The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-02 00:00:00

SUMMER ASSIZES.

HOME ClRCUlT.—Guildford, Aug. 1.
The commission for the county of Surrey was opened
on Wednesday evening, and this morning, at eleven
o'clock,' both Courts were opened for the dispatch of
business, Mr. Baron Parke presiding on the Civil side,
and Mr. Baron Gurney trying the prisoners.
The gaol calendar is light, there being only thirty-
six prisoners for trial, and a great number of these are
cases that have been transferred from the sessions to
the assizes. The cause list is very heavy, eighty-two
causes being set down for trial, of which ten are special
iury cases, which are likely to occupy a good deal
of time.

The business disposed of yesterday was of no public
interest.

NORFOLK ClRCUlT.—Norwich, July 31.
Robert English, aged 20, was indicted for wilfully and mali-
ciously setting fire to certain stacks and premises, the pro-
perty of John Hogg, with intent to injure James Smith.
Mr. Cooper appeared for the prosecution; Mr. Carlos
Cooper defended the prisoner.
The prosecutor, Mr. Smith, is a farmer, residing at Wret-
ton, in this county; and the prisoner is a farming servant, in
his employment. On the night of the 7th of May the prose-
cutor went up to bed at eight o'clock, but hadheareely seated
himself when he was alarmed by the voice of his wife, shriek-
ing out "Fire, fire !" Rushing down stairs, he found his
stacks on fire, and, in a short time, the house and out-build-
ings were destroyed by the devouring element. A superin-
tendent of the police riding home from duty saw the fire, and,
hastening to it, lent his aid in arresting the progress of the
flames, and, while so engaged, was asked by a stranger,
" How he thought the fire had originated ?" Before he could
reply, the ;prisoner, who was at his elbow, interfered, and
said, " I was in the kitchen and heard a noise like a great
cannon. So did my mistress, who cried out, Lawk-a-mercy,
Robert, whatever can that be?" The abruptness of this in-
terruption created a suspicion in the mind of the policeman,
and after the fire was quelled he went to the " mistress," and
ascertaining from her that the story about the " cannon" was
an invention,, but that she had seen the prisoner go to the
stack-yard just before the fire broke out, he took him into
custody on the present charge. On the following day a boy,
named Harred, came forward and charged the prisoner with
having told him• on the previous evening, after talking
about the late fires, " Ah, ba'! They talk of coming to Wret-
ton next. What should you think if this house and stacks
were all to be burnt by the time you come to work to-mor-
row 1" This question, which the boy thought a " rum one,"
he mentioned to his mother before the fire, and afterwards
to the policeman, in whose presence the prisoner reversed
the facts and accused the boy of taking the lead in the con-
versation about the fires. On his way to the magistrate,
however, he burst into tears, and made a confidant of the
policeman, notwithstanding the most praiseworthy caution
of the officer. In so doing, he told him that he had set fire
to the stack by mere accident; that having a toothache he
had lighted a pipe, but being unaccustomed to smoking the
pipe had fallen out of his mouth among some loose straw as
he was taking some up on a fork to litter the horses. This
statement he again made to the magistrates, in the following
terms never had no such thoughts as our places get-
ting a fire. lam very sorry to think they happened as they
was ;it was done accidentally by me. I was so last night
that I could not mention how it was done, because when I
knew there was a fire I recollected how I had done it. I
hope the judge will have mercy on me, not to punish me
too much. If I had done it for the purpose, i should have
thought nothing too bad for me. I had a good master
and a good mistress, and I had no occasion to do it for the
purpose."
Mr. C. COOPER having addressed thajury for the prisoner,
Mr. Justice WILLIAMS left it to them, to say whether the
fire was or was not wilful, and therefore malicious, or, as
the prisoner represented it to have been, the result of neg-
ligence and accident.

The jury having consultel together shortly, found the
prisoner Guilty.

OXFORD ClRCUlT.—Stafford, July 31.
CIVIL SlDE.—(Before Lord Chief Justice TIVDAL).
At the sitting of the Court this morning, the case of the
Stourbridge Navigation Company against Firmstone, which
was appointed to be taken at nine o'clock, was called on, but
as only five special jurymen answered to their names, and as
a " tales " was objected to, the cause was made a remanet,
and the absent jurymen, with the 'exception of those who
were detained at home by illness, were fined 201. each.

HILTON V. LORD GRANVILLE.

For the plaintiff were Mr. Fitzroy Kelly, Q.C., Mr. God-
son, Q.C., Mr. J. Smith, and Mr. Stammers; for the de-
fendant, Mr. Sergeant Wilde, Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, Mr.
Whateley, Q.C., Mr. Ellis (the Attorney-General for the
Duchy of Lancaster), and Mr. Somerset.
The declaration in this action was in "case," the action being
brought nominally to recover compensation for injuries sus-
tained by the plaintiff in consequence of the working of cer•
tam mines, belonging to the Crown, of which the defendant
was lessee, but as he had admitted the injury complained of,
and also that he was the aggressor, the question really at
issue was, whether, in fact, there was any prescriptive right,
as claimed by Lord Granville, to work the mines in his oc-
cupation without liability to make compensation for damages
which might accrue to any buildings or lands during the pro-
gress of the excavations beneath the surface of the ground.
Mr. KELLY, in opening to the jury the plaintifi's case, said
that the subject matter for their present consideration was
one which could scarcely be surpassed in importance by any
question which could arise, either between the Crown and a
subject, or between man and man ; for although Lord Gran-
ville was the defendant here, the Crown, under whom his
Lordship held, was in fact the party to whom the plaintiff
was opposed, and, consequently, all that wealth, power,
talent, ingenuity, and industry could suggest would be
brought forward to prevent what he contended was the vin-
dication of his rights. The right claimed by the Crown
was one to work and excavate the whole of the land com-
prised in the manor, for the purpose of obtaining coals and
iron stone, without restriction, control, or qualification, as
close to the surface as might be considered advisable by the
lessees of the mine, whether the land above were arable, pas-
ture, or whether it were covered' with houses, buildings, or
tenements of any description ; so that eventually all or any
of those buildings might, as in the present instance, be
brought to a state of utter demolition and ruin. This claim,
preposterous as it seemed, drew no diatinotion between old
and modern buildings, the dwellings of the poor or the more
magnificent residences of the wealthy. Mansions of all kinds,
hopitals, churches, were alike endangered, in whatever
portion of the populous manor they might be situated, and
yet, as it was alleged, no demand for compensation would
be attended to, no redress, no relief afforded, however greit
the injury to property might prove. The point for the
consideration of the jury was simply whether a party re-
presenting the Crown was justified in digging in the manner
described, without notice, request, or warning, and without
making compensation. The right was claimed, too, through-
out the whole manor, under the town of Newcastle-under-
Lyne, under a large tract of country, particularly under
Shelton and Hanky, consequently the devastation might, if
unchecked, extend to every building in those populous town-
ships, inhabited as they were by more than 20,000 inhabi-
tants, comprising two churches, nine or ten chapels, a county
infirmary erected at an expense of 22,000/., various manufac-
tories, residences of considerable value and beauty—altoge-
ther to the number of 4,000 houses.
On the conclusion of the Learned Counsel's speech, evi-
dence was adduced to prove the order of the Lord Chan-
cellor ; the conveyance of the property to the plaintiff's
father ; his own accupation since his father's demise ; and,
finally, the detriment to which that property had been sub-
jected by the defendants since the year 1834.
The plaintiff's case having thus terminated,
Sir T. WILDE made an application to the Court to have
the further hearing of the case postponed until to-morrow
morning, at nine o'clock. This request was acceded to by
the Learned Judge.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Sergeant ATCRERLEY.)
Philip Danis, aged 23, a labouring man, was indicted upon
a charge of having attempted to extort money from James
Taylor, under a threat of accusing him of havingendeavoured
to commit an offence of a horrible description.
Mr. Owen conducted the prosecution ; Mr. Allen appeared
on behalf of the prisoner.
The Learned Counsel for the prisoner declined addressing
fcolirentetn, who was as convicted, and sen-
ttehn:c eij
rud. rYGt 000dntsr
Godson, Q.C.,
tfc
,ofthilloaitiss been assisting the Learned Judge in
the trial of prisoners during the latter part of the day.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT—Derby, July 31.
MERCER V. wHALL.—(Special Jury.)
This was an action brought to recover damages under cir.
cumstancea of rather a peculiar nature.
Mr. Hill, Q.C., and Mr. Humfrey were for the plaintiff ;
and Mr. Whitehurst, Q.C., Mr. Waddington, and Mr. Mellor,
for the defendant.

The plaintiff is a person between 40 and 50 years of age,
and has lived fora considerable cumber of years in Chester-