The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-05 00:00:00

SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 5, 1858,

defendants if they were at any future time guilty of similar
conduct and were brought ap to be dealt with by the Court.
Mr. Bodkin appeared on behalf of the parish authorities;
Mr. Sleigh for the defendants.

(Before Mr. Payne.)
Richard alko., a young man, years of age, was
indicted for having assaulted Maria Mills. He eurrendered.
Mr. Orridge conducted the prosecution; Mr. Sleigh and
Mr. M'Donnell were counsel for the defendant.
Tale case lasted a considerable time, and caused a good
deal of amusement in the court, from the circumstance of
the assault the defendant was charged with having been
committed on the day a his marriage, and was the
cause of his passing his bridal night in durance vile,
in one of the cells of the House of Detention, and it
would have lasted a great deal longer—there being
a number of witnesses for the defence—bad not a -kind
of compromise been entered into at the close of the case for
the prosecution, by which the defendant pleaded guilty, by
batbeen
iei u
the advice of his counsel, to a charge of common aes:.ult,
and was discharged ou entering into a recognisance to
appear,
pon. When it was stated
that
rmade, several of the jurors
said they thought the evidence did not make out a case of
at t
tie
fora i
common assault at ; othe-s said they were of quite a
iruadnggen grantsen n t
l
contrary opinion. The prosecuttix was the wife of au
engineer resiling at Daimon, and on the aftertmon of the
Ist of July Cie defendant and two others were in the
garden of the second house from hers "larking" with a
broom, which was thrown into the next garden. Mrs.
Mills was in bee garden at the time, and made some
remark about their proceedings, and shortly afterwards
there was a knock at her door. She was just then poking
the fire, anti went to the door with the poker in Ler hand.
She found the defendant at the door. Ile made some
inquiry about the broom, and seeing the poker in her
hand, he snatched it, and struck her on the arm and across
the breast. She cried out, and a Mr. Whitby and his wife
went to her assistance. The defendant struck at thorn
11;, •e' t and left. Ultimately the defendant was given into
custody; and he state., in answer to the charge, that as
he was swinging the broom in the air it flew out of his
hand, and on his going civilly to to ask Mrs. Mills for it, she
came to the door with a poker in her hand and threatened
to use it about !ruin if he did not take himself off. To pre-
vent that he seized the poker, when he was set upon by
Mrs. Mills and the otter witnesses, and what he did was
in his own defence. Ile was married that morning, and
the wedding was kept at a friend's, two doors from Mrs.
Mills'. 0::e of his friends said that Mrs. Mills fought like
a man.
The defendant having entered into a recognisance, con-
ditioned as above-stated, was discharged.
Robert Payne surrendered to take his trial upon an in-
dictment charging him with having stoles three wheels,
and other articles used in the manufacture of perambulators,
the property of Charles Burton, his master.
Mr. W. Cooper prosecuted; Mr. Ribton appeared for the
prisoner.
In consequence of having missed a quantity of materials,
the prosecutor, a perambulator maker, 505, New Oxford
street, employed 0,13 tieernan, 68 E, to watch, and the
prisoner was taker iit to custody. At his lodgings, 26,
Glo'ster-place, Camden-town, a variety of articles, some of
them marked and identified as the prosecutor's property,
were found. The prisoner said most of them were his own,
and belonged to a perambulator he was making on his own
account, but admitted that one or two trifling things he had
picked tip at the prosecutor's, bat they were so valueless
that had ti not done so they would have been swept away.
The jut"( ound the prisoner guilty of stealing a portion of
the property, and he was sentenced to six months' hard
labour.

William Wales, 48, and William 111akepeace, 26, the
latter a Custom-house officer, were tried on Tuesday—
Wales for stealing, and Makepeace for feloniously receiving
with a guilty knowledge, two shells, the property of the
East and %Vest India Dock Cimpany, the employers of the
first-namedyrisoier.

Mr. Sleigli, instructed by the solicitors to the Dock Com-
pany, prosecuted ; Mr. Metcalfe defended Makepeace ;
Wales defended himself. •
From the evidence of William Long, one of the constables
of the East and West India Dock, it appeared that as the
prisoner Makepeace was leaving the dock on the 24th of
July, about mid-day, he was stopped, in consequence of it
being suspected, from the awkward manner in which he
was wearing his hat, that there was sonici.hing
in it. When questioned he said lie had a shell,
but on his hat king taken from his head two
shells were tcund in it. They were worth 3s. lie said they
were given to him by the mate of a vessel, whom he did not
know exactly; and on his acknowledging that he was an
officer of her Majesty's Customs, the constable told him that
be vas astonished at a person in his position attempting to
take things out iu that way, and that if they were legally in
his custody he must go back to the mate and get a proper
pass br them. Ile went back as if to do so, and gave a
false name, John Spring. Two hours elapsed, and as be
did not return the constable went in search of him, and
after a Wine found him on the Itum-quay, where he was
engagel drawing samples. When asked why he had not
returned with the pass, he efquivocated, saying that he
could not find tke mate; that it was no use looking for him
any longer, and that he did not know him ; but the con-
stable settled the matter by taking him to the police-office,
and then he said he received the shells from Wales, who
was 'employed in the cotton warehouse. Wales, on being
confronted with Makepeace, said he had given them to
him, and that he had picked them up in the warehouse,
where they were knocking about. Wales bad been em-
ployed in the shell warehouse, and from a cask there 10
shells were missing.
Mr. Metcalfe urged that there was an absence of felonious
intention, and the jury retired to consider their verdict.
After being absent some time, they agreed to a verdict of
guilty, with a recommendation to mercy.
Mr. Payne sentericed each of them to one moath's bard
labour.

During this session the inconvenience arising from the
Second Court being held in the committee-room has been
greater than usual, which is saying a good deal. The door-
way has been so blocked up by persons interested in the
trials that it was wieh the utmost difficulty that those pro-
fessionally c3neerncd coul t obtain admission, and the atten-
tion of the Court being called to it, a partial remedy was
the result. The officers, it should be stated, carried out
their instructions properly.