The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-14 00:00:00

court, and it was contended that this amount, was all
that the plaintiff was entitled to receive.
In support of the plaintiff's case, a number of witnesses
were called, who gave evidence of the fact of the
various defendants signing the register as provisional
- committeemen, and a consent to act as such, and of their
. appointment as a. managing committee ; that they re-
ceived the traffic tables, and acted upon them, and that
they abandoned the pry ject before going to Parliament,
and had since retureed one guinea. upon each share.
The LORD CHIEF BARON—I am already of spini(4.l
that the plaintiff cannot -recover up,:n the third instal-
' meat. It was contingent upon the passing of the Bill
through a certain stage, which never arrived, and it had
not been proved that the defendant had stopped short
fraudulently for the purpose of keeping him out of the
money.
Mr. MARTIN now contended that the traffic tables
were not properly or correctly got up, and Went at con
siderable detail into the questions of the proper mode of
making out these tables. ,
The I.OIID CHIEF BARON isterposed, and said that it
was perfectly idle to waste the time of the Court and the
jury by this species of inquiry, and suggested that the
matter ought to Le referred to some gentleman out of
the court.
By the consent of the counsel on both sides the trial
was postponed, in order to ascertain whether the de-
fendants would abandon that portion:of their defence in-
volving the question of the proper mode of preparing
these tables.
The case was accordingly postponed till Monday
morning.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Dec. 12.
GOODMAN V. BOWLES.
When this. case was called on, and the jury sworn, it
wt•s found that neither attorneys nor counsel were in
attendance. •
The Learned JUDGE immediately ordered the cause to
be struck out of the list.
• The same course was adopted in respect to the case of
Lockyer V. Morrison, which stood next on the list,
neither plaintiff nor defendant.being represented by their
le'ai advisers.
The ten folloWing causes on the list were then called
over; but
.no one appearing in respect to them, they
were struck out of the list, and the Court rose.
This, neglect en the. part of counsel and attorneys
cannot.be too.strongly denounced.

LONDON (SESSIONS.
.0n Saturday a General Quarter Session of the Peace
was held by adjournment. There were no traverses, and
the grand jury was swornin.
The Learned REconnmt, in addressirg them, said that
the cases generally were for assaults. One case, how-
ever, was of a more peculiar nature, being an in-
dititment against a person for refuSing to serve the office
of inquest man. It was necessary to tell the jury, that
any inhabitant of the lands of the City, paying rates,
owing suit and servicz., to the Court Leet, and entitled to
tt-,eild the wardmotes, was liable to serve on the inquest.
but the jury bad better confine their attention to the
facts, whether the party so indicted was so entitled, and
whether he had been duly elected and had refused to
serve? If they found all these facts they would return a
true bill.

The grand jury, after a short time, returned a true
bill for the above misdemeanour, but the defendant did
-not appear. The other- bills were for trifling assaults,
but the Court was detained
,until twelve o'clock, in con-
sequence of the parties not being present ; the cases
heard ware very trifling assaults.
On the names of the jury being called, an application
was made to excuse a gentleman who was a director of
a public company ; he was excused on the ground of
being above age, but the Lord Mayor said all the direc-
tors having offices in the City were liable to serve on
juries.

WINTER ASSIZES.

NORTHERN ClRCUlT.—Liverpool, Dec. 10.
- (Before Mr. Jus ice WIGHTMAN.)
James Hunter was indicted for the wilful murder of
Charles Winslow, at Liverpool, on the 23d of November
last, by stabbing him with a knife.
Mr. Blair conducted the prcsectrion ; Mr. James ap-
peared for the defence.
It appeared that on the night on which this occurrence
took place, about half past 12 o'clock, the deceased, with
two persons called Bryan and Marley, all sailors, were
at a public-house at the corner of a lane, called Crooked-
lane, in the neighbourhood of the Liverpool Custom.
house. They were all somewhat in liquor, but were, it
was alleged, sufficiently sober to know what they were
about. On leaving the public-house they walked down
to the corner of Canning-trlace, lacing the Custom-house,
and proceeded along Canning-place towards South
Castle-street. In so doing they passed the end of a lane
called Litherland-alley, running ieto Canning place.
At the end of the lane they saw two men standing,
having the appearance of sailors. The deceased was a
little in advance of his companions, and between him and
these two men some angry words took place. Bryan and
Marley asked him to come away, but he made no ease er
to them, cud went up Litherland alley with the two
strangers; the dispute still continuing. Bryan then went on
towards Castle-street, and Marley remained some time
at the end of the lane. He heard a noise of quarrelling
in the direction in which the deceased bad gone, but
from the darkness he was Unable to sea what t iok
'place. At this moment a person of the name of Seymour,
a private watchman, came to the end of the lane, and,
hearing the noise, went up it, knocking with his staff on
the ground to intimate his presence. A number of men
and women, who had been fighting and quarrelling in the
lane, came down, meeting him, and passing him going
into Canning-place. Ile was then nine or ten yards up
the lane. When they pissed him he then saw the de-
ceased about the place where the quarrelling and fight-
ing had been going on. He was then proceeding up the
lane, and there was no other person there. The deceased
had gone but a short way further up, when a person,
whom the witness swore was the prisoner, came towards
him from the head of the lane. The prisoner struck the
deceased in the belly, but the witness could not .see
whether or no he had anything in his hand. The deceased
immediately cried out, "Oh my God," and turning,
ran back to Canning-place, and on to Cestle-
street. lie then overtook Marley. The deceased
was then in a stooping position, holding his Mind
to his belly. He called out, " Oh, Nick, Nide,
find a doctor's shop ; there's a knife stuck in my belly."
Some police .officers came up and took him into their
care. The witness Seymour, who saw the blow struck,
had followed the deceaseerfor the purpose of ascertain-
ing whether he had sustained any injury. He imme-
diately returned to Litherland-alley with two of the con-
stables, and at the upper part of the alley he found the
prisoner leaning against the rails of an area. Ile took
him into custgdy, and stated to him that he was
charged with stabbing a man. The prisoner said he saw
no man, and knew nothing about it. The officers then
felt outside of his clothes to ascertain if he had got a
knife, but did not find one. He said he had left his
knife on board his ship. On searching him, however,
more minutely at the Bridewell a large clasp knife was
found in his jacket pocket.
On the officers taking the prisoner to Castle-street,
here the deceased was, the latter immediately iden-
tified him as the person by whom he had been stabbed.
The deceased was conveyed to the hospital, when it
was found that be had received a wound just below the
navel, from which the bowels protruded. The medieal
attendant replaced them, and the deceased, who was
very faint, rallied a little. He again sank, however, and
died on the morning of the following day. On a post
mortcm examination it was found that the epigastric
artery had been wounded, and the internal hemorrhage
which resulted had caused his death.
His depositions had been duly taken the morning after
he received the injury, and he then stated that he hail
met two men at the foot of Litherland-alley, who had.
some words with one of his companions. One of these
men was the prisoner. He, the deceased, walked on up
the alley, when the prisoner followed him, and thrust a
knife into his belly.
It appeared from the statement of Seymour, that
though the lower end of the lane was dark, there was a
gaslight over the door of a public-house a few yards be-
yond the spot where the blow was struck, which gave
him a good view of the prisoner, and enabled him to
swear positively to his identity.
Mr. Jaetes addressed the jury for the defence, con-
tending that the evidence of the identity was not sueh as
the jury could.rOy' upon. 'rho lane was dark, the person
was seen but' for a moment, and under the disadvan-
tageous circumstance of the light, etath As it was, being
at his back, and throwing his countenance into shade.
The mistakes so frequently made in cases where the
matter in question was the personal identity of the pri-
soner were sufficient to induce the jury to distrust testi-
mony, however positive,. founded on such imperfect
means of knowledge. The supposed corroboration of
the deceased was hardly any corroboration at all. He
was in pain, weak, and suffering, and was likely, under
the circumstance; not to have the accuracy of recol-
lection and that clearness of mind which would enable
them to rely on his testimony. By the modo, too, in
which the testimony was taken, the prisoner was de-
prived of the benefit of a cross-examination, which might
possibly have elicited facts which would satisfy the jury
that his evidence was to be
.distrusted. The Learned
Counsel, after commenting on the other facts of the case
bearing on this point, urged that by whomsoever the
offence had been Committed, it would not amount at all
events to more than manslaughter. It was clear there
had been a fight and quarrel, in which the deceased had
been engaged, and the jury might reasonably infer that
blows had been exchanged under the irritation arising
from which the wound had been inflicted upon the person
of the deceased.
His LORDSHIP summed up, and the jury after some
deliberation returned a verdict of Guilty of manslaughter.
His LORDSHIP addressed the prisoner, stating that the
jury had taken a very merciful view of the case, but
that his offence at all events was but a shade below the
offence of murder. It was necessary by severe example
to repress the use of such deadly weapons in the case
of sudden quarrele, a practice now too common in this
country.

prisoner, it appeared,
To he. transported for life.
Ifornby was indicted for killing and slaying
George Lockley.
was employed as ergineer
in the management of a steam-eogine at the railway now
in course of formation at Walton, in the neighbourhood
~f Liverpool. This engine is used to draw up the skips
from the shafts which have been sunk to form a tunnel.
In these skips the persons employed aicend and descend.
The engineer, on a sicrual being given by the person at
the top of the shaft, se-is the engine to work. If rubbish
or stones are coming up, the banksman," t.a he is
called, waves Lis hand. If men are ascending he waves
his hat. On this occasion the deceased arid four other
men were in the skip, comir:g up to their dinner. The
bmnksrnan waved his hat. at:ti the c n,:ine was ::et to wol-k. r
It was about one )-ards from cti ! thel
pit, and the etgiLeer 1,4 d an ap,riu:e in tLu ei,i,tue7r
house, from which he ought to have kept a 100k-out to