those beneficial ad-
*vantages which might be hoped by the Applicants ?
.As to the degree of
.authority which it might be
supposed the Court, was invested with, in respett to
direding that Spanish and German should be taught
in the school, and also that mathematics, algebra,
&c. should forma part of the system' of education,
the Court could mot in any such manner interfere ;
the intention of the original foundation was to be
looked at, and whether the plan at present submit-
. ted would lead_ to beneficial effeds. H:s Lordship
thought not ; and observed that there was now to
be seen in every village in the kingdom little semi-
naries of five or sik boys in each-e=a mode of
ration which in his opinion did not conduce to bene-
ficial consequences. to the pipits. For his part, it
was the greatest blessing of his lite, that in the early
part of it, previous to, being sent to the University,
he bad received his education at home for haff-a-
guiuea per quarter. Upon the whole, his Lordship
thought that the made of education, so far as re-
spected small schools, was not beneficial. In the
present case he would take time- to consider of his
judgment; but thus• far he would
.say, that in exa-
mining the different trust deedS Made from time to
time in resped to this Charity, it appeared that they
expressly stated, that it was to be " a Free Grionmar
School of the Learned Languages," and, therefore,
he did not see hoW he could well decree that the
plan 'should be enlarged. He, however, would
thank the Gentlemen concerned to give their assist-
ance in the further consideration.
The case of course stands over.
RECEIVERS.
On an application being made by Sir -SAMUEL
RoMILLY to the Loan CHANCELLOR, to call on Mr.
Wyatt, of Hatton-Garden, who was the receiver of
the rents of certain estates for certain trusts, &sc. to
pass his accounts, or another appointed, &c. • '•
Mr. HART observed, thatthis Gentleman con-
sidered himself' as unhandsome).- treated, and that
many things had been improperly imputed to him ;
so that it was his-wish to retire_ont of the business,
in which he met much trouble and labour, which
bad'. been ill rekuited... Tile whole of, the case had
been before the Master, and his report was expect-
ell to'be made to-worrow ; and therefore, perhaps,
the better course would be to let the matter stand
over until the next Seal. -
The LORD CHANCELLOR took occasion to ob-
serve upon the subjed of Receivers in general, with-
out any reference to the particulars of this case, that ,
a great reformation was wanting in the pradice of
that Court. His Lordship spoke with an animation,
that did honour to hisefeeling ; and with a clearness.
that was edifying to those who heard him.—" 'the.
Alay.(said
_his Lordship) which is occasioned by.
Receivers not 'passing their accounts in this Court
is intolerable. This' Court must take this subjed,
into. consideration, and make such regulations as
May materially diminish . if not entirely' remove the
evil; bre the .whole system of Receivership in the
Court must be blown up altogether. There is a
great defed in the praetice, arising from an entire
mistake, which is, that Receivers are to wait until
somebody else moves for, and obtains an order. that
they shall pass their accounts. What need have
they to Wait for 311611 an order, why not pass their
accounts at all seasons, immediately after they are
made up. There is an old and original Order, and
a very good one it is, That if a ceiver dees not
pass his accounts, and pay in his balances from
time to time, as they come into his hands, he shall
have no salary whatever, although that salary may
have been fixed by the a uthorithof this Court.' And
why any Master of this Court should, at any time,

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