The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-23 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

IMPORTANT WILL CASE. —WALL A C:1 V. ATTORNEY.
GENERAL —The Lords Justices have given judgment in
the matter of Lord Henry Seymour's will. Lord Henry
Seymour, who died at Paris, left a large sum to the
" hospices "of Paris and London. About kfio,ooo was in
dispute, and the question was whether " hwpitals " were
included, or whether the term was confined to charitable
institutions, excluding the places for bodily illness. The
Master of the Rolls had confined the term to charitable
places, and excluded St.. Bartholomew's and other hospi-
tals, about thirty in number. This was an appeal from
that decision.—Theirlordships went fully into the evidence,
and were of opinion that all charitable places, including
hospitals, were entitled to share in the property. The
judgment was reversed, and the matter went to the Rolls
Chambers to include all hospitals. All places would now
be included.

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE OF FRAUD.—At the Stafford-
snire Assizes, before Mr. Justice Keating, Ann Craddock,
50, was indicted for having, in conjunction with her
daughter, obtained certain goods by false pretences from
the guardians of Burton-on-Trent. The prisoner was the
wife of a sexton, and her daughter lived with her. The
daughter, who passed by the name of Mrs. Clarke, was
delivered of a female child. On the 15th of August Mrs.
Clarke took the child to King's-cross Station, and left by
train at four o'clock. About half-past nine she was seen
parading the streets of Burton-upon-Trent, stating that
she had found the baby against a lamp-post. She took it
to the union, where it had been supported until its death,
on the 14th of the present month, when it was buried at
the expense of the guardians. This constituted the fraud
complained of. The learned judge held that there had
been no fraudulent obtaining within the meaning of the
Act under which the prosecution was instituted, and the
prisoner was discharged.

A DRUNKEN ENGINE DRIVEL—A heavy cattle train
passed through Welshpool station the other day without
any one in charge, and proceeded down the line at full
speed, An explanation of the occurrence was afforded at
the Welshpool petty sessions, when George Buchanan,
the driver of the train in question, was brought up in cus-
tody, charged with being drunk. From the evidence it
appeared that shortly before reaching the station Buchanan
had disposed of his fireman by kicking him off the engine,
and, being thus in sole charge of the train, had amused
himself and mystified the signalman by running back-
wards and forwards between the distance-signal and the
station for nearly an hour. The signalman going up the
line to inquire what was the matter, arrived in time to see
Buchanan fall off the engine on to the six-foot way, where
he lay, while the engine, having the steam up, proceeded
on its way down the line. The magistrates committed
Buchanan to prison for two months, with hard labour,
but subsequently agreed to fine him R 5 instead. There
were several drovers in the train in charge of the cattle.

ALLEGED FRAUD ON A RAILWAY COMPANY,-At the
Liverpool Police•court, Jacob Newston, a native of
Russian Poland, perambulator maker, was placed in the
dock charged with having defrauded the London and
North Western Railway Company. It was charged
against the prisoner that in August last he, acting in con-
junction with a man named Vineboom, procured a
portmanteau from another man named Philph, filled it with
rubbish, and handed it over to the railway porters as
passenger's luggage. At the end of the journey the
portmanteau was missing, but how it became lost was not
known. The prisoner commenced an action against the
London and North Western Railway for £ll3 75., which
he said was the value of the portmanteau and its contents,
but the prisoner compromised the matter for £l5. The
company had some susvicimr, and placed the matter in the
hands of the police, the result being the present charge.
Prisoner was remanded.

A GAROTTER'S MASK BLOWN OFF.—On Friday, at
..zadford, William Holdsworth was committed for trial
for having on the night of the 2nd of December garotted
Mr. Robert Bryer, of Little Horton, and robbed him of
£36 18s. in silver coin. Mr. Bryer had been out collect-
ing accounts, and was proceeding holm., when the prisoner
and two men with masks on garotted and robbed him. A
puff of wind blowing off Holdsworth's mask enabled Mr.
Bryer to identify him.

PATENTS. —ln the suit (Myers v. Newry) before Vice
Chancellor Wood for an inujnction to restrain an alleged
infringement of a patent for metallic clips, his Honour
refused any relief on the ground that the plaintiff's patent
was so similar to the defendant's that the former was
bound to mention in the specification in what respect t!:e
two differed. Failing to do so the patent must be held in-
valid.

ATTEMPT TO MURDER.-At the Stafford Assizes, on
baturday, a young man named Lee, only 19 years of age,
was tried for the attempted murder of his sweetheart.
They were engaged to lie married, and on the 28th of
Angust were at a ball together, where, however, L!!e':,
fiancie gave more attention to another young man than
was agreeable to him. On the next day they met, and had
some words. Lee, who was eating a pear and had a knife
in his hand, suddenly, in a moment of desperation, stabbed
the girl in the breast. She lost a great deal of blood, and
was now suffering from consumption brought on and
accelerated by the wound. The jury found the prisoner
guilty, and he was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude.

SOWING. —The Otago Times has au accouut of a
novel mode of seed sowing adopted by a farmer in the
Maungatua district. Mounted on horseback he rides
along, one rein fastened to each foot for guiding the horse,
and scattering " a perfect hurricane " of seed with both
hands,