The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-12 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY

OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice WIGUTMAN.)
FORGERY.— William Wilkinson, aged 30, described as
a smith, pleaded guilty to a charge of feloniously utter-
inn forged order for payment of 2351. 105, ciith intent
to defraud W. A. Hankey, and was sentenced to be trans •
ported for life.
_

MURDER.—John and Eliza Copeland, man and wire
were charged with the wilful murder of John William
Copeland their own child.
The prisoners pleaded Not Guilty.
Mr. BODKIN appeared for the prosecution, which he
said had been instituted upon public grounds.
Mary White, of Somer-street, Hatton-garden, de-
posed that in January last, the two prisoners lodged in
the same house with her, indeed in the neat room. On
the Saturday previous to the inquest witness went to the
door of their room about half-past nine and asked how
the child was. The h male prisoner replied that he was
better—he had only had a fit. During the follow•
ing hour the prisoner went up and down stairs
three or tour times, and on the last occasion she took her
little girl across the street to Mrs. Parker. Iu about
three minutes she returned, leaving the little girl behind.
After she had returned to her room witness heard her
walk suddenly backwards and forwards, and then
scream, and immediately afterwards she came down to
witness's door, and said, " Our boy has burnt himself."
Both the prisoner end the witness returned to the room,
when the prisoner took up the child, who was sitting
near the fire-place, and pulled its clothes off. The room
was full of smoke, and the clothes were very much
burnt. There was no fender before the fire. Witness
recommended the prisoner to take the child to the hos-
pital, but she refused to do so, preferring rather
to send for a doctor. When the doctor came
he directed the child to be conveyed at
once to the hosp;tal. Before, however, the arrival of
the doctor the prisoner said to the child, " You naughty
boy, why did you do it. Did I not tell you not to touch
the fire."

On cross-ersmination by Mr. PRENDERGAST, the
witness stated that at the time of the alleged murder
the female prisoner was far gone in the family way,
ard had since been confined in prison. The prisoner
was very poor, and their dwelling was the picture of
poverty and misery.

Mr. Wright, a surgeon, saw the child the day before
it was burned, it was in a very exhausted and emaciated
state, and hid the appearance of being much in want
of food and nourishment. He saw the child after it
was burned, and directed it to be taken to the hospital.
The clothes had been taken off and were in a moulder-
ing condition, and the mother was applying oil to the
burns. The fire was in such a state that it was cer
taiLly possible for the child to have burned itself by
accident.

The case was stopped at this stage, the Learned
JUDGE thinking there was no evidence of murder against
the f risoners, and the jury..at once rewind a verdict of
Not Guilty.

Mr. BOiMIN said there was another indictment against
the prisoners for ill-using the child, but he was not pre-
pared to go into it there.
The prisoners were therefore put down till a fu-
ture day.
MANSLAUGHTER.—James Cowell surrendered to take
his trial for the manslaughter of John Heatherington,
late of Farringdon-street.
It appeared from the evidence that on the morning of
the 27th of February the prisoner was driving some
cattle from Smithfield market, and passing down King-
street, Snow-hill, one of the beasts darted up a yard called
Fox and Knot- court, where the deceased was standing.
He remonstrated with the prisoner for not
being more careful in his driving, and some
words and a scuffle ensued, which so frightened
one of the beasts, that it ran away, and the deceased
went in front of the other beasts, and turned them all
back. The prisoner then demanded of the deceased why
he did not turn them back when they entered the court,
and the deceased said he would have done so had the
prisoner called out to him to do so, to which the man
who was with the prisoner replied "I should like to
strike you across the with my stick," the prisoner
adding, "And I have a great mind to punch your head
tor you." The deceased said " You can't do it," upon
which the prisoner replied "I'll punch your head
for you if you don't go away," holding his stick up in a
threatening manner, but thinking better of it, he walk, d
on a few steps, when the deceased called out "You had
better do it—it will take a better man than you to do
it," which so annoyed the prisoner that he returned, and
struck him in the face with his fist. They both closed,
and fell together, and in the struggle the prisoner's cap
came off his bead, and wl,ile he was picking it up the
deceased struck him in the face. The prisoner again
turned to go aa ay, but the deceased followed and
struck several blows at him, which led to another struggle,
when they both fell again to the ground, and the de
ceased being undermost, his head came in contact with
the curb-stone, and a severe wound was inflicted on it.
The prisoner then resumed his journey, and the deceased
Ras conveyed to a doctor's. The wound was dressed,
and the deceased went home, to all appearances, very
little injured, but in a few days afterwards erysipelas
supervened, which ultimately resulted in death.
Mr. IJUDDLESTONE defended the prisoner, and elicited
in cross-examination of the witness who saw the occur-
rence, that the deceased was the aggressor in the first
instance ; while the medical man gave it as his opinion
that the erysipelas might have resulted as much from
the previous mode of living of the deceased as the wound.

The jury, after the cross-examination, stopped tho
case, and Acquitted the prisoner.

IVEW COURT.
(Be`ore the RECORDER.)
PICKING POCKETS.—A youth named John Parker
pleaded guilty to picking a lady's pocket of a purse, con-
taining some money. lie had been thrice convicted of
the same offence, and once summarily convicted of
another offence.

The RECORDER said it was absolutely necessary in this
metropolis that persons who pursued the trade of pick-
ing pockets should be severely punished, for it was not
like any other offence which a party might be induced to
commit from want or from some sudden temptation.
Those who picked pockets went out to pick pockets, and,
in fact, pursued it as a trade, and therefoze ought to be
made an example of when detected. As the prisoner
had been convicted on four previous occasions, the sen-
tence upon bim was that he be transported for ten years.
A juryman intimated that he had his pocket picked
this morning while on his way to the court.
Two men were found Guilty also of picking pockets,
and one sentenced to twelve months imprisonment, and
the other, who had been previously convicted, to ten
years' transportation.

STEALING' FROM THE PERSON.—Two yot►ng women,
named Herbert and Blandford, were found Guilty of steal-
ing from the person of a gentli man, named Welch. a
watch, value DI It appeared that they both led a dis-
solute course of life, and were the associates of thieves.
Herbert, who had previously been convicted, was trans-
ported for ten years, and the other prisoner sentenced to
be imprisoned for one year.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.
(THIS DAY.)
(Before the ASSISTANT-JUDGE.)
Mary Powell, a 3 oung Irishwoman, was indicted for
the following heartless and ungrateful robbery.
In the b, ginning of this month she applied, in circum-
stances of great destitution, to a poor laundress, named
Mary Shakspear, residing in St.John'a-terrace, Clsrken
well. Employment was given to her out of pure
compassion, but she had scarcely been set to work when
she was observed by a little girl to take some clothes off
the line, put them under her shawl, and walk out of thr.
th,use with them. She was fo lowed and given into cus-
tody, and the case being clearly proved, the jury found
her Guilty.

The ASSISTANT-JUDGE observed that this was a most
cruel 1.01)13,13. It was as bztu as the sttalipg ..f a car—
penter's tools, for the poor prosecutrix might have lost
her bread by it. In such a case neither the youth nor
the apparent ignorance of the prisoner could plead for
any leniency, and he must sentcnce her to be imprisoned
in the House of Correction and kept to hard labour for
six calendar months.

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.—(THIS DAY.)
LONDON, APRIL 12.—Wind this day at noon N.W.,
light flits, and cloudy.
OFF CAPE CLEAR, APRIL 6.—Templeman, Ei
ValpArsiso for Liverpool.
LERWICK, APRIL 2.—Sid. Rose, Greenland.
DUNDEE, APRIL 10.—S1d, James, Qut bee.
HULL, APRIL 11.—Wind N.E.-10. Sid. Elizabeth,
Holderness, Richibucto.
OFF THE START. APRIL 7.—Earl Durham, Patterson,
Cepon. 9. Frithiof, Rio Janeiro for Hatnburgh.
YLYMOUTH, APRIL 10 —Wind N.E.—Slth Corntiall,
Port Poilip. 11. arblia, Quebec.
LIVERPOOL, APRIL 11.— WiLd N.-10. Arrd.
burgh, Taylor, New Orleans. 11. Cormatinn, liar
Mobile; Huron, Driver, Charle!ton. 10. Sid. .Auro
Newfoundland; Harriet, ditto; Finricia, ttrin
11. Blorenge, Calcutta; Captain, Bombay; Kale, 13
Non; Ads, Restigouebo. .
RAMSGATE, APRIL 11.—The Eclipso, Dunkirk t
Gloucester, got on shore in Pegwell Bay this morning,
has been assisted off very leaky, brought in here, and
must discharge.
FRAZERBURG, APRIL 9.—A ship's stern boat was
washed ashore at r.bout five miles to the south yesterday,
painted inside the stern " Jane, of Arbroath, James
Storfront," and very much damaged. •
DEAL, APRIL 11.—Wind N.N,E. strong and squally.
—Arrd. Catherine, Watkins, Mauritius; Ottoman, Rio
Janeiro, with loss of boats, bulwarks, cook-house, Sce.;
Arab, Buenos Ayres ; France (of Bath), America for
Antwerp. Arrd. from the river and sailed, Indian, Eng-
lish, Sydney, New South Wales; Golden Spring, Keyser,
New York.

es•. C. B

DOVER, APRIL 11.—A ship's boat, about sixteen feet
long, bottom upwards, no name discernible, and the
rail of a vessel, with five or six stanchions attached,
painted green on the inside, was passed on the 6th inst.,
about ten miles off Brighton, by the Caroline of Ply-
mouth ; on the 9th inst. the same vessel picked up, off
Hastings, a ship's head board, with the name " Queen
Victoria" in gilt letters on it.
BRISTOL, APRIL 10.—Wind E. light.—Sld. 11,
Jane, Montreal ; Joshua, Cunard, Quebec; Java, New
York; Hebe,-Newfoundland.

GLOUCESTER, APRIL 11.—Corsair, Quebec; Solway,
Quebec.
FLEETWOOD, APRIL 11.—Wind N.—Sld. Elinor
Chapman, Hon-Kong.
AYR, APRIL 10.—S1d. Collingwood, Quebec.
PENZANCE, ARPIL 10.—Wind E.N.E.—Arrd. Pre-
sident, Newman, Rio Grande for Hamburgh.
CORK, APRIL 9.—Wind N.E.—Arrd. Mary Hardy,
Denough, Mauritius.