The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-25 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCIIIT.NERCISTLE, DEC. 23.
(Before Mr. Justice Crompton.)
Blakestone Hinde, 27, and Wm. Wise, 21, were
ledicted for having, on Dec. 26, 1856, assaulted
anti robbed Win. Owley of 2621.
The Hon. A. Liddell and Mr. Davidson prose-
cuted; Mr. Seymour defended the prisoner 'Linde,
the other prisoner, by the advice of his counsel (Mr.
Price), pleaded guilty.
It appeared that the prosecutor on the 22_
Messrs.
Hodge last year received a sum of 2651. from M
Hodge and Hurle, solicitors, Newcastle. Of this
sum there were two notes of 1001. each, 451. 5/
notes, and the rest in gold. This sum the prosecu-
tor, who is a farmer, kept about his person until
the 26th Dec. On that night he was drinking at
the White Hart Inn, in the Low Bar, Grey-street,
Newcastle, in company with two men named Jas.
Reed and Wm. Donkin, and left there at 11 o'clock
worse for liquor, alone. As he was going home up
Collingwood-street he was overtaken by Reed and
Donkin, and they all went into the Wellington Inn,
in that street, where he had some more to drink.
He then separated from them, and left the inn to
go home about a quarter to 12 o'clock, and was pro-
ceeding up Marlborough-street, when he heard foot-
steps behind him, and saw two men. Immediately
after a man threw his arms round his neck, and be
was strangled until he became insensible, thrown
down, and robbed of all the money on his person,
and recollected nothing further until he found him-
self at home, bruised, and with a front tooth
knocked out. He had afterwards charged Reed
and Donkin with being the two men who had robbed
him. The prosecution, however, did not rely on his
testimony as to the persons who had robbed him.
They called William Wise, the prisoner who bad
pleaded guilty, who stated that on the night of 26th
Dec. last year he and tke prisoner Riede lived in
Gateshead, and a man named Winship lived in
Winlaton, near Gateshead. On that night he was
in the Charles XII. public-house with the prisoner
Hinde and Winship and they left in company at a
quarter to 12, when Hinde and Winship asked me to
take a walk with them through the town. They all
went towards the Cattle-market and along Marl-
borough-street, and while there Riede was at one
aide of the street and he and Winship on the other,
when the prosecutor passed them in the middle of
the road and spoke to witness and Winship. While
his face was turned towards them Hinde crossed
from the other side of the street, and rushing upon
Owley, put his arms round his neck as described by
the prosecutor. Winship said to witness, " Come
over, here is some money to be got ;" and they then
rifled the prosecutor'spockets of 2661. 7s. 6d. They
then all ran away across Knoe's field towards the
river, towards the wrestling ground, where there is
a gaslight, when the prisoner Hinds took the money
out of a fiat purse and they divided it ; after which
they crossed the bridge into Gateshead and walked
from there to Winlaton to Winship'a mother's, to
whom Winship gave one of 1001.-notes, part of his
share, and she said she would keep it till it could
be changed, and placed it in an old dress. They
then went to a publichouse kept by a man named
Reed, to whose wife he offered the other 1001. note
to change as a 101. note, and she told him it was a
100/. note, and he then took it away. Mrs. Reed was
called and corroborated this statement. A man
named Johnson proved that on the night in ques-
tion he was in Marlborough-street at a quarter to
12, when he saw a man fall and three men run
away, leavin.; the men senseless. That man was
the prosecutor. A boy also proved that the day fol-
lowing he found a 5/. note on the road which these
three men had taken. It was also proved that ou
some of liinde's friends calling to see him at the
prison he was overheard to tell them " to call on
Mrs. Wise and to keep her sweet." Early in the
last year Winship and the prisoner Hinde had es-
caped from the gaol, and the prisoner only had
been recaptured. On the part of the prosecution
the testimony of the prisoner Wise was relied on,
corroborated as it was by the evidence of the other
witnesses. For the defence it was contended that
these witnesses were none of them free from taint,
and that Wise had said unless 201. were given to him
he would give evidence against the other prisoner.
His Lordship having summed up,
The jury found the prisoner guilty, and
His Lordship sentenced Hinds to be confined in
penal servitude for 15 years, and Wise to penal
servitude for six years.
John O'Harrow, aged 21, and Wm. Daley, 23,
were indicted for having, on the 20th Sept. last,
attempted to drown John Blackpool, with intent
to kill and murder him.
Mr. Price and Mr. Greenhow prosecuted ; and
Mr. Seymour defended O'Harrow, and Mr. Davi-
son the prisoner Daley.
It appeared that the prosecutor, who was mate
of a ship moored at the quay-side, had been out
chinking on the night in question in the town, and
was going on board Ins ship between 11 and 12
o'clock, when he was suddenly seized by four men,
two of whom were the prisoners at the bar, thrown
down, and a pocket of his trousers containing his
money turned inside out and cut off. While thus on
the ground helpless the men seized him by the legs
and body, and deliberately threw him over the
quay—ide into tae river, in deep water. The prose-
cutor was not so stunned as to be unable to try to
keep himself afloat, and he contrived to get between
his vessel and the quay wall, and by means of
his elbows and holding on by projections of the
wall to support himself until he was got out of
his perilous position. A little girl named
Catherine Riley, who had been selling crockery-
ware in the market near, was passing close by
;it the time with her basket, and said she
saw five men go towards the prosecutor as he was
going on board his ship, and saw one of the men
walkaway, and heard him say as he was goingaway,
" If you are going to rob the man and drown him,
I will have nothing to do with it." She then siw
the other four men, as described, throw the prose-
cutor down, rifle his pockets as described, and
throw him afterwards into the river. The men then
ran away, and she leaned over the quay-side to give
the man a hand to help him up, and nearly fell into
the river herself in doing so. She spoke positively
to the two prisoners as being two of the men, and
said she had known them both before. When one of
them ran away the others cried after him, " If you
acutch we will kill you." A policeman on duty on
the bridge spoke to seeing the two prisoners and
other two men running over the bridge, and after-
wards, ou going to the quay-side, he saw the pro-
secutor getting out of the river ou to the quay very
wet and dirty.
The prisoners' counsel having addressed the jury
on their behalf,
His Lordship summed up, and the jury found
both prisoners guilty.
They were sentenced to 20 years' penal servitude
each.