The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-12 00:00:00

ashes of this fire, a tin box belonging to the prisoner
was found between the wall of the cellar and the thatched
roof, and the mark of the box as if the fire had been in

it was apparent upon the wall. The witnesses, how-
ever, were in many instances inconsistent in their story,
and contradicted each other in many particulars.
➢lr. Justice PATTESON summed up, and the jury re-
turned a verdict of Not Guilty.
Nearly the whole of the day was occupied in trying
prisoners charged with unnatural crimes.
NISI PRIUS COURT.
ALPORD V, ASHFORD.

Mr. Sergeant Kinglake and Mr. Bute conducted the
plaintiff's case, and Mr. Crowder that of the defendant.
The plaintiff was an Innkeeper, residing at Shepton
Mallet, and the defendant was an attorney, and secretary
to a cricket club called the Shepton Mallet Club, and the
action was brought to recover 32/. Is., for the hire of a
field and carriages, and for refreshments supplied. The
defendant was manager of the club, and gave orders for
everything. Matches wers played with other clubs, and
the plaintiff provided the marquees and provisions, by
the direction of the defendant. The club played a match
at Bristol, mad the plaintiff provided the carriages for
conveying the members to that place. It turned out
that a Mr. Marshall was president of the club, and that
the plaintiff had first sent the bill to him.
The jury found a verdict for the defendant.
August 10.
John Wiko.r was indicted for having discharged a
gun at Thomas Ashman, with intent to murder him, at
Chilcompton.

Mr. Fitzherbert conducted the case for the prosecution,
and Mr. Prideaux defended the prisoner.
It appeared, that about half-past eight in the evening
of the 18th of March, the prosecutor was standing inside
his house, at the window, facing the road, when he heard
the report of a gun, and in an instant the glass of the
window came in upon him, and blood ran from his head
in streams. His head was wounded, and it was a month
before he was able to work. There had been disputes
between the prisoner and the prosecutor, and the latter
had employed an attorney to recover a debt which he
alleged the prisoner owed him. So far the case was
clear. Several witnesses were then called, who stated
that they saw the prisoner that night near the house of
the prosecutor with a gull in his hand; but they all ad-
mitted they had continually said that they had met
some one, and did not know who it was, so that
as soon as Mr. Prideaux had made his address on behalf
of the prisoner, the jury said they had for some time
made up their minds, and that they should acquit tho
prisoner. A verdict of Not Guilty was therefore re-
corded.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(SATURDAY.)
BOW-STREET.

The Hon. William Ross Tonchet, was brought up
for re-examination, charged with having discharged
the contents of a loaded pistol at Mr. Thomas Smith,
the proprietor of a shooting gallery in Holborn, with
intent to kill and murder him.

Mr. Vandrey, a solicitor, attended on the part of
Mr. Smith, and Mr. Clarkson, together with Mr.
Robson, the solicitor to Lord Audley, attended on the
part of the prisoner.
The prisoner was brought to the Court in the early
part of the day, in a cabriolet, and not in the prison
van, as on his former examination. Previous to the
prisoner being placed at the bar, Mr. Clarkson (ad-
dressing the sitting Magistrate, Mr. Twyford) said
he had been given to understand that, since the last
examination of the prisoner, the surgeons by whom
he had been attended in the hospital, had, at length,
succeeded in extracting the ball from the back of the
unfortunate gentleman (Mr. Smith), and that he had
since been going on favourably ; he therefore wished
to know whether the professional gentlemen were of
opinion that ho was now sufficiently convalescent to
attend the Court that day and give evidence, for if he
were not, the prisoner must again be remanded for a
period which would prevent the possibility of his trial
taking place at the ensuing sessions of the Central
Criminal Court.

A police-constable of the F division here produced
a certificate signed by the house-surgeon of St. Bar-
tholomew's Hospital, of which the following is a
copy :
" I hereby certify that the pistol ball has been ex-
tracted from the back of the patient, Thomas Smith,
and part of the lumbar vertebrae has come away with
it, but Mr. Smith, although now out of danger, cannot
be removed without considerable risk.
(Signed) " GEORGE ROYDE,
" House Surgeon, St. Bartholomew's Hospital.
prisoner "Augustlo,
wasB44 then placed at the bar, and Mr.. "
T he
TWYFORD, addressing him, said he was happy to find
from the certificate of the house surgeon of the hos-
pital that the unfortunate gentleman, Mr. Smith, was
in a fair way of recovery, and that beinf, the case, and
as in the absence of Mr. Smith it would be impossible
to prooeed further with the case, he should feel it his
duty to remand the prisoner for another fortnight, by
which time there was every reason to hope that Mr.
Smith would be sufficiently recovered to enable him
to attend the Court.

The prisoner, on hearingc, the above intimation from
the wortjy Magistrate, bowed respectfully to the
Court, and was then removed from the bar.
After his departure, Mr. Tw YFORD addressed the son
of Mr. Smith, who, it will be recollected, was present
at the unfortunate occurrence, and told him that his
father would be put to as little inconvenience as pos-
sible, should he be sufficiently recovered to attend the
next examination of the prisoner.
Mr. Smith, jun., thanked the Magistrate, and said
that from the improvement that was daily taking place
in the health of his father, he had every reason to be-
lieve he would be sufficiently convalescent to attend
the next examination of the prisoner.
A young man, who gave the name of Charles
Lamb Dowden, and who was stated to be an actor,
was brought up by Pocock, one of the constables of
the F division, charged with having uttered four
forged bills of exchange, two of which were for 51.
each, and the other two for N. each, with intent to
defraud different tradesmen, under the following cir-
cumstances :

Mr. John Fox, a broker, residing in Castle-street,
Long-acre, stated that he had known the prisoner
about four years, as a performer at Sadler's Wells
Theatre ; that the prisoner came to his shop on the
4th of last May, and said to witness, "I believe I owe
you a small account. I shall be happy to settle it
now;" and for that purpose he and the prisoner went
to a public-house, where the prisoner gave him the
Lill produced for 51., which purported to be accepted
by a person named Hagger, residing at Paradise-row,
Chelsea, at the same time requesting witness would
give him the difference (2/.) between the amount for
which the cheque was drawn and the sum which he
owed him. Witness promised to do so in the course
of the day, but previously put some questions to the
prisoner respecting the acceptor, to which he replied,
that Mr. Hagger was his uncle, and that the signa-
ture to the bill was in his handwriting. Witness in
the mean time proceeded to Chelsea and made some
inquiries with respect to the genuineness of the signa-
ture to the bill, and the result was that he discovered
it to be a forgery.
Mr. Twyroap—Then you have not been defrauded
by the prisoner ? Witness replied the only loss he
had sustained was the loss of time in making in-
quiries of the prisoner's uncle, who said he had not
seen the prisoner for the last two years, and had nevex
authorised him to put his name to a bill.
Henry Spratt, a bootmaker,:stated that Mr. Hagger
was upwards of ninety years of age, and had lodged
at his house during the last five years. During the
first three years the prisoner had been in the habit of
visiting Mr. Hagger. Witness was positive the sig-
nature to the bill produced was not in the hand-
writing of Mr. Hagger.
The prisoner, with reference to this case, said he
would reserve his defence until he had an opportunity
of consulting with his professional adviser.
He was next charged with having attempted a si-
milar fraud upon Mr. John Smith, a publican, in
Vere-street, Clare-market, and in which he was
more successful; for according to the evidence of, the
prosecutor, the prisoner, who owed him a bill of 21.,
came and tendered in payment a bill for 51., and re-
ceived the difference, after which prosecutor discovered
that the bill was a forgery.
Mr. Wells, the landlord of the Sir Hugh Middle-
ton, adjoining Sadler's Wells Theatre, stated, that in
the month of March last the prisoner gave him a bill
for 91., in payment of a score which he had run up at
witness's house. He had since ascertained that the
bill was a forgery.
The next victim was Mr. Williams, the landlord
of the Clown, public-house, in St. John-street-road,
opposite the Sadler's Wells Theatre, who took the
other 9/. bill of the prisoner, in payment of a score of
1/. 95., and handed the prisoner the difference. The
prisoner was remanded for further examination.
MARLBOROUGH-STREE7,
A French lady, named Louise Pessault, lArimg at 73,
George-street, Portman-square, who appearA to have
recently sustained severe injury, complain:le to the
Magistrate that as she was walking along Cast_street
about one o'clock, a man, who was an entire stranger
to her, and who was running with his head helddown,
suddenly butted her in the face, and knocked her
down with such violence that she was stunned(fer the
moment. The man ran off as fast as he could, but
was taken by a person who saw her knocked down.
The mother of the man who committed the assault
said her son was a little eccentric in his conduct, and
he had, no doubt, committed the assault under the in-
fluence of a fit of eccentricity.
Mr. HARDWICK said he could not allow a man to
escape without punishment who knocked down people
in the street and nearly fractured their skulls, merely
because he was supposed to labour under eccentricity.
The man must be brought before hlm, and he would
then entertain the charge.
The defendant was speedily produced in Court, and
the charge of assault having been clearly proved, he
was fined 405., or one month's imprisonment.
HAMMERSMITH.

Mr. Armstrong, a gentleman, residing at No. 102,
Mount-street,-sare, appeared before Mr.
G. Clive,. the sitting magistrate; on summons under
the Metropolitan Carriage Act, (6 and 7 Viet., c. 86,
sect. 7), at the instance of 40114 Perrin, conductor