The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-09 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

A POINT OF LAW.—In the Court of Common Pleas
the case of the Mayor and others, of Manchester (appel-
lants) v. Chapman (respondent) was decided. The point
in dispute was whether the owner of land at the end of a
street in the city of Manchester, which was a cul de sac,
and whose land was separated from the street by a dead
wall, was liable to contribute to the expenses of paving and
sewering the street. The stipendiary magistrate at Man-
chester, before whom proceedings had been taken by the
corporation of Manchester to recover the, defendant's pro-
portion, decided that the defendant was not liable, and
stated this case for the opinion of the court by way of
appeal. After hearing the arguments, the court decided thi
case in favour of the corporation, holding that the respon•
lent was liable.

FORGERY BY A WOOL BROKER. -- At the Central
Criminal Court, William Whiley, a wool broker, pleaded
guilty, and was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude,
for forging an acceptance to a bill of exchange for £2,000,
with intent to defraud Messrs. Jacomb, Sons, and Co., wool
brokers. After being committed for trial the accused
stated that he had received the bill from one of the prose-
cutors' clerks ; since then he denied that such a statement
was correct.

HEAVY SENTENCE FOR BIGAMY.—At the same court,
Henry Wilshire was tried and convicted of feloniously
marrying Mary Susan Leslie, his first wife being alive at
the time. The prisoner was the son of a farmer at
Hounslow, and received a considerable amount of pro-
perty from his first wife on his marriage, which, however,
.he soon spent in dissipation and riotous living, and
behaved in so cruel a manner to his wife that she wai
frequently without food. Since contracting that alliance,
Wilshire has been tried for forgery and acquitted,
Soon after this occurrence he made the acquaintanceshit
of Miss Leslie, a lady who is a minor, but on coming of
age will be entitled to a large fortune. This lady he mar-
ried, representing that he would be entitled to a
large sum of money at his brother's death ; but
things were not allowed to run thus smoothly,
for the accused was arreste I when on his wedding
tour.- The Recorder, in passing sentence, said that the
prisoner knew that Miss Leslie would at a future day
become the possessor of £4,000 India Stock, and he had
not only obtained possession of her, but had his eye on the
property, which he had endeavoured to get by a gross
I fraud. The accused was sentenced to five years' penal
servitude, to the manifest satisfaction of a crowded court.
STEALING A STEAMER.-- At the Glasgow Baillie Court
Thomas Gourlay, Hugh Mackay, and a third person,
named Murphy, were severally charged with the theft of
a small screw steamer from the Kingston Dock. The two
first named persons, who were quite boys, seem to have
lit a fire on board the vessel and gut the steam
up, and subsequently shipped Murphy, who, after
sailing down the liver for some time, was put
ashore. The two youths found that it was easier to
get the steam up than to stay it, and in their endeavours
to accomplish the latter feat the vessel ran aground. The
prisoners were lucky enough to land on terra firma, and
adjourned to a neighbouring hostelry, but on their return
the steamer had been sunk by the surge from steamers of
larger dimensions. Murphy was discharged, and the
other two prisoners were sent to the High Court of Jus-
larv.