The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-02 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

The Court met yesterday pursuant to adjournment,
before the Wght Hon. the Lord Mayor, the Relc rifer,
Mr. Sergeant Arabin, the Shmiff., Under-Sheriffs, &c ,

with theusua! f

The RECORDER in his charge to the Grand Jury,
served that the majority of the cases in the ci.lendar v ere
not of a cha-ecter to require any observation from him.
There was only one case of cutting and maiming, and he
hoped this might be taken as a proof of the decrease of
offences of this description, and that in this reap et society
was in a more healthy stay. There were several cases
of robbe7 from the person, and also of stealing letters
from the Post-office, but ti ey were of the ordinary des-
cription, and he need not trouble them with any remarks
respecting them. One charge,-however, would probably
be brought before them of a most serious and important
character, and which would require their most stientive
consideration. The charge in question was that of
having conspired to cast away a ship, with intent to de-

fraud the underwriters. It was a crime of rsr,-t occut scree,
and nothing lite it had occuri-i.cl since the year 1803,
when a person named Codling, the captain of a
vessel, was charged as a principal, and three ethers
named Read, M‘Farlane; and Ea,terby were indicted
as acccsseries• to a similar offence. They were
all convicted, but a.poiut of -law was raised as to the lia-
bility of the accessories, which was kept over for the cor.-
sLeration of the Judges, and it was ultimately taken into
consideration, and the result wa-, that the Judges held
that the conviction of the accessories was bad in law ; and
in the month of May, 1803, they were pardoned. The
gi,lature,howaver, viewing the dangerous tendency of such
a defect in the law, immediately set about affJrcling a re

medy for it, and by an Act of tile 11th George III: cap.
29, see. 7, the enactments of which were subsequently ,
carried out by the Act of the 7th George. IV., it was
enacted that accessories before the fact in such eases
should be liable to be tried, for the offence of counselling
and commanding the destruction of a vessel, with the prin-
cipal; or supposing the principal should not be in custody,
then, in his absence, if convicted, they should be liable
to the same punishment as the principal. This statute
specially applied to the case of the owners of a ship coun-
selling and commanding the captain to cast away or
otherwise destroy it, even supposing the counselling and
commanding to have been exercised within or witiodut his
MAjesty's dominions, if the vessel was proved to he cast
allay within the jurisdiction cf the Admiralty of England.
Before, however, they found a bill of this character, their
fist duty would be to ei cover whether the vessel was really
wilfully cast away, and that by the party who had been, as was
alleged, commanded so to cast it away. The Act he had
referred to prescribed the punishment for this offence, and
it subjected the pa ties convicted of it to transportation for
er for any period not less than fifteen years, or to
imptisonment fur any period not execcditig three years.
Before the statute of the Ist Victoria, the offence was ca-
pita ; bu', notwithstanding the heinous character of the
offence, and the ruin to which it might subject numbers cf
people, the humanity of the Legislature had abolished the
capital punishment for offences of this description, except
in certrin casco, and to which the present eh :rge would
not apply; and the parties, if convicted, were now only
subject to the punishment he had stated. By the same
Act, that Court, as it was a- present constituted, had ju-
rhdiction given to it to try offences committel within the
jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England, and, therefore.
no difficulty would mists on that head ; and if the Grand
Jury thought the main facts of the cute et.e proved, he
thought it would be better for them, in a case of so much
importance, that they should forward the case for public in-
quirjebefore the Petty Jury. He thought be could not do
better than to conclude by reading the observations ad-
ch eased to the Grand Jury by Lord Stowell, in reference to
the trial he had referred to. Lord Stowell sei I, " One
peculiar case will call for the most diligent application of
your powers of inquiry—the offence of sinking a ship and
cargo with intent to def and the underwriters. To you,
who aie commercial men, it is unnecessary to say much
on it; malignity ; it strikes at the root of the maritime
commece ; and, consequently, of the power and security
of this country so intimately connected with th pros-
per ty of its maritime commerce. It is owing to tie pro-
perty of that class of men, the mariners, who, by 'divid-
ing the risk, increase the security of private individuals,
and give the benefit of lattge capitals to the adventurer of
slender means, that our commerce has triumphal in
its activity over all competition. But it is pro-
perty that peculiarly requires the protecting vigi-
lance of the law, for it is property out of ti.e
possession of those to whom it belongs, and in the
possession of those for whose benefit it is indeed em-
ployed, but who may have a corrupt interest in it; de-
struction. The law is its protector." You will therefore
grudge no time or labour in prosecuting your inquiry into
the truth of such a charge, if it occurs ; but you will
' conduct your inquiry with minds perfectly free from pre-
judice against the individuals charged—nothing that you
may have heard, nothing that you may have read, must
be snared to mix itself with and give a colour to your
judgment; you must begin and close your inquiry with
ears aid eyes shut to es erything but the evidence now
to be adduced.
Tho Recorder then dismissed the Grand Jury to their

dui-s.
Henry Brown surrendered to take his trial upon an ie-
d'etment charging him with attempting to obtain, by
false pretences, the sum of 14s. 2d. with intent to defraud
the Directers of the St. Katharine's Dock Company.
Mr. CLARKSON conducted the prosecution, and
BALLANTINE appeared for the. defendant.
It appeared from the eviience, that'on the 27th January
the defendant went to the St. Katharine's Steam Wharf
with a box, which he sail c>ntained gl rte, and he also
represented that a certain sum had teen paid for its car-
riage and porterage to London, which sum be required of
the clerk; and the custom of the Company would 11:.ve
been, if the transactioe had been a bona fide one, to hive
paid the amount, and have charged it to the party to whom
the box was ultimately to be conveyed. The clerk having
some suspicim, opened the box, and found that it contained
nothing but tricks and shavings, and ha gave the prisoner
into custody.
Mr. BALLANTINE took an objection to the indictment,
which the Recorder held to be good, and directed an
acq•rittal.
Mr. CLARKSON applied to have the prisoner detained,
to give en opportunity for the prosecutors to consider
whether a fresh indictment ought not to be preferred.
The RECORDER ordered the 1 r;soner to enter into re-
cegnizances to appear at the present Session, in case a fresh
indictment should be found against him.
Patrick Murphy, 21, and John Miles, 22, privates in
the Royal Artillery, were indicted, the former for stealing
a star of the Hanoverian Order of Knighthood, and money
to the &mount of two pounds, the property of Lady
Mt Lean, and the latter for receivirg a portion of the pro-
perty, knowing it to have been stolen.
It appeared from the evide- cc that the pronecutrix
resided at Woolwich, and in the month of January her
house was accidentally destroyed by fire. A quantity of
furniture was removed to the Artillery barracks in Wood-
street, Woolwich, and the prisoner Murphy and other
soldiers assisted in the removal, and he took advantage
of the opportunity thus afforded him to break open a chest
of drawers, and steal the property rneutioned in the in-
dictment. The other prisoner shortly afterwards offered
part of it for sa'e to Mr. DaviF, a pawnbroker at Wool-
wich, who detained it, and gave informathr, which led to
the prisoners' apprehen, ion.
Captain Somerville, of the Royal Artillery, gave bo,h
the prisoners a good character, and said ho believed it to
be their first offence.
The Jum found both prisoners guilty, and the Recorder
sentenced Murphy to be imprisoLed for six, and Miles for
tin cc. months in the House of Correction.

POLICE INTELLIGE!iCE.

GUILDHALI,.

Two young men, named John Griffith and Joseph
Goodyear, were placed at the bar before Sir Chapman
Marshall, charged with stealing a box containing a
quantity of clotl.e3 and some money, the property of
Richard Witten.

The prosecutor said that he was head ostler at the
Old George Inn, Snow-hill, and inhabited a room over
the stable'. On Sunday he 1 •ft home at three o'clock,
having locked his door, and returned about seven, when
he found it broken open, and his trunk, containing ull
he was worth in the worli, gone. He had observed
the prisoner, in the early part of the day, sitting in the
tap-rocm of the Old George.
Richard Clements deposed to having followed the
prisoners when he heard of the robbery, and overtaking
them in Cow-cross•strcet. Both of them succeeded in
getting away from the witness, but were stopped by a
policeman at the corner of Hatton-garden.
The prisoners, who made no defence, were fully
committed for trial, and the witnesses bound over to
prosecute.

STANINIERING.—At a clinical lecture, delivered
on Saturday last, at the Ear Institution, in Sackaille-
stree t, to which several of the leading members
fession were specially invited, and present, Mr. Yearsley
of the pro-
( who has already distinguished himself by the introduction
into this country of some novel and most successful me-
thods of treating deafness throegh the Eustachian pas-
sage 3) stated that he had recently succeeded in the relief
o f stammering by the division of contractions and exeisi,n
of enlargements about the mouth and throat. Several
cases of persons labouring under thick and imperfect speech
had also been remar4ably restored by similar means.
Some ingenious instruments were exhibited, by which not
only the safety, but the almost utter painlessness of these
operations are insured. Mr.. Yearsley further stated that
he was energetically investlgating this novel and most
Important subject, and that as soon as he had collected a
suffi icnt store of facts, they should be freely laid before
,
of the respective ages of nice
the profession. Tvso boys,
and eleven years, nhn had been operated on upwards of
two months ago, were introduced, and showed, by speak-
ing and reading, their perfect restoration,