Star.
London, England, 1831-08-01 00:00:00

REFUGE FOR THE DESTITUTE.

The Half-yearly General Court of the C. o:ernors of tl. s
Institution was held on Thursday, at the Male
went, Horton, EDWaItD FORSTER, &q. Treasurer, in <<e
Chair.

The Rev. %V. F. VANcE, Szeretary, and Chaplain, mut
the Report of the Committee, •hich stolid th.A. in cu•.-
ducting the business of the Refuge, tie Committee
continued to keep in mind that the pr'mary object of
the ?intim:ion was the moral and rel giot a reform,.
tlon of young persons intrusted to their c. re; to this
end their efforts had been principally dir.cted, and they
trureal, under the DIVINE ble•.sing, n.•t without con-
siderable mewls. The admission of obj•cta during the
last Mx roonils, which had been limited so .he tame
description of persons as he•rctof:•re, was as 'o'l r.:
Admiasion of males from January 31 to Jure 30. 11131 ;
convicted and judge eat respired, 4; from the Henke of
Correction, 15; from Storey Asylum. l ; front Ma•elsreme
Gaol. 5 ; from Brigh'on, 2; from Rrad•o,r. I—to al, 28.
Discharged to ha apprenticed. 12 ; to go to sea, 2 ; to the
Canadaa as mechanics, 2 ; other employment•, 3 ; ircorri,:i-
ble, 2; absconded, 5 ; illnns. 1 ; at their own request, 7
total, discharged, 34 ; leavirg 99 inmates of the mate
establishment. The state of the female branch was as
follows:--Admitted from the 31st of January to Ju:te :16
From the Old Bailey, 3 ; front the Itlcgiatra•ts of Wm.
ship-street, 2; ditto of Lambeth-street, I ; Deptford.. 1 ;
criminals not prosecmcd, 14 ; House of Correction 10 ;
Borough Gaol, I ; Totbthflt da I ; B inum, 1 ; 313,1, -
atone, 2; the Mendicity Society, 1— to al, received, 37.
Discharged to go to service, 21 ; to their parents, 13 ; st
their own request, 5 ; to their parishes, 1 ; to the Peni-
tentiary 1, died 1, absconded I—total discharged 43; s.ow
remaining in the institution 63. The total number of cnalea
received from the commencement, in the year 1805. sett
1,772 ; females 2,188, making together 3.960. The incon e
of the last six months was x,3321. 12a. lid. of whirl
8741. Gs. 10d. was produced by the labour of the males, at .1,
706 L 16s. 7d. by the females. The expenditure aas
3,0671. 91. 2d. leaving a balance due to the Treasurer of
1,1741. 16s. 3d. whkh, added to an old balance. le tt tl.e in-
stitution 3,4041. 3s. Gd. in debt. It was also stated that :he
subscribers had fallen off considerable, and were it nut r
the annual parliamentary grant of 3 0001. the institu; ion
would not be able to exist.

The Rev. J. A/1111111 moved the adoption of the report,
which was seconded by tile Rev. D. II 11.1.1A318, and una-
nimously agreed to. After which, thanks being scud to the
Chairman, the meeting separated.

The thermometer in Essex on Wednesday and
Thursday the 27th and 28th instant, was above
80 deg. and the barometer up nt 30. 20. with
N.W. wind; the almost calm, which is very re-
markable, however, is, that during the prevalence
of the present Influenza vegetation has entirely
ceased, and there is little or no good fruit—a cir-
cumstance which shews how much atincspliete is
concerned in its production.
CHELMSFORD RACES.--Chelmsford It;u•cs
took place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and to. day
(Thursday). They have been very badly attended
this year, and though the running was (ood, yet
there were very fcw persons on the pound the
first day compared with former )cars. The teal
cause of this was the vast extent to w hit h an M-
I flaumiatcry epidemic prevails in Essex, ty which
prudent people are kept at home. The most effi-
cient remedy has been found to be low diet and
opening medicine; but it is certain also that those
who are twat in the open air ma* the most st•-
verely, the cause being entirely in the air, or
prevailing maladia. Dr. Forsterbas just published
a Treatise on this subject, in which he hu tretst
the course of numerous epidemics over the country.

SUPPLE3IENT.JAY EM I lON
OF THE DCBILIN MORNING POST.
TnimsnAY, TEN O'CLOCK.

MULLINGAR ASSIZES.
TEI CASTI.EPOLLARD AFFAIR-ICQUITTAL
OF ALL THE PRISONERS.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27.
His Lordhip, who bad left the Court at the
protracted hear of eight o'clock this morning, after
a most fatiguing night of business, returned at a
quarter to three o'clock in the afternoon, and almost
immediately after taking his seat on the bench,
sent •in for the Jury, who had by this time been
locked up nearly nine hours, having retired shortly
after six o'clock the same morning. On coming
in. the Jury intimated to his Lordship that they
had no difficulty whatever in agreeing as to their
finding jfor acquittal) in the case of Richard
Meares ; but there existed a very material differ-
eerie of opinion in all the other cases.
His Lordship then requested to make a few ob-
servations, and addressed them as follows: —So far
rite I remember the chservations I made to you this
morning, I do not perceive that there can in: much
ground for occasioning any considerable difference
of opinion amongst you. I conceive that there
are two points of view under which the case
may be considered. The first is, whether the
tiring on the first occasion was a justifiable act. I
will not say that over this part of the case a very
great deal of obscurity may not bang; but I recol-
lect that I made the observation to you, thut I had
a strong leaning on my mind, t;:at the first firing
might, very fairly, c justifiable--
meaning, gentlemen, to convey this to you, at
least, that upon the whole of the evidence relating
to the circumstances, of the value of which you
alone are the proper judges, a doubt might not be
raised in your minds as to whether a justifiable
provocation were not given sufficient to warrant the
tint firing ; and then, gentlemen, it would be for
you to call to your recollection the well-known
principle of crown law, that where a doubt exists
upon the minds of a jury, the prisoners are en-
titled to the benefit of it, because every ground
of doubt, is a ground for acquittal. Whether
the first firing were a justifiable act will depend
on the necessity which the circumstances of the
case imposed upon the prisoners to have recourse
to such an act of violence, as was unhappily the
occasion of such results as it produced ; and that
it is a question I could not take upon myself
without encroaching on your province. That
arch an act might be conceived justifiable upon
military principles of tactics, provided the circum-
stances detailed are admitted as correct. I am not
sufficiently versed in such matters to be enabled to
decide,ami do not pretend to know such affairs. But
this I do know, that it is an admitted axiom of
military manreuvering not to suffer an enemy to
approach too close upon them ; if then the people
v ere acting in such a way as might lead the po-
lice to suppose that they intended to get so near
them as would give the people an advantage as
a,snilants, when they opened right and left upon
the police, as was stated by one of the witnesses,
that would be a strong ingredient in leading you
to the conclusion that the first firing was justi-
f able, I admit a serious question would remain for
your decision, that is, whether the circumstances
which warranted the first act of firing, con-
tinued so as to require on the part of the police
ft course to such violent measures of assistance
and attack as that adopted by them. With respect
to the firing, you will recollect it was stated by one
of the witnesses, and not controverted, that there
were 60 rounds fired in about 3 minutes. Now it
occurs to me that the firing of 50 or 60 shots from
the number of persons stated to have fired at a
time, three or four, and loading three times, could
only have been effected by very well disciplined
and alert troops indeed, in such a time as was
stated ; and it is not to be wondered at that perfect
accuracy could not be expected on such a point, as
under the circumstances no man would think of
looking at his watch to ascertain the matter.—
Why do I make this observation, to show that the
loneer the time the firing is stated to have con-
tinued, the more it is incumbent upon the prisoners
to show in their defence, that the same circum-
stances which made it necessary to fire in the first
instance, continued to the time of the second firing;
and you are to consider, whether under the state
of apprehension and peril in which it is stated by
some of the witnesses the police were placed in,
they could be supposed as competent to judge
orrectly as to the diminution of danger with
v. hieli they were threatened to the exact mo-
ment when it would be safe or necessary they
should desist from firing. Now, When you recol-
lect the number of times which it is stated the
police fired, you will consider whether it could have
occurred in five minutes ; therefore it would not be
going beyond probability to suppose that they
might have taken 5 minutes longer, making it,
say, 10 minutes—and I say if the original act of
firing was justifiable, and its continuance not greater
than 5 minutes more, perhaps it is not going too
far to make the whole time extending over the
entire transaction, 10 minutes, no great addition to
the time of the first firing, supposing you are of opi-
nion that it was a justifiable act. These are obser-
vations coming from me, rather than as directions
coining from the Bench, which would be an in-
fringement on your privilege so to direct you—
but the main question for your finding, is one upon
which there is a conflicting testimony, and there-
fore it would be outsteppin,g my province, if I
were to encroach upon yours by giving you any
directions. other than those intended to assist in
guiding you to d, termine, where you may have to
labour with do bts. If it should appear to you
that it was obvious to the police, Out the people
were evidently retreating when they continued
to fire upon them, then it was clear your ver-
dict should be one of guilty, but there is evi-
dence that the throwing stones by the people
at the police was contemporaneous with
their firing upon the people—and there is still fur-
ther evidence that the throwing stones outlasted the
firing. Then I have also said, that towards justi-
fying the comn.encemeut of the firing, it is neces-
sary that the resistance should be of such a com-
plexion and degree, as sufficient to justify the
repelling it by fire arms. It is a maxim of the
crown law, as I have already told vou, that every
ground for doubt is ground sufficient for an acquit-
tal ; and if you are of opinion that the resistance
by the people was commensurate with the point of
duration by the police, then clearly your duty is to
acquit the prisoners.
The Jury then withdrew, and at twenty minutes
to six returned with a verdict of acquittal for all
the prisoners given them in charge.

The following of the number were then put for-

ward:
James Mills and Peter Blake were indicted for the man.
slaughter of Patrick Duignan.
The prisoners pleaded Not Guilty.
John Todd and Peter Blake were then indicted for the
manslaughter of Mary Kiernan.
The prisoners pleaded Not Guilty.
Petty Blake, James Mills. Robert Gardiner, and John
Campbell, for the manslaughter of Mary Neile.
The prisoners pleaded Not Guilty.
I'eter Blake, James Mills. and Robert Gardiner, for the
manslaughter of Patrick hi' Cormack.
The prisoners pleaded Not Guilty.
Richard Alearca and Peter Blake for the manslaughter of
John Sleavin.

The prisoners pleaded not guilty.
Samuel Hall was indicted for the manslaughter of Peter
Ledwith. The prisoner pleaded not guilty, and stated that
be was ready for his trial.
Mr. Sergeant Pennefather said, that the Crown
in regard to the case of Hall, did not desire to
bring it on at present, but postpone it to the next
rssizes. As there was no charge of murder, but
of manslaughter only, the Crown would not oppose
the prisoner being admitted to bail.
The Court—That is a matter of course, and now the
only question is as to the amount of the bail.
The bail was then arranged at two sureties in each 201.
and the principal 401.
In the case of the other prisoners indicted as
above, the Jury was informed that there was no'
evidence against the prisoners—a verdict of ac-
quittal was accordingly returned, and the prisoners
discharged by proclamation, which concluded the
business of the present Assizes.
'I he most prevalent opinion here as to the feeling
amongst the Jury is, that nino wero for the ac-
quittal, and three on the other side. The town, as
usual, thin and tranquil.