The Sun.
London, England, 1802-09-16 00:00:00

OLD 13 /11 LEY.

YESTERDAY the Sessions commenced at this'
Olacf!, before .the ItOR.D MAYOR and City Officers,
and also Mr. Baron. HotHANt,. Mr. Justice LE
BLANc, and Mr. Baron CHAMBRE.

Sere-rai Jurymen, who had been summoned, were
called, and not appearing, :they were fined ; but
scale of them were afterwards excused, under tote
:circumstances which they alledged in their, behalf
as reasons fir their not appearing earlier.
•IA Special Commission was then opened and read,
stating the ACI of ParliaMent of • the 33d of Henry
VII i. by which it is provided," that if any person
shall be accused before the Privy Council, of the
Murder of any Subjed of the King,
.and who shall
die without this realm, and such person who. is ac...
tiused, shall he vehemently suspeaed of murder ;
•hall he tried by Special Commission,-to be issued
by the King's Highness to any County England,
in like manner as if the offence was committed in
-this Kingdom." The Commission then states, that
three per,ons of the names, as well as we could hear
them, of Raine, Beaumont, and Morton, being at
the Cape of Good. Haile, stoo.i charged with the.
murder of a person who was a Purser of one Offs
Iviajesty's Ships there, that the matter was ex.
amined before six of His Majesty", Privy Council,
.and that these parties were Vehemently suspeCted c f
muraei.: ' The Commission then
,proceeds to give -
His Majesty's c.:anna-ci,.that-ajury be summoutd,
&c. and inquiry he made 'into the premises, anti
that such things b... done as to•jo,lice shall apper-
,tain, according: to the Laws and Customs of Eng-
land.

Tile ATTORNEY GENERAL SAM, he waited their
Lordships' pleasure, anti w learn when, in the event_
of a Bill being found -against the three persons
named in the CoMmission, they would appoint the
day for trial ?—Upon which the Learned Judges,
L',rd Mayor, and Recorder, cOnfeired, arid ap-
pointed the day of trial for Tuesday "next.

The Brand Jury having been sworn, the Re-
corder delivered to them a Charge, nearly, as ttre
could hear it, es follows :

" Gentlemen of the Grand Jury,

" You have been summone by virtue of a Special
CommisSion, to try the offence of Murder, charged',
to have been committed by three pers'ons. If any
.person is charged with the murder of another, who
dies without the realm, such a crime cannot be tried
at Common Law, but if a case be'made out to the
satisfitaion of His Majesty's Privy Council, it is
provided by the Statute of the 33d of. Henry VIII.
that a Special Commission may issue by the appoint-
ment of the King, for the trial of such offence, in
any County in England. Under these circum-
stances,there are three prisoners to be tried -for Mur-
der, stated to have been committed in parts beyond
the Seas. I feel no necessity of addressing such a
Jury as the present, .at laige, in this case, nor have
I an opportunity of detailing the circumstances of
the tfansattion which is to be laid before you. I can
only state to you, that the deceased-is alledged
to have been killed in a Duel :—Thar one
of the Prisoners is charged as 'having been the
Principal, and the other two the. Seconcli. Now
if two persons, in cold blood, meet and . fight a
duel, and one •of theist is killed, the other is guilty
of Murder ; and that, not 'the Principal only, ' but
the Seccnds alsO ate guilty of Murder, because they
countenance the guilt cf the Principal in such Mur-
der. I have but one observation more to make
on this occasion, which •is, that the Law of the
Case i precisely the same as if this had been charg.
ed to have been a murder committed in any county
in England. 11 in the consideration of this Case,
any difficulty should arise before you, you know
that upon application you are entitled to the assist-
ance of this Court. 1 have only to request that you
will now give the business before you all reasonable
dispatch."

The Grand Jury then withiirew, and in about
tvro hours brought in a true Bill against the above
three -persons. •

Samuel Linn was then tried upon an indi&ment
,for stealing a pocket-book containing 'a medal of
the value of 7s. the property of John Monefer, pri- •
vily, from his person.
The Prosecutor swore, tharon the 2lst of June
last, about one o'clock in the.day, as he was com-
ing through Cranbourn_alley, there was a woman
singing by the corner of Leicester-fields k he went
to hear, 'and the Prisoner was scantling there—he
took the book.out of the Prosecuto'r's coat pocket ;
he felt him, .but did not see him do it. He could
not catch him on the instant, but he did in about
a gamer ora minute, and then a companion of the
Prisoner said, " d—n him, give him his pocket_
book," upon which the Prisoner took off his hat
and took out of it the pocket-book and gave it to
the Prosecutor, and got away, but was taken again
almost in an instant, when, after struggling as much
as he could, he begged for mercy, saying, " that
this was his first offence," upon which he was taken
to Bow-street and committed.

The Prisoner had a good charatier, and it appear-
ed from the evidence of one Witness that he had
been in the Service with His Royal Highness the
Duke of York, in Holland, and was in the office
of Sutler.

The Learned Judge observed, that this was an
indiament for a capital offence,
,namely stealing
privately from the person, --but the Jury would be
relieved from any consideration of the capital part
of the charge, because, as the-Prosecutor telt the aft,
as the Prisoner was
,committing it, that could not
be said to be privately stealing, but unless the Pro-
secutor was ihtorrea in his apprehension of the
fael, the Prisoner was guilty of the simple larceny,
and if the. Jury were of that opinion, the Verdi
• would be, guilty of stealing, but not privily
'-from the person.---Gudy -of stealing, but not' psi.
rl from she pen's,.

Jot. Djon was indiled for a burglary in the
awelling-hoose of William Coleman, Esq. and steal-