The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-16 00:00:00

ceased so to draw the cord as to produce death, and
leave the curd and marks as they were found. The
cause of death was undoubtedly strangulation.
A statement of the prisoner's made before the
coroner to the effect that his wife had several times
attempted to hmg herself, was here repeated.
Mr. Cobbett having addressed the jury on the
part of the prisoner, urging upon them the proba-
bilities of suicide, and the danger of relying too
much upon circumstantial evidence, his lordship
summed up, and the jury retired to consider their
verdict. Shortly after ten o'clock they returned
into court, and wished to know whether the case
could be made out one of manslaughter. His lord-
ship said he had endeavoured to explain the law to
them, that if a man killed another in hot blood,
under the head of passion 'upon provocation and
without thought or contrivance, that was man.
slaughter ; but where one used thought and con-
trivance, and procured a deadly instrument, then
that was murder. If, in this case, death was occa-
sioned by the mode in which the surgeon sug-
gested, which indicated so much thought and
contrivance, he did not see how they could say it
was done under the influence of passion and in hot
blood. Therefore he had great difficulty in seeing
how they could, according to law, make this out to
be a case of manslaughter.
The jury again retired, and in about ten minutes
returned. They announced, amidst breathless
silence, a verdict of "Wilful murder." They.re-
commended him to mercy on account of his having
been drunk.

His lordship, having put on the black cap, ad-
dressed the prisoner, and then pronounced sentence
of death.

The prisoner, in an agitated manner, knelt down
in the dock, and, holding up his hands, said, " I can
meet my God. to-morrow that I am innocent."

He was removed.

His lordship informed the jury that he should
forward their recommendation to the proper
quarter, but without much hope. In this country,
as they had seen during the present assizes, drun-
kenness had been the cause of nine-tenths of the
crime.

The court rose at a quarter to eleven o'clock.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Dec. 15.

MANSION-HOUSE.--Mary Cain,'aged 40 years
of age, without leas, and who has been in the
habit of crawling about the City for some years, on
a board secured to her body, was charged before
Sir R. W. Carden with begging.
H. Maundrell, constable 404, said that on the
previous day he saw the prisoner pursuing her old
avocation—that of begging—near the Royal Ex-
change. She had with her a child about five years
old, and another who now stood by her side (a
healthy looking little fellow about three years of
age). She was blocking up the footway and occa-
sioning inconvenience to the public. He told her
to go away, but she refused to do so, and he was
compelled to take her into custody. Many com-
plaints had been made to him by the shopkeepers
of the woman being allowed to obstruct the
pavement while begging.
Sir R. W. Carden—Does she ever have more
than that child with her.

Witness—Yes, sometimes as many as four.
Sir R. W. Carden—Are they supposed to be her
own children

Witness—Yes, I believe so. She says she has a
husband.
The Gaoler—Her husband is outside.

Sir R. W. Carden—Bring him in.
The gaoler brought in a big, burly, lazy fellow,
whose face evidently had not been washed for
weeks. The man said his name was Cain.

Sir R. W. Carden—Are you the husband of this
woman ?

Cain—No.
Sir R. W. Carden—What do you know of her ?
Cain—l have been living with her.
Sir R. W. Carden—What are you ?
Cain—l have been a soldier in the 82d Regiment
of Foot.

Sir R. W. Carden—Are those your children ?

Cain—Yes.
Sir It. W. Carden—How long have you been
living with her?
Cain—About five years.
Sir R. W. Carden—Was she in this helpness con-
dition when you first went to live with her ?
Cain—No. She lost the use of her limbs in one
of her confinements.
Sir R. W. Carden—You must not allow her to
go about the streets begging in this sad state.
Cain—l do the best I can to keep her, but I have
a bad leg.
Sir R. W. Carden—You seem to be an able-
bodied man.

Cain—l am very much disabled in my left leg,
and very sickly.
Sir It. W. Carden—How much money does this
woman bring home to you every night ?_

Cain—Nothing. What she kets—she keeps her-
self with.
Policeman—The truth is that this man follows
her about in the streets, and as soon as she receives
any halfpence from a passer-by, he goes and takes
it from her. I found Is. 91d. on her yesterday.
Sir R. W. Carden—What work have you been
doing lately ?
Cain—l have lived by selling apples and gather-
ing a few rags.
Sir R. W. Carden—No, you have been living
upon this woman. She must not be permitted to
go about the public streets begging.
Cain—l will take her out of London altogether
if you will let her go this time.
Mr. Goodman—When she was here last she said
she came from Clare.

Mary Cain—Yes, and I now say I belong to the
county of Mayo. I don't know why I should be
meddled with. I never interfere with anybody or
ask for money. _ . .

Sir R. W. Carden—lt is not necessary that you
should receive money to bring you within the law.
I shall let you go this time, but if the police, who
did quite right intaking you into custody, find you
begging again, they will bring you here, and you
will be punished. You must not be allowed to live
on the charity of the public. (To Cain)—Take
care, for if you are found living. on what she gets
by begging you will be taken into custody your-
self.

Cain—l don't want to live upon what she gets.
I will undertake td keep her out of the streets for
the future.

Sir It. W. Carden—The most inhuman act of
which the public can be guilty is that of giving
money to beggars in the streets. I have repeatedly
said that until an act of Parliament is passed to
punish persons who in discriminately give away their
money in this manner, we shall never be able to
prevent begging.
The prisoner was discharged.

GUILDHALL.—Mr. Wontuer applied to Mr.
Alderman Copeland for a summons against some
parties forming the sub-committee appointed by
the shareholders of the " Sierra Nevada Lake
Water and Mining Company," to inquire into the•
affairs of that undertaking, for unlawfully detain-
ing the private minute-book of the directors, which
had been taken forcible possession of when produced
by the secretary for their perusal.
Alderman Copeland said he would consider the
application, as it appeared to him that the share-
holders had a right as partners in the undertaking
to have the book, and it frequently occurred that
summonses were applied for, for the purpose of
getting out matters in a police court which were
more fitted for a Court of Chancery. The worthy
alderman ultimately declined to grant the sum-
mons, and said. he had considered it very carefully,
and lie was of opinion he had no jurisdiction.

WORSHIP-STREET.--Wm. Matthew Arm-
strong, of gentlemanly exterior and address, was
charged before Mr. Hammill, with assaulting
Cornelius Avis, a farmer, at Cheshunt.

The complainant, whose features were contused,
said—At ten o'clock this morning I entered a
second-class carriage at the 'Waltham-station of the
Eastern Counties line of railway en route to Lon-
don, and was told by some gentlemen in that par-
tition there was not any room. The accommodation
is for four on each side, and perceiving the defen-
dant, another gentleman, and a little boy only
occupying one side, I replied, " I believe there is,"
and passe on, taking my seat, with difficulty, be-
side defendant. My presence, apparently, was
deemed intrusive, for he observed, "Do not stick
your elbows into my ribs." I assured him that I
was net doing so, but he several times repeated
that I was, and then called me a liar. Upon'
receiving this insult I told him not to behave like
a blackguard. He then rose up, and struck me
with his clenched fist in the face with such violence
that the blood flowed copiously from my nose, and
my eye was cut. One gentleman interfered, ob-
serving, " This is too bad," and another gave me
his card, while there was a feeling generally ex-
pressed that I ought not to allow the matter to
drop, but give my assailant into custody, which,
on arriving at the terminus, I did.
No witnesses attending to substantiate this com-
plaint,
Mr. Armstrong thus replied to the charge—" I
was very busily engaged perusing my newspaper,
when this gentleman, whose entrance I had not
observed, rudely thrust himself down by my side,
and so jostled and elbowed my ribs, that I was
compelled to complain and request him to desist.
This occurred several times ; then, without the
utterance of one gross word by me, he called me a