The Sun.
London, England, 1835-03-28 00:00:00

SURREY SESSIONS.

Mary Johnson, a tall thin woman, of emaciated appear-
ance, was indicted for stealing a shaft iron, the property of
James Macintosh, a coachmaker, at Newington. Guilty.
The Chairman sentenced the prisoner to one month's
imprisonment and hard labour at Brixton.

ATTEMPT TO BREAK PRISON.—On the preceding day,
a man named Reed pleaded guilty to an indictment for
horse-stealing. He was sentenced to be transported for
life, and was subsequently placed under confinement in the
county gaol. In the course of Thursday night he attempt-
ed to escape from the prison, by sawing the iron bars of his
cell with an iron instrument. He managed to cut through
two bars, and would in all probability have succeeded in
serering a sufficient number to allow of his escape, had it
not been that the handle of the tool with which he worked
was of too large a size to enter with the necessary ease be-
tween the bars, Had he, however, succeeded in getting
out of the cell, he must have alighted in the yard which
surrounds the gaol, and as watchmen are placed there of a
night, his recapture would have been inevitable. The in-
strument with which he attempted to escape, was found
concealed under his bed next morning.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.-LANCASTER, MARCH 25.

REX V. COOKSON AND OTHERS.

This was an indictment for riot and assault arising out of
the lately contested election of Members to serve in Par-
liament for the borough of Preston, in this county. Se-
veral indictments were preferred by the different parties in
the town against their opponents. In the present case
there were seven defendants—namely, Cookson, Wearing,
Hutchinson, Proctors Dickenson, Preston, and Rhodes,
young men in the lower ranks of life, who had been em-
ployed in subordinate offices during the election. The first-
named six were defended by Mr. Rushton, and Rhodes by
Mr. Starkie.

The prosecution was conducted by Dr. BROWN, assisted
by Mr. BR ANDT.
The Learned DOCTOR, in his statement of the case to
the Jury, observed that the offence now comnlained of was
cothmitted on the first day of the last election for Pres-
ton, which commenced on Thursday, the eighth day of
January. The borough of Preston enjoys a more ex-
tended elective franchise, than almost any other place in
the kingdom ; but it was not wide enough to satisfy all, for
he believed that the people of Preston had formed such
an idea of universal suffrage, that it ought in their
opinion to be extended not only to all the men, but to all
the females also. In 1830 the once well-known Mr.
Hunt was a candidate, and a most outrageous row took
place, such as no party desired to see repeated at any
time, and to prevent the recurrence of such scenes, it
was agreed that the persons employed by the various
candidates in the business of the election should wear
caps of the colour of their respective parties. Three
candidates appeared in the field, Mr. Hesketh Fleetwood
and Captain Stanley, who were successful, and Mr. Smith,
a bookseller, of Liverpool. There was also a fourth
candidate, a Mr. Thompson, who did not, however, make
his appearance in person. Fleetwood's men wore blue
caps ; Stanley's, yellow ; and Smith's and Thompson's,
red. For some time things went on pretty amicably, but
it so happened that a party of the red caps, parading
the streets, met the blue caps, on a similar errand, near
an inn called the Fighting Cocks. An encounter ensued,
stones were thrown, heads broken, and fortunately more
damage done to the skulls than the brains, though many
of the former were severely dealt with. In addition to
the pelting, weavers' irons, axes, and hammers were put
in requisition, and among other things an unoffending cart
was chopped partly to pieces. In short, the outrages
were of a very violent character, as would be proved be-
yond doubt. The men now on trial wore red caps.
Mr. STARKIE addressed the Jury on behalf of the pri-
soner Rhodes, and Mr. RUSHTON on behalf of the other
prisoners.

The Jury did not deliver their verdict till they had deci-
ded upon all their verdicts, when they declared Rhodes,
Cookson, and Preston, Not Guilty ; and Wearing, Proctor,
Hutchinson, and Dickenson, Guilty. His Lordship said
he should hear the whole of the cases before he passed
sentence.

At a late hour, a party consisting of six, of the blue caps
were arraigned, and pleaded" Not Guilty." The remainder
of the trials aac expected to take place to-morrow.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.-SHREWSBURY, MARCH 25.
THE KING V. RICHARD ASTERLEY.

The prisoner, an attorney living at Shrewsbury, was in-
dicted for obtaining money under false pretences.
The circumstances of the case were these :—On the 15th
of last July one Thomas Penryhn, who kept a beer-shop in
Shrewsbury, was convicted in the penalty of 405., for an
offence against the Beer Act. The defendant attended for
him before the magistrates, and was paid ss. 6d. A month's
time was allowed to Penryhn to pay the penalty. On the
6th of August the defendant came. to Penryhn's house and
told his daughter that he had prevailed upon the deputy
recorder (Mr. Bather) and the clerk to the justices (Mr.
Loxdale) to remit a part of the penalty which had been
imposed upon another person convicted of a similar offence,
and that if she would give him a sovereign he would go and
do the same thing for her father. Her mother gave him a
sovereign, and two sixpences for himself. In the course of
an hour he returned, and stated that he had succeeded, and
had got the penalty reduced, and that it was all right. He
then received Is. 6d. more for his trouble on this occasion.
In point of fact, the penalty had not been remitted in either
case , the defendant did not see or communicate with Mr.
Bather or Mr. Loxdale, but kept the sovereign himself, and
Penrhyn was compelled to pay the full penalty in which he
had been convicted, on the '23d of September.
The Jury found the defendant Guilty, and
Mr. Justice PARK sentenced ,him to seven years' trans-
portation.