Star.
London, England, 1829-08-08 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT—BURT ST. EDMUND'S, Au. 6.
This afternoon Mr. Baron GARROW arrived at this an-
cient borough, where he was joined in the course of the
evening by Mr.i Justice PARKE, who arrived from Cam-
bridge.. The calendar contains 32 persons for trial, and,
with a few exceptions, the prisoners were all charged
with offences to which the law annexes the penalty of
death. The following is a summary statement, descrip-
tive of the various offences with which the prisoners for
trial severally stand charged, viz.—Accessaries after the
fact of murder, two ; horse-stealing, two ; sheep-stealing,
one ; pig-stealing, three ; ass-stealing, one ; burglary,
five ; house-breaking, seven ; stealing from the person,
two ; stealing in dwelling-houses, four ; cutting and maim-
ing with intent to kill, two ; embezzlement, one ; lar-
cenies, two ; total, thirty-two.
Of the above number twenty-two are in custody of
Mr. Orridge, and ten in that of Mr. Johnson, of Ipswich.
It appears from accounts which have recently reached
Bury, that it remains doubtful whether the trial of Vieth;
will take place at this Assizes, owing to the debilitated
state of Green, his unfortunate victim. The prisoner
still manifests an uncommon degree of unconcern re-
specting his fate ; and if he is conscious of his perilous
situation, he conceals his emotions from the most rigid
observer. The case of the females charged with being
accessories to the murder of Jonas Ansell, excites a
great degree of interest, owing to a recent occurrence—
we mean the execution of Partridge at the last Assizes,
for the murder of George Ansell, who before his death
confessed the murder of his brother. One of the pri-
soners appears to have been living on intimate terms with
Partridge, who, in his last hours, made discoveries which
appeared to involve her in his guilt.
There are a great number of causes set down for trial,
AO that, unless some compromises take place, the Judges
will be engaged here several days.
NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—YORK, Avaun S.

James Pilling (59), charged with pawing—forged
sank of England 51. notes, and against whom there were
live indictments, pleaded guilty.
Mr. Justice LITTLLDALE-I can only say that you
will receive exactly the same punishment as if you were
found guilty by the Jury ; you are deceiving yourself if
you persist in pleading guilty. Prisoner- -Yes.
is a serious charge, and you are liable to
be hanged. Prisoner—Well, and mercy on me.
Jr DG a—Do you still plead guilty ? Prisoner—l wish
to speak thi truth as near as I can.
JUDGE—I can only say as I have said before, that
you will not be more leniently dealt with. Pleading not
guilty to an indictment is not telling a falsehood in the
Miro of Gon—it is not taking an oath or committing
irrjury—it is only denying the charge, which must be
proved' by the prosecutor.
Prisatter—l mast plead guilty, my Lord.
tilttsia—tonsider, priewier ; I will allow you time
• deration.

Prisoner (after a few minutes' pause)—l am guilty,
my Lord, and have mercy on me.
JUDGE—Then yon are determined to plead guilty ?
Prisoner—Yes, my Lord.
JUDGE—Very well.
The prisoner was then removed from the bar.
CHELMSFORD. Amon 6.
Before Mr. Justice Pow.
THE WITHAM FIRES.

Edward Potto, aged 19, was charged with feloniously
setting fire to an out-house belonging to Mr. Grim wood,
of Witham.

This case excited most intense interest, and the Court
was crowded to excess. The prisoner is a mild, good-
looking young man, and respectably connected. There
were three other indictments for similar offences against
him.—Mr. JESSOIi appeared for the prosecution, and Mr.
CLARKSON and Mt. DOWLING for the defence.
It appeared that, in consequence of the alarming num-
ber of fires which had taken place in Witham, the inha-
bitants established a watch among themselves. On the
night of the 19th of February, about a quarter before
nine o'clock, flames were seen to issue from the inside of
Mr. Grimwood's out-house.

Mr. Saunders and Mr. Philbrick, who were on watch,
instantly hurried there, and extinguished the fames,
which had not then gained an ascendancy. It was found
that part of the thatch had been taken inside, and set fire
to ; some linen tinder was lying about, and there were
footmarks of a person having hastily made his escape
across a field on to Witham Bridge. About nine o'clock
the prisoner was seen coining from the bridge, iii?d moon
after he stopped and spoke to a chemist's apprentice in
the town, and told him that somebody had been setting
fire to Grimwood's hovel, and that he saw the flames from
the bridge. The witnesses were mostly of opinion that
from the situation of the hovel, the flames could not have
been seen from the bridge.
The prisoner was apprehended on suspicion, and shortly
after made the following extraordinary statement, which
he voluntarily subscribed after it had been taken down in
the presence of a Magistrate.
Edward Potto, late of Witham, tailor saith that pre-
viously to the sth of November, 1828, I had formed an
acquaintance with Benjamin Curtis, of Witham, la-
bourer; Will True, the younger, labourer; John
*Clod, and Joseph Bull, labourers ; and about a week
before the sth of November we all agreed to have a good
bonfire, and proposed to set fire to Mr. Catchpole's hay
and rye-stacks, and on the night of the sth November
we met at the stacks about seven o'clock ; True cartled
a piece of dry bell-bine, and I carried two matches ;
young Bull carried some tinder, and he struck a light
with a stone and half a steel; it was put into paper,
and with the bell-bine was put into the back part
of the stack by M'Clod. It was five minutes before
the fire made any thing like progress to alarm any
one. We all then disappeared and separated, but
afterwards met again at the fire. On going from
Mr. Catchpole's, I went up to the engine-house, where
John Newstead, Mr. Perry's man, was getting out the
engine. He had a lanthorn, and I asked him to let ma
have a light, and I lighted a piece of bell bine which was
then in my hand, and which must have been seen by New-
stead, but he said nothing to me. I then went across
the high road from the engine-house into the lane, by the
side of Mr. Du Cane's premises, which leads to Mr.
Crump'e farm, where True, Curtis, Bull, and M'Clod
were all waiting for me by appointment. When I ar-
rived, we all went down together to Mr. Crump's wheat
stack, where M'Clod took the light from me, and set fire
to the stack with a match which I gave him from my
pocket, and as soon as the fire took hold we all went
away together, but separated when we got into a field lead-
ing to Little Braxatead. Bull said he had been look-
ing out to see if any one was watching, but it was
all right. The next fire we occasioned was at Mr. Lee's
shed at Witham, and I think it was two months after-
wards, and on a Monday night. Two days previous to
this myself, Curtis, Bull, and True, met in Mr. Toole's
meadow, to talk over and plan another bonfire, no other
reason or cause being talked of as to the mischief, nor had
Mr. Lee done any thing to offend us to my knowledge.
We met about half-past five o'clock on this Monday
night. M'Clod carried a piece of tinder, I placed it on
paper, and then struck a light, but it went out, and
M'Clod then tried and succeeded. The steel used on
this occasion was one which I took with me from Mr.
Abbott, my master; it was lying about the house, and
I think it was not missed afterwards. Part of the
dry thatch was pulled out, and the light tinder
placed in the centre of it. We got some way across
the field of Mr. Humphreys before it broke out, so as
to alarm the neighbourhood--we then separated. I
went back to the fire, but did not see the other three per-
sons again that night. When we turned our backs upon
this fire, *Clod said, in the hearing of all four, I will
throw his stone and steel away for fear it should be
found upon us : for if they are, we shall be found out ; this
spot was not above half a dozen rods from the place where
the fire was. After this fire at Mr. Lee's myself, M'Clod,
and True, agreed to set fire to Mr. Shoobridge's oat-stack ;
no cause being given or talked of as to Mr. Shoo-
bridge being thus selected. We also met on a Mon-
day night to do this about the same time, half-past
eight. I carried some tinder with me. True struck a
:light upon the back of a pen-knife. We pulled out
part of the stuff of the stack, and made a hole about the
size of a hat, in which the fire was deposited, and then
ran away, and had got twenty rods or more before I could
see it. We then separated, and I saw no more of M'Clod
or True that night. The last attempt which I had to do
with setting fire to a place, was at Mr. Grimwood's hovel,
and only Wm. True and myself were present. We had
no motive in doing this, no grudge, no ill-will subsisted
between us and him, to my knowledge. We met near
Mr. Grimwood's house, and put the fire into the hovel,
but it was presently extinguished by Mr. Grimwood's
men and others. This same hovel was afterwards set fire to
by some person wholly unknown to me, and burnt to the
ground. I have not been guilty of any other offences of
wilfully setting fire to premises than as above stated, nor
do I know of any other person that has.
(SPed) EDWARD POTTO.
At a subsequent examination the prisoner admitted that
the charges above made against True, Bull, M'Clod, and
Curtis, were false, and that his alone was the hand which
caused the several fires.

The prisoner assigned as a reason for falsely accusing
these young men, that he hoped thereby to gain his
liberty. Several surgeons and persons who had long
known the prisoner, said, that in their opinion he was
perfectly sane.
For the defence, Drs. Pritchard and Curtis, and seve-
ral surgeons, were called, who said they considered the
prisoner to be labouring under the species of madness
called monomania, and that the disease, in him, displayed
itself in a wanton desire to destroy buildings.
After a trial of nine hours length, Mr. Justice PARK
summed up, and the jury retired:for an. hour, and .then
rotated a verdict of Not Guilty generally, stating that
they did not think the charge was hilly proved.
The other indictments were fixed for the next morn-

ing, and Mr. JESSOP gave notice that be should chal-
lenge'every one of the present jurors. .
The verdict excited considerable astonishment.

On Friday morning the prisoner was again brought up,
but an arrangement having previously taken place among
Counsel, be was allowed to plead guilty to a charge of
sending a letter threatening to set fire to Mr. Hutley's
house, and the other charges were respited till the next
Assize, with an understanding that they would be suffered
to die away.
Mr. Justice PARK E, after an impressive address, in
the course of which he expressed his astonishment at the
verdict of the previous day, sentenced the prisoner to
transportation for life.