The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-23 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.-.-LEWES, MARCM 22.
The Commission of Assize for the county of Sussex
was opened this day at the County Hall.
There are upwards of 70 prisoners for trial at the pre-
sent assizes, and many of the offences are of a most serious
character, involving the lives of the parties accused.
There is a charge of burglary, accompanied by violence,
alleged to have been committed by a gang of desperadoes
at Baxhill, which creates a great deal of interest.
Lord Denman will preside in the Crown Court, and
Baron Parke will dispose of the business at Ni.i Pius.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT. —Dimar, 31.IRCH 19.
Luke Clarkson, aged 19, was charged, on the Coroner's
inquisition, with killing George Hadfield, a child aged nine
years.
The facts of this case, which were atrocious, were principally
proved by the evidence of a boy named Stuart, aged thirteen.
He stated that himself, deceased, and prisoner, left Tideswell,
where they were living, on the 14th of October, in search of
work. They all, when at home, lived with a man named
Booker, as chimney-sweeps. From Tideswell they went to
Cressbrook. On the roadprisoner tnrned deceased's clothes
down, whipped him with nettles, and then beat him with a
brush. On coming to the river Wye, Clarkson took the poor
lad by the legs and dipped his head several times in the stream.
He then stripped him, and, taking the child into the middle of
the stream, continued to duck him. Deceased, on coming out,
could not stand. Subsequently the inhuman monster, heat
the lad for half a mile on the road with his brush. They slept
at Youlgreave in a building all night, and Clarkson flogged
him there. Proceeding towards Bakewell next morning, the
prisoner picked up a stick from off the road and flogged the
deceased till the stick broke. Leaving Bakewell, he beat him
with his brush again, as he did also on arriving at a shed on
the road. He whipped him also with nettles till the blood
ran down the child's back, and afterwards threw his scraper
into some water, and compelled the child to go in and
fetch it. The prisoner perpetrated other acts of
cruelty, the last of which was pushing him en a heap of
stones ; deceased jumped up quickly, but fell, and
never walked again. It appeared that the deceased received
a wound over the right eye, probably in falling on the stones.
The blood-vessels on the brain were ruptured, and extravasa-
tion of blood connected with the right eye, sufficient to cause
death. According to other portions of the evidence it would
appear the little fellow was a good lad, and altogether it was
one of the most cruel cases on record.
The Jury found the fellow Guilty, and he was sentenced to
Fifteen Years' transportation.

LEICESTER, MARCH 20.
The Judges opened the commission for this county yester-
day, but the business is light. The only case of interest during
the day was the-following:—
FELL V. KNIGHT.
This was an action brought by the plaintiff, who is a young
attorney, against the defendant, who is the proprietor of an
inn at the villa of Syston, in this county, for refusing to
provide him (pla geintiff) with accommodation as a guest at his
house, in December last.
It appeared that the plaintiff came to the defendant's inn on
the evening in question, for the purpose of stopping during the
night. Two beds were successively warmed for him, but he
objected to each of them, as being damp. The chamber-maid
insisted that they were well aired; but a looking-glass having
been procured anti placed between the blankets, it appeared
dim when drawn out; and this confirmed the plaintiff in his
notion that the beds were damp. Some angry altercation then
took place, and (according to the evidence on the part of the
plaintiff) the landlord refused to allow him to stop in the
house, and obliged him to set out on foot on his journey to
Melton, but stopping at another inferior inn on the way, he
there lost his great coat.
According to the evidence on the other side, the plaintiff
had been offered the best accommodation the house afforded.
but he objected to every thing. The landlord even offerer
to sit up by the fireside all night with him if he was afraid o
the beds, but he refused the offer. It was also stated, bu
not proved, that the defendant's wife offered to give him up
her own bed. The landlord at last told him that as he seemed
determined not to put up with the accommodation which his
house afforded, he might walk out of it, which the plaintiff
accordingly did, after having first inquired the expense of a
chaise or fly to Melton, but declined to hire either as being
" too dear."
Mr. HILL and Mr. HUMF REY were Counsel for the plain-
tiff; and Mr. WHITEII URST for the defendant.
Mr. Justice PATTESON told the Jury, that if the innkeeper
had refused to afford to the plaintiff the accommodation of
his house, the plaintiff was entitled to a verdict ; but if, on
the other hand, the plaintiff himself thought fit, without
reasonable ground of dissatisfaction to decline it, their ver-
dict should be for the defendant. It was a question of fact to
be decided by them upon the conflicting evidence laid before
them.
The Jury immediately found a verdict for the defendant.

SURREY SESSIONS, MARCH 2;

--,_____
( Before Mr. HEDGER and a Bench of Magistrates.)
Yesterday the adjourned Quarter Sessions commenced
he
at
the Court-house, Newington. The calendar presentsesides
names of sixty-eight prisoners for
trialtal for felonove y',
number
b
fourteen for misdemeanors, and u the ab
twenty-eight prisoners were marked down as i
rencapa ad im-
ble of
reading, and the remaining portion as being able to
perfectly.
Joseph Kemp, aged 19, and Thomas Stephens, aged 24,
were indicted for breaking into the house of James Nash on
the sth instant, at a place called Thersley, in the lower part of
the county, and stealing a variety of propeyty.
The robbery was discovered the following
amndorzilnlog;
farmer.; immediately mounted their horses, followed the
tracks of two men for twelve miles, at which distance from
Thorsley they came up. with the prisoners near the margin
prYilsnognerlas large
a deep and rapid river, both of them
bundles. As the horsemen approached, the two,
creased their speed, when one of them (Ste
that there was a hot puisuit, threw away (Stephens), finding
without further ceremony, dashed into the.'river withth
is bundle,e aviewn
of escaping to the other side. Being however an indifferent
swimmer, and encumbered into the bargain with the clothes,
he had a narrow escape of being drowned ; but eventually he
contrived to gain the opposite bank just as one of the horse-
men arrived, having galloped, round over the bridge to meet
him. The other prisoner was taken previously with one of the
bundles of the prosecutor's property in his possession.
The Jury found both .the
sentenced to be tit prisoners Guilty, anti they were
transported for seven years.