The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-05 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.—MA-IDSTONE, DEC. 4.
cnerore Mr. Justice Byles.)

John Armstrong, 44, was indicted for bigamy.
Mr. Barrow prosecuted. The prisoner was de-
fended by Mr. Addison.
It appeared that the prisoner had been in the
army, and served in the Crimea, and was discharged
with a pension. He married his first wife in July,
1857, at Ballysax, in the county of Kildare, and he
married the second wife at Chatham on the 10th of
August in the present year.
Hannah Howe, the second wife, a comely-looking
little woman, deposed that she kept a lodging-
house at Chatham, and that the prisoner was in-
troduced to her at the commencement of the pre-
sent year, and soon afterwards he paid his ad-
dresses to her. He represented that he was a
widower, and said that his wife had died at
Wolverhampton, and that upon her death-bed she
exacted from him a promise that he would not
marry again until six months had expired. (A
laugh.) She inquired of him when that time would
arrive, and he told her on the 10th of August, and
on that day they were married. (A laugh.) A
very short time after the marriage she saw a letter
that was written by the first wife, and she asked
the prisoner whether it was true that he had a wife
living, and he said it was not, and she then tcld him
that she would not live with him any more until
the matter was cleared up. The prisoner upon this
packed up his things and left the house, and shortly
afterwards she ascertained that he had a wife living
at Wolverhampton, and the prisoner was taken into
custody. It transpired in the course of the case that
the witness had been in the receipt of a pension on
account of her husband having been killed in the
Indian mutiny, but the pension had been withdrawn
by the Government in accordance with the usual
custom upon her marriage.
The Jury returned a verdict of guilty.
Mr. Addison urged upon the Court the previous
good character of the prisoner in mitigation of
punishment.
Mr. Justice Byles said the case was undoubtedly
not accompanied by any of those circumstances of
aggravation that were sometimes proved, but still
the second wife had undoubtedly been damaged to
a considerable extent. Ia consequence of the mar-
riage she had also lost the pension to which she was
entitled, but he hoped, as it was a void marriage,
that this would be restored to her ; and, under all
the circumstances, he should sentence the prisoner
to four months' hard labour.

The greater portion of the remainder of the day
was occupied in disposing of cases, the details of
which were entirely unfit for publication.
Alfred Burr Luck, Thomas Stevens, Geo.Allchin,
Joseph Obey, Stephen Burgess, John Catt, and
Joseph Clapson, the seven men who were tried on
Wednesday for the manslaughter of the gamekeeper
and acquitted, and who afterwards pleaded guilty
to the charge of night poaching, arising out of the
same transaction, were then placed at the bar to
receive judgment.
The learned Judge, addressing them, said that
they had pleaded guilty to the offence of being out
at night armed with guns in pursuit of game, and
that the statute which made this an offence was a
most salutary one the circumstances of the pre-
sent case proved most clearly. One man had lost
his life, and another had stood in the position of
being liable to have his life also taken; and this
was the result of the offence to which they had
pleaded guilty. The jury had asquitted them upon
the charge of manslaughter, and he should not per-
mit that charge to have any effect upon his mind ;
but in the sentence he was about to pronounce he
should endeavour to deal with them according to
the share that each of them appeared to have taken
in the transaction to which they had pleaded guitt.yd:
He then sentenced Luck and Burgess, who,.
appeared to have been the original prop
hard
labour expedition, to be imprisoned and kept to
four
months
labour for twelve, and the others for of
appeared
each.
As the prisoner Luck left not the man
the dock he declared
with great earnestness that he was
who shot the deceased.
the farmer
iwho had been con-
victedter of ins wife,
manslaughter was next
Alaj Major At
the
nnat oann,
brought up,prisoner, said
that
and he handed up a written paper to
hislordship When
addressingwas placed
theat
the
ri bar.
iur,
nohadthadtel mustayed
he had been very properly convicted of the
Justice
w
offence of manslaughter, andind he
indignation passing sentence lest the
ig
naturally be created by the circumstances under
which the offence was committed should interfere
with the proper administration
of justice. If
he had intended to inflict
his wife his offence wouldserious mischief upon
have been murder,
and he would undoubtedly
been left for ex-
ecution. He did not believe that he intended
to cause serious
mischief to his wife when ho

assattltfd her, but still his offence amounted to
manslaughter, and manslaughter of an
aggra-
vated character, for which he must pass a seu-
tepee of penal servitude. (The prisoner mere ex;-
claimed, "I hope not, my lord, pray have mercy.',
Such a punishment was no doubt a very
one to a man who he saw had, filled the offices of
churchwarden and overseer, acci had occupied a re-
spectable position ; but his duty to the public left
him no alternative but to order h:ta to he kept in
penal servitude for three years.
This concluded the business of the as,!sizes.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.--STAFFORD, DEC.
(Before Mr. Justice Mellor.)
Jesse Watts, William Henshaw, Hannah Sit.lols'
and Mary Downing, found guilty on the previOus
day of the manslaughter of Henry S winnerton, we,
brought up to receive sentence. Watts, on being
asked if he wished to say anything, made a state-
ment which directly negatived part of the evidence
of the witness Kelsey. Sentences—Watts, 9
years
penal servitude ; Henshaw, 15 months' hard labour'
Simms and Downing, 6 years' penal servitude each.
CUTTING AND WOUNDING.
Alfred Curtis, 22, puddler, was charged with Co'
loniously assaulting and wounding Thos.
on Nov. 7th, at Hanley, in the parish of Si9U-e"
upon-Trent, with intent to murder him. Prisoner,
with his wife, had been employed by the prosecutor,'
who is a wax-figure manufacturer, and also an
ex-.
hibitor of the same, at Hanley. On the night pre-
viously to the commission of the offence prisoner's
wife had been discharged because she had got intoxl
cated, and had qilarrelled with her husband on the
prosecutor's premises. On the followiisg mo rnin
prisoner went into prosecutor's bedroom, carryil3.g
large Highland sword in his hand, remarking',
" What made you attempt ?" and dealt the proseeit,
tor, who is an old man with a bald head, a fearflP
blow on the left temple with the iron hilt of tiled
sword. Blood began to flow profusely, and the 0
man ran out of the room, followed by the prisonerf
who, shouting he would have his life, and C 011;
tinning to attack him, struck him an Additional
blow with the weapon upon the back of
The
the
bead. He also kicked him in the side.
old man, bleeding, and still followed by the
saner,. made his way across the street in Whici;
his house is situated, and here his assailant "„-
secured by some neighbours. Outside the room 1"
which the attack was commenced, the police-8C"
geant found a razor tied firmly down to the handle'
by a strong piece of cord, and also a large knife'
The surgeon deposed to the dangerous state of the
wound on the temple, and the prosecutor said?'
was still suffering from the injuries, not having
been able from pain to sleep on the night before;
The prisoner, when arrested, said that he inten. e``
the razor to kill the dog, if the dog on the prereise;
should come upstairs whilst he was
ea
attacking ,114
master. The prisoner was undefended, and plle
that the prosecutor had attempted to kiss his t;
He was found guilty of assaulting with atteniP'.vs
do grievous bodily harm, and the judge, retner)%,
that possibly some provocation been go-
sentenced him to three years' penal servitude.