The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-16 00:00:00

MURDEROUS ASSAULT ON A WIFE.

Thomas Fawn, 33, was charged with feloniously
cutting and wounding Harriet Fawn, with intent
to do her grievous bodily harm.
The circumstances on which this indictment was
fouilded have very lately been published at large.
The prisoner only married the prosecutrix last
June, and on the 18th of last month, while he and
his wife were making preparations to go to Chiches-
ter, he, without previous quarrel, dealt her a truly
murderous blow on the head with a life preserver,
•nd then went his way, leaving her insensible. It
]bas since been ascertained that he was keeping up
an illicit connexion with another woman, by whom
he had three children.

The Recorder sentenced him to ten years' p3nal
servitude.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—DER.BY, Dec. 14.
The commission for this county was opened on
Saturday afternoon before Mr. Baron Channel!,
and the business of the assize was commenced this
morning at 10 o'clock.

Henry Buxton; aged 21, labourer, was charged,
in separate indictments, with a highway robbery,
on the 17th of Oct., at Ashford ; with another high-
way robbery, on the 7th of Nov., at Rowsley ; and
with two burglaries on the night of the 6th of Oct.
--cne at Rowsley, and the other at Stanton Leigh.
He pleaded guilty to the two burglaries, but not
guilty to tile other indictments.

Mr. Meynell conducted the prosecution. The
prisoner was undefended.
In the first cwe the prosecutrix, Harriet Bag-
show, proved that on the afternoon in question
she was going along a high road in the parish of
Ashford, when she was assailed by the prisoner, a
tall, powerful man, who put his hands upon her
shoulders and demanded money. She offered him
some silver, hoping that that would satisfy him,
but the hope was vain, for he seized ber very
roughly, put his hand on her mouth to stop her
crying out, and threw her down upon the ground.
He also tore off her scarf, which was fastened by a
broach, snatched her gold chain and watch, and
rifled her pockets. In her pocket was a purse con-
taining five sovereigns ; but she luckily succeeded
in turning the money ont into her pocket, and
though the prisoner got possession of the purse he
failed to secure the gold, some of which was found
afterwards in her pocket, and some on the ground.
The prosecutrix swore distinctly to the prisoner
as_ the man who had robbed her ; and later
the same afternoon he was proved to have offered
for sale the gold chain which had been taken.
In the second case the prosecutor, Albany
Daniels, proved that on the evening of the 7th of
November he was going along the Rowsley-road,
when the prisoner suddenly started upon him and
give him a violent blow on the face, and knocked
him down and took bis purse from his pocket, con-
taining 21. 13s. Information having been given
to the police he was afterwards apprehended, and
secured in spite of violent resistance. The con-
stable, who was very severely kicked upon the leg+,
and hid suffered considerably from the effects of
the prisoner's violence, was commended by the
judge and ordered a reward of 51.
The jury convicted the prisoner in both cases,

The learned Judge sentmeed him to 20 years'
penal servitude.

WESTERN CIRCUIT.—EXETER., DEC. 14.
Mr. Justice Wiles opened the commission in this
city for the county of Devon on Saturday last.
There are about 30 prisoners for trial ; some of the
charges upon which they have to b 3 tried are of a
very serious nature—murder, intent to murder,
burglary and intent to murder, manslaughter, ob-
taining money by threats. and bigamy.
James Boghurst, Thomas Brown, and James
Coleman, who bad been committed on a charge of
burglary in the house of William Braddon' at
Plympton, and with having assaulted William Brad-
don with intent to murder, were placed at the bar.
Mr. Karslake then stated to the Court that he
had an affidavit made by a surgeon, who stated
that Mr. Braddon was not in a condition to give
evidence in the case, but he thought that by the
next assizes he might be able to do so.
Mr. Justice Willes asked the prisoners if they
had any objection to the postponement of their
trials.

The prisoners said they would rather be tried
now.

Mr. Justice Willes said, under the c'rcumstances,
he should recommit the prisoners to the next
assizes

Henry Barrington Hooper was indicted for utter-
ing a forged check for 4/. odd, with intent to defraud
John Harris.

Mr. Bere conducted the prosecution.
It appears that Harris kept a public-house at
Exmouth. The prisoner went there to lodge on
the 28th of September, and remained there until
the 15th of October, when his bill amounted to
upwards of 4/. He then offered Harris the check
in question, which purported to have been drawn
by his uncle. The check was proved to be in the
ha•Awriting of the prisoner.
She Judge having summed up,
The Jury remained some time in consulta'ion,
and then returned a verdict of Guilty of lase pre-
tenceq, but the forgery was not made out to their
satisfaction.

The Judge then told the jury that the prisoner
was not eh%rged with the offence of faLse pretences,
but with uttering a forged check, he knowing it to
be forged.

The Jury then returned a verdict of Guilty of
the uttering.
The Judge said he should not do his duty if be
treated such an offence with leniency. The sen-
tence would therefore be four years' penal servitude.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—YORK, MONDAY,
DECEMBER 14.
(Before Mr. Justice Williams.)
THE HULL FORGERY CASE.
Henry Smith Brivbt was indicted for forging on
the 4th of July, 1853, at Hull, a deed of transfer,
urporting to be signed by Robert John Taylor, of
certain railway shares in the York, Newcastle, and
Berwick Railway Company, with intent to defraud.
He was further charged with uttering the same deed
knowing it to be forged.
Mr. 0 verend, Q C., Mr. Dearsley, and Mr.
Maule appeared for the prosecution ; an I Mr. Edwin
James, Q. C. (specially retained), and Mr. Price for
the defence.

The prisoner, an exceedingly intelligent and
espeetable looking man, appeared at the bar with
lis arm in a sling, having met with some accident.
Throughout the trial he took an active interest in
what was going on, and wrote many notes to his
cannael,
The jury
returned a verdict of guilty of forgery,
and of uttering the same with intent to defraud.
Mr. Overend
of the same said' there were several other cases
carry the chargecharacter,f but he did not think he could
u_rther than this, and with his
ligdship,s sanction
mr.
%Tame aaid, It aid not propose to go on.
charges as to the bills ex-
change were very Peculiar,
c Lordship said he, ~i'm ,
caaeno_a:ld to say that he
po4tiotlrot,the bills of ex-
c./uld not understand the
change after reading the de
Mr. Overend said, on the part of timosecution,
they did not wish the bills of exchange
taken into account at all in the punishrn,enlst! to be
The prisoner was then called on if he had a_n
thing to say why judgment should not pa:, upon
h:ni. _

The prisoner, in a firm, clear manner, said,—
" My Lord, may I be allowed to say that I have
no tault to find with the way in which this rrosecu-
t on has been conducted, and I thank the jury for
the patient attention they have pail to the cwe.
What I now say is with the full conviction that the
crime of which I have been convicted was a few
years ago punishable with death ; but what I wish
to say is, that the whole of the transactions con-
nected with my firm carried on, as a speculative
i
aeo9unt n al-own name, were so carried oil for

the sole purpose of retrieving the position into which
the firm had got by railway engagements in 1846 ;
that the principle of those speculations was known
to my partner, and that it was with his knowledge
and his privity entirely that we entered on these
speculations; that theywere intrusted entirely to my
management, and were kept from the knowledge of
his son, because it was notorious that his son was
not a man of business; and they were kept from
the knowledge of the clerks because their knowledge
would have been ruin to the firm. My lord, the
jury have found me guilty and I submit to the
punishment which your lordship may award.
His Lordship then proceeded to pass sentence.
He said, I entirely concur with the verdict of the
jury, and therefore I need not say I do not believe
what you say just now. Nevertheless, I have com-
passion for you—a man fallen from the highly
respectable station in which you stood. You say
truly that a few years ago your crime would have
been expatiated on a public scaffold ; and though
I have compassion on you, I should do wrong if I
did not pass a sentence on you commensurate with
your crime, which is one of great enormity. The
sentence of the Court is that you be kept in penal
servitude for 10 years.
The prisoner was then removed after acquittals
had been taken in eight other indictments against
him.

We understand the prisoner has expressed his
obligations to his learned counzel for his defence of
him, which he states was the truth.

LIVERPOOL, MONDAY, DEC. 14.
(Before Mr. Justice Wightulan.)

Thomas John Ouseley surrendered to take his
trial for having on the 16th of October last, pub-
lished a certain defamatory libel concerning Robert-
son Gladstone, a member of the Town-council of
the borough of Liverpool.
Mr. Brett and Mr. Lushington appeared for the
prosecution ; Mr. So wler and Mr. Wheeler for the
defendant.

The case, which has attracted some attention in

Liverpool, was a prosecution for libel preferred by
Mr. Robertson Gladstone against the proprietor
and editor of the Liverpool Herald. Mr. Robert-
son Gladstone is brother to the member for the
University of Oxford, and well known in Liverpool
as an opulent merchant and a zealous politician on
the Liberal side, as well as an active magistrate and
member of the Town-council. The Liverpool
Herald is a weekly journal professing extreme
Orange and Protestant views. The circumstances
of the case will be readily understood from the
libel itself, which appeared in the form of the fol-
lowing leading article on Saturday the 10th of
Octobr last :

" Some people cannot exist without a grievance ;
like the hyena in his den, they are constantly moving
about and uttering discordant sounds Mr. Ro-
bertson Gladstone is one of those grumblers ;
no one can satisfy him. At a meeting of the Town-
council on Saturday last the monthly meeting, which
should have taken place on Wednesday last, was post-
poned, owing to that day being set apart by the Queen's
proclamation for a general fast and humiliation. This
dill not meet the approval of the ever discontented mem-
ber for Abercromby Ward, who observed that—
" 'He could not discover, really, what the. Council
had to do with the order of humiliation and prayer. Of
the necessity for humiliation and prayer, and the duty
which was incumbent upon each of them in respect of
those two objects, he did not pretend to hold any ques-
tion for a moment. But, considering that the parties
really in fault were the East India Company, who had
had golden opportunities of doing good, but had neglected
and abused the trust reposed in them, why other parties
were to be held responsible in the sight of God for the
acts of that company was really a matter which he, for
one, could not comprehend. He did not propose upon
that occasion going into the subject. He felt very
strongly upon it, and perhaps upon no point more than
this did he enter his protest against it than because a day
in the week was selected, a day of labour, when the
po-rer classes must of necessity be the sufferers by the
loss of that day's work. Why they could not have
imitated their brethren of the Roman Catholic church,
and fixed Sunday al a day of humiliation, he could not
comprehend.'
" Mr. Gladstone questions the necessity for praying
to God to protect our fellow-countrymen, women, and
children from the merciless Sepoy, because the Eaat
India Company neglected their duties. We ask this
brutal specimen of humanity whether the soldiers, their
wives, and cl,illren are to blame for the conduct of the
Government of India ? Other parties' are not held
responsible in the sight of God 'tor the acts of the Com-
pany, but it is our duty as Christians to implord the
Divine mercy upon those who are surrounded with peril.
He objects to a week day being fixed upon. Had Sun-
day been selected there would have been no sacrifice of
:elfish interests, and but few would have recognised the
day mare than the usual Sabbath. As for imita'ing
the Pope's sepoys, as proposed by Mr. Gladstone, that
would only be exhibiting a disloyal spirit. "Why could
not the Papists, the same as the Jews, and all other
sects, obey the Queen's mandate ? And what benefit do
the poor Papista derive from having Sunday set apart
fur their day of humiliation, when their chief sacerdotal
ruffian well knew that all work would be stopped on
Wednesday. We are not surprised at. anything ema-
nating from Mr. Gladstone. A. man who can jump
from Toryism to extreme 'Radicalism may, if it suit bias,
rush from Christianity to infidelity, or, what is as bad,
Popery, of which latter creed he now appears to be the
champion. According to the theory of Mr. Gladstone,
as the East India Company are in fault, we have no
right to attempt to relieve Lucknow, but leave Delay
1,000 of our fell@ w.countrymen, women, and children to
be butchered. The power of British troops, we admit,
is grew., but the power of God cal avert all evils;
therefore to Him we pray, for His strength is not the
strength of mortal man. The Town-council of Liverpool
is disgraced so long as this English sepoy has a place at
its table ; and we hope the electors of Abercromby
Ward of ail political opinions will combine to oust him
when his term of office expires. We had thought he
had reached the lowest depths, but we are sorry to
find there is a lower st 11—one that smacks strongly of
blasphemy, as well as disloyalty."

The ordinary proof of publication was put iu
evidence, and Mr. Robertson Gladstone was called
into the bax. On cross-examination, be admitted
that on the day after the "Fast-day" he had sat
as magistrate and dismissed several summonses
against publicans charged with keeping their horses
open on the Fast-day, but said his reasons were
that it was in each case a first offence, and it was
uncertain whether the publicans had really re-
ceived the notices distributed by the police ; and,
in answer to the question whether he had not once
been a Tory and was now a Radical, he said, " I
was a Tory once, I'm sorry t o say."
An objection was then taken by Mr. Sowler that
the allegation in the indictment, " the defendant
well knov.-.Ang the said libel to be false," was not
approved ; but
His Lordship said, that was a fact to be inferred
by the jury from the charac'er of the epithets ap-
plied, and the other eircumeances of the case.
Mr. Sowler then addressed the jury for the de-
fendant in a very humorous speech of two hours,
making light of the abusive terms used in the libel,
and appealing to Vie jury to take care of the liberty
of the press.
Mr. Justice Wiglatntin, in summing up, said that
undoubtedly it was the privilege of a newspaper
editor to comment upon the conduct of public men
with considerable freedom ; but, upon the other
hand, there was a limit which no one had a right to
exceed---a limit to be determined with reference to
the occasion and circumstances. In the present
instance the question for the jury to decide was
whether the terms used in the libel were within the
limit
.of fair and reasonable comment, and were
warranted by the occasion.
The jury retired to consider their verdict about
2 o'cl-ck. At 6 o'clock, when the Court was about
to rise, they had not come to any conclusion. Under
these circumstances, by a suggestion from his Lord-
ship, the counsel on either side endeavoured to
come to some settlement.

After a considerable discussion between the coun-
sel on the part of Mr. Gladstone and the defendant,
the latter sta`ing that the defendant had never
wished to convey any imputation against Mr. Glad
stone's private character, and was now willing to
express his regret for all the terms in the libel com-
plained of except that of " disloyalty," the former
requiring an expression of regret for the whole ar-
ticle, and insisting that Mr. Gladstone would ad-
mit no distinction between his private and pnl,lic
character, it was finally agreed that his Lordship
should b asked to dictate an apology to be signed
by the defendant's counsel, that the prosecutor
should accept it in satisfaction and take no further
proceedings, add the jury be then discharged. His
Lordship having expressed his entire approval of
this course, then wrote the following apology :
" Mr. Ouseley regrets that, under the influences of
strong feeling on the subject of Mr. Robertson Glad-
stone's observations in the T,,wn-council on Saturday,
the 13th of October, relative to the day of Humiliation
and Prayer, he should have used expressions calculated
to wound tbo feelings of Mr. Robertson Gladstone, and
witiviraw such expressions, and regrets that he used
them.

Which was signed by the counsel on both sides.
The jury were tbertupou sent for into court.
His Lordship, addressing them, said—Gentle-
men—This is a private prosecution ; the parties
have agreed to settle the matter, and there has
been no compromise of justice. Mr. Ouseley ex-
pressed his regret for some expressions which are,
no doubt, stronger than any gentleman in calmer
moments would wish to use towards another.
There. has been no compromise of principle, but an
,P,,oelogy has very rightly been demlnded on the one
beeennalvvfithhidcrhawwn7aen,nlotthewreaforrrae
selxup;e'suliid male
on the other. There were some
have
tgeectiLtlbet they
nheoyf
the jury, you will not be called on fverdict.
T result of the trial Seemed to give gret satis-.
faction to Mr.give
011E6(.1'3 friends in the great
of t'ie
court, some of
ta 1w at geutlhom cheered vociferously and
arm
eman out3itle the hall