The Sun.
London, England, 1867-11-08 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS—This clay.

(Before the Assistant-Judge.)
TRIAL OF GROVES FOR MISDEMEANOUR.

Johu Groves was charged with violently assault-
ing Samuel Buzer with intent to do grievous bodily
harm.

Mr. Cooper appeared for the prosecution, and
Mr. Warner Sleigh defended the prisoner.
The learned counsel, in opening the case, said he
should not enter into the details of the case at any
length, but all he should do would be to detail the
facts•of the case, and then call witnesses to prove
them. Having given a brief outline of the case he
concluded by calling the following witnesses :
John King, a labourer, residing at 3, Crown-
court, Great Pulteney-street, said on the 29th of
September, between twelve and one in the morn-
ing, he w:ls coining along 1 ndell•street, when he
saw the prisoner and six or seven other men stand-
ing at the corner. A large van came down the
street, and the driver of the van called upon the
prisoner and his companions to get out of the way.
A man sat outside the van, with his legs hanging
over. One of the prisoner's companions called out
that that ni:►n had kicked Lim iu the face, and
whilst one of the companions of the prisoner
held the horse, others got into the van and one took
the whip from the driver and beat the three men in
the van with it. The prisoner was up in the van
and afterwards got down. He (witness) was stand-
ing near, and a tall man, with the prisoner, knocked
him down. He got up and was running away,
when the same tall man knocked him down, and
gave the prisoner a cane, which swung as if it
had lead at the end of it. The man Buzer said
it was a shame that they were illusing him, and
ran to pick him up, when the prisoner struck
Buzer on the bead with the cane he had just had
given him. Buzer said he would lock the prisoner
up, when the tall man gaVe him another blow with
his fist, and then caught hold of another man and
began illusing him. A cry of " Police" was raised,
and before the officers came the tall man got away,
but Buzer gave the prisoner into custody.
The witness was severely cross-examined by Mr.
Warner Sleigh, but his evidence in chief was nut
at all affected.

Samuel Buzer said on the morning in question he,
with his wife, saw the van stop at the corner of
Endell-street. Some altercation took place between
the prisoner and his mates, when the driver of the
van said if he had done anything wrong they had
better call a policeman. Some of the prisoner's
companions took the horse by the head, and one
took the whip and beat the driver of the van.
Prisoner was assisting, and whipped the man in
the van, and also the witness King. Prisoner
also knocked witness down, and struck him with
a loaded cane. He followed the prisoner down
Holborn, when the tall man struck him on the side
of the head. A policeman came up and he gave
prisoner into custody. The prisoner and his com-
panions were the instigators of the row. He did not
make a rush at the prisoner. King at that time
was a perfect stranger to him. No one interfered
with the prisoner ; he was not kicked or knocked
down at all. King was the only man that was
down. He suffered so much from the wound he
had received that he was compelled to go to the
hospital and get his wounds dressed. Ile did not
know who the driver of the van was. Ha (witness)
was perfectly sober.
Stephen Locke, P.C. 143 E, said that on the
night in question he was on duty in. New Oxford-
street, and saw a large crowd opposite Dunn's-
passage, and heard cries of " Murder !" and
" Police !" He went to the spot, and there saw
Buzer with blood running down his face. King was
standing alongside of him. The prisoner was about
two or three yards from them. He asked Buzer
how ho came by the wounds on his head,
when he pointed to the prisoner and said—
" That man has been beating me with a cane
loaded with lead." Ile then took the prisoner into
custody, who, as ho was being taken to the station,
said, " Policeman this is a bad job for me to be
locked up. I hold a gool situation in London, if I
am locked up I shall lose it." Ile (witness) tol I
him he could not help that.
Mrs. Caroline Buzer corroborated the evidence of
her husband.

Mr. Thomas Flowers, house surgeon to Middle-
sex Hospital, said—On the Sunday morning the man
Buser was brought to the hospital. He had a scalp
wound on the top of his head. It was a wound
such as a blunt instrument would inflict. It was
not a dangerous one, but it must have been caused
by considerable violence.

Mr. Warner Sleigh, in his address for the priso-
ner, said he should have thought that after the im-
prisonment and mental anxiety Groves had under-
gone with respect to the charge that had been made
against him, of being concerned in the murder of
M‘Donnell, and of confronting him with that noto-
rious woman Jenman, the purposes of justice would
have been satisfied, without instituting the present
prosecution, but that course had not been adopted,
and he now was again the subject of a prosecution
and a charge which he felt the jury would think,
after they heard the witnesses he should call before
them, that he was not the party that ought
to be prosecuted. The matter which had lea
to the present trial did not commence in the first
instance with Groves, or his companions, but the
persons who were most to blame were those who
were now called to give evidence against the
prisoner.
The learned gentleman then called witnesses of
the names of Pearson and Kieff, who stated that
Groves and a companion, a tall man whom they
did not know, together with themselves and several
other persons, had been to the Enterprise public-
house, and that as they were parting the van drove
by, and in consequence of one of them remonstrating
with the man in the van for kicking one of them the
row began by King attacking the tall man, and that
in all that followed Groves and his friends only
acted in self-defence. None of them could give the
name or address of the tall man.

The learned Judge, in summing up the case, said
it was much to be regretted that any matter foreign
to the charge they were then trying should have
been introduced into the case. The jury had no-
thing to do with the fact that the prisoner Groves
had been in custody on a charge of murder, which
had been abandoned. That was not the business
they had to deal with, and its introduction
could only prejudice the case against the
prisoner. It appeared from the evidence
that had been placed before them that
a number of persons had been to the public house
known as the Enterprise, and that they had walked
together to the corner of Endell-street. It was
proved that a man was coming along towards there,
and that a man was sitting with his legs hanging
over the outside of the vehicle. That being so, it
did not appear at all improbable that his feet might
have accidentally touched one of the persons. The
question for them to decide was with whom the
row originated. The witnesses for the prose-
cution appeared to be quite positive that
Groves and his companions were the aggressors,
whilst the witnesses who had been called on behalf
of the prisoner contended that all that happened
was done in self-defence. Ile need not detai❑ them
with reading over the whole of the evidence ; the
case was a very simple one, and he prayed them not
to allow anything that had occurred in another
place to prejudice their verdict.
The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a
verdict of Guilty.
The Assistant-Judge and the other magistrates
on the bench then retired to consider their sentence.
On the return of the learned Judge,
Mr. W. Sleigh hoped the Court would take into
consideration the long imprisonment Groves had
already undergone as some mitigation of sentence.
The Assistant-Judge said the learned counsel
knew very well he could not do that, as the magi -
trate was quite justified in det.tining Groves in
custody. The prisoner had now been found
guilty of a charge of inflicting actaal bodily
pain, for which he could not be sen-
tenced to penal servitude. However, they had
considered his case very anxiously, and without
being influenced by the practices he had in con-
templation or the persons with whom he associated,
the sentence of the Court was that he be imprisoned
and kept to hard labour for six months, and at the
expiration of the sentence he should find good sure-
ties that he would keep the peace for six months
longer.
The prisoner was then removed from the dock.

COMMITTAL OF THE EX-CHAMPION OF ENGLAND
—At the Nottingham Police-court, yesterday, William
Thompson, alias " Bendigo," ex-champion of England, was
taken beforo the sitting magistrates on the charge of inde-
cent conduct and also for assaulting the police. The bench
convicted him in a penalty of 405., or 11 days' imprison-
ment with hard labour. The money was not forthcoming,
and the prisoner 174019a0 up.