The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-03 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.—BERTFORD. Menu( 2.
The business of the .Home Circuit commenced here
to-day. There were six cases entered for trial on the
Civil Side, one of which only is a special- jury case. On
the Crown Side there are sixteen prisoners for trial, but
a good many of the charges are of an ordinary descrip-
tion; Mr. Justice Cresswell sat on the Civil Side, and
Mr. Baron Channell, the newly appointed judge, pre-
sided in the Crown Court.
CIVIL SlDE,—(Before gr. Justice Crcsswt 11 and a Cnn-
mon Jury.)
Tvrrir ----

This was an action to recover damages for injuries
that were alleged to have been occasioned by the negli-
gence of the servant of the defendant.
Mr. Edwin James, Q.C., and Mr. Hawkins were
counsel for the plaintiffs; Mr. M. Chambers, Q.C., was
for the defendant.

It appeared that the defendant was an undertaker in
Bethnal-green, and that he had been engaged to conduct
the funeral of a Mr. Writer, the landlord of the Seven
Stars public-house, Bethnid green, by his widow. The
plaintiffs were related to Mrs. Writer, and at her re-
quest they accompanied the deceased to the grave, and
on their return it appeared that CAI carriage in which
they and five other mourners were seated vas over-
turned, and the plaintiff's wife received very severe in-
juries upon her head and hands, and it was to recover
compensation for these injuries that the present action
was brought against the defendant, it being' alleged that
the accident was occasioned by the negligent manner in
which his servant drove the coach containing the mour-
ners. The case on the part of the defendant was that
the man who drove the mourning coach was not Ile
servant of the defendant, but that he was engaged at the
request of Mrs. Writer, who wished to get him a job,
and it was also contended that there had been no ne
gligence on his part in driving, and that the accident
was occasioned by a waggon driving against the mourn-
ing coach and compelling him to back his horse to get
out of the way, and that in so doing the hind wheels
got up ;n the pavement, and, offing to there being so
large a number of persons inside, tue coach was overset.
The man who drove the coach upon the ones-ion was
called as a witness, and he stated that the accident was
entirely occasioned by the waggon suddenly polling out
upon him as he was passing under a railway arch ; and
he also proved that Mrs. Writer paid birn 3s. for driv-
ing the mourners to the funeral, and said that, be consi-
dered he was engaged by her.
The jury returned a verdict for the defendant.
CROWN SlDE.—(Before Mr. B Lron Channell.)
Charles Tipple; 39, a surgeon of Baldock, surrendered
to take his trial upon a charge of fel ,ni)n-ly adminis-
tering certain nauseous drugs to one Carellne Bowley,
and used other means to procure her nii-carriage.
The jury, without hesitation, returned a verdict of not
guilty.

SOIJTS WALES CIRCUIT.—SWANSEA, March 2.
(Before Mr. Baron Watqua.)
THE OYMMER COLLIERY EXPLOSION.
Jabez Thomas, Rowland Rowlands, and Blorgau
Rowlands were tried at Swansea yesterday, cbargrf.d
with the wilful murder of Wm. Thomas, Samuel EJ-
monde, and another, on the 15th of July 1-t.t.
It will be recollected that an expl ,sion took pl toe at
the above colliery on that day in question, by which 114
persons were unfortunately killed.
The prisoner Jabez Thomas was manager of the pit,
and the other prisoners were employed in the superin-
tendence of it, and the question appeared to be whether
the lamentable accident had arisen in consequence of the
neglect of proper precautions by the prisoners.
The jury returned a verdict of acquittal.

POLICE INTELLIGELYCE--.ll:arch 2.

MANSION-HOUSE.—The Lord Mayor, upon tak-
ing the chair in the justice room, said be was happy t:,
find that the attention of the Poor Law Boaz,' had been
directed to the condition of the casual ward of the West
London Union at Battle-bridge, and that steps were about
to be taken for making better accommodation for the re-
ception of the casual paupers. He had expressly stated on
a former occasion that the males and females were not
huddled together, but were kept in distinct compartments
of that institution, and he thought it necessary to make
that statement, in order to remove an impression which
seemed to have somehow gained carrency, that he bad
used an observation to which he had never given utter-
ance. He was confirmed in the opinion he had previously
expressed, of the deplorable want of accommodation in the
building to which he alluded, by his friend Mr. Moore,
of the firm of Copstake, Moore, end Co., of Bow-church-
yard, so well known for extensive philanthropy, who
upon a recent visit to the place was shocked to find that
human beings were subjected to such degradation. His
lordship then said be would take-the lioerty to suggest
that as there were several unoccupied buildings in the
vicinity of the old Smithfield-market, which could he ad-
vantageously appropriated to the purposes of the West
London Union, the guardians could not do better than
make a selection from that neighbourhood for the ac-
commodationof the numerous claimants whom necessity
has driven into inevitable dependence. He hoped that
the matter would not rest, and he declared tha-, it was
his determined intention to call upon the commissioners
of the Poor-law Board, for the purpose of submitting to
them the urgent necessity which existed fur energetic
action upon the occasion.

WORSHIP-STREET.—Two smartly dressed young
men, named Thomas Charters and William Baker, were
charged with the commission of the following artful and
daring robberies. _

It appeared from the evidence that on the morning of
Monday se'nnight, while a lady named Wakeling, resid-
ing in Merrion-place, Hackney-road, was seated in her
parlour, she was inf)rme i by her servant that a
young gentleman was waiting in the pas-ag 3 who had
requested permission to search the garden fur a ball
which he had accidentally thrown over the back wall. At
the same moment, the prisoner Charters appeared et
the door and reiterated the request with such profuse
apologies for his intrusion, that Mrs. Wakeliug was in-
duced to accompany him to the garden, and after a pro-
tracted search to no purpdse, they were returning through
the house, when a man whom she recognised as the pri-
soner Baker, suddenly emerged from the parlour aid
darted out at the street door, which had been incau-
tiously left open. The prisoner Charters instantly
hastened after him, with the observation that he would
soon catch the scoundrel and bring him back, but no-
thing more was seen of either of them, arid on entering
the parlour she found that her husband's watch had
been abstracted inm the mantel-piece. Oa the after-
noon of the same day, a lady named Burbidge was pw-
sing through the Hackney-2 odd on her way to her resi-
dence in Patriot-square, Cambridge-heath, when she felt
a sudden pressure at her side, and on turning her head
she observed Charters and another man closely following
her; Their furtive intentions were so unmistakeable
that she rapidly removed her purse from her pocket, and
was holding it tightly in her hand, when the pri-
soner Charters grasped her by the arm, and forcing
her fingers asunder secured the purse, with
which he darted off at full speed. A gentleman who had
witnessed the transaction immediately pursued the pri-
soner, and after a lengthened chase he was overtaken at
the side of a lofty wall, which he mounted with cat like
agility, but before he could descend on the other side he
was dragged down by the legs, and handed over to the
police. The other prisoner succeeded in eluding appre•
hension until the following Thursday, when he was taiten
into custody for being concerned in another robbery in
Bartholomew-square, and after a brief examination t sore
the magistrates of that district he was transferred to this
court.

Mr. Lewis, Jan., called two witnesses with the view
of establishing an alibi on behalf of Baker with regard to
the first charge, but the magistrate considered that the
evidence was perfectly conclusive against both prisoners,
and ordered them to be committed for trial.

Joseph Edwards, a private in the 4th Dragoon Guards,
was charged before Mr. D'Eyncouit with the following
robbery :
Mr. G. Sehbard, a German leatherdresserin Heneage-
street, Bethnal-green, stated that while preparing to go
out with his wife, at 8 o'clock on Saturday evening, the
prisoner, who was a total stranger to him, knocked at
the door and asked for Mr. Smith, ofOxford-street. Wit
ness told him there was no Mr. Smith there, nor any
Oxford-street in that neighbourhood, and explained to
him that the streets of that name he knew were at the
West-end and Stepney. The prisoner apologised for the
trouble he had given, and wished them to drink at his
expense. Witness refused, but the prisoner persisted,
fetched some gin, and with great persuasion, or " force,"
as the German expressed it, he, his wife, and another
woman were induced to take a small quantity of it. He
and his wife then left for Whitechapel, the prisoner say.
ing he would go with them, and he did so, till at last
the prosecutor found his company a nui,,auce, wanted to
get rid of him, and told him bluntly, "I want no mere
of your society ; you had better go." The prisoner
readily took the hint and left them, and cn the prose-
cutor and his wife getting home they found the street
in confusion, the prisoner in custody of a policeman, and