The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-19 00:00:00

THAMES.

DARING HIGHWAY ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE.— George
Bains, a notorious and desperate thief, was brought before
Mr. Partridge charged with assaulting Mr. Andrew Wear,
of Love-lane, Shadwell, shipwright, and stealing a watch,
valued at £4, from his person.
The prosecutor was passing along the Commercial-road
East last night, at 12 o'clock, when he met tho prisoner
and another man. They intercepted his progress, and in
endeavouring to pass them one of the villains shoved the
prisoner upon him. The prisoner immediately snatched
Mr. Wear's watch, and broke a ring connecting the swivel
with the watch. Mr. Wear immediately collared the pri-
soner, who struck him with his fist, kicked him, and tripped
him up. Mr. Wear dragged the prisoner down with him and
called out "Police!" and "Murder!" Henry Townsend,
No. 313 K, was soon on the spot, and found the prosecutor
on his back, and the prisoner standing over him. Mr
Wear said " This fellow has stolen my watch." Town-
send immediately secured the prisoner. The prosecutor's
chain was hanging loosely before him, and the watch was
gone.

Mrs. Eliza Bishop, wife of Mr. Thomas Bishop, an artist,
saw the whole occurrence from her window, and confirmed
the statement of the prosecutor in every particular.

The prisoner mado no defence, and Mr. Partridge com-
mitted him for trial, and requested Mr. Allison, an inspec-
tor of the K Division, to ascertain if there were any previ-
ous convictions against him. He knew he had seen the
prisoner before.
Inspector Allison—Men from the different divisions of
police will go to the prison and look at him.
Roche, the gaoler of the court, said the prisoner was a
well-known thief, and had been tried and convicted several
times.

Mr. Partridge—Then I will remand him until to-morrow
week, Dec. 27, for the police to come here and prove the
former convictions.

ANOTHER HIGHWAY ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE. —Albert
Wright, aged 19, of 17, Salisbury-street, packing-case
maker, was charged with being concerned with others in
assaulting and robbing Mr. Charles Perry, distiller's clerk,
of 9, Patriot-square, Cambridge-road.
The prosecutor was passing along the Mile-end-road at
a few minutes past 12 o'clock on Saturday night last, and
encountered eight or nine young men, among whom was
the prisoner. He was hustled and shoved from one to the
other. One of the young mon seized him behind, and others
turned his pockets inside out and took from them a knife,
a half-crown, fourpence, and a pocket-book containing
receipts, pawn tickets, and letters. He estimated his loss
at £2O. Ono man "bonneted" him (struck the top of his
hat), and another attempted to strangle him. He was used
with considerable violence. He could positively identify
the prisoner, and saw him pick up one of the coins which
fell from his pocket when it was turned inside out.

The prisoner said he was innocent, and called George
Jones, Charles Bowers, and Joseph Day, young men, who
said they were with him on Saturday night in the Mile-
end-road, and he was not concerned in the robbery. In
some points their evidence was very conflicting.
The prisoner was committed for trial.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT—LIVERPOOL, Dec. 18.
(Before Mr. Baron Martin and a Special Jury.)

HAMPSON, ADMINISTRATRIX, V. THE SOUTH-EASTERN RAIL-

WAY COMPANY.

This claim arose out of the late railway accident at
Staplehurst on the defendants' line of railway. The plain-
tiff was the widow of Adam Hampson, formerly surgeon,
veterinary surgeon, owner of a shoeing forge, and part
owner of a cotton mill at Bolton, in this county ; and the
action was brought on behalf of herself and two children.
The defendants admitted the negligence of their servants
by the payment of Is. into court, but they left the question
of damages to be decided by the jury. It appeared that the
total income of the deceased was about £3,000 a year, but
that his family were now in receipt of about .£2OO a year.
Mr. Hampson was only 40 years of age at the time of his
death, and his future prospects at that time were very
bright. It was also shown that some property which would
have fallen to his children in the event of his surviving the
present owners would now revert to other hands.
His Lordship thought that if railway companies were
to be held liable for such contingencies as these they had
better shut up business at once.

Mr. Temple, Q.C. (with whom were Mr. Millward, Q. 0.,
and Mr. Baylis), on the other hand, thought if persons were
to be deprived of their sources of income by such gross
negligence as had been exhibited in this case, they had
better retire from business at once.

Mr. Brett then addressed the jury on behalf of the de-
fendants in mitigation of damages, contending that the
jury should not regard the income of the plaintiff's hus-
band as a certainty, but open to the usual incidents of
trade.

His Lordship then summed up, recommending the jury
to view the amount of damage in a broad and equitable
sense ; not regarding it as essential to award the same
yearly income that the husband had been in receipt of, but
sufficient to enable her and her family to live decently and
respectably in proportion to the position they had been
accustomed to occupy.
The jury, after a brief consultation, returned a verdict
for 47,000—X4,000 for the widow, and X 1,500 for each of
the children.