The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-23 00:00:00

',sauces for 5001. each, one of the defendants binding him
self in a furthar sum of 5001. for Mrs. Westmorland.

WESTERN CIRCO IT.—Dorchester, July 20.
CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron PLATT).
CHARGE OF MURDER.—James French, aged 35, was
indicted for the wilful murder of John Steers, at Lyme
Regis, on the 9th inst. The facts of the case were ex-
tremely simple. It appeared that on the night of the Bth
July the prisoner and the deceased (who was 93 years
of age) slept in the same room at a lodging-house in
Lyme Regis. Two of the children of the landlord were
also sleeping in the same chamber. About half-past
twelve o'clock the people of the house were alarmed by
cries of " fire," " murder," &c Jackson, the landlord,
entered the room occupied by the prisoner, who imme-
diately jumped out of bed and commenced attacking the
deceased violently with his fists. He was in a state of
nudity at the time, and whilst he was " beating and
thumping the old man in every possible manner," (he
prisoner) cried out " murder," " fire," as loud as he could
call. Jackson endeavoured to remove the prisoner, who
instantly gave him a violent blow which knocked him
down stairs. At length a man named Hodder interfered
and the prisoner was taken away from the bedside of
the deceased. The prisoner then said, " It's a mistake,
it's a mistake; it is not the man I thought it was. I
hope I have not hurt him." The prisoner was thea
taken into custody, and as he was going down stairs he
asked for a glass of water, which, however, was denied
him, and he said, "You can't refuse me a glass of
water!" About eight o'clock in the morning a surgeon
was sent for, and the deceased lingered until four o'clock
in the afternoon, when he died. In the course of the
same evening the constable who apprehended him asked
him " How he could think of beating a poor old man in
that way?" and he replied that there were a number of
persons round him, and he thought they were going to
murder him. "Some of them," continued the prisoner,
" were dressed like warriors, with moustachios, and
carrying swords in their hands. I wasn't going to be
murdered, and so I took my own part." It appeared,
moreover, that the constable asked him if he had any
quarrel with the old man, and he said, " No; I never
had an angry word with him."
The constable stated in evidence that he believed the
prisoner had been deranged, " More or less," for the
last ten years. Some years ago, the prisoner was
charred before the magistrates for ill-treating his wife,
and it then became a question whether he ought to be
imprisoned or sent to a lunatic asylum.
Mr. Marden, a surgeon at Lyme, proved that he made
a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased,
and that he found the brain was charged with extrava-
sated blood. In his opinion, the deceassd died of con-
gestion of the brain, arising from external injuries,
which were very severe, the head and face of the de-
ceased being covered with bruises. He had known the
prisoner for some time, and, according to his judgment,
he was not in possession of his senses.

Mr. KARSLIBE addressed the jury for the prisoner,
and stated that he was prepared to call several witnesses,
who would prove that the unfortunate man was labouring
under hereditary insanity.
Mr. Baron PLATT said it appeared to him to be quite
unnecessary to call any witnesses to prove that the man
was insane, as the evidence already given led to the con-
viction that he could not at the time have been in such a
state as to render him responsible for his acts.
Mr. Duke, governor of the county gaol, informed the
Court that last night the prisoner was again in a very
furious state, and that he attempted to " tear up" the iron
bedstead in his cell, saying that he was beset by people
who wanted to murder him.

The jury immediately returned a verdict of Noi
Guilty, on the ground of insanity.
The Learned JUDGE ordered the prisoner to be con
fined in the gaol during her Majesty's pleasure.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE:.
John Harvey, master of a vessel called the Hope, of
Liverpool, was brought before Alderman Gibbs, upon
an information charging him with having neglected to
deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Collector of
Customs, an agreement entered into with the crew, speci-
fying the wages of the seamen, the quantity of provisions
to be received by them, the capacity in which the vessel
was to be employed, &c., according to the "Act for the
Consolidation of the Laws relating to Merchant Seamen,
and for keeping a Register for Seamen." The penalty
to which defendant, upon being convicted, was subjected,
was 10/. The solicitor to the Admiralty attended to
prosecute.
Mr. Brown (solicitor) of Walbrook, appeared for the
defendant, who appeared to be very much excited
by grog.
Mr. W. H. Ross, clerk in the office of the Registrar of
Shipping in the Custom-house, produced the book con-
taining the shipping register, from which book it ap-
peared that the Hope, of Liverpool, was registered as a
British ship, belonging to the subjects of her Majesty,
and that the defendant was master from the 9th of De-
cember, 1844, to the 15th of July, 1846, when another
master was appointed.
Mr. E. Shepherd, of the Report-office, Long-room,
Custom-house, stated that when a ship arrived the par-
ticulars should be reported at the office within twenty-
four hours after having passed Gravesend. On the 27th
of June the Hope was reported as arrived, and the re-
port purported to be signed by John Harvey as the
master in the usual way, but the master had not de-
livered any agreement or list of the ship's crew, and
London was the place of the ship's final destination.
Mr. Brown made several ingenious objections to the
information, but
The defendant, primed with his favourite beverage,
threw contempt upon the professional efforts to relieve
him, and told his solicitor that he did not care for legal
objections, but would stand upon his own merits.
Mr. Brown persevered, notwithstanding the
rough prohibition of his client, in his appeal to the
bench, and represented that the fault of omission lay
with the broker, who received instructions to do all that
was necessary in the case, and had failed in his duty.
The defendant still asserted his obstreperous inde-
pendence, and interfered in such a manner as to frus
trate completely the object of Mr. Brown, who, it was
believed, would have quashed the information if his
client had not been rendered quite impracticable by his
intemperance.
Alderman GIBBS convicted the defendant, and sen-
tenced him to pay a penalty of 101. He, however, sub-
sequently, upon the representation of the defendant's
solicitor, reduced the fine to SL, which the defendant,
having recovered from his grog-fit, paid gratefully.
The defendant, it was stated, had been a disciple of
Father Mathew, but after several months acquiescence
in the total forbearance principle, relapsed into his
former indulgences, and betrayed symptoms of fatal
obstinacy in matters connected with his own interest.
Two lads, named John and Thames Slater, were
charged with having received money and goods which
had been stolen by their brother William Slater, from
his employers, Messrs. Tebbutt and Griffin, of No. 122,
Wood-street, warehousemen. The case showed much
depravity upon the part of the two prisoners, who
it was manifest, had prevailed upon their younger bro-
ther, a boy only fifteen years old, in the employment of
Messrs. Tebbutt and Co., to plunder the prosecutor to a
very considerable extent, and hand over to them the
stolen property.
A few days ago William Slater, the boy in the ware-
house of Messrs. Tebbutt, was brought up before the
Lord Mayor, upon the charge of having embezzled
money which he had received on account of his em-
ployers. Upon that occasion he said to the officer who
apprehended him that his brother had the money. It
was subsequently ascertained that the plunder com-
mitted upon the firm was considerable; and Wardell, a
vigilant City officer of the City detective police, was
employed to look for the brothers. The officer took the
two prisoners into custody in the Minories, and they did
not for a moment deny the part they had taken in the
robbery. They had, it appeared, succeeded in inducing
their brother William not only to give to them a large
sum in cash which he had collected for his employers,
but to steal for them a vast number of silk handker-
chiefs which had been deposited on the premises. They
rigged themselves out in fashionable style, gave twelve
guineas for two silver watches, and dashed down to
Rochester with between 50/. and 60t in their pockets.
Arrived at Rochester, the set up at an inn, made all
the servants in the house drunk, dressed out the cham-
bermaid and another female servant like ladies, with
silk gloves and silk stockings, veils upon their bonnets,
and parasols in their hands, and actually turned, not
only the house, but the town, upside down. The
two girls, having taken a distaste to their
situations, which suddenly became in their eyes
too laborious and degrading, accepted the in-
vitation of the prisoners to be their bed-fellows,
and abandoned their duties without the ceremony of
taking leave, to go on a spree with their paramours to
Maidstone. In a few days the whole of the money dis-
appeared; the watches, which cost 12/., were pawned for
51.; the new clothes were exchanged for old; the girls
walked back to Rochester; and the prisoners returned
to London, pennyless and repentant, and were found in
a devil-may-care sort of condition, sick and sorrowful.
One of them, upon being informed that his younger
brother in confinement was very much cut up, declared
that the lad was wholly guiltless.
Alderman Moms, who sat when the prisoners were
brought up, asked them if they weret
theydes had not airous to make
any observations? They replied that
word to say, and they were ordered to be remanded till
Saturday.
It was said that Rochester has not had such a flare-up
f r several years, and that there was actually a conflict
amongst the innholders for the custom of the prisoners.
It is unnecessary to state that the_ m
two giddy,_ unfortunate
creatures who accompanied them to cildstone were
refused admission into the house from which they had
departed on so imprudent a speculation.
MARLBOROUGH-STREET.
PETTY GAMBLING.—THE MYSTERY OF " CAPPING."
—William Ives, potboy at the Crown and Sceptre public-
house, Foley-place, was summoned before Mr. Maltby
for an assault on Richard Franklin.
The complainant said he was a hairdresser, living at
No. 40, Henrv-street, Hampstead-road. On Sunday
evening last lie was at the Crown and Sceptre public-
house, kept by a person named Crusoe, and there he
tossed for some wine with the potboy in the tap-room.
After wards he tossed for money, and having won he
was assaulted by the potboy, who struck him twice on
the head.

A solicitor, who attended for the defendant, elicited
the following curious particulars in cross-examination:—
Had been in the habit for a length of time of going about
to various public-houses, and tossing with different per
sons for money. Had won and lost 201. in a night at
this business. On one occasion had won of a Mr.
Griffiths 401. Usually tossed for 51. at a time, and fre.
quently 501. were won and lost in an hour at the game.
Had never been at Maryleboue Court for carrying on
this game. Had been at Bow•street on account of au
assault arising out of a disputeat tossing, but the matter
was compromised. Did not live by toning. Had