The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-18 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.—Dec. 17

OLD COURT.
•
(Before Mr. Justice Crompton.)
Mary Ann Davis, 22, spinster, was indicted for killing
and slaying Ann Cox, otherwise Warren.
Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Poland prosecuted, and Mr. Lilley
defended.

;The evidence proved that the deceased woman and
the prisoner were both prostitutes of the lowest class,
and lived in Unicorn-street, Tooley-street. Upon the
night of this transaction the prisoner was in bed with a
sailor at the house in question, when deceased came into
the room very drunk, acd began to abuse and i►l-use her,
and finally pulled her out of bed by her hair, upon which
the prisoner took up a tumbler and inflicted so violent a
blow upon the deceased woman's head that it fractured
her skull, and she died some few days afterwards. After
the occurrence the prisoner expressed great sorrow for
the act. '

She was found guilty, and sentenced to six months
imprisonment.

Cbarlotte Rodanbosh, 21, spinster, was indicted for
feloniously administering to her male infant a quantity
of oil of turpentine, with intent to murder him.
Mr. Payne prosecuted, and Mr. Lilley defended.
The facts of the case, although brief, were rather sin-
gular. The prisoner, whom all the witnesses spoke of
as being a very kind and affectionate young woman, was
wet nurse in a family living at Richmond, whilst her
own child was under the care of a widow named Kent,
living at Mortlake, where prisoner used 'to go, and ap-
peared very fond of it. Upon the afternoon of 2nd of
this month she visited the child, and after being with it
some time, a strong smell of turpentine was noticed, and
upon the child, which was in the cot, being looked at,
and much injured about the neck and lips,
d
it was' found to be soaked in several places with oil of
wastine'evident that some had been poured down its
throat. The
Borne
t. The prisoner, when asked what she had been
doing, said she had not given the child anything, and
afte\•wards made several different statements about the
matter. The child, although bad for some time from the
effects of the treatment, had sins) recovered,
For the defence it was elicited that the child suffered
from a cough, and the suggestion was that the turpen-
tine had been given to cure it.
The prisoner received an excellent character for hu-
manity.
Tile jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

THE CHRISTMAS tREE. —lf the genial and large-hearted
Charles Lambe had been alive now, how he would have
revelled in the present custom of making glad the hearts
of darling youngsters with the offerings from the Christ-
mas Tree ! This custom, purely German, has gained
firm root in English soil, and the toymakers throughout
Europe,appear to vie with each other, both in cheapness
and finish, in these petite affairs. Some notion of the
endouragement thus afforded may be gleaned from the
faot that one establishment alone—that of Madame
Temple, of Rege.it-street—sends out agents abroad in
quest of and pays some thousands of pounds for an ex-
clusive monopoly of the annual production as regards
novelty. Her Majesty patronises the custom, and takes
great delight in it.

Yesterday Sir Robert W. Carden received some infor-
mation which caused him the greatest surprise. On Frielvy
last a young man of gentlemanly appearance 'vas p aced
at the bar before hini, charged with being iu po,s•ession
of a large number of silk handl,erclaiefe, supposed to he
the proceeds of a burglary committed at Ball's-pond.
The prisoner bad gone into Mr. Attenborough's to pledge
three pieces of black silk neckerchiefs, but the young
man, suspecting they were not come honestly by, ques-
tioned him, when he said his name was Thomas Baker,
wand that he lived at No. 10, St. Alban-road, near Horse-
monger-lane Gaol. A policeman was called in, and he
was given into custody. At first he said they were his
own property, but then said they were given to him to
pledge by a, friend, and gave the name, but said he could
not give the address of his friend. The address he gave
was false. Whe❑ brought to the police court he told a
most extraordinary tale, bnt with such apparent sim-
plicity that, admitting him to be very indiscreet, it bore
the stamp of possibility. He said he had been to Jullien's
concert two nights before, and while there a lady fainted,
and he took her out in his arms, and placed her in a cab.
A gentleman handed her friend into the same cab, and it
drove off. He then returned to the concert with this

person, and finding him very agreeable and familiar he
spent the remainder of the evening with him. Before
they parted they exchanged names and addresses, and
be pressed him to call and see him on the following
day ; but that he could not, and declined. They, how-
ever, arranged to meet on the Friday at Charing-cross,
and go to Richmond to have a row on the water. He
gave his name as Thomas Baker, and said he had come
from Australia, where he had been with merchandise,
but had not been able to dispose of it, and had brought
it back. They met on Friday, and the man, who gave
the name of Baker, said he was short of money, and
asked him (the prisoner) to pledge the handkerchiefs for
him. He at first refused, and they walked towards
Temple-bar ; but he was so plausible that by the time they
came to Somerset House he consented to go to Atten-
borough's and pledge them. He had three parcels, and
was to get 50s. for the three pieces of black, and 30s.
for each of the others, and then meet this man at
Somerset-house; or, if he did not find him there, he
was to go to Charing-cross. When he was given into
custody be was so confused that he gave Baker's name
and address as his own, and another, which he meant
for his own, as Baker's. He was so confused; having
never been placed in such a Rizsition before, that he did not
know what be did. He did not give his right name and
address because his friends were so very respectable
that he would not let them know where he was. He
was well known to Alderman Wire, and lived opposite
him in the Lewisham-ruad, and was a ne .-door neigh-
bour to Mt. Thwaites, the chairman of the Board of
Works, to whom he was also well known. He had no
objection to tell the magistrate his name and address,
but he did not want it published in the newspapers, on
account of the disgrace it would bring upon his friends.
Sir R. W. Carden had him furnished with a pen and
, ink, and he wrote down that he was a sin of Juhu Carr,
Esq., of Ashdown Villa, Lewisham-road.
Sir it.' W. Carden asked him it' he wished Mr.
Thwaites to, be sent for as he was then sitting at Guild-
;
hall. _ _

The prisoner replied • that he did, and that Mr
Tnwaites could speak as to his I.:spectabilit ,
A message was sent up to the Board of W,rks, and
in a short time Mr. Thwaites attended, and on being
informed of the nature of the circumstances tinder whim)
he had been called, he expressed the greatest surprise.
He said the prisoner was the son of a gentleman, his
next-door neighbour, who bore an unblemished reputa-
tion ; and as to the prisoner, he had known him to be
a sober, steady, and industrious man, and so trustworthy
that ho would unhesitatingly trust him with anything.
If the court required bail fur him he was willing to be
surety to any amount, so convinced was he of his trite -
grity.
Sir R. W. Carden said it wag possible that he had
been made the dupe of some designing burglar, but that
a young man of three-and-twenty, accustomed to London,
should be so imposed upon by an artful scoundrel, asto-
nished him. He advised the prisoner t) do his utmost
to find out this man Baker, and give him into custody,
and cautioned him never again to pick up with plausible
people that he knew nothing of. He then held him to
bail in his own recognisance in 201. to appear at this
court on Friday next, or sooner if Le could get hold of
the man Baker.
Mr. Martin, the chief clerk, now informed Sir Robert
that the same young man had been offering other
handkerchiefs of a similar description at a pawnbroker's
in Walwerth on last Saturday morning, when the pawn-
broker, who happened to be at this tout on the previou s
day engaged in a case of stealing rugs, recognised him,
and accused him of having been in custody here the day
before. As soon as he said so Carr ran away, and a
smart chase ensued, which ended in his being captured
and taken-to Lambeth Police-court, from which be has
been remanded until Friday next, when the magistrate
intends sending hind back to this court.
The officers having charge of the case had discovered
that the prisoner had been in the service of Mr. Meek•
ing, of Holborn, and lett only a few days betore he was
first taken up. The whole of the handkerchiefs found
upon him had been identified as some which had been
stolen from Mr. Meeking's shop.
Sir W. Carden said he was astonished to hear it. He
certainly did not believe the prisoner's story when he
heard it; but when he proved what a respectable cha-
racter he bore, and after the manner io which Mr.
Thwaites spoke of him and his coutlections, it made him
feel there was a possibility of the statement being true,
and he gave him the benefit of the doubt. He would,
however, come down on Friday to Lear the evidence in
this extraordinary case.

LAMBETll.—Yesterday John Brown and John
Moynihan, labourers, were further examined before Mr.
Elliott, on a charge of fraud and forgery.
Mr. Richard Martin aeddock, cashier in the service
of Mr. George Myers, the extensive builder and con-
tractor, in the Belvedere-road, Lambeth, deposed that
the prisoner Brown had been in the employment of Mr.
Myers, and he therefore knew him, hot the prisoner
Moynihan he had no renollection of. On Tuesday, the
2d inst., at about seven o'clock, both the prisoners carne
together to the counting-house, and, according to the
practice with the. workmen, put the papers produced
through the window for payment Moynihan presented
the one for 125., and which was as follows, viz. :
"Friday-s.reet, Dec. 2, 1856.
"Sir,—Please to pay Coyne, bricklayer, two days
five hour:, at ss. 4‘ E. ZINCRAFT."
Brown presented a similar paper, for 135., aiso signed by
Mr. Zincraft, who is time-keeper to Mr. Myers, and
was at present and at that time engaged at some build-
ings in the course of erection by his employer. Witness
asked asked the prisoners if they were employed on the 'build-
ings in Friday-street, City, and they replied they were,
and he then placed the amount of each bill before them,
which each took up. Having been within a short time
before defrauded out of 801. by similar papers, he gave
the prisoners into custody, and immediately after he dis-
covered that the papers the prisoners bad produced were
forgeries.
Mr. Edward Zincraft said he was time-keeper at some
works in Friday-street, City, which Mr. Myers was
erecting, and that he knew the prisoner Brown, but the
other was a stranger to him. Both the papers pro-
duced were forgeries, and not written by him' and he
never deputed to anybody the power of making out the
time returns of the men.

The prisoners, in defence, said they met two men near
the Westminster-bridge, who gave them the order t.) go
and get the money, saying they should remain at the
end of the street ti!l they returned with it.
The prisoners were committed to take their trial on
the charge, but were ordered to be brought up again on
Monday next.

It is estimated that the total amount of specie to be
despatched by the Indus on the 20th NEIL will reach
nearly 500,0001., although it is understooi that since
the reduction of their rate of exchange the India Com-
pany have drawn bills to the ansou►.t of more than
400,0001.

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH CABLE.—We have great
pleasure in announcing that our ingenious and enter-
prising townsman, Mr. Newall, is engaged in the ma-
nufacture of the telegraphic cable which is destined to
range the Atlantic Ocean, and to bring the Old and the
New World within momentary intercourse of each other.
We understand that Mr. Newall is under a contract to
complete his portion of this astonishing cable (altogether
of scarcely less than 1,500 miles in length) in the course
of the ensuing summer. Kuper and Co., of London,
are to make one-half of the cable, and Mr. Newall, of
Gateshead, the other. It may assist the reader to a
fair conception of the immensity of the task if we state
that our ingenious neighbour will have to twist strands
of wire, as an outer protection of the electric line itself,
25,000 miles in length, or long enough to go round the
whole earth—and leave a sufficient length of wire, if he
had but that standing point which he coveted for his
experiments.—Gateshead Observer.
SERIOUS ACCIDENT ON THE NEW YORK AND ERIE
RAILROAD —A terrible accident happened yesterday
morning to the Chicago express, bound west, at the cros-
sing half a mile east of Alleghany-station, occasioned by
the breaking of a rail. Tho train was going at a fearful
rate of speed—some of the pa-sengers say 40 miles an
hour, and nearly all of them say 35 miles—when the en-
gine struck and broke the rail, dragging the baggage car
off the track and the two passenger-cars, in welsh were
some 25 or 30 passengers, becoming uncoupled,
went plunging into the earth, literally smashing them
to pieces. The first passenger-car went over upon
its side, thus loosening the forward wheels, which
came crashing through the floor of the car near its
centre, stripping it of its furniture, and sums, ing
everything before them. In this car were some
ten or twelve passengers, and, marvellous as it
may seem, all escaped 'without serious injury.
The second passenger-car was not so fortunate. In it
were some 18 or 20 passengers, and the conductor,
Mark Ball; After uncoupling from the first passenger-
car, the second went to the left, first striking the stone
wall of the cattle guard, then bounding forward to the
sign-post at the road crossing, shiv,rin.; it info splinters,
then still further forward, and ovifr Oil its tilde, where it
lay when we reached the wreck. Both cars were lite-
rally gutted of their seats, and every pane of glass and
nearly all the blinds, and. in fact, the whole woodwork
of the cars was destroyed by the shock. The bazefsc;'o
car was dragged 60 rods over the ties by the tngin),
which kept the track, but whether it was injured We
did not learn, as it had been taken to Dunkirk.
Looking at the wreck, it seems miraculous thlt
half the passengers were not instantly killed. 019
three per-ons were seriously hurt, and we are glad to
be able to state that none were fatady injered. We
visited the three spoken of above yesterday afternoillir
and found them ail comfortab;e, and doing well. None
of the passengers escaped injury, but three only were
unable to proceed on their journey.—Orleans Advertiser,
Nov. 28.

There were in the market to-day 7. bags of oatmeal, 0 of
barleymeal, and 0 pot barley. Sales dull.
Oatmeal, per sack of 2801bs That. Second. Third.
imperial
Barleymeal, per ditto -s Od —s Od
Peasemeal, per ditto
Flour, now, per ditto —s Od —s ocl —s (d
Pot-barley, new; per ditto l—sOd—s Od Od