The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-13 00:00:00

SUMMER ASSIZES.

HOME CIRCUIT.—CROYDON, Aug. 1?.
(Before the Lord Chief Baron and Special Juries. )
BECKWITH V. THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY

COMPANY.
Sergeant Shee and Mr. F. J. Smith were for the
plaintiff ; Mr. Bovill, Q. C,, and Mr. Ha wkins ap-
peared for the company.
This was an action to recover damages f'r an in-
jury sustained by the plaintiff upon the occasion of
the explosion of the fog signals at Stratford on the
26th of February last. It appeared that the com-
pany had made an announcement of the intended'
sale of a quantity of stores, and the plaintiff, who is
a smith and engineer, had gone to the stution at
Stratford with his brother to inspect them, and they
happened to be near the factory at the time the ex-
plosion took place ; and the consequence was that
the plaintiff's brother was killed on the spot, and he
himself had his leg broken, andreceived other in-
juries from which, it was stated by the surgeons
who were examined, he was likely to suffer for the
remainder of his life.

The defence attempted to b 3 set up by the com-
pany was that the plaintiff was a trespasser, but it
altogether failed, and the jury returned a verdict
for the plaintiff—Damages, 750/.

THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY V. THE GREAT NORTHERN

RAILWAY COMPANY.
Mr. Rivill, Q.C., Mr. Lush, Q.C., and Mr.
Watkin Williams were for the plaintiff ; and Mr.
Hawkins and Mr. Rochfort Clerk appeared for the
com parry.
This was an action of ejectment to recover pos-,
session of a piece of land at,HatfielX in the county
of Hertford. The land in question Was formerly a
portion of the old York-road, which had been di-
verted where it was crossed by the railway. There
were a variety of points of law raised, and eventu-
ally it was arranged that a special case should be
drawn up for the opinion of the Court.
(Before Mr. Justice Willes and a Common Jury.)

WILLIAMS V. DE VILDRAY.
This, case was disposed of late on Tuesday evening.
It was an action brought by the adminis-rairix
and representative of the firm of Williams and
Sowerby, silk mercers, dr.c., of Oxford-street, to re-
cover 521. for silk dresses and other goods supplied
to the defendant.

The pleas put upon the record in answer to the
plaintiff's claim admitted the receipt of the wads,
but alleg 'd that they were sold for an immoral pur-
pose,—namely, to enable ths defendant to carry on
the occupation of a prostitute.
Mr. Petersdorff was for the plaintiff ; and Ser-
geant Parry and Mr. Joyce for the defendant.
The issue being upon the defendant,
Alga daTilbray, the defendant, a tall, elegantly
dressed Frenchwoman, was examined, and she
stated that she had been in the habit of purchasing,
articles of dress at the establishment of the plain-
tiff, and always paid ready money f)r them. Upon
one occasion, however, she saw Mr. Grant, the
manager of the establishment, arid he inquired
whether she was not a gay woman, and she told
him she was ; and he then said that he thought
she might get more friends if she dressed more ex-
pensively, and that she might have anyaing she
required upon credit. He showed her some ex-
pensive dresses, and said that she would look like
a queen in them, and at thesame time told her that
she should go to the Argyll-rooms and other places
of a similar kind, and she would easily find a friend
who would pay the bill. She stated that it was
solely in consequence of this that she was induced
to purchase the dresses, and she afterwards 'wore
them in the pursuit of her vocation.
The defendant was cram-examined at s'lne length
by the learned counsel for the plaintiff, but nothing
was elicited from her that at all tended to shake
her testimony, and she per s'sted in declaring that
the plaintiff's manager was perfectly well aware of
her position at the time the goods were supplied,
and that he induced her to purchase them under
the circumstances she stated.

Mr. Petersdorff then addressed the jury for the
plaintiff, and he called
_ _

Mr. Grant, the person referred to by the defen-
dant, who stated that she was introduced to him
by a Frenchman named Dorbas, who represented
that she was a resp?ctable married lady, and that
her husband was abroad, and would not return
for a fortnight, and th It the arrangement was that
half of the a;coonut of goods supplied was to be paid
down, and the remainder when the husband re-
j :turned. He state.' that after the goads had been
' sent in an excuse was made for not paying what was
agreed upon, and subsequently it appeared that the
defendant never intended to pay, and therefore the
present action was brought against her. He also
positively declared that be had never made the
suggestion she represented to her.
Mr. Justice \Vides explained to the jury the law
in reference to a case cf this description, and said
that if they believed the evidence of the defendant
she was entitled to a verdict, and the only question
for them was which of the witnesses they con-
sidered entitled to credit.

The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a
verdict fur the defendant.

OXFORD CIRCUIT. -GLOUCESTER, Aug. 11.

CIVIL COURT.

(Before Mr. Baron Martinvand Special Juries.)
Mr. B iron Martin has be .:-,n .occupied the whole
day in the trial of a cause in which the question is
as to the competency of a party to make a will.
The criminal business of the assiz-s wa3 brought
to a close last night after the (Lspatch of our re-
port.

CRIMINAL COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Bramwell.)

Ann Bird was charged with wilful and corrupt
perjury at Cheltenham.
Mr. Fallon appeared for the prosecution, and Mr.
Sawyer defended the prisoner.
It appeared the prisoner, whowas servant to Mrs.
Col. Gordor, living iii -Gansdown terrace Chelten •
ham, had laid an informatir n against a kr. Cilas.
Neale, a printer, for a burglary and robbery com-
mitted in the house of her mistress on the morn
ing of Friday, the 24th of April. The prosecutor
had been apprehended and taken before the ma-
gistrates, and the prisoner there swore that she
came downstairs a little before 6 o'clock on the
morning of Friday and saw a man going across
the hall to the kitchen door ; that he looked up
and said that if she told of it he would mur-
den her ; that she knew it was, Neale by the black
patch on his eye, and- had known him for years ;
and that he then went out at the back and got
over the wall. The prosecutor stated that on the
night in question he was not at or near the house
of Mrs. Gordon, but that from 9 to 12 on that
night he was with a man named Wallace, and that
from 12 o'clock till 8 the next morning he was at
home in bed. This evidence was confirmed by
Wallace and by Mrs. Neale ; and his little girl
said she went into his room a little before 6 in the
morning to get some matches to light the fire, and
saw him in lied, where he remained till 8 o'clock.
A man named BreWer said be was at work at the
back of Mrs. Gordon's house on the morning in
question, and if anybody had got over the wall he
must have seen him. A policeman named Sheen
said he had examined the premises, but there was
no appearance of any breaking or forcible entry,
but a man might have got in at an unfastened
window at the back of the house, but this window
was 12 feet from the ground. A good many things
were scattered about the place, and the sum of 51.
had been taken from the box of a French servant.
Mr. Sawyer having addressed the jury for the
prisoner, the jury found her guilty, and
Mr. Baron Bramwell sentenced her to be im-
prisoned, with hard labour, for one year.
Mary Browning, who had been convicted of the i
manslaughter of the iiegitimate child bf her
daughter, was brought into court, and
Mr. Baron Bramwell sentenced her to be im-
prisoned for one year.
It was stated td the co,irt that the prisoner had
been certified to be of unsound mind, and she
would be removed to a lunatic asylum.
John Townsend and William Holland, two ser-
vants of the Great Western Railway Company,
were charged with stealing seven bottles of wine,
the property of Messrs. Wheeler and Co.
Mr. Cripps and Mr Gilmore Evans appeared for
the prosecution; Mr Powell defended the prisoner.
It appeared the Messrs. Wheeler and Co., wine-
merchants, had cans. d a hamner of wine to be
delivered at the Great Western Railt-FaY
wation at
Gloucester, to be forwarded to their correspon-
dents at Swansea. This hamper was safely re-
ceived in a luggage truck at the inwards goods
station to the knowledge of the prisoners, who
were porters of the company,
and the hamper re-
mained safe in that truck till half-past
10 at night
at least. Between 10 and 11 o'clock, on the arri-
val of the Hereford train, goods van No. 261,
which came with that train, w s shunted near to
the luggage truck in which the hamper was.
Shor,ly afterwards the prisoner Townsend engagel
Byett, the night policeman, in conversation in a
place from which the truck and van could not be
seen, and at the same time the other prisoner was
seen close to them by a porter who chanced to
come down to the gcods station. Byett observing