The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-23 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT—DERBY, March 21.
(Before Mr. Justice Erle.)
ARSON.

James Grundy, a farmer, occupying 200 acres of
land at Lullington, in the county of Derby, was
charged with having, on the 29th December last,
maliciously set fire to a stack of wheat, a stack of
barley, a stack of ' beans, and divers other stacks,
the property of Mr. John Payne Moxon, farmer.
The corn destroyed was valued at £l,OOO.
Mr. Merewether and Mr. Leigh prosecuted;
Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Bell defended the prisoner.
John Payne Moxon, the prosecutor, said—l am a
farmer at Lady Leighs, in the parish of Lulling.
ton. On the 29th of December I went to bed about
10 o'clock, leaving 18 stacks of corn in the rick•
yard, in the direction of prisoner's house. I live
about half a mile front Mrs. Wettoa's. Prisoner's
farm adjoins mine, but is not under the same land-
lord. Scott, the keeper, called me up about three
o'clock the next morning, and the stacks were then
burning. I did not see prisoner or any of his men
there when I got up. On the 4th January I ob-
served Mr. Rust looking at the footmarks in the
fields, and I saw a man in the prisoner's stackyard,
on the top of a rick, looking at us, but I could not
tell who it was. He did not remain on the rick
more than a minute after he saw us.

By Mr. O'Brien—Can't say how long prisoner
has lived in the neighbourhood; he was there when
I came. I was insured.

Harriet Parker—l -was in the service of Drisoner
on the 29th December last. Prisoner left his house
that day' about 12 o'clock at noon. He returned
home at two o'clock the next morning. I had gone
to bed- then. The waggon•boy let him in. There
were also two servant boys in the house. I got up
because Mr. Grundy said Mr. Moxon's stacks were
on fire. I heard Mr. Grundy say they were on
fire, as I lay in bed. I came down stairs and went
into the yard with prisoner. We did not remain
there many minutes. When we returned into the
house prisoner said, " I am the man that 'set them
on fire." He said it to a man named Kelly, and
Kelly, in reply, said, " Hold your noise, say no-
thing." Prisoner said nothing more to Kelly, but
he said to me, " T will give you £lO if you won't
say anything." Prisoner also said, " I set them on
fire at each end."
The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and his
lordship sentenced the prisoner to penal servitude
for 12 years.

WARWICK, MARCH 22.
(Before Lord Campbell.)
EDWARD WOOD V. DE GEX—EXTRAORDINARY
ACTION AGAINST AN ATTORNEY.

Mr. Macaulay, Q.C., and Mr. Manley Smith for
the plaintiff; and Mr. Sergeant Hayes for the de-
fendant. .

The plaintiff is a gentleman of property living at
Stand-hills, near Warwick. A disputed account
arose between him and one Bateman, a surveyor,
at Leamington, It was referred and Mr. Wood
had to pay damages and costs, £B6 Is. 9d. He
sent the amount to his agents in August last, to be
handed over to the other side, which, through
the negligence of a clerk, was not done. On the
29th of September plaintiff was arrested about half-
past nine at night for the above amount. Mr.
Wallington, of Leamington, was the solicitor for
Bateman, and was with the officer. Mr. Wood
produced the receipt of his agents for the money,
showing clearly he had paid the money• to his
agents, and that there was a mistake somewhere.
Mr. Wallington wished to, have £lO in addition to
the debt and costs to remunerate his client, for the
extra damage he alleged his client had sustained.
Mr. Wood was willing to pay the £lO, but would
not sign a memorandum to him, as drawn out for
him by Mr. Wallington, as reasons for the addi-
tional £lO, and as Mr. Wallington would take
nothing but cash, though several persons were
willing to guarantee the amount until the banks
opened the next morning, Mr. Wood was forced to
go to gaol, and remained there all night. No im-
putation was cast upon Mr. De Gex, who, it was
admitted on all hands, was a man of honour, but
bein6 liable for those under him he consented to a
verdict for £lOO, which Mr. Wood said he would
give to a charity.
Mr. Wallington, who was in court, volunteered an
explanation, which
Lord Campbell, after attentively listening to,
characterised as an aggravation of his original
conduct.

(Before Mr. Justice Erle.)
RELIGIOUS INSANITY.

John Brailsio rd, 38, sawyer, was charged with
having, at Birmingham, on the 7th of December,
killed and murdered Samuel Sunderland. _

.John Maxwell, one of the attendants at the Bir-
mingham Lunatic Asylum, said that the prisoner
was a patient of that institution on the 6th Decem-
ber last. On the morning of the 7th witness saw
him in a room with other patients about twenty
minutes to twelve. The prisoner then appeared
calm and collected. Maxwell offered him something
to eat, but he declined. Witness left the room
almost directly. There were about four patients
with tbe prisoner, among whom was the deceased.
After leaving the room Maxwell heard a crash and
noise, and he went back immediately, and found
that Brailsford had the deceased on the ground,
and was dashing him on the floor with great vio-
lence. Maxwell got off the prisoner, who said,
" Christ died to save sinners—we shall all be saved
—come, man, wash your hands in the blood of the
Lamb."

The jury found the poor lunatic guiltless of the
crime of murder, .ail the Judge ordered him to be
confined till her Majesty's pleasure was known
with respect• to him, with a view• of his being kept
under restraint until his freedom could be safely
extended to him*.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—SHREWSBURY, March 22,

NISI PRIUS COURT.

(Before Mr. Baron Channell and a Special Jury.)
JOHN WATTON V. JOHN FRAIL.-ACTION AGAINST

JOHN FRAIL FOR BRIBERY.

Mr. Sergeant Pigott, Mr. Phipson, and Mr. Mot-
teram for plaintiff; Mr. Huddleston, Q.C., Mr.
John Gray, Mr. W. H. Cooke, and Mr. Best for
defendant.

The plaintiff, John Watton, is the proprietor of the
Shrewsbury Chronicle, and the defendant is the well-
known electioneering agent, John Frail. The
action was brought under the 54th section of the
Municipal Act, to recover £5O for having given a
bribe of 30s. to one Samuel Bentley, at the municipal
election, on' the Ist Nov. last, for the West Ward
of the borough of Shrewsbury. At that election
the plaintiff and defendant were candidates, and the
defendant was elected ; but it having come to the
knowledge of the plaintiff that bribery had been
committed, he brought the present action, which,
if proved, would not only impose a fine of £5O upon
the defendant, but would also deprive him of all
municipal and other civil rights for the remainder
of his life. To this defendant pleaded not guilty.
Samuel Bentley, examined by Mr. Sergeant