Star.
London, England, 1810-08-17 00:00:00

pa. money Auctioneer.
Byrne being called denied this altogether; and :he
Auctioneer, thint4 he admitted that the prisoner !lad
paid him the dAirency of the L.t in (pest ion, 'recd
his knowledge of an} arrangement between Byrne asid
the prisoner on the subject.

The Jury found the prisoner guilty, and Lot Et.-
Laaaonovon, after commenting at virile length, and
with considerable severity on the nature of the otr:nc
which was carried on to an enormous extent in the
Royal Forests, sentenced t..e prisoner to two years
confinement in the gaol. Admiral Hervey, Mr.
Raikes, and several other Magistrates and Clergymea
of the county gave him an excellent character for ho-
nesty and good conduct for the last 30 years.

At the last Salisbury Assizes the famous clause of
Sault!Ns ro. Flurr, for a trespass, came once more be.
fore a Jury ; and Mr. Huar, not having been able to
obtain permission to attend in person, was undefended.
The Counsel for the prosecution contended for is. da-
mages ; but the Judge observed that, as no specific
damages had been proved, the smallest coin would
answer the justice of the case. The Jury instantly
found a verdict for the plaintiff, damages One Farthing!
At Nottingham Assizes, .f. Marsden and J. Dennis
were indicted- for stealing a sheep, the property of T.
Oldknow, the former of whom was convicted, 'and
the latter acquitted. Frances Blathernid, servant to a
Mrs. Stevenson, was indicted for the murder of her
bastard child. The worn led body of the infant was
found concealed in a back kitchen, and the recent
delivery of the prisoner clearly established. Mrs.
Stevenson depose) to the general good character of
the prisoner, and her affection for children ; art I that
she had made provision for the birth, some clothes
being found in her box, made from materials %%hick
she had given her. A surgeon stated, that there w.re
marks 61 violence on the child, but these m'ght pos-
sibly have been occasioned by the prisoner delivering
herself. Under these circumstances, the Jury acquit.
ted the prisoner—but found her guilty of concealing
her pregnancy, and she was sentenced to six months
imprisonment.

Last week a trial for crises esse came on in Ennis,
in the county of Clare, before the Hon. Mr. Justice
MAYNE, and a Special Jury, in which Mr. PATRICK
O'HENNESSEY, carpenter, was plaintiff, and Mr Fos-
TER PARSONS, printer, was defendant. Damages were
laid at £2OOO r *hen, after a hearing of eight hours,
the Jury returned a verdict of £5OO, and 6d. costs,
for the plaintiff.
Mr. Baron GRAIIA/41, id his address to the Grand
Jury at the York Assizes, is stated to have said, that
the first step to mitigate the severity of die Penal laws
must be to improve the morals of the people. But a
man of his legal information need not surely be told
that the undue severity of law may be the most for-
midable obstacle' to improvement in morality, and in
that case the first step must be to mitigate the seve-
rity of the laws. The laws of Japan have afforded
the most striking proof of the pernicious effect of
over-severity. The most trifling offences are punith.
ed with the utmost rigour, and the result is—not the
repression of slight offences—'wt the rendering of the
/host atrocious crimes as common as the least disor-
ders. Who could hope to improve the morals of the
Japanese without a mitigation of the severity of the
laws ? The observation applies more or less to every
case where the laws are too severe. It is now well
ascertained that the effect of punishment depends
much more upon its certainty, its judicious adaptation
to the nature of the offence, &c. than upon its seve-
rity. The law commands respect and obedience, by
being a steady, just, and impartial master ; but is
despised and disregarded when it becomes a slave or
a tyrant. The remark of the Learned Judge obvi-
ously alluded to the attempted alteration in the penal
code by Sir S. Rosso.t.v. The object of every one
must be, that the law should be as effectual as possi-
ble in repressing crime. Many appear to imagine that
its effect depends upon its severity. Sir S. ROPCII.LY
and others think, that its efficacy would be increased
by diminishing its severity, and rendering its opera-
tion more certain and uniform ; and the opinions of'
these latter are in unison with the views of those wt t•
ers who have most deeply investigated the subject,
and whose conclusions have been firmed from the
widest observations and experience. The great en-
couragement to perseverance in these cases is, that
the progress of improvement cannot be permanently
arrested, while communication and discussion arefree.
Wednesday afternoon, at seven o'clock, a desperate
battle was fought in Haberdashers-fields. Horton, tot
five guineas a-side, between Elij .h Pinkney, a ware-
houseman, in the neighbourhood of London-wall, and
Thomas Bach, a journeyman baker. The first was se-
,
conded by Jemmy Stevens, formerly a noted pugilist;
_the baker was seconded by one of his own profession.
At setting to, bets were three to two in favour of the
'baker, who was the youngest and apparently the
strongest man. The contest lasted thirty-seven mi-
antes hard fighting, with several knock-down blows,
I when the former gave his antagonist sosevere a body
I blow, as to break one of his ribs, and Pinkney in
Ircourse was victor. They were both so much beaten as
to be conveyed to their homes in hackney-coaches.
WELSH PEDRSTRIANISNI.—Monday evening last, the
inhabitantsof Brecon were very generally assembled to
witness a foot-race against time, which excited much
interest, as very considerable sums were depending,
and £l6B had been lodged as a deposit in the Brecon
Bank. Mr. WILLIAMS, jun. of Llwynhonse, an
officer in the Breconshire Local Militia, undertook to
son in three hours from Brecon to Abergavenny, a
' distance of about nineteen miles. He started soon
after three o'clock in the afternoon, in very fine style,
and the bets were immediately two to one in his fa-
vour : he continued t.) run at the rate of seven miles
an hour for the first thirteen miles, when he got into
Crickhowell ; he had then an hour and fifteen mimes
to perform the remaining six miles; but, from 'has
extraordinary exertion, he'became much affected with
the cramp, and continued to labour under it daring"
the remainder of the distance, which he lost by hail
a mile. Mr. W. alas himself a principal better, sad
many sporting gentlemen accompanied him en horse-
back to Abergavenny, where he was put to bed, mi.
dently much exhausted. The road was in nosy
places much crowded with spectators.

Byrne, who was his Head Woldward, had eren 1 i
the wood in question, to *Ake up the aelc cy
which had occurred in a lot sold in a sale, and kW
which he hai paid the money to the Auctioneer.