The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-12 00:00:00

SUMMER ASSIZES:

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—ABINGDON, July 11.
(Before Mr. Justice Hill.)
Henry Joseph Smith, 26, a corn factor, of very
respectable appearance, was indicted for havifig
fraudulently converted to his own use eight quarters
of barley (he being bailee thereof), the property of
William Baker, of Wroughton, Wilts, in the month
of March last.
Mr. H. James was counsel for the prosecution ;
Mr. J. 0. Griffiths appeared for the defence.
The prisoner was found guilty.
Mr. Justice Hill said it was of the highest import-
ance that confidence should be maintained in the
transactions of this great commercial country, and
he regretted seeing a person Of such apparent re-
spectability in a position of such degradation. His
lordship then sentenced the prisoner to eight
months' hard labour.
The prisoner, who evinced great anxiety during
the trial, and wept bitterly on the verdict being
given against him, was removed from the dock.
The assizes terminated about noon, and both the
learned judges afterwards rode an horseback into
Oxford, to open the commission in that city.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—YoRK, July 11.
Nisi Prius Court.
(Before Mr. Baron Martin.)
There being no civil case ready for trial, his lord-
ship proceeded to assist Mr. Baron Wilde in dispos-
ing of the criminal business.
Joseph Cowburn, 33, Benjamin Clarkson, 41, John
Routh, 25, and Richard Ridgwell, 35, were charged
with shooting at John Asquith, with intent to
murder him, or do him some grievous bodily harm,
at Featherstone, on the sth of April last.
Mr. Seymour and Mr. Searle were for the prose-
cution ; the prisoners had no counsel.
The prosecutor is a labouring man in the service of
his ancle, Mr. C. Wrightman, at Featherstone. On
the night of the sth April last, he was returning
home from Normanton, when he saw the four pri-
soners loitering about near to his uncle's premises.
Being convinced, by their appearance and move-
ments, that they had no honest object in view, the
prosecutor secreted himself, in order to watch their
proceedings. Whilst screened from observation the
prosecutor saw the prisoners enter the fold-yard.
Two of them placed a ladder against the pigeon-
cote, and subsequently they stole a number of
pigeons. The prosecutor then entered the house
and made an alarm, when Mr. Wrightman and
other persons on the premises were instantly in
readiness for the purpose of pursuing the prisoners,
who were then in the act of effecting their escape.
The prosecutor was armed with a gun loaded with
powder only, and he soon came within 15 or 20
yards of the prisoners. He called upon them to
stop, and threatened that if they did not comply
he would fire upon them. The prisoners turned
round, and Clarkson, who had a gun charged with
powder and shot, fired the contents at the prosecu-
tor, who was consequently wounded in the mouth,
and shot also entered other parts of his person.
The prosecutor was disabled, and the prisoners made
good their retreat, leaving behind them a bag con-
taining 60 pigeons. The prosecutor was under sur-
gical treatment for some time, being severely in-
lured.
The prisoners were further charged with steal-
, ing the pigeons, to which three of them pleaded
guilty. Routh denied that he was guilty, but he
was not tried upon this charge.
The jury found all the prisoners guilty of shoot-
ing with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Pre-
vious convictions were proved against Cowburn,
Routh, and Ridgwell.
His lordship sentenced the whole of the prisoners
to 15 years' penal servitude.
The entry of causes in the first list for the North
and East Ridings closed yesterday. There are 17
causes entered. No cause of particular interest was
tried to-day.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.-July 10.

OLD COURT.
(Before the Lord Chief Baron.)
Thomas Buxton, 27, was charged, upon the co-
roner's inquisition, with the manslaughter of
Catherine Kenney.
In this case it appeared that the deceased
was very drunk at the time of the occurrence, and
that she was throwing stones at some children.
The prisoner told her desist, upon which she struck
him, and he pushed her away from him, and she
fell against the curb-stone and received injuries
from which she died. The grand jury threw out
the bill.

The Chief Baron said it appeared to him upon a
consideration of the evidence that the charge was
not supported, and under his lordship's direetion
the jury returned a verdict of not guilty..
John Spencer, a Roman Catholic priest, was
charged with the capital offence of assaulting a boy
named William John Roberts.
Mr. Cooper prosecuted. The prisoner was de-
fended by Mr. Pearce.
The evidence in this case was not of a nature to
be made public.
The prisoner, who was stated to
be a Roman Catholic priest, kept a school at Shore-
ditch,he
and Roberts was one of h:s pupils
T
h
prosecutorteboy
was severely cross-examined, at.
he admitted that he did not say a word of what had
happened until he was spoken to by the police.
The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
The prisoner was then charged upon a second
indictment with the commission of a similar offence
upon another lad named Leon Moresco.
The circumstances of this case were similar to
those of the preceding one, and were of an equally
disgusting character. The prosecutor had been
placed at the prisoner's school by a person named
Heidemann, and the offence was alleged to have
been committed in the month of May last. The
lad appeared to have made complaint very soon
afterwards ; but in this case, as in the former, it
appeared there had been disputes between the pri-
soner and the prosecutor, and the latter had been
charged by the prisonet with stealing his milk and
sugar.

The jury retired to consider their verdict in this
case, and after being absent half an hour they again
came into court and again returned a verdict of
not guilty.
The other indictments were postponed.

NEW COURT.
(B€lGre Mr. Justice Crompton.)
Eliza Harriett Mary Feltham, a well-dressed
woman, surrendered to take her trial upon an in-
dictment charging her with stealing four doyleys
and a pair of mittens, the property of Sir Robert
Peel. The evidence for the prosecution was given
in The .Sun of yesterday.
Mr. Metcalfe prosecuted. and Mr. Sergeant Bai-
lantiae, Mr. Robertson, Mr. Best, and Mr. F. H.
Lewis defended.
Mr. Sergeant Ballantine, in a most energetic ad-
dress, contended that the story told by the police was
without truth, and contended that his client had
found the things, and that the police had for their
own purposes made the charge of theft.
The learned judge, in summing up, left it for the
jury to say whether the police were to be credited.
The jury then retired, and coming into court
shortly before seven, said there was no chance of
their agreeing, some being of opinion that thheeprrtio-
soner had picked up the things.
His lordship then told them that even then if she
had not endeavoured to find to whom they belonged
that was larceny.
The jury found her guilty, o
mercy, in which the prosecution joined.
His lordship sentenced her to six months' im-
prisonment in Newgate.

DEATH OF THE COUNTESS OF WICICLOW.—We
have to record the demise of the Countess of Wicklow,
who died on Sunday, at the family residence in Cavendish-
The deceased Countess, who was born 19th July,
square.
1795, married 16th February, 1816, the Earl of Wicklow,
by whom her ladyship had a family of six daughters. The
families of the Marquis and Marchioness of Abercorn, the
Earl of Aberdeen, and other persons of rank, are placed in
m9141-Djag,