The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-17 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

NEW COURT.

SENTENCE ON TIIE SELF-CONFESSED ROBBER AND MURDERER.—
SINGULAR CASE.—William Henry Norman, aged 26, described in the
calendar as a labourer, was indicted for stealing gold and silver
moneys to the value of 501., the property of Wm. Hoof, his master.
Mr. Clarkson appeared for the prosecution.
The prisoner on being arraigned pleaded guilty, and handed in a
paper to the bench, which was read by the Common Sergeant to the
Court. It ran us follows:—."That your bumble petitioner, in plead-
ing guilty to th, offence with which he Stan .5 indicted, wishes the
Court to take into consideration, that he was not n responsible agent
at the time of committing the act, and that in committing that
and (Alter crimes, ha does but follow the path of destiny marked
out for him. As, however, such crimes should not go un-
punished, he begged to make three propositions to the bench.
The first was, that he (the prisoner) should play, the Learned
.Judge a game at billiards, a hundred up the board. Secondly,
that he should play him a game of draughts, best two out of
three. Thirdly, he should play him either at chess or cricket; that
it prisoner was the winner he was to be set free, and if on the con-
trary, he was content to he hanged by the neck on the following
morning till he was dead." Whilst this extraordinary petition was
being read, the prisoner kept grinning and staring about the court in
an apparently demented state. The Common Sergeant inquired of
several of the officers, and also of Mr. Cope ,the governor of Newgate,
under whose surveillance the prisoner has been, whether there was
any ground for thinking him insane? They all said decidedly not.
Mr. Clarkson then went on to state to the Court the facts connected
with the case, which, as they have been so fully and recently before
the public, we give in as brief a form as possible. The prosecutor was
a builder at Kensington, and the prisoner a clerk in his employ. In
the early part of the present year he was sent with the sum named
in the indictment to make a payment on behalf of his master,
with which he absconded. He then addressed him a letter,
stating that he was an illegitimate outcast in society, going
into a detail of robberies he had committed, and that he had taken
part In several murders ; and that on one occasion he had robbed the
Custom-house in Calcutta, where he had a situation as clerk. Seve-
ral of the robberies he confessed to as having been committed in Eng-
land were found to be true. Some time subsequent) of the robbery
on Mr, Hoof, he was met in Liverpool by a gentleman who knew
him in the Custom-house in Calcutta, and he gave hint in custody
for the robbery committed there, and he was taken before the police
authorities at Liverpool, who, having heard of the robbery committed
on Mr. Hoof, at once sent him up to London, and the charge of rob,
bingtheCustom of -houseinainto a Calcutta was
as abandoned, In consequence
of the difficulties
The COMMON SERGEANT sentenced him to seven years' transporta-
tion, observing that if there was any ground for supposing him in-
sane, there would be ample time to discover it before he left New-
gate; and then the sentence could be reversed.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
WORSHIP-STREET.
THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.--JaMeS Young, a young man of stylish
appearance, was placed at the bar before Mr. Bingham, charged on
suspicion of having picked the pocket of a lady at the Cambridge
station of the Eastern Counties Railway.
Samuel Davey, one of the railway officers, stated that while on
duty at the above station, Shortly after the arrival of the two o'clock
train from London on the preceding afternoon, he received in-
formation that one of the lady passengers, who had just gone
on with the train to Norwich., had been robbed of her purse
in the refteshment-room, and the prisoner, whe had come up in
the same carriage, was pointed out as the perm suspected.
Witness accordingly kept a strict watch upon his movements, and
observed that he never once left the premises u,til the return train
to town was about to start, when, upon being asked if he intended
to travel by it, the prisoner replied in the affirmative, and produced
a second-class ticket. Directly afterwards, however, he got into a
first-class carriage, and on being cautioned by the witness that he
had entered the wrong vehicle, the prisoner denied that such was
the case, and exhibited another ticket for the first-class. The train
then started, and the witness, who had previously observed the
prisoner leave one of the private recesses, proceeded to search it,
and having discovered there an empty purse, ha instantly communi-
cated the tact, and a description of the prisoner's person at the office
of the electric telegraph, with directions for their transmission to
London, that the prisoner might be secured on his arrival.
William henry Frencli, a clerk at the Shoreditch terminus, de-
posed to having received the telegraph announcement in little more
than half a minute after it had been made at Cambridge, so that on
the train reaching London about three hours subsequently, he gave
orders for the prisoner's apprehension.
Police-constable Lee, G 177, stated that he received charge of the
prisoner, who exhibited the utmost confusion on heating tile nature
of the charge, and upon searching bins at. the. statiou-houkie, a lady's:
gold watch, together with two sovereigns, some silver. and a penknife
were found in his possession. He was subsequently confronted with
Herrington, an officer of the detective force, who instantly recognised
him as an accomplished memter of the " swell mob," and stated
that he was well known on the other side of the water.
Mr. Games, who attendeded for the prisoner, submitted that there
was no evidence whatever to esmblish the accusation, but
. .

Mr. BINGHAM considered the whole of the prisoner's conduct was
so rife with suspicion that he felt it his duty to remand him for the
production of further evidence, but he had no objection to accept bail
for his appearance, himself in 1001. and two sureties in 501. each.

INQUEST ON TUE HON. COL. BUTLER, M.P.—Yester-
day, Mr. Carttar held an inquest at the Ordnance Arms, York-road.
Lambeth, on the body of Colonel Butler, aged 72, M.P. for Kilkenny.
Richard Green, a police-constable, deposed that on Saturday night
last, whilst on duty at Astiey's Theatre, he went, being requested,
to the house where the deceased resided, in York-street, and found
the door of the back room, on the first floor, locked from the inside.
Having forced the door, he discovered the deceased partially sitting
upon a chair, and his head reclining upon some linen. Ile was quite
dead, and had his clothes on. Witness noticed a bottle of medicine
standing on the mantel-piece, but nothing indicating that he had
taken any deleterious mixture. Mrs. Eliza Fernanday
said that the deceased had regularly resided In her house
for several years, during the period he had to be in
town, to attend to his Parliamentary duties. She saw him last
alive on Saturday at noon ; he then appeared more composed
than he had been during the previous /ley. An hour prior,
he was seized with a shivering sensation resembii4g the ague. Wit-
ness asked him to let her send for meilcal assistance, which lie at
first refused, but afterwards he sent her to Mr. Farmer, a chatrast, of
the Westminster-roa,,, who gave him a mixture, of which he took
one dose. Witness then left him, and on her return to his bed-room
shortly afterwards she found the door locked. Having knocked at
the door, she said, " It is time, Colonel, to take your medicine."
o'clock
a very common expression of his. At flveb re-
but he could get no answer. Their apprehensions
she heard deceased cough ; and at seven o'clock, on her husband
to the deceased,
" A7e'''he went to inquire whether he eould be of any service
replied,
turning
home,
in the Po3lti°neUrVeedrWwoialis, I ifTelni d•
tiate of the Apothecaries
ni silt. On his arrival he found deceased
on
epdrs,eavt
thiuoelti:dsdai
xo3:odrcseoso6svi
some
espi
time,bdy.. forced,s3a ri
said
n. .
wd
he ti
Nlht
.ieaa
si
nd
senteseC for to atte.nd
probably three or four hours.
tdheecoeaddm,ealetieilgadseledixec
eneral decay Of nature."
" Natural death from gWilliam
SUFFOCATION.—Yesterday Mr.
DEATH BY .
t at the Black Bull, Brook-
held an inquest
Baker, Deputy Coroner, n Monday
Ile had no doubt deceased died from natural causes. Verdict—
had been so
the
very fret n ,
some gar and butter,
Another
mother tied up, in a small piec • e of muslin,
sii down its throat,
when it 311 P
with a piece of tape, for it to suck,
bes tvyree:evitin,,
igitac
hd
pitc:l:l tiais,:ofdna
nINstV,
was
William a ms
I:ffloac
ar ttfi
en
di
"Accidentally choked."
erlVlntt
tn.
of
fitNhEe AtimiTeolsii, Verdict,
.aagleudi,thinreoeamieornttiona.ppOeasa
it,
Russian
us. It is spreading from Asia, and has already crossed the .
boundary. There is time to consider what we can de fA9 make it as
little misiblevous as possible, if it should visit us—probabiy i►l g' I:ew,,
modths. It 4trill be wiser to begin now to keep our persons 4'n"
titilEthe pI }o APPROACHINGI
ea is again Ca
pi ip
°r
oLaEc hill An
g
pheoruastees cfoleoadna,nt wexestccra:k„dgeneral health by wholesome and tem-
perate
tranquillity of mind, titc,-9. by
encouraging in our homes a cheer-
ful Making a fuss when the time comes
with wklte-wash and flannel pettleggs, and drugs and new diet, all
tried ill hurry and pule.