The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-25 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—York March 20.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice WIGH rmAN.)
Thomas Birkenshaw was indicted for having, on the
7th of December, at East Ardsley, feloniously stolen
sixty sovereigns, 109 half-sovereigns, and one note of
the value of 51., the property of William Fenton.

Mr. Ovorend and Mr. Pickering appeared for the
prosecution, and Mr. Wilkins defended the prisoner.
The prosecutor, an elderly man with a wooden leg, is
a carrier, and on the day in question went to Dewsbury
with his tilted cart, having his son along with him.
Fenton took the money with him for the purpose of de-
positing it in the Dewsbury Bank. But he arrived at
the bank too late; and therefore brought the money back
in the cart at night, when the prisoner also was in his
company. The prosecutor sat on a low box at the fore
part of his cart, keeping the money, which was in a bag,
under his thigh. Something being amiss with the har-
ness, he got over the front of the cart to adjust it, leaving
the money where it had been so placed, on the inside
of the cart. It was at that time, he said, that his
money must have been taken, as he shortly after-
wards missed it, and there was no means by
which it could have fallen out of the cart by
accident, the cart being perfectly close all round,
and the top of the box on which the money lay
being considerably lower than the board in front.
The money was never found. To confirm the case
against the man at the bar there were witnesses called
who hid themselves been several times tried for felony,
awl were now in gusi rivadergoing sentences for that
crime. One of them had been before tried on a charge
of street robbery, and the verdict of the jury was that of
guilty, though he escaped on a technical objection.
These witnesses detailed at great length the particulars
of statements which they had on several occasions heard
from the prisoner in the nature of admissions of his guilt.
It seemed, from them, that he had been confined in a
ward adjoining that in which the witnesses were em-
ployed at their prison labour, and while they were so
engaged the prisoner had several times come to them,
entered into conversation respecting the charge against
him, and openly related how the robbery was effected ;
ia had been, he said, taken from the cart by him, and
afterwards buried in a field over a hedge, at the depth of
a yard under ground. These statements, they said, had
been communicated by them to an officer, and hence they
were brought as witnesses on the present trial.
After the speech of Mr. WILKINS, in which he cau-
tioned the jury as to the danger of convicting upon the
strength of testimony so little to be relied on, the jury
begged leave to retire. They remained out of Court
for several hours, and then returned with a verdict of
Acqui ttaL
Reboil White was again to have been tried to-day on
a second charge of robbery on the highway. He was
convicted on Tuesday last, and then sentenced to be
transported for fifteen years. The other indictment is
for robbing James Ackroyd, at Leeds, on the 2d of Ja-
nuary, the former charge referring to the 22d February.
He was therefore placed in to-day's arraignment, in con-
sequence of some particulars connected with the case of
Frederick Harrison, who was tried yesterday for a si-
milar offence, and received sentence. It is said that
White accuses the other man of being the person who
robbed Mr. Richardson, at Barwick-in-Elmet, near
Leeds, on the 22d of February. The verdict against
White upon that charge appeared, after the evidence, to
be satisfactory to those who witnessed the trial ; but it is
understood that there are facts in these cases which ren-
der it proper that the second case against White should
be now gone into. . . _

Mr. OVEREND, the prisoner's counsel, applied to the
Learned Judge, however, to-day, to have the trial put
off until nest assizes. The reason stated was that there
were witnesses forthcoming for White who were not now
here, but could be brought forward on another occasion,
and these were material for his defence.

Mr. WILKINS, for the prosecution, observed that he
should offer no objection to this course. The prisoner
would, of course, be detained in custody in the mean-
while.

The other trial is accordingly postponed till the next
assizes.

The Crown business concluded to-night.

NORFOLK ClRCUlT.—Cambridge, March 22.
The Courts both opened this morning at ten o'clock.
In the Civil Court there were ten common jury causes,
and one special jury. The calendar contains the names
of fifty prisoners, whose offences may be thus classed :
Manslaughter, 1 ; rape, 2 ; arson, 4 ; burglary, 2 ; high-
way robbery, 4 ; sheep stealing, 1 ; house breaking, 2 ;
concealment of birth, 1 ; unnatural offence, 1 ; and the
remainder for larcenies.

CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice PITTESON.)
Thowas Bowers, aged 20, was indicted for having un-
lawfully attempted to steal a bundle, containing clothes,
from Ann Hills.

The prosecutrix is a schoolmistress at Cottenham, and
resides in the house of the Rev. Mr. Frere, the rector.
On the 23d of December the prosecutrix left Cottenham
to pay her friends residing at Soham a visit, and was on
her way towards Landbeach to meet the omnibus run-
ning from Cambridge to Ely, and when half way between
Cottenham and Landbeach, she saw the prisoner in a
field by the side of the road, and shortly afterwards he
passed her and turned into the gateway of a field, and
jest as the prosecutor was passing the gateway he turned
out and met her, and seized hold of a bundle containing
some clothes which she was carrying in her hand, and
endeavoured to pull it forcibly from her ; she resisted,
and the prisoner then took hold of one of her hands, held
it tight, and put his other hand over her shoulder and
threw her down upon the ground, and upon her strug-
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and then on his hearing the noise of a cart coming to-
wards the place, he ran away, and the "fair" school-
mistress was shortly joined by two persons, to whom she
related her disagreeable adventure.:
The prisoner pleaded guilty to the charge, and was
sentenced to one year's imprisonment and hard labour.
James Williams and Samuel Who,: were indicted for
having feloniously assaulted George Jeffs, and stealing
from his person one silver watch.
Mr. Naylor appeared for the prosecution.
It appeared in evidence that on Sunday evening, the
2d of March, the prosecutor was at the Racehorse pub-
lic-house at Barnwell, and the prisoners and several
other persons were aalsaod
Wthaesrge.aiaTg le
about
public-house, near the line of the
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After proceeding some little
distance along the Newmarket-road, the prisoner Wil-
liams suddenly came behind him, and laid hold of him
by the throat and pulled him backwards and held him
down, whilst two other men took his watch from his
pocket. On the following day the two prisoners were
apprehended, and clearly identified by the prosecutor as
being two of the party who had robbed him; the third
man, was also capturned, but unfortunately could not be
identified.
The jury found both prisoners Guilty, and they were
sentenced to fifteen years' transportation.
Mr. Justice PATTESON, in passing sentence, observed
that he held in his hand a letter from the High Con-
stable of Norwich, in which it was stated that the pri-
soner Wilson had been committed to gaol on various
charges 34 times. .
Several parties, accused of very trifling offences,
pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to different terms of
imprisonment.
There has been nothing on the civil side to-day of the
slightest public interest. The greater part of the day
was consumed in trying an action of trespass, which was
not finished when the Conn rote.

WESTERN ClRCUlT.—Exeier, March 21.
This being Good Friday, the Learned Judges attended
Divine service in the Cathedral. The Courts, therefore,
were not opened for business till one o'clock.
CROWN COURT.—(l3efore Mr. Justice ERLE.)
Mary Hayes was indicted for having maliciously set
fire, on the 29th of January last, to a dwelling-house,
with intent to defraud John Pyke.
Mr. Kirkwich and Mr. Cornish prosecuted. Th•
prisoner was defended by Mr. White.
This proved a most singular and extraordinary case
in all its details, It appeared that the prisoner was a
servant to a person named Lashbrook, who was a farmer
renting and occupying a farm belonging to Captain Pyke.
On the Monday before the 20th of January last, the
farmhouse was on fire. The fire was extinguished. On
the following day the house was again on fire, which
was again put out. On the Wednesday, the day after,
the roof of the house was again seen to be on fire by one
of the workmen of Mr. Lashbrook, who was at work at
the time in the farm-yard. He mounted a ladder which
was standing by the house, and, seeing where the fire
was in the roof, he succeeded in putting it out. Whilst
thus engaged. he saw the prisoner, through a hole in the
ceiling of the room, which had been made the day before,
fling a quantity of lighted reed through this hole, under-
neath the thatched roof, and she told him that he was
not to touch it, but let it burn if it would, as her mistress
had given orders to that effect. It appeared that the
witness did let it burn, and the consequence was that the
entire house was consumed. When the prisoner was
taken up she admitted that she had set fire to the house,
but added that it was by her mistress's express orders,
who had said that the sin would lie at her door, and that
it was quite right the old house should be burned, as she
had lived there thirty years, and nothing had been done
to it except nailing up a few boards to the stairs. She
also said that she would not care if old Pyke was on the
top of it, as he refused to do anything to make them
comfortable.
Mr. WHITE addressed the jury for the prisoner, con-
tending that the prisoner had acted under her mistress's
orders, without being at all aware of the consequences
of the act she was committing.
Mr. Justice DILE summed up, telling the jury that a
party in the eye of the law are always taken to intend
the consequences which his acts were likely to produce.
After a long conversation, the jury returned a verdict
of Guilty.
The Learned JuDot remarked, as there were very
peculiar circumstances in this case, he should not then
pass sentence, but consider as to what judgment he ought
to pronounce.

March 22.
CIVIL SIDE.

(Before Mr. Justice-6
0. LER ID- GE and a Special Jury.)

BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE.
COMMINS V. WILIISFORD.
This was an action brought by the plaintiff to recover
compensation from the defendant for a breach of pro-
mise of marriage. The defendant pleaded that he did
not promise, with a second plea, which amounted in sub-
stance to a release.
Mr. Crowder, Mr. Cockburn, Mr. Butt, and Mr. Col-
lier, conducted the plaintiff's case; Mr. Sergeant King-
lake and Mr. Smith appeared for the defendant.
The facts proved on the part of the plaintiff wero
shortly as follow:—Both the parties were natives of
Tavistoek, in which place the father of the plaintiff
officiated as cashier and head clerk in the Tavistoek
Bank, whilst the defendant's father had for many years
practised as an attorney there. Living in the same
country town the young people were of course ac-