The Sun.
London, England, 1835-04-10 00:00:00

DUBLIN.

(PROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
The Assizes are nearly at end all over Ireland ; and, as
ar as a paucity of convictions for agrarian outrage may be
taken as evidence of an improved state of society, they cer-
tainly afford it. Judicial persons are apt to underrate such
a proof of tranquillity. It is a common observation in a
Judge's charge to the Grand Jury, when the calendar hap-
pens to be light, that an empty gaol is quite consistent with
a most disorganised condition of society ; which seeming,
paradox, is accounted for by alleging intimidation and com-
bination, as the causes which obstruct the course of justice.
In some rare instances this may be a correct view, but, as a
general deduction it is neither honest nor true. The fairest
conclusion, as well as the most- reasonable to any unpre-
judiced judgment, would be that a scarcity of prosecutions
indicates a corresponding scarcity of crimes ; nor is there
any country in the world in which such an opinion is more
likely to be well-founded than Ireland, where so many per-
sons have an obvious and direct interest in working out
convictions, and exaggerating every casual riot into a crime
of fearful magnitude. Beside the crown lawyers and solici-
tors, who are feed in proportion to the number of cases, the
stipendiary magistrates, chief constables, policemen, and
many others, derive great advantages from crown prosecu-
tions. The reputation of these persons stands upon the
number of offenders whom they may be instrumental in
bringing to punishment, and their success in life depends
upon it. If a gentleman of that profession is not active,
ito nothing of at head-quarters ; and the activity
of a policeman, like that of as Indian warrior. is frerrientiv
measured by the scalps he carries at his belt. It is only
natural, therefore, to infer, that when these gentlemen, with
whom the country absolutely swarms, are idle, and cannot,
with the help of their spies and informers, ferret out em-
ployment for judges and juries at the Assizes, there is rea-
son to congratulate the true friends of peace and order on
the state of the country.
It is not often that judges err in the opposite extreme, or
fail to discover, in a heavily charged calendar, the infallible
evidence of public danger and disaffection. Yet such an
array is not always to be received as an argument against
the character of the people. The calendar may present a
fictitious or certainly an exaggerated list of outrages ; and
we often read of murders and other gross and frightful
crimes to be tried at the Assizes of this county or the other,
which appear in such a multitudinous array as to make the
blood run cold at the bare recital. Yet when these matters
come to be investigated, it turns out that the roll consists of
men in buckram crowded together for effect, and that a divi-
sion of the whole number by ten would give a more correct
idea of the state of the case, and still leave sufficient scope
for the exercise of the imaginative faculties.
The calendar of the county of Tipperary presented a hi-
deous muster-roll at the late Assizes. It contained seventy-
seven commitals for murder, and yet but ONE capital con-
viction followed, that of Kealing for the murder of O'Don-
nell, the police-constable. The mode in which charges of
murder are trumped up in that county (and indeed in many
other counties) was well illustrated in the conduct of a pro-
secution at this Assizes. Two men, named Mockler, were
charged with the murder of a person named Kavanagh.
An affray, originating with the party or faction of the de-
ceased ,took place on coming out of chapel one Sunday.
The design was to beat the Mocklers, who, with their
friends, made a successful defence, and Kavanagh received
injuries in the riot which caused his death. Mr. Despard,
the Magistrate, took an active part in the prosecution : he
had witnessed the transaction, and taken the depositions of
the dying man. On his cross-examination he admitted that
he had a dispute with the prisoners about a turf-bog, from
which he had dispossessed them without (as far as appeared
on this trial) a very clear right to do so. He also acknow-
ledged, after some fencing with the counsel, that he had de-
clared that he " would get the Mocklers hanged." They
were found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to be im-
prisoned for twelve months.

After their trial, a number of persons were given in charge
for manslaughter in the same transaction, amagst whom
was a man named Mullaly. During the preceding trial it
transpired that Mullaly, who had never been accused of a
participation in the offence, could give important evidenbe
for the prisoners, and Despard actually went out of Court,
had him arrested, placed in the dock along with the others,
and arraigned for the same crime, in order that he should
not be capabl9 of being testimony in their. favour. With
such breathless haste was the movement executed that the
man was actually lodged in gaol (perhaps in the dock) before
the warrant for his apprehension was made out. All this
was proved before the Court ; and the men were of course,
acquitted. These men also constituted a portion of the
seventy-seven..

So easy is it to make up a heavy calendar, which may
serve to strengthen the hopes of active magistrates to be
taken into pay, and to point a moral in the Standard, or
round a period for Mr. Shaw. There are other methods
also of swelling the muster, for which I beg the reader
to take Judge Moore's authority. Surgeon Phelan
uttcnacd—tu—actiNiiit tbe absence of a culprit upon
whom the sentence of the Court should have been .pa---
—" We have a great many cases," he said, " of fever in gaol
lately."
The COURT—" I do not wonder, Doctor, that you
should have a great many cases of the kind. Your gaol is
very much crowded. Sure there have been SIXTY-TWO
PERSONS set free by proclamation this night, AGAINST
WHOM THERE WAS NO CRIME. Many others have been
committed whose alleged crimes could easily have been
disposed of before the Petty Sessions, or at Quarter
Sessions."

There is the opinion of the Crown Judge upon the
manufacture of a calendar. With such gentlemen as Mr.
Despard in the commission of the peace (and it would be
wronging him to say that he is worse than many others), it
is not to be expected that the Judge of Assize will ever
have an opportunity of congratulating the Grand Jury of
this county on the state of the calendar.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
(THIS DAY.)

OLD COURT.

George Charles Griffiths pleaded guilty to an indictment
which charged him with stealing a cheque for 294/., the
property of Messrs. Heywood and Co., his employers.
William Jones, aged 28, was indicted for feloniously as-
saulting Benjamin Humphrey, and robbing him of a watch.
It appeared that the prosecutor was accosted by the pri-
soner in a crowd which had collected around a drunken
man, and they both agreed to go and take some ale toge-
ther. On their way to the public-house, they conversed
about the best mode of securing a thief, and the prisoner
was showing him a good plan, when he snatched the watch
and ran off. He was, however, overtaken, and the watch
found upon the spot where he was stopped.
Thomas Bouther, aged 24, a letter-carrier, was indicted
for stealing a letter containing three sovereigns, the property
of Thomas Cox.

Messrs. ADOLPHUS and SCARLETT conducted the prose-
cution, and Mr. PAYNE the defence.

It appeared that in the month of December last the pro-
secutor dispatched a letter from Sidmouth, Devonshire,
addressed to Mr. George Linton, 3, Charlton-street,
Fitzroy-square, containing three sovereigns. It reached the
General Post Office in London in due course, and was
given to the prisoner to deliver, but as it did not come to
hand enquiries were made at the post-office, and the pri-
soner declared he had delivered it to a woman, but he had
destroyed the money-letter receipt. He called upon Mr.
Liffaton and repeated his declaration that he had delivered
the letter, but eventually handed over 31., observing that l►e
must make up the money or lose his place, and requested
Liffaton to go to the office and say he had received the
letter, without entering into particulars.

The prisoner put in a written defence, in which he denied
any felonious intention or act. He made up the money to
save his character, but be certainly delivered the letter.
Several persons gave him a good character.
Mr. Justice GAZELLE summed up, and the Jury re-
turned a verdict of Not Guilty.