The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-13 00:00:00

'AYR.
Cash.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.--This Day.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.
(Sittings in Banco, before Lord Chief Justice Cockburn,
and Justices Mellor, Shee, and Lusk.)
Ix RE miciriEE O'BrItNE.
Mr. Flood applied for a writ of certiorari to set aside a con-
viction in this case, and from the statement of the learned
counsel it appeared that O'Byrne had been tried in the Island
of St. Helena, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment
with hard labour, on the charge of having wilfully set fire
to an outhouse, with the intention of defrauding an insur-
ance office. Ho had property to the amount of £B,OOO,
which had been seized during his imprisonment, and at the
expiration of his sentence he returned to this country
broken in health and a pauper. The conviction
had been made under a statute in operation in
England, which rendered the act with which the
applicant was charged a felony, and imposed a heavy
punishment on the proof of its commission. He contended
that unless the colonies were mentioned as being included
in the operation of the statute, or that there was an order
,in Council on the subject, they were not liable to the sta-
tute law of this country. Most diligent search had been
made in the bye-laws of the East India Company, who
had succeeded in the government of the island in this
country.

The Lord Chief Justice inquired if the Court of St.
Helena was subject t'6 the jurisdiction of this Court.
Mr. Flood replied in tho affirmative, and said he would
be able to produce authorities from the 7th year of Henry
111. down to the present time to satisfy the Court on that
point. The learned counsel then proceeded to read
affidavits by the applicant and others, and cited several
authorities against the application. He also gave a very
interesting historical account of the Island of St. Helena
from the time that it became an appendage of the English
Crown as a plantation, its subsequent seizure by a Dutch
Captain, its restoration to this country, its Government
by the East India Company, and its becoming entirely
under the control of the English Government.
The Lord Chief Justice said that in the affidavits pro-
duced to the court it was not proved stisfactorily that there
really was no Act in operation in the Island of St Helena
which rendered the offence sub judici a felony. That
island had a local legislature, and although the Secntary
of State for the colonies might have said to the learned
counsel that the Act was not extended to St. Helena, it
was no proof that it was not in opera tion, becanse it might
have been sanctioned by the local legislature without the
knowledge of the secretary.

The learned counsel resumed, but bad not concluded his
arguments at the rising of the court.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—This Day.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

THREATENING A COMPLAINANT IN COURT.—Eliza Brown,
a young woman, who has been several times in custody for
assaults, was brought before Mr. Tyrwhitt, charged with
violently assaulting another young woman named Julia
Scanlan.

The complainant said that on Saturday night she was
talking to a young woman in the Euston-road, and after
the young woman went away the prisoner came up to her
and seized her by the hair of the head with both hands,
and kicked her violently in the stomach. A constable
came up, and the prisoner was taken into custody.
Police-constable White, 96 C, said that observing a large
crowd assembled on Saturday night in the Euston-road,
he went up to ascertain the cause, when he found the pri-
soner holding the complainant by the hair with both hands
and kicking him violently in the stomach with her knee.
He made the prisoner release her hold and took her into
custody.

Mr. Tyrwhitt committed the prisoner for a month with
hard labour.

As the prisoner was leaving the court she called out to
the complainant, " I will do six months for you yet."
Mr. Tyrwhitt ordered her to be brought back, and told
her that she would also have to find one bail in £lO to
keep the peace for three months.