The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-24 00:00:00

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QUEEN'S BENCH.-(THIS DAY.)

(Sittings in Banco.) -
SMITH V. TUE QUEEN IN ERROR.
The question involved in this case was whether pri-
soners can be tried before courts of quarter sessions
when courts of assize are sitting. It appeared that the
plaintiff was tried in April last at a court of quarter
sessions at Manchester, the Recorder presiding,
on a charge of burglary, on which he was
found guilty and sentenced to ten years' transportation.
There was a charge of larceny against the prisoner in
another cow t.

Mr. HODGSON, who appeared for the plaintiff, ad-
dressed the Court at great length, and contended that
wherever courts of oyer and termincr and of gaol de-
livery were sitting the jurisdiction id' the supreme courts
were superseded.
Mr. WELSBY appearpd for the Crown, En l submitted
that the jurisdiction of the inferior Courts was not su,.-
pended during the sitting of the higher Courts. The
Learned Gcntientan eititkrauthorities in support of this
view.

(The arguments were not concluded at the rising of
the Court.)

STATE OF TRADE.
(From the Manchester Guardian of this da).)
lIANCHESTER, TUESDAY. —The pulse of our market
has been stimulated by favourable ceinuireid accounts
from India, and by the advice wkich the Euro; a has
brought of a rise in American cotton to ti.e Extent of
per lb. since December 26, which has, of course, pro-
duced much more than a corresponding t Met upon the
Liverpool market. Spinners and manufacturers, who
had latterly been flagging in some degree, have made an
effort at a rally in the prices that might be considered
attainable last week. This has been the case, princi-
, pally, in India qualities of 40's, 50's, and 60's mule
twistAtogether with shirtings, madapollarnt, and jac
conets ; and to some extent also in yarns suitable for
the European continent, as, for instance, common to
good second, 16's to 20's water. The consequence of
this move is a restriction of the day's business, which
has not been very considerable. In some instances, how-
ever, producers have effected sales on rather better
terms than they were able to do last week. The market
is receiving little support from the home-trade dealers,
whose operations are very limited. We regret to
hear 'of the failure of Messrs. Price and Potter, of
this city, whose liabilities amount to about 10,0001. A
meeting of their creditors will take place to-morrow.
The parties are spinners of coarse yarns.
ROCHDALE, MONDAY.—We have had a better demand
for flannels to-day than we had the previous Monday.
One or two of the large manufacturers have been pur-
chasers again in the Blackwater-market. There is very
little change to report in the wool-market, and, although
there is not much business doing, former prices are
firmly maintained. The Silk Trade—The silk trade, at
Middleton, grows better every week, and, during the last
few days, several large manufacturers have been in search
of weavers. The silk small ware business also improves.
and operatives, in both the above-named branches, have
full employment. The silk manufacture is extending in
Middleton and the neighbourhood, and some of the
finest descriptions of fancy silk goods are now being ma-
nufactured. At Leigh, also, the manufacturers are ad-
vertising for weavers, and most of the warehouses pre-
sent a busy appearance.
HUDDERSFIELD, TUESDAY.—The attendance of buyers
has been limited and the business in the Cloth-ball was
less than during the last two or three markets. But we
can report that the operatives are pretty generally em-
ployed throughout the whole of our district. There is a
steady demand for wool, and last week's prices are main-
tained.

HALIFAX, SATIIRDAY.—We have had more merchants
in the Piece-hall to-day, and some sales have been
affected, especially in lastings; but there is ♦ery little
disposition to give any advance upon old rates. The same
may be said of the state of business in the warehouses.
The spinners continue fully employed, chiefly upon old
orders, taken before the late advance; but they are gene
rally able to obtain the improved rates upon the few
❑ew orders that are now giving out. The buoyancy of
the wool market has subsided, and there is much less
doing, though prices remain firm. The spinners have
pretty well stocked themselves, and are now standing
out against any further rise. In short wools there is not
much activity. The spinners are asking higher rates,
which are not acceded to.

LEEDS, TUESDAT.—Considering the very unfavour-
able state of the weather there 11as a fair amount of
business done in our cloth market to-day, and at prices
about the same as before; the transactions in our ware-
houses, however, have been on a very limited scale this
last week.

THE ADDITIONAL COURT AT
THE OLD BAILEY.
(From the Weekly Dispatch.)
Mr. Editor,—The public in general are not, per
haps, aware of the extreme anxiety that has lately
been manifested by the authorities of the Corporation
of the city of London to have the business of the
Central Criminal Court disposed of as quickly as pos-
sible. For the last year or two, whenever the state
of the Old Bailey calendar has been such as to indi-
cate the probability of the prolongation of a Criminal
Court session beyond the week in which it com-
menced, every possible effort has been made
to limit its duration to that period, and a
" third" court has been held in the Grand Jury-
room, over which Mr. Commissioner Bullock pre-
sided, "for the dispatch of business." Far different
was it in " the good old times," as they aro called,
when that highly-respected civic functionary, the late
Recorder, Newman Knowlys, took his seat on the
bench at five o'clock in the afternoon, after the de-
parture of the Learned Judges, and commenced the
trial of a fresh " batch " of prisoners, and who
would often remain on the bench until twelve
o'clock at night, and even much later. Some good
easy souls said, and perhaps believed, that these pro-
tracted sittings were owing to an extreme anxiety on
the part of his Lordship to do complete justice to the
prisoners brought before him. Of one thing I am
quite certain, that he never allowed any unfortunate
wretch that was brought before him to escape from
his clutch if he could help it. There has, however,
been a great change in the manner of conducting the
business of the Central Criminal Court since the
period to which I have alluded. The evening sittings
have been altogether abolished. Learned Counsel
practising in that court no longer exhibit ur.question-
able proof of their having " dined up-stairs." She-
riffs do not lean over the front of the bench to remon-
strate with them on the impropriety of their conduct,
and find it impossible to resume their seats without as-
sistance, and provoke the laughter of the bystanders
by their abortive attempts to appear "all right." Un-
fortunately, however, changes or alterations are not
always entitled to the name of Reform ; and, although
the old system of protracting trials until long after
midnight was undoubtedly a very great abuse, as one
that completely exhausted the patience of the jury,
and rendered them altogether incapable of discharging
the duty that devolved upon them, still I very much
doubt whether it may not be said in this, as in many
other cases, we have gone from one extreme to the
other, and whether the mode of trying prisoners,
adopted by another Learned Civic Functionary, which
has not inaptly been called trying by steam, has at all
tended to increase that respect which the people
ought always to feel for those whose duty it is to
administer justice to those who have transgressed
the laws of their country. But it now appears
that even the steam system does not dispose
of the Central Criminal Court business with
sufficient dispatch; and, accordingly, a third court
is to be permanently established, in order that
the entire business of each session may be got through
within a week at all events, and as much sooner as
possible. Now, it appears to me that this arrange-
ment is one of those "jobs" for the perpetration of
which the Corporation of the good city of London
have lately gained an unenviable degree of notoriety.
Whenever the new court is opened for the dispatch
of business it will be found that an additional judge
is also necessary to dispose of the cases fixed for trial
therein. There will also be required one or two
additional clerks to assist the Clerk of the Arraigns,
and an additional Deputy-Governor of Newgate
Prison to take charge of the prisoners who are
to be tried in this third court, and a few addi
tional turnkeys. No one but those who are, and
have for years been practically acquainted with the
manner in which the business of the Central Criminal
Court has been conducted, can form any idea of the
great inconvenience to which all parties having
business in either of the courts will be subjected by
the establishment of the additional court. The public
are already pretty well acquainted with the manner
in which a great number of the Old Bailey barristers
neglect the interest of their unfortunate clients,
under the pretence that they were engaged in " the
other court" when his case was called on ; but should
there be two " other courts," in addition to the old
one, I fear there will be very little chance of a prisoner
obtaining the assistance of counsel in either, and even
where barristers are really anxious to do their duty to
those who employ them, there will he such a constant
running from one court to the other, that by the time
a barrister gets into the court where his services are
required, lie will often find that the case has been
disposed of before he made his appearance ; but if
barristers and others well acquainted with the
mode of transacting business, should be liable to
any mistakes of the kind, what will be the
case as regards the friends of the unfortunate pri-
soners, who are anxious in their hour of need to
render them any assistance that may be in their
power—what means will they have of knowing in
which court a prisoner is to be tried ? They tr7ePecri;
haps refer to a list placed outside the door t each
court, each containing the names of Smith, Brown,
Jones, &c.; and while they are anxiously inquiring
in which court the Smith or Jones,, whose welfare
will ,
they are interested,
ill be tried, the steamer" will
have settled the whole affair; and here I cannot help
protesting against a system which has latterly
prevailed at the Central Criminal Court and at the
Middlesex Sessions. I allude to the practice of
the judges examining witnesses from the depo-
sitions returned to them by the magistrates

at the different police-courts. It is one which,
I deeply regret to state, has, on some occasions,
been adopted by the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of
Queen's Bench. The practice I allude to may Le
thus explained. A witness, then he enters the box,
is sworn to speak the truth, the whole truth, &c. In
stead of his giving his evidence in his own way, the
' I judge, who, having the depositions before him, there-
fore knows exactly what the witness has oeen called
to prove, examines him after this fashion—" Your
name is William Jenkins ?" Witness—" Yes." " You
were walking in the Strand on the 15th October last,
and you saw the prisoner there?" Witness—" Yes."
"And you watched him?" Witness—" Yes," " Arid
you saw him enter the shop of the prosecutor?" " Yes."
And so the examination is continued of each witness.
So that, instead of being allowed to do that which
they had been sworn to do, viz., "give true evidence,"
&c., they merely answer certain leading questions,
which are put to them by the judge, who extracts from
them just sufficient evidence to ensure the conviction
of a prisoner, and then coolly tells the jury the case h
completely established, &c. Now I have always under-
stood that it was one of the maxims of our rnueh boasted
law, that a judge, who tried a case, should commence
such trial with a mind entirely free from prejudice,
either against or in favour of a prisoner. Yet.
according to the system of which I now complain, the
judge is not only allowed to read the depositions taken
against a prisoner, but to examine witnesses from
those depositions ; merely culling upon them, by
affirmative answers, to repeat that which they had
formerly stated before a magistrate. Now, in civil
cases a judge is not allowed to know anythieg before-
hand of what any witness can prove. He does not,
in fact, know anything more than the cause of action,
and the nature of the pleadings. I wonder what
would be thought of Lord Denman if, in an action
to recover a debt, he were to say to a witness—
" You were present when the debt was incurred ? You
heard the defendant promise to pay it, and you know
that he has not done so ;" and having had all these
questions replied to in the affirmative, he were to tell
the jury to find a verdict for the plaintiff! Such a
mode of examination would not be allowed in a civil
case, why, then, should it be in a criminal one ? The
judge, in an action to recover a paltry sum of 101.,
takes, or is supposed to take, a full note of the evi-
dence on both sides ; but in a case in which the
liberty and character of one of her Majesty's subjects
is concerned, his notes very often contain nothing
more than the name of the prisoner, the offence
for which he was indicted, and the verdict of
the jury. I have, on more than one occasion,
seen the " notes " of a learned judge, and found
they contained nothing more than what I have
above stated. Yet the very judges who adopt
the practice of examining a witness from the deposi-
tions, will at once interrupt a counsel who tries to
adopt the same mode of examination on the part of a
prisoner, by saying " Don't put the answer into the
mouth of the witness, by putting leading ques-
tions, such as Did you do so and so ;' but
ask him what he did, and let him give his
answer in his own way." It would be an effectual
stop to the system of trying by steam if the
prisoners would insist, and which they have an
undoubted right to do, on each witness giving his evi-
dence de novo, altogether irrespective of anything that
may appear in the depositions. The original intention
of compelling the magistrates, at the different police-
offices, to return the depositions taken against a pri-
soner to the court to which they committed him for
trial was, not that the judge might afterwards examine
the witnesses therefrom, but that they might be re-
ferred to in case the witnesses suppressed any por
tion of the evidence which he had given, when the
prisoner was under examination at the police-court.
In proof of the correctness of this opinion ou my part,
I may mention that owing to the number of cases in
which guilty parties have escaped from punishment,
in consequence of witnesses, when under examination
before a grand jury, wilfully suppressing portions of
the evidence they had given at the police-courts, and
thereby inducing the grand jury to throw out the
bill, the practice for some years past has been to have
an officer of the court in attendance before the grand
jury with the depositions, and if he finds a witness sup-
pressing any material fact which he had sworn to when
before the magistrate, to call the attention of the grand
jury to the statement contained in his deposition. I
believe I may claim the credit of having been the
first person to suggest the propriety of such a course
being adopted. The subject was brought thereby
under the consideration of the proper authorities,
and the plan was at once approved of by them.
The last " improvement" contemplated by the par-
ties at whose instigation the third court is established,
is that the gallery shall be open to all corners on
payment of a fee of one shilling. It is not stated
whether there is to be any half-price. I very much
fear that this fixed money payment will give rise to end-
less disputes. Suppose, for instance, the touters for
the gallery were to induce a person to pay the stipu-
lated fee, on the assurance that a " dreadful murder"
case was then " on," and the party, on that impression,
was to pay the sum demanded ; but when he got admis-
sion found that the case which then occupied the court
was one ofpetty larceny only, would he not have a right
to claim a return of his money, it having been obtained
from him under false pretences ? That facetious
periodical, Punch, very lately exposed the absurdity
of taking money for admission to courts of justice
during what are called " interesting" trials, and gave
a sort of bill of the play of an Old Bailey perform.
ante, to which the usual notification ought to have
been added, " No money returned."

CEN SORIUS.

MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS.
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED IN
TILE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JAN. 20, 1448.
Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases ...*393
Diseases of Uncertain Seat ... 51
Turbercular Diseases... ... ~. 155
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses... ... 136
Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels ... 55
Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of
Respiration .., 300
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs
of Digestion... 68
Diseases of the Kidneys, &c.
Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, &c. 14
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles ... 7
Diseases of the Skin, &c. 0

Malformations...
Premature Birth

Atrophy
Old Age
Sudden ~

Violence, Privation, Cold, or Intemperance 20
Causes not specified 11

DEATHS FROM ♦LL CAUSES

1,345

Population Average weekly Deaths
Enumerated, Deaths, 1843-7. in th•
1841 Five Summers. Week.
West Districts... 300,711 .. 142 ... 190
North D—tricts.. 375.971 .. 182 ... 255
Central Distr:as 373,653 ... 178 ... 198
East Disiricts ... 392,444 219 ... 272
South Districts.. 501,190 251 ... 430

Totals... ..... 1,948,369 ... 972 ... 1,345
Alalea
Females ... 705