The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-05 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, Nov. 4.

(Before the Assistant-Judge.)
George Chapman, a carman, was indicted for
maliciously assaulting William Thomas, and also
for a common assault. By the advice of his counsel,
Mr. F. H. Lewis, the defendant pleaded guilty to
the latter charge.
Mr. Cooper called the prosecutor, who stated
that he was driving in his phaeton towards Stam-
ford-hill, and the defendant was in charge of a team,
which was ahead of him. The defendant was allow-
ing his horses to straggle across the road, so that it
was impossible for any vehicle to pass by ; so he
touched the fore horse with his whip to move him
aside ; the horse moved to the other side, and de-
fendant then rushed upon him and belaboured him
with his whip, drawing blood, and used language
of the basest description, so much so that, for the
sake of a lady he had with him, he (prosecutor) was
compelled to drive on, so disgusting were the words
he uttered.

Mr. Lewis urged that the defendant was on his
right side of the road, and on the impulse of the
moment struck the prosecutor for, as he considered,
improperly interfering with his horses.
The learned counsel called the defendant's em-
ployer, Mr. Humphreys, of Chingford-hall, who
deposed that he had been in his service over 2O
years, and had always borne the character of a civil,
well-conducted, honest, sober man.
The Assistant-Judge, after commenting on the
circumstances, said he felt it his duty to sentence
the defendant, who had been guilty of a gross and
unwarrantable outrage, to three months' imprison•
ment, but without hard labour.
__

(Frodi the Times.)
It was scarcely to be hoped that the inquest held
on the unfortunate sufferers by the wreck of the
Royal Charter should have added much to our in-
formation upon this sorrowful story. The witnesses
before the Coroner's Jury were pretty much the
same persons who had already given their state-
ments to the world. What they had to tell they
had told. Although some fresh witnesses may have
been examined, it could scarcely be supposed that
their testimony would contradict, or even modify,
the information at which we had already arrived
on any important particular. It is acknowledged
that Captain Taylor sailed his ship from Melbourne
to the Irish Channel in a most efficient and seaman-
like manner. Although the passengers on board
could not be accepted as very nice or accurate judges
of nautical skill, it appears that he had won golden
opinions from them all. All testimony to his con-
duct until the fatel Tuesday night was laudatory
in the extreme. Nor can it be supposed that even if
the passengers had the inclination they would have
had the opportunity of playing the censors upon
Captain Taylor during the pressure of the hurri-
cane. At 10 o'clock at night the anchors were let
go, and it was not until 2 a.m. the following morn-
ing that the cables parted. Until this moment not
a suspicion of danger appears to have crossed the
mind of any save one man. After the an-
chors were down Captain Adams, who was
a passenger on board the ship, said he should
not be surprised if she went ashore. In all
' there were three men on board who had
acted as masters of ships. There was, first, Cape
tain Taylor, and, as passengers, Captain Withers
and Captain Adams. As soon as the cables had
parted, and when danger presented itself in an open
and imminent form, Captain Taylor held a brief
consultation in the saloon with his two professional
brethren as to the best means of saving the ship.
What passed between them of course we cannot
tell, but we know that as soon as it was over the
masts were cut away. The Royal Charter took the
sand at about half-past 5 o'clock a.m. It appears
in evidence that Captain Taylor went to where the
ladies were collected together and said, " Ladies, I
think we are on a sandy beach, but I hope, by the
help of God, we shall get ashore when daylight
comes." So far, then, it seems that, even if Captain
Taylor made any professional mistakes, at least he
was in full possession of his composure and his
senses. He did not dine with the passengers on
Tuesday evening, but went down to the saloon
somewhat later to order some coffee for himself.
All questions put to the witnesses in cross-exami-
nation, suggesting that Captain Taylor was intoxi-
cated, or in any way the worse for liquor, entirely
failed of their object. It must be taken as a fact,
that Captain Taylor on the fatal night was per-
fectly sober and in a fit state to attend to his
duty. Nor is there any evidence to show that he
was a man of intemperate habits. On the
contrary, Mr. H. Carew Taylor, one of the saloon
passengers, who lost his little child in the
wreck, deposed not only that Captain Taylor LAMBETH.—THE EXTRAORDINARY AND
was perfectly sober on the night of the calamity, HEARTLESS CASE OF BIGAMY.—Henry Wilcox,
but that, in fact, he was a man habitually averse who has been in custody for three weeks on a
from drink, as invariably, when offered a glass, he charge of bigamy, and who was on the point of
refused it. getting married to a third wife when he was appre-
We should ;not have laid so much stress upon hended, was placed at the bar before Mr. Selfe for
this point had we not found questions as to Captain final examination.
Taylor's sobriety so often repeated in the course of The case exhibited in a striking manner the ab-
the c:e-"-eTaminations, and as the jury bring the solute necessity for a public prosecutor, or some
fact prominently t'.erward in their verdict it is evi- change in the criminal law by which witnesses
dent that their attention ruse )-e.ve been stroirel - 'rig from a distance may be allowed their tra-
directed towards it. Thus much would appe t- exnenses, for had it not been for the perse-
follow, that the gentlemen who examined the wit- verance of Mr. Seize in writing to the Police Corn-
nesses were at a loss to suggest any other probable ruissioners and pointing out the necessity of paying
cause for the loss of the Royal Charter. If the cap- the expenses of a witness from Wakefield, as impu-
tain was sober and perfectly competent to the dis- dent and as heartless an offender as ever was placed
charge of his duty, was he guilty of any error of at the bar of justice must have been discharged and
judgment ? And, if not so, why was the ship driven enabled to laugh at his unfortunate victims.
ashore, and how was it that she broke up so sud- It will be recollected, from what transpired on
denly ? In such a case Ise must not put ourselves the former examinatioms, that in the year 1851 the
too much in the position of judges after the fact. prisoner had been married at Wakefield to his first
It may be that when Captain Taylor let go his wife, and at Camberwell, in 1854, to his second.
anchors at 10 o'clock it would have been more He lived with the latter until the early part of last
advisable for him to steam out into mid-channel, month, when he deserted her at Hull, leaving her
and accept the whole fury of the storm where in a state of great destitution. She followed him to
plenty of sea-room was to be found. If London, and from information which she received,
the machinery, spars, and rigging of the Royal she proceeded to Wakefield, where she found out
Charter had been fit to stand the brunt of that his first wife, and on her return to town gave such
rough experiment we now know that it would information to the police as led to the prisoner's
have been better had it been tried. This, how- apprehension. At the time of his being taken into
ever, is not the question ;—we have to ascertain custody, the prisoner was residing at Dalston, near
what, in the opinion of the most competent pro- Hackney, with a dashing female, late the kept mis-
fessional judges, Captain Taylor ought to have tress of a gentleman, who had made a handsome
done at 10 o'clock on Tuesday night, taking into settlement, and to whom he was on the point of
account the condition of the weather, the lie of the marriage, the banns having been published at a
coast, and the capabilities of his ship. Was lie neighbourint, church. This female, dressed in the
right, then, in letting go his anchors ? On such a first style of fashion, attended the first examination
point it scarcely besemns us to offer an opinion, lof the prisoner, and engaged a solicitor to defend
but it certainly appears to landsmen that Captain him, but from some remarks that had fallen from
Taylor, in anchoring so close to such a shore, took the second wife, the report of the .proceedings
upon himself an awful responsibility if any ethyl brought forth a husband for the lady in the person
course was open to him. He was trusting the '1 of a smart artilleryman, named Grey, who had been
safety of five hundred lives to the links of two to Hull on a recruiting party, and. who had been mar-
chains, or to the chance that his anchors would ried to her about two months ago. Grey, on reading
continue to hold when the hurricane was pouring the account in the papers, waited on the magistrate to
its full force on the ship. Immediately the anchors know what he could do in the matter, and subse-
began to drag there arose the second question, as quently proceeded to the residence of his wife, at
to whether or not it was advisable to cut away the Haggerston, and having previously learned from
spars, mainly lest the drift should interfere with the officers that, on the morning of his apprehen-
the action of the screw. Upon this last point, how- sion, the prisoner had delivered up to her a valuable
ever, we have it in evidence that the ship only gold watch and chain, insisted on having these
ceased to use the screw when she was hard and articles riven up to him, and the lady, rather than
fast, and therefore a sound discretion was used in submit to a further expose, consented to do so, and
this particular. Surprise has been expressed that gave him £l5 in cash besides, which he pocketed,
so little effort was made to organise means of i and walked back to his quarters at Woolwich.
saving the passengers after the vessel had taken I The necessary witness to the first marriage now
the beach. It should be observed, however, that appeared, the Commissioners of Police having, in
at half-past 5 a.m. at this season of the year it is consequence of Mr. Selfe's letter, sent her a suffl-
pitch dark, and we know that as soon as it was cient sum to defray her expenses, and her evidence
light enough to see a hawser was sent on shore. having clearly established the prisoner's marriage
If we are to attach credit to the Captain's own with Elizabeth Beaumont in February, 1856, and
words, as reported by the witnesses, he himself the fact of that person being at present living, and
had no idea but that when daylight came and the in the enjoyment of perfect health, the testimony
ebb tide had done its work they would all get of the second wife was admissible, when she clearly
easily enough to the shore, from which they were proved the prisoner's guilt.
but 30 yards distant. The sudden breaking up George Hall, 164 P, deposed, that in consequence
of the vessel at seven o'clock seems to have been of information received from the last witness, and
quite an unexpected event, and the wretched pas- obtaining from her also the certificates of both
sengers on board the Royal Charter and her ship's marriages, he took the prisoner at Dalston. He
company were hurried into eternity just at the mo- told the prisoner that he had learned he was about
ment they began to moke sure of their safety. After to be married to the female he had seen in his corn-
the great crash came all human help was unavail- pany, upon which the prisoner laughed, and said
ing. The destruction was the work of a few seconds it was so, but that the lady had two husbands
—of a minute or two at most. already ; and while passing along Kingsland-road
We now come to another part of the inquiry, I he pointed out a publichouse on which they had
and this is as to the actual condition and seawor- paid a deposit, and said that if his second wife had
thiness of the Royal Charter. A correspondent, kept quiet he should have remitted her plenty of
whose letter was printed the other day, and than money from that publichouse.
whom there could not be a more competent witness The second wife, who appears a very respectable
on the subject on which he was writing, gave it as woman, was recalled, and in reply to the magis-
his opinion that the ship went to pieces because trate's questions said, that at the time of her mar-
the iron of which she was composed was of an in- riage with the prisoner she had £3OO in cash, but
ferior quality. In making this statement it was expended every farthing of it in advancing
neither his intention nor his wish to point anycharge the prisoner's interests, and also in furnishing a
against the owners or builders of the Royal Charter. house. Her furniture, which she said would be a
According to his statement, it is the custom of all little fortune to her now, was left in the charge of
our iron shipbuilders to build their ships with com- a Mr. Ellis, at Peckham, where her husband and
paratively bad iron. Any kind of iron is good herself went to.
enough for a ship's plate. The result is that when Hall—And this person now refuses to give it up.
the vessel is subjected to any enormous strain she Mr. Selfe said he had no right whatever to de-
breaks asunder or goes to pieces. The Birkenhead tain it from her, and regretted he had not the power
broke her back, and a few thumps on the rocks to compel him to give up the furniture, as the value
split the Royal Charter into two, end then into of the goods placed the case beyond his jurisdiction.
three pieces, almost instantaneously. Now, he He should advise her, however, to anply to a
re-
contends, if suitable iron had been used, this spectablefsolicitor, who no doubt vf'oulil recover the
property
The oiornrdhceedr .
would not have been so. This is a point that
womani replied that there would be very
should be looked to, for the inspections held
by the Board of Trade upon seagoing iron ships little usepo n. her going to a solicitor, as she
in the world, having been brought
are but so many solemn farces if the very material had not a shill'inrA
of which the body of the ship is constructed is to to the utmost distress.
this, Mr. Selfe humanely recom-
give way the first time it may be put to the proof. On hear'
It
.rte-r
case to the kind consideration of a soli-
It has also been stated, since this subject has been mended
present on other bu;ines-s, and that gentleman
so painfully forced upon the attention of the citor
7:ldertook to do all that was necessary to recover
that the heads of the rivets by which the plates are u
held together in iron ships are apt to get loose, and her goods.
that this could be prevented by the employment of I The prisoner was then committed for trial, and

John Davis was indicted, with Charles Harris,
who surrendered, for stealing an oil cask and a vat,
value £4, the property of Sir John Hare, from
premises belonging to him in Kent's-place, North
Wharf-road, Paddington.
Mr. Cooper prosecuted.
_ _ _

After the evidence had been given, the Assistant-
Judge withdrew the case as against Harris from
the consideration of the jury, and left them to de-
cide as to the guilt of Davis.
The jury found Davis guilty.
Sir John Hare stated that the prisoner Davis had
been in his service, without a stain on his charac-
ter, except for drinking, up to this transaction, for
nearly 40 years.
Henry Griffiths was then tried for stealing, and
also for receiving, a vat and four casks, the property
of Sir John Hare, from the same premises.
Mr. M'Donnell defended the prisoner.
The jury fully acquitted him.
The Assistant-Judge said he thought it necessary
to caution him.

Prisoner—l be innocent, sir. I bought the things
in a fair sort of way, and sold. 'em to get a bit of
profit if I could, and when I've made a shilling,
why, I've saved it in a right way. I'm no thief,
gentlemen, and don't want nothing but what's my
own.

The Assistant-Judge—You arc discharged. We
have had a good character of you ; if we had not
you seem disposed to give yourself one.
Prisoner—Thank'ee, sir.
Davis was sentenced to 18 months' hard labour.

Mr. F. H. Lewis, who defended Harris, said he
might be allowed to state that, though he had not
the opportunity of calling witnesses, his client was
a man who had borne an unexceptionable character
for 30 years.

George Aldridge, 21, was indicted for stealing a
coil of wire, the property of W. H. Potts and
another.

The prisoner went to the prosecutor's shop, 65,
York-street, Westminster, to make a purchase, and
was seen to secret a coil of wire, which he took
from the counter, under his coat. He was found
guilty, and sentenced to hard labour for a month.
Mr. Langford prosecuted; Mr. C. nth was
counsel for the prisoner.
(Before Mr. Creasy.)
Nicholas Doynen surrendered to take his trial on
an indictment for assaulting two police-constables
in the execution of their duty.
Mr. Cooper and Mr. Langford prosecuted, and
Mr. Ribton and Mr. Dickie were for the defence.

The jury, after a lon6 deliberation, found the de-
fendant not guilty, giving him the benefit of a doubt
as to his identity.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE, Nov. 4.