The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-20 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIB,BCI:IIT.—omc, M nn(
i 18.
GROWN COURT. —(efore MYr. Justice Byles.)
FORGERY OF VOTING PIPB.RS AT LEEDS.
George Beckwith, John O'Rourke, and George
Croraaok, were charged with having, at Leeds, on
the Ist of March, 1857, unlawfully conspired
together to forge and counterfeit divers proxy ap-
pointments of persons having the right to vote at
the election of guardians of the poor.
Mr. Bliss, Q.C., Mr. Pickering, Q.C., and Mr.
Baines, were for the prosecution ; Mr. Overend,
Q.C., and Mr. Wheelhouse, appeared for the de-

fence.
The present prosecution was instituted by the
Poor Law Board, in consequence of certain for-
geries having been committed at the last election of
guardians at Leeds, at which election much party
spirit was manifested, and forged voting papers
-were presented. In 1844, a board of guardians
Was constituted for Leeds, which was divided into
eight wards, six of which sent two guardians,
and the other two three guardians to the
board. On the issuing of this order a good
deal of contention arose as to the election of
guardians, and committees were formed and can-
vassers employed with a view to influence the
elections, and to obtain the appointments of
proxies to vote for owners of property. At the
last election of guardians there was a large number
of these proxies used, and it was subsequently dis-
covered that numerous forgeries had been uttered
in the presentation of proxies. The prosecution
alleged that the defendants were the parties who
conspired together and forged these proxies, 47 of
which were in the handwriting of Mr. Beckwith,
and 12 had been written by Mr. Cromack. The
proxy appointments were taken to the office of the
overseers, and of that number 231 were received by
y
Mr. Grimshaw, an overseer, from
.r. Beckwith.
Many of these proxies were forgersees, and were
and
alleged to be in the handwriting
Beckwith
Cromack, and with respect to O'Rourke, he took
out the proxy papers and distributed them to
Tarious parties, and was very active in procuring
proxies. The defendant, Mr. Beckwitb, was a
registrar of births and deaths in the union ;
O'Rourke had an office in which the duty devolved
upon him of removing Scotch and Irish paupers,
and Cromack was a bailiff. A large number of
witnesses were called for the prosecution, from
whose testimony it appeared that many of the
proxy appointments presented at the election of
guardians last year at Leeds were forgeries, and
that the defendants were the party who conspired
together and fabricated these forged documents.
The defendants received excellent characters from
several of the witnesses for the prosecution.
Mr. Oveiend, in defence, submitted that the
mode in which the election of guardians for Leeds
last year was carried on was the ordinary mode in
which all elections of that kind were conducted.
The defendants no doubt took an active part in
the election, they felt a warm interest in securing
the success of the candidates belonging to the party
whoni they represented. They acted merely as
electioneering agents. He admitted that the names
of the owners of property in the proxy appoint-
ments were forged, but that the defendants were
not aware of the fact. They obtained the names
of proxies in a perfectly bona fide manner, and
none of these signatures were forgeries. The learned
counsel, in conclusion, adverted to the excellent
character of the defendants, as showing that they
were men not likely to commit the serious offence
imptated to them.
Highly respectable witnesses were called as to
the unimpeachable reputation of the defendants,
particularly as regarded Mr. Beckwith.
The learned Judge summed up the case with
great minuteness, and the jury retired, and were
absent about 20 minutes, when they returned a
verdict of guilty of conspiracy to utter the forgeries
with guilty knowledge as against all the prisoners,
accompanied with a strong recommendation to
mercy, especially as regarded Cromack, who they
believed had acted in the capacity of a clerk.
His Lordship sentenced Beckwith and O'Rourke
to one mouth's imprisonment each, and Cromack
to 14 days' imprisonment.
(Nisi PRIUS COURT.—Before Mr. Baron Martin.)
WAKE V. NORTH-EASTERN RAILWAY COMPANY—THE
ASOIDENT AT THE HULL STATION—SPECIAL JURY.
The plaintiff, Mr. Chas. T. Wake, was a gentle-
man of the age of 23 years, and he has until a very
recent period resided at Hull. He was for several
years a clerk in the office of Messrs. Atkinson,
Robinson, and Atkinson, of Hull, solicitors, and
at the time of the accident which occasioned this
action he was serving the last three months of his
articles with that firm. On 2Gth July last the plain-
tiff was a second-class passenger from Hull to Cot-
tingham. He had taken lodgings at the latter place
for the purpose of pursuing his studies with less in-
terruption, and was in the habit of leaving Hull by
the trainfrom Paragon Station at half-past 4 o'clock
in the afternoon, and returning to Hull about half-
past 9 o'clock in the morning. On the day in ques-
tion the plaintiff entered the train at the Paragon
Station, but bad not proceeded far when, in conse-
quence of the neglect of one of the servants of the
company, the passenger train was run into by a
goods train with such impetuosity that several of the
carriages in the former train were thrown over, ar,d
most of the passengers injured. One of the passen-
gers was killed, and plaintiff received a severe shock
to the system, and other injuries. He was removed
to the residence of his brother in Hull, when it was
found that he had received a fracture of the right leg,
and a dislocation of the ankle of the same limb, and
other serious injuries along the whole length of that
member. Competent medical gentlemen were called
in, and the bones were re-set. Unfortunately, how-
ever, inflammation and mortification supervened,
and it was found necessary to amputate the injured
limb, and Mr. Teale, of Leeds, was called in, and
performed the operation. In addition to the agony
and pain the plaintiff had suffered, he was for a
considerable time confined to his home, and was
unable to proceed to London, as he had intended,
for the purpose of passing his examination. The
defendants did not deny their liability, that the de-
plorable accident was the consequence of the neglect
of one of their servants, and the question for the
jury was whether, having regard to the age, the po-
sition, and profession of the plaintiff, having regard
to the pain which he had experienced, and to the
deplarable loss which he had sustained, the sum of
1,2001., which had been paid into court, was a fair
and reasonable compensation which the defendants
ought to pay for the injury caused by the admitted
neglect of their servants. The expenses to which
the plaintiff had been put, arising from this acci-
dent, were very considerable, and amounted to be-
tween 2001. and 300/.
Mr. Hill, for the defendants, said his clients felt
great sympathy with the sufferers by this accident,
and were anxious to make to them what was a fair
and reasonable compensation for the injury they
had sustained. He admitted that money could not
fully compensate defendant for the loss of
alimb,
but, so far as such a compensation could be ren-
dered, the defendants had. been anxious to make
it. The company thought 1,2001. was a fair and
reasonable sum, and they were willing to leave it
to the jury to say whether they had come to a right
conclusion.
The jury retired to consider their vent t, and,
after an absence of about a quarter of an hour they
found for the plaintiff—damages 6001. exclusive of
what had been paid.
(Special Jury.)
WA.DDEN.ZGTON" V. NORTH-EASTERN RAILWAY COM-
PANY.
Mr. Atherton, Q.C. and Mr. Unthank were for
the plaintiff ; and Mr. Hill, Q. C. , and Mr. Mauis'y,
Q.C., were for the defendants.
This action arose out of the accident referred to
in the previous case. The plaintiff, who is about
c 5 yearßlse old, is a fellmonger and leather-dresser at
ever
•
y, and on the 24th of July last he was a
second-class
and was returning
between Hull and Beverley,
home by the quarter past four
- o'clock train.
_e carriage in which be was seated
was overturned
eunredy ff the collision, and the plaint-
had his leg fractured,
his body. He had toand received other injuries
he
was still
be fed with a spoon for
several weeks, andunable to attend to
his tininess with the same ease as formerly, and to
some extent was permanently injured. The defen-
dants had paid 5001. into court.
In accordance with a suggestion made by Mr.
Baron Martin, after the jury had arrived at
.their
- verdict in the first case, it was agreed that the
damages in the other actions should be assessed on
the
same
,__principle as the jury had adopted, viz.,
aeorrenc.h more as the sum paid into court, and
e e
verdict in this case was taken for the
court s 250 t., in addition to the 5001. paid into
satins Aair.
v. liOA7ll-r,AsTERN RAILWAY
By consent, a verdecic-ti;:as-"•
tiff for 150/. entered for the plain-
- SHOR,T V. THE NORTH-RASTIRII
The plaintiff in this case, a clerk iV,„--ebi•PA-,Ty.
the post-office authorities at York, wan "tee of
the mail train to London on the 14th
when the train ran off the rails. He received.
SeriOnS injuries of the spine and brain. The jury,
after hearing the evidence and addresses
and of
then co.unsre-
el,
deliberated an hour and a quarter,
turned a verdict for the plaintiff. Damages
8007

SOUTH WALES CIRCUIT.--CARMARTHEN

MA.ROII 18.
:(Before Baron Bramwell.)
ATTEMPT TO MITRIML—PiENTINCE OF REAM
James Jones was charged with feloniously as
saulting and wounding Margaret Jones, at Rhydy