The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-10 00:00:00

of blood, and probably influenced in his belief by
what he had been told by others. No doubt the
gun found in the prisoner's house was that which
inflicted the wound ; but by whose hands, was the
question. The man Allen had been in the habit of
using it.; might it not have been he. No Times
was found in Richardson's house ; his reply about
the wadding referred simply to his general habit,
not to the loading at that time. The correspond-
ence of the shot, such as it was, was immaterial,
The conduct of the prisoner was strongly indicative
of innocence. He allowed the things left
house to remain as they ys7cre. went. 'L,o work
as usual himself, and in his account- P!, the manner
in whichite passed the previous bight he had not
exagemted the time, but told tle exact truth. It
was impossible for the jury in form a judgment as
to the real facts of the transaction ; but if the jury
believed the prisoner's hand used the gun it was
possible it might have been pointed in bravado,
carelessly, and gone off without design. The ab-
sence of assignable motivegave this supposition pro-
bability, and the jury were not driven to the con-
, elusion of murder in a case so sorrounded by doubt.
The learned judge said that it was certainly open
to the jury to find a verdict of murder, of man-
slaughter, or of acquittal. That an offence of some
sort had been committed was clear, unless the
wound by which M'Brian died was, in their opi-
nion, a mere accident ; but the statement of the de-
ceased and.the character of the wound did not admit
of that supposition, but rather showed that the
gun when discharged was placed with the butt
against the shoulder; if not an accident, or the
wound was caused by gross negligence only,. it
would indeed be manslaughter, but of this no evi-
dence appeared; but if the death resulted from the
wilful use of a deadly weapon it was murder. After
observing that the speech of the learned counsel
for the prisoner was as able, as sensible, and as
becoming an address as he had ever heard, his
Lordship commented upon the evidence.
At .the conclusion of the summing up the jury
retired, but for a short time only, and returning
into court delivered a verdict of guilty of wilful
murder.

His Lordship having assumed the black cap,
silence was proclaimed._

His Lordship, in addressing the prisoner, re-
frained from adding to his distress by dwelling on
considerations which it formed no part of his duty
to urge. Tho prisoner would be attended by those
who would impress them upon him with more
effect than any formal address of his could have ;
but he should be lacking in human charity if he
did not warn the prisoner against indulging any
hope that the judgment he was about to pronounce
would not be carried into effect. The learned judge
then, with an emotion which manifested itself in
spite of his endeavours to subdue it, formally pro-
nounced sentence of death ; and the prisoner, pale
and staggering, was removed from the dock.

The following sentences were then passed upon
those convicted of the night poaching at Nocton :
—On George Gilbert of 18 months, on John
Graham of one year's imprisonment, and on Aizy
Smith of four years' penal servitude.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—GLOUCESTER, Dec. 7.
CRIMINAL COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Wilde.)
Thomas Veale was charged with highway rob-
bery with violence, and stealing the sum of 16s.
from the person of John Jame, at Gloucester, on
the Bth of October, 1860.

Mr. Cook Evans appeared for the prosecution ;
Mr. It. Sawyer defended the prisoner.
This was a case of garotte robbery, committed in
the outskirts of the city, on Monday, the 18th of
October last. It appeared that, on the day in
question, the prosecutor, who is a labouring man,
living at Alveston, near Lydney, came to this city
" to mop," i.e., to visit his friends. In the afternoon
of that day he went into a publichouse called The
Merry Fellow, in Barton-street, and was there
invited by the prisoner to play at skittles. He
accordingly joined in the game, and played with
the prisoner as his partner till about 6 o'clock,when
he said he must leave, as he wanted to return home
by the 630 train. The prisoner said he would go
along with him and shew him the way ; but, in-
stead of leading him by the most direct road, he
took him round by the outskirts of the city, and
there seized him by the throat with such violence
that the prosecutor was unable to resist
or cry out. At this moment another man came
up and rifled his pocket, and took out 165., at
the same time calling out, "Its all right." Upon
this prisoner threw the prosecutor down upon
his back, and both men ran away. The
prosecutor gave immediate information to the police
and the prisoner was taken into custody the next
day, but his companion had not been found. The
prosecutor was taken to the stationhouse, and saw
the prisoner in the yard through a window, and at
first expressed some doubt as to his identity, but as
soon as he saw him face to face he said he was posi-
tive that was the man who throttled him. Another
witness was examined, who had seen the parties
playing at skittles together, and he stated that he
saw the prisoner and two or three more men leave
the skittle-ground along with the prosecutor.
Mr. Sawyer, for the prisoner, contended that the
identity was not established, but the jury found the
prisoner guilty.
It was then proved that is August, 1856, the
prisoner had been convicted in this court of high-
way robbery, after a previous conviction, and sen-
tenced to four years' penal servitude.
Mr. Baron Wilde, in passing sentence, said, it
appeared the prisoner was a confirmed criminal, for,
if he had not been liberated before his time, his
previous sentence had scarcely expired before he
committed this fresh crime. His lordship then
sentenced the prisoner to six years' penal servitude.
John Thomas Jolliffe, 17, letter carrier, pleaded
guilty to a charge of stealing a post letter, contain-
ing money, &c., the property of the Postmaster-
General, on Sept. 8, 1860.
Mr. Baron Wilde, after some remarks on the
enormity of the offence, sentenced the prisoner to
three years' penal servitude.

THE SEA-SICK IRONSIDES.

(Rom the Examiner.)

After all it appears that La Gloire is the summer
blanket of the auctioneer. She is not a sea-going
ship. She must have smooth water and a short run.
She cannot go alone. She requires a nurse to take
care of her. There is a party here who have
espoused the cause of this vessel, and who resent
any question of her qualities as if she were the most
cherished child of England, and very indignant they
will be at our representation of her incapacities, but
they are completely borne out by the admission in
the semi-official journal the Montteur de la Flotte.
Our neighbours are not addicted to what is vulgarly
but aptly called " crying stinking fish." They do not
proclaim miscarriages from the house tops. It has
been ruled absolute that La Gloire is a success, but
facts are admitted which reduce the success to very
small bounds. And a success she is if she is considered
as a block ship, or to serve as a floating battery in
sheltered waters ; a failure if she is to be tried by
her capabilities for cruising.
The Momteur de la Flotte reports the last trial of
La Gloire as highly satisfactory, adding, however,
that the only defect is that she cuts the waves with
too great speed, the water entering by the port-
holes forward. In other words, she wants liveli-
ness, and buries herself forward. With the load
of iron laid upon her wood, poor thing, this is not
her fault, but her misfortune, her constitutional
infirmity. The writer in the Flotte proceeds to say
that the inconvenience of taking in water at the
fare portholes is to be avoided in the frigates to be
built next year, the guns of which are to be more
out of water. Here the truth escapes that the
guns of La Gloire are a fleur d'eau, and that she
cannot open her ports in a seaway ruffled by a
moderate breeze. The writer in the Flette con-
tinues :—" A new system of iron floating batteries
is being examined. They are to be much smaller
than those used in the Crimean war. They are not
intended for going to sea, but solely for the protec-
tion of the entrance into ports and rivers. It is
chiefly for this service that steel-plated frigates are
constructed, as it is not considered safe to seed
them to sea alone. The general system of the de-
fence of the coasts is to be completed by cutting
down the old sailing ships and plating them. The
construction of ships of great speed has naturally
directed the attention of the Government to the
necessity of adopting greater precaution for the de-
fence of the coasts of Brittany and Normandy.
These coasts are now much exposed to the danger
of a coup de main, which, though not probable, is
at least possible. The coast of the Mediterranean
appears to be better defended by nature, but we
shall shortly have at our gates on that side a mari-
time Power which may become troublesome. We
are at present on the best terms with Italy, but
that may not always be the case."
So here it is confessed by semi-official authority
that steel-plated frigates are constructed for the
protection of ports and rivers, as "it is not
considered safe to send them to sea alone ! "
And the conclusion is a wise one as regards
vessels built of wood and cased with iron, but it re-
mains to he seen whether a better construction 0f
iron only will not combine the defences against
shot and shell with speed and seaworthy qualities.
From the first we hazarded the opinion that wood.
.
y
and iron would never work together, especially
with the screw propeller. The two materials damage
and tear each other to pieces.
La Gloire carries no sail. why ? Becausean dcannshost
has enough to do to carry her topsides,
carry them forward out of the sea, but buriesher
portholes in the water. This tethers her, as it were,