The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-07 00:00:00

ASSIZE I'VTELT,IGENCE.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—GLOUOESTEU, APRIL 5.
The as-izes terminated last Light.,
THE POACHING CASES.
Giles Bull, the elder, Giles Bull, the younger, Thomas
Bull,. and George Bull, were brought up for judgment,
having been previously convicted of night poaching and
attacking the gatnekeepers on the Duke of Beaufort's and
Mr. H. H. Huritley'.s preserves at Sodhury. His lord-
ship sentenced the old man, who was the ringleader, and
incited his suns to beat the keepers, to six years' penal
servitude, and the others to four years' each. In pass-
ing judgment, Baron Bramwell said, if a man had land
he had as much right to keep it fur game as to grow
wheat or turnips upon it, or anything else for his use or
amusement, and the law said people must not trespass
on other persons' land to take game.

WESTERN CIRCUIT.—TAUNTON, APRIL 4.
BURGLARY, WITH VIOLENCE,
'The four prisoners—Ryan, Dallimore, Duffety, and
and Faux—who were tried yesterday for a burglary at
Stanton Prior, were this morning arraigned, together
with William Oldfield, Charles Hawking, Gsorge Rogers,
Joseph Taylor, alias Pecker Rich, and William Belstone,
on an indictrnert charging them with a burglary in the
house of Mrs. Mary Baber, a widow lady, residing at
Keynsbatn.
Mr. T. W. Saunders and Mr. Everett were retained
for the prosecution ; Mr. El wards appeared for the de-
fence of Belstone, Mr. H. T. Cole for Rogers and Rich,
Mr. Bailey for Oldfield, and Mr. Ellin for all the other
prisoners except Ryan, who appareled to his heels:hip to
assign counsel for him. All the members of the bar,
except those already engaged in the case, had left Taun-
ton, and Ryan was consequently undefended.
It appeared from the evidence of numerous witnesses
that the house of the prosecutrix is situated by itself,
about 100 yards from the high roe 1, and that the in-
mates on Thursday, 6th DeCember, consisted of Mrs.
Baber ; her sister, Mrs. Hopkins ; a female servant,
named Elizabeth Cambridge ; Mrs. Baber's uncle, Mr.
Jones ; and a man-servant, named James Veale. On the
evening of the day in question, all the inmates of the
house went to bed at the usual time, the servant having
previously seen that the fastenings were all secure.
About 3 o'clock on the morning of the ith December, the
house was broken into, and almost simultaneously two
men entered the room of Mr. Jonas, two that of Mrs.
Baber, one that of Mrs. Hopkins, while another held the
door of the room in which the maid-servant slept. The
two men who entered the room of Mr. Jones committed
an act of gross outrage. They struck Veale, the man-
servant, a violent blow with a life preserver, which drew
blood from his head, and then rolled burn vp in the bed-
clothes so as to prevent him from observing what was
going on. At this time Mrs. Baber, hearing the noise in
her uncle's room, sprang out of-bed, bolted her door, and
was about to give an alarm when two men bur-t into
her room. They did not offer any actual violence to
Mrs. Baber, but they threatened her, and said it would
be of no use to make any noise, as there were twenty
of them outside. These men bad their faces covered
with something black, so that Mrs. Baber was unable to
distinguish their features, but one of them kept watch
over her for half an hour, and she had ample opportuni-
ties of observing the other. She spoke positively to R)-
gers and Duffety as being the two men who came into
her room. As to the maid servant no one broke into her
room, and consequently she saw nothing, but she heard
much. She spoke to one of the men who were outside
her room, having a very peculear footstep, and the pri-
soner Hawkins was a person with a malformation in bis
legs, which caused a strange manner of walking; in ad-
d Lion to which there was this fact against him, that on
his house being searched a quantity of house-breaking
implements were found, among which were a chisel and
turnscrew, which exactly corresponded with marks on
the pant of the premises by which access was gained.
Mr. Jones was an old gentleman, unwards of 80, and
Mn.i Hopkins a highly nervous lady ; so that they
were notable to identify any of the prisoners. Inde-
pendently of money, the booty of the burglary was ex-
ceedingly small, and none of the stolen property was
traced to the possession of the accused. The only direct
evidence in the case was that of Mrs. Baber against
Rogers and Duffety, and the facts already mentioned re•
specting Hawkins. As regards all the other prisoners,
the prosecution relied almost entirely on the evidence of
an abandoned woman, named Emma Bryant, the para-
mour of Ran ; but her statement's were exceedingly
contradictory.
Rogers, Duffety, and Hawkins were convicted, and
had sentence of death recorded against them. Ryan and
Dallmore, convicted on the previous day cf a burglary
at Stanton Prior, were sentenced, Ryan to 14 years'
transportation, and Dallimore to four years' penal servi-
tude. Mark Faux subsequently pleaded guilty to a,
charge of receiving part of the property of another bur-
glary at Maekbury, and was sentenced to four years'
penal. servitude. Oldfield, Rich, and Belstone were
discharged.
These trials concluded" the business of the Somerset
assize and of the Western circuit.