The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-21 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, Sept. 20.
(Before Mr. Commissioner EvANs.)
William Basford appeared upon his petition to be
examined on his first hearing. As soon as the case
was called on,
Mr. WATSON, barrister, rose, and in strong terms
)bjected to a course which he understood Mr. Hughes
(also a barrister) was about to take in regard to this
case. The bankrupt had been up on a former occa-
sion, when his petition had been dismissed. As coun-
sel and adviser to the insolvent, he (Mr. Hughes) had
become cognizant of all his secrets, and now he had
accepted a brief to oppose the very man he had
formerly been paid to assist. He trusted such a
course would not be sanctioned by the Court.
Commissioner EvANs—" Why—its unavoidable, I
iL suppose."—(Loud laughter.)
Mr. HUGHES then proceeded to question the bank-
rupt, who said his debts were, as stated in his sche-
dule, 2991., some shillings. He had not entered one
Mrs. Dent as a creditor. She had taken up a bill
for 301. for him, and he was to repay her by his
future labour. He (Basford) was a trader, and had
petitioned the Court as such.
% Mr. HUGHES supposed there was no necessity to
carry his examination further, in order to induce the
court to dismiss the petition. The applicant was a
trader—his debts, if truly and honestly set forth, were
above 300/. ; and he had therefore no claim upon the
consideration of the court.
The COMMISSIONER—The petition is dismissed.
Mr. WATsoN—Surely your Honour will allow us
to examine Mrs. Dent—her evidence will probably
alter your Honour's decision.
COMMISSIONER—No, it won't. What, you want
people to perjure themselves to get this man clear!
Every one in court heard him swear Mrs. Dent had
taken up the bill—that he was to pay her hereafter,
and therefore she is a creditor, and ought to have been
entered, and he owes more than 3001. I'll hear no
witnesses after that—l can see what it all means ; the
petition of the bankrupt has been dismissed once, and
I now it is dismissed again. I will hear nothing fur-
-1 ther about it.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COUR.T
OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice WIGHT lAN and Mr. Justice
CRESWELL.)
John Axtell and George Axtell, the two boys who
were convicted on Wednesday last of feloniously
breaking and entering the dwelling-house of William
Edward Harvey, and stealing a quantity of nearing
3i apparel, value 30/., were called up for judgment.
Mr. Justice CRESSWELL sentenced them to solitary
confinement in the gaol of Newgate for 14 days.
Michael Read was sentenced to be imprisoned for
seven calendar months, and kept to hard labour,
having been found guilty in the course of the session
of assaulting James O'Flaherty.
iyi William Hartridge, aged 17, and Edwin Hartridge,
19, brothers, were indicted for stealing two gold
3i watches, value 201., and a quantity of jewellery, the
i%s property of John Sari and others, the masters of Wil-
liam, in their dwelling-house.
Mr. Clarkson conducted the prosecution. The pri-
soner, William Hartridge, was defended by Mr.
14 Doane, and Edwin by Mr. Charnock.
14 The particulars of this case have been fully pub-
lished in the police reports within these two or three
days. The prisoner Edwin had been formerly in the
)1* service of the prosecutor, Mr. Sari, watchmaker and
)1% jeweller in the Poultry, but had been dismissed about
a year and a half ago. The other prisoner was in
711 Mr. Sarl's employment up to the time of the robbery,
i% which was discovered by the shopman of Mr. Atten-
r borough, the pawnbroker in Bridge-road, Lambeth.
,N Edwin Hartridge pawned a gold watch on the sth of
August at Mr. Attenborough's shop. On the 7th of
the Septemberassista offered another
n the
rememberinghgld watch in
isofaceandpawn an
d
the nd
recollecting
the name which he had first given, which was dif-
hi ferent from that he then mentioned, had his suspicion
excited. After a good deal of shuffling, the assistant
went with the prisoner to see where he lived, and
being baffled and taken from place to place, he at
length gave him into custody. Inquiry led to the
arrest of his brother, and both prisoners having told
, improbable stories, they were sent for trial on four or
34 five separate indictments.
The first case tried was that of the watch pawned
4 on the sth August. In that the evidence failed
s3i against William altogether, and the jury returned a
verdict of Not Guilty for both.
The other case was then gone into, that of the gold
,14 watch offered in pledge on the 7th Sept. The jury
;% convicted both prisoners on that indictment.
% Mr. Justice CRESSWELL, after commenting upon
the serious and unpalliated offence of which they had
been convicted, sentenced them to ten years' trans-
portation each.
The Court adjourned to Monday, the 21st October.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
WORSHIP-STREET.
CHARGE OF MURDER.—AIfred Edwards, a pickle
manufacturer in Haberdasher's-place, Hoxton, was
placed at the bar before Mr. Broughton, charged with
having administered a quantity of poison to Jane
Gregory, and thereby caused her death.
17' Mary Green, the wife of a weaver living at No. 4,
New-court, 7.ew Nicholl-street, Bethnal-green,
/4 stated that the deceased, who was "an unfortunate
If girl," resided next door to her, and had been for the
r last twelve months on the most intimate terms with
3 the prisoner. At eight o'clock on the preceding even-
ing the deceased called her up into her room, and
asked her to take some beer ; the prisoner was at that
q time seated on one side of the fire, and the deceased,
0 6 who was in perfect health and excellent spirits, was
7 sitting opposite to him. There was a black quart
s bottle and a teacup on the table, but what the bottle
contained she was unable to ascertain. A quarter of
an hour afterwards witness again went up with a light,
IN and the deceased told her that as soon as the prisoner
had left she should go out, and requested witness to
iq accompany her. The prisoner was still in the room,
% and observing that the bottle remained on the table,
;[
witness asked the deceased what it contained, and
she replied, " Ketchup," which Alfred, the pri-
; soner, had brought to her. Witness then went
r out in company with the deceased and the pri-
; soner, and after proceeding a short distance
34 the prisoner shook hands with the deceased,
% kissed her, and wished her " Good night." The de-
' ceased stopped him, and asked at what hour to-mor-
row she should see him ; to which he replied, " Stop
% till to-morrow comes," and then ran away. Witness
lj then proceeded with the deceased as far as the Bri-
tannia Tavern, in Hoxton, on reaching which the
% deceased suddenly stopped and complained of feeling
dreadfully ill, and on being asked what was the mat-
ter, she replied, " I told you that what was in the
bottle was ketchup, but it was brandy-bitters, and I
have not felt well since I drank it." She left the de-
ceased soon after, and saw nothing more of her until
half-past ten o'clock on that morning, when she went
into her room and found her in bed. She was then
very ill, and had scarcely power to utter a word ; her
,X face was black, and her hands were as cold and as
black as her face. Witness asked her what was the
matter with her, and the deceased replied, " Oh !
1334 Mary, lam very ill indeed; I think I am dying."
Witness asked her if she had been eating or drinking
IN anything ; and the deceased answered, "No ; only
that brandy-bitters that Alfred gave me, and I have felt
% dreadfully ill ever since I took it." Witness asked the
deceased if the prisoner had partaken of the liquor, and
she answered, " No ; that he put the bottle up to his
mouth, but that was all." She repeated that she
% knew she was dying, and asked witness to go and
fetch her brother. Witness did not go herself, but
rsent another young woman, who accidentally met
; the prisoner passing the end of the street, and told
him to hasten and see the deceased, as she was dying
The prisoner in a few minutes afterwards entered
the deceased's room, at which time she was sinking
rapidly, and asked her what was the matter with
% her. The deceased told him that her illness was
caused by the brandy-bitters he had given to her.
The prisoner coloured very much, and said, "Never."
As she was evidently sinking very fast, witness ran off
for Mr. Wildbore, surgeon ; but although she was
only about five minutes absent, she found on her re.
turn that the prisoner had left, and the deceased soon
afterwards expired in her arms.
Charlotte Scott, living at No. 2, New-court,
deposed that when the last witness left to go for the
j% surgeon, she called upon her, and requested her to go
immediately up to the deceased. Upon entering the
14Z room she found the prisoner there. The deceased
o repeated to witness what she had told the preceding
one, with regard to the brandy and bitters causing
pm
13. her illness ; but the prisoner said it was nonsense, it
s
4% could not be that, as he had taken part of, it.
a Witness then asked him to drink some in her presence,
3 and the prisoner took the bottle and a teacup from
at the cupboard, and pouring out half a cupful of the
4 liquid, drank it off; but, before he did so, took some-
'
thing out of the cup, and flung it on the ground, and,
after drinking, spat a quantity of the liquid into the
fender. He then said that he must go, as he had
business of importance to attend to, but should be
back by the time the deceased's brother arrived ; and,
although witness entreated him to stay, he refused to
do so, and left the place, but did not again return.
The prisoner here said that he wished to explain
7% that what he took out of the teacup, before drinking
its contents, was a small piece of cork, which he did
1% not observe till he put the cup to his lips.
1114 Another Another witness, named Sarah Russell, was then
;II called, and deposed to similar facts, tending to incul-
s• pate the prisoner.
Mr. George Hill Smith, assistant to Mr. Wildbore,
stated that he was called to attend the deceased at
half-past eleven o'clock, and found her in bed, per-
fectly sensible, and capable of speaking in monosyl-
lables. She laboured under great prostration of
strength, and complained of intense pain in the region
of the stomach, which could not sustain the slightest
pressure. There was a bottle, about half filled with a