The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-04 00:00:00

HOME CIRCUIT.-GUILDFORD, AUG 3.

The commission for the county of Survey was opened on
Monday, and both courts were opened for business this
morning—Mr.Justicetics presiding on the Cicil Side, and
Mr. Baron Bramwell in the Crown Court. There are 04
causes entered for trial, 20 of which are to he tiled by special
juries. On the Crown side there are 10 prisoners for tilt],
but none of the C2,C3 ere of a serious characier.

CIVIL SIDE.
(Before Mr. Justice Willes and a Cctr tun Jilry.)

Y. ROCHE.

This was an action to recover £62 10e.. being five quar-
ters of arrears of an annuity of £5O granted by the defendant
to the plaintiff.
Mr. S:ear( ant Petereclorff and Mr. Hennen were counsel
for the plaintiff; Mr. Lush, Q.C., and Mr. Tompson Chitty
appeared for the defendent.
It appeered that the annuity in qdestion had been
granted by the defendant, and executed by him in 1859,
upon the condition that the plaintiff should educate and
bring up two illegitimate children of which he was the
father. The circumstances were rather peculiar. It
appeared that in ]B4l the plaintiff; Margaret Smith, was
in Germany, where she was engaged as governess in a
high family, and the defendant, John Webb Roche,
who was stated to Ve an Lis!' gentleman, made
her acquaintance, and ultimately acme form of marriage,
which turned out to he cf no legal value, was gore through
by a person whom the defendant represented to be a clergy-
men, and after this they lived together as man and wife
until 1845, when the plaintiff again accepted the situation
of a governess in Germany; but the defendant insisted that
she should return and live with him, stating that she was
his wife. They then continued to live together until the
year 1851, when the defendant married; and at this time be
wrote a letter to a gentleman named Shepherd, in which he
reques ed him to break the "terrible tidings to dear Mar-
garet" as well as be could, to spare her feelings, and at the
same time stated that he would always provide for her,
and that he might at once advance her money to the
extent of LA. That sum was accordingly given to the
plaintiff, nod the defendant went to reside in Ireland; and
in 1852, finding she could not obtain any more money from
him, the plaintiff went to Ireland and saw the defendant,
when he created the agreement which was the subject
of the present action. It should be stated that four children
were the result of the connection betel een the parties, but
et this time only two were alive, and the Agreement was to
the effect that upon consideration of the plaintiff educating
and providing for the two children then alive, he undertook
to pay her £5O per annum by flair quarterly instalments.
One of these children, it appeared, has since died, hut the
morey seemed to have been paid by the defendant fcr a
considerable time, when he ceased paying the quarterly
amounts, and the present action was brought to recover the
arrears.
Miss Margaret Smith, the plaintiff, a lady-like looking
person, apparently about five-end-thirty years of age, was
called as a witness, and she proved the facts above narrated,
and was not subjected to any cross-examination.
The defence set pp was purely a technical one, it being
contended that no legal consideration bad been proved for
the annuity ; and also that as one of the children had died,
it could not he enforced, the original understanding being
that the money was to be paid for the support and education
of two children.
The jury eventually returned a verdict for the peaintifl
for the full amount claimed, the questions of law being re-
served for further consideration.
CROWN SIDE.
(Before Mr. Baron Bramwell.)
Edward Mandeville Martin, a young man of respect-
able appearance, was indicted for obtaining money by false
pretences.
Mr. Knapp conducted the prosecution. The prisoner, who
appears to have been carrying on a most extensive and im-
pudent system of swindling all over the country, conducted
his own defence.
The first case gone into was that of obtaining a sovereign
from Mr. Biddelcomb (formerly a very active superintendent
of the Surrey constabulary, but who at present keeps the
i Swan Inn at Chertsey) by fat=e pretences. It -appeared
that the prisoner went i,o the inn on the 12th of July, and
represented himself to be the Rev. Mr. Martin, and he
stated that he was the intimate friend of Mr. Remington
Mills, a magistrate who was well known to Biddelcomb, and
who, he said, was going to appoint him to be preacher to a
chapel at Englefield-green, and he subsequently hired a fly
for the purpose, as he stated, of going to visit Mr. Mills,
and upon his return be said be had got the appointment,
and that be was to preach on the following Sunday. lie
then sated that he was short of cash, and asked Biddelcomb
to lend biro a sovereign, which he did, and it turned out
that all the statemen's he bad made were entirely falee.
Mr. Biddelcomb was cross-examiced at considerable length
by the prisoner, and in answer to the questions that were
put to hint he said that the prisoner invited him very po-
litely to come and bear his first sermon, but he respectfully
declined. He also said that the prisoner wrote a letter to
him in which he stated that if it should rain he should want
a covered fly to take him to the chapel to preach. He
added that this letter was sent him after he had given the
prisoner the sovereign, and it was addressed " Biddel-
comb, Esq.," and it began ",My dear sir," and the moment
he saw this he knew that he had keen "done." (A laugh.)
The Rev. Mr. Knight, the minister of the chapel referred
to, proved that the prisoner had never been appointed
as the minister, and that be had no intention of resigning
his office, and that consequently there was no vacancy. He
stated that all he knew of the; prisoner was that he called
upon him and told him that he had been a Roman Catholic
priest, but that he had seen the errors of that religion, and
that afterwards he had been a Church of England clergy-
man, and that after that he had been a Congregationalist,
and he wished witness to allow him to perform one of his
services, but lie declined to do so without knowing mere
about him. Ile subsequently made some inquiries about
! the prisoner, which were not at all satisfactory, and he in
consequence told him that he had better retire, and the
prisoner then said that he should be off to Chertsey.
In answer to questions put by the prisoner, Mr. Knig!

said that he told him he might perhaps be permittei to
make an address to the Sunday sclool children. He said
that be took an interest in him in consequence of his
specious manner, and would have done all in his power to
assist him, if his character bad turned out to be good, and
that be could he trusted. • •
Mr. Peter M‘Farlane a wine merchant at Guildford,
was then examined. It appeared that this gentleman
is of the Roman Catholic persuasion, and that he casually
met the prisoner on the 14th of July, at Farnborough,
and that he drove laim for some distance in his chaise.
The prisoner upon this occasion represented himself to be
a clergyman and an author, and to be rather desirous
to enter the ltomish Church, and he gained so much
upon Mr. M`Farlane's good opinion that he invited him
to visit him in case lie should cone to Guildford. On the
25th ofJely, which was Sunday,. he received a note from
the prisoner, dated from the White Hart Hotel, requesting
to see him, and upon his going there he told him that he had
been preaching at the Lower Chapel for the Rev. Mr.
liatchard, and that he was going to breakfast with him on
the following morning. Mr. AP Farlane upon this invited
him to his house, where he staid all night, end the next
morning the prisoner said he was short of money, and asked
Mr. M`Farlane to lend him a sovereign, and when he was
about to- give him that sum he said he might as well Jet
him have two, epon which Mr. M‘Farlane gave him two
sovereigns. He afterwards received a letter from the pri-
soner, in which lie athlressed him as his" Very dear friend,"
and stated that he was most anxious to get into some quiet
rtionaatuy at. Rome. (A laugh.)
In answer t) a question put by the prisoner, the witness
said he was quite sure that he mentioned the name of the
Rev. Mr. Ila'chard, and not that of the Rev. Mr. Butcher.
The prisoner exclaimed in vn impudent tone that he was
rot surprised diet a Pepist should not tell the truth.
The witness said that the prisoner told him that he had
met the Rev. Mr. liatehard in the Holy Land, at the -.Holy
Sepulchre, and described the dress he wore on that occasion,
and chat be had a velveteen coat on. (Laughter.)
The Rev-Mr. Hatchard was then examined, and Le sated
that the prisoner was an entire stranger to him, and he
knew nothing abut him.
The prisoner, upon being called on for his defence, was
about to read a long written statement, the commencing
ebseivations of which appeared to be that it was owing to
tin education Le had received, and to• his haring been
brought up a Roman Catholic' that ire bad been induced to
endeavour to gain a livelihood by deception and lying.
Baron Bramvrell interposed and told the prisoner that
this course of proceeding was quite irrelevant. The Court
had nothing to do with the religious principles in which he
ha): been brought up, and the (Ally question was whether he
was guilty of the offence imputed to him.
The prisoner then athiressed the jury again in a theatrical
manner, and at some length, the effect of what he said
apparently being that be had been brought up to literary
pursuits and had endeavoured to gain a livelihood as an
author, but the booksellers would not publish any of his
works because he had no name, and as he could not starve
he was compelled to resort to the proceedings he had done
in order to obtain a subsistence. . _

The jury, without hesitation, returned a verdict of guilty.
The learned Judge, in passing smence, raid that if a
bad education was the cause of the pti,oner committing
such offences as these, he must endeavour to correct it, and
the mode in which he should endeavour to do so on the pre-
sent occasion was to order him to be kept to hard labour for
12 months.

Daniel Cummins, 39, was indicted fr assauling John
M'u!ley with intent to rinser
In alicr c. unto the intent of the prisoner was laid to be to
rob the prosccutor, and also to do him grievous bodily harm.
Mr. Robinson' conducted the promcution ; Mr. Laxton
was counsel for the prisoner.
. _ _

It appeared that ibis was a prosecution instituted by the
Brighton Railway Company under the following circum-
stances :—Dri the 28th of March the prosecutor got into an
open third-class carriage for the purpose of proceeding to
London. The prisoner and a wen= were the only other
persons in tire carriage, and when the train got into the M ers-
thaw tunnel the prosecutor felt the pi isoner pushing against
him, and he at length* his hand to his pocket. He pushed his
hand away, and immediately upon his doing so, the prisoner
seized hint and commerced a mist savage a• tack upon him,
and in the course of the snuggle the priooner actually seized
him by the legs and endeavoured to throw him out of the
carriage,wirich be would have succeeded in doing if the pro-
secutor had not been a powerful man and that he succeeded
in catching told of the iron rail of the carriage. He at
length got the prisoner down, and he held him until the
train arrived at the Caterham station, where the prisoner
was handcuffed and secured, the prosecutor being at this
time covered with blood and ♦ery severely injured. The
prisoner was then conveyed to Croydon, where it appeared
tie resided, and it required the efforts of six constables to
aecure him and place him in the po'ice station.
The defence set up fur the prisoner was that he was in a
mate of insanity at the time he committed the act; but the
mly evidence that was adduced to sunpiirt this suggestion
Wai that of a brother, who stated that 12 years ago the
prisoner hal received an injury upon his head in Leland,
vhen his skull was fractured, and si!ice that time he had
acted in a very extraordinary manner trPon several occa-
sicns. ,

Mr. Keene, the governor of the gaol, stitcd, in ancvror to
questi ms put by the Court, that iu his opinion the_prisoncr
was not in his right mind, and he said he lvrmed this opi-
nion from what he had seen of his conduct since he had then
under his charge. He added, however, that he believed the
surgeon of the prison entertained a contrary opinion.
The learned Judge then summed up the case, and ex-
plained to the jury the law upon the subject of insaniiy,
and, after a short deliberation, they returned a verdict Hutt-
ing the prisoner guilty of wounding with intent to do
ktrievous bodily harm.
.rntishliipcesaitdheitpwriasosnaervetroyebizadyceaasree,
penal
dahl
dultiyistoL;ete
He added that if any further evidence could be obtained
with regard to the state of h mind
ie '
, it would no doubt
receive AttclitlOA La the proper quVter. oseferlvtitiutdbeis.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.-Aug. 3.

(Before Mr. Creasy.)

&Uri Arthur Schambp.rcer, 20, was indicted for havirg
e•toier. a quantity of printed books, value £l3O and upwards,
the property of Mr. David Nut!, the foreign bookseller, el
tie tqrand, his nester. He pleaded
alr.Orridge wear( d en the part of tLe prosocution; Mr.
M, tealfe for the ?risorer.. _

The Prosecutor stated, in answer to the Court, that the
risoner had been in b's service about six months, at a
'alary cf 10s, per month, which would h eve been in_
reased from time to time. The prisoner came from Vienne
situation,and was eel( recommended from there.
\ obof the stolen books were found stowed
takeiut
E thel)
worth
way in a house he lodged at in Charlotte-street, Fitzroy- .
gnre, by Holmes, detective, of the I? division, and in his
esk was *found a can-Anew, marked in his handwriting, by
"Stich it was rcerrtelued what works end the numbers Of
epics he had takAa away from the stock.
Sentence was postponed.
James Welch,29, was indicted for unlawfully assaulting
Ameiia Farness, with intent.
Mr. Palmer was for the prosecution; Mr. Gent for the
prisoner.
es egrriley : 131 y years of age, and was aggravated it was the
The evidence in this case, entirely unfit to be given in
detail, shored conduct on the part of the prisoner of a
fraecvtolti
thatng
tie
character,and
wwhat
prosecutor
his own niece. Ile was found guilty and was sentenced to
18 months' hard lebeur. The sentence was applauded in
court.
Jaynes Church, a labourer, in the service of Mr. Langley,
a contractor at Hayes, was indicted for fraudulently obtain-
ing corn in his master's name from Mr. West, a corn dealer
at Southall. He was found guilty, and was sentenced to
one month's hard labour. He bad borne a good character
for many years.
Mr. Itibton prosecuted ; Mr. W. Cooper was for the pri-
soner
Frederick James was convicted of an indecent assault
upon a child named Mary Ann James, the daughter of the
keeper of a beershop celled the Royal Oak, at Heston. He
was sent ere, dto 18 months' hard labour. .
Mr. Ribton, instructed by Mr. 'Vaughan, prosecuted.
Thomas Jones, 26, and John Williams, 26, were con-
victed of committing a larceny in the dwelling-house cf
George Spencer, the property stolen being more than £5 in
value. Jones, an old offender, repeatedly convicted, was
sentenced to seven years' pens] servitude, and Williams to
four months' bard labour.
Catherine Dunn, a tall, strange-looking woman, was
indicted for having stolen
.a pair of gleves cf. the value of
ls. 3d., the preprry of Wile. m Trimby.
Mr. Hawthorne prosecuted; Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Orridge
were for the prisoner.
The prosecutor was a haberdasher in Chapter-street,
Vauxhall-bridge-road, and the prisoner went to his shop
and purchased a packet of needles. Seeing a customer
baying gloves at is. 3d. par pair she examined them and
selected a, pair, and then asked to be shown some at Is. 6d.
per pair. While the assistant was reaching the latter she
placed the is. 3d. pair in ter bag, and then having selected
a pair at ls. 6d. she placed a shilling, a: sixpence,
and a fourpenny-piece on the counter to pay for them.
When told she had another pair in her !owe she said
they must have get there by mistake if they were
there, and when she was accused of stealing them, she went
on her knees, and implored them not to hurt a poor soldier's
wife from India.

31r. Sleight, for the defence, did not deny that the prisoner
had committed the act imputed to her, but urged upon the
jury Abe extreme probability that it wee done without
thong t, by mistake, and without felonious intention. The
prisoner ta as the wife of a soldier, with whom she had gone
troup,ll 10 years of fie'd service in India, including the
Sikh campaign. The ek:iinve had elected her mind t.) such
a degree that upon all matters having reference to India,
particularly the slaughter of women and children which had
unhappily taken place there lately, she was so excitable as
to a great extent not to be accountable for her actions. She
had borne children, and was now in the family-way, a state
in which many females acted under erroneous ideas and
impressions; and though be couldnot ask the jury to say that
this poor woman was notguilty on the ground of insanity, the
effect of which would be to incarcerate her in an asylum
for life, he hoped that upon the evidence, which he could
not attempt to controvert, they would be able to come to the
conclusion that sae might have put the gloves into her bag
without the idea of stealing them being in her mind at
the time. It was a very curious circumstance, tending, he
thought, to show the prisoner's absence of mind, that she
put down le. 10L'. to pay for the gloves, which came Only to
ls. 6d.
deposed to a certain au angeneas and
Witnesses were allied. They gave the prisoner a very
good characte; and
excitability of manner about her, particularly when matters
relating to India were breached in her presence. Ske was a
soldier's wife, and had passed many years in India.
Mr. Creasy told the jury that the question they had to
crmsider was simply whether the prisoner intended to steal
the gloves, and if they had any doubt upon it they should
give her the lynefit of it.
The jury acquitted her. There was some applause at the
verdict in the body of the court.
(Before Mr. Payne.)

Thomas Sanneford, 58, described as a seaman , was in-
dicted for having ot,tained by false and fraudulent pretences
from Freder:ck Sayer the sum of 103., with intent to cheat
him thereof.
Mr. Poland appeared for tae prosecution, on behalf of the
Mendieity Society; Mr. Gent was counsel for the prisoner.
The prosecutor, Capt. Frederick Sayer, attached to the
S'aff at the Horse Guards, stated that on Monday, the 19th
of J uly, the prisoner called at the Horse Guards and asked
to see him. He was shown into his office, and he then pro-
duced a paper, and said Le was a native of Sibton, in Suffolk,
and had been a lieutenant in the navy. He represented
that he had Gweed a vessel called the Hope, which foundered
off the coast in Aptil last, by which unfortunate occurrence
he lost £B5O, and was brought to ruin. He mentioned the
names of several persons resident in the neighbourhood of
Sib on, and also alluded to circumstances connected with
his (Capt. Sayer's) fatuity which occurred 30 years ago, by
which he was indue Al to believe that -his representations
were true, and he gave him 103., thinking him a deserving
person. The paper be had with him contained the names
of several persons, opposite to which were entries of sums
which he said those persons had given to relieve his di;-
tress, a!,el appended to it was a certificate purporting to be
siened by a Mr. Pearson, of Mark-lane, and setting forth
that the petitioner's statements about the loss t f the Hope
were true, and that he was worthy of charity. .Coen after
he ha,4 gone away it occurred to witness teat possibly the
man was an imrstor, as he bad been unable to mention the
name of the clergyman of Sibfon, which was well knewn
thereabout; but in a very short time he learned that he

was in custody, having bean apprehended just outside the
office. The prisoner told him. that the reason he left the
navy was that he was in fear of a court-martial.
Edward Webb, an officer of the Mendicity Society, stated
that en the day in question he saw the prisoner in company
with a woman in St. James's-street, and knowing them he
watched their proceeding 3. They went along Pall-Mall to
the Duke of Yurk's Column, thence to the Horse Guards,
and on the prisoner coming out of Capt. Sayer's office, he
passed a paper to the woman, who went off with it. He
took hold of the prisoner, who thrust another paper into
his mouth and tried to chew it, but part of it was recovered.
He >truggled slob ntly. There was no Mr. Pearson known
in Ma: k-lane, and the prisoner had been convicted of-ob-
tattling money by similar represeetations several times.
P.--hex before the magistrate, the prisoner wished the ease
to be dealt with summarily, and appealed to Capt. Sayer's
leniency, but he was cout:tate. for trial.
Mr. Gent urgccra variety a.groands, most of them of a
technical nature, for an rcquittal.
Mr. Payne summed up very carefully, and
The jury found t'-e prisoner guilty.
It was then proved that the prisoner had for the last 20
years lived by imposing on the public. He had been four
times convicted, an I was exec sell:me:4d to 15 months. Ile
was a 14atling ructutar of the lYggitig letter fraternity.
Mr. I'eyne having* consulted the ruagistrates present, said
he thonpht himself that a sentence of penal servitude
ought to be passed upon the prisoner by way of examile,
and to protect the charitable from tie iniquitms frauds
which i o had carried on for a long course of years.
,t•
How-
ever,
tekla a very light view of the case, the sentence on
tie preama occasion was 18 calendar months' hard labour,
the remainder of his days in penal servitude.
hhtettw, icful,..teprt.hcse was convicted again, he might rest assuro
William Williams, a respectable-looking man, was
placed at the bar to receive sentence. He was convicted on
Moods}, of assaulting Cbades ,Cule, a police-constable, in
the execution of his duty.

It appealed thet on the morning of the 20 b of July the
constable was in Oxford-street, and hearing a cry of ''police"
be went to the spot it proceeded from, and found a gentle-
man holding a womaa who Was struggling violently to
escape. The gcnVeman said the woman bad robbed him
of his watch and chain, which she bad in her hand when
be went up. BeiJg in plain clothes, he said he was a
policetnan, and took the woman into custody. The prisoner
interfered and wa ted to know what be was going to do
with the woman. He said he was a constable and had
got her in custo 'y for a robbery. The prisoner said
he could not tclifwhetber be was a policeman or not; but to
satisfy him upon that point, be took out his warrant card,
and showed it I im, and l e read it under a gas lamp. But
not satisfied with this proof of the constable's authority, he
still disputed his to take toe woman, and, tripping
him up, the womau act away, and while be lay on tire
ground tire prisoner kicked him on the arms end body. In
the end the prisoner "tars taken CO the itation instead of the
woman, and there he found there was no mistake as to the
prosecutor's being a policenian. A person who was prevent
corroborated the statement that the warrant card was
shown to the prisonl r, who read it by the gas light.
Mr. Metcalf-, frr the prisoner, now called evidence as to
the iesi.ectability of the prisoner, and his good character.
It was stated by his employer's ft,reman that he was an
honest, sober, and well conducted man.
/al r. Payne said, allowing the any chivalrous or Quixotic
feeling the prisorer might have had in going to the a sist-
race of a woman he thought was being ill-used, he had com-
mitted a very serous offence in rescuing from lawful cus-
tody a person wl o no doubt had committed a feloay ; and,
under all eh cutostances, he ought to have been content to
leave her with ti .e constable after the latter had very pro-
perly exhibited his warrant card. Considering his charac-
ter, and in the absencs of any suggestion that be was con-
cerned in any way wit 11 the woman who was accused of the
robbery, he al culd eel-Am:me him to six months' bard labour.
John ()dm,' 26, a journeyman baker, was convicted of
feloniously embezzling the sum of 2s. 64,
and other moneys,
received by him in the capacity of servant to William Coles,
and was sent: te six months' hard labour.
Elizabeth Drejicr, 30, formerly en hospital nurse, was
convicted of stealing 31 yards of calico, the property of
Adam Adams and ; pother; sentenced to three months' bard
labour.