The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-27 00:00:00

MIDLAND Cl RCUlT.—Leicester, March 25.

CROWN COURT.—(lkfore Chief Ju tice TINDAL.)
RIOT AND A SSA ULT.—Joseph Colthurbt, Edward Tal-
t Mullins, Henry loper, Charles limy Coss-, George
Richardson, and Thowis Hibbins, were charged with
having on the morning of Saturday, the'l6th day of No-
vember last, in the parish of Wymondham, in this county,
been guilty of a riot. There were other counts in the
indictments charging assaults to have been committed
on the persons of Stephen Stokes, William Grooby, and
-John Lewin.

' The counsel engaged for the prosecution were, Mr.
Whitehurst, Q.C., Mr. Mellor, and Mr. Flowers. For
-the defence, Mr. llill, Q.C., Mr. Ilumfrey, Q.C., Mr.
W. Burnaby, and Mr. Macaulay.
This prosecution arose out of an attempt made by some
of the otlisers of the Midland Counties Railway to make
a survey of some portion of Lord Harborough's park,
called Stapleford Park, for the purposes of an intended
-line of railway from Syston to Peterborough. The
affair made much noise at the time. The facts, as de-
tailed by counsel, and proved by the witnesses, were
as folow :—The Midland Counties Railway having
projected a branch lino from Syston, a village about
five miles from Leicester, to Peterborough, it became
necessary to take the levels, &c., of the intended
line. The line in question was proposed to be carried
through Stapleford Park,, .the property of Lord
Harborough, running at a distance of near a mils
from the Noble Earl's residence, but within two or thew
hundred yards of a cotsage which his Lordship had built
and embellished at great ces. • and in which he nearly
always resides. It appeared that a request had been
preferred by the Company to his Lordship to be allowed
to come upon the park for the purpose of making a
survey, but Lord Harborough refused such permission.
Some attempt had been made early in the week to make
the required survey by the towing path of the Oskham
canal, which runs by the side of the park, but this had
been resisted. It would seem that some sort of an un-
derstanding was come to thst no further attempt should
be msde to complete the survey unit the respective par-
ties had been before a magistrate; but late on the Friday
night preceding the morning in question, information
was received by Lord Harborough's agents that the
Company intended at an early hour on Saturday to go
upon the park and make the required survey. Parties
were immediately dispatched to the neighbouring vil-
lages for the purpose of sailing the tenants and labourers
on his Lordship's estate into the field to resist the in-
tended aggression, and some of them arrived upon the
ground as early as a quarter to six, where they found the
defendants, who, with the assistance of their work
people, to the number of 70 or 80, wore about to com-
plete the business they hal come upon. They were re
quested to desist, and to go about their business. They
recusei, and thence arose a fight and disturbance, which
lasted a considerable time, and in the result Lord Har-
borough's people remained masters of the field. Many
acts of violence on the part of the defendants were de
• posed to. A witness named Colson stated that, upon
warning the defendants to desist, they said they would
go on in spite of him, and he was pushed against and
rolled over. The " railways," as the witnesses for the
prosecution styled the company's servants, were armed
with 10,g pieces of wood, having iron spikes at their
ends ; but these were to stick in the ground, and were a
part of their business apparatus. Some witnesses spoke
to their having bludgeons in their pockets. All the wit-
nesses for the prosecution denied that they themselves
had any weapons beyond walking-sticks, and those only
a few, and that their numbers did not exceed twenty or
thirty. Mr. Fabian, the steward of Lord Harborough,
-stated that he arrived in the park a little before seven en
the morning of Saturday, and he thought there --iS.ere
seventy or eighty, and from that to one hundred of the
"railways', present ; that he heard the noise in the park
upwards of half a mile off ; that upon coming up he saw
Colthurst, and addressed him, saying, " These are most
disgraceful proceelins, Mr. Colthurst " He replied,
" Mr. Fabian, if you do not wish to he hurt, I should
advise you to go away." Mr. Fabian replied, "he
thought he (Fabian) had more right there than he had."
There was a desperate struggle, but at last the " rail-
ways" beat a retreat. Then he ordered the gees of
the park to be closed, in order that ti•.e parties
implicated might Le identified, and among them were the
defendants.

In cross-examination, the witness sri'd it had been
called in the newspapers, " the battle of Suxby-bridge."
Does not know that Lord Harborough commanded in
chief. Was a general on that occasion, if Mr. Hill
pleased to call him so. He sent Skinner over, Lord
Harborough's servant, as en aid-de camp to summon the
rank and fi'e to Stapleford. Could not tell their num-
ber, had not looked at the muster-roll lately. The men
who came b.fore the fray was over and those who came
after received 25. 6tl. each, and r,:tions on the Mon,lay.
There was no artillery. Heard nothing about the
cannon of Lord Harborough's yacht until after the thy
in question.
William Grooby spoke to Culthurst " bragging" at
him with a staff, having an iron spike at the end, with
whieh he made a hole in his coat, and John Lewins was
assaulted and had a wound in his side ; he c-iuld not see
it, but felt it for weeks afterwards. Many other wit-
nesses spoke to the noise and tumu:t that disiinguished
the morning of this eventful 15th, describing the "rail
ways" as armed with staves, and distinguished by whi' e
linen, or ribbon, tied round their arms, the morning not
at first being light.

Mr. litt.t.made an eloquent speech in favour of the de-
fendants, the gist of which was to show that the parties in
question had no intent to commit or provoke any breach
of the peace, but they had gone there early in the
morning, so that Lord Ilarborough should be less dis-
turbed, and the number of men spoken to as being upon
the ground arose from tho necessity there was fur their
assistance to work the chains, many being provided to
finish the business of the survey.
The CIIIEF JUSTICE said it vias clear the defendants
had no right to have been there, and it was a riot of
more than three persons, assembled for a common pur-
pose, the object heftyg to do that which would or might
create a breach of the peace.
The jury, however, acquitted Vie defendants of the
riot, and found them guilty of the assault only; and
they were sentenced each to one month's imprisonment
in the county gaol.

WARD V. L' RD HARM/ROUGH AND OTHERS.

This was an action for assault wid false imprisonment,
and arose out of the disputes between his Lordship and
the Company. The plaintiff is an engineer, and .on
Monday, the 1 1 th, had gone over to Mr. Fabian's house
to ask permission to ho allowed to carry out a survey on
the towing path of the Oakham canal. Mr. Fabian
stated ho had no orders respecting it, but there was a
notice board warning people not to trespass in the park
under the penalty of 101. It appeared that Mr. Ward,
with his assistant, Mr. -Roper, and ten or a dozen labour-
ing men, proceeded to make his survey, when Dawson
the head gamekeeper of Lord Harborough, rode up and
ordered him off. Mr. Ward had at the time a theodolite
with him, an instrument used in surveying. Mr. Ward
was moving off the ground, when Mr. Dawson, who had
stated he should go back to Lord Harborough and ask
what he (Dawson) was to do, returned and took Mr.
Ward and his whole p irty into custody, and took pos-
session of the theodolite. Mr. Ward desired to be taken
before a magistrate ; he went with his assistant in his
own conveyance, but after they had gone about two
miles, Mr. Dawson told them they might go where they
pleased. The men were to be taken in a cart, and the
theodolite placed therein. These men had not gone far
before Skinner, a footman of his Lordship's, role up,
and said his Lordship said " they might be all tipped
out of the cart, and go to the devil ; but if he found
them on his grounds again he would shoot them." The
theodolite was pitched into the road, and was proved to
have sustained damage to the extent of between 6!.
and 121

The Criers JUSTICH directed a verdict to be entered
in favour of Lord Harborough, as there was nothing to
show that he issued the ord•rs in question for the taking
of Mr. Ward and his party. Against the other defen-
dants—namely, Dawson and his two men—ha thought
there should be a verdict, the jury giving damages as
much as would repair the theodolite, and whatever they
ehos.) beside for the assault and detention.

The jury accordingly- returned a verdict fo: Lord
Ilarborough, and against the other three defendants.
—Damagel;,, 8/.
There was another case then called on, in which Lord
Ifarborough was plaintiff; but, at the suggestion of the
Judge, the Noble Earl congented to withdraw
a juror.

IVOR FOLK CI fiCli T.—Catuli, idge, March 25.
CHOW N COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice PArrEsox.)
Wm. Fuller and ThAert Munson were indicted for
fel.miously setting fire to a stack of straw, the property
of Robert and James Chabie, of Tuft.

Mr. Woriledge appeared fur the prosecution, and Mr.
BurChani for the prisoners.
It appeared from the evidence for the prosecution that
the stack was discovered to be on tire about nine o'clock
in the evening of the Bth of June, and the prisoners were
seen near the prosecutor's premises a short time before
the fire, and met by one of the witnesses coming away
from. the fire ; and on being asked where they had been
to, and what they had been doing, they refused to state,
and the witness immediately seized both the prisoners
by their collars, and detained them. When before the
magistrates the prisoners made false statements", which
were used as evidence ag-ainst them on the trial.

Mr. BURCIIAM addressed the jury fur the prisoners,
who, 'after much deliberation, returned a verdict of Guilty
Against both.—Sentence deferred.

James Williamson, a boy aged thirteen years, was in-
dicted for setting fire tr) a stack of straw, the property of
Mr. William Coxall, of Tuft.

Mr. Mills prosecuted. The prisoner was defended by
Mr. Giuch.

The case turned entirely upon the question whether
the stack had been set fire to in point of law, and it ap-
pearing from the evidence that the straw which had been
actually on fire, was a small quantity lying on the
ground close to the stack, and not part of the body of it,
to which the flame had not extended; it having been
providentially extinguished aimost at the moment of ig-
nition.

The Learned JUDGE thought the offence had Dot been