The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-02 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.—MAIDSTONE, July 31.
(Before Mr. Edwin James, Q C.)
James M'Cre, 24, soldier, was indicted for a rob.
bery, with violence, upon Helena Patterson.
Mr. Barrow prosecuted.
The prosecutrix, it appeared, was a respectable
young woman, and on the evening mentioned in
the indictment she was walking across Chathar
Lines with her father, who was some distance in
front, when the prisoner, who is a private in the
75th Regiment, with an oath said that money
he wanted and money he would have, and he then
used some violence towards the prosecutor, and
robbed her of a small sum of money. She gave an
alarm and her father came up, upon which the
prisoner ran off, but he was taken into custody
shortly afterwards.
The prisoner was convicted, and ordered to be
kept to hard labour for two years.
When the sentence was pronounced the pri-
soner became very violent, and it was with great
difficulty that he was removed by the gaolers in
attendance.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—WARWICK, August 1.
(Before Mr. Justice Wightman.)
GARRETT V. lIAWKESFORD.
Mr. Field appeared as counsel for the plaintiff,
and Mr. Sergeant Hayes for the defendant.
This was an action brought by the plaintiff, who
had been from October, 1858, up to the 7th of
April last, the manager of the refreshment rooms
at Aston Park, Birmingham, for slanderous words
spoken of him by the defendant, imputing to the
plaintiff that he had applied the stock of the Aston
Park Company to the payment of horse-racing
debts.
It appeared from the statement of the counsel
for the plaintiff, and from the evidence, that
about March in the present year the shareholders
of the Aston Park Company had become dissatis-
fied with the conduct of it by the managing com-
mittee, and a committee of investigation was con-
sequently appointed to examine into the manage-
ment. On the 7th of April Mr. Garrett received
notice of discharge without any reason being as-
signed for his dismissal ; he therefore de-
manded a month's salary, which was given
him, together with his testimonials, on the 23d of
April. Subsequently, one of the shareholders named
Sheffield, called on the defendant and complained to
him of the smallness of the profits of the company,
adding, " You've made a pretty mess of it, and my
opinion is that you're a set of scamps." The de-
fendant answered that within the last two or three
weeks they had found that the stock had gone to
pay Garrett's horse-racing debts.
It was elicited by Mr. Sergeant Hayes, soy his
cross-examination, that the plaintiff nad had the
custody of the refreshment stock up to the 25th of
March; that himself and his wife received over Cre
counter the money taken for refreshments wh
put into the till, whence it sva'
rtaken by Mr. Quil-
ter and the refreshment cer lers was
ernittee ; that he kept no
account of the stores, an
being made by the r that upon a comparison
P.rireshment committee between
the value of the *stock received at one period and
that of the r.eee.aining stock and money taken over
the counter "in the course of a month there was a
deficiency. The plaintiff, however,
denied on oath any misappropriation of the stock,
nor -,vas it ever imputed to him by the committee
a investigation, who in their reisort acknowledged
that they had received from him all possible assist-
ance.
At the close of the plaintiff's case,
Mr.Sergweaonrdt
sHweayrces
asupbrmiviitletegdedthcoamt
communication
alleged
slanderous
by the defendant, as a member of the committee, to
one of the shareholders, and that the occasion on
which they were spoken rebutted any presumption
of malice.
Mr. Justice Wightman said that he would leave
the question of malice to the jury.
Mr. Sergeant Hayes not calling witnesses,
Mr. Field, in summing up the evidence for the
plaintiff, remarked upon the unwillingness of the
defendant to appear in the box and deny that he
was influenced by malice, although he did not ven-
ture to justify his words.
Mr. Sergeant Hayes then addressed the jury for
the defendant, remarking upon the negligence of the
plaintiff as having conduced to the losses of the com-
pany, and led to the conversation in the course
of which the alleged slanderous words were spoken
by the defendant in a communication, the occasion
of witich was not sought by the defendant, and
which excluded all supposition of malice.
The learned Judge having summed up the evi-
dence,
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff, with
40s. damages.
(Before Mr. Justice Williams.)
John Izon stood charged with having, at Man-
cetter, on the sth of July last, maliciously and felo-
niously killed a gelding, the property of William
Thomas. The prisoner pleaded not guilty, Ae.
Mr. O'Brien conducted the prosecution ; Mr.
Spooner defended the prisoner.
The prisoner was the servant of a Mr. Alkin,
whose property adjoins to land in the occupation of
the prosecutor, Mr. Thomas, who, having been an-
noyed by rabbits coming upon his fields from those
of :Mr. Alkin, had told his sons to destroy them.
This they did, and the prisoner, it appeared, was
greatly irritated at it. There were a number of
pits in a field of Mr. Thomas's, into one of which a
horse was afterwards found to have fallen, and on
the 28th of June the prisoner met the younger
Thomas, the owner of the horse, and said to him, l've done you one kindness already, and I'll do I
you another. I'll be revenged of you if Pm4o be
hung for it." He further threatened to put poison
on the field. On the sth of July a horse of Mr.
Thomas's was let out quite sound and well, and on
the same morning the prisoner was seen in his
master's field with a gun. Between seven and eight
a.m. of the 6th the same horse .was found dead, and
upon examination by a v,eterinary surgeon was
founded to be wounded with TAB. Three bullets
were extracted, one of which had entered the
left lung, Bullets weue &md in the prisonee:S
possession, and fitted a double -barrelled gun, aise
found in his house. Two men who had received,
trona Mr. Thomas permission to destroy rabbits

were upon his ground between 11 and 12 on the
night of Wednesday the sth of July, and went from
it into Mr. Alkin's. They saw, as they swore, the
prisoner coming, and conscious of being trespassers,
stooped down to aN oid his observation. They saw
him step out of his master's field into that of Mr.
Thomas, where the horse was, and afterwards
heard three shots fired and a noise as of a fall, fol-
lowed by a grunt.
Two other men, who were in Mr. Alkin's, and
going to take rabbits in Mr. Thomas's field, noticed
Izon coming down by a hedge, against which an-
other man was stooping, and saw him cross the
hedge into the field. Ono of these men saw the
prisoner approach within ten yards and proceed up
the field by a wall towards the stables. Both also
heard the shots fired as from a double-barrelled gun.
It appeared that three of these witnesses had been
silent as to what they had seen and heard until the
Tuesday following, when a reward had been offered.
Two of them, however, swore that they had in-
formed the Thomases on the Friday. The prisoner
was not apprehended until the Tuesday, and on
being apprehended stated that he was with his
master having some drink, between 10 and 11 that
night, and had got home before 11. No witness was
called on the part of the prisoner to prove that he
was at home at the time he mentioned, although it
appeared that he had a son and daughter living
with him.
Verdict. guilty.—Sentence deferred.
Edwin Dawson pleaded " guilty" to a charge of
having made a false declaration before the Regi-
strar of Marriages at Birmingham, for the purpose
of procuring a marriage, contrary to the statute, &c.
On the part of the prisoner, Mr. Sergeant Hayes
stated the circumstances under which the present
prosecution had been instituted, urging that justice
would be satisfied by a lenient sentence.
It appeared that the prisoner had been a piano-
tuner, and that the father of the young lady, Miss
Frances Blanche Jesset, aged 17, a ward in Chan-
cery, had, after the death of his first wife, become
connected with the prisoner by marriage with his
sister. Miss Jesset, finding her home less comfort-
able after this second marriage, went to reside with
the defendant's mother, with whom the defendant
also lived. An attachment sprung up between herself
and him, and the result was a marriage before the
registrar, in order to procure which the defendant
had no doubt falsely declared that he and the young
lady had resided 15 days in Birmingham, and that
the young lady's father had consented to the mar-
riage. A suit was afterwards instituted and the
matter brought before-the Master of the Rolls, who
did net think the case one that called for a commit-
tal. His Honour caused the defendiUt to be sum-
moned, and ordered that all the property of the
young lady should be settled upon her, which was
accordingly done; he further directed that all costs
should be paid by the defendant, and that the
papers should be laid before the Attorney-General,
in order that he might take such course as he might
see fit. The result was the institution of the pre-
sent prosecution. The learned sergeant concluded
by praying that the sentence on the prisoner might
be lenient ; the father of the young lady, although
he had not assented to the marriage before it took
place, had immediately afterwards invited the par-
ties to his house, and had expressed no disapproval
of their union. The defendant had sustained great
expense by payment of the costs, and any punish-
ment now inflicted upon him would be visited on
the bride by interrupting the marriage so lately
consummated.
Mr. Mellor, Q.C., on the part of the Attorney-
General, said that he did not wish to press for any
unnecessary punishment. The Master of the Rolls,
although lie did not think it was a ease for com-
mittal, had thought it right to lay the matter be-
fore the Atterney-General, who had instituted this
prosecution.
The learned Judge deferred pronouncing his sen-
tence until to-morrow morning.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—SHREWSBURY, Aug. 1.
(Before Mr. Justice Byles.)
George Perry, 58, described in the calendar as a
dealer in sheep, surrendered to take his trial upon
a charge of stealing three wether and one ewe
sheep, the property of Mary Partridge, on the 3d of
July, 1860, at Ratlinghope.
Mr: Chance appeared for the prosecution, and
Mr. A. S. Hill defended the prisoner.
It appeared that in the month of April last the
prosecutrix had 68 sheep, which in that month were
turned oat to feed on Longmynd Mountain, lying
on the borders of this county and North Wales.
They were all marked in the ears, and ruddled
with the owner's mark. In the month-of May they
were examined, but not counted, and some time in
June they were counted and several of them were
missed. The prisoner lived at a small farm near
the mountain, and on the 23d of July Mr. Partridge,
the son of the prosecutor, saw four sheep on his
premises which he believed to be the property of
his mother. He went to the prisoner and told him
that the sheep were his, that they had been stolen,
and that they had found him out at last. The pri-
soner said that if they had been stolen, as was
said, he would pay for them. He said he had
bought seven sheep in all of a man whose name he
did not know, on the road at Minsterley, and that
he had given 13s. a-piece for them. He then offered
to give Mr. Partridge £lO or £l2, and at last he
offered £2O to make up the matter, but he was
given into custody, and being liberated on bail, he
now surrendered to take his trial.

Mr. Hill addressed the jury for the prisoner, and
contended there was nothing to show that he had
stolen the sheep, or received them with a guilty
knowledge.

The jury retired, but eventually found the pri-
soner guilty of receiving, but recommended him to
mercy on account of his age.
Sentence was deferred till this day, when Mr.
Justice Byles sentenced the prisoner to three years'
penal servitude.

Mr. Justice Kyles was occupied this day in the
trial of two persons charged with offences of an in•
decent natures which brought the assizes to a close
at 12 o'cloa:,