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London, England, 1853-07-13 00:00:00

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[PRICE SD.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.—CHELMSFORD, JULY 12.
The business of the assizes for the county of Essex
commenced this morning at ten o'clock, the Lord Chief
Baron presiding on the Crown Side, and Mr. Justice
Cresswell at Nisi Prins. On the Civil Side twelve causes
are entered, four of which are special jury cases. The
criminal business is also heavy.
Thomas Cornell, 27, was indicted for horse-stealing.
Mr. M'Kenzie prosecuted.
This case was rather a singular one. The prisoner was
tried last week at the Central Criminal Court for stealing
a pony and chaise, and it appeared that, seeing the ani-
mal tied up to a gate, while the owner was engaged in
the house upon some business, he had driven the animal
away, and had galloped about Epping Forest until he
was taken into custody. The evidence of Mr. M'Murdo,
the surgeon of Newgate, upon this occasion was, that
the prisoner appeared to be of a weak and flighty mind,
and his impression was that he did not think he was
doing
any wrong by taking away the horse and chaise,
and his own story was, that he merely wished to have
a ride. Upon these facts he was acquitted, and it ap-
peared that immediately upon his discharge from cus-
tody he went to a place called Little Canfield, near Dun-
mow, and seeing a pony grazing in a field, and having
madp a sort of bridle with his braces, &c., in that
state galloped off with the animal a distance of seven
miles. A hue-and-cry was soon raised, and one of the
Essex constabulary set off in pursuit, and came up with
the prisoner with the animal in his possession. Upon
his attempting to take him into custody the prisoner re-
sisted, and it was with a good deal of difficulty that he
was secured.

The jury after a short deliberation, returned a verdict
of Guilty, but

His Lordship deferred passing sentence until some
further inquiry was made respecting the prisoner.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT.—AYLESBURY, JULY 12.
The commencement of business at the assizes for the
county of Bucks had been announced for two o'clock
yesterday, and the grand jury had been summoned to
attend at that hour. The one o'clock train, however,
brought neither of the judges, the Lord Chief Justice
of the Common Pleas being detained in town, and Baron
Parke prevented by indisposition from leaving home.
The commission, however, was opened by Mr. O'Malley,
Q.C., who afterwards attended at the usual service in
church.

The business was then postponed till this morning.
In the evening an entertainment on a scale of great mag-
nificence was given to the magistracy and the bar by
Abraham Darby, Esq., of Stoke Court, the high sheriff
of the county.
The calendar contains a list of 13 prisoners ; but with
the exception of a charge of robbery and another of a
felonious assault on a female child, the offences are not
of a serious description.
Henry Adams, aged 23, was indicted for having vio-
lently assaulted and cut, with intent to murder, Ann
Simmons, and stolen from her person six half-crowns
and other money.
The prisoner pleaded guilty.
The learned Judge told him that he had no discretion,
but was bound to order sentence of death to be re-
corded. If any reason existed why a punishment short
of transportation for life should be inflicted, applica-
tion must be made to the Crown.
Ellen Martin, a girl 16 years of age, and of great per-
sonal attractions, was indicted for uttering a forged
order for 10 yards of blue barege 10 yards of white
book muslin, 20 yards of white muslin, and a pair of
stays 20 in. to the waist.

Mr. Latham Browne prosecuted ; Mr. David Power
defended.

On the 23d of May Mr. Quelch, a draper in Ayles-
bury, received by post a letter purporting to come from
a Mrs. Carter, of Merisch, directing that the property
named in the indictment should be made into a parcel
and left for her at the White Hart at nine o'clock the
next morning, to be called for. Mr. Quelch made up a
parcel containing all the goods so ordered, except the
stays, which he had not by him, and sent it according
to the directions of the letter. It did not appear how
the parcel had been taken away from the White Hart,
but on the forenoon of the 24th the prisoner, who was
an apprentice to a milliner in this town, of the name of
Webb, took to another milliner, who was a stranger to
her, the barege to be made up into a dress for
her. In the evening of the same day she took the white
muslin to a third milliner, with like directions. These
circumstances having transpired an application was
made to the mistress of the prisoner for leave to examine
the prisoner's box. That was done, and the book mus-
lin was found therein.

The Jury returned a verdict of Guilty, and recom-
mended the prisoner to mercy.
The learned Judge then passed on her :t. sentence of
12 months' imprisonment with hard labour.

quite dead, would appear that he rine
stood on h' . and then flung himself off. A
)r's inquest held upon him. Several witnesses
that t: had never witnessed the slightest
inptom of aberration of intellect about him, and he
was found felo de se, and was buried at night amidst a
remarkable concourse of the inhabitants of the village.
Mr. Cooke, in addressing the jury for the prisoner,
contended that there was no evidence whatever to justify
a verdict of murder—neither was there sufficient to find
her guilty of manslaughter and of the concealment of
birth. They could not by law find her guilty, as the
child was born alive.
His Lordship having summed up,
The jury immediately returned a verdict of not guilty.
After this verdict was pronounced two young women,
named Eliza Gee and Mary Ann Buckingham, who bad
been found guilty yesterday of concealing the births of
their illegitimate children, were called up for judgment.
His Lordship, in addressing them, said that the crime
of which they had been found guilty was one that was
rapidly increasing. He had spoken of it to the grand
jury, and said it was his rule to endeavour to check it
by severity of punishment. Nobody knew what vast
numbers of innocent infants were hurried out of
existence at the moment of their births, by careless-
ness and worse than hard-heartedness of their mothers.
It was a painful thing to him to have to adtninister jus-
tice in the cases of young women so apparently respect-
able, but it was necessary to make an example for the
sake of others. There was, however, a distinction in
their cases, and that of Mary Ann Buckingham was the
worst. He was very much inclined to think that if the
surgeon, Mr. Harris, had given the evidence before the
magistrate in a connected way, which he gave yester-
day in court in an unconnected way—namely, that she
told him that when the child was making a noise in the
bed she put down her hand and placed it on its wind-
pipe till it became still, and the jury had believed that
evidence, the verdict would have been very different.
The sentence of the court would be that they should be
respectively imprisoned and kept to hard labour, Eliza
Gee for 6 months, and Mary Ann Buckingham for 12
months. •

MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—NORTHAMPTON, JULY 12.
At twelve o'clock Martha Stevens was placed at the
bar, charged on an indictment, and on the coroner's
inquisition, with the wilful murder of her female infant.
Mr. Flood appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr.
O'Brien (with whom was Mr. Markham) for the
defence.

The accused, a fine young woman, of about 20 years
of age, resided with her father, a labouring man, at
Oundle. Her father's house was situate at a distance of
about a quarter of a mile from the River Nene. The
father was at first considered to be implicated as an
accessory, but subsequent and more complete investiga-
tion led to an abandonment of all proceedings against
him, and he was placed in the dock only to hear a ver-
dict of acquittal returned, The facts of the case are
these :—On the sth of April last Mr. Charles Linton,
who was fishing in the Nene, near Oundle, found his
line entangled with what he found to be a bag. The
bag contained some large stones, and the dead body of
a female infant. There were three or four fearful
gashes on the child's throat, some of which reached
to the vertebra. The windpipe and gullet were
divided. On proceeding to the father's house shortly
after, Inspector Ambridge found the prisoner washing
clothes. There was blood on the clothes and on the
floor of the bed-room up stairs. There were various
articles in the house stained with blood ; and, in short,
all the appearances of a woman having been recently
delivered of a child. A razor having been found in the
father's pocket, the prisoner said " Father knows no-
thing at all about it. I cut its throat with that razor.
It was dead and black." She at first denied to Dr.
Webster all knowledge of the child's throat having been
cut ; but subsequently said that "she did it, Intending
to burn the child." Dr. Webster's examination of the
lungs led him to the conclusion that the child had
breathed, but did not enable him to say positively that
it had been "born alive," in the legal acceptation of the
phrase.
Upon this the learned Baron stopped the case so far
as the murder was concerned ; and the jury returned a
verdict of "Guilty of concealment."

The learned Judge, by whose impressive accents and
solemn warning the prisoner seemed much affected,
thereupon sentenced her to two years' imprisonment
and hard labour.

With this case the business of the criminal side of the
court terminated.

Some three hours of the earlier part of the day were
occupied with the trial of Alfred Sherwood for burglary.
He was acquitted.

George Hubbard pleaded guilty to a charge of assault
upon the gamekeeper of the Duke of Bedford, at Sailer
Wood, on the 9th of December, 1851. He was sen-
tenced to one year's imprisonment and hard, labour.