The Sun.
London, England, 1850-08-20 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE,
.NORTHEEA ClRCUlll—Liverivol. Avg. 19,
CROWN COURT.—(Before ,Mr. Justice-WIG/r-
-/ea:o
Samuel Smelter was charged with having felfmi-
ously fired off a certain loaded musket, on the 25th of
July last, at Rusholme, near Manchester, with intent
to maim and disfigure James Farr anti other& her
Majesty's subjects. There were other counts varying
the charge.
Mr. Pollock and Mr. A. Crosse appeared for the
prosecution, and Mr. Sergeant Wilkins and Mr.
Wheeler for the defence.
The prosecutor, Farr, it appeared, was a brick-
maker, living near Platt Chapel, Rusholme, and the
proprietor of some brickfieids there, at which
.be.had
employed a man as a labourer who did not belong to a
trades' union of the brickmakers. This having caused
great dissatisfaction among the labourers, about ten
o'clocia on the night of the 25th of July last a large
number of them 4between SOO and 400) a..ietn-
bled together, and proceeded to the prosecutor's
hrickfields with the intention of destroying his
blick?. A police-constable immediately went' to
Mr. Parr's residence, rind acquainted him with %hut
was going on at his brick&ids, and the prosecu-
tor immediattly went there. He had no sooner
arrived than he was fired upon by several persOns
in the crowd, many of vt hom were armed v..itb guns,
anti nearly GO shots were tired at the prosecutor, the
constables, and others there present to prevent the
destruction of the prosecutor's property. One of the
constables said he felt the shot from one of the guns
about his legs, and others of the witnesses said they
beard the shot strike the bushes in the field. isio,
person was, however, wounded. Oae .man in t bit,
crowd presented a pistol at a policeman's head, and
threatened to blow his brains out. Several witnesses
swore that they had seen the prisoner in the crowd
taking part in the disturbance, in the course of which
damage amounting to 451. was done to the prose-
cutor's bricks.

Mr. Sergeant WILKINft then addressed the jury for
the prisoner, contending that there was no evidence
to support the charge in the indictment, that the ,
prisoner had shot at Farr or at any ether person, with ,
intent to maim, or disable, or do him grievous bodily ,
harm. Had the guns been loaded, it was impossible
but that they must have injured some person or other
when fired ; but it was evident that they had only
been charged with powder, for the purpose of making
a noise, and perhaps frightening Farr. However ille-
gal such conduct might be, it would not sustain. the
charge laid in the indictment.
His LOSDAHIP having summed up, •
The jury Acquitted the prisoner.
NISI PIZIUS COURT.—(Bufore Mr. Justice
CXESSWELL.)
The Court has been occupied nearly all day with
trying an issue out of Chancery, in the case oi " Hol-
gate v. Wright," the question being the legitimacy
or otherwise of a child of Mrs. Wright during her
husband's lifetime, and whilst be was living separated
from her.
The jury found a verdict for the defendant, thereby
finding the child to be a bastard.
The case was most uninteresting.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
NEW COURT.
(Before Mr. GURNEY.)
Joseph Jones, 34, labourer, was indicted for stealing
501., in notes and gold, the property of Robert Cotton.
Mr. Cuckle prosecuted, and Mr. O'Brien defended.
The case, which has appeared within the last few
days, arose out of skittle transactions, and the facts
were very similar to those in the numerous cases that
have already been the subject matter of several inves-
tigationF. It appeared that the prosecutor, a would.
be-wide-awake countryman, a draper's assistant out
of place, was, on the morning of the 10th of April,
passing along the Westminster-bridge-read, when two
men came up and spoke to him, and as they were
walking along they saw the prisoner, who was in front,
drop his purse. Prosecutor picked it up, and gave
it him, upon which the prisoner thanked him, and
said he would not have lost it for 100/., and begged
that the prosecutor and the two who were with him
would come and take some wine, upon which they
adjourned to a public-house, where the parties began
betting upon throwing weights, and finally the game
of skittles was introduced, and up to this time the
prosecutor had lost 81. at betting. The prisoner then
offered to bet him 50/. that he could not get the
skittles in nine throws, upon which the prosecutor,
ss ho had been plied with wine, went and borrowed
the money of his landlord, which, when he came back,
he staked in the hands of another of the party, named
Chick. They then proceeded to the skittle-ground,
when it was proposed they should play for a bottle of
wine first, and while they were so engaged the pri-
soner went out. The prosecutor then went up to
Chick, who said that he had given the money to the
prisoner. Prosecutor then went out atter him, and
when he came back they were all gone. Some of
the parties so engaged had been taken for a similar
offence upon other persons, and among them was a
hairdresser named Anderson, who received 18 months
imprisonment at this court, but the prisoner was not
taken until the 4th of August, when Brett, an active
officer of the City police, took him in the Old-street-
road.

Mr. GunNEr having summed up,
Tht4 jury, after some deliberation, returned a verdict
of Guilty, and the prisoner was sentenced to twelve
months' imprisonment and hard labour.

ARMY PRIZE MONEY.
The account of unclaimed army prize money, from
Jan. 18, 1809, to December 31, 1849, directed to be
annually laid before the Houses of Parliament, shows
a total amount on the debtor side of 1,349,1491.15. 3id.
The creditor statement is as follows :
By cash, refunded to claimants, 681,723/. 2s. 9id.;
by expenses in executing acts from Jan. 18, 1809, to
Dec. 31, 1849, 57,724/. 9s. 411 d. ; by sums paid for
the Royal Hospital in diminution of the annual vote,
589,701/. 9s. Id. ; Oct. 20, 1849—by paid to the
Commissioners of Woods and Forests for appropria-
tion towards the Royal Military Asylum, realized by
the sale of 21,7391. 4s. 2d. Three per Cent. Consols,
20,000/. ; Total, 1,349,149/. ls. 3id.
A memorandum is appended to the account which
states that, although the balance appears to be as
above stated, yet there is in the Three per Cent. Con-
soli 78,260/. 15s. 10d. Stock invested on account of
army prize money, the interest whereof is included
annually in the Parliamentary estimates, and is appli-
cable to the payment of prize claims; and when the
amount thereof, in addition to the other sums received
on the same account during the year, exceeds the
claims paid, the balance is taken by the Paymaster•
General as an appropriation in his accounts. The
existence of the above amount of stock in the Three
per Cent. Consols, notwithstanding the balance is on
the debit side, arises from the investments in that
stock having been made when the funds were very
low, and from the sales thereuut as occasion required
having been from time to time effected when the
prices were considerably higher.

DARTMOUTH BOROUGH GAOL, &c.—An extraordi-
nary sessions was held in the Guildhall, on Saturday, the'
prison being considerid unfit and unsafe for the detention of a -
prisoner, Woodniason, a loCksmith of the town, committed •
on the 3d of June, for housebreaking. The Learned Recorder,
Mr. C. D. Bevan, in his charge to the jury, said he could not
reconcile it to his conscience that the prisoner should remain
in such a hole—he could call it nothing else. This was net
his own personal opinion only, but all the Government in-
spectirs who, from time to time, in the course of their duty .
had inspected it, had unanimously reported "that the gaol
of the borough of Dartmouth was the worst in the three
kingdoms, and a disgrace to the place." He wished he • '
could gainsay this, but, on the contrary, ho entirely con- :
curred in that opinion; for such a vault was unfit fur the •
purpose of a gaol. Neither was there accommodation for .. •
hadprir. ooneeern, pc
oe
Int t )p- e
ijury,lea t.
hoar t grand
o
jiunrcyoniyilenthieencGe unilladni7lpLersolt -• ,
to obtain a separate space for the prisoner. They had their' ' •
choice, either to make these things better, or to submit to
have the sessions removed to the Castle of Exeter.
Sot JUAN FERNANDtZ.—RoHnssoN Cetisost"r
A California emigrant, in a letter to the Belfast Signal,
writes as bellows with regard to the present condition of this
island.—" At sunrise, the 11th of March, we made the
island of Juan Fernandez, celebrated as the re idence of
Alexander Selkirk, and as the Botany Bay of Chili. I t af-
fordS a very indifferent harbour, and has only twelve inho-
bitants, five men and seven women, all Chilians, with the
exception of one man, who said he was governor of the
island, that his name was Worth, and that ho was a native
of Maine. He had lived on the island three years. There
are five houses or huts on the island, made of poles inter-
woven with straw, affording protection from the weather.
Peaches are large and abundant, and compose the principal
food, of ,the inhabitants. The valley in which Selkirk lived
is pointed out, and also the caves in iha sides of the moun-
taini fortnerly occupied by the Chilian convicts. The island
is extremely mountainous. Wild horses and goats abound.
It is:resorted to by vessels for wood and water. At sundown
we sailed for California."
A Fnisu OLD MAN.—Some weeks ago a pauper
of this parish applied for au augmentation of his allowance,
and was refused on the ground that he was a fresh old man
and able to do something for himself. Nothing further well
heard of his claim, tlll, after the lapse of a few days, he pre-
sented himself to the inspector, requesting a schedule to for-
ward to the board at Edinburgh respecting his case, when it
appeared that he had effectually demonstrated the truth of
the inspector's allegation, by having walked to Edinburgh
and back, a distance of 120 miles, for the accomplishment of
a purpose which might as well have been done by staying at
home. Kilmarnock Journal.
SpONTANEOUB ComnUsTloN.--An exhibition of
.a
itself. The ap-
dni,dioltitohtoehkresi:l presenceat chplace
aot
bLjoeci 'f'
tearoP °if, number
ilbi lastcehr wow; :as Ich
1 Iwi,a'
otniWevneV:rinim'drew ingeniousr
tatrn'sts-r,°akn li
be
made
to
destroy
show how
ww
talicfihreisuatai the most simple and inexpensive kind,
inibamcoordneerotofatchteiornooeZpwitneidm,mtehdeiaigtenliy-
dtbiee'tieltfeadsdtiiietoecndettaooltditt. e indices, which was as instantaneously
reap ndea to by the exterminator. This self•acting appa•
ratus we shall not attempt to describe; but from its sim-
plicity, cheapness, and unerring certainty, we make no doubt
it will come into general use. Unlike many scientific men,
who lock up their inventions till they get a ceitain remit-
netailion for them, the ingenious ii.ventor, Dr. Robinson, of
London, has generoudy thrown this open to the public for
theii use, and, is he sat' on the occasion, With the hope that
it may be the means of preserving property and valuable "
lives.—Xaccastle Guardian.