The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-25 00:00:00

MIDLAND ClRCUlT—Leicester, March 22.

William Whatoff, aged 19, was charged on six different
counts with writing letters to Mr. J. E. Lawton and Mr. J.
Lawton, sen., with a view of extorting money, threatening, if
certain sums were not sent, he would accuse him of an unna-
tural crime. The prisoner (who is a mere boy), pleaded Not
Guilty to two charges of sending letters to John Lawton, sen.,
threatening to accuse him of the like horrible offence, if he
did not send him the money he. demanded. He said
he meant them for the son. Its also pleaded Not
Guilty to sending a letter to Mr. J. Abell, of Savoy Gate,
threatening to murder him, if he did not send him the money
demanded of him, viz. 2/. It also appeared that he had ob-
tained money under the influence of this intimidation.
The prisoner was found Guilty.
The JUDGE, in passing sentence, remarlted that his offence
was as bad as murder, for to a man orthie' feelings the loss of
character was as bad as the loss of life itself. He sentenced
the prisoner to be transported beyond the seas for the term of
his natural life.

WELSH ClRCUlT.—Carnarron, March 18.
(Before Mr. Justice COLTMAN.)
THOMAS V. FRITCLIARD-CURIOUS CUSTOM.

This was an action brought to recover damages for the se-
duction of the plaintiff's daughter.
Mr. Jervis and Mr. Webby for the
.pl4intiff ; Mr. Towns-
end for the defendant.

In the summer of 18.38 the defendant, who was a small shop-
keeper, became intimate, with the daughter of the plaintiff, a
poor widow, and after a short interval from the commencement
of the acquaintance was admitted to such terms of familiarity as
to be allowed to " bundle" with Ellen Thomas, the person
whose seduction was the cause of thepresent action. It appeared
by the evidence that this practice of "bundling" is general—
even universal is Wales, and is the recognised mode of court-
ship. The suitor visits the house of his inamorata by
night, and participates her bed with her, without, however,
undtessing, and thus carries on a courtship which generally
ends in marriage. In the present instance the defendant,
either taking an undue advantage of the opportunities thus
afforded him, or being unable to resist the temptation to which
he was exposed, seduced the plaintiff's daughter, and the
result was, that she was delivered of a female child, which her
mother had been obliged to maintain up to the time of com-
mencing the action.
Verdict for the plaintiff—damages 121.
WILLIAMS V. ()WEN.

This was a case very similar to that reported above. The
plaintiff was a small farmer and a tailor, and a rigid Calvanistic
methodist, and the defendant a quarryman, and the owner of a
small farm. The plaintiff's daughter was the eldest of seven
children ; and after three years' " bundling," gave birth to a
male child.—Verdict for plaintiff—damages 151.
Mr. Town'end and Mr. Walker Jones for the plaintiff ; Mr.
Temple for the defendant.

HOME CIRCUIT.—Lewes, March 22.
•CaowN Couß•r.—(Before Baron ALDERSON.)
Edward Mercer, alias " Curly," labourer, 21, James Baker,
alias Porter, 29, and William Cottner, alias Mark, the Conjuror,
were indicted for highway robbery upon Richard Lowe, and steal.
ing a canvass bag, seven sovereigns, a half.sovereign, six pounds
in silver, and a cheque for fifteen pounds, from his person; and the
indictment, in accordance with the statute, stated that at the time
of the robbery the prisoners met and wounded the prosecutor.

This case, from the circumstances connected witO it, has created
a good deal of interest, and the Court was ereivrled during the
trial. It seemed that the prosecutor, who is bailiff to a gentleman
named Graham, residing at Worth Hill, went, on the 30th of De.
cember, to East Grinstead market, 'and he there received about 331.
on account of his master, and he set off on horseback on his return
home about one o'clock in the morning, having the money at that
time in a canvass hag in his trousers' pocket. When he arrived at
a place called Histed's Bars, he was attacked by four or five men,
who seized his horse, dragged him- to the ground, beat him most
severely, and ultimately robbed him of his money and left him in a
state of insensibility.

• Baron ALDEASON summed up, and the Jury returned a verdict
of Guilty, and the prisoners were ordered to be transported for life.

WEDNESDAY.
CROWN COURT.

THE RINGNER ROBBERY AND ALLEGED MURDER.—
JOhn Pochney, 30, Charles Brigg 426, and Stephen" Sted-
man, 29, were indicted for assu4lting Hannah Smith,
otherwise Devonshire, since deceased, and stealing from
her various articles, her property.
Mr. CLArtasost stated the case ; after which he called
the following witnesses :
Ann Stanford deposed—ln the year 1838 my husband
kept the Anchor Inn at Ringmer. I recollect the de-
ceased being at our house on Friday night, the Ist
of June. She came there between seven and eight, or
eight and nine in the evening, and she had a basket
with her, which contained cottons, tin pots, and other
little articles. She went in the tap.. The prisoners came
to the house that night while
.deceased was there.
They stopped until nearly eleven with the deceased.
About a quarter to eleven the prisoners left the house ;
but deceased was there. I asked her how far she had
to go ; she said to Lewes. I said " You are afraid,
are you na ?" She replied. "No ; lam not afraid ;
have been on the road too many: times ; no one
will hurt me." She left about eleven o'clock, and I saw
her paSs the paring. She had a pack on her back, and a
basket, and an umbrella.
Cross-examined—l saw prisoner Pockney in the tap-
room about eleven o'clock, with the other prisoners.
John Gatson deposed—l am in
.the service of the.
Rev. Mr. Lupton, who liVes in. the rectory-house,
Pound, Ringmer. At the back of my master's premises
there is a pond, and on the other side a meadow, and
by the side of the meadow .is rising ground. On the
morning of Saturday, the 2nd of Jur.e, I had occasion to
go to the pond about six o'clock to get some water,
where I saw a basket standing on the bank in the mea-
dow, and also an umbrella. The grass was a good deal
trodden down, which appeared to have been done by
three or four persons. In consequence of other appear-
ances
about the pond, I obtained assistance, and.l saw
the body of a woman taken out of the pond. There was
a pack on her back. The body was taken to a place
belonging to a man named Briggs. I saw there were a
few things left in the basket. The depth of the pond
was nearly ten feet.
• Francis Fagan, superintendent of police, deposed—ln
consequence of a letter which I received I made inqui-
ries as to the death of Hannah Smith. I apprehended a
man named Washer, and after that .1 took prisoner
Pockney, on the 21st October. After he had been in. •
custody he made a statement, and . prisoner signed it,
which was ppalupp4 befor9.,the C.,tmi witting magist rate.
I afterwards took .Briggs into clittsely,,a4 add:ldin for,
what, when he made thc.statement produced.
• The st4temes t. was them read, and wits..to the following
()Weft-I—lie was. at the.A ne hor about, elexen,o'cloek, wit h.
Briggs aAci Stedman, when the. deceased was there ; they
bad: some conversation 'with her,; and. it wai agreed that.
they should :0 have connexion with her.- went out
.first, wlien'the
.deeease'd•Carrie and. I spoke to her,
and she said she had no ObjeaiiOn: Stednian and Briggs.,
followed behind us. I took her into the fields. Th 4.
prisoner then admitted, the committal of a capital
offence, and that they also then robbed the deceased.
I had the work-box and • some other little articles. We
shared the things in the church-Yard. Stedman then
went home. On the following morning, when I got up,
General Washer called
.me out, and said, " Where did
you leave the old woman last night, because she is dead,
and I thought you might have had some nonsense with
her." I said I couldn't stop now as I was in a hurry.
The confession went on to state that after the Jury
had sat upon the deCeaSed it was agreed Cult Stedman
and himself (Pockney) should :return the things,
as . they might get them into trouble. Stedman
told me he had thrown something in a pond at the back
of his brother's house. We left the woman near the
pond asleep. I don't know anything about any specta-
cles. A further statement was then read, also made by
Pockney, and which was taken before the Magistrates ;
it was to the following etrest :—Before we left I said
she was asleep. Briggs said, " Let us see what she has
got in her basket," aria he then took -something out of
her basket. Stedman then took a snta-box out of (le-
ceased's pocket.
m it
i‘cedrlniy'ioannigoleaanononf;cl:eto,
hrnu2eitrtdidi
nie(uig,ritel.:lnddtogo—a;tt.lthohnbtecoiegotrlh,k:l;tic:t,aolnti,alivedari pnnttigroimals:
tioffatedhlßecei
a‘ge,
t‘grrlillesvi
nnleotitnnoe cus-
tody -tits ..
itnithitits)
the Anchor, and I saw the woman ,in the house. Sted-
man, Pockney, and Washer were there. We left about
eleven o'clock. I only saw deceased drink a glass of ale.
Pockney went on with the deceased, and Stedman and
myself followed."
Fagan resumed.—l took Stedman into custody on the
21st of October, in Watford, Hertfordshire. I told hint
upon 'what charge ;. when he said, `,` bad company has
brought me in that situation." We came to London and
slept in 'one room, when he made a statement.
. The statement of Stedman was here read, addressed to
the Earl of Chichester, and commenced by stating, that he I

being unfortunately one of those who were connected in t
disgraceful affair of the woman who was drowned, he cO
sidered it his duty to appease his conscience by dirulgii
that which he knew about it. The unfortunate wold

was sitting in the tap-room when he went to the Anehi
Pockney told hint that he made it all right with the

woman.
MS LORDSHIP then summed up, and remarked, that
was not not -fair to presume that the deceased came
her death in any unfair way, and he -thought it Al
probable that. she, being in a state of intoxication, st:
gered into. the pond.; but, as they were aware,
ti
charge 'was done away with.
The Jury found the prisoners; Stedman and Poclin
guilty of larceny, and acquitted Briggs. •
The prisoner Pockney was sentenced to two yeti
and Stedman to eighteen months' imprisonment and ha
labour.

SIR ROBERT PEEL'S SAUCE.IR an advertisement,
so headed, in the- Morning Chroni,e(e, a Mr. Carstairs of
Edinburgh states that he is the inventor'and proprietor
of "the above much-admired sauce which has on the
reverse of the labd, a fac-simile; of the Right lon•
Baronet's letter.of approval." We-take for granted that
Mr. Carstairs has invented-this Sauce, fin. the patribtic
•Farpbse. of enabling the- cuuntry---4o digest • 6ir -Robert
Peel's income tax