The Sun.
London, England, 1825-07-30 00:00:00

a woman, at we thought. sitting on the grass. I saw the than
turn from the paling by Flamstead House. We had just then
sat down: I observed the man exposing himself. I thought
the woman wax a grown-up woman. I observed them three
or four minute. He then went to the pales, and returned again,
and exposed himself to the girl. In about a minute afterwards
he walkA from the girl; and went towards Greenwich College.
We then walked to the girl, and ,:poke to her; she was about
9or 10 years of age. ;the looked a dirty kind of girl, of poor
parents. I went in pursuit of Haker. He might then be about
200 yards oft: I came up with him near the gate, and asked him
if he was not ashamed of himself to behave in so indecent a
manner to the child. tie said he had not done any thing of
the kind. He had begun to run when he saw me in pur-
suit of him. I overtook him. before he got to the hospitAl—
Ile denied it at first I told him we had got the girl, and could
produce her. Ile then started &rand ran away. I overtook him
Jost as he got into the street at the Park-gate. He then de-
nied it, and hoptd, for God's sake, I would say nothing about it.
as he was a poor man, and it would ruin him. He clasped both
his hands together. I gave him charge of Egglestone, the con.
stable, who came. I stated to the Justice's clerk what I had
seen. lie went to the house of the :Magistrate, I believe, after-
wards. The girl and all of us stayed outside the door while
the clerk went in. I left Greenwich to go home about five
o'clock. _ _

Cross-examined—l went to Greenwich that day only for.
pleasure. I had known the other two men from children. I
joined them accidentally. There were other people who might
have seen Baker run besides myself. I think Abbott got some
money. Ile gave me a tritlin,,' sum. I had one pot of beer.
I can't say what money I had, but I think it was not more than
9d. I did not know what money was given. 1 was here last
Assizes. . . .

He-examined—l did not know of any money until the busi-
ness was over, upon my oath.
George Chamberlaine, of No. 7, Jacob-street, Bermondsey,
corroborated Abbott's evidence, and gave nearly the same ac •
count of what took place between Baker and the girl, in the
Park.
Examined by the Loup CiIIEFJUSTICE.-1 had one shil-
ling of the money. I don't recollect why I had not more. I
was twenty or thirty yards off when I saw Baker exposing him-
self to the child. I was near enough to see all that passed. I
could not tell whether it was a child or a woman to whom he
was exposing himself to. I did not hear the child make any
outcry or noise. At first I thought it was a woman. We did
not interfere until the man had left her. If the girl had made
a noise we must have heard her. The girl was present at the
examination. I did not hear her asked where she lived.

The depositions returned to the Sessions along with the con-
viction were then put in and read. They purported to be signed
by the defendant, and recited in the usual form that the depo-
nents had been sworn and examined before the defendant.
The only depositions returned were those of Abbott and Fer-
guson. The first professed to give the words in which the de-
ponent delivered his evidence, and after stating the circum-
stances which he swore to have observed iu the Park
(which, however, differed in several material particulars
from his evidence now given ), concluded in these words,
" contrary to the form of the statute in that case made and
provided." The deposition of Ferguson was only to this
effect—" That the facts stated by the other deponent are true,
to the best of this deponent's belief." There was no examina-
tion of the girl returned, nor was there any examination of the
witness Chamberlaine.
This was the case for the defendant. _ _ .

Air. 6ttitNEY then addressed the Jury in reply. lie had
told the Jury in the outset that the question was not whether
Baker was or was not guilty of the offence alleged against him,
but whether the defendantitad acquired a judicial knowledge of
the facts and circumstances of the case, before he doomed the
unfortunate man to 3 months' imprisonment and hard labour in
the House of Correction. The guilt of Baker, assuming it to
have been satisfactorily made out, could be no answer to this
indictment. Let that unfortunate person be ever so guilty,
the conduct of the defendant was equally illegal and improper.
But he contended with confidence, that the story told by the
three men, who had been examined as to the transaction in the
park, was so inconsistent and improbable, as to be wholly un-
worthy of credit, when opposed to the solemn declaration of
Baker himself. The Jury had the opportunity of observing
his demeanour, and they would judge whether his evidence
did not outweighl the testimony of those persons, to whom his
evidence was opposed ? Was it probable that if such a beastly
scene had taken place, that three persons, with the natural
feelings of men, would have looked on for five minutes with-
out interruption. The thing was improbable and incredible.—
Again, these persons professed to give the most minute account
of what they had seen ; anti yet they could not, at the dis-
tance of 20 or 311 yards, diseern whether the female was a grown
woman or a child? This circumstance was sufficient of itself
to damn - the whole of their evidence. But how happened it,
that the girl herself, who was the ooly niportant witness upon
such an issue, had not been produced ? She was within the
reach of the defendant, and' if not, it might have been shewn
that unsuccessful steps had been taken to find her. For
any thing that appeared she might now be in the town, and
yet.she was, not called. This abstinence on the other side, in
not examining her, was another decisive proof of the falsehood
of-the charge against this unhappy man. But leaving the guilt
or innocence of Baker out of the question—for it really had
nothing to do with this issue—the real point. being whether the
defendant, as Magistrate, sitting as a Judge and Jury upon the
fate of an accused man (however guilty), had conducted him-
self in a manner which could be tolerated in any civilized
country, governed by laws, and regulated by humane insti-
tutions.
The LonD Citiria. .JCeTICE, in charging the Jury, ob-
served, that if all good men must feel pain at seeing a person
in the distinguished situation of a Magistrate placed in the
situation of the present defendant, the sensation was happily
counterbalanced by the consolation of recollecting, that though
there were thonattods'of Magistrates daily administering jus-
tice, front one end of the empire to the other, it seldom, very
seldom happened, scarcely once in ten years, that cases of this
nature were brought forward. The Learned Judge then di-
rected the attention of the Jury to tile precise nature of the
charge upon the record ; and put it to them whether the charge
so alleged was not clearly, made out by the evidence. The
substance of the charge was, that the defendant, being a Ma-
gistrate, had thought proper to commit a man for three months
and hard labour, upon a supposed conviction, drawn up on
the oaths of two persons, whereas, in fact, those persons had
not given their evidence upon oath. The allegation appeared
to him to he satisfactorily made out, for the defendant had no
authority to make the conviction, or issue his warrant upon it,
except tliatinct and satisfactory proof was given, in his own
presence, of the truth of the charge which had been preferred.
The conviction was supposed to'be founded on the Act of Par-
liament of very modern date, which added exceedingly to the
authority of magistrates, empowering a single individual, un-
aided by a jury, to decide upon the guilt or innocence of a per-
son, who might perhaps be without counsel or other profes-
sional assistance. In such a situation, above all others, it was
incumbent on the magistrate not only to observe the substance
of justice, but strictly to adhere to all the forms, in order
to prevent the possibility of injustice. It was clear, upon
the testimony in this case, that the defendant had de-
parted from his duty in signing depositions, the deponents
to which he had never seen, and committing a man to prison
who had never been confronted with his accusers. His Lord-
ship animadverted in strong terms upon the practice
which appeared to have obtained in Mr. Ilicknell's office, in
allowing the clerk to take the depositions of witnesses in the
absence of the Magistrate, and expressed a hope that it would
be forthwith corrected. Depositions should be taken on oath,
in the -presence of the Magistrate, who was alone ttie competent
authority for that purpose. HiS Lordship then adverted to the
depositions and to the record of' conviction, and observed that in
each it had been falsely asserted that the witnesses had been ex-
amined on oath before the defendant. This was a gross falsehood.
It had been truly observed, that if the defendant had been so
minded, he might, upon the discovery of his error, have caused
Baker to be released immediately ; for through he could not have
clone so upon his own' authority' yet the Secretary of State,
upon a proper application, would have ordered his discharge
forthwith. Indeed, his Lordship doubted whether he might
not have caused hint to he discharged by Habeas Corpus.—
Much evidence had been received which was irrelevant to the
present charge, but as the proaetrutor had launched his case
by proof of his innocence, his Lordship felt himself bound to
admit evidence in opposition on the part of the defendant.
Such a course of proceeding on the part of the prosecutor was
very excusable, for although the unfortunate man might have
suffered an unjust punishment, which could not be recalled,
yet it must have been a source of consolation to him to vindi-
cate his character from the foul stain which had been cast
upon it.
The Jury immediately found the defendant Guilty.

THE COCOOY, QUEEN BEETLE.—This astonish-
ing insect is about one inch and a quarter in length, and what
is wonderful to relate, she carries by her side, just above her
waist, two brilliant lamps, which she lights up at pleasure, with
the solar phosphorus furnished her by Nature. These little lamps
do not flash and glimmer, like that of the fire-fly, but give as
steady a light as the gas light, exhibiting two perfect spheres,
as large as a minute pearl, which afibrds light enough in
the darkest night to enable one to read print by them. Oi: car-
ryingher into a dark closet in the day time, she immediately
illuminates her lamps, and instantly extinguishes them on
beauty and sublimity of these lucid orbs' in miniature, with
cOming again into the light. -But
which Nature has endowed the queen of the insect kingdom.—
language cannot deseribe the
(*Vex -1(/;;e. rti3cr, Jaric 23.)