The Sun.
London, England, 1841-04-08 00:00:00

Trittil SUN, LONDON. THURSD Y 1 APRIL P. IR,I

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
From the Globe.)
The rapidity. with which OppoSition has retraced its
course on the E location question, is as unexampled in
the history of parties as it ;oust prove gratifyiag to the
Government, and satisfactory to all who desire to kale
the poorer classes of the community supplied with
the means of intellectual and moral improvement.
Sir Robert Peel's address to the meinhers of the
Tarnworth Institute, and more recently in the debat,i
on the Poor-law Continuance Bid, in which the ques-
tion cf pauper instruction was largely discussed, may
be regarded as a formal and specific recognition and
adoption, by the leader of the Consei votive pat ty in the
House of Commons, of the principle features in the
plan of National Etlueatior, which was assailed and
denounced by the same party in and out of Parliament
as pregnant with danger to the national religioa and
designed to sap the foundations of march, by omitting
to enforce instruction in the cre;ds and catechism
of the Church on the children of parent; who are
members of other religious communities. We may
now, therefore, regard the Government plan of
National Education as placed beyond danger of
further opposition. The tempests of unreasonable
wrath, which at one time threatened to overwhelm
and destroy it, have tended to its advantage ; they
have dispersed the clouds of prejudice, and dispelled the
vapours which had collected, and which prevailed for a
time to obscure the visual organs of many well-meaning
persons, thus enabling them to discern clearly what they
had previously apprehended imperfectly. The annual
vote for educational purposes, which we hope to see
gradually but largely extended, will henceforth be re-
garded as an essential part of the national expenditure ;
and though we expect and desire that the mode of its
application shall be watched with careful jealousy,
whoever may be the Ministers of the Crown, we trust
that there will be one supreme effort by the Committee
of Privy Council for Education, to render the plan
truly effective for the benevolent and patriotic purposes
of its original projectors.
(From the Standard.)
if we allude to the treasonable menaces of the
O'Connell party in Ireland, it is not that we have the
slightest expectation that these menaces will ever be
realised. We are well aware that the persons who
employ them contemplate nothing but the making
of a little money. We regard the braggadocia as
likely to prove mischievous only by lowering the
character of the United Kingdom among fo-
reigners, and thus, to the extent to which credit
is given to it, in diminishing the force of the
Conservative principle in every country. It is a cer-
tain truth that the traitors and Jacobins of France,
and of most of the European nations, have been
taught to expect the signal of anarchy from Ire-
land ; and thus the common interests of civilization

are concerned in showing that there is no chance
of that signal being given, loudly as the O'Con-
nellites may swagger about it. We do not, however,
expect that anything we say can shame the absurd
blusterers into silence ; but we are not without a
hope that others may be shamed from giving any atten-
tion to them. It is quite manifest that the O'Connellite
party feel this ; otherwise the increased violence and
acrimony of their threats would be difficult to ac-
count for—as men who are in pursuit of an object
which they believe themselves strong enough to
achieve, never magnify unnecessarily the difficulty
of the enterprise, by challenging honourable pride,
and a just resentment of insults, to enlist among
their opponents. The strong man is very rarely
an insolent bully the strong and prudent man
never. We are willing to illustrate this truth by the
example of England. The power of England is never
spoken of at home but when she is threatened ; abroad
one hears of little else but complaints of England's
power from the ill-disposed—exultation at it from fie
friends of order throughout the world. Like the hero
of the Italian narrative, her trophies are the subject
of wondering observation everywhere but in her
own house. Even the O'Connellite claim to a share in
building up the fabric of British power and renown,
though rather extravagant in its amount (for setting
what has been done against the empire by rebellion
and " the state bordering on civ:l war" in one scale,
and the services of O'Connellite soldiers and sailors in
thu other, it is doubtful which will preponderate)—
even the O'Connellite claim to a share in building up
the power and renown of the empire is a confession that
such exist to an extent in which it is desirable to par-
ticipate. Yet, powerful as England is, she threatens
no one ; and even when she answers the ridiculous
threats of others, it is as one slightly whips a trouble-
some dog out of the way with the kind design of saving
the noisy animal from a more serious punishment by
the heels of a tormented horse.

(From the Courier.)
The attntion of the Legislature will shortly be
directed at an early period of the present session
to the present system of the new Post-office scheme,

which, in spite of every sort of trick, misrepre.
sentation, and subterfuge resorted to for swelling
or fal3ifying the real returns of revenue from it

is generally understood to have disappointed miser-
ably all the pompous pretences of its projectors and all
the sanguine anticipations of its popu!arity-hunting pa-
trons, the Ministry. Tae public—for revenue, as our
Paris 2ontemporaries woun say, enters into the public
domain—have been saddled with a grievous loss in the
bargain of grossly enhanced new taxation, to which
universally subjected, in order to make up the defi-
ciency caused by the remission of old fiscal charges
bearing exclusively on the rich and commercial classes,

and so lightly as scarcely ever to have formed tho sub-
ject of complaint. Aggrieved morejver as are the in-
dustrious masses by the aggravation of imposts on a'l
articles of necessary consumption, in favour of class in-
terests neither injured, nor affecting so to be, until the
Penny-poet philosophy was broached, and excitement
sedulously propagated in behalf of a clap-trap plausibly
adapted for the party exigencies of the moment, yet the
evil is rendered more intolerable still by the certainty
that the State, which also was tl be a gainer by the
charge, is quite as much damaged by the result as the
people individually.

ASSIZE INTELLIGaLI'ICE.

ROME CIRCUI 7- A
..."_.:INGSTON, APRIL 7.
(13,fore LGr3 DENMAN al:d 1 Common; Jury.)
FENWICN. V. 1...,:VV0CK.

tlas an actir)r to r: ever the stun of 8:21. 92.
su!,4lic(l ti: to the t3efsattai,t.
Mr. Plat f.r the 1.;11;,,t, tf, Crt,a',:y Er the d,
Pendant.

The plailviff preyed that he suppled goAs to the
amount sp,:cji,d, anti the defenca Eet up was flint the de-
was merely the agent of a person named Mille:.
Mr. Creisy also contended that the sale of fireworks
being illegal by the Act of the 9th and 10th Gco. IV. the
plaintiff could net recover.

Lord DEN MAN said that this stunt(' have been spceidly
pleaded. _

- The Jury then returned a verdict for thc... plaintiff for
tie amount claimed,

Two other ea es of no public importance were then d
posed of, and the busine.s of this assize terminated.

N ORTHERN CIRCUI T.—LirE.nrooL, APRIL 6.
CROWN COURT.
(Bef we Mr. Baron )
THE MURDER AT ASHTON.
_Hake and Williams were placed at the bar this morning
on the Jury entering the Court.
Mr. WILKINS then proceeded to address the Jury on
behalf of the prisoners. He came now to the consideration of
the case for the defence, and he could not conceal from him-
self, t list he had an extremely arduous, complicated, and im-
portant duty to perform,.—arduous, not so much on account
of the facts which had hem brought to bear against the
prisoners or of any difficulty he felt in combating
those facts and the arguments raised upon them,—
but arduous on account of the consequences which
pressed themselves painfully upon his mind, and on ac-
count of the immense length of evidence that he ha
to wade through, and the complicated facts lie had to
unravel. The Learaed Counsel then, in an able speech,
which occupied in its delivery about two hours and three-
quarters, proceeded to analyse the testimony of each wit-
ness in succession, commencing with James Cooper, and
termina ing with Mr. Babe, the surveyor. He examined
the evidence of the three approvers with much closeness,
and pointed out the several matters in which their accounts
differed from each other, and strongly urged that the deed
was committed, not by the prisoners, but by Davies and the
two Hardwicks.
Mr. Justice MAULE then proceeded to address the Jury.
As to the fact that a murder had been committed with the
pipe produced, loaded with gunpowder and leaden slugs,
there could be no doubt, and the only question for the
Jury was, by whom this murder had been committed. The
murder was suggested as having been the result of excited
feelings of animosity against the masters, by the working
sawyers ; and, if so, it was a very remarkable circumstance
that, according to all the evidence in the case,the hand that
committed the murder' was that of a man in no way con-
nected with the society of working sawyers. Hulme was
not a sawyer, nor was any reason suggested for his having
any such feelings against: the masters or against the
knobsticks. The Learned Attorney-General had shown
his good sense in not affecting to treat Edward
Davies in any other light than that of an accom-
plice ; a person who was at least as deeply implicated in
the murder as any one else. He (the Judge) believed it
was entirely wirhout precedent that any man had been
convicted on the sole and uncorroborated testimony of an
accomplice—for Judges from the earliest records had been
in the habit of advising Juries, and Juries of adopting that
advice, not so to convict—for two reasons :-Ist, That
the accomplice was a person directly interested in the
matter, in a very serious way ; and, 2dly, That the ac-
complice having been a participator in a crime, according
to his own admission, especially in a crime like this, was
so infamous in character, that he might reasonably be sup.
posed as likely, particularly when his own interest was
concerned, to commit the lesser crime of perjury. If
Davies was capable of witnessing the shedding of innocent
blood, by the discharge of this cannon, as he was upon
his own showing, unless the Jury could believe he sup-
posed this cannon was discharged in mere child's play,
then he was capable of perjury in his evidence on this
trial. According to his account throughout, he was a re-
markably timid person, always reproving Williams for his
avowed intentions ; and Williams, with the deliberate
intent of committing this murder, was always uttering the
most rash and foolish expressions as to his determination
to start ti,e knobst:cks ; and, sfter the fatal deed, was al-
ways confiding not merely in persons with whom he we;
but slightly acquzieted, but even to Davies himself, who,
if the Jury believed him, had repeatedly threatened, be-
fare the act, if the pipe were not put away, he would
tell those who would prevent any such crime. The wise
determination of the Jury to submit to confinement, away
from their homes, for the night, in order to bring their
understanding fresh and vigorous to the case, had also left
him (the Judge) some time to look over the evidence;
and he should go over it, not dwelling on many
points set up as corroborations, but which did not
appear to him corroborations of the evidence as to
any particular points affecting the prisoners. The
Learned Judge then, passing hastily over the evi-
dence of the earlier witnesses in the case, read
nearly the whole of that of Davies, pointing out many
apparent improbabilities occurring in it. He thought the
circumstance of his rapid journey to so many places
showed him an active man in the society ; and said that
the society could hardly have allowed sufficient funds to a
man to perform such a journey in so short a time (even in
third-class railway trains and steerage of steamers) merely
to seek work. His Lordship adverted to the inconsistency
of Davies's professions of moderation, and a wish to prevent
any mischief, with his witnessing the previous murderous
attempts, and ultimately, the fatal act itself. He also com-
mented on the pouring a gill of water into the piece, in-
stead of throwing it into the canal, breaking it to pieces, or
drawing the charge, and selling it for old iron. He remarked
also on the improbability of Williams proposing not to dis-
guise himself, but Davies, by exchanging body coats,
Williams having a top-coat as well. This would have been
an effectual means of detection; far, it' Williams was
caught, he had his own, top-coat on; if Davies was caught,
he would have had Williams's ccat on, which would soon
have been identified, and have led to the detection of Wil.
hams or of both. His Lordship commented on Davies's
statement as to seeing, when•the piece was discharged, a
train of fire a yard long, which, he said, he could not un-
dersand how it could he true, as the train must either have
been laid on the top of the bank, which was six feet above
the field, or laid from the ground up the side of the bank;
and in the former case the train to a person at some yards'
distance in the dark would not appear as running along
the ground, being above the level of the head, and in
the latter case it would appear to ascend rather than
run along the ground. As to the woman's exclama-
tion on hearing the explosion, which was stated by
Davies aid corroborated by the woman herself, that was
no corroboration of the presence of either Wil:ianis or
Hulme at the murder. And so with many things in con-
nection with the different beer-shops. The Learned
Judge next noticed the various conversations, and confes-
sions, and admissions in the several lockups and prisocs,
and went at considerable length through the evidence of
the principal witnesses in the cane. His Lordship con-
cluded by stating shortly the two views of the case, the
one that of the prosecution that the prisoners were the
murderers, and against that view there were many diffi-
culties, and the view taken fir the defence that D.,viss
who, according to his own admission, was participating in
the murder, with the two Hardwicks, who were mixed up
with the transaction, were they, or some of them, the actual
murderers, and that they, haying opportunities in prison, had
together conspired to make the charge against the present
prisoners. It'. considering the character of the accomplices
and the position in which they stood, the Jury thought the
confirmations were sufficient to support the truth of their
statements, they would find the prisoners guilty. If, on
the contrary, they eetertained any reasonable doubt, they
would give the prisoners the ber.elt of that doubt. If
they entemined a doubt an to one prisoner, and not as to
the other, they would make that distinction ie their ver-
dict. The Learned Judge concluded his address at 25
minutes before four o'clock, -
havine continued it to a
length of Lair hours sas,o live minutes.
The Jury red ed, and returned in ten minutes, finding
both the primness Not Guilty.
They were then arraigned on two other indictments, one
charging them with hiving discharged the contents of a
pipe at Benjamin airs: James Cooper, on the 20th of No-
vember and-the sth December, with intent to murder
them. No evidence was offered, and vet dicta of acquittal
were taken ; and there being no other charge against
Hulmc, he was discharged.

CHARGE OF RAPE AGAINST A SURGEON.
Robert Hector, surgeon, was then indicted for a rare
upon the person of Ann Thistleton, on Sunday, the 9.Bth
of March.

Mr. Murphy was far the prosecution, and Mr. Wilkins
For the defence.

The evidence was totaly unfit for publication. The
Jury found the prisoner guilty.
The Court adjourned at eight o'clock.—The prisoner
lAN be brought up for sentence this morning.

RiTehhae
dtr
yialarw of
OXFORD CIRCUIT—GLOUCESTER, APRIL 7.
TRIAL OF WILLIAM BOWEN FOR MURDER.
oWirthi:iaamt
EtowsteonnafoHr
atrhdei,
imckuer,dehrarainndg rboebebnefiryaeodf
for this morning, the Court and every avenuo loading to it
eas eenaplete'y blocked up by a little past seven o'clock, and
the interest created was incense. The length of time the cul-
prit has,been in prison, the cool and deliberate manner in
which the atrocious crime was perpetrated, and the various ru-
mours which have been circulated, all conspired to excite the
curiosity of the whole county ; and Gloucester at a very
early hour was crowded by strangers from all parts, but
more particularly the Forest of Dean, where the family of the
unfortunate deceased reside.
At eight o'clock Mr. Justice COLERIDGE took his seat in
the Crown Court, and the prisoner was placed at the bar, and
pleaded Not Guilty.
Mr. ALEXANDER opened the case for the prosecution. The
prisoner and deceased travelled together by the Wellington coach
on the 11th of January, 1840. When they arrived at the
Coombe-hill public-house, which stands in the centre of three
rJads, lea,ing to Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, and Gloucester,
they went in, and deceased had a glass of ale, and the pri-
soner a glass of gin. They then walked out towards Chelten-
ham, and at the distance Of a quarter of a mile from Coombe-
hill, the prisoner said " Stand," and immediately discharged a
pistol in the neck of the deceased, who put out his right arm,
upon which a second pistol was discharged to the right side.
The man then asked for his money; the deceased said he could
not give it him. The man then rifled his pockets of seven 51.
notes, eleven or twelve sovereigns, and several bills of ex-
chango. The deceased had been receiving money for
his father, who was quarryman in the Forest of Dean, and was
a fine powerful man. The deceased told the murderer not to
leave him in the road, cc he would be run over, upon which he
dragged deceased to the side of the road, put his hat on his
head, and said " lan s ,cry I shot you, but it was your own
fault," and than returned in the direction they had come, viz.,
towards Tewkesbury. The deceased was shortly afterwards
picked up and carried to Pill' Elm House, from whence'he was
r,moved in April to his own home, where he expired from the
injuries re eived on the 6th of August. Handbills were issued
containing a description of the prisoner, and offering a reward
701.-for his apprehension. The prisoner was apprehended
in on the 26th of January, and taken before the Chel-
ttnala Magistrates, who discharged him after six examina-
": I-4 -was _again taken into custody, and com-
mitted' by the Magistrates from Coombe hill. A verdict
of_ wilful murder was returned against him at the
Coroner
Invisition which sat on the body of the unfortunate

Yancorth. The trial was postpone,' at the ast :7;ll,llmer As
sizes, in eiinsequenee of the illness of a material witness name(
Siiarp. A true bid was returned against him at the last Sin in
Assizes.

A great number of witnesses having been exa,nhed 'br t
pr.secuton and ;iefe,-,c,,, w ,s A
Brown, when

iii. Loa iisniv told ih Jury that was a case of urea'
i,ouht, and if they foood the pri coer wi,u'd be vir-
toady convicting the witnesses for the defence of pc, jury. The
witnesses for the prosecution might be mistaken as to the pri-
soner's identity, arid if thy had a doubt they should give it in
favour of the prisoner.
The Jury, after a few minutes' consultation, returned a ver-
dict of Not Guilty.
His LORDSHIP said, that from the contradictory evidence it
wa, a proper case for prosecution
There was another indictment against the prisoner, charging
him with the robbery, of which he was of course alsoacquitted.
The trial lasted ten hours.