The Sun.
London, England, 1823-12-11 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY.

Yesterday Thomas George, aged 19, was indicted for the I
murder of Charles Gibson; and John Fawcet for aiding and
abetting therein.
It appeared that an the 24th of November, the prisoner
George and the deceased were at the Bird-cage public-house, in
Bethnal-green, witnessing the amusement of jumping in sacks.
—One of the sacks belonged to the prisoner Fawcet, who was
a baker, and whose servant George was. lie dirpcted George
to take care of it i and the deceased who had it in his posses.
sion, refused to give it up to him. This occasioned an alter-
cation, upon which Fawcet said he would back George to fight
the deceased for a leg of mutton and trimmings. The offer
was accepted, and the time and place fixed upon ; but on
the following Saturday evening the parties met again, when
deceased proposed that instead of a leg of mutton they should
fight for a sovereign aside, and then it would get into the News-
papers. This being agreed to, the parties met on the following
Monday. After fighting for an hour and five minutes, the de-
ceased received a blow, from which he fell senseless; and was
carried in that state to the public-house, where he expired in 20
minutes.

Three men, named Samuel Pell, Daniel Martin, and
George Webb, who were included in the indictment, but
who have absconded, acted as seconds on' the occasion ; Martin
in particular took a most conspicuous part in what was going
forward. The prisoner Fawcet also acted as a second or bottle-
holder to George ; and when the deceased's mother called upon
him before the fight took place, and implored him to take
some steps to prevent it, he replied, that " he would do no such
thing; his boy George should fight the d—d young rascal, and
he would stake a sovereign in his behalf; he would also, if
necessary, get a man to do his work for three weeks."
The Jury, without allowing the Recorder to sum up the evi-
dence, returned a verdict of « Guilty of Manslaughter" against
both the prisoners ' • but recommended George to mercy on the
ground that he had acted under the influence of his master.
The RECORDER immediately ordered the prisoners to be
brought up for judgment. With respect to George, he said,
the recommendation of the Jury should have its due weight ;
it appeared that hs had received a religious education, and
expressed great contrition for what he had done, to which
he had been instigated by a parcel of brutes about him.—
He could not, however, expect to get off without some punish-
ment, and therefore the Court sentenced him to be imprisoned
for six weeks in the House of Correction, and there kept to hard
labour. The case was very different with respect to Fawcet;
for were it not for his having proved himself devoid of every
humane and Christian feeling, the young man Gibson would
have been alive now, and might have lived to be a useful
and respected member of society. A recent Act of Parlia-
ment left it in the discretion of the Court to punish a person
convicted of this offence with transportation for fourteen years.
As that Act, however, was but a recent one, the Court
would not pronounce that sentence in the present instance; but
he (the Recorder) now gave notice, that henceforward, if any
person appeared before the Court convicted under similar
circumstances, they would certainly put that Act in operation
against him. They would make it known that people would
not be permitted to be guilty of this disgraceful misconduct for
the sake of figuring as heroes in a newspaper. The present
was one of many instances of the fatal consequences which had
resulted from the infamous conduct of the press in publishing
details of these brutal fights. The sentence of the Court upon
the prisoner Fawcet was, that he be confined for two years in
the House of Correction, and there kept to hard labour.
Andrew Conway was indicted for wilfully and maliciously
cutting Margaret King, with intent to do her sonic grievous
bodily harm. The prosecutrix was called upon her recog-
nizances, but did not appear.
The RECORDER ordered her recognisances to be estreated.
Two witnesses were then examined, who stated that they
found the prosecutrix with a wound on her arm, but they could
not say by whom it had been inflicted.
No other evidence being produced, the Jury found a verdict
of Not chatty.
Cornelius Lawlor, Stephen Quick, Stephen Couchntan, and
Edward Shackcil, were indicted for a libel in the John Bull
newspaper upon John William Dunn.
The prosecutor was called, and did not answer. In the ab-
sence of all evidence, therefore, the Jury found a verdict of
Acquittal.
The London cases being all disposed of at eight o'clock, the
Common Serjeant discharged the London Jury.