The Sun.
London, England, 1869-09-03 00:00:00

me.

In cross-examination, the girl said : The reason why I
did not get into the omnibus was because I thought I
should be followed. In walking along I took the lead.
I did not eat the apples, but gave them to my little
sister. He only caugbt hold of my jacket. He said,
" Come here," both at the sweet-stuff shop and coffee-
shop. He frightened me, and I cried as soon as I got
to Mrs. Checkley's. Mr. Hales came to the house and
asked me if I knew the gentleman. I saw him watching
tue while at the door, and when the other gentleman came
towards me he ran away. I came with Mr. Hales to the
colice-eourt, and he saw my mother at Fulham.
Mrs. Eliza Mason, of Star-lane, Fulham, said : Maria
Ann Mason is my daughter, and will be thirteen years
old on the 3rd of December next. On the 17th August I
expected her to return by omnibus. I don't know the
prisoner. I should not have given him leave to take my
child anywhere had he asked me ; and if he bad done so,
it would have been without my knowledge and consent.
Cross-examined : She went out that day with my con-
sent to see her sister.
Jacobs, 201 C, said : While speaking to Mr. Hales the
prisoner came up, and said he would give 10s. to know
who had thrown water over him, and on asking him why
the water was thrown over him, he said he did not know,
and he thought it strange a respectable man could not
walk through the Oteets without being insulted. I told
him Mr. Hales knew the reason why the water had been
thrown over him, and wished for his name and address.
The prisoner said his name was Ricardo, and that he
lived in Surrey-street ; he asked Mr. Hales to write to
him, and said money was no object. The address given
by the prisoner was Mr. Ricardo, Surrey Theatre. Mr.
Hales refused to have conversaLion with the prisoner
unless in my presence.
The girl Maria Ann Mason was recalled, and she said
she did not get into the omnibus on Tuesday because she
thought she would be followed, the prisoner having fol-
lowed the omnibus, or rather walked the same way.
Mrs. Elizabeth Checkly, wife of Mr. Checkley, Greek-
street, said that on the 17th August Maria Mason came
to her in a dreadful state of agitation, and made a com-
plaint against the prisoner. She gave her some water.
She was in a fainting state, and as white as chalk. Mr.
Hales came into the room and asked her to take care of
the child.
Police-constable Ilosekelly : I believe the witness Hales
spoke to me in Newport Market, and pointed out a child
who was followed by a man. They both turned into
Hayes-court. Witness went in first, and I followed. The
girl went into a house in Greek-street, and the prisoner
walked away, and then called the attention of the police.
man on duty to what had occurred. I did not see the pri-
soner touch the girl.
Mr. West drew the attention of Mr. Knox to the
charge of abduction, and cited several cases to prove
that it was not necessary that the girl should be actu-
ally taken away to constitute that offence.—Mr.
Knox referred to a judgment of Mr. Justice Erle, and
said the impression on his mind from that judgment
was that a girl was to be oonsidered in the possession of
her father and mother when sent out to visit any one, or
for an errand. Mr. Poncione argued on the other side,
that the inference of abduction must fall to the ground.
—Mr. Knox said if the evidence was to be believed the
prisoner made attempts to pull her into different shops.—
Mr. Poncione said that even supposing the girl went with
the prisoner into a sweetstuff shop to have some sweets, or
to a coffee-shop to have a cup of coffee, that could not be
deemed abduction.
11, Ir. Poncione said his defence to the charge was that
the prisoner had hitherto borne an unblemished character.
He might have been drinking that day, for he had no
recollection of what had occurred, and could not even give
explanations for legal instructions. There were witnesses
to character in court if required. He bad played at
dominoes with the children of his friends, and had no
views of criminality in his conduct. The prisoner might
have done all that was alleged without having any desire
or inteniion to debauch the girl.
M. Knox said so much had been made out by the wit-
nesses that he could not keep the case from a jury. The
charge of assault was weak, but he had no doubt the law
justified him in sending the case for trial.
Mr. Poncione said that being the magistrates determi-
nation he would not go into the defence. He hoped the
magistrate would take reasonable bail. Mr. Knox fixed
the bail at two sureties in £2OO, and the prisoner in £4OO.

Mr. Gladstone, with his family, will visit Whitby
next week. The Whitby Working Men's Liberal Asso-
ciation are anxious to greet his arrival by a demonstration,
but Mr. W. H. Gladstone has written to say that the
state of his father's health compels him to decline any
show of feeling of the kind proposed.

A REFORMED WORKUOUSE.---At the meeting of
the Liverpool Workhouse Committee, held on Thursday,
the Vestry Clerk reported that there was not at that
moment in the establishment a single man whom the
doctors would certify as able-bodied and fit to work. This
is an unprecedented state of things, the workhouse having
been notorious as an asylum for lazy, idle, and dissolute

persons.
OLD TIMES.— A vast deal of cruelty has been
wiped out of our criminal code of late years. Formerly,
when almost every felon was punishable with death or
forfeiture, persons who felt they had no chance if tried at
the assizes, used to refuse to plead, or " stand mute," to
the indictment, in order to escape forfeiture, in the inte-
rests of their families. But there was a rule of law that
no one could he tried unless he pleaded ; and in order to
make a prisoner put himself on his trial pcine forte ct (Ito •
was invented. In the time of henry IV. it was applie6
thus: "The accused shall be remanded to the prison, and
laid there in some low and dark house, where they shall
lie naked en the bare earth, without any litter, rushes, oi
other clothing, and without any garments about them
and they shall lie upon their backs, their heads uncovered,
L.nd their feet and one arm shall be drawn to one (parte,
of the house With a cord, and the other arm to ato,the7
quarter; and in the same manner'shall be done with their
legs ; and there shall be laid upon their bodies iron and
stone, so much as they may bear, and more. And the
next day following they shall have three morsels of barley
bread, without any drink ; and the second day they shall
drink thrice of the water that is next to the house of the
prison (except running water), without any bread; and
this shall be their diet until they be dead." It will
scarcely be believed that this precious power was retained
iu our criminal law down to the time of George lII,
Cassara Magazine.