The Sun.
London, England, 1848-03-31 00:00:00

S N 7 MARCH 31, 1848.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
,HOME ClRCUlT.—Kingston, March 30.
CROWN SlDE.—(l3?fore Mr. Justice COLERIDGE.)
Reginald Bristow, 24, labourer, and Altlow Bristow,
27, labourer, brothers, were indicted for feloniously cut-
ting and wounding George Target, a gamekeeper, with
intent to murder him, the former being charged as
principal, and the other as an accessory, in being felo-
niously present, aiding and assisting in the commission

of thC felony.
There were four other counts in the indictment, charg-
ing the intention of the prisoners to be to do grievous
bodily harm, and the two last charging them with re-
sisting their lawful apprehension and detainer.
Mr. Wolfinger prosecuted. Mr. Charuock defended
Reginald, and Mr. Locke the prisoner Arthur.
The Counsel for the prosecution having briefly stated
the case for the prosecution, the following evidence was

adduced : -
George Target deposed that he was a gamekeeper to
a gentleman named Frogley, who lived at East Horsley,
and who had the right of shooting over a good deal of
land in the neighbourhood. On the night of the I Ith
September, upon going his rounds, he found three dead
hares snared in a coppice, called Henley coppice, in
West Horsley parish. In consequence of this discovery,
he and an under-keeper named Martin, " laid up" during
the night to see if any one came to take the hares away.
About six o'clock in the morning the two prisoners came
into the coppice, and went towards the spot where the
snares were, but they suddenly stopped, and appeared to
whisper, and then ran off. He and his companion
pursued them into a turnip field at some distance, and
when they had nearly got up to them the prisoners
turned round and faced them. Both the prisoners had
large knives in their hands, such as aro used for killing
pigs, and when ha went towards Reginald he ordered
him to stand back, or 'else he said he would dig the
knife into him. Witness told him to put the knife
down, and he had better not use .it„and after scuffling,
about him .for.a short time he laid hold of Reginald's
. shoulder, and the moment he did so he *Stabbed him in
the side. He kept his hold Of the prisoner, and they
h're and tlia prieltaler thett stabbed" bite
in a wrist::- Ale wise - titintztiptitirditiheeit,- , and the
blood was running from; him like a stuck pig, and finding
he was too weak to continue the conteat,'he called 'e t,
"I am done—l give itlup." Before this he had called.
out, " Murder," and when be did so, Reginald Brigsw.
told' him if he was not. quiet :he would stick the knife
into him again. During his struggle with this prisoner,
he could see that Martin 'was 'also " tussling" with
Arthur, but after the last •stab be fell to the grOund
quite insensible, and had no consciousness of anything,
until the cart was-brought to fetch him away... •
Cross-examined—Saw the ,piisonera "Gtilldford:
gaol six weeks' after the transaction, and identifiedlthem
immediately. There was is 'public .footpath ,near : the
coppice where he found the hares. snared. The .ftrmers
were not allowed to set snares for - 'rabbits in this cop-
pice. Theprisoners had retreated' a qciaitetr of a mile
when the affray took place. Mr. Frogley 'had' the right
of shooting in the turmp•fiald, but the land-itself was the
property, of . gentleman named Carrie.e was sure
that he was not lying upon Reginald's bodyß when he
was stabbed, but one stab might have been given him
to compel him to loose his hold of him. t, Witness had
a stick with. him, and Martin a life preseryei; but they
did not make use of them. He had • been a witness
against persons for poaching, and when they were con-
victed he got half the penalty, and his master also gave
him half a sovereign to pay expenses., If a man was
taken for night poaching he got a sovereign, and for day
poaching he only had half that amount; and if two men
were taken there was double pay. •
Mr. CHARNOCK—I suppOse you think it a good deal
better to catch a man then than, a hare: or peasant?
Witness:--I have nothing to do with catching them.
By Mr.' LOCKZ—The penalty for, day-poaching was
405., and when the.fine was paid he had' half the penalty.
The most motley he ever got for 'taking man for
poaching in the day time was nearly. apound. This
was in addition to the 10s. his master gave him. -He
could riot say exactly how often ho had got this money
besides his regular wages, which' Were, a pound toveek.
His master was a doctor, but .he
,did not' know that he
went by the name of the Sporting Doctor.—(A laugh.)
Re had th.'right of shooting ever all the land in ques-
tion; and•tite Henley-coppice' wits is regular hare pre-
serve.- Mr: Frogley at this time employed three keepers.
Mr. LocaE---41ave there not been frequent complaints
by the farmers of the injury done them by the game?
Mr. Jastice POLICUIDGE here interposed, and said, in
his opinion thin had ;nothing to do with the qiiestion
before them. •
• Mr. Loctiz then asked the witness what instructions
he received, from. `hie master .with regard to the appre-
hension of -persons 'supposed to be poachers ?
The witness Said his instructions were to look after
the game and protect it as much ashe could.
Mr. L6ciin--,Are not your instructions to lay hold of
any one, who you may suppose to be a poacher, at once,
rand without endeavouring -to ascertain who they are,
`in order-et-OE the Drrinef local steps might. be taken
against them ?
Witness—l had no such order. _

James Marlin, the assistant to the last witness, con-
firmed his testimony. It appeared that he attempted to
apprehend the prisoner Arthur, and in so doing also
received injury. He heard Target call out, " Murder !"
and as soon as he was able, he went to him and found
him lying upon the ground insensible, and covered with
blood, and apparently dead.
Cross examined—He was not aware that there was
any regular allowance of money for taking these men,
but he knew that his master gave half a sovereign when
a poacher was apprehended. and for a night poacher two
pounds were given besides, and one pound for a day
poacher.
Hollington, the inspector of the Guildford police,
proved that he apprehended the prisoners at Woolwich,
on the 11th of October, and on searching Reginald, he
found in his pocket a number of wire snares, a copper
cap, and sonic gunpowder, he had likewise 103. in money,
and a sermon. Upon the prisoner Arthur's person he
found a small amount of copper money arid some phea-
sant snares. Both prisoners asked him to do away
with the wires; and, on his telling them that they were
charged with stabbing two gamekeepers, Arthur replied,
very well, and made no further remark.
Cross-examined—The morning after the affray hap-
pened, hand-bills wore posted up, offering a reward of
1001. for the detection of the offenders. 50/. were to be
paid by Mr. Currie, and 50/. by Mr. Frogley.
Mr. Frogley, the prosecutor, deposed that he was a
surgeon at Hounslow, and also had a residence at East
Horsley, near Guildford. The prosecutor and Martin
were employed by him as gamekeepers. He preserved
the game strictly in Henley-coppice. On the morning
in question he received information of what had oc-
curred very shortly afterwards, and at once proceeded
to the turnip field, where he found Target supported
by some labourers, and at first he thought he was dead.
The witness then described the injuries he had received,
and said that the stab upon his left side must have occa-
sioned immediate death, if it had not been stopped by one
of the ribs; and he added, that he probed the wound to
the length of his finger, and the instrument which
inflicted it appeared to have passed into the cavity of
the chest. Immediately after the occurrence he ob-
tained a search warrant and proceeded to a house at
Shore, which was pointed out to him as the prisoner's
residence, and he there found a number of snares, which
were put in an artificially-constructed place of conceal-
ment, that was accidentally discovered; and also four
large knives, such as are used for killing pigs.
The prosecutor was recalled, and he said that the
knives so found were similar to those he saw in the pos.
session of the prisoners on the morning the attack was
made on him, but he would not speak positively to their
being the same.
Mr. CEIARNOCK then addressed the jury for Reginald,
and he commenced by observing, that upon the first
count of the indictment, the prisoners were charged with
a capital offence, and then their lives might be forfeited
if an adverse verdict was returned against them, After
some general observations, he went on to contend that
the whole affair had originated in the illegal conduct of
the keepers. There was no evidence that the prisoners
had anything to do with the snares in which the hares
were caught; and ho said that, even supposing they had,
the law gave no right to the gamekeepers to seise them
in the way they did; and ho submitted that it was quite
clear that the system of paying them the blood-money,
as he should term it, had been thei inducement ...to
them to act in this illegal manner, which occasioned all
the mischief. It was proved that the prisoners had re-
treated. They were anxious to get away, ii.ut they were
Ipursued, and, as he submitted, an illegal attack was
!made upon them, which they had a right to resist.
They were no doubt stimulated by the prospect of the
reward they would receive upon the apprehension, and
in his opinion, the system of giving such rewards was
most improper and ought to be discontinued. It ap-
peared to be admitted that the keepers were not justi-
fied in apprehending the prisoners, but it was said that
they had used an excess of violence in resisting, but he
asked the jury what they could expect from men in the
prisoner's position, and whether it was possible to sup-
pose, when they found themselves treated in this manner,
after having done all in their power to avoid a conflict,
that they could measure with any nicety the degree of
resistance they were to offer. This was another in-
stance, he said, of the baneful effects of the game-laws ;
and he concluded his address by expressing his opinion
that it was high time that some alteration should be
made in a system which W 3.3 proi'ed to be so productive
of crime.
Mr. LOCKE next addressed the jury for the other pri-
soner, adopting the same line of argument as Mr.
Charnock, and urging that the gamekeepers had brought
all the mishaps upon themselves, by their own illegal
conduct. He referred to the statute of William IV.,
known as the Game Act, and sail, that the proper
course for the keepers to have pursued was to have de-
manded the name and address of the parties, and it was
only upon their refusing to give these particulars, that
they were empowered to arrest them.
Mr. Justice COLERIDGE said the Learned Counsel
need not answer the counts charging the prisoners with
resisting their lawful apprehension and detainer, as he
was of opinion they could not be supported.
Mr. LOCKE said he was thankful to his Lordship for
this intimation, for it appeared to him that these were
the only counts that affected the prisoners ; for, accord-
ing to the evidence, their only object was to get away,
and they would have succeeded, if they had not been
so improperly interfered with by the keepers. 'llO

Learned Counsel then proceeded to comment upon the
evidence, and concluded by expressing an opinion that,
at most, the prisoners had committed no greater offence
than an assault.
The Learned JUDGE, in summing up, said it was the
Custom for the Counsel of a prisoner, in cases of this
description, to endeavour to prejudice the minds of the
jury, by egmmenting upon the supposedirjustiee of
the game laws. So far as he (the Learned Judge) was
concerned, if he had a million of acres of land, he
should not think of preserving a single head of game;
but if gentlemen, desired to do so, they did it under
the protection of the law; and while the law was in
existence they were entitled to the protection it afforded
them.
The jury, after a short deliberation, found the pri-
soners Guilty upon the count of the indictment charging
their intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Mr. Justice COLERIDGE sentenced them to be trans-
ported for fifteen years.
- CIVIL SIDE. _ .

The business on this side has been singularly unin-
teresting. The Lord Chief Justice yesterday disposed
of three special jury causes, one of which was referred,
and the remaining two did not possess any matter of
interest to the public. It is expected Mr. Justice
Coleridge will dispose of the criminal business early to-
day (Friday), and he will then take common jury cases
from the list of the other Court.

OXFORD ClRCUlT.—Monmoath, March 28.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice PATTESON.)
Mary Howells, 32, and James Price, 26,.were indicted
for the wilful murder of William Howells, at Llanellan,
on the 10th of November.
The appearance of neither of the prisoners betokened
any ferocity of character.
Mr. Greaves, with Sir Thomas Phillips prosecuted;
and Messrs. W. H. Cooke and J. W. Huhleston seve-
rally appeared for the prisoners.
.The facts of the case, as proved by the numerous wit-
*asses, may be thus condensed. The deceased was a
=ll farmer, and had been married to the female pri-
vaners.-Wbct was previously his servant, about eight years.
He appeared'to have been of a jealous disposition, and
was twenty-two Yeardth'e senior of his wife; but during
the last two years they seemed to have lived more hap-
pily together than they had done previously. The only
other two persons in the house were the prisoner Price,
who was the deceased's farming . servant, and Jane
Morgan, the servant girl. On the day_ in question, the
deceased partook of tea at four o'clock, and Mrs. How-
ells gave Jane Morgan' some, apples, with which she
made dumplings:Or stipp!r,. Of which the family par-
took. Some milk and .water also formed the meal of
the deceased, but none of the others drank any of
it. The female priSoner give her husband one of
the apple - dumplings, into the -interior of which she
put some sugar and milk. • She also prepared the
milk and water which he drank,' and it was assumed by
the prosecution that she put the arsenic which was after-
wards found in the deceased's stomach, either into the
dumpling or the milk and water immediately before she
gave him the food. He also ate a'raw apple before going
to bed. This was about eight o'clock in the evening,
and two hours afterwards he was taken ill, complained
of cramp in the limbs, and pain in the stomach, which
was accompanied by violent vomiting and purging,
which continued at intervals until about eleven the fol-
lowing night, when he died. The male prisoner called
on the Reverend Mr. Jones the clergyman of Llanellan,
and told him the deceased was very ill. That was in the
morning of the 10th of November, on the night of
which day the death took place. Mr. Jones directed him
to tell Mrs. Howells to send for a doctor, or her husband
would be a dead man, but no notice was taken of the;Re-
verend Gentleman's injunction; and no medical aid called
in. Mrs. Howells accounted for, this, by saying that her
husband positively refused to have a surgeon, and never
liked the expense of one, as he was of rather a niggardly
disposition ; to the relatives of deceased she accounted for
the ommission by saying she had no time. The de-
ceased 'enly partook of one cup of tea during the time he
was ill, and that was given him by his wife. He was
buried on the 13th, three days after his death, without a
certificate, but it appeared James Powell, the coffin-
maker, went to the Coroner with the knowledge and
consent of the female prisoner, although that gentleman
did not then think proper to hold an inquest. It was
rumoured :about that there was an improper intimacy
between the two prisoners, which had existed prior to
the death of Mr. Howells, and the morning after the
funeral they went away :together, and remained out for
two or three days or nights. The day after the death
the two women and Price all removed into one sleeping-
room,
assigning as a reason that they did not like to
stay in the room where any one hail died,
Jane Morgan heard Mrs. Rowels, while in bed,
call out to Price, "Jim, come and warm my back,"
on which the male prisoner went to her. These
and other circumstances being rumoured about, with
additions and enlarginents, at length led to the
belief that some toul play had been used in
cc:tuning the death of the deceased, and on a, 7th
vt
January the body was exhumed, and an inquest com-
menced before Mr. Hughes, the c•Jroner, which con-
tinued by adjournments on the 14th, 21,t, and '22d of
that month, when it terminattal in a verdict of wilful
murder against the prisoners, and their committal for
trial on that serious charge. A post mortem examination
was made of the body by Mr. Steal, a surgeon, Mill the
content., of the stomach analysed and tested by Mr.
llerapath, the eminent analytical chemist, of Bristol,
when it was found that death resulted from extreme in-
testinal inflammation, which was caused by a quantity
of arsenic four iin the stomach of the deceased. It was
proved that in the latter end of October, Mrs. Howells
purchased a pennyworth of arsenic, half an ounce, of
Mr. Evans, a druggist in Abergavenny, who knew her
well as a customer of seven years' standing. The chief
evidence against the pi isoncrs w as a number of suspicious
expressions used by them at various times, both before
and after the deceased's death, And an attempt on the
part of Price to fix suspicion on Jane Morgan, one of
the house servants, by pretending to discover arsenic
concealed among her clothes.
Mr. CooKE and Mr. HUDDLESTONE having ably ad-
dressed the jury for the prisoners severally, the Court,
at ten o'clock, adjourned until nine on
March 29.

Mr. Justice PATTESON;IIMI3ed up the whole case
his morning with groat care, and the jury retired from
.he box to consider their verdict. .

At twelve o'clock, the jury returned into Court with
a verdict of Not Guilty, on hearing which some persons
in the gallery began to cheer, an ebullition which was
directly checked by the officers.
Mr. Sergeant Allen and Mr. Godson, Q.C., having
alternatively held criminal courts, in order to deliver the
gaol, the business of these assizes was brought to a ter-
mination at five o'clock to-day.

NORTHERN ClRCUlT.—Liverpool, March 29.
This morning application was made to postpone the
trial of certain prisoners, on the ground that a material
witness, a policeman of Bolton, could not conveniently
attend, as the sessions were to commence there to-
morrow. It was stated that the Recorder of Belton
and Manchester had before held his sessions in the
assize we( k.
Mr. Baron ALDERSoN said it used to be considered
illegal to hold sessions during the assizes for the county,
and he very much inclined to that opinion. It was at
least a very irregular, and very improper thing to hold
sessions during the time that the Queen's Judges were
making a general gaol delivery in the county, and he
had very serious doubts whether prisoners convicted at a
sessions so held were legally convicted. He had known
instances, at Stafford and elsewhere, when the prisoners
committed for the sessions were sent for by the Judge
of Assize to be tried before him. And he had also
known instances of sessions being stopped on the arrival
of the Judges of Assize in the county. lie repeated
that the course pursued by the Recorder of Bolton was
♦ery irregular indeed, and ho hoped that a stop would
be put to it. It was a great inconvenience to the public
and the bar.
Henry Abraham was indicted for a burglary at Wigan.
The prosecutor was a small confectioner, and the
things stolen had been taken from the window by
breaking it in the night, and consisted of confectionary,
in glasses, of little value, and the case had no interest
except that it elicited from the Learned Judge a very
important opinion on the subject of possession of stolen
property. Four out of five glasses stolen, bad been
found in the prisoner's house, and he had then stated
that on going to the well for water one morning, he
found them by the side of the well, and had taken them
home, nobody living with him but his wife and two in-
fant children.
Mr. J. PoLLocx, in addressing the jury for the priso-
ner, had expatiated on the probability of the prisoner's
account, and his not being able to prove it, as his wife
could not be a witness.
Mr. Baron ALDERSON, in summing up, put it to the
jury as not a reasonable account, and asked them if they
did not think that, if it had been true, he would have
told some of his neighbours of his having found the
glasses, and called them to prove that he had made such
a statement.
Mr. PoLLocx submitted that had the prisoner done
so, the statement would not be evidence for the prisoner.
Mr. Baron ALDERSoN said he had not the least doubt
that, if a person who found property which had been
stolen, and before any suspicion attached to him on Re-
count of his possession of it, made a statement of the
way in which he had become possessed of it, such state-
ment was receivable in evidence on his behalf.
Mr. POLLOCK said lie had always understood the law
to be otherwise, and assured his Lordship that in that
very court he had been prevented from giving such
statements in evidence for a prisoner.
His LoRDSHIP over and over again repeated that he
had no doubt such statements were receivable; and he
should himself always receive them, until he was pre-
L I vented by competent authority.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.
(Before the ASSISTANT-JUDGE.)
THE NUISANCE IN HATFIELD STREET.—Yesterday,
John Gore, the dust contractor for the district of St.
Luke's, Old-street, who, it will be remembered, was
convicted at this court a few sessions back upon an in-
dictment charging him with maintaining a nuisance in
Hatfield street, came up this morning in discharge of his
recognizances, to receive the judgment of th,, Court.
Mr. BALLANTINE, on the part of the defendant, ap-
plied fora further postponement of judgment, on the