The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-20 00:00:00

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‘/-

s
~f

48/ to 491 per tun. Palm fine at 27s to 27s 6d per cwt. Cocoa
Nut Oil in steady request ; Ceylon at 301 to 301 ss.
Sperm Oil in good request, fine British at 751 to 761; inferior
731 to 741 per tun. Cod Oil at 3415 s to 341 lOs; 341 to 341
lOs is the value of Palo Seal ; 28/ to 311 lOs for Southern.
This afternoon Palm Oil at 24s to 23s per cwt for low to fins

THE WILLS FORGERIES.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
OLD COURT.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.)
After a lapse of about twenty minutes the jury returned
into Court, when
Mr. Justiee WILLIAMS proceeded to read the evidence at
length. After the Learned Judge had finished the evidence,
Ire told them, that if the evidence was such as to leave a just
and reasonable doubt on their minds the prisoners should have
the benefit, but if there was no doubt on their minds they
would give their verdict accordingly. He again begged of the
jury not to regard any observations which were addressed to
them, except so far as they were founded on the evidence.
The question they had to consider with regard to the prisoner
Barber was, whether he had merely acted as an ordinary at-
torney would act in the matter, or whether he had produced
the will for probate, well knowing it to have been forged.
The jury then retired to considr their verdict.
The prisoner, Barber, seemed to have retained his self
possession throughout the trial, frequently handing down
notes to his counsel, till the close of the Judge's charge; he
then appeared to become extremely agitated and nervous.
After an absence of about an hour and twenty minute",
the jury returned with a verdict of GUILTY AGAINST
ALL THE PRISONERS.
Mr. Barber—l am not guilty, my Lord, and Mr. Fletcher
here knows that I am not.

The prisoners were then removed.
The Court then adjourned till Monday morning.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, Aprill9.
(Before Sir JAMES WIGRAM.)
TAYLOR V. THE EARL OF HAREWOOD.

- In this case the bill was filed for the purpose of
proving an estate administered, -and, amongst other pur-
poses, inquiring whether Daniel William Davidson had
come into actual possession of an estate to which he was
entitled under the will of Robert Davidson, made in the
year 1810. On the Bth of March, 1842, a decree was
made in the original cause. By that decree, it was re.
ferred to the Master to make inquiries as to the state of
the family, and also as to the accounts of the property ;
and it was ordered, that the Master should also inquire
and state whether Daniel Wilson Davidson, in the will
named, had come into actual possession of the estate ;
and if so, under what title and what circumstances. The
Master made his report, stating the facts. •
Ilis Hoxoun, after entering fully into all the points
of the case, declared it to be his opinion, that Daniel
Wilson Davidson was not in the actual possession of tha
estate.

COURT OF QUEER'S BENCH, Aprill9.
(Sittings in Banco.)
The Court was occupied the whole morning in hear-
mg motions for new trials in cares which had been tried
at the last Lent assizes.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
QUEEN-SQUARE.
. _

Maria Foster, a young woman, was charged with absenting
herself from the Chelsea workhouse, and with deserting her
female child.

Mr. Daniel Sutton, the master of the workhouse, said that
the defendant was an inmate of the workhouse up to Tuesday
last, when she absented herself, leaving a-child, six years old,
chargeable to the parish. She was admitted to the workhouse
on the 7th March last, but had been an inmate three years ago,
when she was passed to her parish in the neighbourhood of
Brighton. She had not been to the workhouse since Tues-
day last; and having come there drunk, and at an unsea-
sonable hour, she was refused admission. He found her last
night, in a public-house in Chelsea, and gave her into custody
on the above charge.
Mr. BOND inquired the amount of expense to which the
parish had been put in supporting the child since Tuesday.
Mr. Sutton—Eighteenpence.
The defendant said she had been to the workhouse since
Tuesday, but not having an order, the porter refused to
admit her.
Mr. BOND committed the defendant to the House of Cor.
rection, and to be kept at hard labour for fourteen days.
Mr. Sutton said that when the term of her imprisonment
had expired, he should send the child to the House of Cor-
rection, with an intimation that if the defendant thought
proper to return to the workhouse with her child, she would
be again admitted.
George Harris, a respectably-dressed young man, was
placed at the bar on the following charge:—
Mrs. Oldham, a young married woman, said the defendant
was formerly in the habit of paying his addresses to her
sister; the connexion had, however, been broken off: The
defendant met her sister last evening in Bridge-street, when
he abused her, making use of highly improper language,
and followed her to her residence in John-street, forcing his
way into the house, and threatening to take her life. His
conduct/ was very violent. Her sister, from the defendants
misconduct, was unable to attend. Her father happened tee
come in at the time, when the defendant struck him several
times, and threatened to choke him, and was not ejected
from the house without considerable difficulty.

Mr. Benjamin Riches, the father of the last witness, who
holds a situation in the House of Commons, corroborated her
evidence, and said that he had every reason to believe that
his daughter, as we Las himself and family, were in danger
from the violence of the defendant. He had been guilty of
similar misconduct about three. months ago, when he was
brought to that office, but having promised not to repeat it,
the charge was withdrawn.
The defendant, whose conduct during the examination
was very flippant, denied that he forced himself into the
house, but that he merely went there to speak to Miss Riches.
He did not, however, deny assaulting Mr. Riches.
Mr. BOND said the defendant's conduct was most im-
proper; he must pay the sum of 30s. for the assault, or in
default be committed to the House of Correction for three
weeks. He must also enter into sureties to keep the peace
towards Mr. Riches and his family.

REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND
DEATHS.-ANNE SLACK'S CASE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Six,—Very shortly after the birth of his Royal High-
ness the Prince of "Wales I read in your paper that the
registrar of births attended at Buckingham Palace, for
the purpose of registering such birth. Here we find the
public officer fulfilling, his duty to the letter, and "in-
forming himself carefully" of such birth ; he was not
satisfied at a stranger calling upon him and telling him
that a Prince of Wales was born, and on such casual in-
formation registering the same. No he carried out the
Gth and 7th Win. 4, c. 36, s. 18, which enacts that
" every registrar is hereby required to inform himself
carefully of every birth and every death which shall
happen in his district, and to learn and register, with-
out fee, the particulars required respectively touching
every such birth and every such death, as the case may
be," &c. I believe that Buckingham Palace is in the
Pimlico registrar's district ; if so, we find this same
officer registering the death of • Anne Slack as taking
place on a certain day at South-terrace, Pimlico (no
such place being in his district), on the information of a
perfect stranger, without proceeding to" inform himself,"
according to his duty, laid down in the Act of Parlia-
ment, as to the correctness of the information of death
left at his office ; and it appears that he was not aware
of having registered a fictitious circumstance until the
party was in custody for felony who had given him tits
information. The consequence of this registering officer
having been " slack" in the performance of his duty is.
that a fraud and felony were carried out to completion
had this officer proceeded " to inform himself carefully"
as to the correctness of the statement of Mr. Robert
Hart (alias Fletcher), of James-street, Commercial-road
East (a fictitious name and address), before he had pre-
ceeded to register the death of Anne Slack, of South.
terrace, Pimlico, we should not now find such an entry in
his books, or a will of such party stated to have been
living at such place, and dying in such place, recorded
at Doctors'-commons, or a probate of such will have beet
exhibited at the Bank of England, or a sum of unclaimed
•
dividends standing in the name of Anne Slack,
of
ferred by the Bank of England, under the authority
_at. ynal
the Commissioners for the Reduction of the Isl. io
Debt, into the name of a party not legallY entitled to
such unclaimed stock and dividends.o,irths Deaths
and
The Act for the Registration
f
f the public by
registrations; official
was passed for the protection
to be carried out as
this officer app butears if the duties areo
to have done his, it ought to be demi-
minuted " An Act for giving facility to Impositions
.
Frauds." The registrar will perhaps say, that the pay
meat of one shilling for each entry will not remunerate
him this cannot or
ought not to be allowed to be any
x •
Before he had become a candidate for the
ought to have made himself acquainted with
il
officel'suet.res required, and before he had undertaken them
heeeloughthe
to have satisfied himself whether the re-
muneration would be ample or not ; surely it is not the
time after election, and alter neglecting his duty as he is
reported to have done, to say, it would not pay me " to
inform myself carefully" as to the correctness of the in-
t was the
butse aindiscriminate
felv
weeks
si
n e
formation of every birth and death reported at any office.
It is quite time that something were done to put a stop
since t ri
that a esof
woman births andwas deaths.taken into
custody for begging for money to bury her child. She
produced a registrar's certificate of a death to assure the
parties whom she solicited of the truth of her statement.
On inquiry, it was found that no such death had taken
plaeo, as represented in the registrar's certificate. This
double fraud I believe to be in daily practice by bagging
imposters, and facility given to these impositions and
frauds by registrars neglecting to inform themselves
carefully of the truth of the reports left at their offices—
a pretty way, indeed, to swell up the amount of shil-
lings for fees for registration if they are allowed to re •
gister any report of a birth or death brought to their
offices by strangers !
I know nothing whatever of the registrar upon whom
I have made this attack, further than Vie reports in the
public newspapers, so that, if my statement be incorrect,
I can only say that I shall be willing. to make him the
most ample satisfaction for the insinuations I have thrown
out. I have no personal feeling Bona him, and only
take the present case, as reported, for the purpose of
instancing the evils the public are liable to
is directed
neglecting their duties ; and as the attack directedto
an individual, I do not think it would be fair towards him
by placing an anonymous signature
affix to such a communi-
cation, therefore I do not hesitate to my name and
residence.—l am, Sir, yours truly,
ROBERT W. DICKENSON.
Ilfracombe, April 18, 1844.

The more robust of the pensioners in this town, to
the numbs of about 140, are this week having their
clothing distributed out to them at the Barracks. The
dress consists of a blue surtout coat, with scarlet cuffs
and collar, and dark trowsers, with a broad scarlet stripe
one inch and a half in breadth. The men are "to pa-
rade" on Thursday next, at the Barracks, when the
arms and accoutrements will be distributed, and the
whole of their appointments made good.— Arottin9halm
Review,