The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-01 00:00:00

lieved it to be in the handwriting of Miss Coutts. This lady
bad exhibited articles of the peace against him, and bad de-
clared that she believed her life to be in danger ; and yet,
npon this the judges had discharged him.
arty What r
h el
eniance
the
could they now place on the oath of a p w
judges had discharged him from prison, where he bad been
sent open articles of the peace? Was not Miss Coutts bound,
as a decent woman, as a lady, as a Christian, to tell him that
these letters were not in her handwriting, and
her in
that
he was under a deception? Would it have degraded
er dignity—would it have lowered her rank—would it have
been anything but common decency or common humanity to
have saidto Humphreys, who was snapping at
see eve
Mrr. Dunn y opprtul
-
nity for 6s. Bd., to have said to him," Go and ;
don't think he will take your lifead ; assure him I have not
H
written any letter to him ?" that been done ? Did
they suppose that if he posted letters Miss Coutts did not
receive them ? And if the casein stood upon that basis alone
be would ask this simple qutn,—had not Miss Contts,
if she received them, and the answers were not hers, com-
mitted upon him as gross, as wicked, and as unjustifiable a
fraud as had ever been committed upon man ? The first
letter which he had received from Miss Coutts in the
Fleet Prison was not so ridiculous as Sir F. Thesiger
wished to make it apppar. The commencement of it, which
would perhaps be suffkient, ran thus
Art thou not dear unto my heart ?

Oh, search that heart and see,
And from my bosom tear the part
Which beats not true to thee."
If any one strove to play a trick upon him, the fact that the
letters were addressed by a strange hand, which he was able
to establish, would be sufficient to prove that intention. Who-
ever played such a trick must have had access to his letters.
His Lordship told him that he must not go into the origin
of the case, as the present inquiry was not connected with
it. lie, however, certainly did think it was, and he would
submit with all respect to the Noble and Learned Lord,
that the whole conduct of a party who did strange things, or
who was alleged to do strange things, ought to be calmly and
dispassionately viewed, before the last act of the comedy
which Miss Coutts seemed to think it necessary to Way at
his expense was consummated; and he thought that what
she did when he first had the misfortune to meet her—what
she did when he said, " Hand me back my letters, and I will
retire from your presence for ever," had very much the ap-
pearant • of casting out an anchor to catch a man.—(l.aogh-
ter. ) She was bound to have said to him, if she desired to
rid herself of MD as an annoyance, "Sir, there is your trash ;
take it, and go home to your own country ; I do not want it."
—(Great laughter.) Mr. Dunn here entered into a long and
rambling defence of himself, in the course of which he
assailed the evidence of Miss Coate, Mr. Marjoribanke, Sir
E. Antrobus, and the other witnesses called for the prose-
cution. He declared it to be still his firm belief that the
authority on which he acted was a good authority in point of
law, and he suggested, as a reason why Miss Coutts should
grant that authority, her compunction at the persecution he
had met with from her. The doggrel verses in which the
authority was conveyed he explained as originating in a de-
sire on the part of the prowcutrix to play fast and loose with
him. After a very long speech, the greater part of which
was spoken in a moderate tone of voice, he concluded by
imploring the jury, as they valued their own honour, to pro-
tect his.
The follewing evidence was then given for the defence:—
Sarah North—l was your servant. in 1842 and 1843 in the
Fleet Prison. I know these two letters perfectly well. I
received them at your door in the prison from the post car-
rier, and gave them to von. I received three or four Of
them ; one was a valentine. I recollect you sending replies,
and Captain Sutherland directed them, and you told mo to
post them in Piccadilly, that it might not be known where
they cane from. I did ro. They were ruldressed to Miss
Coutts, 1, Stratton-street, I lived with yon in
the Queen's Pris,n also. I dare say I posted three or tour
letters for you in 1342.
Cross-examined—One of the letters was a valentine. Mr.
Dunn used to show me his letters. I have heard him tell
Captain Sutherland about the letters.
Mary Turner—l called upon you at the Fleet, and you
asked me to post a letter, in 1842. I think I posted one to
Miss Coutts. It was dirested by Captain Sutherland.
David Law—l am an accountant. I recollect your inter-
view with Wells in January or February, 1816, when trio
letters were produced, purporting to have been written by
3liss Coutts to Lord James Stewart.
Nathaniel Wells—l showed you two letters, purporting to
have been written by Miss Coutts, to satisfy you that the
let ters you had were not in the handwriting 01 Miss Coutts.
I beg to state that the moment I produced the letters I
had Mr. Dunn said that those letters were not hers. The
opinion I formed wee, that there was such a similarity in
the writing as there is between those of ladies who have
been taught by tie same sort of master. My impression
was, that your letters were not in the writing of Miss Coutts,
and I have told you so from time to time. You told me
you should subixena me, and I told you I did not wish to
appear, for I should be a evilness against you. I said I had
seen Miss Coutts sign one of the letters 1 had, which, how-
ever, was untrue, but I did so to prevent further annovance.
Mr. Dunn wished to recall Mr. Las*, to give a diiferent
account of what took place.
Mr. Law was recalled—Wells sail that he could prove the
letters to Lord Stewart to be the writing of Miss Coutts, and
he then looked at your letters, and said there was a great
similarity; and upon being asked by yon if he was called as
a witness what lie would state, be said be would swear he
believed them to be in the writing of Miss Coutts.
Claw-exnmined—My acquaintance with Mr. Dunn has
been for seven or eight years, on very intimate terms. I
visited him twice at the Fleet and once at the Bench.
John Smith—l was post-master in the Queen's Prison.
These letters came through the Post-office.
Sir F. THESIG ?A'. replied at some length, pointing out the
inconsistency of the defendant's speech, and the strong ad-
ditional reasons which that and the evidence supplied for
regarding his whole conduct as a deeply-laid scheme to ex-
tort money from 31i. .'s Coats.
Lord DENMAN summed up the case. First, the jury had
to say whether it was the intention of the defendant to make
Miss Coutts a bankrupt, as that was laid in the indictment.
The rest of the indictment imputed to the defendant that he
falsely swore to those verses being the composition of Miss
Coutts. That the oath was false, he (Lord Denman) look
to be completely proved, and the only question was as to the
defendant's knowledge of its untruth.
The jury at. once returned a verdict of Guilty.
The defendant took some formal objection to the indict-
ment, which we did not distinctly catch, but which we un-
derstood to be that. it had undergone material alteration.
Lord DENMAN having refused to sustain the objection.
Sir F. Ttrusesann prayed for the judgment of the Court; and
Lord DENMAN, in a tone of great severity, and amidst the
most profound silence, said—Richard Dunn, you have been
convicted upon the clearest evidence of a most base and
malignant act, founded on the most corrupt motives, and
tending to the persecution of an individual who appears to
be in the highest degree entitled to respect, and evidently
incapable of doing that which you have imputed to her by
this affidavit; because, if there was nothing,but the appear-
ance of the paper itself, no man in the possession of his
senses could doubt that Miss Coutts never wrote that paper.
I cannot entertain the smallest doubt that that paper was
fabricated by yourself.
Mr. Dunn exclaimed— As I stand before Almighty God,
my Maker, I never did nor do I know whom it came from.
May I never enter into the kingdom of God if I know who
wrote it.—(Great sensation.)
Lord DENMAN-4 is very shocking to hear a man utter-
ing such horrid imprecations. But you must remember
that a person convicted of perjury does not obtain much
credit fur what Ice says.
Mr. Dunn—l know that; but—
Lord DENMAN (with increased emphasis)—Nobody can
doubt but that you have done it yourself', or put somebody to
do it for you. You had no ground for supposing it was hers.
You have constantly persecuted her. I cannot forget what
1 particularly know. Although legal defects may have
prevented your continuing in confinement, I cannot
forget the facts that were brought before us, and the
deep regret with which the judges of the land felt them-
selves bound to deprive that lady of the protection of the
law. That matter has been long before the public, and
has gained a disgusting sort of familiarity. A person
during the course of eight years, from some absurd
imagination and perverted judgment, but also from
most corrupt feeling throughout towards a pecuniary ob-
ject, seeks to persecute an individual by legal instrumentality.
This conduct no one throughout the country can think of
without some degree of shame, i hope we shall eradicate it,
and, in the present instance, I think it is most desirable that
the sentence should be immediately passed. I have doubted
whether it was not my duty to pronounce sentence of trans-
portation, but upon consideration, and particularly with
respect to the feeling of the public mind with regard to that
punishment, I shall pronounce a sentence of imprisonment ;
but that must be severe. The sentence is, that you be im-
prisoned for eighteen months in the Queen's Prison, and give
securities at the end of that time, yourself in 100/., and two
sureties in 50/. each, for two years, and that you be then
imprisoned until those sureties be entered into.
The tipataff instantly removed Mr. Dunn from the Court.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feb. 27.
The Court was engaged all the morning with a trading
case, "Entwistle v. Dent." wising out of a dispute respecting
some mercantile tranactions between the plaintiff and de-
fendant, the representatives of houses in Manchester and
London respectively.
The case, a dry and uninteresting one, was not expected to
close before the rising of the Court.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Feb. 27.
(Sittings at Guildhall, before the LORD CIIIEF JusTicz and a
Special Jury.)

WFSTROPP V. SOLOMONS.-THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AND TIIR
OXFORD AND BLETCHLEY JUNCTION RAILWAY.
This was an action brought to recover the sum of 13,0001.
on a scrip transaction in the shares of the Buckinghamshire
and the Oxford and Bletchley Junction Railway.
It appeared that in the course of last year the defendant
advanced money to the plaintiff, a broker, to purchase 500
shares in the above railway company. The plaintiff pro-
cured the shares and sold them to the defendant, but it was
subsequently discovered that the shares so sold were forged
scrip; the result was, the plaintiff to complete his engage •
meat, had to purchase for the defendant 500 good shares at
an increased price. The defendant refused to make good
the difference, and the present action was in consequence
brought. 4781. had been paid into coin tby the defendant
as a satisfaction of the claim.
After the case had been shortly gone into, at the sugges-
tion of the Learned Judge the matter was agreed to be
made a special case.
Ordered to be made a special case accordingly.

DISTRESSING SUICIDE BY A GIRL.—On Saturday
a girl, twelve Years of age, named Margaret Roberts, the
eldest of eight children, the daughter of a gardener at Row-
ton Castle, in this county, committed suicide by drowning.
The poor girl was in the service of Miss Higgins, of i the
ladies' seminary, at Ford, and for several months past had
suffered much from abscess of the ear, which doubtless
affected her brain. On Saturday morning she left her mis-
tress's house without any reason, and came to Shrewsbury
with several market-girls; it being her first visit to this
town, and there being no reason for her visit. On her way
home she complained of her head aching, and wished she was
in the Severn. About five o'clock she was seen going across
the fields from Ford towards the Severn, which was much
flooded at the time. The ferryman at Mont ford weir called
and asked if she wanted to cross the river. Instead of an-
wering she proceeded up to the next field, and in a few
minutes was heard a shriek that reached the village of Mont-
ford; but no one that heard it suspected the fatarcause. The
girl being missed, search was made, and her bonnet and collar
were found on the bank; and when the water subsided, her
footsteps were traced in the soft soil near the bank. The
not yet been found, and it probably will be carried
a great di
body has
distance by the flood.—Shrewsbury Chronicle.
THE CHANCELLORSHIP OF CAMBRIDGE.—\\'e have
every reason to believe that his Royal Highness the Prince.
Field-Marshal has graciously
i‘ie
n upon s hisl nigh_
nf
as signified his intention to accept
the honour so unanimously conferred
o
ess by
il &University of Cambridge,
a majority ot
after a contestof Rooysa
oftb unexampled
everity.—
Post.
Tgnglihe Hen.
as en b appointed a ald a-
' ennash Embassy at VI
rt
Virillitim:Grey, some time resident with the
tae hi at the Austrian Cou,, in placee of Gervas Bushep, E 4,1•t 9
deceased.— Obserrer.