The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-04 00:00:00

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.-IVewcastle-upon-

Tyne,

-
Aug. 2.
CIVIL SIDE.--(Before Mr. Justice WIGHTMAN.)
SPOWARD V. YORK, NEWCASTLE, AND BERWICK RAILWAY.
This was the only record left this morning to try. The
action was brought under Lord Campbell's Act to ob-
tain compensation for the death of a relative of the
as
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plaintiff by a railway accident. The parties agreed that
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Counsel.

CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice PArrEsom.)
Join Hayes, Robert Bowey, Alexander Alexander, and
Robert Codling were indicted for conspiring falsely,
fraudulently, and feloniously to embezzle the sum of 101.,
the property of the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Rail-
way, their masters, the said money having been received
by the said John Hayes by virtue of his employment for
and in the name and on the account of his masters.

Mr. Otter and Mr. Digby Seymour conducted the pro-
secution; Mr. Sergeant Wilkins, Mr. Grainger, Mr.
Gray, and the Hon. A Liddle defended the prisoners.
It appeared that for some time past the York, New-
castle, and Berwick Railway Company had been sur-
prised at a great diminution which had taken place in
the receipts on their branch line, which runs from
Newcastle to Tynemouth, which they did not conceive
was warranted by the state of the traffic. The pri-
soners were all in the employ of the company on that
branch. Hayes was the station-clerk at Newcastle,
Alexander held the same position at the Percy Main
station, Codling was ticket collector at North Shields,
and Bowey was guard on the trains which run from
Newcastle to Tynemouth. How any fraud could be com-
mitted it was difficult to ascertain; for the manner of ar-
ranging the tickets which were issued prevented any
fraud being practised. All the tickets which are de-
livered to passengers are stamped in a machine at the
audit-office of the company in York, with consecutive
numbers, and are then made up into packets and sent
to the different station clerks, who have orders to place
them in tubes kept at the different stations, in such a
manner that the ticket with the lowest number may be
at the top of the tube, that with the highest at the bot-
tom; and then by machinery inside the tube, the tickets
can be pushed up to the top of the tube one by one, num-
bered consecutively. In this manner they are delivered
by the station clerk to the passengers, who deliver them
up to the ticket-collectors at the stations where they alight,
and it is the duty of the ticket-collector at each station
to make up into packets the tickets he receives, and
to deliver them to the station clerk, who forward.
them the next day by the ten o'clock train to the audit-
office of the company at York. The station clerks send
the account of the tickets they issue, the account of the
amount they receive, and the amount itself, at the close
of each day, to the office at York, and the correctness of
the receipts is tested by the amount of money received
agreeing with the tickets collected by the ticket collec-
tors. A fraud could not, therefore, be practised unless
several servants of the company should combine toge-
ther. A watch 'was placed on the traffic of the New-
castle and Tynemouth line the first few days of April
last by the agents of the company, and the third-class
passengers were made to show their tickets to an officer
of the company as they proceeded to take their seats;
this was done in the morning and also in the afternoon
of several days, and it was then discovered that tickets
issued in the morning were re-issued in the afternoon at
the Newcastle station, the number on the tickets being
the same. Agents who went down the line likewise saw
the prisoners Codling and Alexander deliver small par-
cels of tickets to the prisoner Bowey, which was contrary
to their orders, for the purpose, as suggested by the
prosecution, of being conveyed back to the prisoner
day e 3, to be re-issued by him, so that the money received
by him from the passengers holding the re-issued tickets
might be embezzled. Upon these facts being discovered
all the prisoners were given into custody, and their per-
sons and houses were searched; upwards of 50 tickets
were found on Hayes, on Bowey's person and in his
house were found upwards of 4001. In Alexander's
house were found 50/., and in Codling's 151. 10s.
This being the case for the prosecution, _ _

Mr. GRAINGER took objections to all the counts of the
indietnient. The principal one was, that there was no
embezzlement shown by the evidence adduced on behalf
of the prosecution, as no money was proved to have been
received by Hayes for the tickets on the second time of
their issue, which was the money he was accused of em-
bezzling.
His LORDSHIP said, that that was so. He did not see
that there was any evidence to show that the passengers
who had received the tickets on the second occasion of
their issue had over paid any money. His Lordship also
said that the evidence did not support the other counts.
The jury was therefore directed to find a verdict of
Not Guilty.
Their Lordships proceed to Carlisle to-day.

NORTH WALES CIRCUIT.—MoId, Aug. 2.
The commissions of assize were here opened yester-
day before Mr. Justice Maule, and the business com-
menced this day. There were only 13 prisoners and three
causes for trial.

The Learned JUDGE, in his charge to the grand
jury, congratulated them on the highly creditable state
of the country.
CROWN COURT.

David Hughes, 30, was arraigned on seven coroner's
inquisitions for resnslsughter, in seven deaths that oe-
curred by a colliery accident at Flint.
The accident occurred last week. It appeared that, by
some means, in raising the seven colliers from the pit
they were drawn above the trill, and, losing their hold,
the whole number were thrown precipitately down the
shaft. Six of them were killed on the spot, and the other
man died in a few hours- afterwards from the effects of
the injuries he sustained. The prisoner was the person
in charge of the machinery.
Mr. WELSBY, for the prosecution, said the grand jury
had ipnured the bills before them. He should not offer
any evidence. It was due to the prisoner to say that he
was not inexperienced in the management of steam-en-
gines, and that the unfortunate occurrence was the effect
of accident.

The JUDGE said he had read the depositions, and ap-
proved of the course taken by Mr. Welsby.
The grand jury were of opinion that the mouths of
coal-pits might be protected when the workmen were as-
cending and descending.
Verdicts of Acquittal were taken in all the cases.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MARYLEBONE.

Mr. Thomas Pritchard, who—described himself as a
gentleman residing at Nn. 3, Canterbury Villas, Maida-
vale, Paddington, was charged betore Mr. Broughton
with having committed violent assaults upon Charles
Kay, conductor of one of the Atlas omnibuses, running
from St. John's Wood to Camberwell-gate.
Complainant's evidence was, that on the previous
evening, between five and six o'clock, he took up defend-
ant near Charing cross, and that on arriving at the cor-
ner of Baker-street he saw the defendant's foot upon
the cushion. Ile said nothing to him then, but on getting
into the Alpha-road, after putting down several passen-
gers, he asked defendant to take off his foot, when he
replied, " I shan't." Complainant told him that if he
permitted him to keep his foot where it was he should
run the risk of being discharged by his employers, and
on finding that his entreaty was of no avail he opened
the door of the vehicle, when he laid hold of the toe of
defendant's boot and removed the leg from the seat.
Defendant then gave him several blows of a most violent
description upon the face and chest, and on the vehicle
reaching the corner of Little Earl•street the defendant
was given into custody and conveyed to the station-
house.

The defendant's answer to the charge was given by
him at some length ; the purport of it was, he had his
leg up, not on the cushion, but merely on the frame,
and that he was spoken rudely to by the complainant,
who caught bold of his leg, and he then struck him.
Mr. BROUGHTON, after remarking upon the excellent
manner in which the Atlas omnibuses were conducted,
fined d- 1,-ndant 60s. ; in default of payment, one month
in the House of Correction.

The penalty was paid.
Mr. David Williams, a chemist and druggist, resid-
ing in the Edgware-road, was charged, at the in-
stance of the Excise, with having on his premises an
illicit still.

Evidence was gone into, and it was shown that on an
examination of the premises being made, the officers
found in a room on the basement story a private still,
complete in every part. There was some wash in a state
of termentution, and spirits, partly manufactured, in
bottles and jars. The officers took possession of all, and
defendant was given into custody.
A fine of 301. was inflicted ; in default of payment
three months' imprisonment.
LAMBETH.

John Perry Henning, who asserted himself to be se.