The Sun.
London, England, 1819-11-03 00:00:00

SURREY SESSIONS, Nuv. 2.

AN EXTRAORDINARY rtIAL.
[Front Me New Times.]
John Wilson awl James Hawkins were tried upon
an indictment charging them with having assault.
ed, wounded, and ill• treated Mr. Butt, a solicitor,
to the imminent danger of his life, with intent to
rob him.
Mr. BARROW was for the prosecution ; Mr.
Coweey and Mr. TuaToN for the defence.
Mr. Butt stated, that on Monday night, the
18th October, as he was entering the pit-door of
the Surrey Thea re, at half-price, he felt his watch
out of his tub, anti on looking down saw
Wilson holding the seal and part of the chain in
his hand. Witness seized his chain, and Wilson
instantly let it go ; said, '' it was not he," and
abused witness upon being charged by him with
having attempted to pick his pocket. Wilson
then attempted to get away, but witness seized
trim by the breast, called fur a constable, and said
Wilson was a pickpocket. Hawkins, who was
close to the other prisoner, seized witness's
arm. A Jew at the same time pushed against
witness. and Wilson extricated himself. ‘Vitness
'having disengaged himself from Hawkins's grasp,
tried to get bold of the fugitive, but Mitt not suc-
ceed. A constable, however, apprehended both
prisoners.
Mr. Cowen,' asked Mr. Butt whether he had
any other name than John Butt ; to which the
witness replied its the negative. lii answer to ano-
ther question, witness said he had an uncle of the
same name.
Mr. CowLEy then submitted to the Court, that
the prisoners were entitled to an acquittal ; for
upon looking over the indictment, he found that
the word " said " was omitted in referring to the
prosecutor, and of course the name that appeared
might apply to the prosecutor's uncle, or any
other " John Batt." This omission had beer.
ohslorved in that part of the indictment, which
charged the prisoners with 'went to lob Mr.
Butt, but not in the former part, which alluded
to the assault alone.
Mr. BA Hum,/ said, lie was surprised at hearing
so extraordinary an objection. The only question
was, whether this Joint Burt was the person as-
saulted, and the Jury had before them the matter
of fact.,

After some conversation between the CHAIRMAN
(Mr. Trotter) and Mr. YOUNG, on the Bench,
during which the three Learned Counsel were
arguing upon the law, Mr. TROTTER, after a few
vain efforts to obtain a hearing, declared that the
Coot was divided upon the subject, he being of
opinion that there was nothing in the objection,
and his brother Magistrate entertaining a differ-
ent view of Mr. Cowley's argument.
Mr. Butt thought proper to give his opinion of
the matter, and intimated that the objection of
the prisoner's Counsel was by no means avail-
able.
Mr. TURTON—DO, Mr. Butt, be kind enough
to confine Yourself to the duties of a witness. You
cannot be permitted to act as Counsel, Witness,
and Attorney at the same time.
Mr. COWLEY said, that the Court being divided,
then came on the grand maxim of British Law,
that in the event of the existence of a doubt, a
prisoner was entitled to an acquittal. The division
of the Court established the existence of a doubt
in the most unequivocal manner.
The CHAIRMAN said., it was the first' time he
had been present at the division of a Court, but
it was firmly his opinion, that the trial might go
on. If there proved to be any thing in the ob-
jection, in the event of a conviction, advantage
might be taken of it.
Mr. BARROW—The Jury are to decide upon the
law and the tact. The evidence has been com-
menced, and a verdict must he given. The word
upon which such important stress is laid, is a
mere form. It signifies .nothing.
Mr. Coweey and Mr. TURTON were willing to
risk their professional characters upon the validity
of the objection. The latter Gentleman Said with
great emphasis, " If the Court divides, the pri-
soners must be discharged. I contend that they
must."
The CHAIRMAN, who made several efforts to
be heard, was here permitted to edge in a word or
two. The Court, be said, was not divided upon
the question of proceeding with the case, and he
suggested that at all events the charge of assault
Might be proceeded with, and that of the intent to
rob be abandoned.
Mr. COI LEY interrupted the Court.—lf, said
he, you try us for a species of assault different
from that which the indictment describes, you
should have given us other notice. The notice
we have received is for a particular species of
assault, and pow you arc preparing to go on with
a common assault.
The. CHAIRMAN said, that in summing up, he
should take care :o impress upon the Jury the ne-
cessity of putting out of their consideration alto-
gether any evidence that touched upon the charge
of stealing.
Mr. TURTON stated that the prisoners could
not he tried upon the same indictment for
two . different offences, except there were two
counts. In this indictment, whether the cir-
cumstance arose from the vanity or the ignorance
of the. attorney, the precaution bad not been
taken. The sole assault to be tried was, that
with the intent to steal. The Jury were now to
give their verdict, and they were bound to acquit
in consequence of the division of the Court. In
the Old Bailey, if two Judges divided, there would
be an acquittal without hesitation. •
The CHAIRMAN said, that if he could ascertain
that such was the case, he of course could feel
no hesitation in acting upon such powerful au-
thority.
Mr. YOUNG, the Magistrate, said, that if the
objection taken by Mr. Cowley and Mr. 'Parton
had been taken in lintine, there might, perhaps, be
an end to- the case ; but the Court having gone
nto the evidence, were compelled to proceed

n it.

Here the Court directed that the evidence
should he pursued. Atter having cross-examined
the wit tie's a short time, Mr. CowLEY slid, as
a British Counsel, I demand that the prisoners
shall know the charge upon which they are to be
The CHAIRMAN..-4 should think that the Jury
alight, in case they are satisfied with the evidence,

bring in the prisoners guilty of an assault, Witl►-
eut intent to veal, as they might bring in a per-
son charged with murder guilty of homicide.
A young Barrister, wish whose name we are not
acquainted, said, that if ttvo Judges were divided,
the evidence could not he stopped. He was pre-
sent a short time ago when Baron Wood and Jus-
tice Park divided, still the evidence proceeded,
end the Jury returned their verdict.

Mr. TunTorg-1 wish the trial to go on. My
Client is not Mr. Cowley's.
Mr. COWLEY—ii wish it to go on also, but 1
wish to know what it is to be about.

It was, after a long delay, agreed ❑pon to go on
with the case as it vas originallV intended by the
prosecutor's Counsel, who inlimated that it was
actually silly to offer such grounds for putting a
stop 10 the evidence.

Mr. TROTTER said, that Mr. Cowley and Mr.
Turton Wright, if they pleased, in the event of a
convict ion, move an arrest of judgment.
Here Mr. LA►vsON, Clerk of the Peace, came
into Court. The Chairman immediately stated
the objection, and Mr. Lawson said, that he could
see nothing material in it. The objection, whether
there was any thing in it or not, was certainly
prema►ure.

The case WRS then proceeded in, and the pri-
soners were Acquitted."

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
THE RADICALS.

GUILDHALL.-As a natural consequence of the
Meeting held on Monday, in Finsbury-market,
the attention of the Sitting Magistrate, Sir Re-
' CHARD CARR GLYN, was yesterday occupied for
nearly three hours in hearing the charges prefer-
red against some of those who attended that
Meeting.
John Cogien was charged as follows :
Henry Knight, a coachman, lives at 20, North-
street, Brompton, was, fibollt half-past five o'clock
on Monday evening, coming through Smithfield,
met a gang of fellows, to the amount of 14 or 15 ;
went olf the footway to allow theist to pass ; pri-
soner was running down the street, and on pass-
ing the prosecutor, snatched at his watch riband,
and drew the watch out of his pocket ; prose-
cutor seized the watch, and prisoner ran off. A
cry of " Slop thief " was raised, and the prisoner
was taken into custody ; in the scuffle to get the
watch from the prisoner, the case of it was lust ;
many of the gang struck prosecutor.
Thomas Pike, a Cif)/ officer, was in Smithfield
on Monday evening, heard a cry of " Stop thief,"
and saw prisoner running; took him into custody;
a gang of 14 or 15 fellows rescued him ; prisoner
immediately ran off, followed by his party ; again
heard a cry of " Stop thief ;" took prisoner into
custody, who was charged by the prosecutor with
robbing him of a watch ; recognised prisoner as
the person who was rescued Irons bins a few
minutes before when be first took him ; a gentle-
man at Snowhili charged him with rubbing him
of his watch ; prisoner was not out of his cus-
tody more than two or three Minutes when the
second robbery was committed.—Cotnntitted for
trial.

Mary Walsh was committed to Bridewell for a
month, lor breaking the shop window of Mr.
John May, Golden Lion, Smithfield.
Edward Cappendale and George Hart were
brought up, h►tt the prosecutors not appearing,
the officers preferred charges of disorder and in-
toxication, for which the Magistrate fined them
53. each. These Gentlemen having on Monday,
agreeably to Preston's advice, declared war against
paper currency, were not of course encum-
bered with any, and as the time for that equal
distribution of specie, so devoutly swished for by
the Radicals, had not yet arrived, they were not
prepared to pay the flue, and were, therefore,
committed. Hart, when taken by the officers,
was without a coat.

Many attempts were made by the women to
raise a disturbance in Smithfield, which were
frustrated by the activity of the officers. Several
persons of wretched appearance, who were taken
into custody by the officers on different charges,
were discharged, as the prosecutors did not ap-
pear.

BOW-STREET.—Yesterday, 'Vahan' Fielder end
Males Ellis were examined on a charge of for-
gery. The prisoner Ellis was lately in the ser-
vice of Mr. Tustin, of Fludyer-street, army-
agent, as a footman, and left his service on
the 9th of October. Mr. Tustin had been in
the habit of signing black checks, which were
kept in an iron safe, and the key of the safe kept
in a desk in his office. It appeared, that on
the 21st of October last, Mr. Tustin, in look-
ing over the account of his bankers, Messrs.
Drommonds, Charing-Brost, discovered a check
of 1001. of which he was totally ignorant. He
saw that the s;gnorture was his own, hut the hand-
writing in the hotly of the check seemed to be that
of an illiterate person ; and from some further
inquiries, Air. was induced to suspect that
the prisoner Ellis his late servant, had been con-
erned in filling up the check. On stopping pay-
ment of the notes at the Bank, a 101. note was
traced to Mr. Chappel, a bootniaker in Holborn,
and on applying to Mr. Chappel, it was ascer-
tained, that abotit a fortnight ago, two young
men came to his shop, each of them bought a
pair of boots, and put them on at the shop, and
ordered the shoes to be sent to a gentleman's
house near Blackfriars, where one of them lived
servant. Mr. Tustin having learnt this, applied
at this office, and ituthven was employed to trace
the parties; he soon discovered that the two
prisoners were the persons who had passed the
ten pound note, and after several days seardi, ap-
prehended them in company yesterday morning,
at a public-house in Devonshire-street, Queen-
square. On searching Ellis, a skeleton key was
found upon him, which opens the desk where
the key of Mr. Tostio's iron safe was kept.
In the possession of Fielder were found two
books, containing some wilting, which Fielder
admitted to be his, and which, on examination,
very much resembles the hand-writing in the
forged cheek. The check was made payable
to J. Cowing or bearer, and in one of Fieldet's
books, the words " Cowing or bearer" were writ-
ten, and the word " Cowing" corresponds most
minutely with the same hand in the forged check.
The prisoners were remanded for a week, to give
an opportunity of ttaoiug the other uotes.