The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-01 00:00:00

know whether the notes produced are part of those
stolen from my house, but the numbers of four of
my notes ran in sequence, and I can ascertain more
about them upon inquiry.
Mr. Lewis (for the defence.)—l contend, sir, that
there is nothing whatever in all this evidence which
would justify- your further detaining my client.
Mr. D'Eyncourt.—lt is proved that she has given
a false address, and gone by different names, and I
shall therefore remand her. I will take bail in the
meantime, but they must be two sureties in .£3O
each, and they must be strictly inquired into before
being taken. •
The prisoner, however, could not get the bail, and
was therefore sent to prison.

WESTMINSTER.—Sarah Ann Fry, a well-
dressed woman, was charged with the wilful mur-
der of her infant ; and James Durant, a•respectable-
looking man, with being an accessory after the fact
and disposing of the body by throwing it into the
Thames.

After some additional evidence had been given,
yr. Paynter said he was placed in a painful posi-
tion. In the ordinary course of things there would
have been a post mortenz examination, and a jury
would have thereupon decided whether the child
came by its death by violence or not. The male
prisoner had removed the body, a jury could not
therefore sit upon it, and he was in consequence
called up to act as a jury; he would not take upon
himself to decide the case, but must send it to the
Central Criminal Court.
Two sureties in £4O were accepted for the ap-
pearance of each of the prisoners.

HAMMERSMITH.—Two -well-dressed youths,
who gave the names of George Anderson, 21, and
Wm. Ford, 17. were charged with attempting to
pick pockets in St. Stephen's Church, Westbourne-
park.

Mr. Ingham remanded the prisoners for a week,
to ascertain if they were known.
GREENWICH.—Robt. Murry, 35, and Johanna
Murry, 28, described as husband ond wife, and tra-
velling ventriloquists of no fixed residence, were
charged with attacking and robbing Robert Hobbs
on the highway of a purse containing a £5 Bank
of England note.
The prosecutor, a man about 60 years of age, and
whose face was much disfigured from recent vio-
lence, deposed that about a quarter before eight. on
Saturday night he was proceeding along the Wool-
wich road, and when in a very lonely spot met the
two prisoners. The woman immediately took hold
of his arm and requested his company, at the same
time putting her hand in his pocket and taking out
a purse containing a£s note, and running off. He
raised an alarm, on which two other men came, up,
struck him aviolent blow over the eye, and knocked
him down in the road.

The prisoners protested their innocence ; but
Mr. Seeker said he should remand them for a
week, when they would be committed for trial.

WOOLWICH.—John Young, 33, a discharged
soldier of the Royal Artillery, was brought up on
remand, charged with stealing a set of chaise har-
ness, value £5, the property of Col. Erskine, of the
Military Train, and also two other sets of chaise
harness, value £8 and £l5 respectively, the pro-
perty of Mr. Hammond, proprietor of the Star and
Garter Tavern, Powis-street, Woolwich.
Mr. Seeker committed the prisoner for trial.

TSB EDUCATED MULE AT THE
AMERICAN CIRCUS.

The following case was tried before a jury at the
Birmingham County Court on Saturday :
The plaintiff was Mr. Richard Moffatt, equestrian,
and the defendant the popular clown and proprietor
of the American equestrian company performing
up to Saturday evening last in the circus, Moor-
street. It was brought to recover damages for
breach of contract, £2B being the amount claimed.
Mr. Hawkes was retained for the plaintiff; and.
Mr. Elers, barrister, of .the Midland Circuit, in-
structed by Mr. Harding, appeared for the de-
fendant.
From the opening of the former learned gentle-
man, who addressed the jury in a somewhat humo-
rous vein, it would seem that shortly before Christ-
mas last the plaintiff, who is the proprietor of the
well-known " eccentric mule," and who had also
two sons and a daughter in the same profession as
himself, hearing that the defendant, who chose to
style himself Jim Myers, " The Star Momus of the
World"—(a laugh)—was about to open with his
American equestrian troupe in the Moor.street
Circus on boxing-night, wrote to the defendant
from _Belfast offering his services, and those of his
family, his mule, and a ring horse, if there was a
vacancy for them. In that letter he stated that the
performances of himself and family consisted of
"pantomime acts," "trick acts," double tight-rope
dancing, and feats with the horizontal pole. The
defendant wrote him a reply, to which the plain-
tiff, in answering, expressed his surprise at its
nature. He then proceeded, " I offered to come
on low terms, in order that you might see what
we were really worth. Perhaps you imagine we
have not much talent ; and I enclose you a bill
of challenges, which you are at liberty to accept.
Had you offered £7 a week, and a benefit on mode-
rate terms, or £8 without a benefit, I would have
accepted the terms, purposely to show our utility.
Do not suppose my family are children: one of my
boys is over 17, the girl is 17, and the other boy
nine, and it costs me a considerable sum to keep
them in clothing and dresses to make a proper
appearance in and out of the ring." The plaintiff
also added, " What is the use of talent, horses, good
dresses, woodcuts, and lithographs if you cannot
get paid for them ?" One of the " challenges" re-
ferred to Was that the mule, which was also included
in the offer of engagement, could be backed for £5O
to throw any one who attempted to get on his back.
The defendant at length wrote; and agreed to give
the defendant £7 a week for himself, family, horse,
and mule, subject to a fortnight's notice, which
terms were accepted, Moffatt being duly announced
to appear as " Don Juan," " The Fat Clown," and
as the trainer of the " eccentric mule." The bill
stated that the proprietor had secured, "at an
immense expense, what the Times had described as
the animal of wisdom—the educated mule,' which
no person had ever been able to ride." (Laughter.)
So Mr. Moffatt and his troupe came over from Bel-
fast at an expenie of £l7, and joined the corps of
the " Star Momus." He .made his first appearance
on the Monday ; the house was crowded with an
enthusiastic audience, and "Don Juan" and the
trained mule went through their performance to the
delight of all. Several persons tried to ride the
animal, but one after another was pitched .off his
back amidst the greatest merriment. The same
satisfactory result attended the day performance
next day ; but in the evening Jim Myers, who, it
must be admitted, was, perhaps, the most inimitable
clown of the day, after several persons had been
thi own by the mule, offered to give a sovereign to
anyone who could ride him. The challenge was
accepted by a butcher in the gallery, wno entered
the ring, and after three vain efforts succeeded,
by dint of almost strangling the animal in
holding him so tightly round the neck, in
keeping on him during three rounds in the
circle, and Myers had to forfeit a sovereign.
After this Mr. Myers did not appear to see much
elevernerness in the performance of Moffatt's troupe,
and on the Saturday, when he paid the plaintiff,
he deducted the sovereign he had forfeited, and
gave him a formal intimation that his services
would no longer be required, stating that he had
been deceived by his representations as to what lie
could perform. Under these circumstances Mr.
Hawkes submitted that the plaintiff was entitled
to a verdict, unless it could be shown that his re-
presentations to the defendant were false or in the
main untrue. After mentioning that Moffatt held
a high reputation in his profession, that he had
been engaged at Astly's, Madame Newsome's, and
other first-class establishments, and possessed testi..
menials as 'to his accomplishments, Mr. Hawkes
proceeded to call evidence.
The plaintiff, who was first examined, substanti-
ated the main facts stated by his advocate, and in
cross-examination said he did not hear any hissing
during his performances, or those of his family, or
his mule. lole was only hissed once, and that was,
because he had to follow a performer who played
a sailor, which was the character into which he
changed from Don Juan, and The audience did not
care for the repetition. e made an engagement
with Mr. Holder, of the Concert Hall, on the fol-
lowing Monday, not feeling disposed to remain idle
and starve. Mr. Holder, he admitted, complained
of the rope dancing of his son and daughter, but
this arose partially from the slackness of the rope.
Mr. Flint, an equestrian agent, Mr. Cashmere,
formerly a musician at Newsome's, and Mr. Harm-
stone, manager at Newsome's, having been called
to prove that the performances of the plaintiff and
family and the mule had always gone off success-
fully, and always " drew " well.
Mr. Elers addressed the jury for the defendant,
arguing as his chief ground that the defendant was
justified in breaking the contract which was en-
tend into upon a tissue of misrepresentations on
the part of the plaintiff in his communications
with the defendant. The specific misrepresenta-
tions upon which the learned counsel said ho should
rely were as to the " trick acts," the challenge
referred to in the bill forwarded to the defendant,
and the allegation by inference that the plaintiff
and his family were provided with proper dresses.
The defendant, in fact, was deceived by the misre-
presentations of the plaintiff, who was so inace-
quate his work that he was hissed by
audience on more than one occasion. Moreover, as