The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-04 00:00:00

WESTERN CIRCUIT.—WINCHESTER, DEC. 3,
(Before Mr. Justice Byles.)
ARSON.

William Russell, a boy 11 years old, was indicted
for feloniously setting fire to certain barley, the
property of Mr. Wm. Francis Digwood, on the
25th August last.

Mr. Y-onge prosecuted, and Mr. Cooke defended
the prisoner.

Mr. Rivers, bailiff to Mr. Digwood, said he was
at Basingstoke market when news reached him that
the farm was on fire. lie went home, and found a
fire raging, which destroyed 12 wheat ricks, the
produce of 56 acres of barley, 34 acres of oats, 12
acres of rye grass, a quantity of thrashed wheat,
five barns, three stables, cowhouses, fowlhouses,
pigsties, thrashing machine, a horse, ten pigs, 'and
other property to the value of £5,000. From fur-
ther evidence, it appeared that the prisoner was
seen to come from the barn whilst the harvest men
were at their dinner, and though his attention was
called to the smoke from the barn, he merely.ele-
vated his whip and went en. When taken into
custody, he said he took a match from his uncle
Henry's pocket, and struck it against the barn door,
and threw it down against a cart wheel, andlighted
the barley with it. The facts were not disputed by
Mr. Cooke, the prisoner's counsel, who could only
suggest that the act was done inadvertently, and
without any malicious intent, but the learned judge
instructed the jury that setting fire, even as a
childish freak, and without any malicious intent,
was still a crime amenable to the law, or children
would be the most dangerous creatures in the world.
The boy was found guilty, and sentenced to three
months' hard labour in the first place, and then to
be confined in the Hampshire Reformatory School
for five years..

CHESTER CIRCUIT—CHESTER, DEC. 3.
(Before Mr. Justice Hill.)
RIOT.
James Adshead, 22, Luke Berry, 23, Richard
Boardman 29, Thomas Higginson, 19, Samuel Hod-
son, 26, James Howard, 19, Charles Moores, 22,
Joseph Needham, 30, Frederick Nixon, 32, IVm.
Smith, 28, and Thomas Sutton, 25, were charged
with riotously assembling with divers others per-
sons to disturb the public peace, and assaulting
John Hopwood, at Dukinfield, on the 19th Nov.,
1158.

Mr. Beavan (with whom was Mr. W. Foulkes),
on behalf of the prosecution said he had an appli-
cation to make to the court in this case. No con-
siderable violence had been committed; the cause
of the riot was at an end ; and it was proposed that
the prisoners should plead guilty to the charge,
and enter into their own recognisances tp come up
when called upon to receive judgment, He thought
such a course would answer the ends of justice,
should it meet with!the approbation of his lordship.
Mr. M'lntyre, on behalf of some of the prisoners,
said since the prisoners had been taken into cus-
tody an arrangement. had been entered into be-
tween some of the masters and the colliers ; an
advance of wages .had been granted; and the men
had returned to their work ; the cause of the riot
was therefore at an end; He felt bound to say that
if ever there had been a mild riot, the one with
which the prisoners were charged was the mildest.
Mr. Brandt and Mr. Morgan Lloyd, on behalf
of others of the prisoners, concurred in the obser-
vations made by Mr. M'lntyre.
His lordship said, so far as the court was con-
cerned, he was perfectly content with the arrange-
ment proposed. He was bound to say that if any
persons appeared in that or any other dock, charged
with rioting, if found guilty, they would be visited
with a very severe sentence.
The prisoners then pleaded to the indictment,
were bound over in their own recognisances to
come up to receive judgment when called upon,
and were discharged.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Dec. 3.

MANSION-HOUSE.—Henry Belcher, clerk in
the service of Messrs. Ridgway and Drake, notaries,
of 28, Royal Exchange, was charged before the
Lord Mayor with embezzling the moneys of his
employers, under the following circumstances :
Mr. A. Ridgway, one of the prosecutors, said—
It was the duty of the prisoner to attend to our ge-
neral business of conveyancing, in the course of
which he would have intercourse with Mr. Able-
white. He would have known that money was due
from that gentleman to the firm, but he had no
authority to apply to him for it. I had given him
directions not to receive money on account of the
firm, The account produced is in his handwrit-
ing, but it was made out without my authority,
which was quite contrary to my orders.
Mr. E. Ablewhite, a coachmaker, in Mount-street,
Grosvenor-square, said—l owed the prosecutors
'some money for professiondl serynes. 4bout a