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

RE RICHARD AHMED.

The insolvent, who carried on business as a fishmonger at 22,
Devon-hire-street, Portland-place, was opposed by Mr. Nicholls,
on behalf of Mr. Joliet Moore, and supported by Mr. Cooke.
The amount of debts appearing in his schedule was
1,5541. 19s. 3d., whilst the sum available to his creditors was
163. He calculated his weekly profits for a portion of the time,
during which he carried on business in Devon shire-street, at
131., and expenses at 121.
The chief ground of opposition was fir having executed a
warrant of•attorney in favour of a gentleman named Mathole,
who also held held the lease of his house as security for 200/.
which he lent.

Arr. Mathole said the sum he realised was only 2131. by the
lease, and he was quite willing to place himself upon the same
footing as the rest of the creditors.
Mr. NicnoLLs said the conduct of this gentleman was
highly creditable to him.
Mr. Commissioner REYNOLDC concurred in the opinion of
the Learned Counsel. Without any reference to the present
transaction, he should read the report of a case which was
brought before one of the Commissioners of Bankruptcy yes-
terday, when that Learned Gentleman said nothing could be
more injurious to the interests .f the
.commercial community
than allowing insolvent debtors to give a preference to one cre-
ditor above another. It was a principle which ought by all
means to be abolished, as nothing tended more to produce liti-
gation and dishonesty. In these sentiments he (Mr. Commis-
sioner Reynolds) fully concurred, and would act upon them
generally as much as circumstances permitted.
A witness, who had been in waiting to give evidence for four
days, being absent, the case was ordered to stand over to next
Wednesday.

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

OLD COURT.

The business of the Court did not commence this morning
till half-past ten o'clock, when the Jndges arrived, in conse-
quence of the absence of the Aldermen. The usual hour for
the business to commence is nine o'clock.
(Before Lord Chief Justice TINDAL. )
CHARGE or MURDER. —James Roberts, aged 39, a sailor,
was put to the bar charged with the wilful murder of Mary Reed.
Mr. Adolphus conducted the prosecution and Mr. Ballantyne
appeared for the defence.
George Francis Crome, a butcher, in York-street, West-
minster, stated that oil Monday evening the 14th of February,
the prisoner was passing along York-street, and he met the de-
ceased. They commenced a conversation, and soon came to
high words. The deceased said, you would not use me so if
my husband was here. Witness saw the prisoner push the de-
ceased, and she put a pair of shoes, she had in her hand, into his
face. The prisoner struck her on the hand. He said to wit-
ness, Go on, my good fellow." The prisoner carried in his
hand a " grindle," or instrument used by knife-grinders, having
a circular piece of wood at one end, and a stone at the other.
The prisoner continued abusing the old woman, the deceased ;
and he went into a beer-shop, and when coming out he struck
her down with the Brindle.
Elizabeth Rutter deposed that she was a widow, residing in
York-terrace, York-street. ',remember, the night the transac-
tion
happened. Heard the pristner using improper language
to a woman, as I was passing by. After that saw Airs. Read;
she was an old woman. Did not hear her say anything to the
prisoner. Saw the prisoner strike Mrs. Read against the wall.
When I first saw her, she was against her own door. She tried
to get past the prisoner, and he took hold of a saucepan, and
struck her with it. '1 he deceased turned then to go into a
beer-shop. The prisoner said, " You need not go in there for
pro' ec.ion, for I will wait for thee till thee comes out." The
deceased stayed in the beer-shop about three minutes. The
prisoner had that thing in his hand (a kind of grinding-stone
was here produced, having a long bar of iron through the mid-
dle of it). As the deceased came out of the beer-shop door,
the prisoner lifted up his hand and struck her Kith that
thing (pointing to the bar of iron). That was be-
fore anything was said on either side, but immediately
ies The
vo en r e pr rs i
ahs
peo
pn
eared
aar
rine ade gota
oui nt . BaiahaveI
been
he didee
nnednet
iwould
nk
the deceased appeared at the door, the deceased fell back
r
printo tr.h.te. r s'
hT' ohinpel
pegive
:telt
behu metr ahe l
befr.a
was not very much intoxicated. I saw no more of tEe deceased.
Cross-examined.—l was an acquaintance of the deceased.
I have known her about fifteen years. I have been examined
before respecting this transaction. I will swear it was with the
stone-end of the instrument that the prisoner struck the de-
ceased. I have never had
any conversation with Mr. Crow
about the stone. I have had no talk with Mr. Crow about the
matter at all.

Mr. BALLANTYNE, reading from the depositions—ls this
true, " the man had a grind-stone in his hand, there was a
t tone and a buff in the instrument. I don't know whether it
was the stone or the buff end that he struck her with." Is
that true? Witness—l said there' was the buff at one end, and
the stone at the other. I put my mark to that paper, which
meant that it was true. Did not see the deceased attempt to
strike the prisoner with a pair of shoes. I saw her lift her
hand up to defend herself.
William Alfred Keane—Lives in York-street. Knew the
deceased. Her husband was a plasterer. On the 14th Feb.
the deceased came into a public-house called the Fortune of
War, in York-street, Westminster. She came up to the tap,
and remained from three to five minutes. She went out
again, when I heard a blow, and saw the woman stagger back
on the " settle." She said a man had knocked ner down with
a grindstone. Witness went to the door with the deceased as
she was bleeding. The prisoner was there, and he said "it
served her right, and he would do it again ; she was drunk,
and he was not. The deceased was not drunk, but the pri-
soner was the worse for liquor.
Cross-examined7-yad known the deceased about two years.

William Henry host,
58 B—Took the prisoner into cus-
tody. When he took him to Queen square, the prisoner said,
Where is the woman ?" I said she was not well enough to
give her evidence. He said, " God her eyes, I wish I
had killed her quite. If I had known she was going to give
me such a cold berth as she did I would have knocked her
down and jumped upon her, and killed her quite." ( A thrill
of horror ran through the Court.) Witness had never asked
him any question concerning this transaction.
Reginald James—ls house-surgeon to Westminster Hospital
The deceased was admitted on the 14th February. ',he had a
" starred" wound on the upper part of the head ' • it appeared
to have been caused by a blunt instrument. She lived two
days. She lost a good deal of blood at the time of the accident.
She died from concussion of the brain.
This was the case for the prosecution.
Mr. BALLANTYNE then addressed the .1 ury for the prisoner,
contending that there was no_intentitin on the part of the pri-
sonar to kill the deceased, and concluded by mill, g the follow-
ing witnesses :--
Thomas Chandler—Remembers this transaction. Never
saw either the deceased or the prisoner before. Was crossing
to the Fortune of War, and saw the prisoner and deceased.
The prisoner had two kettles in one hand and a grindstone in
the other. He was calling pots and kettles to mend. He ap-
peared to be drunk. The deceased was close behind him.
Tuhpe,
aud kettles
r e mma
iingehdt
about.have
She passed him on the side on which the kettles were. Saw
ht theerunbnoi had
down again she had a shoe in each
er in the breast with one shoe
struck her, as they were swinging about. The deceased said
the kettles go against her
something, but did not hear what, and then she struck him on
the hand with a i air of shoes which she had in her hand. She
•Pwwri-e•nt
thaahfantene'nrdi n'htuahatnesetd.eontshehWdeerht.:etn:u. UaserhpkdesttochaaneinPae: thatiles ya'
time the prisoner had struck no
blow at all. The deceased then ran into the Fortune of War.
When the prisoner was struck he followed the deceased to the
a minute. Witness
the blow
saw the blow struck. After . had been struck the
much excited.
prisoner appeared very
t d the last •
William Dug);
corrobora e witness.
Several other witnesses were called, all a whom gave similar
door. The deceased came out in about
testimony.
Dlr. ADOLTITUS having address.ed the Jury on this evidence,
The LEARNED JUDGfi SUTDreredt:ep,and in doing so said that.
wast struck, that was consi.
the Jury had to consider, law which he should ex;
prisoner was
se
guilty
of murder, or of
law provided that, in
cases of this kind, where abeen struck from which
struck '
death ensued, if that blow
was
aheld to b in emollient of excitement,
and in hot blood, that was not had e murder, but manslaughter
pthlaeincrtiomteheomf them, whether
only. But if a certain time
_ew elapsed between the moment
of provocation and when the hl
dered to be an act of . deliberate vengeance, and, con-
sequently, was wilful murder.
They wool I have to con-
sider from the evidence, whether the fatal blow in
delibe
question was struck close upon the blow the prisoner had
received, or whether there was sufficient time between the two
blows for the blood of the prisoner to cool. If they thought
that the fatal blow had been inflicted in a moment of irritation
would
and hot blood, then they
find him guilty of manslaughter
only ; but if, on the contrary, there was reasonable ground to
suppose that there had been sufficient time fin the bleod
to cool, it bounden duty to find him guilty
of the crime of wilful murder.
The Jury immediately returned a verdict against the priso-
ner—Guilty of manslaughter.
The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE then addressed the prisoner, and
said he had been found guilty of the crime of manslaughter, by
a Jury of his countrymen. The offence was committed
under most aggravated circumstances. It was a crime nearly
guilty approaching to murder ; and had
the
y jot—,
upon consideration
of the evidence, found him of the full crime of murder,
he should have inflicted upon him the full penalty of the law.
The prisoner had shown a purpose reckless of human life, and
, it was necessary, for the sake of the public, that he should
leave the country for life. The sentence therefore was, that be
t e tranotted for the term of his natural life.