Star.
London, England, 1819-04-20 00:00:00

ADMIRALTY ADJOURNED SESSIONS.

• Yesterday these Sessions commenced at nine o'clock
at the Old Bailey, before Sir WILLIAM SCOTT, Mr.
Justice RICHARDSON, and Mr. Justice BtsT,
the Jury, after being sworn in, retired for some rl.--4,
and again came into Court, and brought in a True
Bill against Henry Wells, who was indicted for the
wilful murder of Joseph Martin, on the Bth of A's-
gust, 1815, between Deal and the French coast, in
company with John Whim and William Brock,
_ _

both.of whom were executed for the said offence in

December, 1815. It appeared in evidence, that the
prisoner was in company with Gillam and Brock, on
board the Fox revenue cutter, at the time the mur..

der was committed.

The case stated by Sir CHRISTOPHER Rolm:spit;
the King's Advocate, to the Jury, and which w
afterwards clearly proved, was, that the prisoner
in company with others whilst the crew of the Fos
Revenue cutter was employed in a boat belonging tp
the said cutter, in the month of August, to look out
for smugglers; that, on the Bth of that month, they
observed a boat of considerable length, with masts,
and several persons on board of her, steering North-.
west, when the deceased observed a number of ma

in the smuggling boat, and did not think proper then
to attack them, and therefore endeavoured to sheer
off, when they instantly received a volley from the
smugglers, which wounded the deceased and others,
and the firing was so dreadful, that the Fox boat tell
on one side, and was necessitated to make signals to
the crew of the cutter to come to their assistance,

The crew of the smuggling boat called out--,, We
shall sink every 'soul of you." The deceased was
most dreadfully bcat on tho head wit the end of el,
fireloik, and at last fell into the sea. It appeared
that the prisoner, by the testimony of an accomplice
of his, named Atkins, of the smuggling boat, after
this circumstance, went to Boulogne for brandy,

when they left it on the Bth of August; that on their
returning to the English coast, they passed several
beds of oysters, between Calais and Dover, and ob-
served a boat employei, the crew of which were
oyster-dredging, and one of whom he knew to be
John George, and from whom they got a basket of
oysters, for which they gave three bottles of brandy,l
that about two hours after this they fell in with the
boat of the Fox Revenue cutter, the crew of which
tired only one shot, as if for the smuggling boat to
come to, but this was not complied with, and they
then returned the fire and wounded many of the Re-
venue cutter ; after this they steered off towards Gra-
velines, and for some time lodged there; that he and
his brother, with some others, left Gravelines, leav-
ing part of the crew ; that the prisoner, Henry Wells,
was one of the crew on board the smuggling boat at
the time the murder was committed ; that when they
left off firing at the boat of the Revenue cutter, they
in proceeding towards the French coast threw over-
board muskets and other deadly weapons, which were
afterwards found on the tide leaving the shore of the
French coast.
The testimony of Atkins was completely confirmed
by the evidence of other witnesses, who positively
proved that the prisoner, at the time the murder•was
done, was in the boat. The prisoner, it a pßeareri,
was apprehended at Dover on the 3d of November
last, and was brought to Town; that on his• Way
hither. he said to the Officer—"" Oh! if I had that
'b
—y fellow Atkins here, I should die happy;" say-
ing at the same time—" I blame nobody but mysel4
for coming back, after having escaped entirely from
the business."
The case being now closed, the prisoner said in his
defence—" My Lord, I am Lot guilty; let them, say
as they like."
Mr. Justice BEST, in a very eloquent address, re-
capitulated the evidence to the Jury, who retired out
of Court for about half an hour. When they again
came into Court and returned a verdict of Not Guilty.
There were other indictments against the prisoner,
but the ATTORNEY-GENERAL declined offering any
evidence upon them; he was consequently declared
Not Guilty, and ordered by the Court to be discharged.
Immediately upon his liberation, the prisoner was
again taken into custody. upon a warrant obtained
by the Board of Excise, for another offence, and con-
veyed away in a coach. •
James Robinson, Allan Richardson, Michael Rich-
ardson, John Johnson, and John Capper, were indicted
for assaulting a Dover pilot.
The defendants admitted the fact, and in conse-
quence of some favourable circumstances, they were
at once declared to be Guilty, but discharged upon
their own recognizances.
The Sessions then adjourned.

Monday sennight a murder was committed about
two miles from Moffat. Three men passed through
Elvanfoot, towards Moffat, between eight and nine
o'clock, and next morning one of them was found
murdered, lying in a water cut a few yards distant
from the road. The supposed murderers speak the
Irish dialect.
An infavit was destroyed a few days since at South-
wick, by its inhuman and unnatural mos:hems Elizabeth
Gibbous, almost immediately after delivery. This
cruel wretch is nearly 40 years of age. She con-
fessed the horrid deed, describing the place where
the child was secreted: search was accordingly made,
and the infant found strangled. A Coroners inquest
has declared a verdit of murder against the
'said Elizabeth Gibbons, who will take her trial at
the next Hampshire Assizes for the offence.
BANK-NOTE FoncEntes.--Yesterday one Henry
Dart, a ineparer and utterer of forged Bank of Eng-
land notes, and Mary Ann Griffith, who cohabited
with him, were committed for teal from l-lattor.-gar-
den Office, charged with having in their possession no
less than '22 one pound notes, purporting to be those
of the Bank of England, and also three unfinished, or
,c skeleton notes" of the same amount, all which were
proved to be forged.
MasstoN-arouse.—Yesterday, W. Crowther was re.
examined, charged with stealing a basket front the
tap of the Bull and Mouth, Bull and Month-street,
containing £ll,OOO. Since Ins first examination; a
man named Brown, supposed to be the companion of
Crowther, in the robbery, has been apprehendeds and
he also was examined, when both were remanded.
WORSIIIP-STREET.--J. 1010, the driver of one of
Moi:ris's Paddington stage; was fined LIP and costs,
for racing against another stage, avid insolence to ne
0 1.1 pas.eir
a. • -6 .
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