The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-23 00:00:00

AT EPSOM.

ErsoM, THURSDAY.—The magistrates re-assembled this
morning at Careless's Coffee-house, at half-past ten o'clock,
for the purpose of further proceeding with this investigation.
The Court having been opened,
The CHAIRMAN called on Mr. Owens to proceed with the
defence, intimating, at the same time, that the magistrates
had laid down this course of procedure. He would first be
permitted to address the bench on behalf of his client; and
then call any witnesses he chose. After which Mr. Borth-
wick would have the right of reply.
Mr. Owens commenced by soliciting the indulgence of the
Bench in the few remarks he should have to address to
them. He called upon them to consider :well the evidence
before they came to the conclusion that even a probable
presumption existed of the guilt of the accused party. It
was not sufficient that the Bench should be satisfied that an
offence against morality had been committed—that was a
question between the accused and bii Maker, but the
prisoner was charged with a higher and graver offence, one
which was easy to be made, and hard to be met. In the pre-
sent case there was a total absence of that consistency in the
statement of the prosecutrix which was necessary in order to
entitle her to belief. In her deposition she had described
herself as fifteen and a half years of age, in a letter which
he had put in she stated that she was seventeen years and
four months old. What had this been done for but to enlist
the sympathies of those to whom she complained, and thus
to press more hardly on the individual she accused. Mr.
Owens then proceeded at great length to analyse the evidence
of the prosecutrix, which he described as exceedingly contra-
dictory on many important particulars. He particularly
alluded to the great improbability of the prosecutrix's state-
ment to the effect that she gave an alarm on the night of the
alleged violation. Had she done so it must hare been over-
heard by the servants.
Mr. ()wens here corroborated that portion of Mr. Bartlett's
statement in which he denied that the affair had been first
treated as a case of seduction, and tendered his own evidence
to prove the fact.
The BENCH having decided on not taking Mr. Owen's
evidence on this point, called upon him to proceed.
Mr. Owens then said he was prepared to prove that the
mother of Miss O'Grady had publicly declared as Mr. Bart-
lett would not give 1,0001. to stay this prosecution, she
would be revenged upon him.
The Bench also refused this evidence, upon the ground
that the misconduct of the mother could not in any way
affect the prosecutrix.
Mr. Owens 'replied that the nominal prosecutrix was
under age, and the real prosecutrix was in fact the mother.
He contended that he had a perfect right to show that the
mother bad endeavoured to extort money in this very case.
The CHAIRMAN said the Bench were not inclined to go
into the question of the conduct of the mother.
Mr. Owens regretted this circumstance very much, inas-
much as it would have enabled him to show the true com-
plexion of the case. Mr. Owens concluded his address by
imploring the magistrates to consider well before they sent
the case to a higher tribunal, thus saddling the ratepayers
of the country with the expenses of a perfectly futile pro-
secution.

Several witnesses were here called for the defence, but their
evidence was of the same character as that of those already
examined.

At the close of the examination, Mr. Borthwick replied on
the whole case in an address which occupied more than an
hour in its delivery.
The magistrates here retired for a few minutes. On their
return into court,

The CHAIRMAN said, at length we have come to an end of
this very painful and perplexing inquiry. It is one that ne-
cessarily involved very important consequences to the parties
interested, and therefore we have gone more fully than it is
usual to go into charges even of this serious nature. We
have come to this conclusion, that there was a criminal inti-
macy--cf that there can be no doubt about. We need not
look to thee ►idence to know that fact, it is admitted on all hands.
We have come to this conclusion. that from the evidence
there is but too much reason to think, and to fear, that this
unfortunate young woman has been very ill-used. That
where every generous and manly feeling should have been
called forth to defend and protect her, she has been sa-
crificed. Ido not know that she is the first victim, but
looking at the whole of the evidence, and at all the circum-
stances of the case, we have come to this conclusion, and it
is not without doubt in our own minds that we have come
to it, that there is not enough in the evidence to raise that
fair and " probable presumption" that the crime of violation
has been committed by the prisoner, to induce us to send the
case for trial. The prisoner is therefore discharged, and the
case is ended.

This announcement was received by the crowd of specta-
tors with audible marks of satisfaction, which were imme-
diately repressed by the officers of the court.
Mr. Bartlett, having been formally discharged, was here
re-taken into custody by Mr. Keene on a civil process for
the debt for which he had been originally placed in Horse-
monger-lane.
Mr. Bartlett protested against the power of Mr. Keene
to detain him, urging that the habeas by which he had
been brought to Epsom on Saturday last was virtually dead,
the period for which it was granted having expired. Mr.
Bartlett added, that the magistrate's commitment, under
which he had been brought to Epsom with yesterday and
to-day, was of course at an end with his discharge, and there-
fore he declared himself unwilling to return to prison unless
under protest.
Mr. Keene said he felt perfectly satisfied of the legality of
the course he was taking, as in his
,expezience lever
case§ had occurred.