The Sun.
London, England, 1838-02-02 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT_(THIS DAY).

OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice VAUGHAN.)
MURDER.—Richard Williams, a man of respectable appearance, was
indicted for the wilful murder of his wife, Catherine Williams, on the
30th December, by throwing her down a flight of stairs, and thus dis-
locating her neck.—Mr. Phillips defended.
Ann Clark deposed that she lodged in the same house with the pri-
soner and his wife, in Waterloo-street, near Waterloo.bridge. On the
30th December deceased came into witness's room, apparently quite
sober ; and shortly after they both went out together to the public house,
where they had a quartern of gin in company with a man named James
Turvey ; witness then went away, leaving deceased talking with Mir-
vey ; the deceased soon after joined witness, and they went
home together; they then saw the prisoner, who went up to his own
room with deceased, locked the door, and would not let the witness
come in. In a short time prisoner and deceased wont out, and after a
few minutes returned together; the prisoner had been drinking, but de-
ceased seemed to be quite sober. The deceased then said to prisoner,
" Come along, my dear," and wished him to go to bed ; they went up
stairs together; witness then heard the deceased cry, and calling pri-
soner a very bad name. Afterwards deceased went up stairs and tried
to push open the door of her husband's bed-room. Witness heard
a faint scream, and deceased fell down the stairs. Previous to the
fall, witness heard the noise, as of a person getting out of bed and
walking across the room in a hurry. Witness struck a light, and found
deceased at the bottom of the stairs, her head downwards, and her fe t
on .the third stair. There were twelve stairs in the flight. It was
scarcely,a yard from the door to the head of the stairs.

Cross-examined by Mr. PHlLLlPS—Deceased was in the habit of go-
ing out and drinking.

Mary Jones, who lived in the same, house, corroborated this evidence.
She further stated, that when deceased came in about one o'clock in
the morning, she first with loud excLimations broke into her room, and
said she would break open her husband's b—y door.
Cross-examined by Mr. PHILLIPS-4 heard the door shut before I
heard the scream. It was one or two minutes after the door shut before
I heard the scream and the fall.
Re-examined—Considering the state of the deceased, the short dis-
tance of the door from the head of the stairs, and the steepness of the
stairs, it was very probable that the deceased might have fal!en down
by accident. The Coroner's Jury brought it in accidental death,

NEW COU.R
John Harding was indictad for stealing 401. worth of rope, the pro.
pert y of John Wingrove,
The prosecution was instituted by the Royal Canal Company, with a
vew if possible to stop a species of offence whicj► has of late become
very prevalent, and by which consider ble mischief has been done to
their property. It appeals that fur some time past some evil.di..poi.d
persorip have been in the habit of cutting away the cables which fas.
teno the vessels moored in the Royal Canal basin to the jetty rings.
The annoyance had become so intolerable, that the Company at length
60 two ACtiVtt OMMi to watcht and they aticoceded in apprehending the

V4i

Prisoner, who hal in this manners Cisaft. Or_Oti,t9t?e Elizabeth,
was there lying in the basin.. •;C'irt;
Mr. CLARKSON appeared for the ro64tntio,i and
_kroiticed th
policemen above referred to, who "p- '1#111.741, 5-0,4
cot the rope which confined the vess eltbifteeWilucli he ran
away. They pursued and apprehended TOM". atpuplisilivmj
The Jury without hesitation found the\lr:tidltiet thtiltY.
It haring keen stated to the Court that the pri,oner had been tried
here b?fore fir offe.nce3 of a similar nature, and had bcca sent to the
House of Correction.
The COMMON SRGEINr observed, that It would be at least seven years
tefore he should again honour them with his presence.
GUILDHALL.-(THIS DAY.)

Mr. Tibbetts, of No. 1, Budge.r;w, appeared to prefer the following
c a ge against a Company calling themselves "The Metropolitan Coal
Company," ca. ryirg on business at No. 108, Fleet street.
It appeared from Mr. Tibbetts' statement, that, seeing an
advertisement in the papers, offering coals at thirty shillings per
tan, he was induced, on last Friday week, to send an order ibr
a ton. They were yesterday delivered, and on having them weighed
they were all deficient, from Subs, to I Ms, each sack ; and that subtle,
quentiy, on I:aving the sacks weighed, some of them were tbund to weigh
a; much as 1 &lbs., whare s 121br. is the weight allowed by law.
Mr. liob!:.r, ji.n., on behalf of the Company, endeavoured to ac-
count for the sacks being overweight, by saying that the frost so har-
dened them, that it caul(' not be avoided.
•
Mr. Alderman LITAti said that tale would not do.
Mr. Tibbetts said he did not wish to press for a heavy fine, his object
was to expose the nefarious advertising system.
The ALur•.RMAN said Mr. Tibbetts' object was most praitzworthy.
Mr. ITo'iler said in all probability the short weight was occasioned
by a weight dr•apping out of the scales.
The Alumni/IN on referring to the Act of Parliament, found that a
penalty not exceeding M. was attached for every sack deficient.
Mr. Tibbetts hoped that a small fine only would be inflicted, and that
the money should be laid out in coals, to be given to the poor of the ward
in which he resided.
The ALDMINIAN ordered the defendant to pay a fine of ss. on each
sack, which amounted to Cis , and expressed his determination on any
future occasion to inflict a very heavy penalty.