The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-07 00:00:00

GREENWICH POLICE.

On Thursday two gentlemen, trustees to Union Chapel,
Greenwich, applied to Mr. Grove for advice under the
following circumstances :

The lipplicantsstatedethat at a meeting of the trustees,
held some time since, it was determined that the services
of certain musical gentlemen who had officiated in the
orchestra of the chapel should be dispensed with, and
notice of such resolution was forwarded to each. One
gentleman, however, in opposition to such resolution, and
agr.inst the expressed wish of the congregation, persisted
in intruding himself into the orchestra and playing a flute.
Two letters had been forwarded to him requesting him
to desist from such annoyance, hut to no purpose, for as
regular as the Sunday came there were the gentleman
and the flute.

Mr. GROVE said it was a strange case ; he believed,
however, that the trustees possessed the same power as a
clergyman, who could prevent any person from singing
in his church. It would be better to give the intruder a
formal notice signed by all the trustees, also to place one
of the servants of the.chapel at the door of the orchestra,
to prevent the gentleman from entering, and if he then
persisted or made any disturbance, to give him into cus-
tody.

The applicants thanked the Magistrate for his advice,
which they declared they would act upon, and left the
Court.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
HOME. CIRCUIT—Lewes, August 6.
CROWN COURT.

Robert Taylor, 20, John Owen, 25, and William John-
son, 27, labourers, were indicted for having, in the parish
of Cuckfield, feloniously attempted to suffocate Henry
Hilton, u police constable, with intent to commit the
crime of murder.

Mr. Cobbett conducted the prosecution ; Mr. Creasy
appeared for the prisoner Taylor.
Henry Milton deposed that he was a constable in the
employ of the Brighton Railway Company. On the 4th
of May he was called into a beer-shop, known by the
sign of the Hit or Miss, at Hayward's Heath, about a
quarter before ten at night, and the landlord requested
him to assist in clearing the house, and told him that he
had a " rough lot " inside. On going into tne house he
saw the three prisoners and five or six others, and he
asked them civilly to leave the house, but they all refused
to do so, and Taylor swore he would not go out for him or
any one else. Kenward, the landlord, told them they must
go out, and witness said if they did not go by fair means
they must by foul, and witness laid hold of Johnson and
put him outside the door, and Kenward took hold of
Taylor, who resisted, and witness then caught hold of
Taylor and put him outside, and at the same moment
Johnson struck him on the face, and lie drew his trun-
eneon and attempted to take him into custody, but he
ran back, and as witness was following him, the other
men seized him, and threw him into a hole of soil.
The hole was about two or three feet broad and about
four feet deep. They put him in with his head down-
wards, and his head went completely under the soil,
and they kept him there for a minute or so, and then
dowsed" his head up and down, and at the same
time he was hit and kicked in all parts of his body, and
he received two kicks on the back of his head. lie
called out " murder" as well as he could, being nearly
strangled, and they said " kill the - smother him."
and they then shoved his head under 'again, and with
their hands forced some of the soil into his mouth. A
person came up and struck the prisoners with a poker,
and he was released. lie then saw Owen and Taylor
close
they
were fighting with the woman,
Weaver, come to his assistance. Taylor and
b y
I him,
hadand
Owen soon afterwards ran away, and witness, whose
bead was bleeding very much at the- time, pursued them,

f and he.: took Taylor, and Kenward secured Owen. In
consequence of the injury he received. lie was unable to
do his duty for a fortnight, and he was attended b y
surgeon for three weeks.
' Richard Kenward, the landlord of the beer-shop, cor-
roborated the testimony given by the constable. He
also proved that upon his asking the people to leave the
house, Johnson said " he would see him and all the po-
licemen d—d before he would go out." He also was
knocked down and kicked by the prisoners and their
companions, and he saw them beating and kicking the
prosecutor, and he also saw Owen straddling across him
in the ditbh, and he heard him say, " I'll kill the —."
Cross-examined—Could not say whether Taylor was
knocked down with a poker, but witness knocked him
down with a stick after he, himself, had been struck to
the ground by a brickbat. Did not hear Taylor cry out
" Murder," but he heard him call out to the others to
murder the policeman. Was certain it was the voice of
Taylor he heard cry murder, although he had only seen
him for two hours.
By the COURT—Is sure the prisoners were all present
and took part in the affray..
Lydia Weaver, servant at the beer-shop, gave similar
testimony. She also proved that the prisoners were pre-
sent at the attack upon the prosecutor, and on her seeing
what was going on, and fearing the men would be mur-
dered, she got the poker and knocked Taylor down with
it. The men then said that if she interfered further or
attempted to rescue Hilton they would kill her. She
also saw the prosecutor lying across the hole, and Owen
was standing on him and pouring the soil into his mouth,
and Johnson at the same time was holding him by the
collar, and Taylor laid hold of him either by his ears or
by his hair, and shoved his head under the mud.
Cross-examined—She hit Taylor ai hard as she could
and knocked him down, and the poker was bent by the
force of the blow. She afterwards hit Owen and did the
best she could to protect her master and the prosecu-
tor too.
Wright, a policeman, proved that he took Johnsoninto
custody, and when he told him what he was charged with
he said it was " the beer thut done it."
Mr. Byas, a surgeon at Cuckfield, proved that he at-
tended upon the prosecutor, and that he found a wound
on the back of his head an inch-and-a half long, and that
he was under his care for three weeks in consequence of
the injuries he received. ...
This was the case for the prosecution.
Chief Justice TrxpAr. intimated his opinion that
the evidence did not clearly make out the intent of
the prisoners to be to murder the prosecutor, and there-
fore they could not be convicted of felony. ,
Mr. Creasy said lie.could.not hope to rescue the pri-
soners from a conviction for tin assault.
The Jury found the prisoners Guilty of assaulting the
prosecutor.
Chief Justice TINDAL addressed the prisoners, and told
them they had been convicted of an assault under very
aggravated circumstances, and they might think them-
selves very fortunate they did not go a little further and .
destroy the life of the constable, for if they had their own
lives would most certainly have been forfeited. The
civil power of the country must be protected, and as a
warning to others the sentence was that they be impri-
soned
and kept to hard labour for twelve calendar months.
John Peachy, 19, was indicted for feloniously stabbing
and wounding Wm. Coxhead, with intent to maim and
disfigure him, and in another count the intent was laid to
be to do the prosecutor some grievous bodily harm.
Mr. Johnson conducted the prosecution, and Mr.Cob-
bett defended the prisoner.
It appeared from the evidence that the prosecutor was
a private in the 14th regiment of Dragoons, and at the
time the transaction tools place he was billeted with some
others of the troop in the neighbourhood of Chichester ;
on the 3d of April, the prisoner and several other men
were at the Half Moon public-house, near Chichester,
about eleven o'clock at night, and a man named Ether-
ton, accompanied by a person. named Dunnaway and
about five others, were in the house at the time the pri-
soner came in. The prosecutor went into the house
alone about eleven o'clock, dressed in his regimentals and
quite sober, and be joined the party of Etherton and
drank with them, and remained in the house about half
an hour, and shortly afterwards the prisoner and all the
others left the house, When they had got a short dis-
tance a quarrel took place between the • parties who
accompanied Etherton, and those who were with the
prisoner, and the former stayed back to allow the others to
goon without coming in contact with them, butit appeared
that the precaution was unavailing, and a man named
Dunnaway, who was of Etherton's party, was heard to
call out for assistance and. some one said " your
eyes, have not you got a knife ?" The prosecutor, who
was at some distance off, returned to render assistance,
and he was heard to call out that he was stabbed directly
afterwards, and he fell to the ground, ald the blood
streamed from his side. At the same moment the pri-
soner and Dunnaway were observed struggling upon the
ground near the prosecutor. The prosecutor said that
the prisoner was the man who stabbed him, and it also
appeared that he ran away and was apprehended at some
distance from Chichester, and a knife with blood on it
was found in his pocket, and on his hands there were
some spots of blood. The surgeon who was called in
proved that the prosecutor had received a very severe
wound, and it was three - weeks before he was in a fit
state to be examined by the Magistrates.
Mr. Cobbett on behalf of the prisoner remarked that
the evidence was insufficient to warrant the serious
offence imputed to him, and he suggested a verdict of
assault against the prisoner.
Chief Justice TINDAL summed up, and the Jury re-
turned a verdict of guilty of an assault only. The
Court sentenced him to be imprisoned and kept to hard
labour for eighteen calendar months.
NISI PRIUS-AUG. 6.
GAY V. FLEET.

This was an action against the defendant, who is the
proprietor of the Brighton Ilerald newspaper, for publish-
ing a libel upon the plaintiff: The damages were laid at
5001. The defendant pleaded a justification.
Mr. Thessiger'and Mr. Cobbctt were for the plaintiff;
and Mr. Platt and Mr. CreaSy for the defendant.
Mr. TISESIGER addressed the Jury, and said the
plaintiff was a highly respectable tradesman at Brighton,
and he brought the present action to vindicate his charac-
ter from the attack made upon it by the defendant. There
were a variety of publications put forward at the present
day in which private character was assailed, but the
nature of these publications gave them very little influ-
ence; but the'case was very different where a respectable
newspaper like the Brighton Herald, the organ of the predo-
minant party in the State, thought fit to attack the character
of a private individual, and in such a case there was no
alternative but an appeal to a Jury of his country; It
was known that the Chartists had one great object in
view—viz. to effect the liberation of Frost, Williams,
and Jones, who were convicted at Monmouth ; and it
appeared that an application was made to the High Con-
stable of Brighton, by the plaintiff and two other parties,
for a public meeting to address the Queen, and call upon
her to grant a free pardon to those individuals ; but the
High Constable thought fit to refuse the request. In a
subsequent publication of the Brighton: Herald, the libel
complained of appeared. (The libel was read,—it stated
that the plaintiff, with a hundred others, had gone to the
High Bailiff with a requisition for a meeting for the
purpose specified, and that, on its being refused, the
plaintiff said they would go in a body, and • " if blood
were required, they would die man by man, and see who
should be masters.' In a subsequent paper the article
was again alluded to, and it was still asserted that the
language had been used, and both articles attacked the
opinions of the Chartists.) The Learned Counsel said
that the imputation conveyed in those paragraphs was a
most serious one, and that it amounted almost to a charge
of high treason againit.the plaintiff,..and the plea ofjus-
tification put upon the record greatly aggravated the
offence. The Learned Counsel concluded by calling upon
tho Jury to give such compensation as they considered
would meet the justice of the case.
The proprietorship having been admitted,
Mr. Coppard was called to prove that he purchased a
paper at the defendant's office.

Cross-examined—Knew the plaintiff by sight for the
last seven or eight years. 'Witness is clerk to Mr. Faith-
full, attorney for the plaintiff. Didn't know that the de-
fendant was a political opponent to Mr. Faithfull. It
was generally said that the plaintiff was a stirring mai
among the Chartists.
Mr. PLATT submitted there was no proof that the
libel, if libel it were, applied to the plaintiff.
Mr. Bowdich was then called, and he expressed his
opinion that the article referred to the plaintiff.
Cross-examined—Considered both the articles, al-
though no name was mentioned in the second, referre4
to plaintiff. He did not believe that Gay was a Char-
tist. Never heard Mr. Gay talk of putting down Kings
and thrones. Did not believe he would do such a thin.'%
Gay was a quiet peaceable man, and he never intruded
upon any public meeting. Had not heard Gay advocate
the principles of the Charter.
Mr. PLATT then addressed the jury in a powerful
and able address, and he said that if the jury found such
an article as the one
.brought before their notice to be a
libel, there was an end of freedom- of discussion by the
press. They were all aware of the character and ob-
jects of the Chartists, and it was evident that the object
of the article was to attack those opinions, and to hold
them up to the contempt. and execration they deserved,
and he contended that so far from the article being a
libel, the defendant in publishing it only performed the
strict and honourable duty that devolved upon the press
of this country, and had conferred a benefit upon the
State and upon the public. It app2ared that the plaintiff
was to be made out not to be a Chartist, but could they
doubt that he had given correct instructions to his
Counsel, and that he avowed himself to be a Chartist,
and consequently a supporter of those opinions which,
if carried out, must inevitably destroy all the institutions
of the country, and bring ruin uponit,? and he thought
it monstrous that a man having put himself publicly for-
ward as the advocate and supporter of Chartist opinions
should have resorted to an action for libel for strictures
upon that public conduct. The Learned Counsel then

went through the alleged libels, and submitted to the
Jury that there was no pretence for construing them into
an attack upon the private character of the plaintiff,
which would form the real foundation for an action for
libel. All that was intended was to express an abhor-
rence for the principles of the Chartists, and to hold
them up to the contempt and indignation of the public.
Every little inaccuracy on the part of a Newspaper Pro-
prietor, was not to be visited by an action for libel, for if
it were, the liberty of the press would be completely de-
stroyed. lie left the matter with confidence in the
hands of the Jury, and said he was sure they would by
their verdict protect the press that had rendered and
continued to render such essential service to all classes
of the community.
Mr. Sergeant 'PADDY summed up, and the Jury, with
out hesitating a minute, returned a verdict for the de-
fendant.

CHESTER AND NORTH WALES CIRCUIT.
August 3.
THE STOCKPORT MURDER CASES—CONVIC-
TION OF A FATHER FOR POISONING HIS
CHILD.

Robert Sandys and Ann, his wife, were this morning

placed at the bar, charged with 'the wilful murder of
Elizabeth Sanclys, their daughter, an infant only six
months old, at Stockport, in this county, on the •?4th of
September last. The prisoners were two of them ac-
quitted yesterday on a charge of poisoning Mary Ann
Sandys, also their daughter.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL (with whom was Mr.
Townsend) stated the case to the Jury.
Mr. WELsnv, the prisoners' counsel, then took an ob-
jection to the form of the indictment. He contended
that the crime. with which the prisoners stood charged
was not sufficiently descrihoi, for after stating that they
had administered to the deceased a certain deadly poison
called arsenic, whereby she became mortally sick and
distempered in her body, it went on to state, "of which
said mortal sickness she, the said Elizabeth Sandys,
.died." It•did not aver that she died of the poison. His
Lordship would find that all the precedents required an
averment that the death was caused by the poison so ad-
ministered.

A lengthened argument ensued on the point, in the
course of which the Learned JUDGE observed that the
indictment stated that the mortal sickness was produced
by poison, and the sickness caused the death. Nothing
short of a direct authority would induce him to decide in
favour of the objection, because, if he was wrong, the
parties might escape punishment altogether. It was,
however, extremely dangerous to attempt to shorten
common law indictments, or to alter them so as to make
Cie wording more like common sense ; the safest course
was strictly to follow the precedents.
Mr. TOWNSEND produced vol. 2 of Mood •'s Crown
Cases, the very last precedent, in a case tried before all
the Judges, which had in the present instance been
strictly followed.

The Learned JUDGE, after looking at several autho-
rities on the subject, said he would leave the case for Mr.
Welsby hereafter to move in arrest of judgment, if it
should be found necessary.

The evidence was then proceeded with. It occupied se-
veral hours, and was in substance similar to that adduced in
the former trial. It appeared that on the 7th June the male
prisoner entered the deceased a member of the Philan-
thropic Burial Society ; that on the 6th of September
following he made inquiries as to whether she was en-
titled to the benefit of the Society in case of death. He
was told she was not. The following week he made simi-
lar inquiries, and was told she then was. On the 20th the
deceased was seen by a neighbour very ill, and the pri-
soners said she had been ill about a fortnight. On the
24th she died, and was buried the following day, the male
prisoner having in the meantime received 31. Bs. 6d., the
allowance of the Society. He also gave two different tic-
counts of her illness to the registrar and the sexton of
the Roman Catholic Chapel, where she was buried.
Suspicions arising on the 17th of October, the body was
disinterred, examined, and arsenic found in the stomach.
The appearances also proved that she had died of poison.
The mother of the deceased averred that the deceased
had not taken any food from any one but herself and her
husband.

Mr. WELsnY addressed the jury at great length, con-
tending that the case amounted to nothing more than one
of strong suspicion, and therefore the jury ought to give
the prisoners the benefit of the doubt in which it was in-
volved.

The Learned JUDGE having summed up,
The jury retired, and, after an hour's consultation,
found Robert Saudys Guilty, and acquitted the other
prisoner.

The JUDGE ordered him to be retained in custody un-
til the next assizes, in consequence of a motion fur an
arrest of judgment.
The prisoner was removed from the bar in a state of
unconsciousness.

FROM LAST NIGHT'S GAZETTE.

WAR-OFEICE, AUGUST 6, 1841.
Scot's Fusilier Guards—J. W. Hay, Gent. to be Ensign and
Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Lyttleton who retires, Aug. 6.
2d Regiment of Foot—G. Burgh, dent. to be Ensign, by
purchase, vice Oldham, promoted, Aug. 6.
21st Foot—Lieut. E. Edwards, from 30th Foot, to be Lieu-
tenant, vice Wrixon, promoted, Aug 6.
23d Foot—W. P. Campbell, Gent., to be Second Lieu-
tenant, without purchase, viee A. J. Campbell, promoted in
the Royal Canadian Regiment.
_

25th'Foot—T. L. Mayne, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase,
vice Taylor, promoted, Aug. 6.
26th Foot—Ensign E. G. Whitty to be Lieutenant, without
purchase, vice Staff, deceased, July 18 ; G. N. Bredin, Gent.,
to be Ensign, vice Whitty, Aug. 6.
30th Foot—Lieut. J. W. Shawe, from the half•pay of the
18th Light Dragoons, to be Lieutenant, vice Edwards, ap-
pointed to the 21st Foot; Ensign T. W. Wilkinson, to be
Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Shawe, who retires ; E. A.
Whitmore, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Wilkinson,
Aug. 6.
54th Foot—Lientenant H. Brown, to be Captain, by pur-
chase, vice F. Parr, who retires; Ensign P. L. C. Paget to
be Lieut., by purchase, vice Brown • T. Y. Ridley, Gent. to
be Ensign, by purchase, vice Paget, 6.
58th Foot—Capt. R. H. Wynyard to be Major. without
purchase, vice Grant, deceased ; Capt. R. Hutton, from half-
pay Unattached, to be Capt. vice Wynyard, August 6.
82d Foot—Major J. Mackay to be Lieutenant without pur-
chase, vice Marshall, deceased ; Capt. W. Slater to be Major,
vice Mackay ; Lieut. D. Watson to be Captain, vice Slater ;
Colour Serjeant H. Bruce to be Adjutant (with the rank of
Ensign), vice Watson, promoted, June 3; L. F. Bernard, Gent.
to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Glynn, appointed to the Rifle
Brigade, August 6. _ _ _

Rifle Brigde—Assistant-Surgeon E. G. Lloyd to be Sur-
geon, vice R. Ranken, who retires upon half.pay ; Assistant-
Surgeon H. Hadley, M.D., from the 40th Foot, to be As-
sistant-Surgeon, vice Lloyd, Aug. 6.
2d West India Regiment—J. H. Hardie, M.D. to be As-
sistant-Surgeon, vice Shirrefs, who resigns, Aug. 6.
Royal Newfoundland Veteran Companies—Staff-Sergeant
W. Bold, from the Liverpool Recruiting District, to be En-
sign, without purchase, Aug. 6.
Royal Canadian Regiment—Assistant-Surgeon W. Hall,
from the Staff, to be Surgeon, 6.
UNATTACHED.—Brevet Major Aug.-Alexander Murray Tulloeh,
on half-pay Unattached, to be Major, without purchase, Aug. 6.
AIEMORANDUM.—The Christian names of Cornet Corbet,
of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, are Vincent Row-
land, not " Andrew" Vincent Rowland, as previously stated.